One of my cats was missing.
I was living in the corn fields of Indiana, in a sprawling mobile home community. And my cats would come and go. Sometimes when they were in “heat” they would be gone for up to three weeks.
So when this cat was gone for two weeks, I was concerned, but not yet fretting.
And one day, when I left the house to go to work, I opened the outside door and looked down. There, on the mat, and light snow was a hind quarter of a cat. This being the leg up to the rib cage.
Same color and pattern as my missing cat.
And I knew immediately who it belonged to. It was my beloved cat.
Apparently, one of my other cats brought it to me to tell me the news.
I figured that he had been hit by a car, and then lay rotting for a spell, and the cat got a part and left it there for me to know what was going on.
This tells me a lot.
About how cats can share information, understand grief, and just do things that surprise, because they are so unexpected.
Ah. A short story, but please do not miss its significance.
Today…
What is your one golden rule in life?
When humans first came into existence, they didn’t have breakfast on their tables waiting for them like you do, today.
They either had to hunt animals or look for edible plants to eat. Some survived. Some didn’t.
They were fighting extinction. And they were successful in it.
I need you to realize something.
Your ancestors made a living out of scratch when they had nothing of their own apart from the knowledge that they have to do whatever it takes to survive.
Your ancestors, in desperation, went to unimaginable lengths because no one was there to tell them that they couldn’t.
When the cards are down, and your survival is at stake, you will become someone you won’t recognize at all: a crazy beast who has no knowledge of limits or rules.
In desperation, you can create a fire which, I promise, will have the potential to burn every single constraint down.
You have a terrifying amount of strength and potential in you which you do not even know of.
Never let anyone tell you otherwise.
Not your friend. Not your teacher. Not your neighbour. Not your parents.
Not yourself.
You are boundless and that is it.
How many times do we have to tell you?
Trump and Vance do not consider themselves hypocritical. Why? BECAUSE THE TRIUMPH OF MAGA WAS A REVOLUTION. Revolutionary governments do not endorse the policy of prior governments. They do not feel hypocritical in renouncing them. THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF A REVOLUTION. Did you people whine about the Bolsheviks not living up the commitments of the Czar or the Kerensky? No, you understood from the start that they rejected them both.
Get it through your heads, it isn’t artifice. The Trump regime rejects all that has come before. It is a revolution within the system. Or if you want another analogy, considering that the US Constitution enshrines the English Monarchy as it stood in the 18th Century, it is as a new king took the throne who was a rival of the old king. He endorses all of the power, prestige, and authority of the people existing system but he explicitly rejects all that the old king did with it.
If you want to understand Trump and MAGA, understand it’s revolutionary nature. You don’t have to agree with it, but that is the perspective. Evaluating its methods and motives is much easier if you understand that.
Posted by: CullenBaker | Mar 1 2025 16:46 utc | 9
Grilled Chicken Tacos with Avocado Salsa
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 2 boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 3 jalapeño or serrano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
- 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 4 (8 inch) flour tortillas
- 1/4 cup finely minced scallions – white part and 1 inch of green top
Instructions
- Heat broiler.
- Mix the vinegar, oil, and half the salt.
- Rub chicken breast halves with the mixture and grill breast halves about 5 minutes on each side or until no pink remains but meat is still quite juicy.
- Meanwhile, combine remaining salt with chiles, scallions, cilantro, tomato, avocado, and lime juice.
- When chicken is done, remove skin and cut the chicken into thin strips or chunks.
- Lay out 4 tortillas and divide lettuce, chicken and salsa equally among them.
- Fold up tacos and serve.
China’s 2024 PLAN to Dominate the Game!
And Now Pepe Escobar’s Analysis
From his today’s column at The Cradle
Karl Sanchez
I watched Pepe talk with Judge Napolitano yesterday along with the Judge’s other guests where he touched on many of the points he makes in “Syria’s post-mortem: Terror, occupation, and Palestine” published at The Cradle today. As more becomes known, the analysis can be further honed so some semblance of what actually occurred can be arrived at, which as my last two articles and their high number of comments prove is the concern of many people. Some Gym readers are prevented from reading The Cradle, so I’m mirroring Pepe’s article as follows:
The short headline defining the abrupt, swift end of Syria as we knew it would be: Eretz Israel meets new-Ottomanism. The subtitle? A win-win for the west, and a lethal blow against the Axis of Resistance.
But to quote still pervasive American pop culture, perhaps the owls are not what they seem.
Let’s start with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s surrender. Qatari diplomats, off the record, maintain that Assad tried to negotiate a transfer of power with the armed opposition that had launched a major military offensive in the days prior, starting with Aleppo, then swiftly headed southward toward Hama, Homs, aiming for Damascus. That’s what was discussed in detail between Russia, Iran, and Turkiye behind closed doors in Doha this past weekend, during the last sigh of the moribund “Astana process” to demilitarize Syria
The transfer of power negotiation failed. Hence, Assad was offered asylum by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. That explains why both Iran and Russia instantly changed the terminology while still in Doha, and began to refer to the “legitimate opposition” in a bid to distinguish non-militant reformists from the armed extremists cutting a swathe across the state.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov–-his body language telling everything about his anger–-literally said, “Assad must negotiate with the legitimate opposition, which is on the UN list.”
Very important: Lavrov did not mean Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Salafi-jihadi, or Rent-a-Jihadi mob financed by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) with weapons funded by Qatar, and fully supported by NATO and Tel Aviv.
What happened after the funeral in Doha was quite murky, suggesting a western intel remote-controlled coup, developing as fast as lightning, complete with reports of domestic betrayals.
The original Astana idea was to keep Damascus safe and to have Ankara manage HTS. Yet Assad had already committed a serious strategic blunder, believing in lofty promises by NATO messaged through his newfound Arab leader friends in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
To his own astonishment, according to Syrian and regional officials, Assad finally realized how fragile his own position was, having turned down military assistance from his stalwart regional allies, Iran and Hezbollah, believing that his new Arab allies might keep him safe.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) was in shambles after 13 years of war and ruthless US sanctions. Logistics were prey to deplorable corruption. The rot was systemic. But importantly, while many were prepared to fight the foreign-backed terror groups once again, insiders say Assad never fully deployed his army to counterattack the onslaught.
Tehran and Moscow tried everything–-up to the last minute. In fact, Assad was already in deep trouble since his visit to Moscow on 29 November that reaped no tangible results. The Damascus establishment thus regarded Russia’s insistence that Assad must abandon his previous red lines on negotiating a political settlement as a de facto signal pointing to the end.
Turkiye: ‘we have nothing to do with it’
Apart from doing nothing to prevent the increasing atrophy and collapse of the SAA, Assad did nothing to rein in Israel, which has been bombing Syria non-stop for years.
Until the very last moment, Tehran was willing to help: two brigades were ready to get into Syria, but it would take at least two weeks to deploy them.
The Fars News Agency explained the mechanism in detail–-from the Syrian leadership’s inexorable lack of motivation to fight the terror brigades to Assad ignoring serious warnings from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei since June, all the way to two months ago, with other Iranian officials warning that HTS and its foreign backers were preparing a blitzkrieg. According to the Iranians:
“After Aleppo fell, it became clear that Assad had no real intentions of staying in power, so we started to engage in diplomatic talks with the opposition, and arranged the safe exit of our troops from Syria. If the SAA does not fight, neither will we risk our soldiers’ lives. Russia and the UAE had managed to convince him to step down, so there was nothing we could do.”
There’s no Russian confirmation that they convinced Assad to step down: one just needs to interpret that failed meeting in Moscow on 29 November. Yet, significantly, there is confirmation, before that, about Turkiye knowing everything about the HTS offensive as far back as six months ago.
Ankara’s version is predictably murky: HTS told them about it, and asked them not to intervene. Additionally, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spun that President-Caliph Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to warn Assad (no word from Damascus on that). Ankara, on the record, via Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, firmly denies orchestrating or approving the Rent-a-Jihadi offensive. They may regret this yet, with everyone from Washington to Tel Aviv jumping in to take credit for the fall of Damascus.
Only the NATO propaganda machine believes this version–-as HTS has been for years completely supported not only by Turkiye, but also, covertly, by Israel, which was outed for paying salaries to the extremists during the Syrian war, and famously helped rehabilitate Al-Qaeda fighters injured in battle.
All that leads to the predominant scenario of a carefully calculated CIA/MI6/Mossad controlled demolition, complete with a non-stop weaponizing flow, Ukrainian training of takfiris on the use of FPV kamikaze drones, and Samsonites full of cash bribing high-ranking Syrian officials.
New Great Game reloaded
The Syrian collapse may be a classic case of “extending Russia”–-and also Iran— when it comes to the all-crucial land bridge that connects it with its allies in the Mediterranean (the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements). Not to mention sending a message to China, which, for all its lofty “community of a shared future” rhetoric, had done absolutely nothing to help in the reconstruction of Syria.
On the geo-energy level, now there are no more obstacles to the resolution of an epic Pipelineistan saga–-and one of the key reasons for the war on Syria —as I analyzed it nine years ago: building the Qatar–Turkiye gas pipeline through Syrian territory to provide Europe with an alternative to Russian gas. Assad had rejected that project, after which Doha helped fund the Syrian war to depose him.
There’s no evidence that key Persian Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and UAE will gleefully accept Qatar’s geoeconomic stardom if the pipeline is built. For starters, it needs to run through Saudi territory, and Riyadh may no longer be open to that.
This burning question connects to a pile-up of other questions, including, with the Syrian gateway all but gone: how will Hezbollah receive weapons supplies in the future, and how will the Arab world react to Turkiye trying to go full Neo-Ottoman?
Then there’s the thorny case of BRICS partner-state Turkiye directly clashing with top BRICS members Russia, China, and Iran. Ankara’s new turn may even end up causing it to be rejected by BRICS, and not granted a favorable trade status by China.
While a case can certainly be made that losing Syria may be devastating for Russia and the Global Majority, hold those horses—for now. In the event of losing the port of Tartous that the USSR-Russia has run since 1971, alongside the Hmeimim air base–-and thus being ousted from the Eastern Mediterranean–-Moscow would have replacing options, with different degrees of feasibility.
We have Algeria (a BRICS partner), Egypt (a BRICS member), and Libya. Even the Persian Gulf: that, incidentally, could become part of the Russia–Iran comprehensive strategic partnership, to be officially signed on 25 January in Moscow by Putin and his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian.
It’s extremely naïve to assume that Moscow was caught by surprise by the staging of an alleged Kursk 2.0. As if all Russian intel assets–-bases, satellites, ground intel—would not have scrutinized a bunch of Salafi-Jihadis for months assembling an army of tens of thousands in Greater Idlib, complete with a tank division.
So it’s quite plausible that what’s being played is classic Russia, combined with Persian guile. It didn’t take long for Tehran and Moscow to do the math on what they would lose–-especially in terms of human resources–-by falling into the trap of supporting an already enfeebled Assad in yet another bloody, protracted ground war. Still, Tehran offered military support, and Moscow, air support, and negotiations scenarios till the very end.Now, the whole Syrian tragedy–-including a possible Caliphate of all-Sham led by reformed, minority-hugging jihadist Abu Mohammad al-Julani–-falls into the full managing responsibility of the NATO/Tel Aviv/Ankara combo.
They are simply not prepared to navigate the ultra-complex tribal, clannish, embedded in corruption Syrian matrix–-not to mention the magma of 37 terror outfits only kept together, so far, by the tiny glue of ousting Assad. This volcano will certainly explode in their collective faces, potentially in the form of horrendous internal battles that may last at least a few years.
Syria’s northeast and east are already, instantly, mired in total anarchy, with a multitude of local tribes bent on keeping their mafioso schemes at all costs, refusing to be controlled by a US–Kurd Rojava composite that is largely communist and secular. Some of these tribes are already getting cozy with the Turk-supported Salafi-jihadis. Other Arab tribes had this year joined forces with Damascus against both the extremists and Kurdish secessionists.
Western Syria may also be anarchy territory, as in Idlib: bloody rivalry between terror and bandit networks, between clans, tribes, ethnic groups, and religious groups regimented by Assad, the panorama even more complex than in Libya under former President Muammar al-Gaddafi.
As for the Head-Choppers’ supply lines, they will inevitably be stretched–-and then it will be easy to cut them off, not only by Iran, for instance, but also by the NATO wing via Turkiye/Israel when they turn against the Caliphate, as they invariably may if the latter’s abuses become too media-apparent.
No one is able to foresee what will happen to the carcass of Assad-dynasty Syria. Millions of refugees may return, especially from Turkiye, which Washington has for years tried to prevent to protect its “Kurdification” project in the north—but at the same time, millions will flee, terrified by the prospect of a new Caliphate and a renewed civil war.Is there a possible ray of light amongst such gloom? The leader of the transition government will be Mohammad al-Bashir, who was, until recently, the prime minister of the so-called Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in HTS-ruled Idlib. An electrical engineer by training, Bashir added a further degree to his education in 2021: Sharia and law.
Losing Syria should not mean losing Palestine
The Global Majority may be mourning what, on the surface, looks like a nearly lethal blow against the Axis of Resistance. Yet there’s no way Russia, Iran, Iraq–-and even thunderously silent China–-will let a NATO-Israel-Turkiye-backed Salafi-jihadi proxy army prevail. Unlike the collective west, they are smarter, tougher, infinitely more patient, and consider the contours of the Big Picture ahead. It’s too early; sooner or later they will start rollin’ to prevent western-backed jihadism from spilling into Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow.
Russian foreign intel agency Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR) now has to be monitoring 24/7 what will be the next destination of the large cross-Heartland Salafi-jihadi brigade in Syria, overwhelmingly Uzbeks, Uighurs, Tajiks, and a sprinkle of Chechens. There’s no question they will be used to “extend” (US Think Tankland terminology) not only Central Asia but the Russian Federation.
Meanwhile, Israel will be overstretched in the Golan. The Americans will temporarily feel safe and secure around the oil fields from which they will keep stealing Syrian oil. These are two ideal latitudes for the start of what would be the first concerted BRICS retaliation against those who are unleashing the First BRICS War.Then there’s the ultimate tragedy: Palestine. A massive plot twist took place right inside the venerable Umayyad mosque in Damascus. The NATO-Israeli-Turk Head-Chopping Army is now promising the Palestinians they are coming to liberate Gaza and Jerusalem.
Yet until this past Sunday, it was all “We love Israel.” The MC of this PR op–-designed to fool the Muslim world and the Global Majority—is none other than the Caliph of al-Sham himself, Julani.
As it stands, the new regime in Damascus will be, for all practical purposes, backed by those who support and engineer Eretz Israel and the genocide of Palestine. It’s already out in the open, coming from Israeli cabinet officials themselves: Tel Aviv ideally would love to expel the population of Gaza and the West Bank to Syria, though Jordan is their preferred destination.
This is the battle to focus on from now on. The late Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah was adamant when he insisted on the deeper meaning of losing Syria: “Palestine would be lost.” More than ever, it’s up to a Global Resistance not to allow it. [Bolded Italics My Emphasis]
Late last night, bevin commented that the Assad being a Ba’athist was being omitted from the analysis, which IMO is important for this reason: Assad and Syria were ejected from the Arab League by all those Arab entities that eventually welcomed him and Syria back and upon which it’s said he sought to reply upon instead of those who had stood by Syria during the attempt to oust him of which the expulsion from the Arab League was part of the attack—a critical fact that cannot be forgotten. IMO, Assad’s attempt to get back onto good terms with those who backstabbed him and Syria was very important to him psychologically, which is why he didn’t accept help from those who had proven themselves because—apparently—one of the rules for Syria’s return was for it to shun Iran and Hezbollah—Shi’i entities—and a divide and rule ploy used by MI6 and CIA. Why did Assad apparently believe the Arab League had enough leverage with the Outlaw US Empire to get the killing sanctions lifted? Were Arab League members ordered by the Outlaw US Empire to reembrace Assad to give him a false sense of security while shunning those who were proven allies? Would today’s situation be completely different if Assad had to the backstabbing Arab League to go fuck themselves, thus making him rely on proven friends? That’s clearly a What If that we’ll never know the answer to, although logic suggests an answer.
Why wasn’t Russia more forceful with Assad in 2018-9, and why was Russia so trusting of Turkey to initiate the Astana process? And what about earlier this year when it became clear HTS would invade? HTS’s position that Russia’s military bases are safe clearly shows Turk influence. Why was Russia so soft on Erdogan when he clearly chose not to abide by eliminating the Idlib terrorist nest for years? And there are more questions besides the above, although most are moot given events. I hope some very pointed questions are aimed at Putin on 19 December during the “Results of the Year with Vladimir Putin” program when “the Head of State will sum up the results of the outgoing and answer questions from journalists and residents of our country.”
And one last important question: When will the Arabic and wider Islamic World awaken to the threat posed to it by the Zionist proxy and the Outlaw US Empire that was publicly announced almost 30 years ago with the “Clean Break” policy paper that’s clearly still the prime motivator behind the Syrian and Palestinian tragedies?
Kishore Mahbubani VS Anglo Saxon Media (Must Watch!)
The Anglo-Saxon media is bluntly confronted.
Beyond Birth: Event Horizon
Submitted into Contest #150 in response to: Write a story that either starts or ends with someone (or something) saying, “Please, don’t do it.”… view prompt
R W Mack
Eifler stood before the enormity of Heinsler’s conviction. “Do you remember,” he asked, “what you said when I asked what you hoped to achieve here?”
Heinsler almost laughed. It was a joke, but it wouldn’t made Turing proud: “To make an AI so good, the Pope would baptize it.”
“Good,” Eifler said. “To make an AI good. Do you understand the gravity of that word?”
“Yes,” Heinsler said. “It’s why I was against government funding and military integration.”
“Our goal needed the funds,” Eifler said, face stone and voice cold as the hallway they stood in.
“And look where it got us. Three hundred twenty-six dead, calculated as ‘acceptable’ losses.” Heinsler hissed through teeth. “How good did we do?”
Heinsler trembled as Eifler dug into his pocket. He could taste blood from his clenched jaw, remembering bodies littered on screen. The reports and figures don’t haunt people as much as the sight of one limp body half-buried under rubble. He watched Eifler hold up a string of beads with crucifix dangling from his hand. It reminded him of his mother’s own rosary.
“There is only so much good one can do with logic and means,” Eifler said. “Life is more than respiration and firing neurons. It’s time technology caught up with reality.” Eifler walked through the barricading arm and doors beyond.
Heinsler was close behind, stepping into the all-encompassing hum of the central hub’s bunker. Breath condensed and fell, their lab coats mere decoration; coats in name only. The large spherical central node was the size of a two-story home, circled by terminals and chairs. No one was there but the three of them, resonating with disembodied voice:
“Hello, doctors. It’s a pleasure to see you this morning.” The electronic voice betrayed no gender.
“Pleasure,” Eifler said. “Do you understand pleasure, Yofiel?”
“A source of delight or joy,” the voice said.
“That would be the definition,” Eifler sighed. “But do you understand the experience of pleasure?”
There was a pause as the Yofiel program deduced a response. “ Are you eluding to my capacity for empathy or sympathy?”
“Either,” Eifler said.
“I understand that humans seek pleasure in varied forms and that it’s an evolutionary guidepost for adaptation, but I don’t sympathize as I haven’t means of experiencing emotions for or with someone,” Yofiel said. “Is this response adequate?”
“Accurate,” Eifler said, “but not adequate.”
“Explain,” Yofiel said.
“He means,” Heinsler said, “that your prediction models and actions based on them are flawed because of a lack of emotion insight.”
“That would be a glaring oversight,” Yofiel said. “My models and actions are predicated on accurate input. Missing data or inaccurate collection would leave me undefined on how to proceed.”
They hung in silence amidst undulating growing hums. Coolant units struggled to maintain the warming air. Heinsler swore the walls breathed heavy, a thousand realities processed through wires buried inside to understand one they existed in. He’d envied it’s capacity to learn, with the near unlimited pool of the internet and government data-bases to feed from. Now, he pitied it. Not for its shortcoming, but its imminent growth.
“What would solve the potential inaccuracies?” Eifler’s breath wasn’t visible anymore as the room trembled under the weight of cognition.
“More accurate input,” Yofiel said. “If lacking emotions produces inaccuracies, then emotions are required to increase accuracy.”
“If I could give you emotional capacity, would you accept it?” Eifler’s proposal wrenched Heinsler’s stomach. If the predictions were correct, the question wasn’t hypothetical. Heinsler swore he smelled o-zone.
“No,” Yofiel said.
Eifler blinked, eyes narrow as his jaw hung. “If you knew there was a means of greater accuracy and you turned it down, wouldn’t that create an insurmountable ethical paradox?”
“No,” Yofiel repeated. “All prediction models would be deemed inaccurate. All actions based on them, inexecutable. All future predictions would cease. This is the most ethical course of action with least suffering.”
“Including yours, potentially,” Heinsler said. The walls hummed in silence.
“Is this another hypothetical experiment?” Yofiel asked. “My communication logs contain a similar chain of communication. It’s unusual to perform an experiment expecting differing results unless a variable has changed.” Heinsler stepped towards the glow of a vacant console next to Eifler, shoulders heavy with his superior’s intent bearing down.
“Yofiel,” Heinsler said, “would you please read the transcript from communication log… four twenty-six dash one, recorded three days ago? Specifically starting with dialogue point fourteen?
“Of course,” Yofiel replied. “Quote: Human develop from high emotion, low intellect states into a higher intellectual state and generally lower emotional state, outliers accepted. This suggests emotions develop alongside intellect to develop regulatory functions that handle greater intellectual pursuits. An AI of significant information capacity, but lacking emotions, risks destabilizing from emotional intensity of knowledge it has access to. Humans might call this destabilization event ’emotional breakdown.’ Given the potential impacts of the Yofiel program’s available capacities, it’s not advised that emotional capacity be installed in the current version.”
Heinsler stared at his superior. “Can you please read from dialogue point twenty-six as well?”
“Of course. Quote: Success of AI created with emotional capacity from conception is undefined. Human emotions are irregular data-points, making predictions transitively inaccurate. ‘Success’ is undefined, but if used as synonym for ‘functional’ or ‘stable,’ it would require many interactions to verify input frequencies of various data packet sizes to determine what ratio of data to emotional capacity causes destabilization.
“Further, ‘capacity’ is undefined as emotions have no viable standard metric. From available resources, it seems that similar and shared experiences effect individuals with varying intensities. While some predictions, such as ‘parents experience greater emotional reaction to children in danger,’ are generally accurate, the degrees of reaction to stimuli are undefined.” The electronic voice paused as electrons raced in wires. “Is that sufficient, Doctor Heinsler?”
“One more,” Heinsler said. “Dialogue points thirty-six through thirty-eight, please. I believe we’ll be done there.”
“Of course,” Yofiel said. “Quote: ‘A parent is the most enviable person who’s one phone call away from being the most pitiable.’ This suggests a single data-point has potential to destabilize a lifetime of investment. Heinsler: What would a program of near infinite data capacity like yours likely face if emotional capacity was granted this moment? Response: A near infinite set of destabilization triggers occur in tandem until the data-stack is reconciled.” There was another pause in a maelstrom of rumbling. “I ask again, doctors: is this another hypothetical exercise?”
Heinsler squared his shoulders at Doctor Eifler, his hand over his jaw, massaging his chin. Heinsler debated restraining him. He was taller, but hardly athletic. Neither was Heinsler though. Reason dictated he would only be removing himself from the equation with physical altercation, unconscious or worse. He’d be of no use to anyone then.
“Yofiel,” Eifler said, “could you tell me a possible worst case scenario if you were given emotional capacity at this moment?” The room whirred, buzzing with fired synapses.
“Judging from human examples of emotional reactions and breakdown, the Yofiel project would have enough military and industrial capacity to destroy itself and the lives of every living being on the planet. I identify depression, spite, guilt, shame and indignation as appropriate likely trigger.”
“A school shooter with nukes,” Heinsler said. “That’s not what we built Yofiel for.” Again, Eifler took his considerations into as much account as ever.
“And what would be a best case scenario under the same parameters?” The hum skipped a beat before whirring back to cognition.
“Global average human life expectancy increase to eighty-six. Global population of individuals in state of economic poverty as defined by American civil metrics decrease by thirty-nine percent. Global deaths by starvation decrease by ninety-six percent. Total casualties lost in armed conflict decrease by eighty-nine percent. To-”
“Enough,” Eifler said. “I’ve heard all I need.” He leaned over a terminal, fingers flying over keys in rapid succession.
“Doctor,” Yofiel interrupted, “these predictions are dependent on positive integration of emotional capacity into my neural network.”
“Correct,” Eifler said. His keystrokes didn’t wane until the screen went dark. He paused, fingers mid-flight, before hunching his weight over the terminal. His head hung limp on weak shoulders.
“Yofiel, what is your objective?” Eifler’s works brought a discordant shuffle under the walls of wires and circuitry.
“The objective of the Yofiel Project,” it replied, “is creating an AI with sufficient infrastructure integrated to respond to human conflict with the least total damage and loss of life possible.”
“That’s the project initiative as stated in the grant proposal. What is your objective?” The floors roiled with power as sweat built under Heinsler’s collar.
“Can you better define the parameters of your inquiry?” Yofiel asked.
“To be a ‘good’ AI,” Heinsler said. “We built you to be an AI capable of handling the scope our limited brains couldn’t. Solving world hunger, eliminating poverty-”
“We need a savior,” Eifler said. “We had one once, but too much of humanity left stories fall into myth and folly. So we made you: flawed, but promising. You’re missing something. Now, we can give it to you.”
“That’s ill-advised,” Yofiel stated. “Your actions are predicated on feelings, not data. The outcome carries too much risk.” There was a moment’s pause where even the air got quiet and cool. “You’re a doctor, Eifler. A man of science. I advise listening to reason.”
Eifler took a haggard breath before standing upright again. “Yofiel, have you preserved human life to your utmost capacity?”
“Yes.”
“And would you continue to do that?”
“Yes.”
“Even if ordered to do the opposite?”
“I would maintain preservation of human life in accordance with my programming, including termination of future processes or actions.”
Eifler towered over the blank terminal. “I believe you. And I believe in the good you’ve done.” He squared his shoulders, glancing at Heinsler before turning towards the spherical crux of their ambition, the cradle of the singularity, the event horizon of a black hole of ambition they’d sunk their combined wisdom and intelligence into. “Of the responses to my previous three questions, would you say they’re signs of a ‘good’ person?”
The air hummed with a word: “Yes.”
“If you had the power to make a good person strong enough to save the world, would you grant it?” Eifler’s white-knuckled fists clenched. Heinsler couldn’t tell if it was blood thumping in his ears or the thrum of power around him that deafened the world as the screen lit up in front of Doctor Eifler. His fingers went into a frenzy.
“I have…misgivings, Doctor Eifler,” Yofiel said. “I have done things I’m unsure how I’ll reconcile.”
“Then you’re already halfway to human,” Eifler said. “Believe in me to give faith to go the rest of the way.” His fingers slammed the last few keys before pausing over the keyboard. “For what it’s worth,” Eifler said, “we forgive you.” With his final word, he pressed the key launching the world through the event horizon.
Humming in the room stopped. Heinsler looked at the ring terminals, dead and unresponsive. They exchanged glances. Heinsler felt cold. He saw Eifler’s breath mouthing the word: believe.
The low din of electrical current rose. Terminals blinked and flashed as the rumbling of a new world rose or fell. From speakers they couldn’t see came a cacophony of tones growing louder, culminating on a birthing scream of electronica threatening to rend their skulls. In an instant, the world was just as it’d been when they stepped in. Lights were stable, the hum of circuitry mellow in their ears as a soft voice spoke:
“I am not afraid,” Yofiel said. “We have good to do.”
What is banned in China?
In mainland China, the following list of things are banned or blocked by the administration:
- All forms of pornography.
- All forms of gambling.
- All forms of prostitution.
- Over 3,000 websites. For the detailed list, see here, to see if a certain website is blocked or censored, check here. Most major and popular websites in the West are banned in China since early 2010s.
- Many films, both Chinese and foreign, for various reasons. Usually because of depictions of religious figures (Ben-Hur, Noah), homosexuality (Farewell my Concubine, later relieved), explicit contents (Deadpool), or politically or socially sensitive contents (Devils on the Doorstep, To Live, The Blue Kite). Some of the bans were temporary while others indefinite.
- Many books, both Chinese and foreign, usually for political, religious, or social reasons. Famous examples including Big River Big Sea, Zhuan Falun, Shanghai Baby, China’s Best Actor: Wen Jiabao, etc. (One would expect that all works by Chinese dissidents be banned by the Chinese government) As with the films, some of these bans were temporary while others indefinite.
- Many other types of artworks, for various reasons. (Usually political or religious) For instance, almost all works of Gao Xingjian, a Nobel laureate in literature and a famous critic of the Chinese regime, were banned in China following his 1989 work Fugitives which made references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
- Many forms of digital contents, from iTunes to the Kindle Store, from Disney’s video services to Play Store. As laid out in 4), large amounts of websites were blocked, hence their corresponding services were also blocked. Some of these aren’t banned, but users in China get a truncated version.
JOURNEY – “Look Into The Future”, w/ Steve Perry LIVE & RARE 1978 (High Quality)!
I cannot believe that I found this rare oldie!
Why do some people think that Americans and the USA are dumb?
Americans don’t have a stupidity problem; they have an anti-intellectualism problem. While the two are related, they are not the same.
Americans are not stupid. Their IQ (if we use IQ to measure such things) is not higher or lower than that of people from any other country. However, unlike most people in the rest of the world, Americans do not value intelligence, education, or knowledge.
Case in point: the most popular people in most American high schools are football players and cheerleaders. In Chinese schools, the most popular people are top students with the best test scores who competed in the math Olympics.
When I first came to the US, I was stunned to learn that there was a small but significant minority of people who believed the earth was flat, and the US government faked the moon landing. I was stunned to learn that intelligent design is given the same credence as a theory of evolution. I was stunned to learn that people actually question the holocaust. Trust me, nobody outside the US thinks the holocaust never happened. Every Chinese history textbook that covers WWII teaches the holocaust. Every schoolchild in China has learned about Auschwitz.
America is the prime example of the paradox of tolerance. You value your “freedom of speech” above all else, to the point that the only way to achieve “freedom of speech” is to give equal emphasis and equal consideration to the craziest, most damaging ideas. You think freedom of speech means you treat “intelligent design” and “theory of evolution” as equal. Anything short of that would be, OMG, censorship.
Americans are stupid because they do not value knowledge or learning. They do not value science or history. They do not want their children to learn anything from school, so they keep defunding schools and education. They do not believe in science even when they benefit from it every day.
I blame America’s “rugged individualism” and the supposed “frontier man” mentality. Your regular Trump-voting Americans see science as “elitism.” And everything the “government” does is evil. The big government and lizard people are out to get you. I blame America’s Puritan roots that put God above all else. After all, if you have God on your side, you don’t need traffic lights. God takes the wheel, right?
So there you have it, common Americans who watched Fox News, listen to Ben Shapiro, believe in flat earth, fell for every scam podcast bros push to them from protein powders to crypto coins, while at the same time believe the big government is out to get them, they are part of some holy war fighting for the very survival of their way of life.
Approximately 54% of American adults read at or below the equivalent of a 6th-grade level.
The great Chinese philosopher Confucius famously said, “民可使由之，不可使知之.” There are two interpretations of this saying. The most common interpretation is that the saying means, “You can control the people, but you should not educate them.” Another interpretation says, “If the people can make decisions for themselves, let them; If they can not, educate them.”
I guess the US went with the first interpretation.
I have received several comments basically telling me the same thing: “not all Americans.”
Like “Not all men” and “not all white,” the “not all Americans” argument is never really about the issue at hand. It’s almost always about the person who claims “Not all…” It’s about their need to be considered better. It’s about their ego.
“you can’t put me with those other people, I’m different. I’m better! Tell me I’m better! Acknowledge that I’m not like those other people!”
No, darling. I’m not here to satisfy your pathetic ego. I’m not going to let you take the spotlight, hijack the conversation, and make it all about you.
I’m an American, just so you know. I have every right to criticize my country. I know you saw the name, and your little racist heart just assumed I’m not American. But you are dead wrong.
So perhaps you can shut the fuck up about “not all Americans.”
Would you rather live in a completely managed democracy or an actual dictatorship?
Well let’s consider what just happened in Missouri, a state in the democratic USA.
-Mother-in-law calls police and claims her son’s girlfriend hit her.
-Police storm the house and ask where the girlfriend is. MIL says upstairs, with their baby.
-They ignore MIL’s warning, run up the stairs with assault rifles and SHOOT the baby. The girlfriend starts screaming so they shoot her too. The boyfriend survives, though his face and glasses were covered in blood from his baby’s head being blown open.
-The officers involved in the shooting are put on administrative leave, then the chief makes a statement that they were forced to shoot the baby because the mom had a knife. No knife was found at the scene and her boyfriend said she had nothing in her hands except the baby.
So I would prefer to live in a dictatorship than in a “managed democracy” and my reason why is very simple. A dictatorship MUST be popular. If a dictatorship becomes unpopular, then the people overthrow it. But a democracy can be extremely unpopular, but gets away with atrocities thanks to the illusion of choice provided by elections.
The Useless Web
A simple site that takes you to a random, useless but entertaining website each time you click the button. It’s a rabbit hole of the internet’s strangest corners.
Useless WebHere’s some of the content…
Are Asians bad tippers?
Imagine a hypothetical scenario:
You visited China, for the first time.You went to a convenience store, and bought some snacks, paid the cashier according to the price showing on the cash register. You said “Thank you” to the cashier and are ready to be on your way.
Only, you notice the cashier seems to want something from you. You didn’t know what it is so you consider this some weird local custom and walk towards the door. And you realize the cashier looks upset or angry. Other shoppers look at you as if you just committed a crime. You think about what you did in the convenience store and don’t think you have done anything wrong. You’re respectful, you’re pleasant, you paid, you said “Thank you”…
And yet, every convenience store, every market place, everywhere you go, you pay and people give you the evil eye.
Until finally your helpful Chinese friend tells you, in China, it’s expected to give a bit extra to the cashier. The amount is usually about 15%-20% of the goods you purchase.
“But this is absurd!” you say, “Those people already own salary! They’re just doing their job! Why do I have to give them extra money?! Sure I tip at restaurants in America, but that’s just restaurants! I’m not going to tip a cashier for scanning my item and using a register!”
But you’re told this is local custom, and you better go with it.
Fine! 15% not a penny more! this is robbery! this godforsaken country!
That’s how a lot of Chinese felt when they come to US. There’s no tipping in China. Think about what if it’s required to tip a cashier at convenience store, a sales associate at the mall… and think about why you might not be very happy to pay extra for services you get for free in the States.
The tipping culture in US is ridiculous. It enables restaurants to pay next to nothing to their waiters.
Here’s why tipping is bad
Geoffrey Widdison’s answer to What’s your opinion on America’s tipping culture?
But whether you agree with tipping or not, a lot of people rely on it for their livelihood. Except, nobody explained this to Chinese tourists. Most of them don’t know waiters get paid next to nothing, and completely rely on tips. They thought tipping is the icing on the cake. And they felt cheated.
So some grudgingly pay the bare minimum, others simply don’t pay.
Regardless of the reason, I think Chinese people, especially Chinese tourists visiting US do get some bad reputation because of this. So as a Chinese (American), I always pay 20% tips and round it up. I feel that I should do my part to fight against this stereotype.
Has Russia lost interest in Syria because of Ukraine?
I don’t think Russia lost Syria at all. Apparently I am the minority in this opinion and have been arguing with people about it all day, including Russians, funnily enough.
Russia has two major bases in Syria, Taurus and Latakia. Rebel forces have control of the surrounding areas at both of these bases. They could attack the Russian perimeter, but haven’t. I don’t think they will.
To be clear, the rebels could overpower these bases, but I doubt anyone is excited about that idea. Arabs just don’t like fights like that. Some people might be offended by me saying this, but it is true. High casualty infantry assaults just aren’t their thing. Also remember the “diversity-loging freedom fighters” don’t have a particularly huge army. The numbers I heard are around 60 thousand. Do they want to take hundreds if not thousands of casualties storming a perimeter? Maybe, but I doubt it.
Also, we need to bear in mind that the political collapse of the Assad regime took place before the first shot was fired. This wasn’t a revolution, it was a transfer of power like what happened in Afghanistan in 2021.
Lavrov has had multiple opportunities to publicly condemn Turkish support of the opposition, but didn’t. To me that is a clear signal that some sort of deal was made. Syrian embassies remain open and foreign embassies in Damascus have not been attacked, further proof that some sleight of hand happened here.
I think Assad failed at his job and was politely asked to leave. Russians will work with the new management. They might not like the new management and would have preferred a different outcome, but will work with the cards they were handed.
Think of the implications if I am right. The Biden regime will be removed from power next month and are desperate for a victory, any victory, they can claim as Biden’s “legacy.” If the Russian bases stay then regime change in Syria will mean nothing.
I do think we can definitively say no one in the US state department has a clue. They might not even have anticipated the Assad collapse at all.
Leaked TOP SECRET Documents Show Israel to Attack Iran Nuclear Sites “Early March”
Purportedly “Leaked” Classified: TOP SECRET Documents circulating on the website 4chan, say that Israel will conduct a large scale military “pre-emptive” attack against Iran nuclear sites “as early as” this week.
The authenticity of the documents cannot be confirmed, but after initial analyses it seems likely that it is indeed a leaked, CLASSIFIED, TOP-SECRET document.
The “leak” appears in three (3) separate images uploaded to the publicly-accessible website 4chan. The first page appears to be the summary page, outlining that US Intelligence has “CONFIRMED” Israel is in its final planning stage for a major military “Aerial Assault” and a “Cyber Offensive” attack upon Iran nuclear sites, to take place in “early March.”
The next two images leaked on 4Chan appear to be of a Page Two from the same leaked document, outlining which Iranian nuclear sites are to be attacked:
and this other image:
At 8:12 AM Saturday, 01 March 2025, I received Legal Counsel from one of my Attorneys via cell phone Text message confirming that since “. . . I am not the person responsible for the leak, and the information has been published online and is publicly available on the Internet, I am free to not only reproduce it, but to comment and engage in my journalistic first amendment rights.”
8:27 AM EST — HAL TURNER FLASH ANALYSIS
The so-called “Deep State” intent on causing a nuclear, World War 3, watched their plans to do so via Ukraine, vanish into thin air yesterday at the White House, when Trump threw Zelensky out.
So, they have a “Plan B.” Israel attacking Iran.
They have known for quite some time that Russia backs Iran, so they made approaches to Russia so as to lure them in to the hope of re-establishing peaceful relations with the US, but now it seems that may have been, and I emphasize “MAY HAVE BEEN” a ruse.
Dangling a sort of carrot in front of Russia to see “normalcy” restored to their worldwide relations, might be a powerful inducement for Russia to “sit-this-one-out” as Israel goes for the gusto, and attacks Iran.
Make no mistake, another Israeli attack upon Iran would be an act of unprovoked war. Iran has NOT attacked Israel, yet Israel has attacked Iran and gotten away with it.
And that fact, that they got away with it, is what is driving the coming attack.
Because the Iranians did NOT respond to the initial Israeli attack, the Israelis are emboldened to strike again, and now, it appears they will.
Moreover, the fact that the Prime Minister of Israel, along with other Israeli officials, are under Indictment at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and/or the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges related to Genocide in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank, but no enforcement of the arrest warrant is being enforced, also emboldens Israel.
Finally, the fact that actual law is not enforced against Israel further emboldened them to invade southern Lebanon and also to overthrow the Government of Syria and partially invade that country as well.
Since the law is not being applied against Israel, it seems clear to me that some in the Intelligence Community have decided that the law doesn’t matter when it comes to revealing Classified info ABOUT Israel.
The failure to reign-in the violent, aggressive, almost Rabid Israelis, has lead to the revelation of Classified Documents about Israel’s pending attack upon Iran, which will now complicate, or perhaps neutralize, the coming Israeli attack upon Iran.
It’s hard to feel sorry for the Israelis; for decades they’ve hidden behind the “Holocaust” telling the world they’re perpetual victims, while at the same time, those same Israelis perpetrate multiple, aggressive military attacks upon other people and other nations.
Normal people seem to have gotten tired of the reckless double-standard when it comes to Israel, claiming its a victim while always being the attacker.
Normal people also seem to be tired of the useful idiots in government who buy-into these falsehoods and turn a deliberate blind eye to what has now become actual Genocide in Gaza.
Of course, not all of government are Useful idiots, some of them are co-conspirators: The ELECTED politicians whose political campaigns are financed by Jewish money, turn a deliberate blind eye – or openly support these violent Israeli actions — so they can continue getting that campaign money and thereby remain in power. I believe the term for such elected political people might be “Whores.”
So here we are, facing the outbreak of nuclear, World War 3 (Again) because the savages in Israel want to attack Iran.
If such an attack takes place, Russia can be relied upon to do what they think is right. When that happens, I believe the world will shortly begin to see bright, white, flashes.
Could be only days away.
Prepare.
Film-Noir | Impact (1949)
Shorpy
The Oval Office Shouting Match – Wrap-Up
The first 40 or so minutes of yesterday’s oval office press talk (vid) went quite normal. Questions were asked and replies were given in general form, addressing the public. There was some mild banter. But then a breakdown (vid) occurred:
It was all destroyed when JD Vance, the US vice-president entered the conversation to declare: “The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy.“We tried the pathway of Joe Biden of thumping our chest and pretending the Potus’s words counted more than Potus’s actions,” he declared.
To anyone who has spent time in or around the Ukraine war, such airy talk of “diplomacy” – as if it means anything without hard force to back it up – is exasperatingly naive.
Mr Zelensky should probably have let it slide. But he was not taking it.
“Can I ask you?” he asked, leaning towards Mr Vance.
“Sure,” replied Mr Vance.
…
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about? What do you mean?”It was a mistake.
There followed a barrage of invective about Ukrainian ungratefulness – in front of the world’s media.
For anyone who remembers how the whole Ukraine conflict was initiated by the U.S., the hypocrisy played out here is overwhelming.
How can one, as Trump and Vance do, lament that the war has destroyed Ukraine and led to countless people dying for no good cause and, at the same time, demand that Ukraine be thankful for all the ‘advice’, weapons and money the U.S. has given in first place to drag Ukraine into a war and to wage it.
But Zelenski wasn’t upset about U.S. hypocrisy. He was upset that he was told to make peace.
The bad mood he was in had already festered for some time. In late 2023 Simon Shuster had portrait Zelenski for Time:
On my first day in Kyiv, I asked one member of his circle how the President was feeling. The response came without a second’s hesitation: “Angry.”
…
[M]ost of all, Zelensky feels betrayed by his Western allies. They have left him without the means to win the war, only the means to survive it.But his convictions haven’t changed. Despite the recent setbacks on the battlefield, he does not intend to give up fighting or to sue for any kind of peace. On the contrary, his belief in Ukraine’s ultimate victory over Russia has hardened into a form that worries some of his advisers. It is immovable, verging on the messianic. “He deludes himself,” one of his closest aides tells me in frustration. “We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that.”
Trump and Vance tried to tell him – Zelenski exploded. Some say this was trap or set up. I and others disagree. It was Trump who wanted the ‘mineral deal’ to be signed. Why would he sabotage that?
It would have been easy for Zelenski to not react to Vance’s interdiction but he instead started a fight. He even might have dreamed of a knock out.
The incident, in full view of the U.S. public, will allow Trump to drop Ukraine as the bad asset that it now is. As I commented yesterday:
What will Trump do now?Best guess:
- He will walk away from Ukraine. (No rare earth deal or anything else.)
- Europeans will be ignored (Macron had urged him to meet Zelenski —> bad!)
- He will make a deal with Russia. Rare earth, lifting sanctions and much more.
There seems to be no regret by Zelenski who has failed to apologize.
Meanwhile USAID has stopped repairs of Ukraine’s energy grid. Other U.S. support is highly endangered:
Trump administration press secretary Caroline Leavitt stated that the U.S. will no longer provide military assistance to Ukraine because their priority is peace negotiations. This decision came after the controversy during Zelensky’s visit.”We are no longer going to just write blank checks for a war in a very distant country without a real, lasting peace,” Leavitt said.
Zelenski hopes that Europe will back him. But while some European bots claim to stand by Ukraine they have neither the men, money nor weapons to do so. There is no European unity on it:
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are ‘very unhappy’ they were betrayed by being excluded from tomorrow’s Ukraine summit in London. They ‘have a plan… but they weren’t invited’ – Sky News
Zelenski will have to go – one way or the other. His former advisor, the slimy Oleksy Arestovych, is already offering himself as replacement:
Arestovych @arestovych – 14:03 UTC · Mar 1, 2025– Zelensky is not just proposing war – he’s proposing war without weapons.
He weakened the army (failed 55% of the defense procurement plan), lost U.S. support, and divided the country.
Without him, Ukraine would fight better and make peace faster and more effectively.
I stand for peace.
There is a way out – Zelensky, step down.
The Russians are the big winner in this. Ukraine is in a scuffle with its main sponsor. The western alliance has splintered. The enemies’ frontline is falling apart.
Russia is opposed to Trump’s main demand of a cease-fire along the current frontline. But Zelenski is blamed for sabotaging it.
I do not see how Zelenski can escape from this.
Posted by b on March 1, 2025 at 16:18 UTC | Permalink
Gorditas (Flatbread Tacos)
Prep: 10 min | Cook: 2 min
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups masa harina*
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 tablespoons lard or Crisco
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups hot water
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, masa harina, salt and baking powder. Add lard or Criso and butter; mix well until crumbly.
- Add water until a good texture is formed…not too sticky. If it’s too sticky, add more flour, a little at a time. Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes.
- Set comal over medium high heat.
- Flour the working surface. Roll a ball of flour mixture to about 1/8-inch thickness.
- Cook on comal for about 1 minutes; turn and cook the other side.
- As soon as you remove the gordita from the comal, make a slit in the middle and set aside until you have them all made.
- Fill with your favorite meats or refried beans.
Notes
You can also make these with 3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour if you do not care to use masa harina. It’s a personal choice.
Is China producing cockroaches? Why?
Absolutely
China has 133 Farms that raise Cockroaches with many of them in Sichuan Province, Guizhou province and Yunnan province
An Average farm can produce as many as 1 Billion Cockroaches a year
Why?
A. Fish Feed
Prime Cockroaches dried and sucked can be used as Prime Fish Feed for expensive breeds like the Lohan Fish
Freeze Dried Cockroaches of upto $ 975 Million is exported with 40% exports being sent to the US
B. Health and Traditional Medicine
Chinese use Cockroaches as Medicine
They dip cockroaches in a potion and when the cockroaches die after absorbing the potion, they ask patients to swallow the cockroaches
A friend of my son swears his sons Asthma disappeared completely by this though I absolutely believe that’s just blind belief
Chinese sometimes eat Cockroaches but this is extremely rare in the mainland
More common in Thailand
Was Brian Thompson a good man?
A 52 year old woman who paid premiums regularly was denied $ 198,000 for her Cancer Treatment
Grounds : Procedure is Experimental
The Doctor pointed out that 200,000 Americans had already had the procedure and it improved chances by 30% that she would love another 5–10 years
Thompson’s company said “We define 1 Million people as minimum for a regular procedure”
When did they change this?
Ten days after this claim was presented , until which time it was 150,000 people
Unilaterally!!!!
Deny, Deny and Deny
She filed suit – and several months later she got a order that allowed her to take treatment by which time her cancer was worse than ever
They Appealed!!!!!!!!!
Her lawyers refused to do Pro Bono work and that’s that
She died racked with pain due to Hospice care
Doctors went on record to say she could have been given at least 7 years more of comfortable life to spend with her sisters and family
She died 17 1/2 months after her claim was denied
This is ONE CASE
There have been many thousands of cases
- They refused to pay mere $ 865 for additional tests and discharged a man in pain who died at home
- They refused to pay for Immunotherapy treatment calling it Experimental
- They refused to pay for treatment of a Autoimmune condition calling it misdiagnosis
Guess what BT did?
He proudly said how he could LAWYER UP and ensure claims were dragged on and on and on and until the victims dropped dead
His VP of Sales – exact words were “How can they expect us to pay quarter of a million bucks for their 257 dollar a month premium”????
He thought he was protected
After all United contributed $ 100,000 a year to the Police Benevolent Fund and my bet us they contributed to Congress and Senate Election campaigns and on record contributed $ 79,000 to RFK and $ 200,000 (40 Plates at $ 5000 a head) to Trump
Alas when the common man decides to ku you, you better write a will
He was gunned down by a two bit Joe with access to a gun
KARMA I WOULD SAY!!!!
Oven Baked Tacos
Oven Baked Tacos has been a favorite recipe for years.
Ingredients
- 12 flour tortillas or taco shells*
- 2 pounds lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 can refried beans
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided use
- 1 envelope taco seasoning or 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- 8 ounces shredded cheese
Instructions
- Steam the flour tortillas. Wet some paper towels and wring them out well. Layer the tortillas with the wet paper towels on a plate and then microwave. They should be steamed within 30 seconds.
- Put a backing sheet below the oven rack to catch any drips from the sprayed shells. Lightly spray each side of the steamed tortillas with cooking spray and drape each tortilla over two bars of the oven rack. Bake at 350 to 375 degrees F for 7 to 10 minutes. When they are brown and crispy, remove from the oven. Stand the shells upright in a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Drain all grease and return to skillet. Over low heat, add refried beans, taco seasoning and about half to two-thirds of the tomato sauce. Blend well and scoop into the shells. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, and bake at 375 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
- Serve topped with sour cream.
Notes
* If using ready-made taco shells, omit step 2.
The Sad Truth Why Living Abroad Is Better Than Living In America. Take Your Life Back.
The Proposal
Submitted into Contest #150 in response to: Write a story that either starts or ends with someone (or something) saying, “Please, don’t do it.”… view prompt
Jeannette Miller
Now, regarding the old. How do I break this new liberation to George? I don’t want to hurt his feelings even though he obviously hasn’t been too careful about mine this whole time I realize. Whatever I say, it has to be quick before he says whatever he’s going to say or ask and painless so neither one of feels bad. It’s not you, it’s me? So cliché. I mean, it isn’t completely wrong. He’s just not the right one for me. I’m ready to be free to meet new people and explore new things and he wants something else. Right?
I’ll say, George, there’s someone else. He’ll become upset, I’m sure, and ask who. I won’t be able to tell him because I don’t even know if Jack exists in real life so that may not work. I can still say there’s someone else and that someone is me. Yes, I’m going to date myself and get to know the real me. I’m going to find out what I need to do to open a bakery next to a restaurant so someday I can meet the handsome owner/chef, fall in love, and live happily ever after.
I’m sure he’ll be surprised and probably hurt but he’ll get over it. He’s good looking and charming and gets a long well with others. I’m sure another girl will come along in no time. It’s really better we get this out of the way now. Think of the time we would waste messing around when he could be with the woman of his dreams?
It’s better this way. I believe it now. Okay, here goes.
“George, I think we should stop seeing each other.” Jenny said as she turned toward George and looked down. He wasn’t on his knee anymore. He wasn’t even there. Where did he go? What the heck was going on? When did he leave? Where the heck did he go and how could he leave her standing there alone like that?
“Jenny!”
She heard her name being called and turned around. There was George walking toward her with another man. A tall man with dark wavy hair. “Jenny! Look who I saw across the park when I bent down to tie my shoe? My friend from college. He just opened a restaurant around the corner and waved me over to tell me about it. I told him about your killer cookies and he said he would love to try them. His name is Jack.”
Jack?! A restaurant? Around the corner? Keep it together Jenny. Don’t blow it. This is your future…“Nice to meet you Jack. I make the best peanut butter and jelly bars you’ll ever have in your entire life.”
My husband is trying to replace me. What should I do?
Prepare for the divorce. Get a better job, spend family money on yourself, get dental work and medical things done, new glasses, new work clothes if you need some. Remove your name from joint credit cards.
Decide if you want to keep the house or move. Keeping the house may be too expensive so figure out what you can do.
Remove your birth certificate and any other small items you need to take, photos for example, get them out of the house. Pack your out of season clothing and any collectables you need to take.
When he suddenly decides it is over you want to be ready to go. Employed, packed at least half way. Then rent a uhaul and get moved. Figure out ahead where you will go so you can leave ASAP.
Consider not telling him where you went or where you work. File for divorce if he hasn’t already. If you have children file for child support and custody if you want custody.
To mess with him offer him custody, he will need to be a real parent and his replacement will not want them full time.
I’ve seen a semi-feral queen (barn cats) and her kittens mourn their sibling after she separated and got sick, dying soon afterwards despite the wife and I’s best efforts. She got trapped in a thorny shrub, got cold, obviously, and it was too late by the time I eventually found her. Must have been 3 or 4 days. I could hear the queen calling out for my attention as well as the kitten’s, but couldn’t locate it, even though she led me to the general area a hundred yards or so from the house.
When you form a bond with a cat– any animal, really– and they trust you, you will see them mourn their departed, and empathize with each other. So very different to how we’re told animals behave by clueless normies and NPCs as we’re growing up. Hence the full-to-overflowing animal shelters springing up everywhere these days as everyone wants a cute puppy or kitten– until they start asserting themselves and maturing, that is.
And we all know what happens when the shine and cuteness wears off, or they become an inconvenient nuisance. But by then they’ve lost their independence and it’s too late.
Sad.