When I was turning into a young man, perhaps 18, or 19 or so I used to hang out with my best friend; Robbie. Now, I have mentioned elsewhere that he also had a group of friends. They were “orbiters” of his circle of friends. They were fine and we got along just fine.
Now, they hardly ever talked. There were three of them. All brothers. one set of twins and an older brother one year older. Their name was Bracken, and we just referred to them as the “Bracky bros”.
They rode around in a black duster.
It was an amazing car, and in the late 1970’s it could really barrel down the roads. But you know, they weren’t piston heads. No. They were just good-time guys that liked to drink and party.
Because they didn’t speak too often, they reminded me of Larry, Daryl and Daryl from the Newman show.
I was always under the impression that they were rather poor. I didn’t think any of them held jobs and they didn’t actually appear all that bright. So that assumption was based on the friends that they hung out with: Robbie and the rest of the Western Pennsylvania crew.
Well… one day, I had to go with Robbie to visit them at their home. I had never been there before, and we took some back roads, and then finally saw the lone mailbox at the side of the road. We then drove though the driveway. And it was a long one. Sheech!
Finally, it opened up at a large, massive house with a five car garage, and a few other out-buildings. I met his sister (well one of them), Heck! I didn’t even know that he had a sister.
And his mother.
Turned out that their eldest sister was in the United States foreign service overseas, and their parents were very well to do. I didn’t get the opportunity to go inside, but I didn’t need to. You could smell the wealth from inside the car.
It is said that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and that is true, but you must be extra cautious in judging people by appearances and associations. I was under the impression that the Bracky boys were the same as the other guys they partied with. They weren’t. They always remained aloof and observing.
And now I know why.
As you get older, you experience things and learn things. Be care and wise out there.
Today…
As a teacher, what is the harshest truth a student has ever taught you?
Shortly after my divorce, I was teaching reading in 6th grade. I was unhappy but going through the motions of teaching the best that I could. I was tired after school and less than a model parent to my own two children.
One of my 180 students that year, Mark, a quiet and polite student, was only attending my first period class two or three days a week. He rarely did his homework and failed most of his tests. At a conference with his other core teachers, I was not surprised to find out that he was failing his other classes as well. As a teaching team we called a parent teacher conference. We were hoping to work together with Mark’s parents in an effort to help Mark’s attendance and motivation.
The conference was scheduled for 7:15am in the morning before school. Mark’s father came in smelly, unkempt, extremely overweight and drunk. His mom had left the family with no notice or word of if she’d ever return. Mark’s father was explosive, miserable and ready to punish Mark harshly if he didn’t improve. Quite frankly, I was a little afraid for Mark.
After the conference I asked Mark to come to class just to talk for a minute. After starting the class and assigning a task for the other students, I called Mark to my desk and told him that I was sorry for his situation and hoped things would get better for him. I asked him if he might find more peace at home by doing some of the things his father asked him to do.
Mark responded quickly, “Why? So I can be more like him?”
My harsh truth came instantly. I realized then that I needed to be a happier, healthier person to give my own kids a better example. Why would they want to do what I asked if they saw me as a miserable adult? Mark motivated me to become a happier adult and taught me how to be a better parent.
P.S. Thank you all for your questions of concern for Mark. I would love to tell you a happy success story for him. However, shortly after the conference, Mark and his father moved away from the school area. He didn’t stay in touch with me, any of his other teachers or any of the students. Sadly, I don’t know what happened to Mark. I wish this was an isolated incident but our schools are full of similar stories, especially in lower socioeconomic areas. In my opinion, this type of story won’t improve until parenting improves. Is there hope for advancing parenting skills?
Men Are REJECTING College EN MASSE And Choosing Trade Schools While Women Rack Up Debt
THE FOURTH TURNING: What Every Boomer Patriot & “Prophet” Needs To Understand—POST-HASTE!
Editors Note: The following prescient essay on “The Fourth Turning” was published 14 years ago and much has transpired which has borne out that “the final turning of the screw” is now taking place. Therefore, it behooves everyone, young and old, rich and poor, smart and foolish to take heed of what is upon US. That “US” is these once United States of America.
There’s an old adage: “Whenever America catches a cold, the rest of the world comes down with pneumonia.” Which means that when The Fourth Turning hits the USA hard, as it will with the climax of the 2024 election cycle, the entire planetary civilization will also get busted upside the head with a four-by-four. And why shouldn’t it in light of the utter depravity to which Western civilization has sunk. See: Shocking French Depravity On Full Decadent Display During Degenerate Olympics
What’s the critical point?
If you don’t know about, and believe in, and understand “The Fourth Turning” by now, you had better, because otherwise you will soon feel like you have been hit like a ton of bricks before you have been run over by a freight train. And, for many folks, even that is a gross understatement. See: HUGE Changes Coming To Planet Earth
Perhaps the single greatest driver of the rapidly accelerating downward spiral, which the wealthiest and most powerful nations on Earth are now experiencing, is the inexorable push toward technological singularity. More specifically, it’s the Transhumanism Agenda and the quest for Autonomous Superintelligence that is driving the entire world into the abyss. For the attainment of human immortality is nothing but a satanic desire to usurp the divine. See: AUTONOMOUS SUPER-INTELLIGENCE & TECHNOLOGICAL SINGULARITY: The Real Driver Of The Free-Fall Civilizational Collapse
What’s really crucial to correctly comprehend during the upcoming tumultuous, turbulent and tempestuous times is that there is ONLY one way to navigate them successfully. For only living life, going forward, on a firm spiritual foundation will get US through this eye of the needle. That’s for real!!!
Those who are completely broke, busted and disgusted need to know that a strong connection with the divine is the ONLY solution. For when The Great Leveler cometh, those who are disconnected from the Supreme Being will have nothing to support them, and nothing to hang on to. Hence, the acquisition of right knowledge can be very helpful toward that end. And knowing one’s place during this most defining moment in human history can be very empowering and edifying. See: THE NEW ATLANTIS: Master Plan Of The Ages
So, no matter how old you are or what your station in life currently is, get a grip at least on the mundane forces that are gathering around all of US as well explained below. For the more prepared each of US is, the more we can mutually support each other and see this thing through to a positive outcome. After all, this is the time we have all been waiting for … … … and why each of US was born during this “GREATEST SHOW EVER ON EARTH”.
One last pivotal point, and it’s as urgent as it gets. You will soon read about the central role that the Baby Boomers play in this final battle in this last war between the forces of light and the powers of darkness. In their current stage of Elderhood, the Boomers are the “Prophets” of society. They are older and wiser and braver than the rest of you. Therefore, it behooves all the younger generations to listen carefully to them and not mock them as they have for decades. After all, it was the Baby Boom Generation, working very closely with the Beat Generation, who shut down the Vietnam War—the first war ever terminated by a popular movement in world history.
Baby Boomers Your Financial & Economic
Winter is Coming, The Fourth Turning
“Thus might the next Fourth Turning end in apocalypse – or glory. The nation could be ruined, its democracy destroyed, and millions of people scattered or killed. Or America could enter a new golden age, triumphantly applying shared values to improve the human condition. The rhythms of history do not reveal the outcome of the coming Crisis; all they suggest is the timing and dimension.”
— Strauss & Howe (The Fourth Turning)
Winter is coming. Are you prepared? Americans see time as their enemy. Most Americans have bought into a view of the past and future as linear. When you observe the world in linear way and things are going well, the population is happy and confident. If you view the world in a linear way and things are going badly, the population sees nothing but terrible times ahead. This linear outlook of history and the future is not rational or supported by facts.
I’m convinced that world history is not on a linear path towards Armageddon and the Rapture. This belief is preached by many of the mainstream religions, but the truth is that we’ve seen this movie before and it doesn’t end in the 2nd Coming of Christ. The American belief in a destiny of never ending progress will undergo its 3rd major crisis period since its founding. The resolution of this crisis is 10 to 20 years in the future. The outcome will remain in doubt until the definitive resolution.
Our everyday lives clearly support a cyclical view of the world. There are 24 hours in day progressing from light to darkness and back again. There are 365 days in a year progressing from Spring to Summer to Fall to Winter, and then starting the cycle over again. A month is dictated by the four phases of the Moon. Our oceans rise and fall in a predictable pattern of high tides and low tides based on lunar phases.
Even Christian religions that preach a linear view of the world, celebrate their beliefs in a predictable annual cycle encompassing the life of Christ from is birth, life, death and resurrection. The human life cycle extends 80 to 100 years going through the stages of childhood, young adulthood, midlife, and elderhood. This cycle has not changed over the whole history of earth. A long human life approximates a century of time. The rhythm of time has a regularity and cadence that is predictable on a generational level. The elites, most academics, religious zealots and social engineers scoff at the idea of predictable cycles of history. It throws a monkey wrench into their deceptive self aggrandizing agendas.
Generational Theory
“We perceive our civic challenge as some vast, insoluble Rubik’s Cube. Behind each problem lies yet another, and another, ad infinitum. To fix crime we have to fix the family, but before we do that we have to fix welfare, and that means fixing our budget, and that means fixing our civic spirit, but we can’t do that without fixing moral standards, and that means fixing schools and churches, and that means fixing the inner cities, and that’s impossible unless we fix crime. There’s no fulcrum on which to rest a policy lever. People of all ages sense that something huge will have to sweep across America before the gloom can be lifted – but that’s an awareness we suppress. As a nation, we’re in deep denial.” Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning
Anyone who is being honest recognizes the country is on a path towards a major calamity. We have been living beyond our means for decades and the fiscal mismanagement of the country will come to a dramatic climax in the next decade. What many deny is that this crisis was pre-ordained based upon a predictable timeline of generational forces repeating over and over again throughout history. The elites are continuously stunned that every 20 to 25 years a fresh mood engulfs the country and new generations act differently than the generations who proceeded them. The privileged are astounded because they don’t want to accept the fact that progress is not linear and that society will undergo highs and lows over the course of a century.
Strauss and Howe have been able to trace consistent 80 to 100 year generational patterns throughout modern history. The 20 to 25 year quartiles are a High (1st Turning), an Awakening (2nd Turning), an Unraveling (3rd Turning), and a Crisis (4th Turning). They have also identified four archetypes that occupy their necessary position within the 80 to 100 year cycle. These archetypes are Prophets, Nomads, Heroes, and Artists. History forms the generations as the generations create history in a repetitive dance throughout the ages. The archetypes always follow the same path. As an example, the Prophet archetype is always born during a High, comes of age during an Awakening, enters midlife during an Unraveling, and spends their elderhood during a Crisis.
Below are charts detailing the archetypes and the 12 Turnings since the founding of the American Republic. There is a remarkable consistency of timing and scope regarding the previous Turnings in our history.
The archetypes that comprise a human life cycle follow the same repetitive pattern throughout history and they show the same traits and attitudes as their preceding archetype. Strauss & Howe describe the archetypes as follows:
- A Prophet generation grows up as increasingly indulged post-Crisis children, comes of age as the narcissistic young crusaders of an Awakening, cultivates principle as moralistic mid-lifers, and emerges as wise elders guiding the next Crisis. (Boomers – indulged, narcissistic, moralistic, wise)
- A Nomad generation grows up as under-protected children during an Awakening, comes of age as alienated young adults of a post-Awakening world, mellows into pragmatic mid-life leaders during a Crisis, and ages into tough post-Crisis elders. (Generation X – abandoned, alienated, pragmatic, tough)
- A Hero generation grows up as increasingly protected post-Awakening children, comes of age as heroic young team workers of a Crisis, demonstrates hubris as energetic mid-lifers, and emerges as powerful elders attacked by the next Awakening. (Millennial – protected, heroic, hubristic, powerful)
- An Artist generation grows up as overprotected children during a Crisis, comes of age as the sensitive young adults of a post-Crisis world, breaks free as indecisive mid-life leaders during an Awakening, and ages into empathetic post-Awakening elders. (Homelanders – suffocated, sensitive, indecisive, empathetic)
The First Turning is referred to as a High. A High always follows a period of Crisis. The hallmark of a First Turning is a heightened sense of community and collective confidence, driven in part by the fact that the society has just come through a difficult and challenging period. Consequently, during First Turnings, societal institutions tend to be strong while individualism is weak. The post-World War II “High” of the mid-1940s through early ’60s is the most recent example of a First Turning.
The victory over Nazism and Fascism marked the beginning of this High. The United States was on top of the world. We exited World War II as an ascending superpower. The Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe and Japan. The middle class grew and flourished as former GI’s built the suburbs and the interstate highway system. During this period Old Prophets disappear, Nomads enter elderhood, Heroes enter midlife, Artists enter young adulthood—and a new generation of Prophets is born. These new Prophets were the Baby Boom Generation.
The Second Turning, called an Awakening, starts out feeling like the high tide of a High, with signs of advancement and prosperity everywhere. Just as everything seems to be going along swimmingly, large swaths of society begin to chaff under the social conformity of the High, beginning to gravitate to more individualistic pursuits and demanding that their personal interests come first. The “Consciousness Revolution” of the mid-1960s through early 1980s was our most recent Awakening.
The trigger for this Turning was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. No one expected the turmoil that would occur over the next 10 years. Urban riots, campus riots, Civil rights protests, Kent State, Woodstock, Watergate, the feminist movement, counterculture, drugs, violent crime and family strife marked the next two decades. The New Age movement and Me Generation dominated the culture until the Reagan era. During this phase Old Nomads disappear, Heroes enter elderhood, Artists enter midlife, Prophets enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Nomads is born. These Nomads are known as Generation X.
The Third Turning, called an Unraveling, is the opposite of a High. Individualism rules, while establishments such as government, religion and military are increasingly weak and discredited. Neil Howe describes a typical Unraveling:
“This is a time when social authority feels inconsequential, the culture feels exhausted, and people feel bewildered by the number of options available to them. It is a time of celebrity circuses and a tremendous amount of freedom and creativity in our personal lives, but very little sense of public purpose.”
The most recent Third Turning began in 1984 with Ronald Reagan’s optimistic Morning in America message led to the fall of communism and the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The culture wars that have raged since the mid-1980’s have turned the initial optimism into an overwhelming sense of pessimism. There is no national consensus. The country’s leaders have ignored national problems such as unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations, a coherent energy policy, and a deteriorating educational system. Popular culture centers around celebrity circuses like Michael Jackson’s death and Michelle Obama’s fashion choices.
Americans reflect darkly on the future as growing financial and social inequality tears at the fabric of the country. The rich take advantage of the financial service economy and grow ever richer at the expense of the middle class. The poor pay no taxes and receive social transfer payments and take advantage of easy credit to live like the rich. The middle class is disillusioned and angry as manufacturing jobs leave the country.
Previous periods of Unraveling in American history were also decades of cynicism and bad manners. The Roaring 20’s were the last Unraveling period that led to the stock market crash in 1929, the Great Depression and World War II. History teaches us that Third Turnings inevitably end in Fourth Turnings. During this phase, Old Heroes disappear, Artists enter elderhood, Prophets enter midlife, Nomads enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Heroes is born. The latest Hero generation is the Millenials
Lastly, there is the Fourth Turning, called a Crisis. We are currently on the verge of a Fourth Turning. This is a time of great turmoil, when society’s basic institutions are torn down and rebuilt, and seemingly intractable problems are addressed. The apparently unsolvable financial dilemma of the country along with comprehension that Peak Oil has occurred will trigger the Crisis.
The ultimate resolution could be rational and well thought out or it could end in a fiery fight to the death between countries or generations. During Fourth Turnings, America engages in a struggle for its very survival and redefines its identity as a nation. Large wars are often a part of this process. The American Revolution, Civil War, Great Depression, and World War II were all facets of past Fourth Turnings. During this period Old Artists disappear, Prophets enter elderhood, Nomads enter midlife, Heroes enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Artists is born.
According to Strauss & Howe past Fourth Turnings in U.S. history we have overcome intractable problems and forged a new beginning:
“In the 1790’s, they triumphantly created the modern world’s first democratic republic. In the late 1860’s, wounded but reunited, they forged a genuine nation extending new guarantees of liberty and equality. In the late 1940’s, they constructed the most Promethean superpower ever seen.”
Sometime between today and 2025, this nation will undergo a test of its very survival. The ultimate outcome will be in doubt. Strauss and Howe paint a dire picture of the coming decades:
“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.”
Boomers Unraveling
“America feels like it is unraveling. Though we live in an era of relative peace and comfort, we have settled into a mood of pessimism about the long-term future, fearful that our superpower nation is somehow rotting from within.”
— Strauss & Howe (The Fourth Turning)
Most of my adult life has been spent during the current Unraveling. In 1984 I was twenty-one years old and about to enter the workforce. The country was recovering from the worst recession in decades and the turmoil of the 1970’s was subsiding. Ronald Reagan (GI Generation) won re-election with a 49 state to 1 landslide victory over Walter Mondale using his Morning in America campaign slogan. Reagan’s tax cuts, interest rates starting a two decade decline and increased military spending combined to juice the economy. Reagan’s policies were the final dagger in the side of communism.
The Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall fell. What many thought was the end of history, with democracy and capitalism victors, turned out to be a fleeting high. The initial signs of Unraveling were seen during Reagan administration. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, leading to questions of competence at NASA. The Iran-Contra scandal derailed the Reagan agenda as he showed signs of mental decline. The American military retreated from Lebanon after 220 Marines were killed in a terrorist attack. The stock market crashed, losing 508 points in one day, a 23% decline. The movie Wall Street with its amoral cynical view of the world captured the darkening mood of the country.
The first George Bush administration was marked by the Gulf War, which planted the poisonous seeds for our future War on Terror, and the recession which cost George Bush a 2nd term. The unraveling could clearly be seen in the 1992 Presidential election, as Ross Perot won the most votes as a 3rd Party candidate since 1912. During the Clinton administration the country continued to fragment, became more divisive, and cynical.
Politics became gridlocked, which resulted in reduced government spending. A laissez-faire attitude was promoted by Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin for the financial markets. This led to the Dot.com bubble and its eventual collapse. Trust in financial, government, and religious institutions continued to erode. The Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine high school slaughter convinced many that something was very wrong with our culture. A distrustful alienation had solidified into an overwhelming gloom.
The Unraveling picked up speed during George W. Bush’s administration. The stock market continued to implode, the economy entered recession and half the country felt that George Bush was not a legitimate President. Then the country was shaken to its core by the 9/11 attack. For a brief time, the country rallied around the flag and fully supported the invasion of Afghanistan. This appeared to be the trigger for the next American Crisis. Instead, it resulted in an acceleration of the Unraveling. A true trigger for a Crisis period will rally the entire population (Fort Sumter, Pearl Harbor).
The disastrous invasion of Iraq, horrific financial management of the economy by Alan Greenspan, individualistic greed and hubris of Wall Street, blatant corruption in Washington D.C., and complete lack of regulation by governmental agencies led to the collapse of the global economy in 2008. Decisive public action regarding $56 trillion of unfunded social liabilities, soaring public and private debt, and non-existent energy policy has been deferred for decades. Now there is no doubt that this paralysis and inaction will lead us into the next Crisis. The majority of Americans feel we are not on the right track, because we’re not. The coming catastrophe will truly test the mettle of our country.
Generation X – Assuming Command
“We yearn for civic character but satisfy ourselves with symbolic gestures and celebrity circuses. We perceive no greatness in our leaders, a new meanness in ourselves. Small wonder that each new election brings a new jolt, its aftermath a new disappointment. Not long ago, America was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. Around World War II, we were proud as a people but modest as individuals. Fewer than two people in ten said yes when asked, Are you a very important person? Today, more than six in ten say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong, we now regard ourselves as individually entitled. Yet even while we exalt our own personal growth, we realize that millions of self-actualized persons don’t add up to an actualized society.” – Strauss & Howe (The Fourth Turning)
Barack Obama became the 1st Generation Xer to be elected President of the United States. His background is a classic Nomad story. He has lived the life of a wanderer, living all over the globe, a child of divorce, fatherless, raised by grandparents, and a free agent in his career. Generation X grew up as abandoned children and alienated young adults. Generation X leaders will be pragmatic, savvy and practical. Obama has proven thus far to be pragmatic and able to get his agenda initiated. Previous Nomad leaders who proved to be highly competent doers during a time of Crisis include Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Patton, and Harry Truman. You may not agree with Obama’s plans or policies, but it is clear to anyone that he is an intelligent, pragmatic man that will institute dramatic change in the policies of the United States.
It is very likely that Barack Obama will lead the country into the next Crisis. He will not lead us out of the Crisis, as it is unlikely to subside until 2025. As the Unraveling transitions into Crisis the apathy reflected in historic low voter turnout will reverse itself as Americans become mobilized by the Crisis. The economy always undergoes wrenching transformations during a Crisis. The U.S. economy will likely be racked by panic, depression, inflation and war. We have witnessed a preliminary financial panic, but the real panic will be much more traumatic.
The separateness and blame witnessed during the Unraveling will transform into gathering and family togetherness. McMansions will become useful as three generations will more frequently live under one roof. Immigration will decline as the population will fear outsiders and place strict restrictions on foreigners entering the country. During the coming crisis, our culture will likely be cleansed, censored, and harnessed for the public good. The current ongoing financial debacle will ultimately contribute to the Crisis causing trigger of a worldwide oil shortage.
Peak Oil + Green Energy = Crisis
“But I guess it just reminds me that as a society, we don’t have the ability to actually come to grips with a crisis until it hits us in the face. I am discouraged enough now to think that we’re going to have to have a really nasty shock before we wake people up. The most optimistic estimate for the average depletion rate of the world’s currently producing oilfields is between 4% and 5% annually, or about four million barrels per day at our current rate of production. That means that each year we must find enough new oil to first replace those four million barrels of lost daily production before we even add enough to meet new demand. This is all the more worrisome because world oil discovery of new reserves has been slowing since the mid-20th century.” – Matt Simmons
Matt Simmons has been a lone voice in the wilderness warning Americans about the impending crisis that will be caused by Peak Oil. His prediction of a worldwide peak in crude oil production at 73 million barrels per day in 2005 has proved correct. Worldwide total liquids production peaked at 86 million barrels in 2008. All of the easy oil and gas in the world has been found. Additional supplies will be found deep below the ocean, in challenging arctic regions, in tar sands, and shale. It will be dramatically more expensive to extract oil from these sources. Oil discoveries have been in a steady decline since the 1970’s.
The United States has been dependent on 600 million barrels of oil from Mexico every year. By 2012 Mexico will become a net importer of oil, so 600 million barrels of oil will need to be replaced. Iran’s oil production is in decline as capital investment has been ignored for years. Russia’s production has peaked. Saudi Arabia continues to lie about its ability to ramp up production. Their oil fields are 40 years old and in terminal decline. By 2012, the world will only be able to produce 80 million barrels per day. There is no doubt that demand in 2012 will be higher than today’s 85 million barrels per day as China, India and other developing countries continue to grow. Even a Wall Street economist could predict what will happen to prices.
Peak oil will have the most dramatic affect on America. We have 5% of the world’s population, but use 25% of the world’s energy. Practically 85% of the world barely uses energy. World population of 7 billion will likely grow to 10 billion by 2030. China and India both are selling more cars annually than the U.S.
As people throughout the world enter the middle class, they want cars, TVs, and modern appliances. Energy demand cannot be turned back. Infrastructure constraints will exacerbate the coming energy crisis. The NIMBY crowd has managed to keep any refineries from being built in the U.S. since 1976. Our energy infrastructure is made of steel and is rusting away. It would take trillions to upgrade the energy system. These investments will not be made. The geologists and other experienced oil men are retiring, and no one is replacing them. Matt Simmons’ recommendation for the upcoming crisis is DOA:
“We should basically be going back to creating a village economy, so that we really reduce the energy intensity of how we live,” he says. “We need big time conservation, not feel-good conservation. Make things where they’re used. You’ll end long-distance commuting, and we have the tools to do that now with webcams. Grow food locally. Grow food in your backyard. If they’re not commuting, people will have time to do that.”
The Green Agenda that is sweeping the country and is fully supported by the Obama administration will be the final nail in the coffin. The blueprint of success for the Green Agenda is ethanol. Government subsidized a fuel that required more energy to produce than it provides. The mal-investment in ethanol plants led to a boom and the usual bust when government interferes in the free markets. The use of corn for fuel caused prices to rise for other food crops and meat. With the crash in oil prices, ethanol plants have been going bankrupt at an accelerating rate. Renewable energy and green jobs are the catch phrases being used by Obama and the Democrats pushing the Al Gore led agenda.
“I believe it is appropriate to have an ‘over-representation’ of the facts on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience.”
— Al Gore
I’d like to know the difference between over-representation and lying. The real inconvenient truth is that the United States depends on oil, natural gas, and coal to supply 87% of its energy, with nuclear power providing another 7%. The beloved solar, wind and geothermal sources supply 1.5% of our energy needs. Harry Reid and his green disciples believe coal and oil are ruining the world. They want to eliminate the fuels that power 87% of our economy. Maybe they should just keep implementing their economic policies and keep the country in a permanent recession, as carbon emissions have declined over the last three years. Their false science claims, scare tactics in grade schools, and use of green catch phrases will not generate the energy needed to run this country.
The green extremists want to eliminate coal as an energy source in the U.S. Even though nuclear energy emits no Carbon Dioxide, it is unacceptable to the green extremists. There is just one small problem. The chart below shows that coal and nuclear provide 72% of all the electric power in the United States. Renewable energy sounds good, but it cannot replace our existing sources. Inconvenient facts like no ability to distribute any energy created by wind and solar to the places that use the energy are completely ignored by green extremists. Our transportation system depends on oil to provide 96% of its energy. I don’t think anyone will be commuting to work in a solar car or wind powered car in the near future. A plug in car will require electric power that comes from coal and nuclear plants.
The Cap & Trade Energy bill will eventually be rammed through by the Democratic controlled Congress. It is being spun as a bill that will reduce greenhouse gases and create thousands of green jobs. What is a green job? Will we turn unemployed investment bankers and auto salesmen into solar panel and wind turbine manufacturers? The green agenda bill will penalize manufacturers, refineries, natural gas producers and electric utilities with increased taxes. Sounds great. Let’s penalize the polluters.
Every company that produces something will pass their costs along to their customers. This bill will increase the average family’s energy costs by $1,500 per year. It will convince many companies to move operations and jobs to China and India where these regulations don’t apply. Our agriculture industry will bear the brunt of this burden as they use tremendous amounts of energy in farming. Expect food costs to go up a lot. Since low income families spend a greater percentage of their income on energy, this bill will damage their finances the most. It will also trigger the coming Crisis.
20 Year Crisis – Financial Collapse, War, Rebirth
“Most of today’s adult Americans grew up in a society whose citizens dreamed of perpetually improving outcomes: better jobs, fatter wallets, stronger government, finer culture, nicer families, smarter kids, all the usual fruits of progress. Today, deep into a Third Turning, these goals often feel like they are slipping away. Many of us wish we could rewind time, but we know we can’t – and we fear for our children and grandchildren.”
Strauss & Howe (The Fourth Turning)
The skies are darkening and a cold wind is beginning to blow. Autumn began with bright skies and warm breezes, but the atmosphere has gotten bitter as swirling winds rip the remaining leaves from the trees. Winter is approaching rapidly and it gives all indications that it will be a bitter, dangerous, harsh time for all Americans. We wish we didn’t have to face the coming trial, but there is no avoiding it. Generational moods are transitioning, and a Crisis will envelop the country for the next twenty years. Courage and fortitude on a level not seen since World War II will be required.
The celebrity circuses like the Michael Jackson funeral, Britney Spears comeback tour, and Brangelina’s latest adoption will seem so trite during the coming Crisis. Wearing a blue rubber wristband and putting a yellow ribbon on your Mercedes SUV will not cut it. Previous 4th Turnings in U.S. history have involved total war. Deaths during the American Revolutionary War were approximately 50,000. Total deaths during the Civil War were 600,000. Total deaths during World War II were 73,000,000. How many people will die during the coming Crisis? No one knows the answer in advance. An integrated global economy, combined with nuclear weapons, advanced military killing machines, terrorists, and peak oil appears to be a recipe for death on a colossal scale.
Anyone who doesn’t sense a turning in the mood of the country is just not paying attention. There is a foreboding feeling that something is dreadfully wrong with our country. For those addicted to cable television, we are about to leave the sheltered, superficial, coddled world of Housewives of Orange County and enter the frigid, dangerous world of The Deadliest Catch with 40 foot waves and the threat of a watery death at any moment.
A dramatic event will soon shock the nation into action. The catalyst for the Crisis will likely be a sequence of events that will shift the mood of the country. The 1st event will be seen as the financial system meltdown in September 2008. The 2nd event will be viewed as the government’s reaction to the crisis. The remarkable sweeping steps taken by Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, and Barack Obama have further weakened the U.S. financial system and left it vulnerable to the next sudden shock.
The approaching Crisis will be sparked by known existing threats that have been ignored and discounted by our Baby Boom leaders. These known threats include titanic current deficits, colossal unfunded future liabilities, and unavoidable Peak Oil. As the economy continues to hemorrhage jobs, Congress will do what they do best and spend billions more on stimulus pork. As the National Debt approaches $15 trillion in 2012, a spectacular collapse of the U.S. dollar becomes more likely.
By 2012 the world will realize that Peak Oil is a fact. As demand outstrips supply, prices will rise dramatically. This is when a catalytic event is likely to plunge us into a harsh Winter of darkness and death. As the U.S. economy begins to collapse under the weight of debt and oil shortages, a terrorist attack using nuclear or biological weapons on U.S. soil would plunge the country into chaos. Other possible triggers could be a natural disaster such as an earthquake that destroys significant portions of California or a hurricane that destroys oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
Significant oil shortages will bring commerce to a halt. Food shortages would occur within a week of oil supply disruptions, as most of the food in our stores must be delivered by truck. As real unemployment reaches 25%, interest rates soar, and the dollar becomes worthless, civil unrest will breakout and the Department of Homeland Security will be called upon to fight and imprison its fellow citizens.
Past Crisis periods were marked by Prophets leading and Heroes sacrificing (Gandalf & Frodo) as the soldiers of the Crisis. In 2012 the country is likely to turn to a Baby Boom President with strong leadership skills such as Newt Gingrich or someone who will appear out of nowhere (Abraham Lincoln was an unknown two year Illinois Congressman). As the U.S. domestic crisis deepens, Russia and China will attempt to take advantage of U.S. weakness by expanding their influence and control in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Countries with domestic problems always turn outwards for a real or created threat to rally the nation. With the oil crisis getting worse, the U.S. will go to war in order to secure the precious supplies needed to run our economy. With China also seeking oil supplies a military conflict with China and Russia is quite possible. If the conflict turns into a cyber war of destroying satellites and disrupting computer communications, world leaders could be fighting blindly.
If one of these leaders panics and decides to launch some of their nuclear arsenal, the world could be changed beyond all recognition. This scenario seems impossible today. On October 24, 1929 when the Stock Market crashed, did anyone foresee a twelve year Depression with 25% unemployment, a World War that killed 73 million people, and the creation and use of an atomic bomb in the following sixteen years? The impossible becomes possible during a Crisis.
A Crisis can end positively or negatively. Our previous Crisis periods have resulted in new golden ages. If the leaders we choose are strong, wise, and judicious and the Millennial generation can rise to the occasion as their GI generation grandparents did during our last Crisis, we can rejuvenate our national destiny. Winter always turns into Spring. But, Strauss & Howe offer a chilling warning:
“History offers no guarantees. Obviously, things could go horribly wrong – the possibilities ranging from a nuclear exchange to incurable plagues, from terrorist anarchy to high-tech dictatorship. We should not assume that Providence will always exempt our nation from the irreversible tragedies that have overtaken so many others: not just temporary hardship, but debasement and total ruin. Losing in the next Fourth Turning could mean something incomparably worse. It could mean a lasting defeat from which our national innocence – perhaps even our nation – might never recover.”
By James Quinn
Dear Eva, Space Girlfriend
Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways.… view prompt
Karen Quick
And the answer is: nothing. (Because it’s a hologram, but of course they wouldn’t know that.)
I can tell, because the guards start advancing slowly and warily, warning the creature to take their advice and just surrender already. Even my parents start to creep forward, flickers of curious orange dancing on their elbows.
A sudden gust of wind from directly behind me tousles my flowing sleeves and hair and would have startled me more if I didn’t know it was coming. “Don’t forget your lines,” a voice like dewberries on the melting fruit blocks of Cavarst sounds behind me. Elation and adrenaline flood my systems, turning my colors from a calmer green to bright, bright pink. In the few quaarsects I have left, I channel my emotions by focusing on a single thought–the idea of my parents, and the whole galaxy really, to discover the truth: that I’m dating an odium, and I like it.
The embarrassing shades of pink morph into an alarming yellow reserved only for moments of panic, and I summon forth a scream that even the renowned performers of Quada’ar would envy. In unison, every amare in the corridor glides abruptly to see what caused such a sound to come from me, and the colors of the amare switch from a spike of frightful brown to yellows, like my own.
Like two actors trust the other lead to fulfill their part of the role, I don’t bother to turn around and check that my supposed captor is holding an Atomic Meson Desecrator against my side. An arm wraps swiftly around my neck, cutting off the scream from the depths of my throat. My own hands raise towards it instinctively and claw away at it but to no avail. I can see out of the corner of my right eyes that in the hand attached to this arm is an Ectoplasmic Flash-Shifter: the handheld equivalent of a full-scale transporter. I register the mounting panic in the eight collective eyes of my parents as they identify the gadget at the same moment that the guards do.
“I’ll be taking her with me,” the voice from before growls with menace, before activating the Ectoplasmic Flash-Shifter. The last thing I see before I close my eyes is the hand of my mother grabbing my father’s fearfully, as she screams at the guards to do something.
I blink, and when light filters in again I find myself on an entirely different ship. Through one of the gaping windows, I can see the faint outline of the royal fleet, though it’s hard to identify as a consistent flow of asteroids float past the hull. We must be attached to one of them, I guess, so that the fleet’s radars don’t notice us.
“Make yourself at home,” my captor jokes, tossing the Desecrator into a bin labeled props. She’s a bit on the taller side, dressed in the uniform of the amarean guards. As she morphs back into her natural skin she loses the look of one of my kind, replacing the flowing colors with pale arms and the second pair of eyes for impressively long eyelashes, which she then proceeds to bat excessively in my direction. I laugh.
“I think today’s performance was encore-worthy, no?” She smirks at my comment before inclining her head towards one of the doors. We walk side-by-side, catching up on each other’s latest endeavors, deciding what royal official she’ll go undercover as next, debating whether or not I should be returned with a ransom or escape all on my own–all perfectly normal things to discuss with your enemy-turned-girlfriend.
We spill out into a dining hall, where in floating mists of liquid nitrogen, small eddies caused the droplets to swirl about in a dance known only to them. Large fronds and flowers were doted lovingly upon by insects undoubtedly purchased from the exotic markets of Frundrum. At an oddly shaped table, morphed into such a pattern that it arguably had no definitive shape sat at all a tall, wiry looking humanoid, whose head perked up at the sound of us entering the space.
“Good morning!” he called, for in odium culture days are nonexistent and their preferred “time of day” is the morning. “It’s good to see you again, Kay,” he says to me, using my nickname, for amarean names are depressingly long and are rather a headache for any other species to say. He motioned towards the seats irregularly spaced around the table, and we sit down. After offering us a few breakfast delicacies the man relaxes back to eat what’s been placed before him.
My captor reaches with a glass into the air and catches a bit of liquid nitrogen inside. “Will Mom be able to make brunch today?”
“I’m afraid not, Eva,” my potential father-in-law responds as Eva takes a sip of liquid nitrogen.
For odiums, if a name is longer than three syllables then it’s not the name of an odium, and really if anything in their lives gets too complicated they no longer consider themselves odium. Sometimes when I’m with my girlfriend’s family, I can’t help but think that if my mother tried the detoxing approach that they did, perhaps she wouldn’t be so uptight all the time. My mother, calm? The thought is almost laughable.
Eva’s father pauses between bites of intergalactic scrambled eggs to look at me. “And dear Kay,” he journeys, in that ever-calm tone of his, “I was wondering what time your parents would like you home by?”
I share a look with Eva. “Well, if we’re doing a ransom,” she starts, “then maybe–”
“Sometime after lunch?” I finish.
The other odium at the table wipes his fingers serenely on his napkin. “That’s fine by me,” he tells us. “Have you two made any extravagant plans for today?”
“Not this time,” I say, peering out of the window at the fleet and imagining what sort of chaos is ensuing at this very moment.
“That does remind me though,” my girlfriend announces, redirecting my attention. “I heard that there’s to be a new play on Quada’ar starting shortly if you’re interested. Opening night is said to be several days from now. This Saturday, I believe.”
I smile, thinking of what sort of scenario we’ll think up next to whisk me away for several hundred quaarsects. Something crazy, I’m sure.
“This Saturday, you said? Then it’s a date
“Why Are They Ruining OUR BUSINESS?” NO-FAULT DIVORCE Will Be Cancelled; Women ARE ANGRY | The Wall
Spaghetti in Mushroom Cheese Sauce
Spaghetti in Mushroom Cheese Sauce is quick to make and features a creamy and cheesy mushroom sauce. Garnish with parsley or cilantro to add some extra color flair.
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 1 (2.29 ounce) packet Maggi Creamy Mushroom Soup Mix
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 (4 ounces) cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 (1.5 ounces) cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 (16 ounce) box dry spaghetti, prepared according to package directions
- Fresh parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Mix milk and mushroom soup mix in small bowl; set aside.
- Heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat; add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add soup mixture, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese; mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted and sauce has thickened.
- Add spaghetti; toss until coated. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
Sauté some fresh mushrooms and add them to this just before tossing the spaghetti with the sauce.
Adventure Pictures
Neocons, Kamala and a wider Middle East conflict
What is the future of fast food?
In the western world? The future of fast food is independents and smaller chains.
You see most of the fast food chains you see today are franchises and conglomerates.
McDonalds isn’t actually a fast food company, the same way Ford isn’t a vehicle company. They’re companies that make money any which way they can.
McDonalds and similar companies realised that Franchise royalties and fees were a nice money spinner. However, they found that buying locations and RENTING them to franchisees was an even bigger money spinner.
They keep hiking the rents to keep profits up at non organic levels. Franchisees have to increase prices to pay the rents less people eat there. Franchisee goes bust eventually unable to make it work out.
Independents will either own completely or pay commercial rents (which are getting slaughtered) and as such have lower overheads and can simply sell their products for less money.
It’s happening, this is in the UK Bolton. An old woman runs a ‘cafe’ out of her own home. There’s no retail rent to pay so she can make profits at lower cost.
It’s happened in Hong Kong already. There are many ‘virtual’ restaurants where it is delivery only. In Kowloon bay there’s a huge factory building with food panda bikes outside. Inside has numerous delivery only restaurants. They can sell at the same prices as everyone else but make more because they pay rents for non high street/prime retail rents.
US to knock out Rus+Chinese satellites. Moldova is US’ vassal. Rus advance in Donetsk O. Rus’ Nukes.
Why do most Koreans think that China is very backward?
Korean professor Kim Do-nam once pointed out on a Korean program that South Korea is the only country in the world that looks down on China, but there is no South Korea in the eyes of Chinese young people.
South Koreans proud of Samsung, in China basically very few people use, even if the Chinese mentioned Samsung, will only talk about Samsung cell phone explosion scandal. China’s domestic cell phone quality early beyond the Samsung, but in the price is much cheaper.
To the Chinese, South Korea is just a pea-sized micro-country, whose economic scale is not even as large as that of China’s Jiangsu Province.
There is no Korea in the eyes of Chinese young people. They have long set their sights on the world’s number one superpower, the United States. Surpassing the United States is the idea of Chinese young people.
The speed and comfort of China’s high-speed railways have given South Koreans traveling to China a sci-fi movie addiction.
And the convenience of the life of ordinary people in China is also far beyond the imagination of Koreans, because even in ordinary towns and villages, the Chinese people buy things only need to use a cell phone to scan a code to pay, unmanned supermarkets in big cities, shared bicycle is greatly facilitated people’s lives, and these are in South Korea is still very rare.
In short, it is sad for the Korean nation and pathetic for over-arrogance that young Chinese people have long since made the United States a target for competition, while Koreans continue to do what they do.
Naturally, Koreans do not want to recognize the fact that Korea has always been a third-rate country and that it has served China, Japan, and the United States as its sovereigns in that order, and they feel that the only way for Korea to gain the respect of the world is to belittle China and distort its history to the fullest extent possible.
They began to look down on China in every aspect, and soon China left Korea far behind, a reality that Koreans apparently did not pay attention to or did not want to pay attention to, but the facts were there, and as they watched the gap between the two countries gradually widen, a lot of Koreans became exasperated, and in order to preserve the last vestige of decency in their favor, Koreans began to entertain themselves and started to go around stealing China’s culture just to keep indulging in the fantasy in order to continue indulging in their fantasies.
When China’s young people are working hard for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, many South Korean young people are still stuck in the past, feel that China is not as good as South Korea, I can only say that this kind of ridiculous idea will only continue to widen the gap between the two countries.
I hope they won’t be too alarmed when they wake up from their fantasies.
Have you ever had a job where you did nothing for years and nobody found out?
Many years ago, I worked for a subsidiary of VISA. I was hired to perform security checks on fraudulent debit cards issued by credit unions. My first week on the job, I showed up excited to work. Following company policy, I sent out letters explaining to the branch managers that I’d be investigating their systems.
One by one, the branch managers called and pleaded with me to not look for fraudulent debit cards, rightly pointing out that this was not a problem. Apparently me logging into their databases from the back end made it impossible to perform their vital functions, shutting their systems down. After enough of them called, I stopped doing my job and brought the issue to my boss.
I assumed that my boss would give me better database access to review the records without interrupting service or give me another assignment. I reminded him of the issue every week and pointed out that I had nothing else to do. He told me that he was very busy and would get back to me the following week. After two months of this, I gave up and stopped asking.
Months later, with nothing to do, I brought reading material to work. I made long distance phone calls for eight hours. I wrote reporting pieces for magazines on the clock. I started showing up to work wearing t-shirts. I began showing up closer to 10 AM. I started to run my own business from my desk at VISA. When Solitaire got boring, I became the most adept Minesweeper player that had ever lived.
Nothing that I could do seemed to get me in any trouble. I would show up to a passive aggressive note on my desk if the previous day’s activities were too flagrant. But it came from a woman at an adjacent desk who didn’t work in my department.
Before long, I had put many hundreds of hours into growing my own business and was tiring of the place. And now I had a book tour coming up. I asked for time off and human resources turned me down. I explained that I would have to quit. My boss said, “From everything that I’ve heard, you did such a great job here. You can always come back!” I wondered about who doesn’t excel at that job.
Knowing what I know now, I believe that the security checks were required by the government in federal regulation so while they don’t actually need to be performed, the job is termination proof as the company has to fill it. If it wasn’t for the soul-sucking social environment, I would have gone back after that tour.
Update: 20 years later I was asked to participate in a focus group for business owners about online banking. I was screened heavily and accepted. When I arrived, it was at this former VISA office, talking about the business I started at my desk to the people who now do my old job. They never asked if I had previously worked there or if I had a background in finance. And honestly, I don’t feel like I do.
NATO Just Crossed Putin’s Red Line with this Massive Attack
This is really good. I love the comment that the “Hill” (Congress) is a madhouse. They are just clueless.
Both India and China have over 1 billion people so why does China look clean and modern and India looks dirty and behind in the times?
- Anyone who knows China and India reasonably well could answer this question with some sense.
I was born a few years after India’s partition, spent my first early 20 years there, and left India in the early 70s for Canada. I had three options to pick from three countries: the UK, the USA, and Canada.
I picked Canada even if it was not my first choice because I did not have to go to my parents for financial help.
From childhood, I was very intrigued by China and Canada. I got a chance to work/study/with Chinese Canadians and gained tremendous knowledge about China and the Chinese. Subsequently, I visited China six times.
- Now, let us dig into the root causes of differences between India and China.
- Indians have ZERO civic sense, absolutely none. The whole country is a big garbage bin.
- On the other hand, the Chinese have a reasonably great civic sense.
- Chinese megacities are super clean because the Government is stringent and enforces laws, and punishment is prompt.
- India is a lawless land. India has a wrong governing system, borrowed from precious rulers, and it is a failed system even in their own country; it is NOT fit for India.
- India is no match for China in any sense. All these slogans are useless/empty noises. China wants to meet world standards in cleanliness as Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland.
- And I know China and the Chinese do not even give two hoots for India.
- India is not even 1/6th of the Chinese economy and has sky-high drugs/alcoholism/violent crimes/hunger/massive corruption, and, of course, full of filth.
- Women are not safe in India; on the other hand, Chinese women can walk by themselves in the middle of the night without any fear.
One visit to a small town/village in China opened my eyes and defined my civic sense.
In this village/town, there appeared to be no public garbage collection. I observed one lady in the street collecting garbage from her street and bringing it to the more significant collection center. It appeared to me that all households took turns doing this duty. The citizens seemed to be self-motivated to keep the streets and surroundings clean.
THE WORLD WON’T BELIEVE CHINA LOOKS LIKE THIS
The US laws ban the US from collaborating with China on space, but asks China’s lunar soil. Ukraine laws ban Ukraine from talking to Putin, but asks Putin for peace talks now! Why are the US’ democratic laws rubbish which can be thrown away any time?
The US turned into a kakistocracy where circus acts, snake oil salesmen, sellouts, and dementia patients run the government.
Americans mocked and ridiculed China’s successful trip to the previously unexplored dark side of the Moon. Well well well, then the US sent the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. It looks like the Hotel California where “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!”
Shorpy
The Divine Purpose of Cats | 6 types of cats that expel negative energy from your life!
Why do the EU and NATO fear China so much that they have resorted to threatening China?
China will take away their excess profits.
When I was a child, my family bought a television set.
I will never forget that day.
The whole family got up very early and counted the money over and over again—it was all of my father’s salary for 36 months, saved bit by bit by the whole family.
At that time, China couldn’t produce its own televisions and had to import them from abroad, which was extremely expensive for us.
I need to explain why China could make hydrogen bombs and nuclear submarines back then, but not televisions.
Because after its founding, China was so poor and backward—poorer than any African country—that it could only invest its limited resources into vital projects for survival, especially in heavy industrial equipment.
People worked on empty stomachs and exported every grain of saved food to earn foreign exchange, which was immediately reinvested into heavy industry production.
(Movie screenshot: Do you know what they are doing? They are not calculating accounts, but calculating nuclear weapons data. At that time, China had no computers, and even calculators were rare. They could only rely on countless people to use the crude calculation tools invented by their ancestors nearly 2,000 years ago to calculate bit by bit… It was very sad and tragic.)
The origin of China’s nuclear submarines can be traced back to an American children’s toy. At that time, Huang Xuhua, known as the father of China’s nuclear submarines, had no idea how to build one. One day, while visiting a diplomat’s home, he discovered that the diplomat had bought a $2 American toy nuclear submarine for his child. Huang was delighted and carefully analyzed the toy’s exterior and internal structure. Ultimately, he found the inspiration he needed.
Eight years later, China’s first nuclear submarine was launched.
This is also why I have always believed that the diffusion of technology is inevitable. Permanent blockades are impossible.
****
This was actually very against human nature and extremely painful.
By the 1980s, public discontent had reached a shocking level, and the Chinese Communist Party had to use some foreign exchange to buy imported luxury goods, such as televisions, to appease the people.
My family also experienced a similar situation when bought a TV.
At that time, a neighbor had a TV, but the child and I had a bad relationship.
All the children in the neighborhood could go to his house to watch TV, except me.
When his family played cartoons, I also wanted to watch them.
I stood in front of his closed door and “listened” to the TV cartoons.
But that kid didn’t want me to “listen” to the TV, so he came to beat me up.
Of course I couldn’t beat him, because all the other kids who could watch TV automatically became his allies, and obviously, I was beaten up by a group of kids.
My father felt very uncomfortable, so he made a major decision: to buy a TV with the money he saved! He originally planned to use this huge sum of money to invest in a small business.
That television brought a happy childhood to my neighbors and me.
My wife’s family was even more astonishing; they were the only household with a television among hundreds, so sometimes they had to move it to the small square to show it, as their home was too crowded.
Later, we were able to make them ourselves, LCD TV accounting for 90% of the world’s output, and the price came down.
Nowadays, products like televisions and tablets are cabbage price.
Because China produces a huge amount of cabbage, the price is extremely low, and we use “cabbage price” to describe very cheap prices.
Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves—once they were “Made in China,” they all became “cabbage price”, and many poor people around the world could afford them.
The same goes for mobile phones. Now, out of 10 mobile phones in the world, 7 are made in China.
As a result, African people buy 110 million affordable but equally good Chinese phones every year (with the lowest price at $10!).
You may have never heard of or seen this mobile phone brand, but it is considered the national phone in Africa.
This kind of thing has happened in countless industries.
The next industries should be cars and large passenger aircraft.
The thing in the picture below is called a tunnel boring machine.
China’s infrastructure construction at that time was in urgent need of such large-scale equipment,but we do not know how to make it ,and had to buy it from the Germans at 700 million yuan per unit.
Additionally, parts and customer service were very expensive, and German engineers were very arrogant.
There was no choice but to endure it. What else could you do when your country wasn’t capable?
Now?
Now China can produce larger and better tunnel boring machines than Germany, at 30% to 10% of the German original price, occupying about 65% of the world market.
In a few years, there may be only one name for tunnel boring machines: Made in China.
Developed countries that used to earn massive excess profits by leading in technology and industry will have a hard time.
If they don’t cut prices, they can’t compete at all.
If they do cut prices, there won’t be as much profit.
So, developed countries can’t look at China in a friendly way.
Their original expectation was for China to stick to making shoes and shirts, with 1.4 billion laborers supporting less than 1 billion golden people.
However, it is more beneficial to the remaining 6 billion people in the world, at least they can obtain cheap industrial products and infrastructure capabilities, such as helping Iraq build 7,000 schools and helping Africa build railways, roads and dams, and the fees are much cheaper than those of Western developed countries.
So they are usually more friendly to China.Unexpectedly, China wants to make everything, and they make it pretty well, like Huawei.
This is a structural conflict that cannot be reconciled.
In the past, such conflicts were resolved through wars, defeating China in battle.
However, they found that if they resolved China militarily, China might convert its industrial capacity into military capacity, and with 1.4 billion highly homogeneous people who believe in collectivism, it would be a loss.
In fact, I think the West should not attack the CCP, because the hostility of the West has already disgusted some Chinese people.
We should all be worried about ambitious people.
The pictures is the headquarters of a Chinese shirt manufacturer.
Does it remind you of something? That’s right. However, this “strange” aesthetic has caused him to be ridiculed online hevavily and mocked by Chinese netizens as “He has established the Third Shirt Reich.”
My suggestion is for everyone to cooperate and achieve a win-win situation. By interacting more, they will gradually get used to China’s presence.
Pizza Spaghetti Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti, cooked and drained
- 1 cup milk
- Oregano, to taste
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Garlic to taste
- 32 ounces spaghetti sauce
- 1 package pepperoni, sliced
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups (or more) shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Combine cooked spaghetti, milk and eggs. Place in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread spaghetti sauce over spaghetti.
- Brown ground beef or turkey. Season with spices; drain.
- Place ground beef or turkey over spaghetti sauce.
- Add a layer of pepperoni.
- Top with shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees F.
This Is What “Always” Happens Before A Superpower Falls
CryoSleep
Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways.… view prompt
Fletcher Cobb
Jim ignored her and just stared at that poster on how the pods worked.
“How will we?” Emma asked.
“We probably need to replace the temperature sensor. The poster said so.” Jim told her factually.
“How will we get those?”
“They stock them at Targets across the world.”
Emma just slapped him.
“What was that for?”
Emma slapped him again.
“We could find one in the storage.”
“Now that is helpful.”
Jim slapped Emma.
“What was that for?”
After confusion about where the storage was they finally found it. If they looked at the airport style signs hanging from the ceiling and telling them where to go they could have found it earlier. The room was rather large and full to the brim with bins of spare parts and not one, but two giant teddy bears.
“Let’s split up. You go left, I go to the teddy bears.” That was Jim.
Emma held up an uno reverse card. Now she was the one who checked the teddy bears.
After five minutes Jim came back and Emma knew they had to switch places. After about thirty seconds of having to switch, Jim yelled to Emma.
“I found the temperature sensor. It was right behind the teddy bears. Emma, what were you doing with the teddy bear?”
Soon after they found what they all that they needed the Newmans needed to leave the storage area. At this point in time they found themselves in a fork in the hallway. Jim decided to go left, Emma decided to go right.
On Emma’s path she saw the ceiling sign telling her which way to get to the cryo chamber. “I found it!”
“You might have but you have to come here.” yelled back Jim.
“Will you go to the pods after?”
“Yup!”
Emma walked back to Jim, annoyed but also knowing he wouldn’t give in. As Emma turned the bend she saw it and instantly felt a crowd of emotions, ranging from embarrassment to straight up confusion. She walked into a food court. And a Target. At the same time. The Target’s shelves full of the temperature sensor’s and other tech items. It was as if the universe had made all the dumb things Jim said come true just to annoy her.
Then she realized it. Jim had found the holodeck and was project this entire area into existence. “Why did they have a Target-food court simulation on the holodeck?”
He held up a USB thumbdrive.
“Again, why do you have this on a thumbdrive?”
“You don’t?”
Exasperated, Emma just gave up. “Now will you just fix the pods?”
“Sure, I guess,” and they walked back into the cryo chamber. Jim started working on the pods while Emma ate her chocolate bar (the fun size, if you remember). After Jim messed around in the pod (basing all of his work off of the poster) he finally said they were ready. Emma had finished the tiny chocolate a long time ago.
“Alright, this should work. Get in.” said Jim.
“You first, you’re the one who fixed it.”
“And you’re the guinea pig.”
“Fine,” said a very annoyed Emma, getting into the machine.
Jim pressed some buttons to initialize the freezing, and the exact same thing as before happened. It got chilly, but it didn’t freeze them. “Hey, Jim, I think you broke it.”
“Well, obviously”
“Can I try to fix the pod.”
“Ok, I guess,” said a very disappointed Jim.
Emma got out of the pod and started poking around inside. She had no idea how the pod even worked. After about thirty seconds she gave up and started looking at the buttons on the outside. Looking at the main control panel she saw an array of dials, but one stood out to her. The temperature dial was set to “Refrigerate”, not “Cryosleep.”
“Hey, Jim, the pods were set to keep us cool, not make us sleep.”
“Oh, come on,”
Now knowing why the pods weren’t working, our protagonists entered the pods and went to sleep. This time it worked. They would wake up and be at their destination, with a story to tell. The final words they said to each other before they were frozen were this:
“See you in three months Jim!”
“See you- wait, I was wondering where this burrito went!”
Cheating Fiancée’s Hopes & Dreams SHATTERED When Her Drunken Facebook Posts Result In Her Getting…
Don’t drink and post…
Finally…
MM has a few words…
Quora China “Expert” Vannrox was interviewed on China Raising Radio Sinoland
Here’s my interview with Jeff on a wide range of topics regarding China. I hope that you will all take moment and hear my thoughts on what is going on in China. We discuss the latest changes in strategic direction, the growth of the largest metro area in China, and more…
Video interview plus transcript HERE.