Perhaps the greatest sign of a collapsing society is the theft of mail.
Back in the day, during the Wild Wild West years, stage-coaches would get robbed, and people (bandits) would hold up the coach, and seize the mail and locked up boxes. That is why they had “guys riding shotgun”, and posses to track down the bad guys.
In those days, the West wasn’t collapsing as much as it was new and untamed. But that level of crime and criminality is present during those transitional times between civilization and lawlessness.
Perhaps the greatest sign of a collapsing society is the theft of mail.
In the United States, the theft of mail and packages left on porches has become a meme because it is so common.
- Porch mail theft.
- Looting of boxcars and trains.
- Disappearance of letters.
I cannot help but think that every alarm on the control box for the United States is flashing bright red.
Why isn’t anyone noticing?
Today.
Can Chinese people living outside of China clearly see that Xi Jinping is a dictator, as opposed to those who are still living in China who are brainwashed?
It is precisely because they have two different life experiences of living in China and living abroad that they understand that the American-style democratic system is the real dictatorship, but the “people are the masters of the country” advocated by the Chinese government is the real democracy system.
Some new immigrants lie to please the United States. In the United States, not only is lying an inalienable right (the freedom to lie), but hypocrisy is a virtue. 😂
Don’t look at the American media talking about “China” all day long. In fact, most Americans know nothing about China. They don’t even know where China is.
Most Americans have never left the United States. Many Americans don’t even have passports. Even if they have passports, they will only go to Canada and Cancun at most. However, the number of Chinese citizens traveling abroad reached 155 million in 2019.
For example, when Trump visited India, Modi confided to him his concerns about China’s border policies. Trump was very strange and said, “India and China are not bordering each other, so what are you worried about?”
What are some good examples of situations where smart people should play dumb?
When you meet someone new and they start talking about a topic you know everything about, let them finish.
Don’t hijack the conversation, just because you can. Yes, it’s great that they care about the same stuff you do. Yes, you can contribute a lot here.
But that doesn’t mean they might not know a thing or two you don’t.
Scenario 1: Boy meets girl.
Girl: I actually know quite a bit about cars. My favorite is the 997 Porsche Turbo S, that was a great model…
Boy cuts her off: …yeah totally, I love that car, man, 530 hp, 700 Nm, and geez, the launch time, 3.3 seconds!
Girl: Mmhmm! *nods politely but dies a bit inside*
Scenario 2: Boy meets girl.
Girl: I actually know quite a bit about cars. My favorite is the 997 Porsche Turbo S, that was a great model…
*Boy draws breath, but then just closes his mouth*
Girl: …not only because of the insane hp and torque, but also because it was their fastest production car ever! Porsche claimed its 0–60 time to be 3.3 seconds in the brochure, but most magazines actually measured it with a 2.6.
Oh and I just love that test on Top Gear where they pit the convertible against a VW Beetle, falling from the sky. That’s one of the funniest “races” I’ve ever seen:
Boy:
Talking is easy. Listening is a virtue.
Every single person you’ll ever meet knows something you don’t.
Play dumb and you might find: in a way, we all still are.
Does Anyone Else Feel Like Everything Has Changed?
This is absolutely stunning and worth your time to watch.
What’s the saddest case of addiction you have ever come across in another person?
My friend Tucker just got clean three months ago. It is so awesome to watch him blossom into someone so beautiful, that it brings tears to my eyes.
Tucker does this thing when he talks. It’s this slow, drawn, half-country, half-ghetto — all man thing that just makes me laugh and smile.
Tucker can’t see how beautiful he is and all the wonderful things that await him if he can just hang on for a minute, or a day, or a year.
Today I ran out of cigarettes at work. I asked Tucker if I could have one of his. Tucker more than obliged and handed me his all but half-pack and said: “Here you go, you can have the rest.”
Tucker is so generous in recovery. Tucker is willing to give everyone — everything he has.
My first thought was how awesome that was. I get eight smokes for the price of — n o n e. And then I saw it. I saw myself. I got angry.
Tucker is so willing to give everything away. I was him, or maybe Tucker is me.
The saddest case of addiction that I’ve ever seen is the case where the addict finally gets clean and is willing to give everything away — and people take it.
It may sound insignificant, but I assure you it’s not.
Addicts, like myself, are so used to having nothing. The moment we have something, even an almost half-pack of smokes, we’re willing to give it away.
It’s sad. It hurts me to think of why an addict is so willing to give so much of themselves in early recovery.
I want to be normal. I want you to like me. I want your love and your friendship.
I just want to be normal.
I don’t get high.
Now I don’t fit in with the people that still get high and I feel like I’ll never fit in with you.
Leon
Has anyone ever completely changed your view of them with one sentence?
There was a coworker back in the early 90′s who I thought was your stereotypical red-neck trailer trash kinda girl. She was from Alabama, and spoke with a heavy southern accent.
One time there was a bunch of us who went out after work on a Friday night. That night, we just happened to be all white. It was a normal evening. No heavy drinking, just idle chat. A couple guys started making racial comments about a black couple that walked in. Stuff like, “they don’t serve fried chicken here” & “bet they ask for water melon”. One even said something about how nice it was before they allowed colored people in places like this.
The red-neck girl spoke up rather loudly and said (and I’m paraphrasing here since I don’t remember word-for-word), “Hey, what’s your problem? Those are PEOPLE you’re talking about. PEOPLE! Racism is WRONG! WRONG! Shut up!”
She stared at them for a moment and went back to sipping her diet Coke. The guys downed their drinks and left. I smiled at her, and things returned to normal.
Except my respect for her grew exponentially. And, ironically, I got a lesson on prejudice.
It just hit her hard.
When was the last time China won a war?
China is at war right now.
China has been fighting a war with the United States since 2008.
It is an under-reported war. The Western media does NOT report on it. Instead, they produce “news” and describe it as something else.
Intentional Misreporting.
- An American “stealth” submarine “accidentally” slams into an uncharted undersea mountain.
- One hundred Space-X satellites tumble to the ground because of a freak solar flare.
- The “pro-democracy” movement in HK fizzed out and died for no reason at all.
- An Australian submarine crew is shaken up by Chinese “sonar blasts”.
- Recovery efforts in the South China Sea was to recover an F-22 that accidentally crashed during carrier take off.
Unreported news
As well as a slew of unreported news…
- China and Russia publish a casus belli against the United States.
- American generals, formally listed as “retired”, are captured in Ukraine.
- The round up and execution of all CIA and NED assets in Hong Kong.
- China opens up strategic oil pipelines with Russia.
Fake News & and lies
And, of course, a flood of lies known as “fake news”…
- China sending spy dirigibles disguised as weather balloons.
- Chinese military are all conscripts.
- China infiltrating Americans private data via Tiktoc.
- 3G causes gas pumps to explode. 4G cases planes to crash. 5G causes brain cancer.
And so on and so forth.
…
If the United States was currently winning the war against China, it would be front page news. The mere fact that it is hidden is strongly suggestive that the United States is losing; floundering in this effort.
Honestly, this current period of time is just a continuation of the 1960’s era “cold war”. NATO has acquired just about ALL of the Western Russian buffer states. And NATO is (territoriality speaking) piece by piece disassembling the Russian defense perimeter so that the ultimate conquest of Russia can occur.
And it almost did.
Almost.
And once Russia was a “head case”, and looted, pillaged, and the USA-backed oligarchs ran the nation as some kind of medieval fiefdom, the looting of China can finally occur. As that was the plan all along.
Oh, yeah. It’s not going that way.
But it’s coming near to “High Noon” at the “OK corral”.
Yikes!
…
So China and the USA are in decade two of the long drawn out war hostilities. So far, the clear winner is China. But the American (and proxy) “leadership” have a vision and somehow believe things that are not real; are not true, and will never be true will manifest in their favor.
Which makes believe that they are all delusional psychopaths…
Thinking and wishing something to happen in this physical world will NOT make it occur. Actions will. And the actions by the West are completely and totally inept.
…
Oh a physical hot war is still on the table.
It will begin as a provocation; an American “false flag” event, that will push China into some kind of response.
And a proxy nation or two will engage China.
And America will have tricked China into a war.
However…
I am of the mind that China knows what the “cats paw” is actually all about, and will strike American cities, and Americans on American soil. China will make life for average Americans as uncomfortable as possible and that internal strife will bring about a civil war that American will not survive.
Stay tuned to stage two of this global catastrophe…
Confusing
How does China still exist in this modern world?
China will lead this modern world. Can the West’s democracy survive China’s rise to dominance?
The West—both the United States and the European Union—is, in historical terms, in precipitous decline.
The BRICS countries, led by China, now accounts for just under 60% of global GDP, compared with around 33% in the mid-1970s.
The great story of the post-war era has been the rise of the developing world, representing around 85% of humanity, and the decline of the old developed world, accounting for around 15% of humanity.
China increasingly ranks on a par with the United States to the extent that it is now regarded by the latter as a threat to its global ascendancy.
China’s governing system, long derided in the West, has emerged as a formidable challenger to America’s democratic system. Over the last 40 years, there is no question which has been more effective and which has delivered most for its people.
The greatest danger is not the rise of China but how the United States will react to China’s rise and its own consequent loss of primacy.
The rise of illiberalism in America is not an accident.
It coincides with the dawning recognition of American decline and a desperate desire to prevent it.
It should be remembered that the heyday of Western democracy corresponded with the zenith of Western hegemony. But can the West’s democracy survive the decline of Western global dominance?
If the West is able to retain and renew its best values, in a world in which it enjoys a much diminished role and China is predominant, such a world will be the better for it.
What are some deep things you should avoid in life?
- Never tell people about your bad or dishonest behavior.
- Listen actively and avoid dominating conversations or interrupting others.
- Treat others with kindness and avoid using them for personal gain.
- Respect the boundaries of others and avoid getting involved with married individuals.
- Live within your means and avoid overspending or accumulating debt.
- Only make promises or plans if you genuinely intend to follow through and remember them.
- Communicate respectfully without using swear words or yelling at anyone.
- Be cautious about sharing personal information that could be used against you in the future.
- Don’t pursue romantic or friendship relationships out of boredom or loneliness.
- Only engage in romantic or sexual relationships with people you genuinely like and want to be with.
They fight dirty
What’s the sleaziest trick a landlord tried to pull on you?
We were living in a small, privately owned apartment complex when my husband and I found out we were expecting our first baby. This complex was very quiet, and the owners were very open about advertising their “Christian values”- not allowing unmarried couples to rent from them (just a sidenote, I am a Christian, and this information about their values may not seem relevant right now, but it will come into play later).
We had already been living in the apartment for over a year, so at this point we are on a month-to-month lease, with a 30-day notice required to vacate. After careful budgeting and deliberation, we decided that we were finally ready, and it was the perfect time to purchase our first home. We contacted a local realtor and started the search. After several weeks of searching, we found the perfect house and submitted an offer.
We were so excited when we got the news that our offer was accepted. We quickly handled the standard inspection, appraisal, and back-and-forth negotiations of what needed to be fixed about the home before closing. When we got the closing date set, we realized it was just over a month out and we needed to submit our 30-day notice to the apartment complex immediately.
On Feb. 28th, a Friday, there was an ice storm blowing through our city, but I walked to the leasing office to drop off the written notice anyway, along with a check for our final month’s rent, for March. When I got there, I found the office was locked tight. The garage at the side of the building was hanging wide open. Inside, I saw the head maintenance employee having his lunch. He said that no one had come into the office that day, probably due to the weather. I left the vacate notice and the rent check in the mailbox for the staff to find when they finally decided to return.
On Monday morning, March 3rd, I called the office to ask if they had gotten the notice and the check that I left in the mailbox. The receptionist said, “Oh yes, hold on one moment, the owner would like to speak with you.” Up until that point, we had had a pretty good relationship with the owner. We were quiet and respectful tenants, never had any complaints against us, paid on time, and frequently engaged in personal discussions whenever we saw each other. I thought that maybe the owner wanted to congratulate us on the pregnancy, buying our first home, or even to discuss the final move out inspection — anything but what she actually wanted to discuss.
The owner argued that because she didn’t receive the notice until after the first of the month, we would be responsible for rent through the month of April. I responded in protest, saying that I delivered the notice before the first of the month, and that it was not my fault the office was closed during what was supposed to be regular business hours, due to inclement weather. This did not sway her, and she threatened to withhold our security deposit and sue us in court for not paying rent for the month of April as well. I did not give in. I told her to do what she felt she needed to do, but we were moving out by March 31st and not paying a dime more. I was absolutely shocked at the complete 180 in her personality and demeanor.
Luckily for us, when I wrote the check for the rent for March, I included “PAID IN FULL” in the memo. I didn’t realize how much that would help us later on.
We did the final move out inspection, and the owner did the walk-through herself, trying hard to find a reason to withhold the security deposit — alas (for her), I am an excellent housekeeper and we treated our apartment as if it were our own. She was unable to notate any damage that would allow her to keep our deposit. She was very obviously irritated with this, and proceeded to repeat what she initially said — that we were still responsible for the month of April, so she could legally keep the deposit as well as sue us.
At this point, my pregnancy hormones were raging, and I was sick of her crap. I decided to beat her to the punch. I went down to the courthouse and filed a suit against her myself, in an effort to get our security deposit back because she did not have any legal grounds to keep it.
By the time our day in court came around, we had been living in our new home for several months, and I was as big as a whale, ready to pop any day. When the judge called my case, I waddled my way to the front of the court room with my little file folder full of my documentation and all the research I had been doing in the months prior.
I explained the entire situation to the judge, and showed him a copy of the check for the final month’s rent they had cashed — the check that stated “PAID IN FULL”. Because Virginia mostly rules by case law, I included a case that the Supreme Court had previously ruled on, stating that by cashing the check, the receiving party was agreeing to the terms written on the check, which invalidates any previous contract, written or verbal.
Not only did the judge agree, he ordered the apartment complex to repay our security deposit, said we were no longer responsible for any monies/rent for the month of April, and the apartment had to pay our court costs as well. I could tell he was irritated for me — the fact that I had to go through all the trouble I did to get the situation handled, during what was supposed to be the most exciting time in our lives. He was almost apologetic!
The apartment complex owner was NOT happy, and I think she even cursed at us under her breath as we were leaving the courthouse. How Christlike!
Not long after that, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. We still own the home we purchased, and are loving life to the fullest.
The girls expressions are great
Why did Nokia fail?
Nokia’s failure was something that just had to happen – Nokia, realistically, couldn’t have done much about it.
In 2007, around half of all mobile phones sold were Nokia phones. These guys were massively dominant.
Below is my last Nokia, which I bought in 2007. It was a fantastic smartphone.
Less than 10% of all phones sold were smartphones, but even in that growing space Nokia, with its Symbian, had dominance.
But in 2007 something happened that you can’t really blame Nokia for. A nut job, Steve Jobs, made this insanely great smartphone that didn’t even have a keyboard, the iPhone. Not only that, he made buying apps so easy that people would actually buy them, making smartphones so much more useful.
And then, to make matters worse, Google decided to partner with every smartphone manufacturer in the world via Android, which would emulate the iPhone. And they didn’t care whether they made any money or not so gave the software for free.
I mean, what were Nokia supposed to do? It’s far more difficult changing a legacy software, like Symbian, than making an essentially new one like Google did with Android. And given they were so dominant in both hardware and software, they couldn’t have really abandoned either.
Ok, in hindsight they should have adopted Android, but fat chance that was going to happen given Android was way behind, and a competitor.
And so the reason Nokia failed was because shit happens…
Rejection
Is it possible for India to surpass China in terms of economy, technology, military, and science? Can India become a superpower before China?
Absolutely!!!!
Frankly India is a superpower already
Just like the Laws of Physics dont apply to Indian movies, it appears laws of economics don’t apply to India
India grows at 8.4% when there is a Global Slowdown against 6.15% when there is normal Global activity
Indian shares surge 233% when the whole world is in Covid crisis and everywhere else the rules of economics are being followed
It takes China 40 years and Billions of Investment, literally Billions to pull out 800 Million People from extreme poverty
Yet India in a mere 15 years with a thirtieth of the investment can pull out 450 Million people from extreme poverty
Isnt India a superpower already?
China actually has to slog and work against all the odds
- Forty years of Poverty Alleviation
- Forty years of Industrialization
- Two generations giving up their entire youth to ensure the present China is the way it is
- A Hostile Global Media which belittles every Chinese Achievement including Indian Media
India meanwhile is a real super power :-
- Not a shred of any sacrifice required
- Not the slightest change in any system needed
- No reforms discussed or performed
- Yet India is an emerging economy that would be $ 50 Trillion in 2047 according to Rajeev Chandrasekhar
You do the math and figure out Indias actual chances of eclipsing China in all these fields
As for me?
I don’t trust anything India says or does in the past few years
It doesn’t gel with logic
Scott Ritter: Russia has DESTROYED Ukraine’s Army and NATO is Losing Control
What are the most interesting facts about human behavior?
Your body language always betrays you.
- We are more likely to put our hands around our waist at a self-hug position when we are around people, than we are by ourselves.
- When something bothers us, we tend to bite or suck our lips.
- This includes when we are lying.
- When there’s an issue, we tend to put our hands at the side of our hips with fingers facing outwards.
- So we take up more space and become more territorial.
- A lot of people tend to move their legs back and forth while talking on stage because of nervousness.
- When we are relaxed, we sometimes tilt our heads. However as soon as something bothers us, the head tilt is gone and we position our heads straight.
- When we are stressed, we tend to go on our phone.
- This is to seem like we’re busy and potentially avoid the unwanted conversation. It also helps us escape from eye contact, and to have an excuse for a delayed response because “sorry I wasn’t paying attention”.
- When we are lying but we want to calm ourselves down, we move our hands a lot.
- Don’t mistake speaking with a lot of hand movement as a sign of confidence
- When people question us about our lies, we tend to actively reveal a lot of somewhat related information, without directly answering the questions.
- This is to avoid the source of stress by not answering the accusations directly, to distract the person questioning, and to seem trustworthy as you willingly tell them information.
- When we are stressed, we want to calm ourselves down. Sometimes we put our hands on top of our heads, or cover our mouths.
- We tend to smile when we are happy, even when we are not supposed to. This is because our emotions come before our mind processes it.
- If someone smiles for a second and immediately stops smiling, they might be hiding something.
- When we are stressed, our feet will be facing the door or we will look at the door once in a while. This is because our unconsciousness wants us to leave the situation.
- Don’t think that forcing yourself to not have any body movements means that you are mind-reading-proof either, because limited movements is also a sign of discomfort.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to stop ourselves from revealing our state of mind to others. Body language never lies.
BUT
Not only can your body tells people about you, it can also directly influence your own thoughts.
- Sitting up straight gives you energy, while slouching can make you feel sad.
- Crossing arms can make you more determined, but it can also give people the impression that they are not welcomed.
- Taking up more space makes you feel more confident, and gives us a feeling of power. These poses are called power poses.
- Studies have shown that power poses will make people more willing to take risks. As we feel that luck is by our side.
- People who have done power poses are more likely to be selfish compared to those who have done contractive poses. Because when a person feels powerful, they are less empathetic.
- Fun fact: Donald Trump also tends to take up a lot of space to seem dominating.
- While you naturally smile when you’re happy, smiling can also lighten up your mood when you’re sad.
Moral of this list? Use body language to your advantage, by detecting stress (and potential dishonesty) from others, and to feel more self confident!
That’s all I got for now. Perhaps I’ll update this list once I got more facts. Who knows?
EDIT
Well I’m procrastinating from work so why not add more facts that aren’t related to body language.
- When you see something extremely adorable, do you want to squeeze it to death? That’s called the cute aggression.
- Some study says that it’s because our brain doesn’t know how to deal with these overwhelming cuteness, thus builds aggression to get a sense of control… Freaky right?
- There’s a theory called moral licensing. It theorizes that when people have done something moral, they feel entitled to do something bad, vise versa.
- For instance if you have done voluntary work today, and you picked up $20 on your way home, you are less likely to give that money to the homeless than someone who haven’t done voluntary work.
- Do you like freedom? Well, studies have shown that we feel worse when a wrong decision is made by ourselves, than when there’s no choice at all, even when the outcome is equal.
- Your mind and behavior is heavily influenced by your brain formation. So… do we truly have free will…
- Studies have shown that:
- Kidney donors have a larger amygdala (area that controls emotions) than average, while psychopaths have a smaller one than average.
- People with more conservative political views tend to have larger amygdala, while liberals have smaller ones.
- While extroverts feel energized from the dopamine produced out of socialization, introverts are over-stimulated.
- We are more empathetic to those who are like us. This includes the similarities in looks, skin, personality, interest, etc. This is because they are more relatable to us.
- Do you secretly love true crimes? Or are you fascinated by what a serial killer does? Don’t worry, you’re not evil.
- Humans fear the unknown, and by knowing what the experiences are like during these situations, for both the killer and the victims, helps us conquer that fear. When we are terrified, we dominate the situation by understanding it. This is perhaps the reason why people commit crimes as well.
Gotta get back to work now, maybe I’ll add more soon.
Have a nice day!
Japaneses beaches are The Best
No chem-tails yo.
Have you ever fired someone for not coming to work on time?
Yes. And is a story why we cannot have nice things.
The company I work for had very chill policy about the time you had to start work. You came in 8:00, you work your 8 hours you go at home at 16:30 (30 minutes obligatory lunch brake). You came at 9:30 you work your 8 hours with 30 minutes brake you go home at 18:00. Life is good everyone’s happy.
Then this guy start coming regularly at 10, then 11, then 12 – which means that all meetings, trainings and whatnot had to be moved for everyone else because of his schedule. Obviously this wasn’t going to work so a rule was implemented – everyone should start work no late than 10:00.
That guy start coming at 10:10, 10:15, 10:30, so as his direct manager I talked with him, several times that this is unacceptable, which lead to him coming on time (9:58, 9:59 usually) for a week then get back to being late.
In the end the last drop was when we was moving the office to another floor in the same building – company wide notice was send that moving is happening next morning at 9:00 (everyone moved his/her own computer and monitors) – isn’t a big deal but this bulky Lenovo work stations weighted like 20 killos so guys helped the girls carrying the machines.
This guy? Came near or after 10:00 again, expecting someone else to have moved his equipment already. Owners of the company had enough and let me fired him same day. We even paid him a few months worth of salary just to see his back asap. The guy never understood what the problem was, and the 10:00 rule is still on place, years after he is gone.
The moral of the story is, if you have a nice benefits at work, for fuck sake do not exploit them like there is no tomorrow. Have some common sense.
Point spot on reality
What is the next step for Russia and Ukraine?
2 more oil refineries went on fire in Russia today.
Drones attacked oil refineries in Syzran and Novokuybyshevsky, Samara region.
Notably, Syzran is 1,300 km from the border with Ukraine.
The governor of the region, Azarov, officially confirmed to RIA Novosti that fire broke at oil processing plants.
It’s already refineries #13 and #14 that suffered hits in Russia.
In response, Russia hit a residential building in Odesa, Ukraine, with a ballistic missile. And then Russia hit it with a ballistic missile again, targeting first responders – emergency services and medics, in an effort to obtain maximum civilian casualties.
20 people died as the result of the “double-tap” attack, more than 70 people wounded, several of them are in critical condition.
And to all these asking, “What did you expect?”, the answer is “Ukrainians expected to live their lives in their country without Russia or its useful idiots asking stupid questions”.
Ukrainian families experience pain and suffering every day. Only the complete destruction of the “beast from the east” will put an end to suffering.
Dmitry Medvedev (who always expresses what Putin wants to say but can’t) proposed the Russian version of “peace formula”: Ukraine must capitulate, the whole territory of Ukraine must become Russia, all Ukrainian officials must be removed, and Ukraine must pay a compensation to Russia for the Russian soldiers killed and wounded in the war.
So, we now have Russia’s “peace plan” — anyone who would like to suggest to Ukraine to negotiate with Russia, should be simply directed to Medvedev’s Telegram to read this remarkable plan in full.
Now any country should know: if Russia attacks you, this means they are going to keep killing your people and destroying your cities unless you surrender. And then they are going to annex your land and demand compensation for the inconvenience. And, of course, they are going to torture and kill the people who don’t love Russia, deport half of population to Siberia, and relocate Russians from Russia to live in the homes of deported locals.
This all had already happened before. The Soviet Union was attacking smaller countries and demanding capitulation, and when the governments signed capitulation, Soviets immediately began executions and deportations, and brought hundreds of thousands of their own relocants, to change the ethnic composition of the annexed territories.
There is nothings that Putin is doing now that the leaders of Russia and the Soviet Union haven’t done before. That’s what they always do.
An insult to my intelligence
What to expect from China if you are CIA / NED and Chinese
This is what Chinese do to whoever sold the country to the enemy, known as 诛九族 nine familial exterminations Nine familial exterminations – Wikipedia
, basically every person related to the collaborator would be eliminated from the society. Chinese do this to make sure things like this will never ever happen again. In India, the people who got rich by helping the British are still in charge today. Chinese people are amused by India.
Souper Meat ‘n’ Potatoes Pie
Souper Meat ‘n’ Potatoes Pie is a family favorite vintage recipe from Campbell’s.
Yield: one 9 inch pie
Ingredients
- 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, divided
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Dash of pepper
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1/4 cup shredded mild cheese*
- 2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled**
Instructions
- Mix thoroughly 1/2 cup soup, beef, onion, egg, bread crumbs, parsley and seasonings.
- Press firmly into a 9-inch pie plate.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes; spoon off fat.
- Frost with mashed potatoes; top with remaining soup and cheese.
- Bake for 10 minutes more or until done.
- Garnish with cooked and crumbled bacon if desired.
Notes
* We love cheese, so I normally cover the entire top of the pie with a hefty amount of cheese, more like 1 cup.
** This is my addition to the recipe. It adds a little extra flavor.
Meanwhile in Vietnam
What are the most popular computer programming jokes?
- A man is being executed by firing squad. The captain asks him if he’d like a cigarette. He says no, he’s trying to quit. You wouldn’t have a nicotine patch, would you? The captain says “No! We don’t patch the executable!”
- How did the programmer use up a whole bottle of shampoo? The instructions said “Lather, Rinse, Repeat”.
- A cop sees a man pushing a car backwards up a long steep hill in the mountains. He pulls over and asks the man what he’s doing. The man says ‘I’m a computer programmer. My brakes failed at the top of the hill and it took me all this way to stop. Nearly got killed! So I’m pushing it back up the hill to see if it happens again.’
What are some harsh truths about Pakistan?
Pakistan has a lot of harsh truths that should be understood by all Pakistanis in order to solve the nation’s issues and look towards a successful and bright future.
- Around 40% of Pakistan is in poverty. Balochistan, FATA, KPK and Lower Sindh are the worst affected, while urban Sindh and Northern Punjab are the most well off. 40% Pakistanis live in poverty – The Express Tribune
- People vote in communal patterns. Karachi’s Muhajirs vote for MQM, the Sindhis vote for the PPP, the Punjabis votes for PLM-N, Pashtuns vote for PTI and the Baloch vote for various Islamist parties. Politics of ethnicity
- The nation has seen dynastic rule for the past 44 years (with Parvez Musharraf as the interuption). The Punjabi Arain Shariffs and Sindhi Rajput Bhuttos are the power holders; similar to India’s Gandhi Dynasty, Bangladesh’s Zias and Sheikhs as well as Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike Family. Dynastic politics
- Corruption is everywhere. Failing public institutions from police to education and public amenities. Recently Pakistan placed 116 out of 176 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index, released by Transparency International (TI). Pakistan improves slightly to 116 rank on global corruption index
- Lack of development, stability or a clear future. Karachi has a population that is close to parallel to Tokyo and Seoul, yet the city is embroiled in ethnic warfare and militant-ism. On the other hand, the rest of the world is advancing in every direction. In Karachi, Pakistan, few families are untouched by crime
- A whole lot of religious intolerance. The large Sunni majority has politcal and social dominance over the Shias, Ahmadiyas, Hindus and Christians. Violence towards these groups occurs more frequently than you’d expect. The Problem of Religious Intolerance in Pakistan
- Close minded attitudes and ignorance. Men continue to hold domineering status over women in terms of education, politics and personal freedoms. People are lynched for being accused of blasphemy. Most importantly, Pakistanis aren’t allowed to freely express their politcal or religious beliefs. Imposing faith
- Many people are leaving for a better life. Pakistan has a considerable brain drain. The government is unable to provide resources to further talent and ability that can further the nation’s development. Brain drain: 2.7m Pakistanis have exited country in last 5 years – The Express Tribune
- The never ending tense relations with India. For the past 70 years the two nations have been embroiled in Kashmir and countless other wars and smaller conflicts. This seems to be a never ending dispute and I don’t suspect anything to happen soon. A brief history of the Kashmir conflict
- Extremist nature and terrorism within the nation. A whole lot of terrorism is homegrown and exported outside of Pakistani soil. People even empathize with terrorists and Islamism. In fact Mumtaz Qadri’s (terrorist) grave has been turned into a Mazar and people show up for his Urs. Mumtaz Qadri’s shrine: In memory of Salmaan Taseer’s assassin
Perhaps the biggest “harshest truth” about Pakistan is that the conception of Pakistan was one of the worst ideas in the 20th century. The Partition tore away millions of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists from their homes, businesses and friends to cater to the greatest minority appeasement in history. It paved the path for numerous conflicts and wars between the two nations (and later a third). Most importantly, the death toll of the Partition reached around 2 million and millions more died in the later riots, wars and conflicts.
In conclusion, Pakistan’s “harshest truths” are the result of a series of poor decisions and a lack of real leadership. This is evident from the days of the Pakistan Movement to today.
They have assumed…
What did someone say to you that instantly made you realize their life was in danger?
I was on call at a busy Nursing Station. One man came in saying he had injured his thumb. While he was talking another young man came in. He didn’t look good. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was having trouble breathing. His colour was good but he was grunting when exhaling and slightly leaning over. I said he had to be seen first and the man with the thumb problem got angry and left because he arrived first and felt he should be seen in that order.
I asked the young man when this started and he said a couple of hours ago. I checked his vitals and listened to his chest and couldn’t hear air on one side. I put him on oxygen and did a chest X-ray. One lung had collapsed and the other looked as if it was being compressed. He had a hemothorax (bleeding into his chest cavity) from being hit in the chest while cutting down a tree three days before. How he walked in on his own, I will never know.
I sent him out on a medevac, he was admitted, had surgery, a chest tube placed to drain the blood and did well.
EDIT: Please don’t be too harsh on the man with the thumb problem. It could have been possible that he had fractured his scaphoid bone. That could also be serious in time.
Why is it that in South America, especially in Brazil, hundreds of parrots instinctively cover the walls of tall buildings (almost as if they were a decoration)?
Like Rogerio said,
Parrots don´t cover the walls of tall buildings in Brazil.
They cover the wall of a single building in São Paulo.
The palace of parrots…
Crazy uh?
At a first glance, it might look like you said, “a building decoration”. But those are actual birds massed on the building (it is the specimens of Psittacara leucophthalmus, in italian we also call them white-eyed parakeet).
This is happening in the eastern part of São Paulo, Brazil, the bricks of what is known as the “Prédio das maritacas”
This behaviour could be related to the phenomenon of geophagy: in nature these birds consume small amounts of clay with the double purpose of
- reducing the harmfulness of certain foods (in particular, studies show a 60% reduction in the toxicity of the alkaloid quinidine, contained in the plant China) and…
- …as a supplement of their diet. (EDIT: Don’t miss Lena Kurschev comment below she is showing this phenomen with some very nice pics)
However, in an urban environment they have opted to find what they need more conveniently by licking clay from the surface of the bricks.
Other hypotheses suggest that the structure of this particular building allows many parrots to stop for a break and find shelter at the same time, in harmony with their social instincts; or, even, they use it to rub their beaks in order to sharpen them.
A pretty sight to see perhaps, but it is sad to think that they are there because their natural environment has probably been slowly wiped out due to human expansion.
Pause after winning
What is the expected timeline for China’s response to the Philippines’ offer of joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea?
I do not hear PH’s offer yet. But I heard the following.
On 2024/3/11, The Manila Times reports that …
Since April 2023 last year, China has sent 10 letters to Philippines. To discuss peace, security & safety in SCS. The Marcos government ignored the letters. … meaning Marcos has no intention to have peace in SCS. It means Philippines has every intention to create conflict & even war.
Why war? Philippines economically flourished during the Vietnam war when USA used Philippines as a military base. It is easy money. No need to sweat.
Other than letters, China also said it could send diplomats to Philipplines to further discuss the letters. Again Philippines did not reply. … Really, Philippines has no intention to talk peace; it has already decided to create conflict & war, like Ukraine. So that PH will pocket more easy money from USA.
To prepare for war, PH paints a picture that China is the bully. Every time when there was a conflict, western journalists were invited on site. Oh…h, “poor baby” Philippines is “bullied” by the macho China. Westerners only sees a small dog without knowing the small dog is a pitbull trained to attack.
Only SCS countries know the truth. As I said in another post, ASEAN countries minus Philipplines agree SCS is high risk but not high threat. “China threat” is exaggeration. In the 2024 Melbourne Declaration, words such as “China militarising SCS” & “Philippines’ arbitration” are deleted.
On 2024/3/13, 2 days after Manila Times’ 1st report, Philippines official responded.
Philippines did replied to China (sometimes) & raised Philippines’ objections. But China objected to Philippines’ objection. … is this not a normal process with objection/sugestions back & forth many times before reaching compromise/agreement? See, Philippines acts like a dictator & not democratic. Let me repeat: Philippines does not want peace; it plans for a war.
Expect to see more SCS conflicts as long as Marco is in power because USA has frozen Marcos’ vast inheritance & has an arrest warrant for Marcos. ,,, Marcos is working for his personal interest.
After Manila Times’ reports, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said:
What Philippines cries about is EEZ under UNCLOS & not sovereignty.
(I add) Dont confuse EEZ right with sovereign right.
UNCLOS is aware of Historic Title ie historical records. The issue of sovereignty is not easy to be solved in a short time for so many countries in the world esp each case is different.
Hence, UNCLOS deliberately avoids the sovereignty issue by saying in Article 298 that UNCLOS has no authority to deal with sovereignty issue. Article 295 asks disputing countries to work it out peacefully according to UN charter. UN charter authorizes a state to protect its sovereign territory.
China has Historic Title since 230 AD & has announced to the world its Historic Title with a SCS map （海南诸岛位置图) in Feb 1948. Hence, China must protect its sovereignty in SCS.
Disputing countries can share natural resources in the overlapping waters in EEZ. But not sharing sovereignty. Sharing does not mean invading other’s sovereign territory, says UN charter. Or unilaterally say “I dont recognise your Historic Title”.
When we see Philippines ignoring China’s letters & later creating countless conflicts, we know Philippines has no intention to work for peace.
history
PH was independent from USA in 1946. In its 1935 constitution & 1961 territorial border, PH set its west-end border at 118 degree longitude. All islands/reefs in SCS are outside PH territory.
When China announced a SCS map to the world in Feb 1948 about the 11-dash line, No country incl PH had objection.
Does it matter what day of the week is in prison? Why yes/not?
It’s up to you.
The background of prison is Groundhog Day. It’s a cycle that repeats endlessly with minor weekly events and the occasional shakedown to liven things up.
Just like in the movie, you wake up every day to the same exact set of circumstances. You’re wearing the same clothes, the same thing is on the radio, the same food in the Chow Hall… sure, some things are on weekly or monthly cycles — visits on weekends, work and mail-call on weekdays. Unless you choose to use your time wisely, every day will crash into the next like too many bumper cars on the track — nobody going anywhere.
Each hour, day, and week is a small progression to the time when you get to start your life over.
You can peel the numbers off the dials if you want. If you do, nothing will mark the smooth motion of the wheels and you’ll have no sense of where you are, or how far you’ve come. One day they’ll just kick you out and you’ll be no better off than you were before.
I knew guys who didn’t mark the days. They had nothing to live for. Their lives were just a continuous monotony, a drive through Death Valley, with no landmarks to judge progress, and nothing learned along the way.
Time is precious. It’s all we have. Choose what you do with each minute carefully and you won’t get to the end of your journey only to ask, “What happened?”
Interception
What country has a smaller population than most people realize?
Germany has a population of 80 million. The United Kingdom and France both have populations between 65 and 70 million. Spain is on 46 million. Italy has 60 million. There seems to be a pretty standard trend of western European nations being in the tens of millions. Even relatively small countries like the Netherlands and Belgium have over 10 million people. Right beside the UK we have Ireland. What would you guess Ireland’s population is? It’s half the size of the UK’s 70 million, so maybe 35 million? Well of course we’re talking about an answer that is surprisingly low populations, so it’d be better to low ball it. Maybe it’s at 20 million, around the same as the Netherlands? No, Ireland sits at around 5 million people (it jumps to just under 7 million if you count Northern Ireland). Looking at a population map of Europe, Ireland really stands out.
Overall Population
Population Density
But Ireland is a decently rich and developed country in land not geographically different to its surrounding neighbors. Why is it’s population so much lower? Well the reason is worldwide human population absolutely exploded beginning in the 1800s. And it just so happens that right in the middle of that population explosion Ireland suffered a massively depopulating famine. Ireland is one of the few regions in the world that has a lower population now than it did 200 years ago.
EDIT: So wow, I’m going to have to be one of those “Gee shucks I never thought this would happen” guys and say ~4k up votes, boy am I pleased. Especially when I don’t think this is even one of my best answers XD
But to address some of the many comments this answer has been getting, yes, there was a massive amount of emigration away from Ireland during this time. The Famine did not depopulate the country by literally killing everyone (though a tonne of people absolutely did die, estimates vary but the general number thrown around is 1 million, or 12% of the total pre-famine population). Most of the population decrease came from people fleeing overseas leading to a large Irish-Celtic diaspora. This trend did not stop when the famine ended either, as the economic impacts continued to see Ireland having a negative population growth for a further century afterwards.
And yes, you will see a lot of people saying that this was genocide or ethnic cleansing on the part of the British. You will also have people that hotly debate that label. What does need to be kept in mind though is that the potato blight did not hit Ireland alone. All of Western and Northern Europe were afflicted by it, however it was only in Ireland where it resulted in starvation and mass evacuation. So whether it was a result of malice or incompetence, the outcome was clearly human in origin. I didn’t want to get too into the political side of things when first writing this up, but the popularity of this answer has kind of compelled me to give a little more clarity. It is of course a massive topic of debate, analysis and research, so if you doubt anything I’ve said or are just interested in general, then I urge you to do your own research.
And for those people saying “What about Country X? It’s Y times bigger than Ireland and has a population of Z”, this answer isn’t about the lowest populated or least densely populated countries. The purpose of Ireland as an answer is to provide an example of a country with a “surprisingly” small population. A lot of countries are of course bigger than Ireland with similar or smaller populations, but I think most of those countries are well known to have low populations for their size. If you feel there is a country that has a surprisingly small population, then go ahead and place an answer to this question. I think the one on South America was pretty good in a “that makes perfect sense, but I’ve never thought about it” kind of way.
EDIT 2: Okay, so still more people saying Ireland’s population is not small because X country in Europe has a similar population. So I added a population density map along with an overall population map to show that it’s not just the absolute numbers, Ireland’s population density is low only being beaten within Europe by the sparsely populated Nordic and Baltic states, Ukraine and (European) Russia. What’s more we have this
A population map showing Ireland’s population density prior to the Famine. As you can see Ireland’s current relative population today is very different to what it was historically. Ireland might have a population today comparable to Denmark or Austria, but that’s today. Before the famine Ireland’s population was far higher, relatively speaking, compared to the countries it currently has a similar population to. Anyone 200 years ago predicting population tends in Europe would expect Ireland to have a far higher population than central and eastern European countries.
(also re this 1820 population map, was Madrid not a big deal back then? I know the centre of Spain isn’t hugely populated, but Madrid is the big exception to that. Maybe someone more familiar with nineteenth century Spanish history and population trends could explain that).
Will China agree to the US plan to nationalize Tiktok?
Tiktok and Douyin (Chinese company) are two divisions operating separately and independently.
Tiktok is privately held. The consent of the China government is not required.
Institutional investors including Carlyle Group Inc. (USA), General Atlantic (USA) and Susquehanna International Group (USA) own 60% of ByteDance; 20% is owned by the company’s global workforce; an additional 20% is owned by the company’s Chinese co-founder Zhang Yiming.
If someone asked Tiktok co-founder Zhang Yiming to donate his shares for free and gift them to the U.S. for nationalisation, he would not agree!
This is in effect the U.S. government plundering private legal property.
Zhang Yiming will not sell his original core algorithm technology. It’s the same way Bill Gates won’t sell his patents.
No doubt he’d rather take Tiktok and leave the US.
The U.S. market doesn’t deserve a high-tech company with the latest algorithms like Tiktok.
Americans have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and that’s enough.
Writer’s Question: How many times can an average historical person be flogged with a heavy stick the historical Chinese/Korean/Japanese way before they die?
One of the infamous methods of punishment in the Ming Dynasty was called “Court caning.” (廷杖)
The notoriety of the punishment was mainly because it was very unofficial and handwaving. If an official said something wrong to the Emperor in the court, the Emperor could order him to be dragged out and beaten. No need to go through an elaborate legal system, the Emperor was angry and there will be consequences.
How badly would the victim be hit? The answer is…the guards knew exactly how hard to hit.
An urban legend stated that the guards trained for this by taking a brick, wrapping it around in straw, and then covering it with paper. The executioners would train by hitting the brick with a stick. They could break the paper without touching the straws, and they could shatter the brick within without breaking the paper. (Obviously its a crude simulation of human anatomy)
There were also no official words from the Emperor on how hard to hit. The supervisor of this punishment, usually an eunuch sent by the Emperor, would also be counting how many, and there were also “safe words” he could use to convey the message to the executioners.
The supervisor eunuch knew because he was close and loyal to the Emperor; he could read his intentions.
If the supervisor eunuch said: “hit seriously,” then the guards would actually be careful, it meant the Emperor or the supervisor eunuch didn’t want the victim to die. If he instead said: “Hit solidly,” then the guards would reply: “I’m about to end this man’s career.”
Another alleged “safe word” was the stance of the eunuch. If he stood or sat with his foot pointing outwards, like a “V” shape), he wanted the victim to live. If he instead had his foot pointing inwards like a “^,” then he wanted the victim dead.
(An old movie named “Dragon Gate Inn,” had this introduction scene. The corrupt high eunuch Cao Shaoqin was interrogating and torturing a sentenced general. Notice his foot stance? Also notice the actor playing him? It’s a young man named Donnie Yen!”)
So when the sentence came, the executioners could hit you exactly as hard as they want. Sometimes the victim could survive 100 canes and still recover in a couple of weeks. Sometimes, 5 hits would be enough to send him to the grave. Surviving to caning was expected, dying to the caning was also expected, the guards could easily just blame it on any “pre-existing medical conditions” of the victim.
By the way, the guards and eunuch accept all forms of payments. They played the loophole in this corporal punishment system to their advantage.
Edit: Actually I’ve followed up a little bit because I realised I might not have given as direct of an answer. The maximum penalty was usually 100 strikes, but 60 was probably the fatal limit. But again, quick flick through the books, some died while some managed to survive.
Men Are Oppressed Not Women (They’ve Been Lying To You)
How do restaurants maintain consistency in the preparation and taste of each of their dishes on the menu, given changing kitchen staff? I can’t even scramble an egg the same way twice!
A lot depends on how well the head chef runs the kitchen staff, and how good his relationship is with the restaurant owner.
My aunt founded and ran The Mandarin(Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco and Beverly Hills), and the toughest relationship she had was with her head chefs in the kitchen. The head chef had final say over the menu, how each dish was prepared, and ordered ingredients from suppliers. If he was happy and in a good mood, the dishes were consistent in quality and the restaurant got good reviews. If he was not happy, he would come in late, forget to order and materials would not be fresh, and my aunt would have to cover for the restaurant.
So basically, a head chef could make or break the restaurant’s reputation. If things got bad for a long time, she would have to look for a new chef. In the case of The Mandarin, this was difficult because it offered northern Chinese banquet cuisine, and before Nixon went to China and immigration opened up, the head chefs were mainly Cantonese from Chinatown. Most of the Cantonese did not even speak Mandarin, and would not even like to do business with Mandarin speakers.
Looking at the big picture of restaurant trends in the US, the constant tension between the kitchen management and restaurant owners led to another business trend: the rise of fast food in the US. From a restaurant business management perspective, this trend was all about replacing the power of the head chefs in the kitchen with low-wage workers who had little kitchen experience, but could still provide cheap and tasty food.
My aunt’s son also worked at the Mandarin, and he found managing head chefs so tiring that he became one of the founders of P.F. Chang’s, which was all about replacing the highly-paid head chefs with trained low-wage workers, and making Chinese casual food accessible to ordinary Americans. Panda Express has built on this model to outstanding business success.
I believe that we are at the middle to end of the fast-food trend, but it will take time for Gen Z to go to restaurants with head chefs because their tastes are so different from the previous generation.
To answer this question, restaurants maintain quality by following strict methods and processes. Good restaurants know what dishes they are really good at; these dishes are usually limited to three to eight dishes which they are famous for. When Chinese choose which restaurant they want to dine at, they usually choose by what dish they want to eat for that particular meal, and go to the restaurant which has a good reputation for that particular dish or dishes.
That is always a good rule to follow when choosing a restaurant.
What firearm would you recommend for defense against home invaders?
“What firearm would you recommend for defense against home invaders?”
Paintball.
Yes, yes, I know you’re going to say it’s not a ‘firearm’, but you haven’t thought things through.
If someone enters your house at night and you wake up, you think ‘intruder’ and you fire that Desert Eagle Penile Compensation piece in your dark bedroom — without donning your hearing protection (because, who is going to have hearing protection with that Desert Eagle on their nightstand, right?) — fire that piece in the darkness at the shadow in the doorway, you know what will happen. The noise will replace your hearing with a loud ‘iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii’ and your retina will be sporting these muzzle flash afterimages of your wife crumpling in the doorway. Or, in the unlikely event that it’s not your teenage daughter sneaking back into the house after leaving through her bedroom window, but an axe murderer — you just rendered yourself too blind and deaf to re-aim and shoot again.
Now, reconsider my suggestion and imagine you have a paintball gun on your nightstand.
First of all, no flashes and noise to mess with your night vision and hearing. Just a ‘pffft’ and angry cursing from the shadow in the doorway as he’s trying to wipe paint from his eyes. Because you know that just like you don’t have hearing protection on your nightstand, he sure as hell isn’t wearing paintball protection on his nocturnal visits. Paintballs on your unprotected body hurt like fuck. And the intruder won’t know what’s happening. No muzzle flashes or loud noises, just the sound of a blowdart and getting stung and wet all over — that’s unnerving, man, and I’d like to see the intruder who wouldn’t scamper back to whatever rock he crawled out from under. (Did I say that right? Sounds right…)
And while he runs like fuck from the stinging wet paint, you call the cops and tell them there’s an intruder running around your neighbourhood, a man splattered with purple paint. However incompetent the police are in your area, they should still be able to find someone covered in paintball paint.
Plus, if you make a mistake and confuse family members with intruders, you don’t have to take them to the ER (or bury them), but you simply apologize and help them wash off the paint.
So, forget about all those macho handcannons and just get yourself a paintball gun for home defense. Your NRA neighbour might laugh at you, but he’s going to be the one with the axe buried between his starry eyes from the muzzle flash, while there’s still an almost full magazine in his Desert Eagle.
Edited to add:
A lot of people respond that my answer is ridiculous and dangerous. And they might be right — pelting an intruder armed with an assault rifle with paint balls might well result in getting you killed. However, I posted this answer not to promote paintball guns for home defence, but to think ‘outside the box’. In the comments, a lot of people also offered their own alternative solutions — shotguns loaded with rock salt, pepperballs, et cetera — and that was my intention: instead of looking to use lethal force, what alternatives are there?
Also, many commenters seem to believe that I would just shoot at an intruder with paintballs and then wait for them to respond. I guess they haven’t read my other answers and don’t know about my experience with violence. I can’t blame them, but, no, I wouldn’t just stand there like an idiot, but use the paintball attack to close the distance to blade range.
And another edit:
Some commenters say that defending your house with firearms is a Christian duty and that the Ten Commandments don’t say ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, but ‘Thou Shalt Not Murder’. My thoughts on that subject:
I’m raised Christian, but became agnostic because of the hypocrisy of organised religion. However, even if these commenters are right, using a lethal weapon to repel an intruder (99% of intruders are after possessions, not looking to murder you in your sleep) is not exactly ‘Christian’: even a casual reader of the gospel would understand that Jesus Christ himself would not condone the spilling of blood over mere possessions. Therefore, arming yourself with lethal weapons in order to repel intruders is premeditated killing, i.e. murder. There are plenty of effective non-lethal weapons (tasers, for instance) that can be used without killing the intruder.
But what about the killers and rapists?
If there is a high rate of homicidal intruders in your neighbourhood, high enough to warrant the stockpiling of lethal weapons for ‘home defence’, you might want to look into relocating your family. Chances are that the ‘reporting’ on these ‘deadly home invasions’ is merely scare tactics by groups like the NRA in order to sell more guns. In reality, getting killed by an intruder is as unlikely as getting killed by a Great White shark.
In reality, most child rapists do not jump from bushes or climb into the bedroom window — in the majority of child rape cases, the rapist is familiar to the child, i.e. family members, daycare staff, teachers, priests*, and baby sitters. In other words, the people to whom we entrust our children.
(* Personally, I loathe the people citing the Catholic catechism to morally justify using deadly force defending their children from getting raped by intruders. If you want to keep your children from getting raped, keep them far away from Catholic priests.)
Why did my top performing employee quit after write up?
Let me tell you about my experience, and you figure it from there…
As you can see from my byline, I’m a Driver Trainer. This means those guys you see on the road learning to drive? In a lot of cases, I’m sitting in the buddy seat teaching them how to do their jobs.
And from what I’ve been told, I’m damn good at it. I’ve been trying to move from a driver’s slot into something within either safety or training for about the past ten years. I can do this job, and I can do it well.
As it happens, our company is one of those that installed inward facing cameras in the cabs of our trucks. This is something I opposed because I’ve seen how this equipment gets used. These are being used to find “gotcha” moments which are then used as a cudgel against good drivers. On more than one occasion, I’ve pointed this out, and forced them to admit that this was what they were doing. Talked my way out of more than one write up because I could show them this.
So, one kid I’m training gets pulled into the office, (as do I since I was in the buddy seat), and we’re told I’m getting written up due to not wearing a seat belt.
Okay, so I point out that the seat belt is black, my shirt is black, and the picture isn’t the best. I can still point out where the belt crosses my chest, but, no, the boss is insistent I get written up.
Yeah, fine. I do it under protest, and advise them I’ll be talking to an attorney if it goes further.
Then, they tell me they’re going to write up my trainee…
OH, BULLSHIT YOU ARE!
This kid is a greenie. He’s been out on the road for about a week, and you’re going to punish MY TRAINEE? It’s one thing if you’re going to slap me around, but Sunshine, you go after MY TRAINEE, and I’m telling you now, IT’S WAR!
Don’t tell me, folks, that just because you have a BA, and a few college classes about safety, that you know a god damned thing about being a TRUCKER! If you haven’t seated a rig, SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH! You know nothing, and all you’re doing is pissing off the men and women who are keeping this nation moving, in spite of how you treat us!
I’ve been looking for a new gig, and when I get one, I’m out. As of right now, I do NOT recommend anyone I know take a job with this outfit, and even go so far as to advise them to look elsewhere. In fact, I’m even pushing for drivers to move to better companies. (“Get your license, and your experience here for a year or two, then run like hell.”) I have no shame in doing this, because I have seen what they’ve done with those frigging Kodaks. Don’t give me this crap about it being about safety: it’s not. It’s about trying to keep wages low, and keeping drivers from getting jobs with other carriers!
The instant you weaponize safety, that’s the first thing you lose. If anything, in spite of all the claims the insurance companies and the surveillance outfits make, you create a hostile work environment, one where safety is ultimately irrelevant. And if you’re a shipper, you might want to ask if the trucks have internal cameras focused on the drivers. If they do, GO SHIP WITH SOMEONE ELSE! The security and safety of your load is secondary to someone finding a “gotcha!”
And, yeah. I think I’ve found another gig. I’ll let you know, but it’s going to be after I’m back to work. (As it happens, I’m on disability due to my diabetes, and I’m trying to save my eyesight. They don’t want me on casual status working in the office. Fair enough. How much notice they get will depend on how fair they are with me as I go through the process of laser surgery and all the other crap required by DOT to keep my license.)
Have you ever met an adult who literally can’t read? What was your reaction?
The dishwasher at the restaurant where I work cannot read. His mom pulled him out of school when she found out they had just been passing him along. I don’t blame her. Since I have a great book for teaching kids to read (teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons) I bought a copy for him for Christmas and offered to do reading lessons with him. He is making a lot of progress already. Two days ago, he sounded out his first sentence. The manager at the restaurant says he is recognizing words in the kitchen better.
My reaction was a bit of disbelief at first, and then empathy. Not being able to read would have limited my ability to make up my own mind about so many things in my life. I would not have been able to read beautiful poetry that spoke directly to my soul. My kids would have missed out on Dr. Seuss books. Quality of life can depend very much on whether or not you can read.
Every weekend, usually on Saturday and Sunday, we do a reading lesson. He then goes and practices the reading exercises in his notebook. Every now and then, he stammers and hesitates. I ask what’s going on. He doesn’t like to admit it, but sometimes memories of his mom and brother doubting him come to mind. His mom doesn’t think he will ever be able to read, and is mean to him about him even trying. His brother has said similar things. When he tells me they are on his mind and it is distracting him, we blow raspberries at them. It makes him laugh and breaks up the tension. We can then go back to learning how to read.
It feels good to help him prove his mother and brother wrong.
EDITED TO ADD:
He and I had a reading lesson after work tonight. He was getting a little shaky. I asked him what it was, and he kept saying nothing, over and over. But he kept doing poorly, when I knew he could do better. I paused and told him that I thought words from his mother were bothering him again, and that he was trying hard but it was hard to not believe that she was right… maybe he was wasting his time. He agreed… it was bothering him.
Then I told him that over 300 people had liked his story and that he is learning to read, and it gave him a huge grin. He felt better, and we started again, and he was reading much better. I cannot thank you all enough for the support. It literally spurred him on.
EDITED TO ADD AGAIN:
OVER 4K UPVOTES!? INSANITY!!! Thank you all so much. You give me far too much credit. I am an instrument, that’s it. The book really makes learning to read so easy. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. 10/10 recommend.
I knew it would be incredibly easy, the book does all the work for you with prompts on what to say, which letter sound to learn next, everything. It’s just a few minutes at the end of my shift. And my employers are completely supportive of using their space. I am so happy he is rebelling against the tyranny of what he came from and wanting better for himself, and the others around him who will benefit from his being able to read.