[This article is a follow onto my article in the January 8 edition of Asia Times. I have used some of the information in that article in this one.] According to Bloomberg News, China had strategic missiles filled with water instead of fuel touching off a corruption scandal that led to Chinese President Xi's military purge of China's Rocket Forces.  Bloomberg reported that the information came from US intelligence sources. Bloomberg does not say where US Intelligence got the information although Bloomberg says that the information cannot be validated.

Mary is a historian and cultural critic who loves thinking about the stories we tell about ourselves, and the meanings behind our pop culture attachments. Through her podcasting and writing, she’s combined, travelogue and memoir to investigate the origins of the iconic AG brand. And all of Mary’s work is also just super smart, and extremely hilarious.  So, as we are going to discuss today: I am a Samantha and I have a pretty tragic backstory about being a Samantha.

How fast did you run your most recent easy run? Chances are, it was too fast.  Most runners default to the most energy efficient pace, not the easiest pace, according to research in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. In doing so, though, you’re cheating yourself of the benefits that come with running easy.  Training in the “gray zone”—AKA pushing too hard too often, and not running slow enough often enough—is one of the quickest ways to run yourself into a rut.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: misogyny against Asian women, anti-Black racism, anti-miscegenation, and brief discussions of pedophilia Marvel made history this year with the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the first major Asian-led superhero film in the U.S. The story follows Xu Shang-Chi, a Chinese American young adult played by the Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu.  Liu first rose to prominence in his breakout role on Kim’s Convenience (2016-2021), a Korean Canadian sitcom adapted from the play of the same name written by Ins Choi.

Weeping trees are everyone’s favorite. They intrigue us with their drooping branches and pendant habit. They add a graceful note to any planting and are a natural focal point in the landscape. Their unique cascading shape can be used to create a solid backdrop or even screen a view. For example, I once planted two snow fountain cherry trees, side by side, to create a beautiful vegetative screen. Weeping trees are especially evocative when planted next to water, such as a weeping willow by a pond.