99 a couple of days ago, which was a record for the date. But a break is coming- the extra moisture from Hilary is adding into our usual monsoonal flow, so tomorrow is going to be *wet*. All at once, of course, so it'll all run off and flood things, instead of soaking in, like it did in May.

The current forecast calls for basically an inch of rain tomorrow- which is pretty unprecedented for these parts in August. We're already way ahead of our normal annual rainfall, with 17.36" YTD against 14.48" average. If this pattern keeps up into the snow season, it is going to get *interesting* around here.

Everybody else, stay cool- while we inflate our lifejackets...

keeps on coming up. High temps here too and still haven't made it to the coast, but today is the day. We were going to picnic, but instead we will hit a fish/chowder/seafood joint next to a small harbor. If it is crowded, we'll get it for take out and walk down to the beach with it (& a bottle of grenache) and picnic. That section of the coast is supposed to only get up to 67 today, compared to at least 70 here at our place right now. Wherever we eat, we will do some walking in the sand and some walking on a coastal multi-use trail. Heh, I can even claim that it is Doctors orders, so we have to go and indulge.

The Ukies deny involvement in l'afaire Pregozin. Does that mean that they for sure did it?
Biden blames it on Putin, which implicates the US, prolly the CIA who P duped big time not too long ago. It's like one of those logic puzzles. (Members of tribes A an B always lie, and ...) But then again, also, too, is Biden even in the loop? Would it matter if he were? Will this be another Nordstream? Note how once the US alleged that they had intel that the Ukies were going to do such a thing that was somehow accepted as not only evidentiary, but as proof that the Ukies really did do it, and not the prime suspect, which was the US which was the source of said tale implicating the Ukies, once they had failed with their tale that the Rus did it? How did everybody get so fookin' gullible so quickly?

It is garbage pick-up day on our block. Will they somehow gather up and eliminate this week's mainstream news feed? It would really help my mood and attitude.

be well and have a good one

Crux, never heard of it till now. Okay the channel is from someone in India. This came up when I put Korea news in to the google search bar. That means it's getting pumped. The pitch is two fold. First, portray Yoon as the great military leader. Second, blame his administration's total lack of preparedness for each and every disaster that has occurred since he took office, on the public at large rather than on his incompetence. The Itaewon disaster, with over a hundred fifty deaths. Two major flooding events resulting in deaths. The Scouting International Jamboree, which demonstrated the administration's corruption and complete inability to manage the logistics for such a gathering. The drone incursions by North Korea over the DMZ into South Korea right up and into the prohibited zone around the presidential office in Seoul. Failed military responses intended as shows of force in response to North Korean missile tests, etc. Chosun Ilbo's reporting on the Yoon administration is almost invariably propaganda. The video is slightly out of date because the North Korean satellite launch attempt, such as it was, had already taken place.

I don't expect any government to manage untoward events without a failure here and there but Yoon's administration is completely incompetent. This is because they are not really interested in the national welfare, but their own careers, financial advancement, and the agenda of the US and Japan. The biggest threat to Korean national security and the safety of Korean people is the incompetence and corruption of this president, and his throwback advisers, ministers, and directors, from the corrupt and discredited Lee Myung-bak administration. Yoon just pardoned a bunch of corporate criminals from their prison terms for corruption, embezzlement, and so on. He claimed he did this to "improve the economy." I don't think anything will fix the damage to the Korean economy during his administration while he continues to adopt US economic and trade goals, and damages South Korea's major ties to the Chinese economy.

There have been a series of political events in response to Yoon's support for the Kishida government's non-transparent release of contaminated radioactive waste water from Fukushima. So the video above is a distraction from that as well. Yoon is still trying to milk the Camp David nonsense to get some political traction, it's simply not working. Here's a video in Korean of college students doing some civil disobedience in the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. You don't need to understand Korean to see the action and get what is going on. There were also small demos outside the Japanese consulate in Pusan, and at the beach in Jeju Island. Sixteen of the demonstrators at the embassy in Seoul were arrested for criminal trespass. I understand that at least one got to the eighth floor. Conservative newspapers say it was an attempt to trespass in the embassy. I don't know the layout, but it looks to me like they got into all the common areas. Korean students play an important role in political developments in South Korea, it's a tradition, both in modern times and during the earlier dynasties.

The evening before in front of the National Assembly in Yoido, democratic assemblyman and party members led by Lee Jae-myung, currently being persecuted by the administration held a candlelight vigil in the rain, to rally against the Japanese Fukushima dumping into the Pacific. Lee Jae-myung addressed the rally. I also saw a video of my favorite analyst of Japanese affairs Hosaka Yuji, give a presentation on Japanese impunity and disregard for its own citizens and international community. It was good to see him, standing publicly with the leader of the Korean opposition.

I learned also that a 3 and half minute commercial promoting the Japanese dumping of radioactive waste water into the Pacific was produced by the Yoon administration at a one million about 700,000 dollar taxpayer expense, accenting Yoon's function as a front man for the Japanese administration. Yoon also approved a one billion won about 70 million dollar subsidy ostensibly to offset the anticipated market losses to businesses and livelihood's impacted by Fukushima dumping. I didn't hear of any legislative vote approving this expenditure.

I'll be interested to see the demos this weekend. The anti-Fukushima demo is supposed to go from Samgakchi plaza, a few hundred meters from Yongsan where the presidential office is, to Gwangwhamun plaza, where the famous statue of Admiral Yi and the US embassy is located.

Great analysis of Camp David in Hankyoreh interview of elder statesman Moon Chung-in -

US, Japan came out of Camp David with clear gains, Korea with more risks, says scholar
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1105680.html

Fourth, every Korean president since Kim Dae-jung, whether progressive or conservative, has refused American appeals to take part in its missile defense system. Joining such a system would provoke North Korea and China without bringing South Korea any actual benefits. But President Yoon has decided to actively work with the US and Japan on their desired missile defense initiatives.

Hankyoreh: Can you break down Japan’s cost-benefit analysis for us?

Moon: I’d say that Japan has gained a lot without giving up much of anything. One major accomplishment is the agreement about real-time sharing of missile warning information. Korea has the earliest chance to detect missiles fired by North Korea or China. That’s why Japan has pushed so hard for information sharing from Korea.

Second, Japan has secured Korea as a buffer zone. Without Korea, Japan would be on the front line of a second Cold War, but Korean participation puts Korea in the line of fire.
Third, this agreement makes it more likely that Japan will receive military support from Korea on the issue of safe navigation in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

Fourth, Yoon didn’t bother Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida about Dokdo, East Sea/Sea of Japan terminology, compulsory mobilization [of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period], or the release of water contaminated with radionuclides from Fukushima. In terms of domestic politics, that’s very helpful to Kishida, who is struggling in the polls. He can claim he made big gains without sacrificing anything.

Thanks for the OT Sima. My wife and I got into a great conversation stimulated by your post about the Roman aqueducts. I studied European architecture once upon a time, my wife has actually spent a lot of time in Europe more recently as a tourist with her friends visiting famous sites like it.

(edited for spelling/ numerical mistakes)

to see Blinken's response to BRICS expansion.

First the details.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/8/24/saudi-arabia-iran-to-join-br...

Johannesburg, South Africa – Saudi Arabia and Iran are among six countries invited to join BRICS as new members next year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced on the final day of a summit of the group that considers itself a counterweight to Western powers.

The group encompassing five major emerging economies – China, Brazil, South Africa, Russia and India – which makes decisions by consensus, agreed on “the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process”, during the three-day annual summit held in Johannesburg this week, Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join as full members from January 1 next year.

Back to Blinken's twitter page and this is all that I could find.

As Ukraine celebrates 32 years as an independent state, we commend your resilience, determination, and loyalty to your beautiful country. As you continue to fight for your independence, our support will not waver.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 24, 2023

The Kremlin has destroyed yet another 13,000 tons of grain headed to feed people in Egypt and Romania. Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian grain storage, ships, and ports are starving the world. Putin’s senseless war reaches far beyond Ukraine.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 23, 2023

What the media hides.@narrative_hole

Putin about the death of Prigozhin:

“With regard to this aviation accident, first of all I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of all the victims. It's always a tragedy. And indeed, if they were there, the initial data seems to indicate that Wagner employees were also there, I would like to note that these are people who have made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. We remember this, we know and we will not forget.

Prigozhin, I knew him for a very long time, since the early 90s. He was a man of difficult fate, and he made mistakes, serious in life, and he achieved the results that were necessary for himself, and then, when I asked him about it for a common cause, as in these last months, he was a talented person, a talented businessman, worked not only in our country and worked with results, but also abroad in Africa, in particular. He was engaged in oil, gas, precious metals and stones there. Here he was only yesterday, as far as I know, returned from Africa. Met some officials here.

The head of the Investigative Committee reported to me this morning, they have already begun a preliminary investigation of this incident. And it will be carried out in full and brought to an end. There is no doubt here. Let's see what the investigators say in the near future”