Missive #667

Dark Mountain: Issue 1 is a book-length collection of new writing that goes deep into the roots of our culture, addressing the questions raised by the Dark Mountain manifesto: what do we do after we stop pretending that our way of living can be made “sustainable”? And where do we find new stories with which to ground ourselves, as that way of living passes?I have quoted from this book in a couple of previous postings. There are a few of the essays that are worth reading but I skipped the poetry and some of the essays I did read could have been skipped also. There are at least 16 Issues but I did not find any others at my usual free sites.

The book brings together a remarkable combination of thinkers, writers and artists whose work engages with these questions. Their essays, stories, poems and images are woven into a conversation which draws on a range of cultural and intellectual traditions.

Uncivilization: The Dark Mountain Manifesto is the manifesto released in 2009 by Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine to signal the beginning of The Dark Mountain Project. This can be read online here

This quote is the closing summary for a very good posting that see the situation in Iran and Taiwan much different than what you read in the West’s media. A recommended read.

The board is now set. Iran absorbs American attention and interceptor stocks. Russia pushes toward Odessa while the European governments begin to collapse under the weight of their impotence and corruption. The KMT builds its position inside Taiwan. Xi waits for the convergence, the right moment when US forces are committed, interceptors depleted, Europeans are helpless, Taiwan’s DPP is discredited, and the first quiet phone calls are made.

I don’t know the exact timeline. But I know the strategy, and I know about the man, and as an East Asian Studies major and armchair military historian, I know the tradition he operates in. From the Chinese perspective, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting a battle. And while we’re watching Iran, I suspect that’s exactly what’s happening. — The Art Of War In The Taiwan Strait by Vox Day

I’m not a big fan of MSN but this article, Trump Can’t Remember Whether He ‘Obliterated’ Iran’s Nukes, by Chris Brennan @ USA TODAY is worth reading.

I have updated the Virtual Walk maps again. These past four weeks covered a lot more distance than the previous four and were more like what I have usually been doing.