Videssos was beset by enemies. A pretender held the throne—a despot who cared little that barbarian hordes and rival realms carved away at his empire, so long as the wealth and booty of the land satisfied his unbridled appetites.
Few stood against him. And those few soon found their heads on pikes.
But the tyrant would use every means at his disposal–fair or most hideously foul—to destroy the crusading upstart. And even if Maniakes could stay alive, he would still have to pull together a battered, divided land as well as fend off a host of enemies—and thwart the former friend who had become his empire’s most deadly
foe! — Book promo @ goodreads.com
I took Patches to All Creatures Veterinary Service yesterday fully prepared to have her put down. She has not been willing to climb the steps into Desperado for a couple of weeks now. A few days ago when I tried to pick her up she squealed in pain. Plus she has peed in her bed twice during the last 10 days and can no longer do our walks at the usual pace or distance. The vet there has given me some meds that she thinks will correct those issues and keep Patches alive for an unknown time yet. We will see.
U.S. Treasury bills are bonds that are bought and redeemed in U.S. dollars and are essentially bad debt. Why?
Today, the U.S. sovereign debt has exceeded $31 billion and continues to grow by several billion dollars daily. This figure far exceeds the annual GDP of the United States and turns the bulk of the securities issued by the U.S. Treasury into more than questionable values, since the latter are to be repaid in national currency. A currency whose issuance is not, for the most part, backed by any real assets.
The solvency of U.S. Treasury bonds is guaranteed solely by the printing of money and the trust in the U.S. dollar, which is based not on its real value, but on the military world domination of the United States. — Conflict in Ukraine: Genesis, Oleg Nesterenko