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Trump calls on Walmart to absorb tariffs rather than raise prices
Trump Calls on Walmart to Absorb Tariffs Rather Than Raise Prices In a move that reignited debate over trade policy and consumer pricing, former President Donald Trump recently made headlines by calling on retail giant Walmart to absorb the cost of tariffs rather than passing those expenses onto American consumers. The comments come amid growing concerns about inflation, supply chain challenges, and trade tensions with China and other manufacturing nations. Trump’s message, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, signaled a renewed political focus on economic nationalism and corporate responsibility.
By Nirob Khanabout a year ago in History
12,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings Baffle Researchers: Echoes of a Lost Civilization
Stones That Speak Across Time In the shifting sands of time, some stories are not told in books. They are carved in stone, hidden beneath the soil, and waiting. Beneath layers of earth and centuries of silence, a forgotten voice has emerged, etched into massive stones over 12,000 years ago. These rock carvings, now brought to light, are not only ancient, they are impossible.
By The Secret History Of The Worldabout a year ago in History
Buddha is Smiling: The Secret Message of India's Nuclear Triumph
India's First Nuclear Test and the Broken Jeep: When the Bomb’s Creator Fell Face-First to the Ground Due to the Tremor Exactly 51 years ago today (on May 18, 1974), India announced its first nuclear test. The following account is being republished to mark the occasion. On the morning of May 18, 1974, All India Radio’s Delhi station was broadcasting the popular song from the film Bobby, “Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Hon, Aur Chaabi Kho Jaye” (“If you and I were locked in a room and the key got lost”). At exactly 9 AM, the song was cut off and an announcement was made: “Please stand by for an important announcement.” A few seconds later, the announcer’s voice came on: “At 8:05 this morning, India conducted an underground nuclear test for peaceful purposes at an undisclosed location in western India.” One Day Earlier in London… A day earlier in London, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Principal Secretary, P.N. Haksar, kept asking Indian High Commissioner B.K. Nehru, “Any news from Delhi?” As soon as the news of the nuclear test arrived, Nehru could see the visible relief on Haksar’s face. He understood why Haksar had been so anxious. Who Would Be Beheaded? Five days before the test, on May 13, under the supervision of Homi Sethna, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Indian nuclear scientists began assembling the bomb. On the night of May 14, the device was taken to an L-shaped underground shaft. The next day, Sethna traveled to Delhi for a pre-scheduled meeting with Indira Gandhi. Sethna told her, “We have placed the device in the shaft. Now please don’t ask us to remove it, because it’s no longer possible. You can’t stop us now.” Indira Gandhi replied, “Go ahead. Are you afraid?” Sethna said, “Not at all. I just wanted to say, there’s no turning back from here.” After getting Gandhi’s approval the next day, Sethna returned to Pokhran. He gathered the team and asked, “If the test fails, whose head will roll?” Bomb designer Rajagopal Chidambaram promptly responded, “Mine.” Deputy leader P.K. Iyengar added, “No heads need to roll. If it fails, it means the laws of physics are wrong.” The Jeep That Failed On the morning of May 18, the desert heat in Pokhran was intense. A makeshift observation post had been set up five kilometers from the blast site. Present were Homi Sethna, Raja Ramanna, Indian Army Chief General Bewoor, DRDO Chairman B.D. Nag Chaudhry, Deputy Leader P.K. Iyengar, and Lt. Col. P.P. Subharwal. Nag Chaudhry had a camera around his neck and was continuously taking photos. Chidambaram and fellow designer Satinder Kumar Sikka were on another hill near the control room. The electronic detonation team, led by Srinivasan and Pranab Dastidar, was inside the control room. The blast was scheduled for 8:00 AM. But an hour earlier, scientist Virendra Singh Sethi’s jeep refused to start on the way to the test site for the final check. Time was running out. Sethi abandoned the jeep and walked 2 kilometers to the control room. Sethna asked General Bewoor what to do about the broken-down jeep so close to the test site. Bewoor replied, “Oh, you can blow the damn thing up.” Fortunately, Indian Army troops soon arrived with another jeep and moved the faulty one to a safe distance. Still, the test was delayed by five minutes. “We Will Proceed” Finally, a countdown began over the loudspeaker near the observation post. Sethna and Ramanna gave Pranab Dastidar the honor of pressing the trigger. At the count of five, Dastidar switched on the high-voltage switch. Seeing the electric meter, Dastidar was shaken — it showed that only 10% of the required voltage was reaching the device. He panicked: “Shall we stop? Shall we stop?” The countdown halted. But Dastidar suspected the reading was wrong due to moisture inside the shaft. He shouted, “No! We will proceed!” According to George Perkovich in his book India’s Nuclear Bomb, Dastidar pressed the red button at exactly 8:05 AM. “Krishna Lifted the Mountain with His Finger” At the observation post, when Sethna and Ramanna heard the countdown stop, they thought the test had failed. Ramanna wrote in his memoir Years of Pilgrimage that his colleague Venkatashan, who had been chanting the Vishnu Sahasranama, stopped mid-prayer. Everyone feared all their hard work had gone to waste. Suddenly, a huge sand column shot up from the earth and stayed suspended for nearly a minute. P.K. Iyengar later wrote, “It was a breathtaking sight. The legends of Krishna lifting a mountain with his finger started to seem real.” Jitendra Soni, head of the system integration team, felt like a sand minaret had risen in front of him. Fell Face-First to the Ground At that moment, it felt like a massive earthquake struck. Sethna felt the earth shaking violently. But he was puzzled — why wasn’t there a blast sound? Or could he simply not hear it? A second later, a faint explosion sound was heard. Chidambaram, Sikka, and their team began hugging each other. Chidambaram later said, “It was the greatest moment of my life.” Overcome with excitement, Sikka jumped off the observation post, spraining his ankle. In the control room, Srinivasan felt like he was on a small boat in a stormy sea. Ramanna later wrote in his memoir, “I saw the sand mountain rise as if Hanuman (a Hindu deity) had lifted it.” But he forgot in his excitement that the earth would soon shake. As he descended from the observation post, the ground trembled. Ramanna lost his balance and fell flat on his face. Ironically, the architects of India’s nuclear bomb ended up face-first in the hot sands of Pokhran on the very day of their monumental success.
By Ikram Ullahabout a year ago in History
🍯 The Great Molasses Flood of Boston, January 15, 1919: A Sticky Catastrophe That Swept Through the Streets and Caused Multiple Fatalitie
🌇 Part 1: Boston at Boiling Point - The City Before the Flood To understand how a flood of molasses could destroy part of a city and take lives, we must first travel back to Boston in the winter of 1919 - a city full of contradictions, opportunity, and unrest. The Great War had just ended in November 1918, and like many American cities, Boston was adjusting to the uneasy transition from wartime industry to peacetime life. Amid economic shifts, labor strikes, political radicalism, and the tail-end of a deadly flu pandemic, tension simmered in the air.
By History Seekerabout a year ago in History
🐖The Pig War on the US–Canada Border, 1859: A Territorial Dispute Triggered by the Killing of a Single Pig
🏞 Part 1: A Snoutful of Trouble - The Pig That Started It All In the otherwise quiet and pastoral June of 1859, San Juan Island - then an unsettled jewel in the Pacific Northwest's emerald crown - became the unlikely battleground for a bizarre territorial standoff between two of the world's most powerful nations: the United States and Great Britain. San Juan Island, lush with cedar forests, rugged coastlines, and fertile grazing fields, was inhabited by a small but tense mix of British employees of the Hudson's Bay Company and independent American homesteaders drawn west by the promise of land and opportunity.
By History Seekerabout a year ago in History
The Pepsi 349 Scandal: How a Marketing Error Sparked Riots and Deaths in the Philippines
In 1992, PepsiCo launched an ambitious promotional campaign in the Philippines called "Number Fever" to boost its market share against Coca-Cola, which dominated with a 75% market share compared to Pepsi’s 17%. The campaign promised life-changing prizes, including a grand prize of one million pesos (approximately $40,000 USD), in a country grappling with widespread poverty. However, a catastrophic printing error turned this marketing stunt into a national crisis, leading to riots, at least five deaths, numerous injuries, and billions of dollars in potential liability. This article delves into the campaign’s mechanics, the error that sparked chaos, the violent fallout, and the long-term consequences for Pepsi in the Philippines.
By Doctor Strangeabout a year ago in History
🏰The London Beer Flood of 1814: When a River of Ale Drowned a City Block
Part I: The Day London Drowned in Beer In the early afternoon of October 17, 1814, the ordinary hum of life in St. Giles, one of London's most densely populated and impoverished neighborhoods, was about to be shattered - not by war, fire, or famine, but by something far more absurd and sinister. A freak disaster was brewing behind the brick walls of the Horse Shoe Brewery on Tottenham Court Road. Unbeknownst to the workers inside or the families living nearby, a monstrous force was growing - pressurized, fermented, and lethal. The day would soon turn from mundane to macabre as 320,000 gallons of beer burst into the streets, sweeping away buildings, lives, and any sense of normalcy.
By History Seekerabout a year ago in History
A Brief History of the Wheel: The Turning Point in Civilization
The wheel is one of the most important inventions in human history. It is a simple object, yet its impact on the development of civilization is profound. The invention of the wheel helped humans move from a primitive lifestyle to a more advanced society. It played a crucial role in transportation, agriculture, industry, and technology, allowing people to achieve things that were once impossible.
By MD BILLAL HOSSAINabout a year ago in History










