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#descendants is the gateway drug
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The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit of Disney villain crossovers
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im so fucked up about these two ghosts you don’t understand
there’s barely any content for me to even consume because they were already dead in gw1!!! we know so little about them!!!!! AAAAAAAA
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cradledescending1 · 4 months
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The event that transfigured my being…
After Ed and I dressed and freshened-up, I turned on the radio and randomly the song “Always and Forever” by Heatwave was playing. We stopped doing what we were doing, and started slow dancing together. This song had become our song, as it remains to this day, because it holds so much meaning for both of us. Ed asked me while we were dancing, “Any regrets?” I looked at him and said, “No, no…
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kairologia · 7 months
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How to read a natal chart in 13 steps.
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This is simplified guide geared towards beginners and people who want to transition to a more traditional approach when assessing a chart. There is no standard method of reading charts, this is simply the method I follow & find most comfortable. It’s a practical, methodical synthesis and just the right amount of intuitive.
Before I begin, I must mention that while assessing planetary conditions I personally verify the following factors — in this order: the sign, house, angularity, direction, whether a planet is direct or retrograde, sect (day vs night), hemisphere (1-6 vs 7-12), phase (morning vs evening, especially notable for venus & mercury), domicile lord (draw a disposition tree if needed), exaltation lord, triplicity lords, bound lord, decan lord, dodecatemoria, aspects to domicile lord if any, aspect to the ascendant if any, apsects to other planets, bonification conditions (i.e aspecting benefics, so supported by aspect), maltreatment conditions (aspected by malefics). This is important to remember because the term “conditions” will come up a lot.
Now onto the actual guide :
1. For starters, you should (assuming you don’t already) learn how to read a whole sign house circle chart. Table charts are nice as a gateway drug, but if you're somewhat serious about learning astrology this is an important transition to make. Once you do, put the chart you’re aiming to assess in front of you, then proceed further.
2. Determine the sect of the chart. This becomes an automatism once you’re used to looking at charts, but if you're not there yet — draw a line on the chart (or visualize said line) going from the degree of the ascendant to the degree of the descendant. If the sun is ABOVE that line — it’s a day chart, so of the day sect. If it’s BELOW that line — it’s a night chart, of the night sect.
3. Take a look at the ascendant. Take note of the rising sign, its modality, & its ruling planet. Does this chart have any 1st house planets? Also, remember to do a quick overview to pinpoint which planets are angular (as in, located in the 1/4/7/10th houses)
4. Track down the ascendant ruler. Check its house placement, condition (see above), and aspects (applying vs separating).
5. Track down the Sect Light. If it’s a day chart, the sect light is the Sun. If it’s a night chart, that would be the Moon. Assess the sect light’s condition (see above), aspects.
6. Check which houses are ruled by the Luminaries (Sun/Moon). The interpretation of the luminaries is intrinsic to the areas of life (Houses) they rule, in addition to their independent significations.
7. Check out the phase of moon at birth. The lunation phase is extremely important as it defines the dynamic between this individual’s luminaries.
8. Take a look at how Mercury is doing in said chart. Condition (see above)? Aspects? Morning or Evening star?
9. Take a look at the Benefic Of Sect & Malefic Out Of Sect (day: Jupiter/Mars, night: Venus/Saturn). Assess their condition (see above), aspects they make, etc. Regarding Venus: verify if she’s Morning or Evening star (if Venus is on the right of the Sun - Morning star, if it's on its left - Evening star). For the Malefic OOC, check if it is bonified by enclosure (i.e : Saturn or Mars are touched by a benefic (Venus/Jupiter) on each sides) — it’s a huge alleviating factor.
10. Then, assess the Benefic Out Of Sect & Malefic Of Sect (day: Venus/Saturn, night: Jupiter/Mars).
11. Then, take a global look seeking anything that may be of note. Stelliums, several retrograde planets, a Cazimi, Out Of Bounds planets, a void moon, etc.
12. Lastly, I go through each house individually. This is where the chart synthesis proper begins. In practice, I like to tell a story beginning from the 1st house & culminating in the 12th, while highlighting the thematics of each house as I go.
13. This is optional, but I like to take a look at annual and monthly profections to see which themes are presently highlighted/emphasized for the individual whose chart I’m looking at.
And we’re done.
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Check pinned if you want to book with me!
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aethuviel · 1 year
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People are shitting too much on the Ayleids
I get it, it’s TES, it’s popular to be a Pelinal/Ysgramor fanboy and joke about killing elves (and it’s fantasy, these people don’t really exist, so it’s fine, joke all you want), but I think people are being way too hard on the Ayleids.
Go on any forum thread or YouTube comment section, and you’ll be led to believe every single Ayleid woke up every morning, thinking about all the human children he would set on fire and flay alive that day.
Always the same quotes about flesh-sculpture, gut-gardens and night-time tiger sports. Which... were written by Nedes. The ones who won a war against their slave masters and then genocided them (slightly more deserved than the Snow Elves who did nothing, but still, talk about going overboard), and needed to justify this brutal genocide. Every victor in history smears the opponent they defeated as an evil that had to be stopped.
“They were Daedra worshipers and worshiped Molag Bal!” Some Ayleids did. Some were still Aedric, like most other elves, until the very end. And as for the other Daedra - Dunmer, Khajiit and Orcs all have Daedra in their pantheons, and while they each have their problems, I don’t see anyone calling the entire races “evil”. Nords have their own problems in how they treat other races, and they never worshiped Daedra.
Originally, all Ayleids were Aedric, then they started worshiping Meridia, then this became a “gateway drug” into darker Daedra, eventually leading to a Molag Bal cult, who yes, if the sources are to be believed, enjoyed torturing and murdering innocent people, including children.
Still, I have a hard time believing all the details about how evil the Ayleids supposedly were, because again, the victors write history, and the Ayleids aren’t even around to defend themselves. They mostly disappeared 4000 years ago, plenty of time for myths and exaggerations to take place. Also remember that even in the Alessian rebellion, there were Ayleids involved, helping the Nedes.
I have not yet played ESO, which is where I understand much of this darker Ayleid lore comes from, and I know lore buffs tend to not put too much stock into ESO lore, if we put it like that.
The rest, in Oblivion - is any of it actually from Ayleids themselves, or is it all from the Nedes? Because that says it right there.
I should comment this again after actually playing ESO and Oblivion, but until then, I check the sources on the wikis.
The main source that everyone uses for the horrors committed by the Ayleids, was written by Morihaus, and if that’s not biased as hell, I don’t know what is.
This picking on the Ayleids make me want to start playing my Altmer in Skyrim already (no, I’m nowhere near done with Skyrim). His name is Astarion, and I put it in his background that he believes he’s descended from Ayleids, due to his dark olive skin and blue eyes, and it colors a lot of his experiences. I know there is another Elder Scrolls OC around here named Astarion, but I came up with this name 2-3 years ago, so I’m not changing it.
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greysdl · 1 year
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The ticker tape
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The ticker tape free#
The ticker tape free#
This social ticker is made up of hundreds of millions of people talking about stocks, markets, products and companies in real time on Stocktwits, Twitter, Reddit, Telegram, Whatsapp, YouTube, Discord, Slack etc…Īdd fractional ownership, free trading, Robinhood and 1,000 Robinhood clones and variations to the mix and you can see why I still get excited for the opportunities ahead. Today, with the ‘social ticker’ and the internet, everyone of us has some form of ‘inside information’… a unique pipe of our own as the ticker tape is everywhere. The social revolution in markets is really just getting started. The ticker tape led to a long revolution in markets. When the ticker tape was created 153 years ago, imagine the advantage a few people had when securities began trading. Todd also shared an interview he just did with real Vision as well. Vintage Edison Stock Ticker Tape Machine. His Arctic adventures resulted in snow of a different kind on the New York streets. The middle celebration is described as a double whammy, springing from 2 separate transatlantic flights. Parades 1 and 3 tributed his flying over the North and South Poles respectively. I just did another video with Todd Harrison (post election) to catch up anyone interested in Cannabis opportunities. Moda Beautiful Day by Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts - Ticker Tape Stripe Print on Scarlet (Item 29135 21) - yardage. The ticker tape descended on Byrd in 1926, 19. The new COVID vaccines will spawn another biotech/medical revolution and you can’t underestimate the Cannabis explosion that this election finally tipped over for United States MSO’s (multi state operators). For those that are now ready to get started, Fred recommends ‘ Starting At The Start‘. Fred Wilson remains bullish and calls it ‘ The Gateway Drug‘. This morning I woke up and Bitcoin crossed $17,000 (I am long). It was 13 years ago that I sent the first $ ‘Cashtag’ to Fred Wilson and Stocktwits and Fintwit were born. Each player begins with 15,000 and a sheet of blank stock. Edward Augustin Calahan, an American inventor, is credited with the creation of the ticker tape and stock tickers. Changes in prices of the stocks of each company are noted on the gameboard using a china marker. This weekend in Stocktwits daily email I learned that the Ticker Tape turned 153 years old. The markets get better as more people participate.
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violeteyedkiller · 6 years
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Me? In love with dinosaurs??? More likely than you think. 
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ditttiiiwrecks · 3 years
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OT7 Fic Rec Master Post:
 last updated (16/05/2021) 
If my master-list is anything to go by I am clearly obsessed with ot7, so here are some of my favs. 
Some of these stories are linked from Ao3. If any of those fics have been cross posted to Tumblr, please let me know. 
Current Fic Count: 25
Give all these amazing authors some love ♡ & To all the authors, Thank you so much for writing. I am so beyond grateful for all the work and time that you put in to writing these stunning pieces of literary art. 
This list is by no means complete, so if you have any recommendations, send em my way! ♡ Happy Reading!
~Love, @ditttiii  ♡
1) Void by @btssavedmylifeblr
Summary: You are the only female crew member on a 12 year space mission with seven handsome men. The sexual tension is real, y’all. 
2) Make You Know Love by @btsismybiass 
Summary: Growing up, Jungkook had always shared everything with his brothers; toys, food, clothing, friends, and even girls. The seven were inseparable — secrets were not allowed. Halfway through senior year, Jungkook was sent to a school halfway across the world, though he wouldn’t tell anyone (that didn’t already know) why. Years later, he has an adjoining apartment with his best friend (who is hopelessly in love with him) and 6 brothers he has yet to tell her about. One night, she comes barging into his home unannounced only to be met with a group of sexy foreign strangers.
3) Armed to the Fangs by @jingabitch
Summary: You grew up in the Hunter’s Guild, understanding that it is your sacred duty as a hunter to protect humanity from the vampires that lurk in the dark, draining the life from anyone unlucky enough to be caught. While making the rounds one night, you encounter Taehyung, a fabled born vampire - not that you know that when he tries to entice you into a dark alley. Next thing you know, you’re kidnapped and taken to their home, where you realise that all of them somehow crave your blood and seem to know more about your past than you do. Finding out about where you came from might be the key to setting humanity free.
4) Sanctuary by @softykooky
Summary: some people are lucky enough to be born into a family that loves them. others meet their family in a coffee shop while on the run from the korean ambassador, while they’re holding a man at gunpoint and beating him to a pulp for treason against their syndicate.
5) Eunoia by @wishesunderthestars
Summary: You are a world famous director and you have dedicated your life to your job.You have everything you could ever dream of; wealth, recognision, talent, your friends and family. But loneliness ins’t cured by success. So what happens when you somehow rescue seven hybrids? Can they fill the void?
6) Tangled Hearts by @writersrealmbts
Summary: You have seven hybrids and life with them can be both good and stressful. Some days are better than others, but in the end, you know that they’re always there for you, in more ways than one.
7)  Diamond Tears and Little Wings by @writersrealmbts 
Summary: You’re a fairy, taken in by BTS. You need lots of love and care, otherwise your light will fade and you turn to stone. Between the seven of them, you should never feel unloved. Right?
8) Rose & Thorns by @minniepetals 
Summary: a lone rose, a little broken, until Jungkook came along and the two of you saved each other. and in doing so, Jungkook showed you a world where he shared with his six other mates.
9) The Butter Series by @minniepetals
Summary: their names alone had every men and women turning their heads and falling at their feet. successful, prestigious, handsome, rich and untouchable to anyone that looked their way. and you? you were just an employee who worked for them. who would have known you meant so much more to them than you could ever imagine?
10) Stray Cat Strut by Bang to the Tan (TyphloticHaruspex)
Summary: When your grandmother passes away, she leaves her countryside house in your name. The longer you stay, the harder and harder it becomes to explain away the odd happenings. What kind of secrets does this sleepy town hold? And why do the local animals act so strangely around you?…
11) BACK HOME by @alexlwrites
Summary: : The one where, after living abroad for years, you move back to Korea and your old high school friend Namjoon offers you his place to stay while you get settled, casually forgetting to mention that: a) he still had a massive crush on you. b) he lived with six other guys.
12)  A Hundred Percent Human by Wrienne
Summary: In which you are forced to take care of seven hybrids in a twist of fate. After your estranged mother passes away, you're left with an unwanted will and the heavy burden of responsibility. Although you're desperate not to stray from the familiar path you thought was laid out in front of you with a fully human boyfriend who loves you more than anything, your life is thrown upside down once more after another unfortunate incident (that may or may not have to do with said boyfriend) occurs. Drunk and down on life, you finally decide to deal with the house and the unsavory business your mother left behind. However, to your shock, you find that seven very different hybrids are included with both the house - and the business. Seven hybrids you never even met before - even less agreed to take care of. Set in the not too distant future where infertility has become mankind's greatest issue. Will contain sexual content.
13)  I’ll Still Stay by @sugamoonv
Summary: Y/N, living in a society where hybrids are seen as commonly as pets and working a well-paying job, finally decides to adopt a hybrid for herself. But what happens when instead of one new companion, she leaves with seven? And what happens when nature decides that these companions are meant to be more than that?
14)  The Gateway to Your Heart by @justimajin
Summary:  ❝You gave me the best of me, so you give you the best of you.❞
15)  Like I Do by interlude__dream
Summary:  It's summer in Seoul. You didn't expect much to happen during your nights working at a coffee shop, but somehow, giving one kid a sandwich wrapped up your fate with seven hungry boys more tightly than you could have ever imagined.
16)  w e a r e a l l m a d h e r e by cath_mg
Summary: In which you're a model student who just managed to catch not just one, not two, but all seven 'transfer students' who just happened to visit your university.At the end of the road, will you stay or will you run? Or...
17)  Follow Me Down by ARMY_BRAT
Summary:  It was supposed to be a simple vacation to a foreign land. You certainly didn’t expect to wake up drugged and caged like an animal in the basement of seven beautiful men.
18)  Sharing is Caring by always_bias_wrecked
Summary:  You decide to let the rest of Bangtan watch you and your boyfriend Jimin have sex one time. Now suddenly everyone seems to want a piece of you, and Jimin doesn't seem to mind sharing.
19)  Ruin Me, I Dare You. by porcelainbones
Summary: Where a regular wannabe author discovers the members of the biggest band in the world are her soulmates. All Seven. (not a reader insert)
20) Abundance by @angelicyoongie
Summary: You never expected that you would end up adopting a hybrid, and if someone had told you that you would end up with seven? Well, you would have thought they were crazy. But here you are, with three different packs of hybrids that don’t get along – but all want to stay with you. Yeah, it turns out crazy is an understatement.
21) You Never Walk Alone by @agustdakasuga
Summary: You live a quiet life in your late grandfather’s cabin in the woods. You go to school just to graduate and get your diploma, not to make friends or stand out from the crowd. That was until one day, you enter your home to see a pack of wolves that need shelter.
22)  Accidental Friends by erakun
Summary:  Meet Bangtan, international superstars, the pride of South Korea, the love and hope in the dark of many lives, the role model and celebrity crush of so many people, and a group of people you often stumble across in your day to day life. You become acquaintances, slowly become friends, and- that's it. You are in a platonic friendship with Bangtan. Let me say it again. *clears throat* PLATONIC.
23)  Lifeline by @forgottenpasta
Summary: What happens when a witch curses seven vampires to share one fated mate between them?
24) Restitution  by @cloudteawrites 
Summary: When an estranged uncle leaves you his massive fortune you wonder if the universe is playing a joke on you. when that fortune comes with seven hybrids, you know for sure that it is.
25) The Lore of the Forest by spield
Summary: Nothing ancient and magical is ever really lost. When the descendants and heirs of the myths and legends come together to live a normal life, something - someone - is thrown into their plans. Bringing with them aid, magic and so much more.
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kleptonancydrew · 3 years
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Nancy Drew and Education
So apparently the Clue Crew is full of teachers? Who knew. Well, as a former homeschooled student, current teacher, and (hopefully) future homeschooling parent/teacher I have been planning on integrating the games into lessons for a long time. Below the cut I have just a few of my many ideas (some more fleshed out than others). Feel free to use, adapt, or add your own! 
SCK:
-        Braille
o   How blind/vision impaired people navigate the world
§  How we can make it more accessible for them
o   How do braille books and printers work
-        ASL
o   Memorizing the alphabet and basic signs
§  Build up fluency
o   How HOH/deaf people navigate the world
§  How we can make it more accessible for them  
o   Connections of ASL to other signed languages
§  French Sign Language versus British Sign Language
-        Dangers of gas leaks
o   What to do if you smell or hear gas
-        Inequalities between mens and womens sporting opportunities
o   See Women’s Soccer
-        What are performance enhancing drugs
o   What is the difference between #steroids and the steroids your doctor might prescribe
-        How drug running is a gateway crime
-        Why blackmailing people isn’t good
-        More reasons to never move to Florida
-        Why you shouldn’t go to an actual high school part one
 STFD:
-        Television in NYC
o   Soap Operas
o   How television sets work
o   Role of director
o   Teleprompters
o   Props
o   Agents
-        Theatre in NY
o   Broadway
§  Learn a show
o   Carnegie Hall
-        Dangers in the ways we obsess over celebrities
o   Paparazzi
o   Stalkers
o   Respecting privacy
-        NY taxi system
-        NY regional accents
-        NY as a center for immigration – salad bowl
o   Ellis Island
-        History of NYC
o   Geography of NYC
-        Typewriters
-        Towers of Hanoi
-        Encoding  
-        How to make chocolates (with or without poison)
-        Read along:
o   New York the Novel (Edward Rutherford)
o   The Power Broker
o   All of a Kind Family
 MHM:
-        San Francisco Gold Rush
-        Earthquake and Fires in San Fran
-        Golden Gate Bridge
-        Angel Island
o   Asian (Chinese) Immigration to the USA
-        Chinese Zodiac
-        Fortune telling (and why it’s not okay)
-        Bed and Breakfasts
-        San Francisco today
o   Technology boom
o   Overpriced everything
§  How this hurts established residents
§  Homelessness in San Fran
-        Bandits in the American West
-        Hauntings in American buildings
-        How to remove and install tile
-        Renovations – refurbish something
-        Antiques
o   Visit an antique shop
-        Importance of fire safety
-        How to install lighting fixtures properly
-        How to fix a dumbwaiter
o   How not to be a dumb waiter
-        Tangrams
-        What is the Victorian period
o   Significance of Queen Victoria
-        Read Along:
o   Little Brother
o   Paper Son: Lee’s Journey to America
o   Angel Island Gateway to Golden Mountain
 TRT:
-        The French Revolution
o   Marie Antoinette
o   Women and the French Revolution
o   Worldwide effects of the Revolution
o   Historians of the French Revolution
-        Writing history
o   How we can focus on different events in history, how we can be sympathetic to certain people, how we can fulfill different spaces in the historical narrative, criticism of history as a field, entering history as a field
-        Wisconsin Dairy industry
-        Alarm systems and how they work
-        Fingerprinting
-        Elevator safety
-        Ski lifts
o   Skiing
-        Vandalism
-        Taking care of libraries
-        Latitude and longitude
-        Keeping records of good events and bad events
o   Nothing you do will ever stop me from loving you
-        Some people keep different sleep schedules
-        Journalism
-        Making translations  
-        Why France has different holidays – to keep the ski lodges from getting too full
 FIN:
-        History of theatre spaces
-        Use of film at theatres
-        Magicians
o   Houdini
o   Learn a ‘magic’ trick
-        Library of Congress
-        Demolition – wrecking balls
o   What’s involved
-        Plaster casts
-        Historic register of buildings
o   Visit a local historic building
-        Price of concessions and movie tickets today
-        Nickelodeons
-        Celebrity stunts for attention from press
o   Celebrity endorsements
-        Jazz music
o   Dancing
-        Kidnapping stories
o   What to do if someone tries to grab you
-        Rubber vs. electricity
-        Art/artists of the 20s
 SSH:
-        Numbering systems (particularly ones not based on 10)
-        Cultures of South America
o   Maya
§  Cultural understandings
§  Connections to what appears at Beech Hill
o   Aztec
o   Inca
-        Myths of lesser civilizations because of European preconceptions
-        Why do countries have consulates/embassies in other countries
-        What is amnesia and other medical memory issues
-        Provenance and why its important part one
-        Roles and responsibilities within a museum
o   Visit a museum
o   How to be critical of a museum and how knowledge is presented to you
-        Modern art
o   Make your own
o   Visit a modern art museum
-        Periodic Table of Elements
-        Positive and negative molds for casting
 DOG:
-        Prohibition
o   Speakeasys
o   Amendments to constitution
o   Drinking age restrictions
§  Comparison of USA to European countries  
o   Connections to modern drug policies
-        Recognizing and photographing local birds
-        Dangers in the forest – ticks and other pests
-        Why water sources are important
o   Flint water crisis
-        Visit a state park
o   Importance of maintaining public land
-        Alcatraz
-        How to care for dogs
-        Noise pollution
o   Light pollution
 CAR:
-        History of carousels
o   Visit a carousel
-        Lathes
-        Harmonicas
-        Band organs
-        Writing messages with lemon juice and other hidden inks
-        How to iron
o   How not to iron
-        How to make a sundae
-        How amusement park rides are designed
-        Soldering
-        What is parole
o   Welcoming those who have been in prison back to society
o   Problems with the American prison system
§  How it disproportionately affects minority groups
o   What can be done in prison reform
o   Abuses in prison
o   Making mental and spiritual help and guidance more available
o   Making sanitary products available
o   Prison for profit hurts everybody except the prison owner
o   Educational opportunities for those in prison
o   More half-way help
o   Juvenile sentencing reform – more out of system help
o   Respecting humanity of prisoners
o   Ending the death penalty  
-        Depression
o   How to get help
o   How to help others
o   Dealing with loss
DDI:
-        Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest
-        Orcas and other whales
o   Whaling industry in Northwest and Northeast
o   Things whale products were used for
o   Visit natural history museum with whale exhibition
-        Visit an aquarium with a good reputation
o   Problems with places that do not take care of their sea life – particularly large sea life like whales
-        What is a chowder and how is it made
o   Try or make chowder
-        Crabs
o   Restrictions on different types of crabs – what type is local
o   Try a crab dish
-        Importance of different knots  
o   Get some rope and learn how to tie different knots
-        Know the NATO alphabet and letter flags
-        Boating knowledge
o   Go on a boating trip – know the port and starboard sides
-        Learn how to kayak
-        Try to learn how to skip rocks
-        Visit a lighthouse
o   Importance and histories of lighthouses
-        Smuggling – what is it and why does it happen
-        Shanghaiing
-        Chess
 SHA:
-        The continuous oppression and mistreatment of Native Americans
o   From Mayflower to Pocahontas to Trail of Tears to Dakota to DAPL to Reservations to food deserts to voting rights to much much more
§  How to support current Native voices and concerns
o   Why Native Americans are not a costume
o   “Possession” of Native American objects and land
§  Arrowheads and native jewelry
o   Broad overview of regional Native American groups – using their own voices
§  Special focus on local Native American groups
·       Is there a local museum/educational resource that is either Native created or known for respecting Native voices
o   Current Native Americans of note (ex: politicians, activists, artists)
o   While the previous focuses on Native Americans in the modern day USA – also discuss First Nations from Canada and Native Groups from more southern areas
-        Why temperature and pan matters when baking (show what happens in the oven when it goes wrong)
-        Magnets and how different metals react differently to magnets
-        How to take care of a horse and other farm animals
o   Visit a local farm
o   Try horse-riding
-        Dangers of rattle snakes and scorpions
-        Lassos and how to use them
-        Legends of outlaws in the American West
-        Ghost towns  
-        Flower stitches when knitting/crocheting
-        Petrified wood
-        How to make a campfire
-        Picking fruits and veggies when they are ready
-        Flower language
-        Read Along:
o   Native American folk tales  
o   Motorcycles and Sweetgrass
o   Gone Away Lake
o   Black Beauty?
 CUR:
-        Where are the moors
-        Different regional accents within the United Kingdom
-        British foods
-        Latin
o   Learn fun phrases and prayers
-        Ancestry and genealogy
o   Map your own family tree and recognize family crests
o   How adoption has historically been a binding and irrefutable concept for lineage
o   Find places your family lived
o   Leaving a history for your descendants
§  Write a story book for them
o   British Royal Family
§  Why incest is bad
-        Parrots and their intelligence
-        Secret passages in old buildings
-        Alchemy
o   Connections to modern understandings of science  
o   Historical understandings of elements
-        Astrological signs
-        Witch trials
-        Legends of lycanthropy and other monsters
-        Importance of not taking other peoples medicines
-        Runic alphabet
-        Feeding your pets a healthy diet
-        Typing practice
-        How to embrace the idea that home taught students are evil geniuses
-        Forges and melting points of different metals
-        Carnivorous plants
-        Succulents
-        Constellations in different places  
-        Read Along:
o   The Secret Garden
o   The London Eye Mystery
o   Beastly
CLK:
-        Great Depression
o   Causes and effects
o   Who was hurt
o   Who was not hurt
o   Areas of America
§  Dust bowl
o   Famous people and literature
o   Homelessness and poverty
§  Bread lines
§  Soup kitchens
§  Anti-homelessness architecture
§  Connections to mental illness and veterans
§  How we can help those who do not have homes today
-        Early Telephones
-        Shakespeare
-        History of Nancy Drew
o   Mildred Wirt Benson
o   Edward Stratemeyer  
-        Fishing – why different fish respond to different bait
-        Orphanages in the early 20th century
-        Gas prices and accessibility of cars through time
-        How to make pie
-        What is jurisdiction and what is significant about crossing state lines
-        How do banks work
o   Safety deposit boxes
-        Identify theft
-        How to use a sewing machine
o   Sew an item of clothing
-        Mini golf – why and what
-        Mirrors and their usefulness
-        Stamp collections
-         
-        Radios and call signs
o   Comparison to modern internet forms
-        Telegrams
-        Read along:
o   Shakespeare
§  Midsummer Night’s Dream
§  Others
o   Pollyanna
o   Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
o   The Grapes of Wrath
  TRN:
-        Trains
o   Steam trains
o   Visit a train museum
o   Take a train ride (if not a normal event)
o   Importance of transcontinental railway
o   Trains around the USA today
o   Trains around the world (TGV, bullet train)
-        Abraham Lincoln
-        Mark Twain
-        How to make a good burger (you leave off the PB&J)
-        Slugs
-        Periodic Table of Elements – abbreviations
-        Gemstones
-        History of Mining
o   England (Newcastle upon Tyne)
o   American West
o   Appalachia
o   Company Store
o   Health issues for miners
o   Danger of mines
o   Current issues for mining
-        Dancing the Hurley Burley
-        People who collect creepy dolls
o   History of porcelain dolls
-        Embroidery
o   How to
o   Patterns/symbols
-        General Stores in the American West
o   Sears
-        How to make taffy
-        Find a well maintained and beautiful tomb and research who is entombed
-        Focusing light through a magnifying glass can start a fire
-        Read Along:
o   Murder on the Orient Express
o   Mark Twain books
DAN:
-        All lessons in French
-        How using different ingredients and different amounts of ingredients can affect the outcome of your cookies
-        Paris métro
o   History
o   How to read/follow a métro map
o   RER
-        Montmartre and other Parisian neighbourhoods
-        History of Île de la France and Square de Vert Galant Parc and Pont Neuf
-        WWII and the French Resistance
o   Cross of Lorraine
o   Vichy France
o   Abuses of the French gov’t in this period
-        Paris and the fashion world
-        Beauty standards and the rejection of natural beauty by society
o   Dangers of weight and figure standards
o   You are beautiful as you are
-        Catacombs of Paris
-        Famous French Dishes (from this region)
o   Or Bretagne since I know and like them better
-        The French Café
-        Moulin in France
-        Tea and how hot leaf water can taste so bad but still be good for you
-        Buildings of Baron Haussmann
-        Paris History  
-        Decoders
-        Importance of vitraux historically, culturally, and religiously
-        Read Along:
o   Little Kids
§  Madeline
§  Babar
§  Petit Ours
§  Plume
o   High School
§  Hunchback of Notre Dame
§  Les Mis
§  Dale Van Kley
 CRE:
-        History of Hawai’i and her native people
o   How the USA screwed them over and continues to do so
§  Land colonizing today
o   Listen to voices from Native Peoples
-        Pearl Harbor
o   USS Arizona
-        Native myths and legends
-        Local flora and fauna
-        Surfing
-        How to make bead necklaces
-        Snorkeling
-        Entomology
o   Find some local bugs and identify and observe them
-        Horticulture
o   See if you can graft something
o   Watch a carnation placed in water with food dye
o   Regrow a fruit or veggie from the leftovers
-        Go looking for seashells – see how many complete shells you can find
-        Be aware of pesticides and the dangers they offer
o   Dangers of organic food too
-        Make something with pineapple in it
-        Fishing – different kinds of native fish
-        Volcanos
-        Hula  
  ICE:
-        Wolf sanctuaries – respecting wildlife and their place in the wild and not the domestic
o   What to do if you see a wolf in the real world
-        Fur trapping in Canada history
-        Regions and Capitols of Canada
o   Visit Canada?
-        How the Canadian government works
-        Use of French language in Canada    
o   Unique features of Canadian French  
-        Ice fishing
-        How to cook omelets, salmon, etc.
o   How to not add paprika cause like ew
-        Fossils
-        Radiation
o   Marie Curie
-        How to be a good maid
-        Snowballs/ice balls
-        Ice skating
-        Winter weather safety
-        Avalanches  
-        Saunas
-        Birthmarks
-        Fax machines
-        How to not lie about bird watching
-        Frozen water safety  
-        Modern offenses against First Nations by Canadian Government
  CRY:
-        Culture of the Arawak and Caraïbe
o   Voodoo
-        Mardi Gras in New Orleans
-        Hurricane Katrina and aftermath
-        French Influence
-        Eyes and their parts and functions
-        Teeth and their parts and functions
-        Alligators in the Southern USA and how they are dangerous pests  
-        Graveyards/cemeteries and how to be comfortable in them
o   Modern burial practices
o   Why are they above ground in Louisiana?
o   Places where they are running out of space for the dead
o   Historic violations of final resting places
-        Ventriloquism
-        Lizards and how to care for them
-        Rube Goldberg machines
-        Curio shops
-        Crystal Skulls  
 VEN:
-        International crime
-        Organized crime
-        Scopa
-        Italian basics
o   Learn an Italian aria
-        Italian food
o   Not just spaghetti
-        History of Venice
o   Current issues in Venice
-        Carrier pigeons
-        Micro-dots
-        “Observing the architecture”
-        Try to make gelato (or just get gelato, either way you get gelato)
-        Disguising yourself – put on an outfit and try to get me to not recognize you
-        Picking locks
-        Secret codes
-        Solfege
o   With hand signs
o   Learn a song in solfege
-        Carnivale
-        Learn how the sausage gets made
o   How to deal with food poisoning
-        How to secure your living space against burglars
o   Glass breaks, motion sensors, keypads, magnets, and more
-        Read Along:
o   Heist Society
o   The Prince
o   Merchant of Venice
  HAU:
-        Irish lessons (as much of this in Irish as possible)
o   Why the Irish language is important
-        Geography of Ireland
o   Provinces and counties
-        Irish names
-        Why Ireland has disliked and should dislike the UK
o   Historically
o   Famine
§  Emmigration
o   Easter Rising
o   Troubles
o   Present-Day
-        Importance of alcohol in Ireland
o   Uisce beatha
o   Guinness
§  Guinness world records
-        Irish music
o   Irish instruments
o   Learn some Rebel songs
-        Ogham runes
-        Irish foods
o   Something with lamb, who cares what
-        Don’t use friends for land development
-        Bogs
-        Chemical Reactions
-        Rockets
-        Inventions and secrecy during WWII
-        Religion in Ireland
o   Pagan traditions
o   Christianity
o   Catholic/Protestant tensions
-        Irish wedding traditions
-        How printing presses work
-        Irish castles
-        Sheep sheering/raising sheep
-        Irish legends
o   Fae
o   Leprechauns
-        Don’t drive and talk on the phone
 RAN:
-        Why blackface is problematic? (the fact that this needs to be said is problematic in and of itself)
-        Scuba diving
-        Sailing
-        Bermuda Triangle
-        Bats
-        Primates and their intelligence
o   Problems with animal research
o   Koko
o   Jane Goodall
-        Island resort culture
-        Metal detectors
-        Pirates
o   And the Caribbean
o   Their abuses
o   Different kinds
o   Modern day pirates  
-        How do walkie-talkies work
-        US mistreatment of island territories
-        Read Along:
o   Bloody Jack (Meyer)
 WAC:
-        Edgar Allan Poe
o   Stories
o   Baltimore
-        Piano
-        Victorian Dining traditions
o   How to set a place for fancy dining
o   How to fold napkins
o   Table manners
o   How to serve someone at a fancy dinner
o   How courses might work
o   How to use your silverware  
-        Why you shouldn’t go to an actual high school part two
o   Just fyi – that’s not how uniforms work
§  Have a school inspired dress code for a week
-        Bullying and why you absolutely will not be a bully
o   How to respond to bullying
o   Importance of talking to adults and counseling
-        Logic puzzles
-        Research the founding of a local school
-        Stringed Instruments
-        Plagiarism
o   Turnitin
-        Making sandwiches – like a good deli style sandwich
-        Photography scavenger hunt – make a digital (or physical) yearbook
-        Squirrels
-        Orthographic projection
-        DNA/RNA
-        Saving every major project on three different thumb drives
-        Getting along with roommates
-        States and Capitals
o   Countries and capitals of the world  
 TOT:
-        Tornados
o   Technology used to observe tornados
-        Meteorology
-        Prairie dogs
-        Life on the great plains
-        Great Plains Native Americans
-        Small towns in the Midwest honestly be like that
-        Defensive driving
-        Make a disaster kit
-        Know what to do in various natural emergency situations
o   What is the local alert protocol
o   What do local authorities recommend
-        How to maintain and fix a car
-        How to fix a broken device
-        What is tenure
-        How to budget
o   Go to the grocery store on a strict budget (however much you come in under budget is your candy budget)
-        Read Along:
o   Little House
  SAW:
-        Basic Japanese phrases
o   Learn to count
o   Writing in Japanese
-        Sudoku, nonograms, renograms
-        Japanese ghost legends
-        Japanese culture
o   Tourism
§  Ryokans
o   Space – everything small
o   Politeness/formalities
o   Hot springs/baths
o   Tatami and paper walls
-        Japanese cultural dress
o   Kimonos
o   Lolita? Fashion
-        Japanese names
o   Last name first
o   How to address others in Japan
-        Martial Arts
o   Ninjutsu
§  Traditional tools
-        Japanese tea ceremony
- ��      Schools in Japan
-        Teaching English as a foreign language
-        Japanese subway/train system
-        Pachinko and Japanese gaming
-        Japanese vending machines
-        Robotic animals
-        Bento
-        Japanese foods
-        Origami
-        How to fake a haunting
 CAP:
-        Basic German phrases
o   How to make a German word
o   Connections of German to English
-        German food favourites
o   Especially cakes
-        Storytelling as a cultural entity
o   How memory has worked differently in different times
-        Glass blowing
-        How castles provided for the local community
-        Bavaria in Germany
o   Cultural dress
-        Glockenspiel
-        How to make board games
-        Monster stories of central Europe
-        How to monitor security camera remotely
-        Read Along:
o   Heidi
ASH:
-        Arson
o   Watching how different accelerants burn a piece of paper
-        All politicians are at least somewhat self-serving
o   But write a letter to a local politician anyway
§  Different ways to contact elected officials, and why some don’t work
-        How to make ice cream
-        How a police investigation works
o   Problems with police departments around the world – specifically USA
o   Ways that police work unfairly targets minorities
§  If Nancy is innocent how many others are
-        How to use matches and lighters safely
-        Why you should not return to the scene of a crime – particularly a fire
-        Making sure smoke detectors work properly and the system is connected
o   We might not go to school but fire drills are still important
-        What is a mass spectrometer
-        Who to call if you’ve been arrested
-        What to do if you get pulled over
-        How the media can skew the truth and make their own narratives
-        Sound mixing
-        Be careful with what you say/post/record
o   Keep receipts and clarify when possible
 TMB:
-        What not to do at an archaeological site
-        Ancient Egyptian History
o   Pantheon, notable figures, relevant events
o   Pyramids, sphinx
o   Pharaohs
-        Modern Egypt
o   Arabic alphabet
-        History of archaeological digs in Egypt
o   Why they’ve been problematic
-        Dangers of the tombs
-        Mummys
o   How they are put together
-        Tomb raiders
-        Importance of water in the desert
-        How to piece together a broken artifact
-        How to gently brush off an artifact
-        There is no such thing as a dictionary for ancient Egyptian
-        Aliens did not build the pyramids
-        Senet
-        Desert life safety
-        How mirrors can be used to light a room
-        Read Along
o   Rick Riordan
 DED:
-        Nikola Tesla
o   All his fun stuff
o   Tesla Coils
-        3-D printing
-        Gummy fingerprints
-        Faraday Cage
-        Basic electric concepts
o   How to build a circuit board
-        Chemical safety
-        How a lab might work
-        Valuing different skills within academia
-        Ultraviolet light
-        How motorcycles work
-        Freelance photography
-        How to use academic databases
 GTH:
-        Slavery in the United States
o   Origins
o   ‘End’
o   Civil War
o   The connection to “southern culture”
o   Continued abuses of Black people in America
§  Importance of recognizing Black voices and what they are saying
§  Listening even when it’s uncomfortable
§  Checking privilege when you have it
o   Jim Crow Laws
-        Plantations
-        Gone With the Wind
o   The good and the bad
-        Civil War spies – female
-        Carbon monoxide poisoning
-        Burned out houses are not a safe space
-        Do not go digging through people’s coffins – rest in PEACE
-        Understanding that your family can be flawed
-        If you don’t want to get married, if you’re not happy in a relationship, end it
-        When a member of your family is sick you take care of them
-        Make a will, just in case your cousin kills you
-        Bachelor and bachelorette parties should feature activities that everyone is comfortable with
-        Read Along:
o   My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier
 SPY:
-        Scotland and their identity
o   Celtic Nations
o   Independent Scotland
o   Call a Scottish person
-        Unicorns and other mythical creatures in Scotland
-        Scottish food
o   The appetizing parts
-        History of spies
-        Biowarfare
o   Code Orange
o   Other teenage stories dealing with anthrax
o   Current events and concerns
o   Historical biowarfare (smallpox blankets)
-        Ziplining
-        Archery
-        How to bug someone
-        Tartans and plaids
o   Kilts
-        Augmented Reality Glasses
-        Record players
-        How to reset a circuit breaker
-        Read Along:
o   Gallagher Girls
o   Code Orange
o   Little House (Martha)
o   Little Brother (Doctorow)
 MED:
-        Don’t meet your heroes
-        New Zealand
o   Maori culture
-        Survivor style game shows and realism
-        I’m not saying Aliens can’t exist, I’m saying they def aren’t involved here
-        Kayaking
-        Submarines and what they can do
-        Turtles
-        Earthquakes
-        Be careful with rope bridges
  LIE:
-        Provenance and why it’s important part two  
-        Greek art and how it was originally painted vibrantly
o   Abuses of Greek art through the ages
-        The British Museum and the issues with that
-        Greek pantheon
o   Legends and notable figures
o   Religious traditions  
-        Iliad and Odyssey
-        Art forgery
-        How to fire clay pots and pottery
-        Memorizing lines for a play
o   Staging for a play
o   Role of a director
-        Theatre
o   Lights
o   Curtains
o   Fly system
o   Sound
-        Greek alphabet
-        Historical importance of the Greek language and culture
o   Alexander the Great and Hellenization
-        Olympics
o   Historic and modern
-        Greece and the European Union  
-        Make something with pomegranates
-        Read Along:
o   Iliad
o   Odyssey
o   The Thief
o   Percy Jackson  
  SEA:
-        Iceland
o   Culture
§  Naming traditions
o   Language
o   Music
o   Food
-        Shipbuilding
o   Historic and modern ships
-        Ice caving
-        Northern Lights
-        Tides
-        Snowmobiling
-        Poetry
-        What is xenophobia
 MID:
-        Some games just shouldn’t be made
-        American witch trials
o   What actually went down
o   Misconceptions
-        Treating people with albinism as real people
-        Arson is bad
-        Herbal remedies and how they can interfere with modern medicine
-        Witchcraft and how not to
-        Salem MA
-        Ignorance promotes fear and hatred so we do our best to learn about others
37 notes · View notes
szalacsi · 3 years
Text
history
“I’m from Malaysia. 
China has traded with Malaysia for 2000 years. In those years, they had been the world’s biggest powers many times. Never once they sent troops to take our land. 
Admiral Zhenghe came to Malacca five times, in gigantic fleets, and a flagship eight times the size of Christopher Columbus’ flagship, Santa Maria. He could have seized Malacca easily, but he did not. 
In 1511, the Portuguese came. 
In 1642, the Dutch came. 
In the 18th century the British came. 
We were colonised by each, one after another. 
When China wanted spices from India, they traded with the Indians. When they wanted gems, they traded with the Persian. They didn’t take lands. The only time China expanded beyond their current borders was in Yuan Dynasty, when Genghis and his descendants Ogedei Khan, Guyuk Khan & Kublai Khan concurred China, Mid Asia and Eastern Europe. Yuan Dynasty, although being based in China, was a part of the Mongolian Empire. 
Then came the Century of Humiliation. Britain smuggled opium into China to dope the population, a strategy to turn the trade deficit around, after the British could not find enough silver to pay the Qing Dynasty in their tea and porcelain trades. 
After the opium warehouses were burned down and ports were closed by the Chinese in ordered to curb opium, the British started the Opium War I, which China lost. Hong Kong was forced to be surrendered to the British in a peace talk (Nanjing Treaty). 
The British owned 90% of the opium market in China, during that time, Queen Victoria was the world’s biggest drug baron. The remaining 10% was owned by American merchants from Boston. Many of Boston’s institutions were built with profit from opium. 
After 12 years of Nanjing Treaty, the West started getting really really greedy. The British wanted the Qing government: 
 1. To open the borders of China to allow goods coming in and out freely, and tax free. 
 2. Make opium legal in China. Insane requests, Qing government said no. 
The British and French (with supports from the US), started Opium War II with China, which again, China lost. 
The Anglo-French military raided the Summer Palace, and threatened to burn down the Imperial Palace, the Qing government was forced to pay with ports, free business zones, 300,000 kilograms of silver and Kowloon was taken. 
Since then, China’s resources flew out freely through these business zones and ports. In the subsequent amendment to the treaties, Chinese people were sold overseas to serve as labor. 
In 1900, China suffered attacks by the 8-National Alliance (Empire of Japan, Russian Empire, British Empire (including India), France, USA, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary). 
Innocent Chinese civilians in Peking (Beijing now) were murdered, buildings were destroyed & women were raped. The Imperial Palace was raided, and treasures ended up in museums like the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris. 
In late 1930s China was occupied by the Japanese in WWII. Millions of Chinese died during the occupancy. 300,000 Chinese died in Nanjing Massacre alone. Mao brought China together again from the shambles. There were peace and unity for some time. But Mao’s later reign saw sufferings and deaths from famine and power struggles. 
Then came Deng Xiao Ping and his infamous 'black-cat and white-cat' story. His preference in pragmatism than ideologies has transformed China. This thinking allowed China to evolve all the time to adapt to the actual needs in the country, instead of rigidly bounded to ideologies. It also signified the death of Communism in actually practice in China. 
The current Socialism+Meritocracy+Market Economy model fits the Chinese like gloves, and it propels the uprise of China. Singapore has a similar model, and has been arguably more successful than Hong Kong, because Hong Kong being gateway to China, was riding on the economic boom in China, while Singapore had no one to gain from. 
In just 30 years, the CPC have moved 800 millions of people out from poverty. The rate of growth is unprecedented in human history. They have built the biggest mobile network, by far the biggest high speed rail network in the world, and they have become a behemoth in infrastructure. They made a fishing village called Shenzhen into the world’s second largest technological centre after the Silicon Valley. 
They are growing into a technological power house. It has the most elaborate e-commerce and cashless payment system in the world. They have launched exploration to Mars. The Chinese are living a good life and China has become one of the safest countries in the world. 
The level of patriotism in the country has reached an unprecedented height. For all of the achievements, the West has nothing good to say about it. China suffers from intense anti-China propagandas from the West. Western Media used the keyword “Communist” to instil fear and hatred towards China.
Everything China does is negatively reported. They claimed China used slave labor in making iPhones. The truth was, Apple was the most profitable company in the world, it took most of the profit, leave some to Foxconn (a Taiwanese company) and little to the labor. 
They claimed China was inhuman with one-child policy. At the same time, they accused China of polluting the earth with its huge population. The fact is the Chinese consume just 30% of energy per capita compared to the US. 
They claimed China underwent ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. The fact is China has a policy which priorities ethnic minorities. For a long time, the ethnic minorities were allowed to have two children and the majority Han only allowed one. The minorities are allowed a lower score for university intakes. There are 39,000 mosque in China, and 2100 in the US. 
China has about 3 times more mosque per muslim than the US. When terrorist attacks happened in Xinjiang, China had two choices: 
1. Re-educate the Uighur (CENSUDED by Youtube) before they turned (CENSUDED by Youtube). (**Here I could not copy the exact word, since today it is censored by YouTube if I write it next to the indicated ethnicity. It is the one used to identify those crazy people who are killing people thinking that by doing this they will be able to go to paradise**). 
2. Let them be, after they launch attacks and killed innocent people, bomb their homes. China chose 1 to solve problem from the root and not to do killing. 
How the US solve terrorism? Fire missiles from battleships, drop bombs from the sky. 
During the pandemic, When China took extreme measures to lockdown the people, they were accused of being inhuman. 
When China recovered swiftly because of the extreme measures, they were accused of lying about the actual numbers. 
When China’s cases became so low that they could provide medical support to other countries, they were accused of politically motivated. Western Media always have reasons to bash China. Just like any country, there are irresponsible individuals from China which do bad things, but the China government overall has done very well. 
But I hear this comment over and over by people from the West: I like Chinese people, but the CPC is evil. What they really want is the Chinese to change the government, because the current one is too good. 
Fortunately China is not a multi-party democratic country, otherwise the opposition party in China will be supported by notorious NGOs (Non-Government Organization) of the USA, like the NED (National Endowment for Democracy), to topple the ruling party. 
The US and the British couldn’t crack Mainland China, so they work on Hong Kong. Of all the ex-British colonial countries, only the Hong Kongers were offered BNOs by the British. Because the UK would like the Hong Kongers to think they are British citizens, not Chinese. 
A divide-and-conquer strategy, which they often used in Color Revolutions around the world. They resort to low dirty tricks like detaining Huawei’s CFO & banning Huawei. They raised a silly trade war which benefits no one. Trade deficit always exist between a developing and a developed country. 
USA is like a luxury car seller who ask a farmer: why am I always buying your vegetables and you haven’t bought any of my cars? When the Chinese were making socks for the world 30 years ago, the world let it be. 
But when Chinese started to make high technology products, like Huawei and DJI, it caused red-alert. Because when Western and Japanese products are equal to Chinese in technologies, they could never match the Chinese in prices. 
First world countries want China to continue in making socks. Instead of stepping up themselves, they want to pull China down. The recent movement by the US against China has a very important background. 
When Libya, Iran, and China decided to ditch the US dollar in oil trades, Gaddafi’s was killed by the US, Iran was being sanctioned by the US, and now it’s China’s turn. The US has been printing money out of nothing. The only reason why the US Dollar is still widely accepted, is because it’s the only currency which oil is allowed to be traded with. 
The US has an agreement with Saudi that oil must be traded in US dollar ONLY. Without the petrol-dollar status, the US dollars will sink, and America will fall. 
Therefore anyone trying to disobey this order will be eliminated. China will soon use a gold-backed crypto-currency, the alarms in the White House go off like mad. 
 China’s achievement has been by hard work. Not by looting the world. I have deep sympathy for China for all the suffering, but now I feel happy for them. China is not rising, they are going back to where they belong. Good luck China.”
16 notes · View notes
newstfionline · 3 years
Text
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Fire Season Comes Early To California (CNN) Fire weather is coming early to California this year. For the first time since 2014, parts of Northern California are seeing a May “red flag” fire warning due to dry and windy conditions. The warning coverage area extends from Redding in the north to Modesto in the south, and includes portions of the Central Valley and the state capital of Sacramento. The warning also extends to the eastern edges of the Bay Area. A brush fire that started Friday in Pacific Palisades flared up Saturday due to gusty winds, burning more than 1,300 acres and threatening homes in Topanga Canyon. Topanga State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains is about 20 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. The Palisades fire caused about 1,000 people to be evacuated from their homes early Sunday, with other residents on standby to leave.
Pandemic Refugees at the Border (NYT) The Biden administration continues to grapple with swelling numbers of migrants along the southwestern border. Most of them are from Central America, fleeing gang violence and natural disasters. But the past few months have also brought a much different wave of migration that the Biden administration was not prepared to address: pandemic refugees. They are people arriving in ever greater numbers from far-flung countries where the coronavirus has caused unimaginable levels of illness and death and decimated economies and livelihoods. If eking out an existence was challenging in such countries before, in many of them it has now become almost impossible. According to official data released this week, 30 percent of all families encountered along the border in April hailed from countries other than Mexico and the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, compared to just 7.5 percent in April 2019, during the last border surge. The coronavirus pandemic has had far-reaching consequences for the global economy, erasing hundreds of millions of jobs. And it has disproportionately affected developing countries, where it could set back decades of progress, according to economists. About 13,000 migrants have landed in Italy, the gateway to Europe, so far this year, three times as many as in the same period last year. At the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, agents have stopped people from more than 160 countries, and the geography coincides with the path of the virus’s worst devastation.
The U.S. conversation on Israel is changing, no matter Biden’s stance (Washington Post) In Washington, support for the Palestinian plight is getting louder in Congress. On Friday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote a widely circulated New York Times op-ed pulling the spotlight away from Hamas’s provocations to the deeper reality of life for millions of Palestinians living under blockade and occupation. He pointed to the havoc unleashed in recent weeks by rampaging mobs of Jewish extremists in Jerusalem, as well as the questionable Israeli legal attempts to forcibly evict the Palestinian residents of a neighborhood in the contested holy city. “None of this excuses the attacks by Hamas, which were an attempt to exploit the unrest in Jerusalem, or the failures of the corrupt and ineffective Palestinian Authority, which recently postponed long-overdue elections,” Sanders wrote. “But the fact of the matter is that Israel remains the one sovereign authority in the land of Israel and Palestine, and rather than preparing for peace and justice, it has been entrenching its unequal and undemocratic control.”      In another era, Sanders would have cut a lonely figure among his colleagues. But he is not alone. A number of Democratic lawmakers, including solidly pro-Israel politicians, issued statements indicating their displeasure with the casualties caused by Israel’s attacks in Gaza. Others were more vocal, accusing Israel of “apartheid.” Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) tweeted: “This is happening with the support of the United States....the US vetoed the UN call for a ceasefire. If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? How can they credibly claim to stand for human rights?” Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a center-left pro-Israel advocacy organization that increasingly reflects the mainstream position of American liberals, said in a briefing with reporters last week that the “diplomatic blank check to the state of Israel” given out by successive U.S. administrations has meant that “Israel has no incentive to end occupation and find a solution to the conflict.”
Mexico City is sinking (Wired) When Darío Solano‐Rojas moved from his hometown of Cuernavaca to Mexico City to study at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the layout of the metropolis confused him. “What surprised me was that everything was kind of twisted and tilted,” says Solano‐Rojas. “At that time, I didn't know what it was about. I just thought, ‘Oh, well, the city is so much different than my hometown.’” Different, it turned out, in a bad way. Picking up the study of geology at the university, Solano‐Rojas met geophysicist Enrique Cabral-Cano, who was actually researching the surprising reason for that infrastructural chaos: The city was sinking—big time. It’s the result of a geological phenomenon called subsidence, which usually happens when too much water is drawn from underground, and the land above begins to compact. According to new modeling by the two researchers and their colleagues, parts of the city are sinking as much as 20 inches a year. In the next century and a half, they calculate, areas could drop by as much as 65 feet. Spots just outside Mexico City proper could sink 100 feet. That twisting and tilting Solano‐Rojas noticed was just the start of a slow-motion crisis for 9.2 million people in the fastest-sinking city on Earth. And because some parts are slumping dramatically and others aren’t, the infrastructure that spans the two zones is sinking in some areas but staying at the same elevation in others. And that threatens to break roads, metro networks, and sewer systems. “Subsistence by itself may not be a terrible issue,” says Cabral-Cano. “But it's the difference in this subsistence velocity that really puts all civil structures under different stresses.”
Today’s the day: British holidaymakers return to Portugal as travel ban ends (Reuters) Sun-hungry British visitors descended on Portuguese beaches once again on Monday as a four-month long ban on travel between the two countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic ended, in a much-needed boost for the struggling tourism sector. Twenty-two flights from Britain are due to land in Portugal on Monday, with most heading to the southern Algarve region, famous for its beaches and golf courses but nearly deserted as the pandemic kept tourists away. Visitors from Britain must present evidence of a negative coronavirus test taken 72 hours before boarding their flights to Portugal and there is no need to quarantine for COVID-19 when returning home. Back at home, most British people will be free once again to hug, albeit cautiously, drink a pint in their pub, sit down to an indoor meal or visit the cinema after the ending of a series of lockdowns that imposed the strictest ever restrictions in peacetime.
Afghans who helped the US now fear being left behind (AP) He served as an interpreter alongside U.S. soldiers on hundreds of patrols and dozens of firefights in eastern Afghanistan, earning a glowing letter of recommendation from an American platoon commander and a medal of commendation. Still, Ayazudin Hilal was turned down when he applied for one of the scarce special visas that would allow him to relocate to the U.S. with his family. Now, as American and NATO forces prepare to leave the country, he and thousands of others who aided the war effort fear they will be left stranded, facing the prospect of Taliban reprisals. “We are not safe,” the 41-year-old father of six said of Afghan civilians who worked for the U.S. or NATO. “The Taliban is calling us and telling us, ‘Your stepbrother is leaving the country soon, and we will kill all of you guys.’” At least 300 interpreters have been killed in Afghanistan since 2016, and the Taliban have made it clear they will continue to be targeted, said Matt Zeller, a co-founder of No One Left Behind, an organization that advocates on their behalf. He also served in the country as an Army officer. “The Taliban considers them to be literally enemies of Islam,” said Zeller, now a fellow at the Truman National Security Project. “There’s no mercy for them.”
A Desperate India Falls Prey to Covid Scammers (NYT) Within the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak, few treasures are more coveted than an empty oxygen canister. India’s hospitals desperately need the metal cylinders to store and transport the lifesaving gas as patients across the country gasp for breath. So a local charity reacted with outrage when one supplier more than doubled the price, to nearly $200 each. The charity called the police, who discovered what could be one of the most brazen, dangerous scams in a country awash with coronavirus-related fraud and black-market profiteering. The police say the supplier—a business called Varsha Engineering, essentially a scrapyard—had been repainting fire extinguishers and selling them as oxygen canisters. The consequences could be deadly: The less-sturdy fire extinguishers might explode if filled with high-pressure oxygen. A coronavirus second wave has devastated India’s medical system. Hospitals are full. Drugs, vaccines, oxygen and other supplies are running out. Pandemic profiteers are filling the gap. In many cases, the sellers prey on the desperation and grief of families.
Full-blown boycott pushed for Beijing Olympics (AP) Groups alleging human-rights abuses against minorities in China are calling for a full-blown boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, a move likely to ratchet up pressure on the International Olympic Committee, athletes, sponsors and sports federations. A coalition representing Uyghurs, Tibetans, residents of Hong Kong and others issued a statement Monday calling for the boycott, eschewing lesser measures that had been floated like “diplomatic boycotts” and further negotiations with the IOC or China. “The time for talking with the IOC is over,” Lhadon Tethong of the Tibet Action Institute said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. “This cannot be games as usual or business as usual; not for the IOC and not for the international community.” The push for a boycott comes a day before a joint hearing in the U.S. Congress focusing on the Beijing Olympics and China’s human-rights record, and just days after the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said boycotts are ineffective and only hurt athletes.
Grief Mounts as Efforts to Ease Israel-Hamas Fight Falter (NYT) Diplomats and international leaders were unable Sunday to mediate a cease-fire in the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel vowed to continue the fight and the United Nations Security Council failed to agree on a joint response to the worsening bloodshed. The diplomatic wrangling occurred after the fighting, the most intense seen in Gaza and Israel for seven years, entered its deadliest phase yet. At least 42 Palestinians were killed early Sunday morning in an airstrike on several apartments in Gaza City, Palestinian officials said, the conflict’s most lethal episode so far. The number of people in killed in Gaza rose to 197 over the seven days of the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, while the number of Israeli residents killed by Palestinian militants climbed to 11, including one soldier, the Israeli government said.
Israel, Hamas trade fire in Gaza as war rages on (AP) Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes on what it said were militant targets in Gaza, leveling a six-story building, and militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Tuesday. Palestinians across the region observed a general strike as the war, now in its second week, showed no signs of abating. The strikes toppled a building that housed libraries and educational centers belonging to the Islamic University. Residents sifted through the rubble, searching for their belongings.
Israel’s aftermath (Foreign Policy) In Israel, the aftermath of days of violence in mixed Arab-Israeli towns has led to a one-sided reaction from state prosecutors: Of the 116 indictments served so far against those arrested last week, all have been against Arab-Israeli citizens, Haaretz reports. Meanwhile, Yair Lapid, whose centrist Yesh Atid party’s chances of forming a coalition government has crumbled since the violence broke out, placed the blame on Netanyahu. If he was in charge, Lapid said on Sunday, no one would have to question “why the fire always breaks out precisely when it’s most convenient for the prime minister.”
Long working hours can be a killer, WHO study shows (Reuters) Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Monday. In the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours, the paper in the journal Environment International showed that 745,000 people died from stroke and heart disease associated with long working hours in 2016. That was an increase of nearly 30% from 2000. “Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” said Maria Neira, director of the WHO’s Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health. The joint study, produced by the WHO and the International Labour Organization, showed that most victims (72%) were men and were middle-aged or older. Often, the deaths occurred much later in life, sometimes decades later, than the shifts worked. It also showed that people living in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region were the most affected.
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dc-earth53 · 4 years
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#0002: Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira)
Age: 45
Occupation: Ambassador, author, adventurer
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Hippolyta (mother, deceased), Gaea (mother),  Lyta Hall Trevor (half-sister. deceased), Daniel Hall (nephew), Ares (grandfather), Donna Troy (sister), Cassandra Sandsmark (great-aunt).
Group affiliation: Amazons of Themyscira, Justice League of America, formerly Star Sapphire Corps.
Base of operations: Themysciran Embassy, New York City.
Height: 6′0″
Weight: 165 lbs.
History:
45 years ago: Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, ashamed that she had to leave her first daughter behind in man’s world, petitions the gods of Olympus to give her another child. They take pity on her, and instruct her to mold the form of a baby girl from clay. Gaea, spirit of the earth itself, imbues this clay figure with a soul, and Hippolyta names the newborn child Diana.
29 years ago: Teenage Diana befriends Troia, another young Amazon who had been adopted by the tribe after washing ashore as a baby.
20 years ago: 
Sensing much trouble and discord in the world of men, the Olympian gods declared that Themyscira should send out an emissary of peace into the world. Hippolyta holds a contest to determine which Amazon would be sent, forbidding Diana to enter. Disguised, Diana enters the competition nonetheless, winning and claiming the uniform her mother had worn decades before her, as well as her Lasso of Truth.
Diana leaves Themyscira, arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, where she is detained by local authorities. The Olympians intervene on her behalf, appearing to her in animal form and granting her abilities beyond those of normal Amazons.
Diana is taken in by Harvard professor Julia Kapatelis, and her daughter Vanessa, and enrolls at the school to learn more about the world.
Diana is attacked by Decay, a minion of Ares, god of war, and the battle spills out onto the streets, garnering her attention from the media, who dub her “Wonder Woman.”
19 years ago: 
Diana foils a plan by Ares and his children, Phobos and Deimos, to cause a nuclear holocaust, using her lasso to convince the god of the error of his ways.
Diana becomes a founding member of the Justice League of America after teaming up with other heroes to repel an alien invasion of Earth.
18 years ago: 
Diana agrees to hire Myndi Mayer as her publicist.
Troia arrives in Boston, taking the moniker of “Wonder Girl.”
Diana gains the attention of Barbara Minerva, the feline femme fatale calling herself the Cheetah. Minerva attacks Diana, attempting to steal the Lasso of Truth. After subduing her, Diana decides to return home to Themyscira.
17 years ago: 
While on Themyscira, Diana is forced to partake in the Challenge of the Gods in order to sate Zeus’s anger for refusing to sleep with him. She fights monsters including the Hydra and Echidna on her way to freeing the imprisoned demigod Heracles.
Diana is first confronted by Valerie Beaudry, the Silver Swan, and Dr. Doris Zuel, alias Giganta.
15 years ago: 
While on a trip to Greece with Vanessa and Julia, Diana is captured by the sorceress Circe, defeating her with the aid of Hermes. 
When Diana returns to Boston, she finds Myndi Mayer dead, victim of a drug overdose.
14 years ago: Themyscira reveals its existence to the world, and the Amazons begin to take a greater part in world affairs.
13 years ago: Vanessa is kidnapped by the diminutive telepath Edgar Cizko, alias Doctor Psycho, beginning his long rivalry with Diana.
11 years ago: Diana, along with the rest of Earth’s superheroes, participates in the fight against the Anti-Monitor.
10 years ago: 
After the Dominator invasion, Cheetah attempts to steal the Lasso of Truth once more, leading Diana to find the lost city of the Bana-Mighdall tribe of Amazons, and their champion, Artemis.
Diana is caught up in a war between the various pantheons of gods on Earth, and is seemingly murdered by Circe during the fighting. With the aid of the Phantom Stranger, she returns to life and defeats Circe, ending the war.
9 years ago: Diana is briefly replaced by Artemis as Wonder Woman after Hippolyta has a vision of her daughter’s death. Artemis dies instead, and Diana reclaims her mantle
8 years ago: 
Diana joins the new incarnation of the Justice League, assembled to combat a team of rogue White Martians.
Vanessa Kapatelis is mutated into the new Silver Swan by Circe, who sets her loose against Diana.
7 years ago: 
Diana re-locates to Gateway City, befriending museum curator Helena Sandsmark and her daughter, Cassandra. Cassandra disguises herself, and using artifacts stolen from Diana’s belongings, helps defeat Morgaine le Fey as the new Wonder Girl.
Themyscira is destroyed by the forces of Imperiex and Brainiac, killing many of the Amazons, including Hippolyta. The survivors relocated to a new Themyscira - a floating island built in the Bermuda Triangle.
5 years ago: 
Diana takes a position as Themyscira’s ambassador to the United Nations, moving to New York City. She publishes a book, titled “Reflections: A Collection of Essays and Speeches,” which makes an enemy out of pharmaceutical tycoon Veronica Cale.
Diana confronts Maxwell Lord, who murdered the Blue Beetle and had Superman under his control, and snaps his neck. Afterwards, seeking internal peace, Diana makes a pilgrimage to Nanda Parbat, leaving her post to Troia.
4 years ago: 
Despite strained relationships with Superman and Batman, Diana joins the newly restructured Justice League.
Diana is placed on trial by the World Court for the murder of Maxwell Lord, with Kate Spencer as her attorney. She is cleared of all charges and returns to the embassy.
3 years ago: Granny Goodness, in the guise of Athena, and Circe, work together, leading an attack on the United States by Themyscira. Diana is forced to fight against her sisters.
2 years ago:
During the Blackest Night crisis, Diana temporarily becomes empowered by the Violet Light of Love, becoming a Star Sapphire.
The resurrected Maxwell Lord enacts a scheme to eliminate Diana from play, trapping her in a prison of her own mind with the aid of Doctor Psycho - all part of a scheme from Nemesis, goddess of revenge. Diana defeats Nemesis and returns to reality.
1 year ago: Diana is attacked by Grail, daughter of Darkseid, who wants the essence of the gods to restore her father to adulthood.
Present day: Diana continues working at the embassy, while also continuing to serve with the Justice League and aiding the Sentinels of Magic against the goddess Hecate.
Commentary:
If Superman embodies hope and Batman embodies justice, Diana embodies compassion. Her existence is almost paradoxical: she’s the most compassionate of the Trinity, but also the most willing to kill when it comes down to it. The New 52 took her character too far in the direction of being a warrior, emphasizing the sword as her main weapon rather than her lasso and bracelets - to the point where her lasso became part of a chainsaw in Death Metal (as badass as that was). This Diana largely rejects that part of her nature, leaning into her status as an ambassador of peace to the world and believing in an open hand rather than a closed fist whenever possible.
This version of Diana is largely based on George Perez and Greg Rucka’s interpretations of the character, although that raises a few issues with regards to the timeline. Since post-Crisis Diana was introduced without any of her prior history, her post-Crisis early career is spread out over several years in this timeline. Certain elements of the post-Flashpoint interpretation of the character are also included, namely her being detained as an illegal alien by immigration officials, and her battle against Grail after this universe’s equivalent of Final Crisis.
This Diana also adheres to her origin according to Perez, rather than Brian Azzarello’s revamped origin that was also used for the live-action film. Diana was originally envisioned as an inherently feminist character, and making her narrative a patriarchal one centered around her heritage as a descendant of Zeus detracts from that. Rather, she’s a daughter of Hippolyta and Gaea, empowered by the female members of the Olympian pantheon (as well as Hermes). Diana doesn’t need a man behind her to be powerful, she just is.
She also doesn’t need a love interest. I have no hatred in my heart for Steve Trevor, but the character works better in the setting of World War II. In this continuity, he’s Hippolyta’s lover who later settles down with Etta Candy after Hippolyta returns to Themyscira. Perhaps a lover is in the cards for her in the near future, however.
Diana’s costume in this canon is the one she currently sports in Rebirth canon. I am shocked that it took so long to give her a battle skirt, given how much sense it makes as a permutation of the classic culottes or leotard look. 
Got questions about Diana or anything else? My asks are open!
Upcoming:
#0003 - Hal Jordan
#0004 - Aquaman
#0005 - ?????
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bubblesandgutz · 3 years
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Every Record I Own - Day 604: Iron Maiden Killers
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m not really a fan of anything that falls under the umbrella of New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I think a lot of it has to do with timing. I was a little kid in the heyday of Judas Priest, Dio, and Iron Maiden. By the time I was investigating music on my own, Metallica and Slayer were making all the NWOBHM bands look kinda wimpy in comparison. But the biggest metal bands of the time were artists like Mötley Crüe and Skid Row, and these bands seemed like the more direct descendants of that sound. All the hair metal stuff was at its apex when I started buying records, and even though its omnipresence resulted in a mild appreciation for some of the bigger hits in that world, I was more drawn to the stuff percolating outside mainstream attention that seemed to be a reaction against all that campy, peroxided Top 40 metal. 
I latched onto punk, and punk felt like a reaction against the culture of Heavy Metal Parking Lot. So not only were bands like Iron Maiden wimpier than Slayer, they were responsible for this culture of wasted teenage rednecks. Consequently, I was more of a Decline of Western Civilization Part One than a Part Two guy. I grew to love the pioneers of heavy metal---stuff like Zeppelin and Sabbath and Deep Purple. And I liked a lot of the thrash stuff that ruled the underground of the mid-to-late ‘80s. But the period in between was cemented into my teenage brain as ostentatious and corny. 
I’ve tried to go back and foster an appreciation for the heavy weights of NWOBHM but that stigma is hard to shake. I can usually handle the music, but the operatic / vibrato-heavy vocals are a dealbreaker. I just can’t stand it. And believe me, I’ve tried. I think I’ve listened to every Judas Priest album at this point because I WANT TO BELIEVE... but I just can’t. 
Anyways, my older brother got me this Iron Maiden LP last year and I was really committed to sitting down with it and getting it. And to be honest, Killers is actually pretty easy on my ears. As their second full-length, it’s still possesses a raw, no-frills quality in terms of production. It’s also the last album to feature singer Paul Di’Anno, whose vocal approach was much more reigned in and, consequently, way more palatable. Ultimately, Killers still seems like more of an exception to the rule than a gateway drug to NWOBHM, but I’m glad there’s at least one record in that realm that I can enjoy. 
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m-ushroomtale · 4 years
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The Truth About Michael Pompeo and China 
C L 2 weeks ago 
I’m from Malaysia. China has traded with Malaysia for 2000 years. In those years, they had been the world’s biggest powers many times. Never once they sent troops to take our land. Admiral Zhenghe came to Malacca five times, in gigantic fleets, and a flagship eight times the size of Christopher Columbus’ flagship, Santa Maria. He could have seized Malacca easily, but he did not. In 1511, the Portuguese came. In 1642, the Dutch came. In the 18th century the British came. We were colonised by each, one after another.
When China wanted spices from India, they traded with the Indians. When they wanted gems, they traded with the Persian. They didn’t take lands. The only time China expanded beyond their current borders was in Yuan Dynasty, when Genghis and his descendants Ogedei Khan, Guyuk Khan & Kublai Khan concurred China, Mid Asia and Eastern Europe. But Yuan Dynasty, although being based in China, was a part of the Mongolian Empire.
Then came the Century of Humiliation. Britain smuggled opium into China to dope the population, a strategy to turn the trade deficit around, after the British could not find enough silver to pay the Qing Dynasty in their tea and porcelain trades. 
After the opium warehouses were burned down and ports were closed by the Chinese in ordered to curb opium, the British started the Opium War I, which China lost. Hong Kong was forced to be surrendered to the British in a peace talk (Nanjing Treaty). 
The British owned 90% of the opium market in China, during that time, Queen Victoria was the world’s biggest drug baron. The remaining 10% was owned by American merchants from Boston. Many of Boston’s institutions were built with profit from opium.
After 12 years of Nanjing Treaty, the West started getting really really greedy. The British wanted the Qing government: 1. To open the borders of China to allow goods coming in and out freely, and tax free. 2. Make opium legal in China.
Insane requests, Qing government said no. The British and French, with supports from the US and Russia from behind, started Opium War II with China, which again, China lost. 
The Anglo-French military raided the Summer Palace, and threatened to burn down the Imperial Palace, the Qing government was forced to pay with ports, free business zones, 300,000 kilograms of silver and Kowloon was taken. Since then, China’s resources flew out freely through these business zones and ports. In the subsequent amendment to the treaties, Chinese people were sold overseas to serve as labor.
In 1900, China suffered attacks by the 8-National Alliance (Japan, Russia, Britain, France, USA, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary). Innocent Chinese civilians in Peking (Beijing now) were murdered, buildings were destroyed & women were raped. The Imperial Palace was raided, and treasures ended up in museums like the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris.
In late 1930s China was occupied by the Japanese in WWII. Millions of Chinese died during the occupancy. 300,000 Chinese died in Nanjing Massacre alone.
Mao brought China together again from the shambles. There were peace and unity for some time. But Mao’s later reign saw sufferings and deaths from famine and power struggles.
Then came Deng Xiao Ping and his infamous “black-cat and white-cat” story. His preference in pragmatism than ideologies has transformed China. This thinking allowed China to evolve all the time to adapt to the actual needs in the country, instead of rigidly bounded to ideologies. It also signified the death of Communism in actually practice in China. The current Socialism+Meritocracy+Market Economy model fits the Chinese like gloves, and it propels the uprise of China. Singapore has a similar model, and has been arguably more successful than Hong Kong, because Hong Kong being gateway to China, was riding on the economic boom in China, while Singapore had no one to gain from.
In just 30 years, the CPC have moved 800 millions of people out from poverty. The rate of growth is unprecedented in human history. They have built the biggest mobile network, by far the biggest high speed rail network in the world, and they have become a behemoth in infrastructure. 
They made a fishing village called Shenzhen into the world’s second largest technological centre after the Silicon Valley. They are growing into a technological power house. It has the most elaborate e-commerce and cashless payment system in the world. They have launched exploration to Mars. 
The Chinese are living a good life and China has become one of the safest countries in the world. The level of patriotism in the country has reached an unprecedented height.
For all of the achievements, the West has nothing good to say about it. China suffers from intense anti-China propagandas from the West. Western Media used the keyword “Communist” to instil fear and hatred towards China. Everything China does is negatively reported.
They claimed China used slave labor in making iPhones. The truth was, Apple was the most profitable company in the world, it took most of the profit, leave some to Foxconn (a Taiwanese company) and little to the labor.
They claimed China was inhuman with one-child policy. At the same time, they accused China of polluting the earth with its huge population. The fact is the Chinese consume just 30% of energy per capita compared to the US.
They claimed China underwent ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. The fact is China has a policy which priorities ethnic minorities. For a long time, the ethnic minorities were allowed to have two children and the majority Han only allowed one. The minorities are allowed a lower score for university intakes. 
There are 39,000 mosque in China, and 2100 in the US. China has about 3 times more mosque per muslim than the US. 
When terrorist attacks happened in Xinjiang, China had two choices: 1. Re-educate the Uighur extremists before they turned terrorists. 2. Let them be, after they launch attacks and killed innocent people, bomb their homes. 
China chose 1 to solve problem from the root and not to do killing. How the US solve terrorism? Fire missiles from battleships, drop bombs from the sky.
During the pandemic, When China took extreme measures to lockdown the people, they were accused of being inhuman. When China recovered swiftly because of the extreme measures, they were accused of lying about the actual numbers. When China’s cases became so low that they could provide medical support to other countries, they were accused of politically motivated. Western Media always have reasons to bash China.
Just like any country, there are irresponsible individuals from China which do bad and dirty things, but the China government overall has done very well. But I hear this comment over and over by people from the West: I like Chinese people, but the CPC is evil. What they really want is the Chinese to change the government, because the current one is too good.
Fortunately China is not a multi-party democratic country, otherwise the opposition party in China will be supported by notorious NGOs (Non-Government Organization) of the USA, like the NED (National Endowment for Democracy), to topple the ruling party. 
The US and the British couldn’t crack Mainland China, so they work on Hong Kong. Of all the ex-British colonial countries, only the Hong Kongers were offered BNOs by the British. Because the UK would like the Hong Kongers to think they are British citizens, not Chinese. A divide-and-conquer strategy, which they often used in Color Revolutions around the world.
They resort to low dirty tricks like detaining Huawei’s CFO & banning Huawei. They raised a silly trade war which benefits no one. Trade deficit always exist between a developing and a developed country. USA is like a luxury car seller who ask a farmer: why am I always buying your vegetables and you haven’t bought any of my cars?
When the Chinese were making socks for the world 30 years ago, the world let it be. But when Chinese started to make high technology products, like Huawei and DJI, it caused red-alert. Because when Western and Japanese products are equal to Chinese in technologies, they could never match the Chinese in prices. First world countries want China to continue in making socks. Instead of stepping up themselves, they want to pull China down.
The recent movement by the US against China has a very important background. When Libya, Iran, and China decided to ditch the US dollar in oil trades, Gaddafi’s was killed by the US, Iran was being sanctioned by the US, and now it’s China’s turn. 
The US has been printing money out of nothing. The only reason why the US Dollar is still widely accepted, is because it’s the only currency which oil is allowed to be traded with. The US has an agreement with Saudi that oil must be traded in US dollar ONLY. Without the petrol-dollar status, the US dollars will sink, and America will fall. Therefore anyone trying to disobey this order will be eliminated. China will soon use a gold-backed crypto-currency, the alarms in the White House go off like mad.
China’s achievement has been by hard work. Not buy looting the world.
I have deep sympathy for China for all the suffering, but now I feel happy for them. China is not rising, they are going back to where they belong. Good luck China.
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punkbrains-blog · 7 years
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If I would’ve been into descendents when I was in high school I think my life would be a lot different right now
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