The Weekly Watch

Forever Trapped in War?

Open Thread image.jpg

Lies, lies, and damn lies designed to create ever more war. WMDs all over again.
Viral Xinjiang Video (12 min) & American Alternate Reality Journalism (about 16 minutes)

Yes America is exceptional. Exceptionally arrogant and aggressive. Let's do a thought experiment and put the shoe on the other foot. Imagine China arming Cuba with it's aircraft carriers cruising the Gulf of Mexico...instead of the US arming Taiwan and NATO war vessels patrolling the South China Sea... then calling out the US for human rights because it's treatment of black and indigenous folk as an excuse for sanctions and war.

Of course the US has a long history of its treatment of Muslim people, but suddenly it is the Muslim people in China that are the focus of our concern. Come on. Certainly people can see through this charade.

Max Blumenthal debunks US accusation of China's 'genocide' against Uighurs (28 min)

Max Blumenthal documents the deceptions behind the US government's accusation that China is committing "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims in its Xinjiang region, picking apart NED-funded studies that rely on botched statistics and exposing extremist Adrian Zenz and his error-filled research. This was part of a panel discussion held on March 19, 2021.

British vlogger reveals truth about Xinjiang's 'concentration camps' (4 min)

Jason Lightfoot is a British video vlogger who's been in China for 10 years. In his latest video, he sarcastically criticizes some Western media outlets' distorted reports that allege the existence of "concentration camps" and "forced labor" in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He gives examples of some outlets using gray filters that alter videos to discredit the real environment in Xinjiang. He also notes others' practice of using Google Maps to randomly choose structures that look like prisons to back claims of "concentration camps" in Xinjiang with the aim of misleading the public. He says this reveals how little some Western media outlets know about China.

He's back to spoof media about their reporting on China
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8LO3stPUBM (8 min)

The many ways to manufacture consent...

manufacture consent.jpg

I found it interesting that Krystal did a piece about the WaPo repeating CIA talking points
about Bolivia... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgPnX1Q78PM (6 min)
And then hear Saagar repeat CIA talking points about China...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-F1RpIE_c0 (11 min)
The false China slave narrative is being pushed for a reason. The US is walking into the Thucydides Trap.

In 2015, Harvard political scientist and professor Graham Allison identified a scenario he calls the Thucydides Trap. Basically, the Thucydides Trap says that as a rising power challenges the dominance of an established power, that dominant power is likely to respond with violence. It's a model for predicting when warfare is likely between two nations, but also a way to propose alternative solutions meant to prevent warfare. After all, the whole point of identifying a trap is to avoid it.

False Assertions, Misleading Quotes, Fake Sources - How The NYT Writes Anti-China Screeds

Unsupported assertions about the motives of the "U.S. led" order, out of context quotes that turn the actual statements by the Chinese foreign minister into their opposite and missattribution of a news summary as a diplomatic statement is something that one would not expect from a news outlet but from a propaganda organ.

That is then, obviously, what the Times has become.

https://thegrayzone.com/2021/03/31/china-uyghur-gun-soldiers-empire/

Cultivated by the US government as human rights activists, Uyghur American Association leaders partner with far-right lawmakers and operate a militia-style gun club that trains with ex-US special forces.

On March 21, US-government-funded Uyghur activists were caught on video disrupting a gathering against anti-Asian racism in Washington DC, barking insults at demonstrators including, “Wipe out China!” and “Fuck China!” The Uyghur caravan flew American and “East Turkestan” flags and drove vehicles adorned signs bearing slogans such as, “We Love USA,” “Boycott China,” and “CCP killed 80 million Chinese people.”

Iraqi: "US Brings Bombs, China Brings Trade to my country" (26 min)

Mr. Hussein Askary, a BRI expert from Baghdad who engages with the Iraqi Government, as he shares his perspective into Hong Kong, the US-China Conflict, Xinjiang, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Belt and Road Initiative, Iraq-China relations and the Middle East Conflict.
Time stamps here.

The Grayzone crowd had a 3 hour long conversation primarily focusing on US foreign aggression. I broke it into 3 one hour long session when I listened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxtzgHRHxQU
US mass murder in Syria; China, Uighurs, and new cold war; Ukraine crisis
These folks are almost the last of the independent, investigative journalist.

Don't forget Russia! As Max, Ben, and Aaron discuss, plans to use Ukraine are underway.

The past week has seen a significant escalation of fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbass region. While the Western media is decrying an alleged “Russian aggression,” the military clashes have, in fact, taken place against the backdrop of a series of major provocations by the Ukrainian government which is calculating to receive NATO support in a potential war with Russia.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/03/ukra-a03.html

Additionally as the Nord Stream 2 nears completion, we've been hassling the construction team... https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Warship-Activities-Jeopardize-Nord-S...

On March 28, for example, an unidentified submarine passed within a nautical mile of Fortuna, an engineering vessel that carries out the pipeline route and whose anchor ropes extend beyond that distance.

The next day, a Polish Navy ship also performed maneuvers near Fortuna. To avoid possible dangers, the Russian company sent the maintenance ship Spasatel Karev to sail parallel to the Polish vessel.

Chris Hedges discusses the emergence of the global police state with Professor William I. Robinson. Robinson in his new book, The Global Police State, uses shocking data to reveal how far capitalism has become a system of repression. He argues the emerging megacities of the world are becoming the battlegrounds where the excluded and the oppressed face off against the global police state. Robinson is a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work focuses on political economy, globalization, Latin America and historical material.

(27 min)

Even if we manage to avoid a global conflict, we still have to face the existential threat of climate chaos. Lee Camp interviews the economics professor and author of "Debunking Economics," Steve Keen. Keen's scholarship gives insight into the ways that neoclassical economic models misunderstand climate change. These models therefore stop our political institutions from responding to the crisis and provide cover for corporations to continue their polluting business practices. The conversation covers the climate crisis and the continued failure of modern societies to take it seriously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QY56VM5IFM (15 min)

Economic collapse might play a role in slowing down the environmental destruction...
Max and Stacy look at the indications that the ponzi economy is beginning to buckle similarly to the dotcom crash as SPACs insiders begin to sell. (1st 15 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQY7UHOic2E

Recent revelations show that over 50 big American companies managed to dodge paying federal corporate income taxes in fiscal year 2020, which comes amid widespread job losses due to the pandemic. RT looks at how the US system appears to favor the rich...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5mAosATBbo (4 min)

tar baby_0.jpg

These endless wars primarily for oil and global domination, remind me of the tar baby story. Once you start, you're trapped in the mire. Perhaps the saddest part of all this aggression is the absolute denial and blindness of the citizenry. The largest protest during the Trump presidency was because he fired Sessions, not because of endless war. Seemingly we've come to accept that aspect of America. So here we go again, more lies to promote war. It is a sad state of affairs.

I look forward to your comments and insights below...

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Comments

De-bunking the propaganda illusion of how 'great' the US aggression policies are
is an important component in getting an informed public to resist the destruction
of our planet at the hands of the MIC. Once the lies are exposed as such, the
justifications begin to wither away.

Thanks for the weekly watch LO!
Good luck finding those hidden eggs

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11 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@QMS

In hopes they will grow into chickens...

Actually eggs can be useful in the garden...

There is another reported use for eggs in the garden…one I’m considering a lot this week before Easter. When everyone is thinking of the best spots to hide eggs for an Easter hunt, why not bypass the boiling and dyeing and BURY them instead…under your tomato plant! It’s a tip passed down from generations of gardeners for adding a little calcium to the soil. Eggs are one of the most perfect foods for us, and why not for the soil, too?

https://bonnieplants.com/the-bonnie-blog/incredible-eggs-in-the-garden/

Happy Easter, Passover, and spring! Hope you have an eggcellent day.

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8 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Lookout's picture

in a pretty good rant against the CIA and other agencies. (10 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3k3mJdZ6Es]

Fits today's theme.

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8 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it. I, too, am hoping for a resurrection of human empathy and hope.

Two points: This week has found me following the China/Iran signing and the unfolding back and forth from Putin/Biden/Russia. Let me add India and Turkey to that list and if we look at the globe it is easy to see that the Belt and Road worldwide net of pipelines and shipping lanes that are NOT USA dominated are very close to their goal of a world empire that marginalizes the US.

An over simplification, no doubt, but not untrue. Add in the vast resources of Africa and China's supremacy there and well, you see, don't you?

We are left with South America which we have been draining and abusing for as long as I can remember.

On the hopeful side, I took your column from a few weeks ago and secured some sunflower seeds. I never tried them before because as I've mentioned my NYC balcony is 20 stories above the ground and that comes with wind issues that may interfere with results. Exposure is east and south so I'll get plenty of sun.

In any case, I've got the pots, the soil, the seeds and will be germinating them indoors and planting them the last week of April. Moving outside May 1 or asap after that weather permitting.

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9 users have voted.

NYCVG

Lookout's picture

@NYCVG

I enjoy growing things. It is something real anyway. Something in my ability to effect.

Whereas the global situation is beyond my effect.

The global corporate take over becomes more and more obvious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSK_LUkw9Cc (30 min)
Edit to Add: transcript here

Corporations have stepped beyond lobbying governments. They are integrating in policymaking at the national and international levels. Decisions historically taken by governments are increasingly taken by secretive unaccountable bodies run by corporations says Nick Buxton describing The Great Corporate Takeover mapped by people's movements and scholars.

The China Iran deal makes sense as you suggest. Take care and be well! Thanks for the visit.

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9 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout a short tough bush from Australia with vivid flowers does great in the wind. I look for it every spring but it isn't always easy to find.

Hopeful about the sunflowers.

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5 users have voted.

NYCVG

Lookout's picture

@NYCVG

pretty cheap $8-10/50 seed if you can't find plants.

Happy growing!

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout is a new experience because before the pandemic Lower Manhattan was filled with Farmer's Markets and Nurseries I could walk to and get what I needed.

Thank you for the recommendation. I found lantana in small pots that will become available on April 23 from a local grower and will have them shipped.

I cannot wait for the old NYC of memory to return. maybe, next year.

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7 users have voted.

NYCVG

Lookout's picture

@NYCVG

that we'll approach some sort of new normal by this fall. Of course we'll just have to see what we see.

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

The human species is largely responsible for changing life on this planet into such a tenuous, fragile prospect. The U.S. shoulders a huge part of the blame. This article in BAR delineates how our culture produces the imperialist mentality with the subsequent inevitable self-destruction. https://www.blackagendareport.com/reject-innocence-and-siege-politics-us...

The solution seems simple to me; just recognize that we all need to get along. It's a small planet.

Thanks for a great roundup on this subject, have a good one.

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11 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@randtntx

Gets right to the point I was trying to make.

They rigged the game putting arms manufacturing in every state and purchased essentially all the representatives.

We had two freezing mornings here, but we came through it better than most. We have a protected microclimate.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

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8 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

earthling1's picture

And everyday Americans are apparently ok with it. Either that or they are happily in denial.
Will they follow the "rules based order" off the cliff?
Stay tuned.
Thanks Lookout.

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6 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Lookout's picture

@earthling1

Don't worry as the great leader said, "nothing will fundamentally change."

Saw this the other day and I was thinking you had a Leaf? Might be useful info.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4nS_tSQiVQ

Battery swapping is the perfect solution for keeping first generation EVs like the Nissan Leaf on the road and giving them a new lease of life.

Robert heads to Cheltenham to visit Cleevely Electric Vehicles who have partnered with Muxsan in Holland to offer this brilliant battery swapping service. As battery technology has greatly advanced in the 10 years since the launch of the Leaf, updating with a larger, newer battery from crash damaged cars increases both the range and lifespan of the car.

Cleevely EV - https://www.cleevelyev.co.uk/
Muxsan - https://muxsan.com/English/index.html

All the best!

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8 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

earthling1's picture

@Lookout
I do have a 2016 Leaf, but so far so good. 26k miles and batteries have barely deminished. Gets us to the farm and back (152 miles) for $2.60 in electric (42 kwh).
Hauled six 8' two by fours in it today. Suprisingly roomy cab.
Workin' the farm for three days now since weather is good.

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4 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

magiamma's picture

For something a little less heavy.

[video:https://youtu.be/5hoEQnH8KDI]

Thanks for the ww. Still sunny here. More rain please. Happy gardening.

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5 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Lookout's picture

@magiamma

We're looking ahead at a dry week. I've still got more work to do on the roads. Hired some help for midweek to help do several things we can't manage. The world explodes green despite two early morning freezes this week. Dogwood blooming. Spring evolves as though we don't exist.

Thanks for the humor. Can always do with a laugh and that is pretty laughable.

Have a good one!

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4 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

snoopydawg's picture

Boy that sure is a far cry from MLK 'I have a dream' speech.

‘SACRED’: JOHN LEWIS’ FINAL FIGHT TO PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS

Bold headline on the Huff Beast this morn and all I can think is this guy was no MLK. Lewis traveled far from his roots as King's right hand person who risked his life to fulfill his dreams. Sorry. But no one gets a pass for selling out. Lewis sold King's dreams out and democrats should never mention his name.

Hey has Biden fired DeJoy yet or is he gonna let him destroy the Post office?

Cops have been busy with lots of gun violence in Ogden lately and this shooting happened right after I drove by the area. Minutes after. This is the 3rd gun incident in 3 days. There have been 5 multiple killings in these UnUnited States of America in the last week. Suicides are going up and especially in teenagers. The UnUnited States sure could benefit from health care and lots of people living on the edge could get mental health help if it did. Sure would solve......but no. Better stop here. Feel a big rant coming on.

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6 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Lookout's picture

@snoopydawg

I wish they would dump DeJoy, start public banking in the PO, and ease the retirement requirement to fund future employees. All three actions would result in profit for us all.

What if your credit card company told you: “You will charge a million dollars on your credit card during your life; please enclose the million dollars in your next bill payment. It’s the responsible thing to do.” Doesn’t seem quite right, does it?

Well, that’s what the U.S. Postal Service’s requirement to prefund its long-term pension and healthcare liabilities is like. The Postal Service is required to pay the full estimate of its liabilities, currently estimated at nearly $404 billion, even as that estimate moves around and is based on assumptions that are highly uncertain and can frequently change over the life of the liability.

https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume

And as to all the killings...
I bet you have all these open carry people in Utah like in GA. Gotta have my gun? Now, I have a gun. A rifle I keep by the door. I've shot rabid coons, rattlesnakes on the porch, and other problem varmints...but I don't carry it around, don't feel the need. It is something about the signal broadcasted by the gun totters that is weird to me.

When you export violence it comes home to bite.

Hope your weather is nice and you have a good one!

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7 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mask-filtration-standards-marketplace-1.5...

As more dangerous variants of the coronavirus spread, many Canadians are looking to upgrade their mask.

That has some people reaching for N95-style respirators that promise to filter at least 95 per cent of airborne particles.

When shopping online and in stores, consumers are most likely to find the international equivalents of the coveted N95, as these masks are still generally not available in stores.

The imported equivalents include the KN95 respirator, which meets the Chinese standard of 95 per cent filtration efficiency and the KF94, which meets the Korean standard of 94 per cent filtration efficiency.

However, as demand for these masks has grown, so has the presence of counterfeits and poor-quality respirators in Canadian stores.

To find out how much Canadians can trust what they're buying, CBC's Marketplace tested 14 KN95 and KF94 respirator brands purchased from Amazon and big box stores.

Three masks from each brand were tested at a lab at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health to see if they meet their filtration efficiency claims. Half failed.

Worth a read.

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7 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@humphrey

We bought a package KN95 masks that made us feel safer, plus they make it easier to breathe. Now that we're vaccinated I'm still wearing my mask to the grocery and such, but not around other vaccinated folks.

One reason there was a shortage of ppe and masks were not initially recommended.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8234501/US-sent-18million-worth...

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Americans think less of China. This is the same as happened to American opinion of Russia.

Polls say Americans report record low opinions of China.

I remember somebody did an "international poll" on Putin and except for China and maybe a few others,he had very low ratings. About same time, a buddy went returned home to SE Asia for a high school reunion. Everybody seem to have done well becoming business owners, millionaires, academics, teachers, etc. They got to taking world politics and got on Putin who they considered a "hero". Yes, a hero. Yes, antecodial, but still revealing about gaslighting and polls.

So much for that reporter claiming to know international opinion on China.

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7 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@MrWebster

China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, and on and on. Any country that won't obey the corporate dictates is targeted.

thanks for the link.

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6 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

If the slave labor, which is likely, since Romney thought the barbed wire etc...was AWESOME, then these businesses who profit from it should pull out, and bring those jobs home, where we have some semblance of labor protection. Amazon warehouses are going to prove me wrong, huh?
Almost every garment I have from the past 10 years is made in some factory in China, Guatemala, Malaysia, etc...
Hope you are well.

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5 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

@on the cusp

has CIA connections. He openly admits his republican connections, which might be the source of his anti-China take.

Last several years, I've been buying my clothes at the Goodwill or Attic Treasures (another charity shop), and yes most are China or Central American.

We're doing great. Still hanging in the holler. Best of luck with all your new plantings.

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

TheOtherMaven's picture

@Lookout

but that's for people within relatively narrow physical norms. Get too far outside them and your only choices are to buy new (and marked up) or do your own sewing (I've been doing more and more of the latter).

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2 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Lookout's picture

@TheOtherMaven

but I do buy large shirts rather than medium. I have a one XXXL that is great as a cover shirt to paint and such. Here in the south larger sizes are more common.

Prices are the real benefit, $1-3 for shirts...lots of them name brand, after all what class of folks donate? I use a wool tweed sports coat that I bought years ago for $3 as a layer under my LLBean canvas coat (which was $10) and the combo is comfortable down into the twenties.

We've been cheapskates most of our lives.

Have a good one!

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

usefewersyllables's picture

@Lookout

in that we have a really, really good Salvation Army store. I haven't bought any new clothes in over 5 years, but I've been able to pick up some barely-used clothes from there for a song. Between them and ARC Thrift, we're covered pretty well. Goodwill has a presence also, but their clothes tend to be longer in the tooth- at the SA store, we routinely find things that have been donated by the local gentry with their original price tags still on them. I'm also doing a small cottage industry in buying and rehabilitating vintage cast-iron cookware...

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@Lookout Saagar has a history of being a highly placed journalist before he had a lick of experience. As though he had been groomed.
I am wearing a high end designer blazer I picked up at an estate sale. I paid maybe $35.00 for a stack of clothes. This linen-silk coat, a purple suede leather jacket, a red suede leather jacket, and a tan silk jacket. They are a vintage brand, and these items never go out of style. Forever kinds of clothing items.
I love yard sales!

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2 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

@on the cusp @usefewersyllables

Love used/repurposed stuff. It is really amazing how cheap you can get by and look like you paid big bucks.

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout I have to go out in public, and meet the public, so I figure out a way to dress for success without having to pay those huge prices.
I also got several silk blouses for just a few dollars. They never go out of style.
I bought a pair of Ferragamo tall boots for $35.00. They are regularly $1,000.00 new. Seems the woman who was rich and moving to another state wore my clothing and shoe size. The money I spent that afternoon would not have bought her a decent restaurant dinner at the airport in Houston.
I am a stock size. I don't even have to try clothes and shoes on, unless I just have the time.

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1 user has voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981