Without Darkness There Can Be No Light

FOREVER...

since the universe was created...

there has been a struggle between good and evil...  even though in nature, there is no good or evil, just survival...

it is mankind that has interpreted survival as being a struggle between good and evil...

we portray this struggle from the stanpoint of colors or lack thereof...  moving from white to black...  

moving from dark to light...  as in the darkness of night to the lightness of day...

If you are a painter, you understand that without darkness you have no light....  

we visualize life around us in terms of the contrasts between light and dark...  understanding that light only shows up if and when it is surrounded or bordered by dark colors...

Without the concept of evil, there was no goodness...

Let me explain...

In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, as the story goes, lived in a world of goodness.

Did they have a choice?

Yes...  they could choose good or they could choose good...

Were they really offered a choice?

No...

So, what happened?  Evil was introduced in the form of a serpent (referred to as the devil) and from that point on, Adam and Eve did have a choice...

They could choose good or they could choose evil or a combination of the two...

Adam and Eve would be considered the light...

The serpent would be considered the dark...

Without these two choices, life has no choices...  both must exist in our life...

Without the understanding of light and dark, we would just survive like the animals of nature...

But, that is not what our creator envisioned...  is it?

 

Niagra Falls

Chunks of ice and snow-capped rocks could be seen at the base of the Niagara Falls after a huge winter storm swept over the US and Canada.


Plunging temperatures over the Christmas period transformed the waterfalls into a wintry sight to behold.


The blizzard caused huge disruption across North America, and left 34 people dead in New York State.

Many of the deaths were in the city of Buffalo, just south of the falls.


The storm brought over 4ft (1.2m) of snow to the city, causing major traffic problems and leaving many households without power.


Slightly warmer weather is now on the way.


Cascades of water could still be seen thundering down the falls, situated on the US-Canada border, in spite of the frozen areas.


In 2015, a Canadian ice climber stunned visitors by scaling a frozen section of the gorge.

Peanuts

 

Thanks to Everyone

 

Careful

HOLIDAY - New Year's Day

 

HOLIDAY - New Year's Eve

VINTAGE NEW YEAR'S EVE MUSIC

FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

IN 2022

 

High Walk

Tesla Charging Fiasco

Maintaining a Global Balance

We, as Americans, see ourselves as different and better than the rest of the world...

Different because of our Constitution and Democratic Republic...

Better because of all our freedoms...

Better because of our quality of life...

Better because we have laws and safeguards to protect our citizens from business that want to take advantage of our greed...

Better because of all the natural resources that we have in this country and because our productivity is higher than any other place in the entire world...

On the other side of the coin, we are no better than other countries because:

• Americans lie
• Americans cheat
• Americans steal
• Americans hide the truth
• Americans bully other countries
• Americans interfere with elections in other countries
• Americans take advantage of other's ignorance
• Americans try to change global cultures

We think that we are better when in reality we are not better and in many cases we are worse...   as we hide behind democracy and our religious beliefs...

America is in crisis because of immigration, inflation, our divided political beliefs, racism, and wealth...  it is this division that will come close to destroying our  country and at the very least, force us off the top of the hill as the global leader...

Who will take our place?

China

Russia

India

China certainly has the ability to be global leader with its growing economy, growing military, growing space program, and growing population...  but, it has not been tested with WAR...   having a big stick is not the same as being able to use that big stick effectively.

Russia, at one time, had the ability and determination to be a global leader, but hell, they cannot even defeat a small country like the Ukraine unless they use nuclear weapons...  it would appear that their global bullying days are politically over unless something drastically changes.

I am not even going to address India...  as they are just trying to build internal wealth through global commerce and their ability to provide back office skills.

The US of A is, right now and in my opinio, IMPOTENT, and no longer has the wherewithall to provide global leaders although several billionaires disagree with me.  Billionaires influence but they cannot control the masses.

Our global affairs will be divided equally among the top countries...  it's just that they do not know it yet.  The US of A will FAIL and they will FAIL BIG but they will always be needed in some capacity by the rest of the world...  if for no other reason but to maintain a global balance.

It Ain't That Funny

 

Future of Religion in USA

Since the 1990s, large numbers of Americans have left Christianity to join the growing ranks of U.S. adults who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” This accelerating trend is reshaping the U.S. religious landscape, leading many people to wonder what the future of religion in America might look like.

What if Christians keep leaving religion at the same rate observed in recent years? What if the pace of religious switching continues to accelerate? What if switching were to stop, but other demographic trends – such as migration, births and deaths – were to continue at current rates? To help answer such questions, Pew Research Center has modeled several hypothetical scenarios describing how the U.S. religious landscape might change over the next half century.

The Center estimates that in 2020, about 64% of Americans, including children, were Christian. People who are religiously unaffiliated, sometimes called religious “nones,” accounted for 30% of the U.S. population. Adherents of all other religions – including Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists – totaled about 6%

Depending on whether religious switching continues at recent rates, speeds up or stops entirely, the projections show Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to between a little more than half (54%) and just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070. Over that same period, “nones” would rise from the current 30% to somewhere between 34% and 52% of the U.S. population.  READ MORE...

SOCIALISM takes America Into COMMUNISM

 SOCIALISM VERSUS COMMUNISM

The main difference is that under communism, most property and economic resources are owned and controlled by the state (rather than individual citizens); under socialism, all citizens share equally in economic resources as allocated by a democratically-elected government.

Socialism and communism both place much value on creating a more equal society and removing class privilege. The biggest difference between them is that socialism is compatible with liberty and democracy, while communism depends on an authoritarian state to create an “equal society” that denies basic liberties.

The US of A and its liberal citizens want to create a society of equality and equity...  which means that can be no wealthy people in the US of A....  all of its citizens must have the same amount of wealth as their neighbors have...

• No more wealthy Hollywood actors and actresses
• No more wealthy professional athletes
• No more wealthy musicians
• No more wealthy artists
• No more wealthy CEOs and business owners

What you may not realize or want to realize is that the US of A is actually moving into this direction...  this movement is being pushed by the blacks, liberal democrats, and the liberal media...  and they are doing this under the guise of equity and equality...

What these liberal people do not understand is that AMERICANS ARE NOT EQUAL AND WILL NEVER BE EQUAL...

• How do you change ugly?
• How do you change one's height?
• How do you change one's mental ability?
• How do you change one's physical ability?

Think about this...   how are you going to make everyone as smart as Einstein?  Or, as physically gifted as Michael Jordan?  Or, have the musical voice of Bing Crosby singing White Christmas?  Or, have the acting ability of Tom Hanks or Meryl Streep?

The more we try to make all people equal, the more we move towards countries like China and Russia.  In these two countries, individual skills and abilities are supressed unless you are training for the Olympics or dancing in the Russian Ballet.   

We are all different and we will always be different and we will never achieve equality and equity.

United States Forecasts for 2023

International relations predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• The government mobilizes USD $200 billion to fulfill its Partnership for Global Infrastructure (PGII) pledge to low- and middle income countries over the next 5 years through grants, federal financing, and private sector investments for sustainable infrastructure. Likelihood: 80 percent
• The Omnivore Agritech and Climate Sustainability Fund 3, a venture capital fund investing in the agriculture, food systems, climate, and the rural economy in India, generates USD $130 million. Likelihood: 70 percent
• The US, Australia, India and Japan jointly announce a joint regional infrastructure scheme designed as an alternative to China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative and an attempt to counter Beijing’s growing geopolitical influence. Likelihood: 70%

Politics related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• California is first state to ban the sale of fur clothing, beginning in 2023.

Government related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• Global Insurance Report 2023: Reimagining life insurance.
• Renewable power’s growth is being turbocharged as countries seek to strengthen energy security.
• The 'office apocalypse' is upon us.
• Solar installations in US now exceed 2 million and could double by 2023, new figures show.
• California is first state to ban the sale of fur clothing, beginning in 2023.

Economy related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• The Federal Reserve launches a real-time payment service (Called FedNow) between 2023 and 2024 to accelerate the modernization of the US payments network. This initiative will help the poorest Americans by helping them get access to money faster and pay fewer bank fees overall. Likelihood: 90%

Technology related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• Adoption of AI-augmented automation for infrastructure and operations teams in the US will increase to around 40 percent this year. Likelihood: 70 percent.
• Global Insurance Report 2023: Reimagining life insurance.
• Apple advances user security with powerful new data protections.
• The End of High-School English.
• A conversation with Kevin Scott: What’s next in AI.
• Big Tech is laying staff off, but climate tech is hiring.

Culture related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• It is now legal for college athletes in California to hire agents and make money from endorsements. (Likelihood 70%)

Defense related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• The Navy starts deploying the anti-ship version of the Tomahawk cruise missile with a range of nearly 1,000 miles and the Harpoon missile with a range of about 70 miles. Likelihood: 60 percent
• The Air Force's AI-powered 'Skyborg' drones start flying alongside fighter jets, supporting the execution of dangerous missions. Likelihood: 50 percent
• The Army starts testing the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapons capable of flying at five times the speed of sound. Likelihood: 70 percent

Infrastructure related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• Vineyard Wind, an 800-megawatt, USD $2.8-billion joint venture starts pumping energy into the New England grid. Likelihood: 60 percent
• The number of solar panel installations in private and commercial buildings now exceeds 4 million nationwide, up from 2 million in 2019. Likelihood: 70%
• A conversation with Kevin Scott: What’s next in AI.
• Solar installations in US now exceed 2 million and could double by 2023, new figures show.

Environment related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• California becomes the first state to ban the sale of fur clothing. Likelihood: 100%
• Global Insurance Report 2023: Reimagining life insurance.
• Remote work is closing the geographic pay gap.
• The 'office apocalypse' is upon us.
• California is first state to ban the sale of fur clothing, beginning in 2023.

Science related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• A cross-country solar eclipse will occur this year, starting on October 14th. Likelihood: 100%
• The collapse of insects.
• A conversation with Kevin Scott: What’s next in AI.
• Get ready for 2 solar eclipses coming to the US in 2023 and 2024.

Health related predictions to impact the United States in 2023 include:

• How AI That Powers Chatbots and Search Queries Could Discover New Drugs.

SOURCE:  QuantumRun.com

Communist America with Capitalistic Professional Sports

Our current administration has been LYING for 2 years about our Southern border...  saying that the border is closed and that we have no problems with illegal immigration...

In addition to this LYING, our media companies are not covering our problem at the border except for FOX News...   this lack of coverage, helps convince the American public that there is no problem at our Southern border.

Several millions of illegal immigrants have already come into this country...  these illegal immigrants speak no English, have minimal skills, and brought no money with them to pay for food, shelter, clothing, or healthcare...

LYING to the citizens is what COMMUNIST countries do every day in an effort to control their people giving them only the knowledge and information that they want them to know and HIDE the rest.

America is now no different than Russia or China or for that matter North Korea....

HOWEVER, unlike these communist countries, the US of A still allows professional athletes to earn millions of dollars to play basketball, baseball, and football...   UNFORTUNATELY, only the wealthy can attend these games, the rest of us must watch the athletic event on television through cable or paid TV.

Russia has its wealthy oligarchs while the USA has its wealthy athletes..., 

How are we really better than these COMMUNIST countries?

We are not better....  We are both the same...

HIDE THE TRUTH FROM THE PUBLIC but allow the wealthy to do whatever the hell they want.  The wealthy are special and above the law as well as above all the rules that govern the rest of us.  Illegal immigrants are treated better than our citizens.

If the truth be known, these wealthy people still have to defecate and wipe their asses just like the rest of us...  and, the paper they use is no better than the paper we use...  The wealthy also bleed just like the rest of us and eventually die.   SO, having money is what makes them different and special....

SIMILARLY, communism is no different than American Democracy because of the way it attempts to hide the truth from the general public and those who are not wealthy.  The wealthy finance this hidden truth...

There are more non wealthy people than wealthy people...

 

Global Forecasts for 2023

1. Countries agree on an international treaty mandating the largest companies, including big tech, to pay more corporate tax abroad and a smaller share in their home countries. Link
2. 65% of the global population will have its personal data protected by privacy regulations. Link
3. Members of the United Nations-backed Race to Zero campaign is required to restrict the development, financing, and facilitation of new fossil fuel assets, including banning future coal projects. Link
4. The European Union implements the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) for large public-interest companies with more than 500 employees. Link
5. The European Space Agency launches the Hera Mission, a binary asteroid system designed to detect threatening asteroids weeks before they get near Earth. Link
6. The OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched in 2016 to visit the asteroid Bennu, returns a 2.1 ounce sample of the rocky body back to Earth. Link
7. The combined market for PCs and tablets declines 2.6 percent before returning to growth in 2024. Link
8. NASA and Axiom Space launch the second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX rockets. Link
9. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches the world's first wooden satellite. Link
10. The COVID-19 pandemic ends. Link
11. General Motors sells 20 all-electric car models, combining battery-electric and fuel-cell-electric vehicles. Link
12. Global gas markets remain tight as Russian pipeline gas exports decrease, keeping energy prices high, in spite of gas demand falling in Europe due to aggressive energy-saving measures. Link
13. Global polysilicon capacities nearly double by end of this year to 536 GW compared to 295 GW in 2022. Link
14. UN finally delivers climate plan to reduce emissions caused by global shipping industry. Link
15. The first government to replace its census with big-data technologies Link
16. 10% of reading glasses will be connected to the internet. Link
17. 80% of people on earth will have a digital presence online. Link
18. 90% of the global population will have a supercomputer in their pocket. Link
19. Acoustic earthquake shield developed to protect cities from earthquakes begin seeing initial use Link
20. Modifying genes to renew all body issues to youthful versions becomes possible Link
21. Cost of solar panels, per watt, equals 1 US dollars Link
22. World population forecasted to reach 7,991,396,000 Link
23. World sales of electric vehicles reaches 8,546,667 Link
24. Predicted global mobile web traffic equals 66 exabytes Link
25. Global Internet traffic grows to 302 exabytes

SOURCE:  QuantumRun.com

Careful

 

Bird Flip

It's Just An Opinion

Opinions are like assholes, everybody has got one...

However, if you have a PhD, your opinion is more valuable than someone who doesn't.

If you are a leader or a CEO or a plant manager, you opinion is more valuable.

If you are in the State Legislature, then your opinion is more valuable than others.

If you are a US Congressperson, then your opinion is really more valuable than others.

BUT...  it is still just an opinion...  and there are people who take the facts and the data and spin both so that they can create a narrative that appears to be rooted in truth, when in fact, it is not rooted anywhere near the soil or dirt of truth.

• What was the real truth of slavery?
• What was the real truth of Native Americans?
• What was the real truth of the Civil War?
• What was the real truth of Microsoft?
• What was the real truth of smoking cigarettes?
• What was the real truth of UFOs?
• What was the real truth of nazi germany?
• What was the real truth of our space program?
• What was the real truth of COVID?

Our government LOVES to HIDE the TRUTH from us...  they say it is not really lying, just withholding information until the time is more appropriate...  that is still lying...

But Hey...  this is just my opinion...   I don't have a PhD.  I am not a leader or an elected official.  I am simply retired.

We as Americans who represent the working class, even though we have a majority, are treated as if we are stupid and should not be told the truth, nor should our opinions be listened to...  by those who claim to be our leaders.

If they really listented to our opinions, then why do you think we still have the same problems TODAY that we had in the 1960s?

Ain't that a good enough question?