Casino Careers - The Gaming-Hospitality & Technology World

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-expat-jobs-under-threat-in-recession-local-hire-push
Singapore has long been the city of choice for Western expats wanting an easy entree into Asia. Clean, efficient, with low tax rates, it's often seen as rivalling Hong Kong, especially with that city hit by street protests and unrest over China's new national security law.
Yet just when Singapore should be a magnet for global talent, some recruiters say the barriers to entry are mounting. The city is facing the worst recession in its history, forcing a rethink for some firms on expansion and hiring plans. Alongside soaring unemployment has come a spike in rhetoric against foreigners, seen by some Singaporeans as taking jobs from locals.
An experienced nurse from New Zealand is finding out how tough it can be. She seemed, on paper at least, the ideal expat - arriving with her partner right before Covid-19. But 11 months and over 200 failed applications later, she says she's on the verge of going home, unable to land a work pass.
She was told by companies that they have a quota and the quota is met, she said, asking not to be identified for fear of jeopardising her partner's work permit. When attempts to volunteer at hospitals were similarly rejected, she said she felt like she didn't belong.
The uncertain job prospects, online commentary and stricter conditions risk making Singapore a less welcoming destination just as the city-state needs foreign investment the most. And as workplaces clamp down on hiring it could further limit the options for expats who have long seen a stint in Asia as an important and lucrative experience.
The Singapore government has added to their angst by taking steps to promote local hiring, raising concern that it will come at the expense of expats. Earlier this month, it put 47 companies on a watch list for suspected discriminatory hiring practices. The list includes banks, fund managers and consulting firms that may have pre-selected foreigners for jobs or not given Singaporeans a fair chance. This adds to the 240 companies already under scrutiny. The names of the firms weren't disclosed.
And in May, it tightened the framework that governs employment passes for foreigners, increasing the minimum monthly salary to S$3,900 and further expanding rules requiring employers to advertise job openings to locals first. The government said on Wednesday it plans to raise that salary threshold further.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there was a contraction in the number of visas issued because the demand for foreigners is going to be less" in the near term, said Hays regional director for Singapore Grant Torrens, citing the sharp contraction as the main driver.
The role of foreign workers became a key election issue this year, with several opposition candidates campaigning on claims that overseas talent is taking local jobs. The Workers' Party, which clinched more seats than ever, published a manifesto that included tightening employment pass approvals.
"The only reason we have foreigners here is to give an extra wind in our sails when the opportunity is there," Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said in a televised election debate in July. "Now we are in a storm, and we need to shed ballast." Dr Balakrishnan's office said in response to Bloomberg queries on the comment that there will be a disproportionate impact on the foreign workforce in a downturn.
Foreign workers on employment passes - the sort issued to highly skilled workers as opposed to work permits for blue-collar jobs - typically comprise around 5 per cent of the total workforce. Yet among top managers and professionals in some key sectors, the ratio of foreigners can be much higher. Non-Singaporeans made up 57 per cent of senior management roles across the financial services sector, the government said in August.
Andrew Zee, team lead for financial services at Selby Jennings, said some of his job candidates were recently denied permits - a first for him in more than four years - though they were later approved on appeal.
Sirva Inc, which owns Allied Pickfords, said inquiries from people wanting to move to Singapore in the first seven months of the year were down 23 per cent from the same period in 2019, according to Amanda Jones, senior vice-president of sales and account management. Ms Jones doesn't expect to see expat executives coming to Singapore at pre-Covid numbers until 2022 at best, especially given travel curbs and the recession.
EXPATS LEAVING
The shift is starting to be felt in the real estate market. Ella Sherman, an associate executive sales director at Knight Frank in Singapore who specialises in expat housing, says she normally signs about four rental agreements a month this time of year. Now she's lucky to secure one, and knows of several clients heading home.
Beyond the economic woes and the pandemic lies an unease over foreigners in the country of just 5.7 million people. This has surfaced in public calls, often on social media, for more hiring of locals. When a Facebook post targeting foreign executives at US$215 billion investment giant Temasek Holdings went viral this month, chief executive officer Ho Ching responded with a post of her own describing it as "a cowardly act of hate". JOB CUTS
Companies are taking pains to describe their efforts to retain Singaporean jobs. When Millennium Hotels and Resorts laid off 159 employees this month, it noted that the move lifted its "core" Singaporean workforce to 69 per cent. After casino operator Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) reportedly cut 2,000 jobs last month, the Ministry of Manpower issued a statement saying the majority of affected workers were foreigners.
"After the retrenchment exercise, RWS has a stronger Singaporean core," the ministry said.
Even expats abroad are feeling the pinch. One worker was overseas and between jobs when the pandemic struck. Though he quickly found a new position, he said his employment pass submission has been rejected several times with no explanation.
He's now stuck in Europe paying rent for his empty home in Singapore, unable to return until his visa gets approved. He declined to be identified for fear of jeopardising his application. He said the rising anti-foreigner rhetoric was equally worrisome.
For some, the social tensions were brought to the fore when a few expats were caught breaching government-imposed lockdowns by drinking and mingling outdoors without masks in May. The incident sparked an ugly debate on social media and prompted a minister to caution against the "visceral reaction" by locals. The offenders were fined and banned from working in Singapore, as were 134 others over May and June.
GREEN CARDS
To be sure, some politicians are urging calm. Singaporeans want assurances that the government will continue to create opportunities and provide fair treatment, but a vast majority "understand that staying open and connected is very important to Singapore", Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said on Wednesday.
Singapore isn't alone in fighting for local jobs. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order this month barring federal agencies from replacing citizens or green card holders with foreign workers.
And the city-state's status as a finance hub ensures it will always be magnet for foreign talent. Citadel, the hedge fund run by billionaire Ken Griffin, announced this week it's opening a Singapore office, as did Sun Life Financial, Canada's second-biggest insurer.
ATTRACTIVE HUB
"Singapore remains an attractive destination," said Rahul Sen, the global head of private wealth management at Boyden, an executive search firm. "New businesses that were thinking of setting up in Hong Kong to attract Greater China wealth are thinking of setting up shop in Singapore."
Even so, the avenues for many are narrowing. The nurse from New Zealand has started reaching out to healthcare providers back home. They're eager to hire so she may head back.
"Singapore is an amazing city, and we hoped that if we stayed long enough, things would change," she said. "But the longer it takes, the further away it seems."
​

Any advice for a new guy headed to JBLM?
Link to Comment Chain
Do men get to wear makeup on duty? I’m dead serious and Google doesn’t yield anwsers
Link to Comment Chain
I am looking for some guidance on completing my SF-1199A. I am transferring from Army National Guard to Regular Army and was asked to fill out a SF-1199A from my recruiter. I asked my recruiter for clarification and he said, read it. I know that most army forms contain instructions that explain what is needed for each section. This is not the case for this form.
For example,
Section 1, Box C. ** CLAIM OR PAYROLL ID NUMBER ** the instructions on the second page say look this information is found on my government check. One thing I found on google said SSN, so that's what I put.
Next section, ** PAYEE/JOINT PAYEE CERTIFICATION and JOINT ACCOUNT HOLDERS’ CERTIFICATION (optional). ** Does that mean my wife needs to sign since its a Joint Account I am assuming that they want both of us to sign.
Finally, ** SECTION 2 (TO BE COMPLETED BY PAYEE OR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION) **
It wants Govt Agency Name, since its for Active Duty Army would I put that, additionally for Govt Agency address what do I put?
Link to Comment Chain
How does one go about filing a claim against the federal government in regards to automobile damage?
Link to Comment Chain
How far from base can you travel on active duty? And can you just travel freely in the reserves or guard until drill ?
Link to Comment Chain
Can you use your phone at AIT?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello there, I am a 18 year old male who had a dream of serving. I tried to join the Airforce out of high school. I went to MEPS and tested perfectly in all aspects except one. The very end of the physical the doctor noticed I had flat feet. He asked if they hurt or bothered me and of course I said they do not. He said, “ok sounds good to me, I won’t DQ you”. I walk out thinking I passed the first phase to joining to be told I was in fact DQ’d. I later found out the report he wrote said I complained about severe foot pain due to flat feet. I gave up and tried again this year for the Army. I had to submit a waiver to join and it was denied all because of the lie the doctor wrote down. It has been my dream to serve for the longest time. I’m at the point now where I am stuck and have no guidance. My recruiter dropped me as soon as the waiver came back denied. Do I have any hope for other branches? Can I clean that off my record? I’ve looked into appealing the waiver and all I’ve got from it is that is almost impossible. Is this true or is there hope to appeal? Any information is appreciated and I thank you for reading and hopefully commenting. Thank you -Jordan
Link to Comment Chain
This is going to sound weird but maybe I just need to hear is from an outside force. My fathe grandfather were Airborne grunts and i’ve always wanted to do the same, turns out i’m colorblind so infantry and airborne are off the table.
Is it okay “serving” and not being a combat mos? I know that is a large part of the Army and not to say anything about 99% of MOSs but it just seems so disheartening. Are you still proud of shit you did or is it just a 9-5 and you go home and you’re out in 4 years?
Link to Comment Chain
Any of you guys have any experience with 4th Engineers up in Carson? I’m headed that way, I’d like to know what some people’s experiences are. Thanks!
Link to Comment Chain
So if I sign a 6-year active duty contract, does my 6-years start after I finish AIT? Or does it start the very same day you being BCT?
Link to Comment Chain
I’m enlisted and I ship out in July. My question is, what is fort sill AIT like?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello reddit, I’m a civilian who is currently trying to make tape so to go to MEPS, take asvab, etc. I have done extensive research on this site as well as others, but would like direct opinions about what my options/routes. A little background info:
Age: 26
Wt: 230 lbs (need 197 lbs or 3 in. Off waist)
Criminal History: DUI-2014-21 years old.
Vision: maybe correctable to 20/20, maybe not will find out at MEPS.
AFQT: 79 (walked in off the street no studying) asvab should be in 90’s range after studying a bit.
Employer: I deal cards in a casino in CA. Make pretty good money, have no job satisfaction.
I am currently doing everything I can to make a great decision as to what my MOS will be. When I was younger (19-20) I scored really high on afqt and recruiter wanted to push intel on me. Ended up not enlisting because I thought (why enlist when I can finish school and commission duh), but life doesn’t always pan out how we expect. I have enough units to enter as a PFC, which is nice since I’m older. I always wanted to join the military, and now that I’m getting older I’m trying to make the leap before it’s too late. My main questions are:
What MOS would you recommend for someone in my position? I’ll need waivers for my DUI, and actually can’t do most of the cool MOS because I can’t get a TS clearance and possible vision requirements. Secret maybe, but also maybe not.
I’m very interested in an opt 40 contract, but I have worries I won’t be able to get in the shape I’ll need in BCT or OSUT to hack it, any opinions in regard to this?
My mind is telling me to go support or look at an MOS that translates to civ world, but my hearts wants to go infantry. I am 26 and worried I’ll be too old to be able to do the grunt life. Is this true or am I overthinking it? Also will having high ASVAB scores do anything for me in infantry? Does it make a difference?
Other MOS I think are pretty cool that I QUALIFY for are: 12D, 12M, 19D, 68W, 88K.....these are pretty much what I can qualify for out the gate. Can’t do anything cool such as: 31K, 35series, 37series, 38series. Those would be my top, but I can’t because of DUI.
Basically what are the best options for me based on my pros/cons?
Lastly at 26 possibly 27 would you recommend 3 or 4 year commitment?
P.S. was also planning on trying to go tacp with AF but for some reason the army appeals to me more. Can’t tell you why.
Thank you in advance for you time
Link to Comment Chain
My question is about combat training. I’m naturally left handed and when shooting guns I am a left and shooteleft eye dominant. How will that affect me in combat training? Will the Army make me switch to my right hand dominant?
Link to Comment Chain
People are saying in my guard unit if we fail this new pt test it's an honorable discharge. I'm almost positive that this isn't true guy can someone tell me why this isn't true?
Link to Comment Chain
Been a while.
So my active duty 11B journey comes to an end in about two hours, and I'll be transitioning into the old NG as a reclass: 35T. Seemed like a good step after completing the MSSA program for cloud/server admin, plus I'm super interested in all the equipment.
I'd like to hear about what I can expect going into the lengthy AIT as an MOS-T. Heard in general it's way more relaxed than a brand new private's experience, but if there are any major pieces of information I'm gonna need, I'd appreciate the heads up.
I know I can expect to get my Sec+. Any other major certs? Currently hold MCA: Azure Admin & the paltry MTA: Networking Fundamentals.
Going in for the "Try 1" contract, but I have two years to schedule my AIT. Is there a time of year that's better than others?
Cheers all.
Link to Comment Chain
Prior service guy, was out for a while and resigned to the national guard for six years. It's been two years and they have not sent me to AIT yet. Does anyone know if there is a way out of my contract if they don't send me by a certain date? If so please site regulations or where that info can be found.
Cheers
Link to Comment Chain
Is it possible for a non-citizen/green card holder getting overseas on first assignment?
Link to Comment Chain
Question about working as a contractor in Afghanistan or other war zones: ------------------
Are there any 3-6 month contracts in Afghanistan which one can apply to? Not sure if contracts like that exist, and wanted to ask.
My story/background:
Long story short, I'm a mechanical engineer with 4 years experience and speak 3 languages (English, Spanish and Polish).
I've been running a small online business the past 4 years, but just went out of business recently due to unforeseen events.
I have $15,000 in debt and was looking for a 3-6 month contracting job I could apply to, to help pay my debt.
I would be open to any type of contracting job, hopefully one paying at least $4k-$5k a month.
Any advice is highly appreciated, thank you in advance for your help
Link to Comment Chain
Shipping off to boot in a month and I have a series of dumb questions:
I just did my OPAT and got enough to qualify for a Heavy MOS even though I’m going in as a 13j(moderate) is that going to correlate with how well I do physically in basic(LWOOD)?
Should I shave my head prior to going? I kinda want to see myself in a Mohawk before shipping out and I’d probably shave it off a couple days before. Is there a stigma to that?
Will aspirin be available? I’m afraid that I’ll get a headache and fuck something up at basic. If there isn’t I can just ride it out. I bring this up because I had a terrible one at MEPS but it got better right before I had to do the testing.
Swimming? I can’t swim that great but I have enough time to practice if I need to.
When is my first APFT? I can defiantly hit the requirements but at the same time idk what’s going to happen between now and then.
You don’t have to answer all of these, answering just one would be more than helpful
Link to Comment Chain
This will sound GENUINELY gay, but I just wanna get it off my chest:
​
I was hyped for enlisting, but now I'm shook on the idea. How do I get over this weird sense of dread? I keep thinking of all the positive things that will come and change my life for the better, but I can't help but to feel nervous and somewhat scared.
Link to Comment Chain
I have already gone through MEPS, as well as had an interview for my potential security clearance. If I decide that I do not want to join the army, then will my fingerprints show up for other jobs showing that I applied for a security clearance? For example, if an employer does their own background investigation and runs my fingerprints, then will the army's "findings" be available to them even though I never joined? Thanks for any help!
Link to Comment Chain
As a new infantry 2LT, how difficult is it to attend different schools like Sapper and Airborne if you aren't in a unit where these tabs would be necessary? The recruiter I asked basically just told me "Yeah, sure, of course you can go to Sapper school!" but I'm wondering if attending these different schools as an officer actually is super easy, or if it's more difficult and based on some sort of application process or random chance.
Link to Comment Chain
Hey guys
My Question has to do with the Army Space Badge im having trouble finding any forms or online location for the online class just trying to see if am qualified or how i can go if anyone has any information please DM
THANK YOUU
Link to Comment Chain
Hey y’all, this isn’t related to joining but I dunno if it merits its own post. I need to obtain ASUs in the next two weeks; what’s the cheapest + fastest way to get a set in that time?
I am not near a post but I can make a day trip to one, if that helps.
Link to Comment Chain
If you have a slot for a mobilization in a different MOS than your primary and don't go to re-class for it, will it be awarded after the mobilization is over?
Link to Comment Chain
Currently deployed, being sent home for NCOES. Is there a regulation on how many days prior to my report date I should be sent back stateside?
I’ve heard rumors of a 30 day window, I’m not getting a flight till about 2 weeks prior. I’m fine with that if that’s how it has to be, but I’ll have to do reintegration and figure out my TDY shit within that time. I’m not finding anything on google about this.
Link to Comment Chain
I graduated a few years ago with a bachelor's in chem and minor in math. My interests have been research and development, but I also tend to really like technical, hands-on work that involves troubleshooting and instrumentation. Nuclear and radiological fields are also of interest.
Can someone perhaps suggest some other roles that may be applicable? I know very little about the military, so if you know of roles outside of this branch that may also apply I would be interested in hearing about those as well.
Link to Comment Chain
So I'm not fat, I'm a skinny build but I do have some flabs and a pretty soft stomach. Haven't gone to a gym seriously in over a year and a half. What's a good routine to follow to get back in top shape for BCT? Should I just stick solely with the PFT requirements? (Push-ups, sit-ups, and distance-cardio only) Or should I include some weight-lifting in the process as well?
Link to Comment Chain
Regarding promotion to E-3 out of BCT with 2,100 hours in trade/vocational training. I'm in the process of graduating from my medical assisting program, and am thinking about enlisting. I will of met the hour requirements upon graduation, but has anyone received promotion this way? I have yet to ask a recruiter about this, I'm still waiting for him to get back to me. until then any info? Specifically what programs are applicable and how I would find this information. I go to a federal program run by the department of labor, so I assume I'm golden but I'm not sure. Google searches are getting me everywhere but to the information I'm looking for. Thanks!
Link to Comment Chain
Interested in commissioning, does anyone know if a past visit to BH years ago is disqualifying?
Also, does anyone know if rosacea is a DQ?
Link to Comment Chain
Gotcha. Thanks man! I'll follow up with my recruiter and get the details.
Link to Comment Chain
I'm planning on trying to commission by the end of the year. I have some weight to drop still, but when I get down to weight I want to make sure I am ready to go.
What records should I be working on collecting now? For example, I went to the ER last year for a work related injury. I ended up having to do 3ish weeks of physical therapy but I'm fully healed now. Should I get all those records or will they not need them?
What about when I broke my hand when I was 16? I'm 30 now and have had no issues with it.
Do I need letters of recommendation? If so, how many?
Basically I'm just curious what I should be doing (other than PT) to prepare myself to meet with a recruiter when I'm ready.
Link to Comment Chain
I'm an 88L. My Mos is has too many people in it. So they are taking volunteers and pushing them into other Mos'. If there are not enough people volunteering they may take people anyways. That's what all my NCOs in my unit are saying.
So, I don't like gambling with my job. I like being an 88L. But, its either I choose an Mos I like or there is a small chance I'm forced to change. I've not been at my unit for over a year.
So, my question is: I'm thinking about 25D as an Mos. There's an almost 30000 bonus if you have more than 3 years on your contact going into it. I qualify. I'd get a promotion if I pass the AIT. Is 25D good? Should I just stay as an 88L even with the small risk off being reclassed forcibly? I heard the schooling for 25D is hard. But so was 88L and I passed that.
Any general advice or info would be nice.
Link to Comment Chain
My dad recently went to Ft. Campbell and was talked up about 11B getting insane bonuses, so now he wants me to enlist as 11B. Is there any truth to this? He thinks I'm gonna get $20-30,000 cash upon signing, but I kind of doubt it being that ludacris.
Link to Comment Chain
So I'm in Italy and am on a 2 year tour, I was interested in extending for year and 7 months to my ETS. I had a change of heart, but am wondering if I am stuck here now. I haven't signed the 4187 or FSTE. Do they need my signature to extend me?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello All,
I'm seeking to figure out, can I enlist in the Army as a Counterintelligence Agent? I'm honestly pretty confused by what goarmy.com and my local recruiter say about it.
For context, I'm going to graduate with a BA soon, and I'm pretty confident about scoring high on the ASVAB (based on my practice with the recruiter) and I think I'll be a go for the clearance.
Any advice on this, or about being a 35L in general, would be appreciated.
Link to Comment Chain
I want to check what unit I’m going to using UIC, is that public info or do I need a DODComputenetwork?
Link to Comment Chain
I'm going to see my recruiter tomorrow and i want to be a 19 kilo m1 crewmen but i have had multiple surgery when I was born but I have never broken anything and am phisicaly fine and able to do daily task and,have no underlying problems other then i have no bellybutton and have a large scar i had what is called,an omphalacele and everything is fine now so im hopeing I'm good to go my biggest concern is the medical everything else i can studay and work out but its medical somthing i cant controls that worries me . please if any one knows what my chances are please help and cheer me up im stressed .... This has been my dream for years and i have always been told i cant do this or that and,i just want to serve my country and work with an amazing team in these big metal beasts.. Olease if anyone has any tips let me know thanks...
Link to Comment Chain
How do I ruck faster? Did my first 12 mile in 2:40 with 50 sumn lbs and I've been doing 3 miles lately with 75+ holding a 15ish minute pace(walk no run) If I just go out there with 35 or 45 (trying to prepare for ranger, maybe someday) what can I do to just ya know walk faster? I have a civilian Osprey bag with about 28lbs or so dry and I can run a ways with that on but that's not heavy enough for standard I just like using that bag in my freetime. But as far as just walking faster I dont feel like I can, what's a good tip? I already ruck and run I know the pole trick but how do I walk faster between running?
Link to Comment Chain
I see a lot of talk about sending more troops to various places in the news. Is this having any real impact on deployments right now?
Link to Comment Chain
Question about joining.
So I started the whole process with National Guard and when the packet was done I told my recruiter I wanted to switch to Army Active Duty. I'm guessing he would switche my packet over and he told me somebody else he knew would be taking care of the process. He was genuinely cool about it and I talked with him the other day about it. The recruiter he's sending me to has yet to even contact me and it's been a month. I still have 3 new papers to sign and havent been to MEPS. I'm wondering if I should just tell him I want to talk to another recruiter or I should keep waiting? Thanks in advance.
Link to Comment Chain
Are you allowed to take OTC medication out in the field and on deployment? Obviously taking it in boot camp wouldn't be allowed. I have a skin condition that requires me to take hydrocortisone cream once daily. Without it I can get bad flareups.
I can tolerate the symptoms, but I get red rashes on my face that itch like crazy. Would I get pulled out of bootcamp, or would they allow me to suck it up and graduate?
Link to Comment Chain
If I have an rfo can I still try and drop my refrad?
Link to Comment Chain
Anyone knows anything about AC/RC? career counselor said it was a good gig, tried researching but all it says is that I'll be doing the planning for Reserve components as an active duty soldier. Anyone has any feedback? anything helps
Link to Comment Chain
Trying to get an airborne slot while in AIT. Like a retard, I believed everyone that said "don't worry, you can get it in ait, they always need intel." Looking at HRC it appears I can send a packet to my branch G1 with a 4187 and airborne physical through ATRRS. Where is ATRRS? I can't find it anywhere. Should I ask the airborne POC directly?
Link to Comment Chain
I’m in AIT currently for 91f (small arms repaiartillery repair) I’m a reservist, and know I’ll be stationed at Fort Knox 11th aviation. I was wondering what kind of weapons I’ll mostly get to work with, and what kind of gear will I actually be issued? I also have a 275 pt score, what kind of extra schools could this MOS or my pt score get me as a reservist? I also know that in some units 91f is able to go to the front lines in deployments. How likely would it be for me to get that opportunity, given I’m in an aviation unit?
Link to Comment Chain
So about 5 years ago I started the process of enlisting in the Army. I would have been able to enlist as an E3, and was trying for 12r. My father's health ended up going down hill extremely fast so I put that idea on the back burner. It was a good thing I did because he passed away a few months later. My life got a little crazy after that and I never had a chance to entertain the idea of enlisting again.
So here we are now. I'm now 29, happily married for 3 years with 3 kids under 3 years old. We own a house with 12ac and a small, somewhat successful, sheep ranch. I'm an ASE Master Technician and own my own automotive repair business which is starting to pick up steam and actually be profitable.
Yet despite all of that, I really regret never enlisting, and am starting to get the urge to do so again before I'm too old.
My wife and I discussed the idea of going into the National Guard last night, and she said she would be ok with that, as long as we didn't have to move around. The time away for BCT and AIT would be difficult, but after that we agreed it wouldn't be too bad, until a deployment anyhow. My state is in need of several decent MOS that have $20k bonuses. Plus, I have about 13K in student loans that would be nice to have paid with the SLRP.
Honestly though, I kind of want to go active duty. See the world some. Experience all the bullshit and fuck-fuck games. I may also eligible to go 25S, $40k bonus.
Thoughts?
Link to Comment Chain
What MOS translates into the most money in the civilian world?
Link to Comment Chain
My post got removed for some type of violation. Hope this is the right spot to post. Hello everybody, i've got an issue with my asvab line scores. I took the Asvab twice, many years ago. The second time i took it i received higher scores, that is also the time i enlisted. For some reason my ERB is showing the scores from the first time i took the test. Anybody have any idea on who i would contact to get this issue fixed? I asked around in my company, but no one was able to figure it out. Thanks.
Link to Comment Chain
Hi guys, I had a question for my friend who doesn't have a reddit account:
She's a college graduate studying to go to law school and is interested in going to JAG route through the Army or Air Force. However she isn't sure if she would work her entire law career in the military and she was wondering how the transition from military to corporate law firms are because from what she's read so far, corporate firms prefer to hire fresh graduates. She wants to talk to an OSO about all this as well but is worried she'll get baised answers and wants to see if anyone has similar experiences or advice they'd like to share.
TLDR: Do JAGs do well transitioning from the military to corporate/outside jobs?
Link to Comment Chain
So this morning, my recruiter looked at the available MOS's and the list is so sad. lol No 36b or 25b. I understand that all the recent grads from May likely took all the jobs, but does anyone which months are best for availability?
Thanks!
Link to Comment Chain
Hello all, I am an enlisted future soldier and I ship off to basic next week! I am very nervous and feel like I’m not physically ready even though I have been training for the last month. I am shipping off to FLW for OSUT, so I was wondering if anyone has any advice? I know it’s gonna be hot as hell, that’s for sure. Thank you.
Link to Comment Chain
Is there a rule about running shirtless on post? I assume it's in the post/div standards document, but I just pcs'd and don't have internet yet. I also assume it's pretty standard across the country. Anyone looked it up before?
Link to Comment Chain
What compelled you to sign up to defend Israel and Exxon abroad?
Link to Comment Chain
So my question is this, I enlisted with the Gaurd back in February. Now, I haven't been in long, but it seems like swearing is the defacto way to speak. So, needless to say, fuck yeah. Me and my drill buddies start swearing, drill Sargeants are swearing along with us. All is good. However. I recently came to learn, some Sargeants don't take kindly to swearing. I had to take a few laps and do some push ups. What are some ways of knowing who is and isn't cool with the occasional F-bomb?
Link to Comment Chain
I'm currently in DEP waiting to ship to basic in August, I was just wondering if I'm eligible for military discounts or not? I was planning on switching my phone company and the one I'm switching to offers a discount.
Link to Comment Chain

accusations of BHK chief Gagik Tsarukyan extorting a business
A business owner Tadevosyan (hereby Founder) is complaining that BHK chief Gagik Tsarukyan stole a company from him under threats. The full shares went under the control of Tsarukyan's Multi Group company's director Sedrak Arustamyan (hereby MultiSedrak), who is currently under investigation in a money laundering case around North-South highway.
 
Founder says: "I was threatened to sign a document to give my shares of a fish breeding business to Tsarukyan, or else they said they would retaliate."
 
A few weeks ago MultiSedrak claimed someone broke into a fish business which is 100% owned by him. They countered the intruder thieves, a scuffle happened, they called the cops on intruders, said MultiSedrak. The intruders were trying to move some fish from that factory to another factory, owned by the intruders. The intruder is the Founder, the man who claims he owned part of the business.
Then a similar incident happened. This time the Founder called the police on MultiSedrak.
 
The Founder tells the story:
I wrote a letter to Pashinyan and prosecutors to report a crime and business extortion. I created this business from scratch in 2010 with the help of my friend Shaqaryan (hereby Friend). My Friend then sold his shared to me and I became the 100% owner. Then came the former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and BHK Gagik Starukyan and said they would help me financially and make my firm powerful in exchange for running the business together. I hesitantly agreed.
 
34% went to Tsarukyan, 33% to Founder, 33% to Prime Minister Abrahamyan's son Jonik. Tsarukyan promised to make investments in exchange for those shares. However, Tsarukyan only invested a third of what he promised, claiming that there is a financial crisis in the world and he can't invest more.
 
2 years later, together with the other 2 shareholders, we founded 2 other fish firms, in which we were equal shareholders.
Besides this, PM's son and I were doing another side business together. Tsarukyan got jealous. They invited me to Tsarukyan's dacha to speak with Tsarukyan. He told me that it's against the law for PM's son and me together to do a fish business without him. He then spoke with PM's son about the same thing at my presence. He told us that we can't do a side business, that he invested a lot of money to help us. He then told us that we should quit this business and do our own thing. I think he planned this tactic with PM's son ahead of time because the latter easily agreed to quit after Tsarukyan told him to.
 
PM's son's shares went under the ownership of a joint business we owned. It was then distributed to us. We became 50/50 owners of this fish factory. The business was worth ~$1. Tsarukyan then decided to get rid of me too. He sent Multi Group auditors to check the business, which was a pretense for giving full ownership to MultiSedrak.
 
I resisted the takeover. Tsarukyan threatened to destroy me and said «Ես խնամուս ձեռքից խլել եմ բաժնեմասը, հիմա որ դու իմ անունով չձեւակերպես, ես իմ խնամիների հետ խնդիրներ կունենամ: Այսինքն, որ իբր քո ձեռքից էլ եմ խլում» (Tsarukyan apparently pretended the takeover from Founder was only temporary just to show PM's son that Tsarukyan also took the business from the Founder, so PM's son wouldn't feel cheated, in reality, Tsarukyan had no intentions to return the shares to Founder)
This was 2016, Tsarukyan's years of unruliness. He had connections with govt. They brought the papers for me to sign. Tsarukyan was saying "don't worry fam, we got you, it's only temporary, I'm not a son of a bitch (ես շան տղա չեմ, Ծառուկյանն իր խոսքի տերն ա)".
 
They never returned my shares. In late-2019 I went to MultiSedrak and told him to return my shares or else I'd declare war against them.
In Dec-10-2019 they told me Tsarukyan wants to meet me at the Shangrila casino. They invited me to the table. Everyone was there. Tsarukyan and I separated from the group. I told him I want to end my ties with Tsarukyan. He tried to convince otherwise. I reminded him that it's been 4 years they won't give me my shares back. He said I'll either work at the factory with them, or nothing, and that I don't own any of the factory shares. I said goodbye then. He told me to "siktir".
 
Next day Multi Group workers and I clashed at the factory. They wouldn't allow my son's fish to be extracted from the waters. Let the law enforcement decide. I'm not afraid of TSarukyan.
The above is the story told by the businessman.
 
Armtimes outlet contacted MultiSedrak but the latter didn't respond. Armtimes then contacted the Founders Friend who works with Tsarukyan.
Friend says: I was invited to a police station to testify. I'm the director of the fish factory. The Founder came and hindered our work. Police were called. The real owner is MultiSedrak, who appointed me as director. Tsarukyan has nothing to do with this. The Founder is a liar. I don't know when MultiSedrak got the ownership, I was appointed as a director recently. (then how do you know the Founder is lying?)
This story is from yesterday.
https://www.facebook.com/armtimes/videos/605825623572988/
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178094
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178066
CorrupTV
Pashinyan:
There are at least 2 TV channels that could change their logo to add a "corruption" tag. There needs to be transparency in the media field and no monopolies.
There are 2 institutes in the media field: one handles media advertising finances, another measures TV ratings and distributes money based on that. This is the structure that has been monopolized.
 
Media outlets and NGOs need transparency including their ownership info being public.
The media field is open and democratic, and some corruption peddlers operate networks. At least 2 of them could essentially change their name to add a corruption tag. For example "Corruption Group". (He's referring to BHK chief Gagik Tsarukyan's Multi Group company)
 
The ongoing media war against the public helps us better fight against corruption. Eventually, they need to have the "corruption" tag, tho. In some instances, I make bets with friends about which corrupt politicians, that are currently going through trials, will be invited and glorified next by such outlets.
 
Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan: ongoing transparency reforms will envision making media ownership information more transparent. (This was earlier supported and encouraged by a union of journalists and free speech advocates who want to improve trust towards media by increasing transparency.)
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178161
TV & Radio laws discussion
The chief of the TV & Radio Committee went to Parliament and asked them to remove the existing law that prohibits local radio-stations in Lori and Shirak provinces."It's an absurd restriction. Even bordering regions, in which radio is a matter of national security, aren't allowed to have it. All free radio waves in provinces should be given to those who want to broadcast", said Tigran Hakobyan.
 
He then explained the proposed reforms:
The proposed radio-airways reforms should have been done 5 years ago. The current sate of media laws is archaic.
We need to remove restrictions on some equipment requirements so more people can create their own media outlets. The public-sector outlets are currently regulated more strictly than the non-traditional TV medium providers, which creates unfair competition conditions for them.
If you podcast our outlet online or with "new" methods, you'll be free to do what you want, but if you call yourself a TV network and use satellite or TV airways, you should follow a set of standards. This is done everywhere including the EU. The standards require information diversity and non-misleading coverage of news, which we don't have in Armenia today. The new law should regulate this.
 
About public "multiplex". There is one big airway pipe. They stuffed all channels in that pipe. This distorts the point of Public Multiplex.
What is the point of Public Multiplex? Each country has to have public channels that provide free entertainment and info to population. These public TVs have a strict set of standards in all countries, except Armenia, where it's anarchy. If such rules are implemented, not all TVs will meet the standards. Only the ones that qualify will be in the Public Multiplex. All TVs in this Public Multiplex are free and broadcasted across Armenia.
 
What are the minimal standards TVs must meet to be in the Public Multiplex? Respect public peace, adopt a humane approach, protect national interests, provide fair news coverage, balance the share of entertainment/info/culture programming, 70% of programming language must be in Armenian, at least 40% of content made in Armenia. etc.
 
There is an argument around this between free speech advocates and those who want public to receive politically independent and non-misleading information. We are yet to achieve an agreement on this.
European countries have done this. Public Multiplex (minimum social package) still exists to serve the population that doesn't have cable.
 
Those TVs that don't qualify for the aforementioned standards can continue to operate on the Private Multiplex. This is what we need to create in Armenia. The existing law was created in the past deliberately in a way to prevent the creation of the Private Multiplex. We need to reduce some regulations to encourage Private Multiplex investments.
 
But some TV networks say it's not financially beneficial to be in Private Multiplex. They want to do their business, they want to decide which share of programming is entertainment (money-maker), what share is in Armenia language, etc. Their ideal vision may not meet the aforementioned standards.
At the same time, they want to continue to use Public Multiplex because it has the best coverage across Armenia.
 
Only 40% of Armenians have cable TV coverage. TV networks find this coverage too small, so they want to spread their content across Public Multiplex to maximize revenues.
We need to work on making it profitable.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1001554.html
full https://youtu.be/dx1j0toe-hY
Tag: #TVLaw #PublicTelevision #TVreform #TV&Radio #television
"Armenia's anti-trust agency to reveal monopolists in the local media market"
TV & Radio Committee will hire an international auditing firm to audit the media field. It'll verify the reliability of telemonitoring tech to see if it complies with international criteria.
"Taking into account the experience of past years and complaints about the media field in 2019, this year one of the 5 priority monitoring areas will be examining the media advertising market, the mechanisms used to distribute advertising and the relationship between TV companies," chief said.
http://arka.am/en/news/society/armenia_s_anti_trust_agency_to_reveal_monopolists_in_local_media_market/
slaughterhouse laws
Pashinyan about poverty aid reforms: the kids in poor families need help to get education and skills. Those who are disabled should receive full support, but the able-bodied non-workers need to be encouraged to find work. We need a dialogue with the public about this.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178157
A group of farmers was protesting outside the govt building. "Pashinyan says people should stand up and work, but when we do, they take away our ability", complained one butcher, who says his revenues took an impact after recent changes to the law.
The reason is stricter food safety laws regulating the meat slaughtering industry.
 
Last year a law was passed requiring slaughtering be done in areas that have certain safety standards. A meeting was held between butchers and Food Safety Committee. At the time the plan was that those farmers who didn't meet the standards would sell the animals to slaughtering facilities, who would come and pick up the animals.
 
The Food Safety administration met the protesters to discuss.
Pashinyan wasn't happy with the protesters' conduct: there is a big garbage bin in the area. When they left the area, there were lots of cigarette butts on the ground. And then they demand us not to increase the sanitary conditions for meat purchased from them.
(ballzy lmao)
 
The Food Safety Committee conducted audits in supermarkets and a few other chains and found that the meat met the safety standards.
 
One requirement is the butcher has to have a veterinary document that has a QR code that points to electronic info about the meat's origins, where it was butchered, medical info about the animals. Agency will continue to enforce the new rules.
 
Food Safety committee met representatives of dozens of slaughterhouse reps and farmers. The certified butcheries signed a contract with the Committee, which requires them to pick up and transport live animals to the butchery area at their own expense, and to transport the meat to its destination at their own expense within a 30KM radius. Prices were set for butchering each type of animal.
People are still allowed to slaughter their animals for personal consumption and festivities, but for business, they need to follow the safety and health standards.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178176
newarmenia.am/պարտադիր-սպանդանոցային-մորթի-անցման/
newarmenia.am/սպանդանոցային-մորթն-այլընտրանք-չուն/
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178178
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178182
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/178231
https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/178230
no daily savings time
Govt rejected QP MP Alen Simonyan's bill to adjust the summer and winter clock in March and October. It was meant to add 50 minutes of light time throughout the day.
Based on observations in other countries, in Armenia, it could reduce artificial light usage hours by 9% or up to 1.1bln AMD. But it could also reduce human productivity by 650mln because of some accidents due to people needing time to adjust physically.
 
Govt found that the bill's math was flawed in some areas and was financially risky. Only 70 out of 200 countries still change clocks. None in EAEU do. 84% of European citizens are against it, and beginning next year the EU states will have the right not to change clocks. Jet flight issues could arise.
Govt will not amend the current law.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178159
polis
Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan met US ambassador Lynne to discuss police and anti-corruption reforms.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178166
Police arrested several members of the criminal subculture.
Getting dragged out of Brabus: https://youtu.be/eEsXLoEyxFM
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178162
Healthcare Ministry
Update: Several birth clinics in provinces are set to lose license because not enough pregnant women go there, which damages the doctor's experience and raises the risk of harm to the newborn child. Some clinics had no specialty doctors.
Healthcare Ministry decided to give a few clinics up to 1 year to meet the requirements by finding doctors, etc.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178167
Healthcare Ministry issued a warning to the 5th Channel and a birth clinic for violating safety rules. The outlet went to film a birth LIVE (is this even a thing?). They didn't wear protection. The doctor didn't have a mask. This is concerning especially since it's a flu season, says the memo.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1001565.html
Razmik Abrahamyan is a clinic official accused of child trafficking in the infamous case busted by NSS a few months ago. For years, dozens of kids were fraudulently stolen from parents and taken abroad.
The suspect has bad health and earlier went to the hospital. A court trial happened today.
Mother of a child tells suspect: I hope you have good health until I find my child.
Suspect: our clinic has nothing to do with those adoptions.
Mother: you told me my child was dead, but she wasn't.
Suspect: eh, go search and find her.
Mother: How can I find the child now? You were present at birth.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178189
tax waiver
Govt gave a tax waiver to Nikola International firm to make 1.6bin investments to import and process olives in Kotayk.
Pashinyan: It's too hot in Armenia. If it continues like this we will grow olives next winter. There are already some attempts, but it's not significant on a grand scale.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178164
bolola
Last year Yerevan municipality opposition Luys alliance got in hot water for crossing the line and creating bolola. In addition, accusations were made by them that some donors donated garbage trucks to Yerevan in exchange for favors. The municipality provided docs to counter the "favor" rumors. Looks like mayor Hayk Marutyan has had it enough.
Mayor's spokesman says:
A few months ago certain officials began to spread fake news. Then, LHK chief Edmon Marukyan went on TV and said the donors didn't give a truck but rather cash so the city could buy the garbage trucks. A similar thing was said by Luys MP Khajakyan on Azatutyun media.
None of them provided any evidence, and they couldn't because that's misinformation.
Today mayor Marutyan sent letters to both of them asking for either evidence or retraction.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178170
NSS vs army theft
NSS busted 85 tons of fuel theft in the Army.
Memo: a group of soldiers colluded in late-2019 to steal and sell 40mln worth fuel meant for exercises. They got caught while smuggling the next batch. A felony case is launched.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178187
An Armenian soldier was wounded in the northeastern region. That's the area that's active due to Azeri attempts to strengthen their positions. Earlier one Azeri soldier was killed during attempted engineering work.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178204
Pashinyan administration earlier created a group consisted of NGOs and law enforcement to work together to improve transparency whenever a soldier dies and an investigation opens.
The group has sent a petition to re-open one such criminal investigation that was earlier shut down. The request was accepted and the case re-opened.
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1001600.html
charity
Civil Aviation chief Tatevik Revazyan worked as a waiter at the ROOMZ restaurant for 4 hours. All tips went towards medical care for a kid named Tigran Amirkhanyan.
https://youtu.be/zjm0LGdI3j0?t=9
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1001598.html
engineering labs ArmAt
The Education Ministry's budget for ArMat engineering program, in millions of Drams:
2014: 14 but for salaries only
2015: 23 but for salaries only
2016: 23 but for salaries only
2017: 127 but for salaries only
2018: 187 but for salaries only
2019: 352 but for salaries only, plus 834mln for 284 new lab installations (until this point ArmAt itself was finding cash for labs, now Ministry chips-in too)
2020: 671
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1001634.html
5 soccer playgrounds were opened in Gegharquniq... under the snow.
Pics https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178165
Gucci's Armenian model Armine Harutyunyan is back in Italy for a new photoshoot, just so you know.
It all started last year when she went to Berlin to attend her favorite K-Pop concert. A Gucci recruiter saw and asked if she's interested in auditioning. She was asked to fly the next day but she couldn't due to the Visa regime. She eventually did. No makeup or special attire was allowed for the "natural" contest. Alessandro Michele was the judge.
https://www.1tvlive.am/2020/01/blog-post_43.html?m=1
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178213
President Sarkissian has been թրև գալ in the Middle East lately. He met Rotana Hotel chief and an investor in Abu Dhabi. They spoke about cooperation.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178174
A 2,000 - 3,000-year-old dungeon, and several 200yo cellar and storages were discovered by archeologists on Dalma gardens located in Yerevan's Malatia-Sebastia district.
They wrote a letter to PM and law enforcement to halt any construction work in the area. Education Ministry confirmed the archeological findings after a 4-day examination. An archeological agency was instructed to preserve the findings.
https://armtimes.com/hy/article/178200
Disclaimer: All the accused are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, even if they may sound as being guilty. Currency in Armenian Drams unless specified otherwise. Older posts can be found at: PART 1 ; PART 2 ; PART 3 ; PART 4 , credits to Idontknowmuch.

Oh boy, this is going to be a very long one. I really need to externalize all this somehow so that maybe I can get some perspective and be able to move forward. Hopefully this is somehow interesting or insightful for other people.
I am currently 31 yrs old, male, and live in Canada, but this story starts way back in Mexico when I was in high school. Growing up I had always been the odd one out in my generation. Very few friends, even fewer love interests, getting teased, etc. The usual for someone that was bullied but managed to get through somewhat fine with a couple of friends in tow. My family at the time was considering the idea to move to the US, and after a few family conversations about it we instead opted for Canada. Now, moving countries and starting a new life isn't a simple thing to do. It requires patience and a little bit of know-how.
We lacked both.
Applying as entrepreneurs using my dad's qualifications, who barely spoke English, was our first mistake. One that we wouldn't see the result of until way later. But while waiting, we were so sure it'd work out. Mind you, I must have been around 16 at the time. While the decisions hinged on my parents, I was a big influence in even attempting the process. So of course, my parents decided that there was no reason for me or my sister to go back to school since we'd be moving soon. Instead, a family friend in the US offered my sister and I to attend school abroad for a semester and stay at their home. So we traveled to the US with my dad, who would only be staying a week to make sure we were in good hands.
I am glad he did this. The moment we arrived we were hit with insane rules and limitations about what channels and shows we were allowed to watch, what we were allowed to eat, so on and so forth. We even had to buy a bed for myself. As it was Halloween season, our hosts decided to take all the collected loot and put it in a drawer where we were to ask for permission to eat it. Mind you, this was an old friend of my dad's, and he was getting more and more angry about the situation as the days passed. My sister fit in without a hitch at school, acing the entrance exams and starting right away in middle school. For me, our dear hosts were hesitant that I would even be able to attend a normal school, and instead were pushing me to go to a language-assisted school. But I declined. I had been learning English since elementary school, and was positive it wouldn't be a problem. So, it took a couple of days, a language test and a somewhat easy entrance exam, and I made it in. But of course, being a late entry, I wasn't allowed a full course. Instead, I only had 3 classes: English, Math and Computer Sciences. On my first day, the latter was uneventful as the teacher had no idea what to do with me, since I had just been dumped on his class. In Math, they were doing a test, so I basically just sat in. English was fine, and I was hitting it off with a couple of people trying to make some friends. So, after that one day of school, I come back and have a big ol' talk with dad and my sis. This isn't what we had been expecting, our hosts were being extremely nitpicky and were charging my dad for everything we consumed or had, and it just felt like being exploited. The moment my dad left, we would have been hit with the full extent of the draconian ruleset of the house, possibly forced to go to church, be banned from things as innocuous as the sci-fi channel or The Simpsons, and my parents would receive an enormous bill. So, he said "to heck with it" and we decided to hop on a plane and go back home. This is how my 6 month hiatus from school began.
What is a 16 year old boy without school gonna do with his time? Probably play videogames and hang out online. This is dial-up internet times, so it wasn't like browsing today. It was the times of MSN chat, MySpace and Kazaa. I amassed a library of music (I was actually decent at avoiding viruses), made friendships in different parts of the country, and even made a friend who actually lived a couple of blocks from me. Nice girl. We adopted an iguana together. But I digress. Another thing a 16 year old boy on the internet without supervision would do? Explore. I began talking with people on line in chat forums, and even had some online relationships with a few girls my age that are good friends to this day. However, there was one in particular that wasn't so good. This part I'm going to explain briefly and attempt to keep it SFW. This woman was older than me, showered me with attention and validation, and was extremely horny. Me, being insecure and naive, fell for it.
During this time, we sold our house, and ended up living in my mom's childhood home alongside my aunt and her family, including my cousins. I was the eldest among the 4, with only 2 elder cousins on that side of the family that at the time lived abroad. Living there was ok, but as time went on it the tension built up among everyone. It wasn't a comfortable living situation, but the house was big and I generally kept to myself. The six months went by, and I started the new semester in a new school. It felt nice starting over. All the people I knew growing up already had a certain image of me, and it was hard for me to make friends with anyone there since I was odd and awkward, wasn't huge into getting drunk and not much into sports. These new people? Well, they weren't all that different from those before, but at least I could try to make new impressions. The group was small, since this was the last generation for that particular study program, and so it was a meager group of 20+ people, most of whom had flunked a semester or two or where delayed somehow like me. I ended up befriending a group of 3 girls that I hung out with. While I think they sought me after because I could help them with their schoolwork, I think by the end they actually considered me a friend. One of them at least.
So, remember that older woman I mentioned before? This was around the time that exploded in my face. She, as it turns out, was married. And her husband didn't take kindly to me fooling around with his wife. So, my email and social media get hacked and end up with pictures of male genitalia posted all over with really demeaning messages. I... was distraught. When friends notified me about the hack, I freaked out. Later that day I managed to get control of my account back and ended up deleting it completely. I then made a new email and started a new Facebook page (it was around the time Facebook became a big thing). I felt betrayed, disgusted and violated. I don't think my parents, or any adult in my life, ever noticed what had happened. I don't know if they ignored it, or I just forgot / blocked it. Regardless, I stayed away from situations like that altogether and managed to move on. Skip ahead two years, and I'm graduating High School, top of the class, and with the highest scholarship possible for University, applicable to the one associated with that one High School. I should mention, for context, this was a private school. Public school in Mexico is can be very dicey, so my parents made a point to always have us in private schools. Guess I was lucky in that regard.
So, ever since I was a kid, all I wanted to do with my life was create videogames in some way. So, when I learned this University had a 3D Animation program, I jumped right in. I still had to pay tuition, mind you, but at least it was lower thanks to the scholarship. Said scholarship also required me to work part-time at the school as an intern. I made a few good friends, had my first part-time job at Walmart, and did my best to absorb as much as I can from a program that was somehow constructed as an Engineering Degree, therefore filled with math alongside learning 3DsMax, Animation, Drawing and other art skills. It was a weird mix, but I figured it was all useful even if I sometimes felt like there was a lot of fluff. At this point, my family had moved out of my aunt's house and rented a small house that was pretty close to school. Pets had always been part of my family growing up, and at this time we had an amazing golden retriever. I only mention her briefly, because she passed very soon after we moved due to a kidney failure after being spayed. I adored that dog, and her loss really hurt me. She'd stay with me all night in my World of Warcraft all-nighters making me company. It really hurt my sister too, who had actually managed to not lose school like I did and was doing fine. Due to our age difference, we didn't get along that well, and having to share a room was a bit uncomfortable for both, but we made due.
A few things happened during the next 2 and a half years. I had a couple of summer jobs, I met a girl I fell in love with through an old friend of mine, and my dad got his first heart attack and got laid off from his job. This latter broke him, as he kind of identified himself as the provider of the household. My mom worked as a teacher, but my dad was the main breadwinner. This was also around the time, if I remember correctly, that the Canadian Embassy rejected our application for the second time. After years of trying, and switching the application to use my mom's qualifications and having her nail an English exam thanks to some counselors they hired, this rejection hit my family hard. We stopped renting that house and used what money we had left to buy an apartment in a neighbourhood close to where we lived originally. They decided to put the apartment under my name for some reason. Me, being over 18 at the time, didn't have any objections. But tensions in the house were high. My mom was extremely hostile to my gf and would try all she could to prevent me from visiting her on the weekends. She also took up gambling at a local casino. My dad secluded himself in a small candy shop he opened in the neighbourhood. My sister, she grew up in this whole mess and bottled everything up. And me? I found refuge in my friends, my gf and school. This also put a lot of pressure into my relationship, and it eventually burst and we broke up, but that wouldn't happen for another 3 years. In those 3 years, I had to drop out of school due to my aunt's inability to keep supporting my tuition and my sister's school, alongside her own kids. My job at the time wasn't enough to pay it off, and I was already bottled up working part-time at the school as well, it wasn't feasible for me to take over the cost. So I dropped out. My gf, who was studying graphic design, encouraged me to enroll in public uni. They didn't have a program for what I wanted, so I picked the closest thing I could find...graphic design. I studied and took the entrance exam and managed to get in. Now, I didn't expect any parties about it...but it is a really tough exam... and it really didn't seem like anyone cared I had made it in. My gf was more amazed than anything, and my friends were happy for me, but my family was really pretty much absent. At this time, I even considered moving out and not go through any more proceedings when it came to attempting to move to Canada. I was done. Angry. Tired. I had felt betrayed and abandoned.
Graphic Design school was ok. I had to take a bus every day to get there, and it wasn't the most safe route. By this time, things in the city were getting dicey. I had actually encountered a few life threatening scenarios, like people with guns and knives mugging my gf and I, a dude with a gun robbing a Domino's Pizza I worked at and three guys driving a shady public bus at night attempting to steal my car on my way back from my GF's house. During an argument with my mom, I stormed out of the house and actually dented a door of the car while getting out of the garage (it was in a really awkward position next to a support pillar). My relationship with my mom was at its worst, my dad was nonexistent and my sister was in her own world. I... failed to be there for her and it kills me to this day.
So. Canada eventually said yes. We had been given permanent residency and had a year to land in. Problem was, by this point we had no money left to be able to afford the move. This, naturally, just got things at home worse and eventually led to my dad having a stroke. He was in the hospital for a while. This also put a strain in my relationship, and was one of the reasons we broke up. She took up a new boyfriend almost immediately, and this completely destroyed my heart. I stopped caring, and went dark. A few months later, I started dating a girl from school around the same time another girl I knew through a friend started flirting with me. I didn't care. I dated them both for a bit. But then, I caught myself in what I was doing, and really fell out of it. This wasn't what I wanted. I'm not this. So I broke it off with both of them, and decided to be on my own until I could figure things out. And right about then, my uncle comes to me with a brilliant plan. He says to me: "The apartment is under your name, correct?". I say "Yes. Why?". "I propose this..." he continued, "...I'll buy it from you, and that will give you enough for you and your family to move to Canada."
I said yes almost immediately. I wanted a fresh start. I wanted out of that hellish situation I had been in for so long.
My parents took some convincing, but eventually agreed it was a good idea. The biggest condition my uncle gave was that part of that money was to be used for me to finish my studies. Years later, he and my aunt divorced due to their own issues, but I will be forever grateful to him.
We had traveled a year prior for the official "landing" that we had to go through together, but went back to Mexico after that because of the lack of funds. Now, we were ready to make the move. Over 7 years of haphazard decisions, tension and pain was paying off. My mom moved in first to find both a house and a job. My sister and me traveled a month later. I actually had a very touching goodbye party with all my different non-associated groups of friends all together in the roof of our building, and I still have tears when I think of how I felt back then. I will always treasure each and every one of them fondly. I even had mended my friendship with my now ex-gf, and after a few heart-to-hearts we actually found we had feelings for each other. So, we actually made plans for her to follow me after a few years had passed and I was established (you can save the eye-roll. Of course it didn't work out. But we were young. She's actually still in Mexico, being a successful graphic designer and in a relationship with a guy she always had a crush on. I'm quite happy for her, and we are good friends to this day. And no, I wouldn't get involved romantically with her again).
Sorry for the tangent. But anyway, my dad was to follow us at the end of the year after he got his retirement paperwork settled. Except, a few months after my sis and I were settled, my mom drops the biggest bomb on us. "I don't want your father to come." she said, following with a -"I want you to support me on this." I was at a loss for words, but I didn't want to come in between them. I love both my parents, and I know they both have done what they could. I decided to remain neutral. I was not gonna take sides. Neither was my sister. Suffice to say, my parents are now separated and my dad stayed in Mexico.
I got into a 2-year program for 3D-Modeling while my sister started high-school pretty much right away. I also got a part-time job at a Safeway to support my own expenses as well as the school's tuition, while my mom took care of the rest of the expenses between her own job and the money from the apartment in Mexico. My dad moved in with his brother by the end of that year. Our income was low, but we managed. I graduated from the program and landed a job in a studio doing motion capture. I had a girlfriend for a bit, but it didn't pan out. My sister graduated high-school and entered college for a degree in Biology. And I wish this was where the story ended happily. But sadly... it is not.
During my time at this studio, that shall remain unamed, I grew confident. While I did a good job in saving up money, I also bought a lot of stuff. Figurines, games, clothes, movies, etc. With the help of my mom we bought a nice computer for me to work on stuff at home after my old one broke down. It was a decent year of providence where I started to build up some good credit history. Things were so good, I was confident I could move out on my own.
And then, it hit. The double whammy. In the same week, my contract at the studio ends without previous warning and I get laid off unceremoniously, AND my mom gets diagnosed with breast cancer. So, back to the grinder. My mom had to take leave from work and I struggled to land another industry job quickly, so I ended up working at a coffee shop part-time. My sister had to quit school, which we could barely afford anyway, and took up a job at a Mexican restaurant. Between the two of us we tackled a whole year of minimum-wage work to try and survive until my mom wen through her treatment. During this time, I amassed a sizable amount of credit card debt buying food and paying bills. 6 months in, I lose the job at the coffee shop and manage to land a job at an EB Games I frequented. We barely made it through and my mom survived the cancer. My sister, under the huge amounts of pressure and frustration, decided to move away to another province with some friends she had made in order to get things in perspective for her. I was left with my mom.
I should mention by this time we had been in Canada for a little over 3 years, had moved twice and were currently living in a two-bedroom apartment where I was essentially sleeping in the living room. I took over my sister's room after she left, but I was only holding off until my mom could take care of herself. I then moved out with a friend of mine and managed to get a job at another studio thanks to a friend that worked there. This studio was new, so it was up to us to bring it up to speed and deliver good stuff. I worked my butt off in every project earning below-average wage and tackling way more than what my job-description would specify, but I eventually became lead, got a couple of raises and became integral to the studio. It was like a small family working together. I managed to maintain my debt in check, but it was big enough to accumulate interest slowly and I didn't make enough to cover all expenses and pay it off. Studio work was unstable, as the per-hour rate normally covered 20-30 hours per week and only went 40+ on crunch periods. I got to work on some amazing stuff though. I started teaching at the school too, and was working at EB Games still during weekends and the off-shoot weekday. But EB was getting restless and questioning why I wasn't making them my priority, and eventually ended up quitting due to overload that led to me getting really sick one winter.
Almost caught up with current events. Studio had a bit of a slow year. My sister came back and started living with my mom again, got her old job back at the restaurant, and I picked up a seasonal job there as well. This wasn't the first time she and I worked together (I got her her first job, in fact) and by now our relationship was a lot better, so it worked out great. This money I saved up to travel to Japan for two weeks, a trip I always wanted to take. My sister liked the idea and she saved up for it too. Figured we deserved it. It was an amazing trip accompanied by some of my friends. But of course, nothing can ever go smoothly. A little under two months prior to my trip, my roommate informs me he is moving out. I cannot afford rent on my own, so I scramble to look for a solution. The idea comes up for my sister and I to move in together, however the apartment I was at was not pet friendly, and by now my sister had a cat. So, we look together until we find a suitable place, ending up in the same building as my mom, and take it. I end up spending way more money that I wanted due to full rents and deposits, but I manage to secure the place, move all my stuff to my mom's, go to Japan with my sister, and then come back and move everything to the new place. I'm spent, so I start saving up again to try and recoup. My sister got a bit frustrated, finding out that what she saved up for the trip wasn't quite enough, so she begins to look for job opportunities and decided to take an online course on dog training. I supported her wholeheartedly, though my mom was skeptical. Regardless, sis and I move together and help each other out when we can. Studio work picks up again for a while and she's basically working full time, so while we don't make bank, we cover all the expenses and manage to do well for a bit.
And then the studio broke me. At the end of 2018, it ran out of money in the middle of an in-house project we were doing in order to attract more contracts. The lead of the project disappears on us, leaving only one person and I to finish it within 3 months that accumulated unpaid hours. We were promised pay as soon as possible, but when they wanted to take on another in-house project right after, I noped out. I couldn't afford more unpaid hours. I took up a part-time job at the local movie theater to try to supplement income until the studio picked up again. It wasn't that rare to go a month or two without work every now and then. The nature of the beast I guess. But this time it was different. November 2018 that project ended. I didn't get paid for it for almost a year, and in 2019 we only got a small indie game to work on. Studio was pretty much dead, and all the deals and promises just never came.
My debt accumulated rapidly during this time, and I was earning so little that I actually started to miss payments and borrowed money from friends. I managed to do a couple of freelance commissions, but it wasn't enough. I used up all my Employment Insurance and tried to get as many hours on the theater as I could. Eventually that theater closed down and I was transferred to the one I am at currently, which is now also closing down in May. And to cap things off, my dad in Mexico is going through prostate cancer and I have no feasible way of either going to see him or helping him in any way.
So folks, you've made it to the end of the story and caught up with my current situation. I have 3 jobs: a part-time job at a movie theater that barely gives me hours and is due to close in two months, a part-time teaching position at a university that, while helpful, is pretty much a gamble every quarter if I get a group or not, and a supposedly full-time job at a studio that pays late, has no projects and makes tons of promises for the future, yet doesn't want to have payroll and instead have me as an independent contractor.
I am at a loss. I've exhausted my options looking for work, and am now forced to try and find a full-time minimum-wage job to make ends meet just so I can then try and look for industry jobs. I have a massive debt that I cannot bring down, owe a lot of money in taxes from last year that I cannot possibly pay, and every month is a struggle to even make rent, let alone utilities and food. I am on the verge of bankruptcy and have no idea where to go from here. All I can do is survive until I can muster some miraculous demo reel in things that are not motion capture related in order to try and land a job somewhere else. I feel trapped, hopeless, exhausted and on the verge of anxiety attacks every time I have to think about it. This is where my life has gone. The culmination of my own decisions. A hole that I cannot get out of.
Thank you for reading this long story about a guy that clearly doesn't know what he's doing. A guy consumed by guilt and depression that struggles to get up every morning to a hellhole of his own making. This was therapeutic to write, and I hope those of you that made it to the end, got some enjoyment out of it at least. Let something good come out of it.
EDIT: minor grammar and spelling corrections.

This is a compilation of all the posts by user ar_david_hh who summarises anti-Corruption news of the day along with other interesting news in one comment. It is linked from the sidebar->Interesting Threads->Anti-corruption. The list is ordered by date, newest first. Date format: D/M/YYYY. All credit goes to the sub's hero ar_david_hh
Previous compilation threads: Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
UPDATED DAILY

• NEWER ENTRIES
  
• 19/6/2020 News: (1) Russia responds to "cigarette smuggling". Mishik's hoax. (2) Govt rejects Gazprom's price-hike for public (3) Parliament vs Un-Constitutional Court (4) Ex-police chiefs charged (5) Serj's nephew facing 7yrs (6) Robik's dilemma (7) Gago's sectarian sheep (8) Fewer refugees (9)..
  
• 18/6/2020 News: (1) Big bills passed: public TV, elections, pensions, child trafficking (2) Court strikes down anti-corruption laws (3) Kocharyan's $4.1mln bail (4) Child care doubled (5) Serj, EPP & Nikol (6) COVID aid, microchip story, polls (7) Army audit (8) Sevan fishing (9) Fake news stories
  
• 17/6/2020 News: (1) Election fraud story. MPs held hostage. Death threats (2) Pashinyan criticizes NSS leaks (3) Tsarukyan's mother (4) BHK strikes back (5) Woman dies after falling victim to COVID micro-chip theory (6) Public TV. Fake news. Magic Wand. Foreign TV (7) Elder attend university (8)..
  
• 16/6/2020 News: (1) How a 2019 construction bribery bust led to a chain-investigation that uncovered documents about opposition leader's election fraud (2) BHK chief Tsarukyan loses immunity (3) Busing in non-Yerevan residents to vote in Yerevan (4) Tsarukyan's folks return 259mln (5) ID and glove
  
• 15/6/2020 News: (1) Yerevan's forest restoration (2) Constitutional reform (3) Tsarukyan's immunity (4) "Deal Leader" documents (5) MPs throw blows (6) Free masks. COVID research. Joggers (7) Artsakh's border tests (8) Hospital visits decline (9) Zoo residents (10) Wildfire (11) Lydian's wallet
  
• 14/6/2020 News: (1) BHK leader Gagik Tsarukyan accused of casino fraud, land fraud, voter buying. Dozens of raids and confiscations. (2) Workers claim they're pressured to attend a protest to support Tsarukyan (3) Allegations and counter-arguments about "persecution" (4) Tsarukyan's immunity as MP
  
• 12/6/2020 News: (1) North-South fraud. 29 charged (2) Azeri defector (3) ARM responds to EP (4) Shahumyan region (5) COVID & employment, tests, lung vents, beds, donations (6) Protesters arrested (7) Komitas performance (8) Emergency Order (9) Fake news (10) Remote work (11) Armenian bestsellers
  
• 11/6/2020 News: (1) Mining reforms (2) Kocharyan aide's $1mln (3) EP's rapporteurs (4) Edu. official's case (5) Nuclear loan. Russia comments (6) Firdusi (7) Fake news (8) COVID news (9) Criminal subculture (10) Amulsar mining (11) Yerevan's trees & buildings (12) Gas price (13) Cattle (14) To...
  
• 10/6/2020 News: (1) Գյուլնազ տատի (2) $22mln bribery (3) Deadly mining incident (4) Nikol fake anti-Russian? (5) World record set (6) Yerevan budget could spike (7) New cancer tech (8) COVID (9) Draper Uni. (10) Global Peace Index (11) IRS meets Tech Giants (12) Frunzik (13) Sports (14) Lake Sevan
  
• 9/6/2020 News: (1) Job for prisoners (2) Lake gets clean (3) Nuclear loan (4) QP & BHK deal blows. Civil society responds (5) How overloaded are courts? (6) Public is listening. Fewer COVID violations (7) Bed shortage gone (8) Conspiracist defunded (9) Cop's scheme busted (10) Seismic retrofit (11
  
• 8/6/2020 News: (1) Minasyan charged again; Offshore firm & SPAYKA; Laptop with 9000 deleted files; List of deals (2) New NSS chief not a career KGB-shnik (3) UCOM founder to buy Beeline (4) Judge acquitted (5) High tech (6) ex-police chief Vlad (7) COVID news (8) High tech (9) Soccer league (10)..
  
• 7/6/2020 News: (1) Dodi Gago comes out swinging (2) Armenian cards game (3) Good guy Colorado (4) Fake news for your entertainment (5) COVID unleashes hell (6) Crime plummets because of COVID (7) Internal tourism (8) Export stats (9) COVID donations (10) Major roads connecting Armenia-Artsakh
  
• 5/6/2020 News: (1) Points-based traffic rules show results (2) Tushonka's wife charged (3) ex-IRS chief's son charged (4) Cops charged (5) COVID stats, rules, enforcement, patients at home, anti-body tests (6) Govt agencies return savings (7) Banking stability (8) Canada won't arm AZ (9) Lanzarote
  
• 4/6/2020 News: (1) Army's weapon imports through offshore (2) Where does the gas money go? (3) COVID stats, measures, enforcement, aid, latest update (4) Vending machines sell masks (5) Armenian movie in Cannes (6) Your favorite cartoon (7) other stories...
  
• 3/6/2020 News: (1) Masks required everywhere (2) Shareholder transparency (3) Police reform (4) COVID vs employment (5) Protesters flip a car (6) Gloria factory bolola (7) Oghakadzev Park (8) Rocket found (9) Video in courts (10) Child interrogation reform (11) Fuel $ -31% (12) kalashnikov factory
  
• 2/6/2020 News: (1) Fugitive Prince's assets frozen; Sale of media outlets, hotels (2) Pashinyan promises curfew if... (3) Armenian airlines sanctioned (4) Gago's director charged (5) COVID update (6) Agricultural loot crates (7) Lake Sevan algae & fish (8) Ethnic minorities (9) Garabed Gospel
  
• 1/6/2020 News: (1) Parliament bans antibiotics in food; Other drug reforms (2) More gas from Iran (3) Armavir ex-mayor busted (4) Army retaliates in Nakhijevan (5) Crime stats (6) COVID update (7) Missing weapons (8) Parks (9) Prison food (10) Foreign affairs (11) Cash registers required (12)...
  
• 29/5/2020 News: (1) HHK MP is charged with embezzlement (2) MP's son charged with land theft (3) ECHR's Kocharyan verdict (4) COVID intensifies; Enforcement gets stricter (5) Kocharyan's vacation (6) Artsakh's new president aims unity (7) Gandhi (8) Renovations (9) Doing Business (10) Prprty Taxes
  
• 28/5/2020 News: (1) Armenia commemorates the independence struggle (2) COVID update; Raids, Restrictions, Conspiracy theories (3) High profile fight in Education Ministry (4) Mobile mammogram (5) Kocharyan's full verdict (6) Nemets Rubo in Russia (7) Property taxes (8) Meteorite light up the skies
  
• 27/5/2020 News: (1) Soviet army opens fire (2) 19th aid package (3) New human rights group (4) Environmental taxes (5) Luxury property tax (6) ECHR verdict on Kocharyan (7) Officials charged (8) Pashinyan comments cigarette smuggling story (9) COVID restrictions (10) Healthcare news (11) Press F
  
• 26/5/2020 News: (1) Digital overtakes Cash (2) Free healthcare expands (3) Neighborhood news (4) Stats on business layoffs, cuts, turnover (5) Electoral system reforms in provinces (6) Govt raises an alarm, stricter rules (7) Yerevan lands; Worker drama (8) Artsakh govt (9) Armenian nature (10)...
  
• 25/5/2020 News: (1) Qajaran mayor implicated in kidnapping and torture (2) Part 2: How Azeri officials collaborated with Nazis (3) Institutional police reform; Big salary & quality jump (4) Arthur Vanetsyan (5) COVID restriction & Latest (6) Competition (7) Wages & Economy (8) NBA in Armenia (9)..
  
• 24/5/2020 News: (1) Protests after raid ends with 4 arrests in Syunik (2) Story of how Azeri politicians collaborated with Adolf Hitler (3) No felony in Parliament (4) You're a farmer, Harry (5) Army says you shall not pass (6) Salty neighbors attack a lawyer (7) Price gauging busted (8) More...
  
• 22/5/2020 News: () Doctor's note magically disappears to help HHK official avoid jail () New law in action () Constitutional Court crisis () Armenian battalion () COVID stats. Hotel costs. () The GDP () President about population spread () Road repairs () Poultry industry () Climate change () ...
  
• 21/5/2020 News: (1) HHK MP charged with abduction & torture (2) Giant solar farm (3) Only 1 exam (4) Forest embezzlement (5) Yerevan district chief busted (6) COVID. Anti-body tests. Doctors needed (7) Soccer rules (8) Sauna found in university (9) Artsakh president's electric car (10) Inflation
  
• 20/5/2020 News: (1) Programming classes for COVID victims (2) HayPost deliveries (3) Test production (4) Bribery uncovers wider scheme (5) "Cigarette smuggling" update (6) Ex-oligarch cases more charges (7) Sales receipts plummet (8) Vroooom (9) Dod Exotic (10) Gold plates for $ (11) Stolen statue
  
• 19/5/2020 News: (1) Audit uncovers billions (2) High ranking NSS official quits (3) Fuel machinations uncovered (4) Foreign affairs (5) HHK activist is charged over Facebook post (6) COVID penalties & masks (7) COVID vs Real Estate (8) Conspiracies (9) Economy 2020 vs 2019 (10) Genocide archives
  
• 18/5/2020 News: (1) Armenia will produce buses (2) ex-SOC chief's court trial (3) Pashinyan's Q&A with media: Courts, Cigarette smuggling, $105mln recovered, Amulsar, WW2 & Nazis (4) Cassations Court boost anti-money laundering (5) "Pashinyan lied to you all" (6) USAID++ (7) PCs for kids (8) ...
  
• 17/5/2020 News: 100 facts about new Armenia. What has changed since 2019?
  
• 15/5/2020 News: (1) SIS charges NSS agents & Cops for letting a suspect flee (2) Judge charged with forgery (3) Fugitive ex-official faces 2bln abuse charges (4) HHK scorches EU for praising Armenia's achievements (5) Here are the rules (6) National Archive (7) Yerevan news (8) New ISP created
  
• 14/5/2020 News: (1) Housing subsidies to boost birthrate (2) 18th aid package (3) Church about child abuse convention (4) Hay Park (5) Judge's private info leaked (6) Military audit stats (7) COVID vs Marriages & Tourism (8) Masks required; Transport & preschools; Max 5 people (9) Visitors' fate..
  
• 13/5/2020 News: (1) The final days of Artsakh war (2) Drama over Parliament fight (3) MP attacked over voting record (4) Kocharyan's 3 petitions get rejected (5) Where do strawberries come from? (6) Ex-police official charged (7) Gloves & smoking (8) COVID reaches PM's office (9) PM roams around
  
• 12/5/2020 News: (1) Ejmiatsin mayor accuses "mafiosi" of fabricating stories after raids (2) Cigarettes story (3) Biggest Freedom House jump (4) Parliament drama (5) Robert Kocharyan (6) Judges approve 91% of arrest warrants (7) Remittances from abroad (8) Central Bank protest (9) More inside...
  
• 11/5/2020 News: (1) Massive campaign to make Yerevan greener (2) Offers made for several MPs to resign (3) Businessmen fight after river overflows (4) Child exploitation convention (5) Story of "Mother Armenia" statue (6) Artsakh bridge gets Aliyev in trouble (7) Judicial reforms (8) Men's rights?
  
• 8/5/2020 news: (0) COVID's impact on Real Estate & Industry (1) Kocharyan trial; former PMs ask judge to free him (2) Anti-corruption bill discussion turns into a fight in Parliament; context; response (3) Magic wand in action (4) File & pay taxes online (5) COVID in army (6) Liberating Shushi (7)
  
• 7/5/2020 News: (1) New solar farm (2) Big preschool reforms (3) Free cash for doctors (4) ECHR vs Armenia (5) Saryan's painting found (6) U.S. Department about Artsakh (7) Infrastructure upgrades, new roads & facilities (8) Aid for tech industry (9) Faster court trials (10) 1988 quake survivors...
  
• 6/5/2020: (1) Pashinyan "hijacks" NSS (2) ֏1k fees to army (3) Donation transparency (4) Everyone to file taxes? (5) Mass construction (6) Gago's casino (7) Science news (8) Alcoholic Pashinyan (9) Modern architecture (10) Yerevan floods (11) What happened in 2019? (12) Artsakh negotiations (13)..
  
• 5/5/2020 News: (1) "Gun laws" to get stricter (2) Govt wants to ban antibiotics in meat (3) Yerevan wastewater cleanup corruption (4) Family annihilator in Yerevan (5) PM makes staff changes (6) Eight students' bribery (7) Cursing lawyers = felony? (8) Fewer deaths, tourists, cargo (9) More inside
  
• 4/5/2020 -- Monday News, How UCOM got involved in money laundering story \ Aid for businesses that hire during COVID \ Voter lists inflated? \ Defamation lawsuits \ Economy & Unemployment \ Mask and testkit production \ "Repeated" infections \ EU tariffs & Armenia \ Road repairs \ more... How UCOM got involved in money laundering story \ Aid for businesses that hire during COVID \ Voter lists inflated? \ Defamation lawsuits \ Economy & Unemployment \ Mask and testkit production \ "Repeated" infections \ EU tariffs & Armenia \ Road repairs \ more...
  
• 3/5/2020: Today's News Stories --- Armenian airlines blacklisted by U.S. \ 3-way clash between Pashinyan-Vanetsyan-Minasyan \ New raids related to ex-IRS boss \ Bill to require balanced news on TV \ Healthcare system capacity & Future of COVID \ Diasporans \ Yerevan news \ more stories...
  
• 1/5/2020: Friday News --- Manvel needs the tushonka \ Pashinyan in legal trouble \ Plot twist in fake cigarette story \ ADHD kids \ Mayors charged with embezzlement \ Kocharyan in hospital \ Hydro in Artsakh \ Party animals \ Economy is re-opening \ COVID situation & aid \ George Soros
  
• 30/4/2020: Thursday News -- Offshore firm makes your money disappear \ ex-NSS boss accused of being Russian agent \ Fired over Facebook Like \ UCOM's shareholder raided \ Utility subsidies \ 1k Nature jobs \ Smelly tomato \ Education reforms \ MP vs Activist \ Cigarette fake news \ ++
  
• 29/4/2020: Wednesday News -- Armenia being sued for $160mln after Serj's railway deal w/offshore firm \ Lake Sevan building destruction \ Freedom of press \ Armenians in WW2 \ Fight between MP & activist \ Pashinyan office vs ex-NSS Vanetsyan \ Hospital trashed after a shooting vendetta
  
• 28/4/2020: Today's News --- Massive $22mln bribery story involving ISP giant UCOM, offshore laundering, Dodi Gago's right-hand man, and former IRS boss // Business restrictions are relaxed // Armenian Genocide material damage // Yerevan news // Banks // more inside...
  
• 27/4/2020 -- News Summary -- Armenian mafia in US / App to find street parking, CCTVs / Aid for startups / Officials busted with bribery / Foreign aid to ARM and Artsakh / Neighborhood news / Wages up / Trade & Services down / Prosecutors investigate report against Yerevan mayor / 15% had COVID
  
• 24/4/2020 -- Summary of today's news stories about Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 23/4/2020 -- Anti-Corruption & News -- Early cancer detection in Armenia / Institutional police reforms / Salaries raised / Soldier families get free healthcare / Economy to shrink / Tuition subsidy / Garni mayor charged / Cop is arrested (lol?) / Cultural events / Chatbot Tiko reporting for duty
  
• 22/4/2020 -- Daily News Briefing -- The gas wars, Serj's son-in-law wanted, US/UN/EU send aid, Armenian Genocide, Tax code reforms, Nature Ministry and Lake Sevan, Giant cross near Turkish border, Trees or no trees,
  
• 21/4/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Stay up to date on Armenian Foreign Policy, Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 20/4/2020: Daily News Digest -- Student loan subsidies // New giant park idea // Pashinyan blasts "haters", pro-Western, and pro-Russian factions // Dilijan mayor charged // Nature Ministry officials busted // UCOM co-founder to launch new ISP // COVID status // many more stories...
  
• 17/4/2020 -- Today's News -- Tourist avenue near Lake Sevan -- Many bills passed (nature, anti-corruption, transparency, childbirth) -- Yerevan buildings -- Church scandal -- Deportation of Armenian suspect -- COVID update -- Moody's -- How is Heno doing?
  
• 16/4/2020 -- Today's News -- Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• News & Anti-Corruption -- 15/4/2020 -- Judicial Vetting / NSS's Money Laundering Charges Against Churchman (former PM as shareholder) / Asset Forfeiture Law Amended / Civil Aviation Bombshell / Catholicos in Hot Water / Hate Speech Law Expands / Future Artsakh President / COVID and Consequences /
  
• 14/4/2020 -- Today's News -- Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, Changes, and more...
  
• 13/4/2020: News from Armenia // Utility bill subsidy // Government removes media gag // UCOM founder gives details // Tushonka's merch // $3,000,000 house // COVID tests increase, Stats, Curve // Emergency extended // Mobile tracking results // 13 days at 0.9 // Burglary // more stories...
  
• 10/4/2020 -- Today's News & Anti-Corruption // Telecom operator merger // Several high profile corruption busts // Former NSS chief Vanetsyan makes alliance // a lot more...
  
• 9/4/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Biological labs in Armenia & Russian media / Government aid / Artsakh election & George Soros / Arrest in-absentia for HHK MP / Botanical garden embezzled / Kocharyan sues Armenia / How does Armenia fare against world in COVID graph? / Mass tests incoming /
  
• 8/4/2020 -- Your daily summary of Armenian news -- Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 7/4/2020 -- Today's News Summarized -- Incarceration drops (=Denmark). Mysterious pneumonia. Pashinyan gets sued. Foreign investment stats. Black market for masks. Real estate transactions. New healed > infected. Artsakh elections. $500mln gas investment. Domestic kits. Pashinyan vs Gago. +++
  
• 6/4/2020 -- Today's news stories TLDR -- Pashinyan's Q&A - Many topics - Weapon smuggling in Africa, Artsakh election fraud, Police contract abuse, Which officials are charged?, Prosecutors less likely to arrest, Road repair fraud, COVID - domestic tests - tunnel light, ... a lot more
  
• 5/4/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Civil Aviation details -- Lord Voldemort stats -- Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 3/4/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, Post-Revolution Changes, and more...
  
• 2/4/2020 -- Today's News Wrap-Up // What's happening in Armenia? // Coronavirus situation & Important message // Ministry goes after a judge // HHK MP under investigation // and a lot more...
  
• 1/4/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Election results, who are the candidates? /// Prosecutors bust former officials /// Gas prices /// Coronavirus stats /// CSTO's response /// Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 31/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Artsakh elections /// South Korea style COVID19 tracking, Parliament discusses details /// 60,000 test kits /// Lockdown extended /// Satanist chicks /// Stay up to date on Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 30/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- TLDR of Today's Major Stories.
  
• 27/3/2020 -- What's going on in Armenia? -- Today's major news on COVID, Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Armenia, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 26/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary // Government aid for family, farmer, business // How wealthy are MPs? // Stay up to date on Post-Revolution Anti-Corruption, COVID, Economy, Politics, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 25/3/2020 -- Today's News TLDR -- Stay up to date on COVID, Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Armenia, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 24/3/2020 -- What's happening in Armenia? -- Papers, Please -- Today's major stories on COVID, Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Armenia, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 23/3/2020 -- What's going on in Armenia? -- Today's major stories on COVID, Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Armenia, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 22/3/2020 -- What's happening in Armenia? -- Today's major stories on COVID, Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Armenia, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 20/03/2020 -- Your Daily News Summarized -- Today's major stories on COVID, Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Armenia, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 19/3/2020: Daily News Summary / Yerevan mayor cleared / Artsakh presidential polls / Sports pensions / IRS stats, COVID impact / 122 infections / No shortage of food / Export of med-stuff banned / Donations surge / Techies drafted vs COVID / Aid package, salaries, utility bills, loans, imports
  
• 18/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary / Property embezzlement busts skyrocket / 110 COVID cases / 150bln economic stimulus being drafted, loans, aid / Police monitoring the quarantined, crowded buses / fake news gag / Remote education / and more...
  
• 17/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary / Mass COVID19 testing results in high detection rate / Emergency gag on COVID fake news / 78 cases / Online schooling / IRS worker busted, Former Minister / Tushonka's nephew charged / Defamation lawsuits / and more...
  
• 16/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Chronological COVID timeline -- State of Emergency -- Healthcare Ministry takes over private sector -- Gatherings banned -- Non-citizens banned -- Referendum postponed -- and more...
  
• 15/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Pashinyan unknowingly socialized with COVID patient; tests negative -- Ejmiatsin city entry & exits closed -- Russia arrests March 1st suspect -- Other major stories on Post-Revolution Changes, Anti-Corruption, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 14/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Levon Aronyan's wife had car crash -- Latest COVID news -- High ranking Nature official investigated -- Other major stories on Post-Revolution Changes, Anti-Corruption, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 13/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Pashinyan & Wife isolated after contact; COVID test -- 13 cases -- Italian COVID brought before main outbreak, shutting flights wouldn't help -- Other major stories on Post-Revolution Changes, Anti-Corruption, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 12/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Your COVID briefing minus fake news -- Tech sector expands -- Other major stories on Post-Revolution Changes, Anti-Corruption, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 11/3/2020 --- Daily News Collection --- Pashinyan about Serj's "$42mln weapon waste" -- Rob's judge releases Rob's media friend -- Embezzlement during 2016 Pope visit --- Other major stories on Anti-Corruption, Post-Revolution Changes, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 10/3/2020 -- Daily News Summary -- Pashinyan blasts Constitutional Court chief for secret meetings with Kocharyan's lawyer -- Other major stories on Post-Revolution Changes, Anti-Corruption, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 9/3/2020 -- Your daily news summarized -- Today's major stories on Post-Revolution Changes, Anti-Corruption, Economy, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 6/3/2020 --- Your daily news summarized --- Don't miss today's major stories on Anti-Corruption, Economy, Post-Revolution Changes, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 5/3/2020 --- Your daily news summarized --- Don't miss today's major stories on Anti-Corruption, Economy, Post-Revolution Changes, Politics, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 4/3/2020 -- Today's news summarized. Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption, Economy, Major Changes, Politics, Constitutional Court Crisis, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 2/3/2020 -- News collection from Armenia // Major busts today // Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption, Economy, Major Changes, Politics, Constitutional Court Crisis, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 1/3/2020 -- News collection from Armenia. Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption, Economy, Major Changes, Politics, Constitutional Court Crisis, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 28/2/2020 -- Daily News & Anti-Corruption from Armenia / Lydian miner wins lawsuit / Offshore embezzlement revealed / Mayor's theft / Sumgayit massacres / SOC audits a Uni / Armenian army / Coronavirus update / Azeri spy rumor / Rob ally's bribery / Cabbies vs gig economy / Sports / ... and more
  
• 27/2/2020 -- Collection of news from Armenia / Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption / Economy / Major changes / Politics / Constitutional Court crisis / Diaspora / Daily Life / and more...
  
• 26/2/2020 --- Daily News & Anti-Corruption summary from Armenia / March 1st witnesses, borders, murder, bribe / Disability protection bill / Foreign Affairs & Trade / Lots of trolling / Coronavirus / Women in army / Sports victories / Education reform complaint / Nature / Wages++ / & much more...
  
• 25/2/2020 --- Daily News & Anti-Corruption summary from Armenia --- Economy / Wages & Inflation / Tech & Manufacturing up / Judicial Reforms / Kocharyan & Serj's trial / High ranking bust / A school fight / Coronavirus / Aid for low-income families / Business survey / Gift for women / and more...
  
• 24/2/2020 --- Daily News & Anti-Corruption summary from Armenia --- March 1st, testimony, sniper, murder / Education Reforms / TV networks / Yerevan's sewers / State property embezzlement / Coronavirus at borders / Fish farms and nature / Nominal wages in 2019 / High tech / and more...
  
• 21/2/2020 -- Daily News summary from Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption Busts / Constitutional Court crisis / Politics / Economy / Diaspora / Daily Life / and more...
  
• 20/2/2020 -- Daily News summary from Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption Busts, Constitutional Court crisis, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 19/2/2020 -- Daily News summary from Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption Busts, Constitutional Court crisis, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 18/2/2020 -- Daily News summary from Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption Busts, Constitutional Court crisis, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 17/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 14/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 13/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 12/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 11/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection & Anti-Corruption from Armenia --- Massive police reforms, new academy, new ministry, duty reshuffling --- Landmark court decision to fight army bullying --- Constitutional referendum update --- Mayor & son charged --- many more stories inside...
  
• 10/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 9/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 7/2/2020 -- Daily News Collection From Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Constitutional Court crisis, Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• 6/2/2020 -- Daily news collection from Armenia -- Stay informed about the ongoing Anti-Corruption Busts, Politics, Economy, Diaspora, Daily Life, and more...
  
• PREVIOUS ENTRIES (6/9/19 -> 5/2/2020)
  

News roundup for the previous week.
In International news

1. BRICS Bank to Finance Technological Innovation Projects: the multilateral lender approved loans worth $1.5 billion last year, mainly to finance clean energy and infrastructure developments in BRICS countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
   
2. South Korea Vows to Protect Firms Amid China Pressure Over Thaad
   
3. U.S. report accuses Taiwan of human rights violations
   
4. Keener on arms from China, Bangladesh dithers on defence pact with India: Bangladesh military are not keen on purchasing defence hardware from India. They point to the poor quality of equipment India supplied to Nepal and Myanmar, while admiring Chinese equipment for being cheap and easy to use
   
5. THAAD battery reaches S. Korea, deployment begins
   
6. US & South Korea drills may lead to 'actual war', North Korea warns
   
7. Chinese reporter Ye Qinglin 叶青林 talks about how BBC hired him to smear China and how western media brainwashes people
   
8. Beijing Is Changing Its Tone In South China Sea Disputes
   
9. Is Beijing outflanking the United States in the South China Sea?
   
10. China and Russia have agreed to intensify their opposition to the US’ controversial THAAD missile defense system which is set to be deployed to South Korea, both countries have announced
    
11. China's foreign minister calls on North Korea to halt missile tests
    
12. Japan must cure its 'anxiety' about China
    
13. How do you frustrate a CIA hacker? Show them Chinese
    
14. Overall Best Countries Ranking 2017: China ranks in top 25
    
15. China seeks global support for cyber sovereignty framework: countries should wield sovereign authority over all cyber-related matters within their territory
    
16. 'Sky Net 2017' launched to capture fugitive corrupt suspects
    
17. China trying to rope India, Russia in cyber pact against the West
    
18. China issues report on US human rights
    
19. Duterte thanks China for lightening up Philippine economy
    
20. Beijing says it has reached agreement with ASEAN over disputed South China Sea
    
21. Mu Cong has become the first-ever female Chinese athlete to win two bodybuilding competitions, as well as membership to the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB)
    
22. China tried to get the U.S. to negotiate with North Korea. The U.S. declined.
    
23. Falling Malaysian Chinese population worrying: Analysts
    
24. Russia Creates 'Special Business Force' for Work in China
    
25. China blasts CIA after WikiLeaks reveals extent of agency’s hacking abilities: CIA can compromise an array of popular tech products. The CIA “lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal,” WikiLeaks said in a statement
    
26. China says trade war will only bring "pain"
    
27. China Wins Nine of 10 Events at First FINA Diving World Series
    
28. Racist T-shirts condemned by Chinese embassy in Germany
    
29. Chinese Universities Have Plenty to Gain from Trump’s Policies, Says Scholar: United States is slowly turning away professionals, academics, and students with its current “anti-global” stance and travel ban. Their loss, however, is China’s gain, especially Chinese universities
    
30. As U.S. aid and influence shrinks in Pakistan, China steps in
    

In Domestic news

1. White paper: Judicial Transparency of Chinese Courts
   
2. Xi's vision of media: Responsible, innovative, global
   
3. China to formulate judicial exclusionary rule of illegal evidence
   
4. 5-year-old girl in ICU after falling from 11th floor emulating umbrella jumping scene from cartoon [Chinese]
   
5. China Counterfeiting: 8 Common Myths | China Law Blog
   
6. Tibet and Xinjiang offer preferential tax terms, draw China’s jet set
   
7. Baidu’s Robin Li calls for easier visas for foreign tech workers in China
   
8. China's new civil code light on individual rights reforms
   
9. [HNA acquires 80% share of Caijing’s parent company [Chinese]](HNA acquires 80% share of Caijing’s parent company [Chinese])
   
10. Pomp and Politics: China's Annual Congress in Photos
    
11. More Chinese students return from overseas in 2016: In 2016, 544,500 Chinese students studied overseas, 144,900 people more than 2012; while the number of returnees in 2016 was 432,500, up 159,600 than 2012
    
12. 3 Things Chinese Tourists Are Surprised To Find When They Travel Abroad To Taiwan: People are ominously courteous, It’s not very modern, Things are cheap
    
13. China approves 38 new Trump trademarks
    
14. China Building 21 Nuclear Reactors to Boost National Power Supply: Of this total, the construction of five should be finished within the year. Together with "other projects," these rectors will add some 6.41 GWe of nuclear generating capacity to the national grid
    
15. Women hold up half of China's winter sports "sky": Women contributed half of the gold medals for the Chinese team's Sapporo effort
    
16. China considers subsidies for second children in population push
    
17. Returning Chinese from Abroad Driven by Legal Barriers, Other Opportunities
    
18. Premier Li Keqiang sounds warning on Hong Kong independence: Premier says separatist sentiment in Hong Kong will lead nowhere and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle will be implemented without distortion
    
19. China to turn 800,000 hectares of marginal farmland into forests or grassland: China will begin to pilot projects to improve the quality of forests and restore ecosystems along the Yangtze Economic Belt
    
20. China launches world’s largest oil exploration sea platform: The 42,000-tonne Bluewhale 1 is bigger, faster and can drill deeper than its rivals in disputed waters. Can reach the seabed at a depth of 3,658 metres and bore a further 15,240 metres into the earth’s crust
    
21. Myanmar women illegally marry, live in Yunnan: between 20,000 to 30,000 Myanmar women married Chinese men and live in Dehong without the proper documents
    

In SciTech news

1. China releases first images from Fengyun-4A geostationary weather satellite: provide high spatial, temporal and spectral resolution observations of China and surrounding areas, improving weather forecast and monitoring
   
2. China is aiming to launch a new Long March 8 rocket by the end of 2018 to fill a gap in the country's carrier rocket capabilities and commercial launch prospects, a top space official has said
   
3. The China gene genius: from Hebei to the pinnacle of American science. Meet the young China-born American scientist (Feng Zhang ) who is making waves with a technique that could roll back disease and usher in “designer babies”
   
4. China orbited a small experimental satellite called Tiankun-1 (TK-1), utilizing the Kaituozhe-2 (KT-2) rocket, new launch vehicle. TK-1 will be used for remote sensing, telecommunications and experiments in minisatellite-based technologies
   
5. China speeds 5G roll-out with world's largest test field
   
6. China’s first woman in space on spacewalks, the Chinese space station, and future female astronauts. Liu Yang answered questions on the sidelines of the NPC ahead of International Women's Day
   
7. China is reportedly developing a manned space mission to the moon
   
8. China’s tech giants are pouring billions into US start-ups
   
9. Xiaomi's Global Move: Chinese Tech Firm Challenges World's Smartphone Market. Chinese electronics company is the first to produce a smartphone powered by a custom chipset. It is also the fourth smartphone maker to have self-designed processors
   
10. Why China’s internet use has overtaken the West: We’ve reached a watershed moment in Chinese people’s online lives – and their innovation will lead the way for the rest of the world.
    
11. China's domestic underwater glider reached a depth of 6,329 meters during a mission in the Mariana Trench, breaking the previous record of 6,000 meters held by a U.S. vessel
    
12. China to develop space rockets to launch from planes: Move comes as Beijing aims to send hundreds of military, commercial and scientific satellites into orbit
    

In Economic news

1. Massive investment planned in ‘Made-in-China’ industrial robots: 100,000 industrial robots set to be built annually by 2020, with sales of service robots also expected to exceed 30 bn yuan by then, according to official forecasts
   
2. China overtakes eurozone as world's biggest bank system
   
3. Tesla's China Sales Triple to More Than $1 Billion - Bloomberg
   
4. China February official manufacturing PMI rises to 51.6, beats forecasts
   
5. German region decides to sell Hahn airport to China's HNA
   
6. China creates over 13 million new urban jobs for 4 consecutive years
   
7. European businesses attack China high-tech push
   
8. China's Plan to Build Its Own High-Tech Industries Worries Western Businesses
   
9. China’s Richest Win, Mexican Billionaires Lose With Trump Effect: The 36 Chinese billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index have increased their wealth by 13.2 percent since the real estate mogul was elected U.S. president on Nov. 8, a $39.2 billion increase
   
10. China's banking system is now the biggest in the world
    
11. Opinion: Beijing, Washington Face Similar Economic Challenges
    
12. Xinhua Insight: China's booming "sheconomy". female consumption in China reached 2.5 trillion yuan (about 362 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015 and is expected to hit 4.5 trillion yuan in 2019
    
13. New report confirms phenomenon: no country comes even close to China in self-made female billionaires
    
14. Chinese yuan to be stable in 2017
    
15. Asia will soon be the world’s economic center if it isn’t already
    
16. Chinese goods flex more muscle in S. Korea: Chinese manufacturers, armed with lower prices and improved quality, are now venturing into new South Korean markets such as home appliances and even autos
    
17. China clarifies manufacturing plan after EU group criticism
    
18. China's foreign reserves rise following capital controls: reserves rose by a relatively modest $6.9 billion to just over $3 trillion
    

In Military news

1. China’s claim it has ‘quantum’ radar may leave $17 billion F-35 naked: While the photons are separated, they retain their quantum link. Attempting to break that link would be a giveaway. And any attempt to distort would be equally noticeable
   
2. China says it has received its largest foreign drone order: The order for the Wing Loong II was placed before the next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully completed its maiden flight
   
3. Latest-generation Chinese combat drone makes maiden flight: Wing Loong II that flew for the first time carry up to 480 kilograms (1,058 pounds) of bombs and missiles, can stay airborne up to 20 hours and fly at a maximum altitude of 9,000 meters (29,500 feet)
   
4. Retired general: Russia and China’s military are gaining on us. US military’s ability to deliver “shock and awe” on the battlefield is being overtaken by the rapidly revamping Russian and Chinese forces, the former NATO Supreme Allied commander
   
5. PLA patents declassified for civilian use
   
6. China also working to add hypersonic warheads to shorter range missiles: China has conducted seven tests of a hypersonic glide missile. While Beijing has acknowledged such testing, it was previously unknown that it is also working on a short-range hypersonic weapons development program
   
7. Chinese troops appear to be operating in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon is OK with it
   
8. China’s capabilities threaten US superiority in new battlefronts: space, electromagnetic and cyber warfare. China launched satellites with an arm that can grab satellites. DF-ZF hypersonic vehicle will travel at more than 7,000mph. PLA has been actively creating Information Warfare militias
   
9. After a decade, China may have more warships than the US: According to some estimates, over the next 10 to 15 years, China could build its fleet to a total of 500 ships, including up to four aircraft carriers and 100 submarines as well as sophisticated corvettes, patrol boats and other combat craft
   
10. China to step up patrols to create 'first class' navy
    
11. China Expands Its Strategic Airlift Capability, Prepares to Expand Its Sphere of Influence: Y-20 was built to fill the roles of strategic airlift, paratroop transport, and heavy airdrop missions. The AG600 is a large flying boat, capable of landing and taking off on water, or on land-based airstrips
    
12. China Declassifies 3,000 Military Patents in Bid to Create Military-Industrial Complex: They cover a wide range of ideas with great potential for both military and civilian uses. These include aircraft design, vehicle design, image processing, materials, communications, measurement and control
    

Other Notables

1. Clickbait about China’s ‘parliament of billionaires’
   
2. Misunderstanding China (1972) - unusually self-aware documentary explores the history of racist and ignorant American perceptions of China
   
3. China And Trump: Can Relations Thrive Under ‘America First’ Policy?
   
4. On reacting to John Oliver's latest Last Week Tonight featuring our good friend the Dalai Lama
   
5. 8-Year-Old Armless Boy Finds Academic Success: Born without arms, Jiang's parents named him after a famous quote from the Book of Changes: "As heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive." Jiang's parents hoped their son would be tough when facing life's difficulties
   
6. E China's Women Leading Way in Entrepreneurship: "2016 Report on Zhejiang Female Entrepreneurs Report. Women in east China's Zhejiang Province have established over 1.46 million businesses. Some one-in-19 local women in the region are their own boss
   
7. 《朝歌》 Zhao Ge drama trailer 2017
   
8. Western liberals stole Mao's proverb “women hold up half the sky”
   
9. 7,108 parts, with no single nail! Chinese man builds imposing ancient building
   
10. "China's Oprah" busts The Great Wall of Zhang Yimou! (Eng Sub) 金星手撕张艺谋《长城》
    
11. 解放军
    
12. When China’s Got a Gripe It Can Turn a Billion People Against You
    
13. Scholars debate the pros and cons of Chinese history books written by foreigners
    
14. Some Recommended China Writers on Quora
    
15. Pictures: Scenery of Reed Flute Cave in Guilin, China
    
16. Love-struck Man Spends 21 Yrs Caring for Paralyzed Wife: Wang Bisheng and his wife Liu Guishu tied the knot 55 years ago, they were college classmates. Having looked after his wife for two decades, the man maintained that his love for her is still as fresh as it was when they met for the first time
    
17. Pak-China-Russia nexus ‘scenario-changer’ for S Asia
    
18. These Rare Examples of Early Photography in China Captured a Disappearing World
    
19. China’s New Film Ratings Don’t Cut Out the Censors
    
20. Quora: Is China colonizing Asia and Africa?
    
21. Chinese patrol soldiers rescue wounded wild animals
    
22. Why Is China So … Uncool?
    
23. Why China's Screenwriters Are Thriving
    
24. Donnie Yen To Headline ‘Sleeping Dogs’ For Neal Moritz’s Original Film
    
25. Here are six talented ancient Chinese women who once impressed in their time, and still affect us in our time: Li Qingzhao, Cai Wenji, Ban Zhao, Shangguan Wan'er, Su Hui, Xue Tao
    
26. The Chinese Math Rock Bands You Need To Know
    
27. Power Rangers Exclusive Set Visit (2017) - Ludi Lin Movie
    
28. Virtual reality enriching students' learning experience
    
29. "Pink flight" launched for women on International Women's Day in SE China
    
30. Marking Int'l Women's Day with speed and guts! Watch stunning skills of Chinese female drift racer
    
31. The Ten Cent Pictures co-produced Action movie 'Kong: Skull Island' Roars With $3.7M in Thursday Night Previews - and is getting great reviews
    
32. Democracy in a nearly chaotic state in U.S , western Europe( Brexit , populism wave , Taiwan , now since yesterday South Korea. How long westerners will keep this charade about the benefits of democracy?
    
33. What is democracy in China?
    
34. The Chinese Movie Stars Who Regret Their Failed Relationships with Foreign Men
    
35. Chinese villagers become millionaires selling yarn online
    
36. Quora: Why do Chinese political leaders have engineering degrees whereas their American counterparts have law degrees?
    
37. Chinese film has bright future on the global stage
    
38. Quora: Why are China's GDP growth figures questioned in the western media?
    
39. House always wins: the dark side of life in Macao’s casino economy
    

• If interested in more non news categories, check the flair search on the sidebar. You can suggest ideas or pictures for the scrolling banner. This thread is not a replacement for messages regarding mod issues.
  
• Added some new user flairs that have ethnic and continental focus, check them out. Chinese users specifically are encouraged to identify with flairs. On the right hand side underneath "Subreddit Info" Click "edit" and select flair.
  
• Random fun fact, google search "sino" to see us among the top results.
  
• "What is CIWO?" It is a database sub that contains sourced information on a variety of common topics about Chinese/China. Covers politics, military, history, myths, etc. See the Table of Contents to view the topics.
  
• "Why is this downvoted?" Reddit's system changes the vote numbers in order to combat spam bots. If you see something suspicious, remember we can't verify who is voting and keep in mind what Reddits main demographic is. The best response is simply to participate. As you get to know this sub, you will know when something doesn't reflect the actual sub, regardless of the votes. This issue only has impact if we let it.
  
• We can discuss the creation/linking of subs here. Want a Sino affiliated sub dedicated to a specific subject or theme? Want a sub with far less mod oversight and rules? We have subs available. Regular Sino users can gather a few dedicated supporters and make a request/discuss here. Check out Asians, Asiancouples and AsianAmericans
  
• "What is the Sino Archive?" It is a news link archive on wordpress that is categorized by many China/Chinese related topics, much more specific and comprehensive than the flair links. Updates are usually done by edits, not new posts. The most recent news will always be on top, the date of the article is visible. Updates when there is a large amount of links on a particular topic to archive. It's use is the same as any other archive and depends on who is using it. Occasionally we will do some sort of themed thread that will be an opportunity to provide existing/potentially add new knowledge to the topic. Previous topics: dinosaurs, laser research, pirates
  
• Previous Cultural Exchanges: with Indian users, Pakistani users, Japanese users, Russian users. Feel free to discuss if you would like to participate in more of these.
  
• If you are ever frustrated with Chinese media and something unsatisfactory they have done, the State Council of Information Organization has a message for you: media regulation is still immature in China, don't be frustrated, keep relaying the mistakes
  

I've been at my current job - copywriting and email marketing for an online casino - for the past year and 4 months. It's gotten to the stage where I'm finding it insanely repetitive (I write emails offering deposit bonuses etc. which are dressed up slightly differently every time).
The problem is that I don't simply want to quit the job and change company. I want to move abroad to do stand-up comedy. I've been doing it for a little longer than I've had this job and I really would like to make a living from it at some point. Unfortunately I could never do that in my home country (too small and very limited audience), so I would have to move to the UK.
Obviously it takes time to be good enough to earn money doing stand-up, so I've been applying for copywriting jobs in the UK for the past few months to keep me afloat while I try and achieve my stand-up dream. Sadly it seems that employers aren't too keen on hiring someone who isn't currently in the country. I haven't been called for a single interview.
The alternative is to move without having first secured a job, but I'm terrified I'll end up broke and have to start all over again, which at 26 years old is not something I want to do. I feel like I should have got my shit together by now.
The guilt part stems from the fact that I like my colleagues, the work environment is nice, and the pay is pretty good. I feel really ungrateful and I'm afraid that if I leave I'll regret it.
Needless to say this is stressing me out considerably.

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2014-06-02
Link to submission (Has self-text)

Questions	Answers
Is uneaten food ever recycled back into the buffet?	OH GOD! Sadly, yes! After working at some places long enough, since workers eat off of the buffet as well, you learn to spot what's left from the day before. For example, left over chicken wings are soaked in water over night, fried again the next day and brought out during busy hours to mix in with fresh ones. Re-fried wings are darker in color.
	Not all of them recycle food, and those that do select those that can be easily re-cooked. The last place I worked at doesn't save anything at all, it's owned by a family who isn't so greedy like many other owners.
	Oh! Forgot one other disgusting practice. When the owner decides to do this they are seriously the greediest bastards in the business. In restaurants that recycle food, they often keep the meat, grind it up and make them stuffing for another item. Here's the nasty bit, some of these places pick out meat from the plates after the tubs are carried into the kitchen. I've never worked at a place that do that, but heard the story from a co-worker who had. I've since been avoiding anything stuffed at Chinese restaurants.
Why do they soak them in water overnight? Is that so they aren't dry when they re-fry them? Cos I'm just thinking that wings soaked in water would splatter like hell once they hit the deep-fryer.	Yes, to keep them from getting too dry. The deep fryer is at very high temperature, sure it will splatter but all that water evaporate quickly.
Are health code violations common across all Chinese restaurants? In my area it seems like at least once a year a restaurant closes down because of it then reopens under a new name with the same management.	All the restaurants I worked at have violations here and there, many would definitely close down if the inspector show up in the middle of the day. Strangely enough I rarely see the inspectors showing up even though we regularly receive threats from unhappy customers.
	A lot of the processed food are put in the container and left somewhere on the kitchen floor (either to cool off, marinate at room temp, or simply for convenience), often without covers. Workers walk around, water splash up from the floor as they walk by. If an inspector really cared they can swab a food container in the kitchen and there will be a lot of bacteria, things are hardly washed, rinsed at best. There are things I don't eat in the buffet because I know how they are made.
There are things I don't eat in the buffet because I know how they are made.	Anything stuffed. One item comes to mind is the lobster roll (fried rolls with meat stuffed inside), you can't be certain if the meat is clean.
Food on the floor uncovered? That seems like a relatively easy thing to avoid for potentially making someone very ill. I now sincerely wish Chinese food wasn't so damn good. It's basically impossible for me to remove it from my diet at this point.	Covering something is another step you have to spend time to do, isn't it? Remember when I talked about convenience?
Can you give a phonetic annunciation for Tsao? I have heard it called "T-so" or "Sd-ow" and just plain "So" Help a Caucasian out with this so he can order more confidently.	"Taw"
Well fuck, I guess people that work at chinese restaurants probably know how to interpret a wide variety of mispronunciations?	Well, there aren't other dishes that start with "General", even heard people call it general chicken before.
Not to get all rascist or anything but are you asian yourself? I tried to apply for a job at a chinese restaurant and they wouldn't let me because im white.	Not racist at all! I am. They don't usually hire non-Chinese mainly because of language barrier. As you can see they communicate in their native tongue and commonly they are not fluent in English. Secondly, they don't want to hire someone who might report them to the authorities for the things these places typically do (eg. false reporting revenue). And yes, I do speak Chinese.
你看得懂吗？	你说呢？
In my area they hire whites to the delivery.	Have seen that, sometime places even have white people answering the phone, they likely got the job through connections.
Yeah, it also isn't just white people that are banned. I know in my area all the restaurants are from different parts of China and have a different dialectic, so they will only hire Chinese from their region.	Correct! Chinese DO indeed discriminate among their own people.
What's the most unsanitary thing you have seen?	When you stir-fry things, there will be times when a thing or two fly out of the wok when you are flipping them, sometimes they are right on the range, sometime they are on the floor, those things WILL go straight back into the wok. I've seen the chef pick up stuff from the floor and throw it back into the wok way too many times.
Also do you have any opinion on customers who go straight for stuff like crab legs and shell fish and load up platefuls of it (like are these customers frowned upon, are they stereotypically Chinese)?	As far as people who go straight for the good stuff, don't we all? You will get dirty looks when you load up on seafood no matter who you are. I personally go to a casino and pay the good money for the better stuff without getting those dirty looks.
I've never been to a casino, what is special about the food there? Is it just the seafood or are there just really nice restaurants targeted toward big spenders.	Luxurious pigging out.
What is msg and why is it so bad?	It's a flavoring agent, commonly used in Chinese cuisine and industrial food production. It's bad because many Westerners have found themselves to be sensitive to Mono-Sodium Glutamate (MSG); think about Gluten.
	If you are allergic to MSG, calling to ask the restaurant if they use it in their food won't help. ALL Chinese restaurants use it, but not all items require it.
	Fact: While we are on the topic of allergies. Some restaurants include peanut butter in their Lo Mein. The sauce used to cook Lo Mein is pre-made, about 4 cups of PB in a 5 gallon bucket of sauce, so there is a chance that someone with peanut allergy has eaten Lo Mein containing peanut butter.
Glutamate and gluten are completely different things. The bad rep for msg was some suspected health concerns raised in the 90s, which have since been proven to not be a thing. It acts a bit like a salt, so can dehydrate you. But otherwise you're fine.	I know they are different, I actually did a meta-analysis research project on the effects of MSG. I was just referring to how people are reacting to the discovery of the "supposed" detrimental health effects of MSG and Gluten. People feared MSG just as people avoided Gluten even though they are not Gluten intolerant. Edit: well, I guess I shouldn't have assumed people know what's behind this gluten-free trend, many people who are doing gluten-free diet can't tell you what is it!
There is no such thing as an MSG allergy. They only people that claim to have one are hypochondriacs or "Internet health nuts" that don't know what MSG really is.	At least that's what a lot of the research on this topic says, but placebo can be a bitch depending on what you're trying to test.
Do you guys make any actual authentic Chinese Food or is it all American Chinese?	Ask any new Chinese immigrants they will tell you they've never had anything in the typical Chinese buffet in the U.S, even if they had something with the same name in China, the American version will be tweaked. There are exceptions nowadays with some new restaurants bringing authentic Chinese food to standing out in the competition.
	Edit: the amount of sugar required in the typical Chinese buffet food is definitely not "Chinese".
the amount of sugar required in the typical Chinese buffet food is definitely not "Chinese". Ha - you've obviously never been to Shanghai.	Well, I guess I should have said the percentage of dishes requiring large amount of sugar is definitely not "Chinese". I'm not denying that some Chinese cuisine utilize lots sugar, but not all dished they do. In an Chinese buffet, pretty much all items had sugar added.
Does your restaurant you work at have authentic Chinese food or is it all American Chinese typical?	And the answer is yes and no. I have worked at many and am not working at one right now. You want authentic Chinese, go to China-Town.
I know where it is. I was just asking and was curious. I wanted a straight answer. Thanks.	What do you mean you know where it is?
Obviously this is illegal. Do local authorities just overlook a lot of this like illegal immigrant field workers? Is there a known protocol illegals know to follow when the authorities show up?	They run if they can. Couple years back the ICE actually bust into these houses WITH FULL TACTICAL GEAR AND ASSAULT RIFFLES in the morning to arrest workers, some of these houses have kids living in them too, to a point they couldn't book more people into their local office, the bail was like 10k for females, and 30K for males. They made good money doing that for a while. There are states that enforce these laws more, and illegal workers avoid working in those states.
	Edit: Lots of couples have kids here, they become an Anchor Baby
No matter what I do, I can't get homemade fried rice to taste like the genuine article. Is there a trick that I'm missing here? (Peanut oil? Chicken stock instead of water? MSG?)	First things first, are you certain that your white rice is cooked right? That's the mistake a lot of people make right off the bat.
I've always wondered - how much of the buffet items are made from scratch and how many are frozen/pre-packaged and then just fried or heated up before serving? Any specific examples?	Almost all from scratch depending on the which restaurant you go to. The only things I've seen that come in frozen are the fried stuff. A busy buffet sometimes buy Egg Rolls pre-packaged because it's time consuming to make. Onion rings, french fries...everything that's definitely not Chinese is bought in a package.
What are some "off menu" items that pretty much every Chinese restaurant makes for non-Western customers. How can I get Chinese restaurants to sell me authentic Chinese food?	There is no such thing, these places would not go through the trouble to serve someone something different. China Town = Authentic Chinese food. Link to www.youtube.com
Dogs ?	Not at the Chinese restaurants Americans are familiar with.
	There are restaurants in some Asian countries that specialize in dog meat, and they farm raise these dogs, just like how people harvest horse meat in some European countries.
If I get an all-you-can-eat Buffet what do I need to stack my plate with the get the most value for money?	Seafood, you get dirty looks when you chow down on plates upon plates of seafood, best bang for the buck!
How is the sauce for the basic stir fried vegetables made? I love it as a side and have no idea how to make it at home. Every recipe I find is for something with teriyaki or hoisin sauce. All I want is the clearish sauce used in 99% of Chinese restaurants for the stir fried mixed vegetables.	Chicken stock brought to boil, add salt & pepper, scallions, sesame oil, add corn starch to get the right consistency then cover veggies with sauce.
Everything he said..a little garlic and white pepper is good too.	Yeah, definitely forgot about the garlic, toasted in the wok with tiny bit of oil before pouring chicken stock into the wok.
With there being so many items on this menu, I suspect most of them share preparation, so its not really that difficult to prepare all of the options? Or do the chefs really have their work cut out for them with so many options?	As far as preparation, things can get very specific for each item, that's why people keep complaining about how they can't replicate something they had at the Chinese place at home.
That's good to know, also explains where there is a difference between these otherwise seemingly similar "fast food" Chinese place. So...what's that roasted chicken recipe?	Link to www.reddit.com
The sauce used for chicken feet (black beans). What is the recipe?	I've always asked the chef for the recipe for the black beans sauce, but it's a lot of trouble like many other sauces they use, it involves many steps. Cooking at the restaurant is quite different than what online recipes tell you to do, you don't add ingredients as you go. The sauces are made in large amount at a time, and stir-fry is really mixing all the meat and veggies with the sauce after they are deep fried or blanched.
I've tried several recipes I found on the net, none of them are like the restaurants.	Edit: I remember one thing that made replicating the sauce difficult is that one ingredient may be the byproduct of some other food they make.
Do you work in a Chinese buffet catering to non-Asians or ones that Asians go to? Have you heard of the Zen Buffet chain in Southern California? I'm Asian and it seems Zen Buffet is the only one my family and friends will go to.	The ones I've worked at catered to the general American population. I have never been to CA, so I have never heard of Zen Buffet.
Where are the oysters sourced for the oysters with black bean sauce? Why are they always the biggest oysters I've ever seen? They're easily the size of my hand or bigger and Asian buffets are the only place where I see them.	Are you talking about mussels w/ black bean sauce? A lot of people confuse that with oysters. Regardless, they are farm raised, mostly in Latin America (in countries like Guatemala).
Where do the desserts come from? All Asian buffets seem to have the exact same desserts. The square of cake with jelly top, the jelly roll, the macaroon, etc.	Desserts are made by dessert factories and sold in brown cardboard boxes. One of the pastry company is called King's Pastry in Ontario, Canada. These companies supply wholesale companies that deal with the Chinese restaurants; a nationwide Asian restaurant wholesale company is called Asian Foods. I worked for a boss that knew the founder of Asian Foods personally, he started the first Chinese buffet in a state, and there were no supply companies at the time so he had to buy everything from a grocery store, that grocery store was owned by the founder of Asian Foods who saw the potential in supplying the Asian restaurant business.
Thanks for the reply! Yea, Southern California has lots of Asian buffets where the main clientele are Asians (and Hispanics, but mostly Asians). Zen buffet has the biggest name recognition amongst all the Asian buffets around here. I love Hot and Sour soup (that's how I normally gauge a Chinese restaurant's quality), so I wish I could find a buffet that had a good one. It's always this thickened soy sauce water with random bits of egg and bamboo suspended in it. No, oysters with black bean sauce. They use these giant oysters, spoon on some black bean sauce, and bake. Only 6 or so fit in one of the steam table pans on the buffet, so they're gone in seconds (usually because one person camped out and got all six and the next batch is 30 min away). The crab legs are REALLY salty! I guess that's why. Although, since they charge for soda and Asians don't usually order a drink that costs extra when they go to the buffet. Only the non-Asians will order the $2.39 drink, so that's only 1/4th of the clientele. I wish they wouldn't delay the premium items since everyone ends up camping out for them (and stealing tongs from other stations so they can also be grabbing crab even though they're not first in line). Because it's so rare to have a batch put out, everyone grabs as much as possible as fast as possible. I'm convinced that if they would just keep it continuously stocked, people would just grab what they could eat and they would end up going through less crab in the long run. Good to know about the desserts. I've always wondered about that because every Asian buffet in California has the exact same setup of desserts. Do you guys do the sliced bananas in that fluorescent red syrup? What the heck is that syrup?	Strawberry sauce, that's it, same as those you would put on waffles. Some places even use sauce that has strawberry chunks. You can't taste the strawberry in that dessert? Now you know, make them at home!
How common is it for an American to come in who speaks Chinese? Do most Chinese restaurant workers in the US speak mandarin or cantonese, or is it mixed? My mandarin is not amazing, but not terrible either (according to my Chinese friend). If I tried to order in chinese, would they be just be offended?	It's becoming for prevalent with Westerners going abroad to China, for school or business. Most of the restaurant workers speak Mandarin, and this business is dominated by people immigrated from China's Fujian province, the province right next to Taiwan across the ocean. There people came from the City of Fuzhou and the surrounding area, they have their own regional language (people often call it a dialect, suggesting it's a variation of Mandarin, but in reality is a completely different language). They wouldn't be offended, actually a "老外(Lao Why)" (Chinese word for non-chinese person) speaking Chinese is very fascinating to them.
Also I remember going to a Chinese take out place near me once and they actually had the chinese catalog for take out restaurants sitting out for people to look at...what is the name of this catalog? Seemed like it was something nationally circulated throughout the chinese take out community.	Pretty sure it's the Chinese newspaper, they often print weekly or bi-weekly so they can get quite thick.
Why did no one ask him what he WOULDNT order at a chinese restaurant??? ahhh now i wanna know what i should stay away from...	Anything stuffed. You never know if the meat is clean.
GGOP XD thanks. But now I must break up my love affair with crab rangoon sad face	Crab rangoons are fine. It's the stuffed meat that's sketchy.
How would I, a college student, get into working part time at Chinese buffets during school breaks?	Are you Chinese? do you speak Chinese? If you are non-Chinese, you better speak Chinese. If you can't speak Chinese, you better have connections with the owner or know people working there.
	Edit: Chinese buffets really aren't non-chinese worker friendly, plus the hours are horrible.
Yes, I'm American born Chinese. I can speak at a conversational level, but I'm just worried that I wouldn't be able to hold my own in a restaurant setting.	People are very judgmental there, mainly on your efficiency at working this laborious job. Some people are just mean for no reason, keep in mind, many of these workers spend 6 days a week, 12 hours a day working in there, after 10-15 years some of them develop personality problems. I've seen many people like this.
Is the iced water at a chinese buffet okay to drink or should I go for something else like hot tea or a Coke?	They are fine, comes right out of the soda fountain, if not, it's just from the faucet. It really depends on if you have a sensitive stomach, if you drink from the faucet at home you'll be fine drinking water at the restaurant; generally you should concern more about the food than the water.
Why do all Chinese food come in same cardboard barrels?	Not all, but it's just the way it got started, they keep it the same way to give you that sense of consistency, you correlate consistency with authenticity.
How much food do we need to eat at the all you can eat that you guys loose money?	You can't, the whole point of buffet is people with big appetite balance out with people with small appetite, so at the end of the day, they don't really lose money. But if you really want to know how much you personally would get your money's worth, 5-6 plates full should do it for a buffet that costs around 12 bucks (depending on what they serve), or you can do two full plates of crag legs.
After working at these restaurants, would you ever take a date to any of the buffets you've worked at?	I would depending on the occasion. Saw some kid brought his prom date to the buffet, both still in their full outfit for the night...
Is any of the food really 100% vegetarian? I've been lied to so many times by Asian restaurants.	No. Everything deep fried (even vegetarian) is done in the same deep fryer with the same oil. Some veggie only dishes are deep fried in the oil for a second or two (instead of blanching with water), this process makes the food look better when it's done. The only things I can think of is guarantee 100% vegetarian is the steamed vegetables...well, they are boiled with water, no steaming at all.
	Edit: example, spring rolls are fried in the same oil as the pork egg rolls.
Why do you work in Chinese restaurants? Are those jobs just easy to get if you are Chinese? Is there something else you like about it?	It all started when I was hanging out at a family friend's restaurant when I was a kid, then I started helping out here and there, nothing seriously; I would some times head over to Blockbusters to play games when I get bored. Then I was looking for a job when I started high school like many other kids, filling out applications and all but none responded. Then the idea of working at a Chinese place began. You don't need applications, you agree to work, the owner agrees to hire, and you start the next day. Pay all in cash at the end of the day if you wait tables. The thing I like about it is I can work whenever I decide to spend my break from school working, I just call the place and ask if they have opening, sometimes they just tell someone else to go on vacation and return when I am back to school, and people who work full time there are pretty willing to leave for a bit since they typically work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, so they need the break.
	Edit: the job isn't necessarily easy, you need to work fast and efficient, if you can't do that you'll get fired as fast you can get hired. I actually hate this job overall, you meet so many horrible people, not just you wouldn't want them as your customers but you just wouldn't deal with them in life in general.
OK. This is really late. I love Chinese food, my girlfriend is from mainland China, I can speak like three words of Chinese. And nowhere in all of my compendium of knowledge, either direct or through my girlfriend have I found a good General Tsos's recipe.	The recipe is complicated that's why. People can't make it because it takes so long, even the chef don't make them when they are home. Here is the brief process just to show how time consuming it is to make this dish. I don't have the full recipe though. Batter is made with eggs and other flavoring. You have to add the right amount of everything to get the right consistency otherwise you can't get the right crunch after you fried the chicken. The sauce is prepared separately. Lots of ingredient: chicken stock, soy sauce, lots of sugar, that sugary water inside canned pineapple, ground chilli pepper... Chicken is covered in batter and deep fried, then let to cool. when order comes in, the fried chicken is again deep fried. Then the sauce is brought to boil in a wok, fried chicken is then pour into the sauce and "stir fried", corn starch is then added to bring that sticky, gooey goodness. so yes, all the seasoning is done before hand.
How do you make that tasty tasty chicken happen?
Any food that you think is the safest bet at any Chinese restaurants?	The typical fried rice and lo mein, they are simple with few ingredients, there aren't many things you can do with them to be greedy and save on costs.
If you're still taking questions, can you tell me some awesome recipes? Or was it all mostly pre-packaged stuff?	Roast chicken: Use chicken thigh meat or breast, cut them into pieces that are about .5-1 inch thick and 3-4 inches wide.
	For about 3 pounds of chicken: Sauce: Half an onion, 4-5 slices of ginger, 3 table spoons of oyster sauce, 3 table spoons of salt, 3 table spoons of oil, 1 table spoon of pepper, 6 table spoons curry power, 2 table spoons of cooking wine, 1 table spoon of MSG (or not), add hot sauce if you like spicy food. Mix everything together and marinate the chicken in it overnight inside your refrigerator.
	Cooking: lay each piece flat on aluminum tray, pop into oven for 45 minutes on 425 F. turn all pieces half way to get them evenly cooked.
	*I'm not certain on the proportions, I just eye ball everything when I cook, so all the numbers are just what I think is the amount I add.
Alright wisbucky. Everything you have said has been spot on. Im sure you have seen my other post about me working for chinese restaurants for nearly 20yrs of my life(from delivering, serving, bartending, managing, POS support, marketing, web development etc) What is "the VERY BAD!"?	Have you read the comment where I talked about recycling left over meat from customer's plate for stuffing in a different item (eg. lobster rolls)?
Awesome ama, read through the whole thing cause I love chinese food. Hope I'm not too late but how is the beef in all chinese dishes so tender? This has puzzled me for a long time. I'm pretty sure it's flank, and the high heat shock factor in a wok could be it, but very difficult to replicate since you need the special high heat burner. Is there any industry trick to it?	They are kept in a thin batter, pretty much add flour to the beef, provided that there are still quite a lot of moisture on them, add little water so the mixture of beef and batter isn't too dry; you are going for the thin runny, slimy coating over the meat. When it's time to cook, you deep fry them half way done, then prepare the beef however you want in the second half of the cooking process.
	Edit: oh, pretty sure it's corn starch instead of flour.
Do you have a god recipe for breading? I've tried several and the breading is always falling off, limp and wettish, absorbing too much oil, etc.	I don't have a good recipe for breading.
Be honest, would you eat there?	I do, all the time! I go to buffet dates with my friends while I'm not working and at school.
Are you talking about a single restaurant? or multiple ones (and how many)? Where are you located? Where any of them better or worse than the others in terms of health and safety?	Talking about my experience working in multiple restaurants, but things pretty much are the same across the country. I'm in the midwest, and I can't name any establishments for obvious reasons, sorry!
Can't believe no one asked... At places where both are served, any difference between the buffet food and the made-to-order food?	No difference, the chef just make the small portions for the made-to-order, that's all.
Where do they get their cat?	This was an AMA about Chinese restaurants. If you have questions regarding pussy wholesale, you need to consult your mother.
How's is General Tso's Chicken really made?	Link to www.reddit.com
How do I hook up with one of the Chinese waitresses?	The same way you would any other waitresses if there is no language barrier.
Are they careful about the food they serve ? Perhaps if it fell on the floor, do they just pick it up and serve it anyway ? Ever had any incident when someone spit/peed/masturbated in the food ?	Link to www.reddit.com
	No excrement involved in the cooking process. But, there was this chef who has the habit of picking his nose as he waits for the food to get done, the owner warned him some many times.
Recently went to a hibachi buffet that had a very large sushi bar. I had about 3 plates full of sushi then dessert. If it cost $12 for unlimited food, did I get my money's worth and did the workers hate me?	Around 3 plates FULL of sushi I think you got your money's worth, but also depend on which kinds you had, the raw ones generally cost more because those require higher quality fish. It's quite common for people to have that amount of sushi if they are solely there for that, so waiters get quite used to seeing that, but around 5 plates though...you will get your money's worth and people will hate you.
Did you ever work at a restaurant with "yellow" fried rice?	Yes, it's food coloring added after the white rice is done cooking and before it's fried in the wok.
Why do you keep working at Chinese resturants?	No other skill set, can't speak the language fluently, and illegal residence status usually put a stop to whatever dream they had before coming to the U.S.
Why are so many of the main dishes sweet but the desserts taste bland and sugarless?	Restaurants add as much sugar as they want to their dishes, but they buy the desserts in package.
Any warning signs that a place is overall substandard and that they do this type of meat grinding from left overs? I have to admit, I hand't been to a buffet in a while and went to one a couple weeks ago. There just seemed to be a lot of strange things, odd textures and smells that alarmed me.	Trust your instinct, that's pretty much what I do when I eat at a place I don't work at.
Anthony Bordain once said a good judge is by checking out the bathroom. If they can't keep that clean, and it's an area open to the customer, than go elsewhere.	Applies for all restaurants.

Last updated: 2014-06-06 12:52 UTC
This post was generated by a robot! Send all complaints to epsy.