Flashing Colors

 

All About Ukraine

 

Ukraine ranks...

1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores;

2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves;

2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves);

2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons);

 2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves;

3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)

4th in the world by the total value of natural resources;

7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)

Ukraine is an agricultural country:

1st in Europe in terms of arable land area;

3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume);

1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil;

2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports;

3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world;

4th largest producer of potatoes in the world;

5th largest rye producer in the world;

5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons);

8th place in the world in wheat exports;

9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs;

16th place in the world in cheese exports.

Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.

Ukraine is an industrialized country:

1st in Europe in ammonia production;

2-е Europe's and 4th largest natural gas pipeline system in the world (142.5 bln cubic meters of gas throughput capacity in the EU);

3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants;

3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km);

3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment;

3rd largest iron exporter in the world

4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world;

4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers

The Most Valuable Companies in the WORLD

 

Nikki Haley on CHINA

 

Lighted Tree

Master Sergeant & Chef Andre RUSH

Andre Rush is an American celebrity chef and military veteran. Rush worked in the White House as a Chef for four administrations. Rush, a retired Master Sergeant of the US Army, gained attention for his large biceps and muscular physique.

Rush grew up in Columbus, Mississippi.  He played football in the position of running back at Lee High School in Columbus.  He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Management from Trident University International, an associate degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Central Texas College and an associate degree from Culinary Stafford University.

Rush enlisted as active duty in the US Army in 1993. He has been deployed several times, and has served as a trainer in hand-to-hand combat and food service. In 1997, he began to cook at the White House. He has served the presidential administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.  He worked at the White House part-time while simultaneously working at The Pentagon.  He was in the gym of the Pentagon when it was hit during the September 11, 2001 attacks, and chose to enlist in combat duties afterwards.

In June 2018, Rush received fame when he was photographed by CNN reporter Kate Bennett preparing a Ramadan meal for a White House dinner.  The photo of him cooking on the White House lawn during the annual White House Iftar dinner circulated on Twitter, and subsequently went viral.  Later that year, Rush signed a deal to produce a television show entitled Chef in the City.  He has since left his job as a White House chef.

In 2020, Rush attended the opening of a Salvation Army in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, whereupon they gave him a celebration of service award.

Rush was a member of the U.S. Army Culinary Arts Team. In addition to cooking, Rush's other pursuits include ice carving, motivational speaking and life coaching.

Fitness
Rush is known for his physique and large 24 inch biceps that gave him notoriety on social media.  As a high school senior he reportedly could bench press 350 pounds (160 kg) while weighing just 150 pounds (68 kg).  In 2010, he was reported to be able to bench press 605 pounds (274 kg).   Rush states he does 2,222 pushups daily as part of the 22 pushup challenge, with the goal to raise awareness for the roughly 22 veterans who die by suicide every day.

In 2021, Men's Health published an article featuring Rush's daily routine, which included him eating eight meals a day and up to 10,000 calories and only sleeping for 2 hours every night.  Some of his claims were received with skepticism by the professional bodybuilding community.  SOURCE: Wikipedia

To visit the website of Chef Rush, CLICK HERE...

Tiger

 

Edge Computing

Edge computing is a distributed information technology (IT) architecture in which client data is processed at the periphery of the network, as close to the originating source as possible.

Data is the lifeblood of modern business, providing valuable business insight and supporting real-time control over critical business processes and operations. Today's businesses are awash in an ocean of data, and huge amounts of data can be routinely collected from sensors and IoT devices operating in real time from remote locations and inhospitable operating environments almost anywhere in the world.

But this virtual flood of data is also changing the way businesses handle computing. The traditional computing paradigm built on a centralized data center and everyday internet isn't well suited to moving endlessly growing rivers of real-world data. Bandwidth limitations, latency issues and unpredictable network disruptions can all conspire to impair such efforts. Businesses are responding to these data challenges through the use of edge computing architecture.

In simplest terms, edge computing moves some portion of storage and compute resources out of the central data center and closer to the source of the data itself. Rather than transmitting raw data to a central data center for processing and analysis, that work is instead performed where the data is actually generated -- whether that's a retail store, a factory floor, a sprawling utility or across a smart city. Only the result of that computing work at the edge, such as real-time business insights, equipment maintenance predictions or other actionable answers, is sent back to the main data center for review and other human interactions.

Thus, edge computing is reshaping IT and business computing. Take a comprehensive look at what edge computing is, how it works, the influence of the cloud, edge use cases, tradeoffs and implementation considerations.  READ MORE...

Locked Out

 

Cognitive Computing

The goal of cognitive computing is to simulate human thought processes in a computerized model. Using self-learning algorithms that use data mining, pattern recognition and natural language processing, the computer can mimic the way the human brain works.

While computers have been faster at calculations and processing than humans for decades, they haven’t been able to accomplish tasks that humans take for granted as simple, like understanding natural language, or recognizing unique objects in an image.


Some people say that cognitive computing represents the third era of computing: we went from computers that could tabulate sums (1900s) to programmable systems (1950s), and now to cognitive systems.

These cognitive systems, most notably IBM ’s Watson, rely on deep learning algorithms and neural networks to process information by comparing it to a teaching set of data. The more data the system is exposed to, the more it learns, and the more accurate it becomes over time, and the neural network is a complex “tree” of decisions the computer can make to arrive at an answer.

What can cognitive computing do?

For example, according to this TED Talk video from IBM, Watson could eventually be applied in a healthcare setting to help collate the span of knowledge around a condition, including patient history, journal articles, best practices, diagnostic tools, etc., analyze that vast quantity of information, and provide a recommendation.  READ MORE.

Daffy Duck

 

Robot Juggling

Behavior of the Wealthy

Money, and the dogged pursuit of it, have been known to change an individual. There’s even a term for it — affluenza — which is a combination of affluence (wealth) and influenza (disease). According to Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, it’s the “the damage done — to our health, our families, our communities, and our environment — by the obsessive quest for material gain.” But, how exactly does money affect rich people?

Wealthy people may have less empathy than those belonging to lower socio-economic classes — the latter was found to be better at reading others’ facial expressions, which is considered an important marker for developing empathy, according to research published in the journal Psychological Science. 

“Lower-class environments are much different from upper-class environments,” study co-author and social psychologist, Michael Kraus, told Time. “Lower-class individuals have to respond chronically to a number of vulnerabilities and social threats. You really need to depend on others so they will tell you if a social threat or opportunity is coming and that makes you more perceptive of emotions.”

This lack of empathy in wealthy people has also been recorded in other social experiments: drivers of luxury cars were found to give pedestrians the right of way three times less than those driving less expensive vehicles; wealthy car drivers were also four times more likely to drive rashly and cut off others on the road, according to psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Another experiment from the same group of researchers involved two individuals playing Monopoly, in which one player received more fake money at the start of the game than the other. The player with more money initially showed discomfort with the inequality of the game rules, which slowly dissipated as the game went on: the more fake wealth the player accumulated, the more aggressive he got toward the other player, made fun of him and showed off his wealth, which had been distributed unequally in the first place. 

Even being exposed to money-related words and phrases can affect individuals’ thought processes and make them more prone to taking unethical decisions, such as lying, according to a study by Harvard University and the University of Utah researchers. “Even if we are well-intentioned, even if we think we know right from wrong, there may be factors influencing our decisions and behaviors that we’re not aware of,” study co-author and University of Utah professor Kristin Smith-Crowe told MarketWatch.                       READ MORE...

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

Americans For Prosperity

The cries of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” rang throughout the marbled walls of the Wisconsin state assembly chamber. Disgusted Democratic politicians, some of whom had been up for over 60 hours by this point, punctuated their chants by throwing papers – and even drinks – at their Republican counterparts. Police officers had to be summoned to physically restrain one Democratic representative yelling “Cowards!” across the aisle.

The source of this confrontation, in the early hours of February 2011, was an unprecedented push by Wisconsin Republicans, led by the state’s newly elected Republican governor, Scott Walker, to slash the union rights held by most public workers. 

Walker argued that budget woes in the state necessitated the shift, and barrelled forward to eliminate the rights of virtually all public-sector workers to collectively bargain with government and to allow government employees to opt out of paying dues to their unions.

At first blush this might seem like a years-old local issue in a US state that rarely lights up the international headlines. Yet events in Wisconsin are crucial to understanding how a little-known, billionaire-funded organization, called Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has tilted American politics to the right. It is intertwined with, and rivals in size, the Republican party itself.

Where did Walker’s ultra-conservative labor agenda come from? As a candidate, Walker barely mentioned collective bargaining or union busting. And we know this plan did not come from voters. Before the legislation popped up on the agenda, Wisconsinites generally supported collective bargaining. Nationally, only about 40% of American adults favor curbs to public sector bargaining rights, and in Wisconsin, this minority level of support was about the same.

Instead, to understand what happened in Wisconsin – and what is happening in states across the country – we need to look to the underappreciated organization that is at the center of the political network created and directed by the billionaire conservative industrialists, Charles and David Koch.  READ MORE...

Cat Chasing

 

America's Billionaires Control Americans

A new study reveals how the wealthy engage in ‘stealth politics’: quietly advancing unpopular, inequality-exacerbating, highly conservative policies

If we judge US billionaires by their most prominent fellows, they may seem to be a rather attractive bunch: ideologically diverse (perhaps even tending center-left), frank in speaking out about their political views, and generous in philanthropic giving for the common good – not to mention useful for the goods and jobs they have helped produce.

The very top titans – Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates – have all taken left-of-center stands on various issues, and Buffett and Gates are paragons of philanthropy. The former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is known for his advocacy of gun control, gay rights, and environmental protection. George Soros (protector of human rights around the world) and Tom Steyer (focused on young people and environmental issues) have been major donors to the Democrats. 

In recent years, investigative journalists have also brought to public attention Charles and David Koch, mega-donors to ultra-conservative causes. But given the great prominence of several left-of-center billionaires, this may merely seem to right the balance, filling out a picture of a sort of Madisonian pluralism among billionaires.

Unfortunately, this picture is misleading. Our new, systematic study of the 100 wealthiest Americans indicates that Buffett, Gates, Bloomberg et al are not at all typical. Most of the wealthiest US billionaires – who are much less visible and less reported on – more closely resemble Charles Koch. 

They are extremely conservative on economic issues. Obsessed with cutting taxes, especially estate taxes – which apply only to the wealthiest Americans. Opposed to government regulation of the environment or big banks. Unenthusiastic about government programs to help with jobs, incomes, healthcare, or retirement pensions – programs supported by large majorities of Americans. Tempted to cut deficits and shrink government by cutting or privatizing guaranteed social security benefits.

How can this be so? If it is true, why aren’t voters aware and angry about it?  READ MORE...

Eruption

Biden's Burden(s)

Afghanistan Withdrawal Debacle

COVID - 19  Confusion

Increasing Inflation

Supply Chain SNAFU

Illegal Immigration Invasion

Sporatic Lockdowns

Sporatic Facemask Mandate

Democrats retiring from Congress

Patronizing Mainstream Media

Not Willing to Answer Questions

Russian Invasion of Ukraine Potential

China Invasion of Taiwan Potential

North Korea Testing Long Range Missiles

Iran Nuclear Program Escalating

Terrorist VOW Destruction of America

After being our President for a year now, the above are the indisputable accomplishments of the Biden Administration...

I remember when Biden won the election, I received an email that read:  OUR NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS FINALLY OVER...   If I were to send that person an email now, it would read:  OUR NATIONAL NIGHTMARE HAS JUST BEGUN...

Sad to say, but I believe that the Republicans will win control of the House and Senate after the 2022 midterms and the balance of power will shift back to the conservatives...

It could also mean that in 2024, the Republicans could acquire the Presidency and REVERSE all the orders that Biden put into place just like he REVERSED all the orders that Trump had put into place...

Who wins with this type of seesaw government?

You Exist

Malta's Cannibis Rules

Malta’s new cannabis rules should serve as a model for other European states of how to end the unnecessary prosecution of low-level drug users and strike a blow against organised crime, according to the minister responsible for the law, Owen Bonnici.

Bonnici, a former justice minister and now minister for equality, research and innovation, said the new law, passed by the Maltese parliament in December 2021, prevented recreational users from being dragged through the courts or tribunal process for possession of small amounts of cannabis.

But it also allows for users and, eventually, non-profit organisations to grow cannabis plants and distribute it to other smokers via cannabis associations, meaning they no longer have to source the drug via the black market and put money into the pockets of international criminal gangs.

Malta’s law allows users to carry seven grams of the drug and store up to 50 grams at home, making it the first EU state to legalise cannabis.

German Chancellor Olof Scholz is in favour of legalisation but the country’s new government has not set a time limit on the reforms.

Although the Netherlands is world-famous for the availability of cannabis, it remains illegal for individuals to sell or possess it and the "coffee shops" that are licensed to sell it have to buy their product in bulk on the black market, incentivising criminals that grow and traffic it.

A number of European states, including Italy, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have done away with prison sentences for marijuana possession, but in 14 of 28 European states -- including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria -- minor cannabis possession can still lead to jail time.

Even in European states where cannabis has been “decriminalised”, meaning that those caught with small amounts of the product are not be arrested, users still need to buy the drug from dealers.  READ MORE...

Colorado

 

China - Pakistan & Kashmir

China and Pakistan on Sunday said they opposed “unilateral actions that complicate” the Kashmir issue, as they pledged closer ties following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A joint statement released following their meeting in Beijing said “both sides reiterated their support on issues concerning each other’s core interests” and “underscored that stronger defence and security cooperation between Pakistan and China was an important factor of peace and stability in the region.”

Mr. Khan attended the opening of the Winter Olympics on Friday, which India has boycotted following the use of a PLA commander in the torch relay, and also held talks with Premier and second-ranked leader Li Keqiang prior to his meeting with Mr. Xi.

The joint statement following Sunday’s talks said Pakistan was committed to a “One-China Policy and support for China on Taiwan, South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.” China, for its part, “reaffirmed its support for Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and security, as well as promoting its socio-economic development and prosperity.”  READ MORE...

Takeoff

 

Ending CNN's Liberal Bias

CNN’s long history of Left-wing bias may be nearing its end.

Following the resignation of CNN’s president, Jeff Zucker, the network’s future may trend away from Left-leaning political opinions, and more towards impartial news reporting.

Later this year, CNN will finalize its merger with Discovery Inc., and John Malone, the CEO of Liberty Media, is expected to have notable control over the news site. Liberty Media is Discovery’s largest shareholder, giving Malone a 25% voting share in the company which will be taking control of CNN.

The businessman’s past actions/statements have led many to believe that Malone will aim to adjust CNN’s Liberal biases towards more “impartial” journalism.

In 2017, Malone donated $250,000 to Donald Trump’s inauguration. Back in 2019, Malone boldly stated that he “would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.”  READ MORE...

Heavy Snowfall

Life in America

In the last two years, January 2020 through December 2021, my wife and I have received $3,200 each in stimulus money or a total of $6,400 and since we did not need the money, we simply put it in our savings account in the Credit Union...  but, it was really nice for our Federal Government to give us that free money and if they want to do it again, then we will gladly accept it and eagerly put it in our savings account again...

My wife and I have been retired since 2015 and live off of our Savings and our Social Security income which is around $3,000 each month and our current lifestyle has us spending about $4,500 each month so we are depleting our savings by $1,500 each month or $18,000 each year...  however, because I am being treated for two different cancers simultaneously, my cancer insurance which we took out 20 years ago on a whim pays me $10,000 each year, so I actually only need to reduce our savings by $8,000 each year.

Over the next 20 years, our savings will be reduced $180,000 and the current value of our completely paid for home is somewhere between $200,000 to $250,000.  At 74 years old, living for the next 20 years is questionable but entirely possible, even with cancer.

Did I plan for this?

Not really...  it just sorta happened...

In 1990, I left NC for TN because I was going to add somewhere between $12-15,000 to my salary but I did not think about TN not having a state income tax which adds 7% to your take-home pay.  Nor, did I realize that the cost of living was about 13/14% less (on average) than anywhere else in the USA...

Where we live in East TN:

• the Knoxville airport is 50 minutes away
• The Knoxville hospital is 40 minutes away
• Walmart supercenter is 2 miles away
• Weigles Convenience store (gasoline) is 1.5 miles away
• Interstate 40 is 7 miles from the house
• Gatlinburg, TN (Smoky Mtns) is 1.5 hours away
• Bristol Motor Speedway is 2 hours away
• Nashville, TN is 3 hours away
• Atlanta, GA is 4 hours away
• Myrtle Beach, SC is 6 hours away

Because of the Cumberland Plateau on the west side of us and because of the Smoky Mountains on the east side of us, all the major storms either in the winter or in the summer have a tendency to shield the TN Valley from adverse weather conditions.

Life in America for my wife and I is pleasantly satisfactory...  I would say that we look for deals and never spend our money unwisely.  We purchase year old leased cars with low mileage when we need to replace our vehicles.  Our lifestyle is simple and we have controlled our greedy desires that plague so many Americans.  We have no desire to try and live like the wealthy nor do not do what we want to...

• We have been on 12 cruises
• We have been to Europe twice
• We have been to Hawaii three times
• We have been to Alaska
• We have been to the Caribbean often
• We have been to Mexico several times
• We have been to Canada
• We have been to Vegas three times
• We have been to the Gulf Coast/Florida often
• We spend most of our summers at Myrtle Beach, SC

What has helped more than anything else was the fact that we became debt free 15 years ago and have never gotten into debt since.  We use credit cards, but always pay them off at the end of the month so we never pay interest.

We don't fly around in private jets nor are we members of a country club or spend a lot of money on clothes and accessories.  We typically go out to dinner once a week but never pay more than $30-$50 for those meals including tips.

Instead of an inground pool, we have an above ground pool but with a deck that completely surrounds the circular pool.  The deck is large enough for a 15X15 gazebo along with a 6 person hot tub.  Both the hot tub and the pool are over 10 years old because we make sure we properly take care of them with proper preventive maintenance.

It feels nice to live like this...  and, it feels nice to live in a conservative state...  and, it feels nice to live in an area where there is hardly any crime and violence...  I am glad for the convenient location of our home...  and I am glad that I live between two relatively large man-made lakes...  and, most importantly, I am glad to be a SOUTHERNER...

Waterponds

 

Just in Tennessee???

Black Lives Matter organizer Pamela Moses was convicted in Nov. 2021 and sentenced to six years in prison in Feb. 2022 for illegally registering to vote in Tennessee, according to prosecutors. 

Moses, reported as the founder of the BLM Memphis chapter, had 16 prior felony convictions, making her ineligible to register and vote.

At her Jan. 26 sentencing hearing Moses, while claiming: ““I did not falsify anything. All I did was try to get my rights to vote back the way the people at the election commission told me and the way the clerk did,” was reprimanded by Judge Mark Ward, while issuing her prison sentence, responded: ““You tricked the probation department into giving you documents saying you were off probation,” Ward said in court last week. “After you were convicted of a felony in 2015, you voted six times as a convicted felon.”

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