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Missive #55

Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: March 31, 1935

In muddy waters, even heroes drown Trouble at sea for an ex-war hero … His father in prison for fraud, his ex-wife bleeding him dry and his spine shattered by a bullet, Falklands war hero Nick Sandman, VC, has no money and no prospects. Only his boat — Sycorax — and his dream of sailing her away from his troubles is keeping him alive.This is not a historical fiction novel which Cornwell is known for. The first of five sailing thrillers that I enjoyed. Probably will not be more. Cornwell had this to say “I enjoyed writing the thrillers, but suspect I am happier writing historical novels. I’m always delighted when people want more of the sailing books, but I’m not planning on writing any more, at least not now — but who knows? perhaps when I retire.” But Sycorax is as crippled as Nick. To rebuild his wrecked and stranded dream, Nick is forced into a devil’s bargain with egomaniacal TV star Tony Bannister. Bannister is the owner of Wildtrack, an ocean racer, and he wants Nick to be part of the crew that will sail the ship to victory. Bannister, though, has made some powerful enemies who are out for revenge, leaving Nick caught in the middle. Can he keep Wildtrack and his dreams of escape aboard Sycorax afloat? — Book promo @ goodreads.com

Our current military is ready to fight a war.  It’s just that the war in question is World War II.  Our armed forces absorbed the lessons of the Wehrmacht and now could totally defeat the Germans and the Japanese much more quickly than the first time.… [O]ur aircraft carrier fleet is great when used against an enemy that can’t really fight back. Use them against Iraq? Sure. Use aircraft carriers against China? Ummm, that’s probably silly, since if a carrier is within fighter range of China, it’s probably in Chinese missile range, too. American aircraft carriers are just targets preloaded with casualties. —The Winds Of War? by Wilder, Wealthy and Wise

China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary, the Brazilian government said Wednesday, Beijing’s latest salvo against the almighty greenback. The deal will enable China, the top rival to US economic hegemony, and Brazil, the biggest economy in Latin America, to conduct their massive trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais and vice versa instead of going through the dollar. — China, Brazil Strike Deal To Ditch Dollar For Trade by AFP – Agence France Presse

It is very interesting that the only US Media that is covering this News is Fox Business. However, one of their reporters has the byline with the trailer ‘The Associated Press contributed to this report.’ There is a full first page on Ecosia Search of alternative news sites that think it is a worthy news item. All of those that I looked at provided a trailer that showed the Source to be AFP. I wonder why this is?
Then there are these articles that are also not covered by US Media.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is set to discuss dropping the US dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling from transactions and moving to settlements in local currencies, according to the news magazine Tempo. An official meeting of ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors kicked off on Tuesday in Indonesia. A regional grouping that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its members, ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.— ASEAN looking to dump dollar and euro media Sourced from RT

The US banking system is broken. That doesn’t portend more high-profile failures like Credit Suisse. The central banks will keep moribund institutions on life support. But the era of dollar-based reserves and floating exchange rates that began on August 15, 1971, when the US severed the link between the dollar and gold, is coming to an end. The pain will be transferred from the banks to the real economy, which will starve for credit. And the geopolitical consequences will be enormous. The seize-up of dollar credit will accelerate the shift to a multipolar reserve system, with advantage to China’s RMB as a competitor to the dollar. by David P. Goldman @ Asia Times (Requires membership for the entire article)

The University of Helsinki says Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will receive an honorary doctorate. She will be among the eight honorary doctorates given by the university’s Faculty of Theology on June 9, 2023.

“Degrees have lost prestige enough as it is, without handing ’em around to second hand comedians, and it’s this handing ’em out too promiscuously that has helped to cheapen ’em.” — Will Rogers (Refusing an honorary degree)

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