Missive #168

Not much happening here. I went to town on Monday and got groceries and filled Desperado with gas and propane. Also went to my US Store to get my VA copay billing but it was not there. I was able to find how much I owed online which was a big improvement over past years. That was the good news, the bad news was when I went to pay.gov to make the payment I kept getting an error message for the telephone number that I entered. Went to the Park office and the woman on duty was able to get online and make the payment for me.

Then when I got back to Desperado I cleared cache and tried pav.gov again. Got the same error message until I discovered that the telephone number that I was entering needed this exact format (###)###-####. I was leaving something out, or adding a space, every time I tried to enter it.

Yesterday I did most of the month end house cleaning chores. I will do tank dumps and add water tomorrow and then should be ready to leave here for my next camp early Friday morning. I have decided that I will not be coming back to this Park in March 2024. To many things have irritated me while here these past two months. I’ll be going to some place new and see if I become irritated there also but was quite happy this past summer at Apache RV Park in Cruzville, NM. We will see.

The US Army’s strange recruiting tactics ^*make a lot more sense once you realize it probably isn’t mobilizing for a war with a near-peer military like China or Russia, but rather, in preparation for the large-scale violent suppression of civilians: — @Voxday

^*Do you remember when the testosterone-driven “Top Gun” was the ultimate recruitment tool for the US Navy? It’s easy to see why—the movie was packed with adrenaline, rugged men, beautiful women, and plenty of what’s now termed “toxic masculinity.” Contrast that with today’s military, which has totally shifted focus. Instead of seeking out traditionally masculine men, their recruitment now heavily includes the LGBTQ community and men who wear pantyhose. This change might be why their recruitment numbers are in the toilet.
The United States military’s newest recruitment tactic is taking a really bizarre turn. Gone are the days of scouting for robust young men at gyms or high school football practices. Now, they’re adopting a different strategy: dressing up as anime characters and visiting “conventions” across the nation. — @ Revolver

It seems that the Islamic Word has adopted the sanctions weapon against Corporatocracy/Globalization. It will be interesting to see if it is more effective than what the ‘West’ has tried to do against Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and other countries of the Global South.

We often wonder how the Corporatocracy can be resisted. Well, across the Islamic world, as opposed to American Churchians, we’re seeing how it’s done. Throughout the Middle East to the Moslem countries in East Asia, locals are using social media and legislative power in a movement not only to boycott products used to support Corporate Imperialism; but encouraging local alternatives to the mighty monopolies. — This Is How Its Done by The Night Wind

Primakov Readings is an international summit aimed at promoting dialogue on trends in global politics and economics. The quote is a question and answer from that summit. I have underlined the most important part of the answer; Russia will no longer negotiate with Europe and the US on a basis of trust.

Question:What are the prospects for Russian-European trade and economic relations? Considering that Russia supplies almost one third of hydrocarbons to Europe, which will apparently be looking for an alternative. How does Moscow imagine the development of these relations? 

Sergey Lavrov:I won’t even try to guess what Europe is going to do. I think she (except for German Chancellor O. Scholz and Vice-Chancellor R. Habeck) understood where she ended up. Read the statistics on how many times the US economic growth is faster than Europe. France, apparently, will be in the “zeros”. The once “locomotives” of the European economy (Germany, Great Britain) will “grow” downwards. After a series of laws adopted by the Americans to combat inflation and other topics, energy prices in the United States are 4-5 times lower than in Europe, where deindustrialization is taking place. Businesses thinking about their future move to the United States. I am convinced that this is not just a coincidence, but a deliberate policy of Washington. Because Europe is also a competitor that the United States does not need. They need a group of “gray” people who do what they order. I don’t want to offend Europeans, but this is exactly how the current political elites act. Let’s look at the statistics. It’s useful to understand what’s going on.

But at this stage we do not need to think about how to restore relations with Europe. Now we need to think about how not to depend on the “twists” in European politics (primarily in the trade, economic, and investment spheres) that they make under the influence of Washington. We must protect ourselves in all key sectors of our economy (security and life in general), on which the future of the country depends. We must independently produce everything we need for security, economic development, providing solutions to social issues, introducing modern technologies (another event on artificial intelligence was recently held), so as not to suffer from new “whims” when and if they want to attack us with sanctions. The restrictions have not disappeared anywhere. The West wants to finish everything “on the sly,” in a cunning way. Freeze, buy time (as was the case with the Minsk agreements), again arm the Nazi regime in Kyiv and continue their hybrid (or non-hybrid) aggression against the Russian Federation. But even when everything is over, most of the sanctions will remain. We need to live by our own mind. When and if they “sober up” and they offer us something, we will think ten times, weigh whether all the proposals meet our interests and how reliable our European colleagues are. They have greatly undermined their ability to negotiate and their reputation. It may not be final yet.