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What would happen if countries didn't have a flag? Would they suffer in anyway as a result? On major occasions like sporting events, why display a flag or wave it about? Would the athletes not perform as well if they couldn't see a flag? At protests, people turn up with their countries flags. Would they feel unrecognisable or inadequate without the item?
What would life be like without the material on a pole? Would countries still survive?

Pakistan’s top court directs central bank to issue funds for snap polls

The parliament had on Thursday (13) ruled it wasn’t possible to spare Rs 21 billion ($74.79 million) in funds for the snap polls, which the court had ordered.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had summoned officials from the finance ministry, the central bank and the Election Commision of Pakistan (ECP) to his chamber on Friday to seek a reply on the funds, warning that non-compliance would have consequences.

The parliament had on Thursday (13) ruled it wasn’t possible to spare Rs 21 billion ($74.79 million) in funds for the snap polls, which the court had ordered.

The court order said the chief justice directed the central bank’s acting governor and the finance ministry to coordinate and “forthwith allocate and release” the money from federal consolidated funds no later than April 17.



China spent £194.97 billion rescuing ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ nations, says study

Argentina was the largest beneficiary, receiving £90.80bn, equivalent to $111.8bn, followed by Pakistan with £39.39 ($48.5bn) and Egypt with £12.67 ($15.6bn)


Countries have received bailouts to extend loans and remain solvent. China claims over 150 countries have joined the trillion-dollar BRI infrastructure initiative launched by President Xi Jinping ten years ago.

According to Beijing, the objective of the initiative is to strengthen friendly trade ties with other countries, especially those in the developing world.

Japan, India, France to announce launch of Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring negotiation process


Sri Lanka confident of Chinese support in debt restructuring: central bank chief

The central bank chief of the crisis-hit South Asian country said Sri Lanka is optimistic of China’s continued support, pointing to how Beijing “did the right thing in giving Sri Lanka financing assurances last time”.

“I think this is probably the first time China has given it that fast,” he said.

With the help of the International Monetary Fund and other partners who also helped share information, said Weerasinghe, the debt restructuring process can continue.

“Obviously China is a country that has been helping Sri Lanka for a long time and [it has[ invested a lot [in Sri Lanka]. [It will be in the] best interest of both China and Sri Lanka to complete this process soon and we can get back to repaying our debt service obligations,” he said.

“Sooner the better for both countries,” he added.

In February, China’s Exim Bank gave Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its defaulted loans and said it would discuss additional re-structuring within that ‘window’.

In early March, Sri Lanka secured a 2.9 billion dollar extended fund facility from the IMF after obtaining assurances of support from China.

It became not nice to be white these days…

He was the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He represented wholesome values of kindness and innocence.
He was courageous and intelligent.
He survived death after being hit with a mallet.
But he knew that his destiny was Disney world, and that one day his followers would be able to join him there and experience the fantasy that he played his part in creating.

This is the venue of probably the most classified air base on Earth. It extends for 4km underground. It is situated on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, North Mexico. Claims are that it has a 7 storey underground facility where joint human and alien experiments take place
On 27th July 2023, three military veterans testified in Congress that the US government has operated a secret " multi-decade" reverse engineering program of recovered space vessels, and non-human biologics from crash sites.
Could DULCE be connected to area 51 which has a top secret reputation?

Some of the candidates linked to replace Daniel Craig as the next James Bond are:-
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Paul Mescal, Gillian Murphy, Henry Cavill, Guy Ritchie, Richard Madden, James Norton, Nicholas Hoult.
Anyone you wish to see?
But, just as important, which women should star alongside him?

One of the constituents of nuclear fusion is helium-3. This material is rare on this planet, but apparently is abundant on the moon. Nuclear fusion is what makes the sun function. The challenge is to recreate this form of energy and in doing so, could produce a cleaner and environmentally friendly and constant source of power. Research is advancing on this energy, but you can understand why some countries find reaching the moon important. Mining for helium-3 is no doubt a big objective.

Zeus is unique because he is the ruler, protector and father of all god's and humans.
Believing in one god is the same as believing in another. If you believe in Zeus, then it's the same as believing in Jehovah.

I've been in and out of the model helicopter hobby a few times in nearly 50 years, overcoming a divorce, the loss of both parents, two serious car accidents and multiple job changes. I started back around 6 years ago, it was with some very small and inexpensive models that could only help me practice at a slow pace. I've since upgraded to larger models that are more powerful and fly with more authority. The only drawback is the cost... several thousand per model. It's a fact that no serious pilot can get by with only one radio controlled helicopter.

It's not possible for me to dedicate myself to the sport like I want... there are other obligations. 30 years ago, I recall levels of obsession where I would come home from work and practice on a computer simulator for 2 hours, break for dinner and get back to another 2 or 3 hours of practice.
It didn't matter how good I got, as going to competition or fun-fly events I could always find guys who were better pilots... much better. There was a guy who invented an electronic device, patented it and sold the product to a car manufacturer. His company was self sufficient to the point where he didn't have to work and would come to Florida every winter to practice flying at a local field for several hours each day.
Being exposed to that level of talent was incentive to continue improving and never reaching a plateau.

Most of us are flying 'pod & boom' style helicopters at have a fiberglass canopy to cover the motor and electronics with a long tail boom and a few fins. They aren't attractive, but fly great. There is a visual drawback, so we often wrap them in brightly colored sticky tape so they can be seen better when far away.

Often these models have names that reflect the size of the blades, like Logo 700 or RAW 580. 700 indicates the main blade length is 700 millimeters. Others have cool names like Dominator or Whiplash. There is one model that has a full fuselage to look like a real helicopter. Lots of guys have them but not too many are out flying them. Mentioned on a previous blog, a friend buys and sells models and recently picked up some used helicopters in a package deal that he plans to maintain and resell. One was a model called Kraken, named after the legendary sea monster.

I've seen them fly. They are very attractive and easy to see in the air. So, I made my friend an offer to trade one of my pod & boom models plus some cash for his Kraken.
He accepted the offer. Part of the deal was to go through the electronics and make sure all was good. He rewired a few connections because the guy who built it originally wasn't meticulous.

After initial testing, my friend flew it, made a few tweaks in the settings and handed it to me to try. Yes, smooth and predictable.

I've only got 2 sets of batteries that fit this model and this week, I'll order 2 more!
Aye, the Kraken...

Bling-bling aka Bling is the wearing of flashy (expensive often ostentatious) jewelry. Bling can also be the addition of car options, like chrome hood ornaments, oversized tire rims with low-profile tires, literally any means of getting attention, usually to show off wealth.
Note: Wealth and good taste don't necessarily go together.

A friend who I fly model aircraft with, loves to wheel-and-deal (he calls horse trading) helicopters, motors, canopies and hardware upgrades. He scans the merchandise for sale on a few sites always looking for a deal.

Last week, he attended a fun fly and bought a model the owner crashed... really cheap. He was able to take out the working parts, listed them on a site and doubled his money selling the parts individually.

He's become an expert knowing what models can be modified and often builds for friends. In the last few years, he's repaired or built a few models for me. He owns a machine that cuts templates by computer control. He feeds an image in his computer and the machine using a thin blade cuts out custom signage and logos on colored sticky-back sheets.

Some of the flyers go to him to add some Bling to their models. Maybe a larger logo or wrapping parts with multi colors. Lets say the canopy is red with white stripes, he can customize the sides, boom and tail fins with matching graphics to the owner's specification.

I dislike building, so it was easier to buy a completed model from him customized to my specifications and while we don't normally use the term Bling, I Blinged-out one model with bright yellow to make it easier to see when it's far away.

Bling-Bling... happening in a city near you!