In shock over Velma

Some people have always believed this but it didn’t become a mainstream idea until Ronald Reagan popularized it.

He said things like “The government is not the solution to our problems, it is the problem” and “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

Prior to Reagan most Republicans were for smaller government but still believed that it could be a force for good.

Republican president Eisenhower increased the minimum wage, expanded Social Security and created the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and started large government projects like the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Interstate Highway System.

Republican President Nixon wanted to expand Welfare to a “living wage” system, proposed universal health care, signed Title IX guarantying equal educational opportunities for women, signed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and formed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Reagan pushed previously fringe anti-government views into the mainstream.

The Three Stooges || You Nazty Spy 1940

This old skit reminds me of how the USA operates today. LOL

https://youtu.be/LvVPopDC9vA

Chinese Girl

The Monkees on The Johnny Cash Show 1969

Bekah

My daughter Bekah passed away 1 year ago from an unexpected asthma attack causing her to go into cardiac arrest. She was alone in her apartment when it happened and dialed 911 herself.

They were quickly able to reach her and bring back a pulse but she coded a second time in the ambulance. After 9 days in the ICU she was totally unresponsive to any stimuli and they called a time of death although she was still “alive”. She was an organ donor and helped to save 5 people.

A friend of mine had a vivid dream of my daughter in where my daughter walked in the room looking very much alive.

He shouted to me “Bekah is alive” She looked at him and said “no, I’m here to give my heart.”

She then walked up to a child and handed her heart to her. My daughters heart did go to a child, a 12 yr old. I’ve struggled with the what if’s and feeling guilty that she was alone when she passed.

I worry that she was scared or that she felt pain. Hearing some of the stories on this group help to give me hope that she’s at peace and maybe she did choose to give of herself to help others.

I ask God daily to please give me a million signs of her presence until it’s my time to see her beautiful face once again. Bekah’s mom ~ forever 22

Kitty chooses her “owner”

This little girl showed up at my back door on Christmas Eve three years ago. Per my estimate she was about 4 to 6 months old and about a quarter her current size.

Since her belly was shaved (I assumed she was spayed) and she is a bit of a rare breed for where I live (she looks and has all the characteristics of a pure Russian Blue), I assumed she belonged to someone in my neighborhood.

She wanted attention (a sure sign she was raised by someone since feral cats do not crave petting and human attention).

I asked all my neighbors and they had never seen her before nor did she belong to anyone in the neighborhood, as I checked; she also had no chip for identification purposes. I waited over a week assuming she would find her rightful owner, as she might have just wandered off, but she kept hanging around and coming back, so I took her into my home and adopted her.

I have had cats before so I have experiences and other past cats as a comparison.

This particular cat is the most affectionate, happy (per her constant purring), and cuddly cat I have ever known, but only with me as she just hides when other people come around.

Sometimes she jumps up in the middle of a dead sleep and immediately looks over at me as if just wanting to know I am still there.

I can say with certainty this cat is afraid of being abandoned again and she is grateful to have been rescued/adopted.

Chinese Girl

Here’s Why The U.S. Blew Up Nord Stream Pipeline!

Growing up in the UK until migrating to Australia in the mid 1970s meat pies were popular but fairly limited and were either rather runny minced beef, or steak and kidney. I lived in Cardiff for a while and there was a round pie or a larger rectangular one. When I returned to Britain on holiday in 2000 I couldn’t find a proper meat pie anywhere. Most of the bakers seemed to do a rectangular ‘steak bake’ that was tasty and reminiscent of a pie but not really the proper article. They were also disappointingly small and you needed two.

I spent a month in England, Wales, Scotland and failed to track down a proper pie. With two hungry teenage boys in tow we would have loved an Aussie style pie.

In Australia nearly every bakery has a big pie and sausage roll section with a hot cabinet and there are a lot of dedicated pie shops selling a huge range of pies. I’d guess pie consumption is far higher in Australia and every town has a signature pie outlet that is very popular and against which others are measured.

Often there are up to 30 different varieties such as chunky steak, crocodile, chicken mornay, curry, vegetarian options etc. And most sit-down pie cafes accompany the pie with mashed potato, mushy peas and a generous dollop of gravy.

That’s one I regularly have from the popular pie cart whenever I visit Lismore New South Wales. There’s a pie under there somewhere!

A pommie steak bake would scream in terror and run away down the street.

Globalists are pushing a nuclear attack, and Putin knows it

Historically, economies have grown under authoritarian control, for example,

• the Roman Empire
• the Ottoman Empire
• the Portuguese Empire
• the Spanish Empire
• the Dutch Empire
• the French Empire
• the German Empire
• the British Empire
• the Soviet Union
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Taiwan

Large democratic economies have only existed in the last half century or so. Note that USA is not a democracy (it’s a republic).

Authoritarian states tend to be more effective at economic growth because they face no opposition. They can create policies without compromise. They can execute policies without hindrance, especially in the long term. They can galvanize their populations to produce economic output. Tight control is the order of the day.

Sloppy governance leads to wastage and inefficiency.

Get Hard (2015) – Gangbanger Accountant Scene

Take Evergrande!!!!

Why did so many Economists predict that Evergrande collapse would be huge etc etc????

Because they are stupid??? No

Because they are biased??? Maybe…but they are still reputed Academics who wont just tout propaganda

So Why????

BECAUSE THEY LOOK AT EVERYTHING FROM THE US ANGLE (And the European Angle and the Japanese Angle and the Indian Angle) or the US LENS

In the United States – The Shareholder is GOD

So any Collapse of a Company , leads to a blow in the Markets which causes massive massive massive losses and creates all the financial crises since 1929.

In China – The Investor is GOD

China believes that the Speculator is a Gambler. They restrict major funds from investing too much into the Stock market and ensure that the Common Citizens who invest in the stock market know that they can lose their shirt or win a pile of gold.

Instead their Focus is on the Investor - the ones who paid for the Houses, the ones who bought Bonds etc. They are to the Chinese - the backbone of Economics.

IN the United States – Rule of Law is Cumbersome but Absolute

This means - THE LAW Comes First. So whenever any Company Collapses - you have Chapter 11s filed , Protection of the Company Directors and Shareholders , Allowing the Company to file counter suits etc.

This means the Assets of the Company get wound up for an average of 46 months and by this time shares plummet to Zero.

Thus a Companys failure means failure for all its investors.

In China – The Public is Absolute or the Common Man

China puts everything including Freedom or Human Rights above the Common Man.

So in China when a Collapses - the System will first Force a company to pay back its investors.

The Law never interferes

The Company has to pay back its investors by selling Assets, swapping Assets etc.

This means Assets of a Company can be disposed off in weeks rather than months or years.

And thus Investors almost always get between 55% - 100% of what they invested

IN the United States – Value is all about Perception

US doesnt like the word ‘Assets’ or ‘Profits’

They like ‘ Potential’ or ‘Expansion’

This means many Companies in US are almost always heavily bloated with very little Real Assets

So in a sense US is mostly like India. They do nothing until a company folds and then its Chapter 11 and in some cases - FBI investigations or SEC investigations

So when a Company crashes - its Perception or Potential crashes and its Value crashes.

In China – Value is all about ASSETS

China doesnt like words like ‘Potential’ or ‘Closing a Deal’ etc.

They like Hard Core Assets - Land, Contracts, Trade Deals, Gold, Jade, Coal , Gas Pipelines are what they love.

So when a Company crashes - It always has Assets to back it up and these Assets manage to salvage a big chunk of Value

So thats what is helping China ignore Evergrande or even a Real Estate Crisis while if this was happening in US or even India – people would be scrambling for cover.

Yet while Economists are good – they simply dont think like a Chinese or know the Chinese System

My Associate Lawyer in Singapore told me how Westerners focussed on Huge Office Space whereas a CHinese office was a small 15X10 enclosure and yet you had 10 times larger deals floating through the same.

Likewise Most Western Personal Debts are based on paperwork etc. Most Chinese Personal Debts are given based on just the mans face and his Chop (Chop is a personalized Stamp like thing with Unique Chinese characters)

So those who make Predictions on China – Just don’t understand how China works

Its why Singapore never makes Predictions on China. They simply report the US Predictions and Laugh because They are Chinese too.

Likewise South Korea understands the Chinese Way as does Taiwan and even HK

That’s why South East Asia really didn’t care too much about Evergrande. They just reported what the West said but ignored it.

That’s why South East Asia scrambled in Panic when Lehman Brothers folded. They also know how US works and knew how big a crisis it was.

Just change your glasses and wear a Chinese one – and you will see just how different Chinese Business is compared to the Western models

They’re popular in New England, though they’re not the same.

Aussie/Kiwi meat pies (in my experience) are kind of their own thing. They’re made primarily with ground meat (usually beef,) onion and bbq/tomato sauce. They’re delicious (and plentiful.) Meanwhile the British eat more kinds of pies than I have managed to try.

Here in New England, we eat Shepherd’s pie and chicken pot pie, which I realise are popular elsewhere.

We also eat the style popular in the Canadian maritimes — this is the type my family have always eaten, and here’s how I make them. Note that these use “ordinary” pie crust, as you’d use for apple, top and bottom. This will make a 9-inch pie:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg pork
• 1/2 kg beef
• 1 large yellow/Spanish onion
• 2 tablespoons summer savory (or 1 ea. sage & thyme)
• butter for browning meat
• 1 and 1/2 russet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon white lard
• Pie crust

NOTE that I buy the cheapest cuts of meat available. No need for anything fancy; just whatever’s on sale.

Arrange your lower crust by itself in the pie plate and pre-bake at 125C until golden.

Dice your meat into 2.5 cm (one inch) cubes, and brown the meat in a bit of butter in a frying pan until it is seared on the outside.

Put the meat, onion, and savory (or sage & thyme) in a stew pot, and add enough water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to barely simmering, and simmer, covered, for 1.5 to 2 hours, checking every half hour to add water to keep the meat covered as necessary, until a piece of meat will just about fall apart when you squash it with a fork..

Remove from heat, and pour everything into a colander to strain it. Let it cool in the colander while you prepare the potatoes.

Peel and dice your potatoes, and boil them the same as if you were making mashed potatoes. When they’re done, strain out the water, add the lard, and then mash in the usual way. No lumps! Be thorough. Don’t add milk to these… just thoroughly mashed potatoes and lard. The potatoes are the binder that will hold your filling together. Canadian/New England pies don’t slouch and run the way some others do. They’re more like a pork pie.

Return to your cooled meat. Examine all your cooked pieces, and scrape away or remove any fat or gristle that remains (most of it will have boiled away.)

Now put the meat/onions in a mixing bowl, and start adding the potato/lard mixture, mixing/stirring as you go. Don’t worry that the meat falls apart as you mix. It will do that. But do try to keep it as intact as possible, so there are some big chunks in each slice.

Add salt and plenty of ground black pepper. When the filling is mixed, and tasting good, fill your (pre-cooked) lower crust, add your top crust, cut some vents, and bake at 175 deg C until the top crust is done, usually about 40 minutes or so.

First, China has not been silent. Even before the war, China had been pressing for regional peace talks. But guess what, the West prefers to dig up dirt from the Beijing Olympics… I mean… I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The West should be like this: Who cares, we need the whole world to know the evil of the Olympic Games. Putin and Ukraine can wait.

Second, China knows better that internal affairs are usually better handled internally. The history between Russia and Ukraine goes back to 1991. Better to let Russia and Ukraine resolve these issues internally.

Third, I did not see the West upset when two US presidents destroyed three Middle Eastern countries in the space of 20 years, one of them for a bag of washing powder. Where were the ABC, BBC, CNN and the rest of the media when millions of refugees poured into the EU, hundreds of thousands were made homeless and countless civilians died? No, it’s all cool and normal 😀 They don’t even deserve to be in an entertainment column reporting on Brad Pitt’s facial (no offense, he’s a great actor).

Conclusion:

When things fall apart, blame China.

When things get better, talk down China.

When things are no longer things, guess what, China! 😀

I don’t know. You tell me.

I finished watching The Mandalorian last week.
To my surprise, I quite liked it.
IG-11’s sacrifice scene almost made me shed a tear.

But I still haven’t watched the last season of Game of Thrones.
Or Spiderman: Far from Home.

Most days I work from home from my laptop.
I go out for occasional walks in the park and in the evening I usually go for a run around the neighborhood.

I go to the nearest Tesco once a week to stock up on groceries. I find that on average, I spend about an average of €25 a week for groceries. But last week I broke my budget by €2 when I decided to get a jar of Ovaltine Light. * sad face *

Before I came to Ireland to do my Master’s, I had previously lived in several countries:

Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Germany.

I’ve also traveled to many more countries than that.
Iceland was a favorite.
I stayed a couple of days in a small town whose entire population is… get this… 200 people.

Last place I traveled to was London, in January 2020.

Five days. Had some Nando’s, tried the buffet at Pizza Hut (so-so), had too many quick meals at McDonald’s. And even had a chicken sandwich at a place called “Chicking” (I assume it’s Chicken + King)

Also, had a great haircut and dye job from a Singaporean hairstylist – there are wayyyyy more Asian hairstylists in London than Dublin.

I don’t think I live an isolated life, although Dublin is currently under Level 5 restrictions, so in that sense, you could say that I’m somewhat isolated because we’re not supposed to travel too far outside of our residence without a good reason (buying groceries would be a good reason, having a party with your mates who live 15 km away would be otherwise)

So, how did I do?

Do you think I’m isolated from the rest of the world?

Is it fair to say that the USA has gone from the greatest country on Earth to a near Third World country? Did conservatives not warn of this happening for the last 70 years?

Is it fair to say that the USA has gone from the greatest country on Earth to a near Third World country?

Yes, I think it’s fair to say that…

Did you know that America’s life expectancy this year dropped to below that of China’s? I’m not pulling your leg.

Life expectancy is one of the crucial factors that determine how well-developed a country is.

Another factor is the level of poverty in the country. In America, there are vast swaths of homeless people in all the major cities. For the supposedly richest nation on earth, this is unconscionable.

Millions of Americans suffer from food insecurity. Food banks are stretched to the limit.

Millions of Americans cannot afford health care, which is considered a fundamental human right around the world.

America has the some of the worst infrastructure in the world, literally crumbling and decaying.

Gun violence is so rampant in America that mass shootings occur on a daily basis! I’m not pulling your leg.

In 2020, 45,000 Americans were killed by guns, according to the CDC. This includes suicides.

Of course, wealthier Americans deny that USA is slipping in quality of life. They’re so insulated from the shit that’s going on around them, they have blinders on.

Chinese Girl

How long will it take for China to catch up to the United States economically and technologically?

Economically already surpassed on all parameters of consequence except one and that will also be reached in 2028–30 period. China is already the largest economy in PPP terms, the largest trading nation in the world, the largest industrial base, largest manufacturing capacity, largest tading partner to the most number of countries and it’s BRI project is the largest development and infrastructure project in history.

Technologically hard to tell whether China has already surpassed or has few years more to catch up. My guess is overall China is 95% of the overall US technology framework and architecture. This means in many technology fields China has already left USA behind in the dust and in some fields its at par while in few others its behind. So overall it’s 95% if we have to quantify it.

Sopranos and Lupertazzi’s Sitdown to discuss Ralph – The Sopranos HD

Where are the best meat pies in Australia?

In my opinion, Adelaide, my home town, makes the absolute best pies. One of the downsides of living in the city of Melbourne is that the only meat pies or bakery items I can find are either made by large franchises, and therefore depersonalised, or sold in a packet.

In Adelaide, that is near sacreligious. There is at least one good bakery in the heart of each suburb, which makes everything fresh in store, and typically has upwards of 20 savoury bakery varieties, and even more sweet varieties.

One of my personal favourite locations is Enjoy Bakery on the Parade at Norwood, partially because it was within walking distance(1 hour or so) of my house, but also because they have a ridiculous range, not to mention delicious flavour.

Here is a visual aid:

Of course, any true Australian would accompany their bakery meal with the following beverage:

I happen to be holding one of these in my hand at this very moment!

You know someone isn’t Australian when something other than a meat pie comes into their mind when you say ‘pie’, it almost disgusts me that Americans would call a blueberry pie, ‘pie’ as if that were somehow acceptable.

Chinese Girl

What are the most intolerant and ridiculous school lunch policies, where teachers or lunch monitors criticize what you pack for your child’s lunch?

My cousin’s daughter brought home a note from her teacher saying that the lunch she had packaged for her had been thrown away because it was unhealthy and that she owed the school money for the school lunch her daughter had been given. My cousin called her daughter’s teacher to find out what the issue was and apparently the school had banned lunchables so her daughter’s lunch of sliced turkey breast, cheese grapes and yogurt was deemed a lunchable and therefore unhealthy because it included whole grain flatbread. which the teacher insisted were crackers so it was a homemade lunchable and violated the rules . The teacher didn’t care that it was whole grain it was a cracker so it was unhealthy.

My cousin’s set up a meeting with the teacher and the principal and explained exactly what her daughter had brought for lunch including the nutritional information to prove that her daughter’s lunch was indeed healthy then asked provided the menu for the day her daughter’s lunch was throw away. Pizza, corn, a roll and fruit cocktail. The principal apologized and said that it wouldn’t happen again. A few days later letters were sent home explaining that the teacher would be gone for the rest of the year and the students would be getting a new teacher.

Come to find out that the school hadn’t banned lunchables or had any requirements on lunches brought from home but the teacher in question had tried imposing rules on what SHE felt was acceptable lunches and gotten in trouble for throwing away a student’s lunch the year before so she ended up getting fired.

Nomar

I promised my cat Nomar that I would one day share her story, so here it is –

I was looking for a new cat since one of my others had recently passed on – it had left a void in the house, and he was sorely missed.

My nearby shelter (Paws) had quite a few up for adoption, and a small tuxedo cat caught my eye. When I first asked to see her, I was warned by the staff that she was a bit hostile toward people, but something told me to take a look anyway.

Well, they were more than correct as I was promptly scratched and bitten by the little thing. I was then told that she had arrived at the shelter a few months beforehand and was quite pregnant.

She gave birth to seven kittens soon after, all seven were quickly adopted out when they were ready.

It came to me quickly that Mom would definitely be difficult to find a forever home for. Well, (you guessed it) I could not allow her to sit in a cage forever and then possibly lose her life. My heart would not allow this – I adopted her.

Once home, to my surprise, my other cat took a liking to her, and they got along very well.

But for myself or any other human – well, she wanted to rip us to shreds immediately.

To shorten things, it took over a year of patience before she began to trust me. Here’s the fun part – one day I awakened to a brand – new cat in my home. It was nothing less than astounding, Nomar had gone through some sort of transformation during the night.

My vicious little girl kitty had suddenly become more than friendly, more like a loving, secure, happy cat.

It came as a total shock to me – she was a changeling. Nomar must have come to a conclusion – accepting me and trusting me completely as her own, to have forever.

Later I found that she had decided to love everyone else as well, friends, neighbors, even total strangers.

If there is such a thing as a miracle, this was it.

Through the years the two of us were tight as a knot, always together. She was very intelligent, inventing her own games to play, learning constantly and just plain loving her life, and I sure never regretted bringing Nomar home, a very, very special cat indeed.

I often think of what might have been. This wonderful, happy, trusting kitty may never have existed.

Of course, someone else may have felt the same as I did and adopted her, but to me – I was the lucky one.

Her real personality came alive when she realized no one would hurt her, ever. I can’t imagine what a waste it could have been.

We loved each other tremendously until that awful day came when she left our world. But I will forever remember Nomar, the sweetest little creature in the universe.

I believe that I gave her the best 15 years that a cat could have. Rest in peace Nomar. Hope I did you justice with this.

I will love you until I die.

Ralphie Figured Out Who Told Johnny Sack Of The Joke – The Sopranos HD

Why is China such a nightmarish country? China literally seems like the stuff of nightmares.

Because you don’t know the first thing about China. You need to visit China before talking shit about it.

Your understanding of China is based on Western media propaganda garbage.

Millions of foreign tourists visit China every year. They see China as a magnificent and beautiful country.

There is no substitute for your own eyes and experience. Stop reading Western media rubbish and go to China!

Why is the United States considered “the land of the free”? Is it because of all the free stuff that the government provides?

Yes it is a land of free money. Since Bush they have given out over 10 trillion dollars to Americans and American companies to buy its own shares. That is 10′000′000′000′000 whic is no different from the communist regime in the 1950s giving out food stamps.

But the sickening thing is the Americans laugh and slur Communism and Socialism. They are doing what Communist and socialist no longer need to do 70 years ago!

The US is broke and bankrupt for at least 30 years now, and totally dependent on printing money like there is no tomorrow doing things no one needs nor wanted and certainly will not pay for. And spending money they do not have.

This will end now. The USD will be used only amongst less than 10 countries within a decade. And this madness will stop and so will America’s hegemony. Unless it wants a 5000% inflation!

Johnny informs Tony about Ralphie’s joke – The Sopranos HD

The Australian Traditional Meat pie!