[stockstradr]

>>Obviously, you haven’t visited beijing recently.

http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/xiushuidongjie.htm

My meaning was the OLD Silk Street has been closed. The prices are higher at the new Xiushui Market, which some claim as the New Silk Street.

Now IF you are saying the Old Silk Street is still there, operating, that IS news to me. My understanding is that is has been DEMOLISHED.

There was a really interesting article some time ago in the WSJ about the nasty politics behind the closing of Old Silk Street, and how insiders (who own the new Xiushui Market) made lots of money on the deal.

[stockstradr]

>>Obviously, you haven’t visited beijing recently.

http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/xiushuidongjie.htm

My meaning was the OLD Silk Street has been closed. The prices are higher at the new Xiushui Market, which some claim as the New Silk Street.

Now IF you are saying the Old Silk Street is still there, operating, that IS news to me. My understanding is that is has been DEMOLISHED.

There was a really interesting article some time ago in the WSJ about the nasty politics behind the closing of Old Silk Street, and how insiders (who own the new Xiushui Market) made lots of money on the deal.

[stockstradr]

>>Obviously, you haven’t visited beijing recently.

http://www.chinatour.com/attraction/xiushuidongjie.htm

My meaning was the OLD Silk Street has been closed. The prices are higher at the new Xiushui Market, which some claim as the New Silk Street.

Now IF you are saying the Old Silk Street is still there, operating, that IS news to me. My understanding is that is has been DEMOLISHED.

There was a really interesting article some time ago in the WSJ about the nasty politics behind the closing of Old Silk Street, and how insiders (who own the new Xiushui Market) made lots of money on the deal.

[stockstradr]

I see someone started this thread on recent xmas season mega sales that were seen in retail stores.

My wife and I did notice MANY retailers staged massive sales, obviously trying to lure in the budget-tightening shoppers (who seem to be sensing a recession is coming)

On Black Friday (after Thanksgiving) in the Bay Area, I saw retail sales discounting greater than anything I’ve seen for at least ten years.

My wife and I spent $3,000 in five days and we got at least $15,000 of stuff in terms of normal retail prices. It was UNREAL. We got most our stuff at 75% (and more) discounted off retail prices.

I bought $45 dress shirts for $8/each
I bought $85 pleated dress slacks for $15/each
$300 leather jackets were going for $30
I bought $35 cotton polos for $8/each
$300 KitchenAid mixers for $85

We felt some of the prices matched what we used to pay for knock-offs at Beijing’s Silk Street market before it was closed down.

However, I should note that we got those best deals only during the first six hours of Black Friday. We were at the mall at 6 AM. (We stacked multiple discounts for most purchases to get those prices.)

[stockstradr]

I see someone started this thread on recent xmas season mega sales that were seen in retail stores.

My wife and I did notice MANY retailers staged massive sales, obviously trying to lure in the budget-tightening shoppers (who seem to be sensing a recession is coming)

On Black Friday (after Thanksgiving) in the Bay Area, I saw retail sales discounting greater than anything I’ve seen for at least ten years.

My wife and I spent $3,000 in five days and we got at least $15,000 of stuff in terms of normal retail prices. It was UNREAL. We got most our stuff at 75% (and more) discounted off retail prices.

I bought $45 dress shirts for $8/each
I bought $85 pleated dress slacks for $15/each
$300 leather jackets were going for $30
I bought $35 cotton polos for $8/each
$300 KitchenAid mixers for $85

We felt some of the prices matched what we used to pay for knock-offs at Beijing’s Silk Street market before it was closed down.

However, I should note that we got those best deals only during the first six hours of Black Friday. We were at the mall at 6 AM. (We stacked multiple discounts for most purchases to get those prices.)

[stockstradr]

I see someone started this thread on recent xmas season mega sales that were seen in retail stores.

My wife and I did notice MANY retailers staged massive sales, obviously trying to lure in the budget-tightening shoppers (who seem to be sensing a recession is coming)

On Black Friday (after Thanksgiving) in the Bay Area, I saw retail sales discounting greater than anything I’ve seen for at least ten years.

My wife and I spent $3,000 in five days and we got at least $15,000 of stuff in terms of normal retail prices. It was UNREAL. We got most our stuff at 75% (and more) discounted off retail prices.

I bought $45 dress shirts for $8/each
I bought $85 pleated dress slacks for $15/each
$300 leather jackets were going for $30
I bought $35 cotton polos for $8/each
$300 KitchenAid mixers for $85

We felt some of the prices matched what we used to pay for knock-offs at Beijing’s Silk Street market before it was closed down.

However, I should note that we got those best deals only during the first six hours of Black Friday. We were at the mall at 6 AM. (We stacked multiple discounts for most purchases to get those prices.)

[stockstradr]

I see someone started this thread on recent xmas season mega sales that were seen in retail stores.

My wife and I did notice MANY retailers staged massive sales, obviously trying to lure in the budget-tightening shoppers (who seem to be sensing a recession is coming)

On Black Friday (after Thanksgiving) in the Bay Area, I saw retail sales discounting greater than anything I’ve seen for at least ten years.

My wife and I spent $3,000 in five days and we got at least $15,000 of stuff in terms of normal retail prices. It was UNREAL. We got most our stuff at 75% (and more) discounted off retail prices.

I bought $45 dress shirts for $8/each
I bought $85 pleated dress slacks for $15/each
$300 leather jackets were going for $30
I bought $35 cotton polos for $8/each
$300 KitchenAid mixers for $85

We felt some of the prices matched what we used to pay for knock-offs at Beijing’s Silk Street market before it was closed down.

However, I should note that we got those best deals only during the first six hours of Black Friday. We were at the mall at 6 AM. (We stacked multiple discounts for most purchases to get those prices.)

[stockstradr]

I see someone started this thread on recent xmas season mega sales that were seen in retail stores.

My wife and I did notice MANY retailers staged massive sales, obviously trying to lure in the budget-tightening shoppers (who seem to be sensing a recession is coming)

On Black Friday (after Thanksgiving) in the Bay Area, I saw retail sales discounting greater than anything I’ve seen for at least ten years.

My wife and I spent $3,000 in five days and we got at least $15,000 of stuff in terms of normal retail prices. It was UNREAL. We got most our stuff at 75% (and more) discounted off retail prices.

I bought $45 dress shirts for $8/each
I bought $85 pleated dress slacks for $15/each
$300 leather jackets were going for $30
I bought $35 cotton polos for $8/each
$300 KitchenAid mixers for $85

We felt some of the prices matched what we used to pay for knock-offs at Beijing’s Silk Street market before it was closed down.

However, I should note that we got those best deals only during the first six hours of Black Friday. We were at the mall at 6 AM. (We stacked multiple discounts for most purchases to get those prices.)

[stockstradr]

blah blah blah.

Three hours into another trading day and S&P 500 is already down another 1.5%.

Once again, your advice to buy the S&P 500 index is so “helpful” resulting in another -1.5% in three hours.

I’m sticking with the rule of Do the Opposite of what you suggest. My accounts are up another 3% in the first three hours of this trading day.

[stockstradr]

blah blah blah.

Three hours into another trading day and S&P 500 is already down another 1.5%.

Once again, your advice to buy the S&P 500 index is so “helpful” resulting in another -1.5% in three hours.

I’m sticking with the rule of Do the Opposite of what you suggest. My accounts are up another 3% in the first three hours of this trading day.

[stockstradr]

blah blah blah.

Three hours into another trading day and S&P 500 is already down another 1.5%.

Once again, your advice to buy the S&P 500 index is so “helpful” resulting in another -1.5% in three hours.

I’m sticking with the rule of Do the Opposite of what you suggest. My accounts are up another 3% in the first three hours of this trading day.

[stockstradr]

blah blah blah.

Three hours into another trading day and S&P 500 is already down another 1.5%.

Once again, your advice to buy the S&P 500 index is so “helpful” resulting in another -1.5% in three hours.

I’m sticking with the rule of Do the Opposite of what you suggest. My accounts are up another 3% in the first three hours of this trading day.

[stockstradr]

blah blah blah.

Three hours into another trading day and S&P 500 is already down another 1.5%.

Once again, your advice to buy the S&P 500 index is so “helpful” resulting in another -1.5% in three hours.

I’m sticking with the rule of Do the Opposite of what you suggest. My accounts are up another 3% in the first three hours of this trading day.

[stockstradr]

“read Charlie Wilson’s War which details the CIA’s involvement in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion. It’s an incredible story and a fascinating read.”

I absolutely agree. And what are the lessons from that previous period of history?

What is the Great Dark Secret of history that Americans are too ignorant to know or too proud to discuss? Read this excerpt from an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser:

Q [Interviewer]: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn’t believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don’t regret anything today?

B[Zbigniew Brzezinski]: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.

OK, so what is the Great Dark Secret?

THE FACTS
1) Carter, Brzezinski, and others in the administration decided back in July ’79 to fund covert CIA involvement in the Afghanistan civil war with the goal to give Russia a Vietnam-like failed war.
2) That conspiracy became wildly “successful” and many historians later concluded it not only gave Russia a Vietnam-like failed war (on a greater scale), but was a pivotal element in the collapse of the entire Soviet Union.
3) Afghanistan was the real victim and “paid” the price to the tune of over ONE MILLION Afghan lives and their country was reduced to rubble, all so that America could give Russia its Vietnam on Afghani soil.
4) America sent countless CIA operatives into Afghanistan during the war, to train Afghanis how to be terrorists against Russians in Afghanistan. America sent millions of dollars in weapons into Afghanistan. What downed the 333 Russian helicopters lost during that war? It was mostly American shoulder-fired missiles.
5) Osama bin Laden was trained to be a terrorist and gained his reputation during the Afghanistan war. He fought the Russians with weapons purchased with our tax dollars, and facts suggest he was trained in part by our CIA to be a terrorist. At that time he was viewed by our CIA as a key operative within Afghanistan. It is a FACT that many Afghans who later became key leaders in Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist training camps, were in fact trained to be terrorists by our CIA with our tax dollars. Later, as Al Qaeda, they trained the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. Our CIA taught the teachers. So what turned them from “terrorist friends of the USA” (who attack Russians) INTO Al Qaeda terrorists who hate and attack Americans?

That is the first part of the Great Dark Secret. Here comes the second part…

6) After the Russian withdrawal, America turned its back on Afghanistan and abandoned that country in the middle of their frigid winter…with its million dead, many more million wounded, and all of Afghanistan reduced to rubble.

From the Afghan perspective, America betrayed Afghanistan after Afghanistan had made the ultimate sacrifice so that America could give Russia its Vietnam. Our CIA trained thousands to be terrorists and funded the Afghanistan war so they could hone their skills. Then America really pissed them off, made those terrorists hate our guts – at a time when those killers were looking for something to attack (because their civil war was over)

If you understand that (and also America’s support for Israel), then you understand the root causes behind the very birth of Al Qaeda, and the 9/11 attacks upon the USA.

So what has America done recently in Afghanistan after 9/11? We had another war on their soil, reducing their country AGAIN to rubble, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Then we abandoned their country again so that we could go stage an unwarranted attack against Iraq. That IS history repeating itself in Afghanistan..and now in Iraq.

What America should have done after 9/11 is not destroy Afghanistan but instead completely rebuild Afghanistan, which would have been keeping our promise (and moral debt) to Afghanistan.

What is really scary is how few Americans understand the above history.

[stockstradr]

“read Charlie Wilson’s War which details the CIA’s involvement in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion. It’s an incredible story and a fascinating read.”

I absolutely agree. And what are the lessons from that previous period of history?

What is the Great Dark Secret of history that Americans are too ignorant to know or too proud to discuss? Read this excerpt from an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Adviser:

Q [Interviewer]: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn’t believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don’t regret anything today?

B[Zbigniew Brzezinski]: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.

OK, so what is the Great Dark Secret?

THE FACTS
1) Carter, Brzezinski, and others in the administration decided back in July ’79 to fund covert CIA involvement in the Afghanistan civil war with the goal to give Russia a Vietnam-like failed war.
2) That conspiracy became wildly “successful” and many historians later concluded it not only gave Russia a Vietnam-like failed war (on a greater scale), but was a pivotal element in the collapse of the entire Soviet Union.
3) Afghanistan was the real victim and “paid” the price to the tune of over ONE MILLION Afghan lives and their country was reduced to rubble, all so that America could give Russia its Vietnam on Afghani soil.
4) America sent countless CIA operatives into Afghanistan during the war, to train Afghanis how to be terrorists against Russians in Afghanistan. America sent millions of dollars in weapons into Afghanistan. What downed the 333 Russian helicopters lost during that war? It was mostly American shoulder-fired missiles.
5) Osama bin Laden was trained to be a terrorist and gained his reputation during the Afghanistan war. He fought the Russians with weapons purchased with our tax dollars, and facts suggest he was trained in part by our CIA to be a terrorist. At that time he was viewed by our CIA as a key operative within Afghanistan. It is a FACT that many Afghans who later became key leaders in Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist training camps, were in fact trained to be terrorists by our CIA with our tax dollars. Later, as Al Qaeda, they trained the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. Our CIA taught the teachers. So what turned them from “terrorist friends of the USA” (who attack Russians) INTO Al Qaeda terrorists who hate and attack Americans?

That is the first part of the Great Dark Secret. Here comes the second part…

6) After the Russian withdrawal, America turned its back on Afghanistan and abandoned that country in the middle of their frigid winter…with its million dead, many more million wounded, and all of Afghanistan reduced to rubble.

From the Afghan perspective, America betrayed Afghanistan after Afghanistan had made the ultimate sacrifice so that America could give Russia its Vietnam. Our CIA trained thousands to be terrorists and funded the Afghanistan war so they could hone their skills. Then America really pissed them off, made those terrorists hate our guts – at a time when those killers were looking for something to attack (because their civil war was over)

If you understand that (and also America’s support for Israel), then you understand the root causes behind the very birth of Al Qaeda, and the 9/11 attacks upon the USA.

So what has America done recently in Afghanistan after 9/11? We had another war on their soil, reducing their country AGAIN to rubble, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Afghans. Then we abandoned their country again so that we could go stage an unwarranted attack against Iraq. That IS history repeating itself in Afghanistan..and now in Iraq.

What America should have done after 9/11 is not destroy Afghanistan but instead completely rebuild Afghanistan, which would have been keeping our promise (and moral debt) to Afghanistan.

What is really scary is how few Americans understand the above history.

[Author]

Posts