Open Thread WE 20 SEP 23 ~ moccasin telegraph


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It is a running joke among the Métis that they often heard rumours through the “Moccasin Telegraph”. In the past, when the Métis traveled on foot, wearing moccasins, this metaphor bore truth since this was the main form of transmitting information.

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1818-pinkerton-map-of-british-north-america-or-canada-paul-fearn.jpg
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Welcome this edition of the C99 open thread. The theme today was inspired by the ability
of indigenous peoples to secretly convey ideas and information during the colonization
period of North America by the Europeans.

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It is a fascinating story of cultures, language and self preservation during the genocidal
conquest of this land. There may be some things in here that have contemporary
applications. What I found interesting while researching this essay is the quantity of
sites heralding social media as the 'new moccasin telegraph'. It is not in the spirit of
quiet sharing of ideas, as this new medium is anything but secret. Unless they are
speaking in code?

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Some definitions:

Métis - Denotes a group of tribes with mixed heritage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9tis

Michif - One of the languages of the Métis (French and Cree)

Bungee, Bungi or Bungay is an English Creole spoken by Metis of Scots/Orkney and Cree and Ojibway heritage. An example ..
http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/148202

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Nineteenth-century European American telegraph writers often conceive Native telegraph systems, not as primitive, merely metaphorical precursors to their own superior technology, but as in some ways differing, in some ways equivalent, always valid, and potentially threatening real telegraphs. Crow chief Plenty Coups and Crow medicine woman Pretty Shield tell of Native telegraphs that combat U.S. technologies throughout the Indian Wars and especially at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, with surprising national divisions and results, to show the extent to which perceptions about Native telecommunication systems potentially influence nineteenth-century and current understandings of telegraphy.

https://academic.oup.com/book/12385/chapter-abstract/161976234?redirecte...

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Further reading -

https://www.enotes.com/topics/moccasin-telegraph/in-depth
https://themoccasintelegraph.com/2023/03/30/episode-1/

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Alrighty then, opening it up to all takers.
Share your stories, ideas and observations.

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QMS's picture

Today is national gibberish day although if one is a politician, so is every other day.

Historically ..

1737 - Runner Edward Marshall completes his journey in the Walking Purchase forcing the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony (what a rip-off)
1870 - Mayor William "Boss) Tweed accused of robbing NY treasury
(they used to prosecute political crooks)
1873 - Panic sweeps NY Stock Exchange (railroad bond default/bank failure) NY shut banks for 10 days due to a bank scandal (some things never change)
1926 - Bugs Moran attempts to assassinate Al Capone in a drive-by shooting but fails (oops)
1932 - Mahatma Gandhi begins a hunger strike against the way Hindu untouchables are treated
1951 - Swiss males votes against female suffrage (but of course they would)
1963 - JFK proposes a joint US-Soviet voyage to the moon
1970 - Jim Morrison found guilty of "open profanity and indecent exposure" after allegedly exposing himself at a concert in Miami in 1969
2001 - In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, US President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror"
2015 - Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, confirms raising the price of toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim by 5,000% (cause overhead)

and that's the way it is

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QMS's picture

Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh Agree on Ceasefire Through Coordination of Russian Peacekeepers

Guess Armenia doesn't need the US military after all?

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230920/azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-agree-on-c...

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@QMS

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Lookout's picture

Fall is in the air here. In the 50's this morning.

Got some lettuce, greens and cabbage in yesterday. Mowing some more today, and a bit of carpentry work tomorrow. Always something.

I heard most of Biden's hypocrisy at the UN yesterday. He criticizes Putin with no awareness of our destruction of Afghan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, etc. Willing blindness runs rampant in America.

Hope everyone has a good day!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

QMS's picture

@Lookout

On the UN front, apparently the Israel ambassador was bum-rushed out of the chamber
while acting like a clown. Guess he has an issue with Iran or something?

Good to hear of your gardening success!

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enhydra lutris's picture

Moccasin Telegraph arose back in the early days of the spread of personal computers, desktop workstations, desktop pcs and the like, right down to the name. "Sneaker Net". You have data, information, files, pics, a database, or source code that is not approved of or worse, you loaded it onto a diskette and walked it to its destination or, depending on circumstances, the next link in the chain. If encryption was deemed wise, one could generate a password protected .zip file and communicate the password verbally upon delivery or separately, over the phone.

I personally don't see social media as remotely analogous to either, fwiw. I guess that within some platform, if it permitted closed and private areas, such could serve as something similar, but you are running on somebody else's platform, so it's open.

Something in the air:
Last night for a while San Francisco allegedly had the worst air quality in the country or world, I forget which. Winds were moving, collecting and then holding in place smoke from many fires up north. Here in the east bay it was palpable and our personal stand alone air filter was working its ass off and displaying outrageous values for incoming air. It was definitely visible. Currently, local air is "unhealthy" with an index ranging from 160 to 163.

Lingo:
Yesterday, lotlizard posted the following headline from one of the British news sources:

“Young Germans unhappiest in Europe…”

. I immediately thunk to myself "really, worse than the ukies?" which set me to wondering if the media and perhaps chunks of the populace are conflating "Europe" and "The EU"?

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cassiodorus's picture

@enhydra lutris and blowing down the coast. I'm sure it's less important to Joe Biden than sending money to Ukraine to cover for his and his son's Burisma crimes. Meanwhile the Rogue Valley has clear air. Who'da thunk?

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“One of the things I love about the American people is that we can hold many thoughts at once” - Kamala Harris

mimi's picture

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/us/lahaina-banyan-tree-hawaii-fire-gr...

Nature wins. I love it. There is also a great Bannyan Tree on Maui on a lot I think that got sold. Sadly so. I was sitting in his shade, may be 10 to 12 years ago. It was a little north of Paia and had several buildings on it, which had some historical meaning. Unfortunately I lost contact to the man who owned all of it.

Have to ask my son, he might remember the details.

Hope you all do not lose hope and grow some beautiful trees .

Be well all. And always thanks for work you all do on C99p.

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Sima's picture

@mimi
Thanks for this news. It made me cry in hope. Thank you!

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If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so

snoopydawg's picture

.

along with McCain and Klobuchar showing that this is a bipartisan effort. Lavrov recently said exactly that. America is at war with Russia. Here’s the proof.

https://twitter.com/iwaslabour/status/1658371143756128256

Someone feel free to embed this for me. The Twit is still blocking me from doing it!

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A leftist is someone with morally correct politics. A liberal is someone who wants to feel morally correct w/o ever putting themselves at odds with power or costing themselves opportunities or experiencing the uncomfortable emotions that truth causes.

QMS's picture

@snoopydawg

The US neocon consortium is at war, in some fashion, with 70% of the world.
Economically, militarily, ideologically and environmentally. A losing battle.
Just asking to get spanked, like a belligerent child.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@QMS Because Russia was the bogeyman of "Russiagate." Also to cover Hunter and Joe's Burisma tracks.

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“One of the things I love about the American people is that we can hold many thoughts at once” - Kamala Harris

snoopydawg's picture

@QMS

against Russia that had been in the works and why they were speaking in Ukraine to the people who would be doing the fighting for the trio. Unless this is a trick question?

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A leftist is someone with morally correct politics. A liberal is someone who wants to feel morally correct w/o ever putting themselves at odds with power or costing themselves opportunities or experiencing the uncomfortable emotions that truth causes.

@snoopydawg

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snoopydawg's picture

@humphrey

Heh…I would have loved being in the room with Graham when he found out that the Hellabitch lost to Trump and saw his dream of arming Ukraine ended. Trump’s win also postponed the war for 4 years, but democrats eventually shamed Trump into sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. Even Putin said that Trump was harsher on Russia than Obama was. It’s one of the reasons why Hillary and democrats ran their Russia gate scam on him.

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A leftist is someone with morally correct politics. A liberal is someone who wants to feel morally correct w/o ever putting themselves at odds with power or costing themselves opportunities or experiencing the uncomfortable emotions that truth causes.

soryang's picture

...of the Pyongyang summit declaration of Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un. I was tied up yesterday, so I missed it.

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Kim Jong-un at Baektusan in September 2018 during their summit. South Koreans in recent history must visit from the Chinese side.
(Source-AP youtube)

Former Moon Jae-in gave a speech yesterday, to civil foundations and politicians interested in resuming what is an on again, off again tradition in South Korean politics of trying to maintain a dialogue with North Korea in order to provide a peaceful political environment conducive to economic prosperity. Moon noted that efforts to promote dialogue with the North by South Korean presidents were associated with periods of economic and trade growth, in contrast to cold war hostility. A balanced foreign policy facilitated good trade relations with neighbors. Moon said he was very disappointed in the approach taken by the current Yoon administration and noted that economic contraction, a record trade deficit, a falling won, and lower per capita income all characterized the Yoon administration. It is disappointing and regrettable that Moon's diplomatic efforts in this regard, and those of several of his predecessors have descended to an unimaginably low level. It's time for South Korea to return to a balanced foreign policy directed toward peace and economic prosperity rather than the undesirable state of affairs during the cold war.

On communications I think-

‘I couldn’t believe the data’: how thinking in a foreign language improves decision-making
David Robson Sep 17

We still need much more research examining the limits of the foreign language effect and the cases where it may backfire. But in certain situations, it could be a useful tool to switch mindsets, allowing us to be a little more detached, objective and flexible in our thinking. You could deliberately swap to your second language when investigating important investments, for instance, so that you can more rationally appraise the risks. Or, when facing a personal upset, you may find that describing the situation in your second language helps to calm some of your fears or anxieties. And if you are considering a controversial new environmental policy, you might try to read about it in a foreign newspaper: the research suggests that this may render you more open-minded to the facts at hand and less easily swayed by your immediate gut reaction.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/17/how-learning-thinking-in...

This is a Guardian article on the benefits of learning another language. Unfortunately the first example of an experiment purportedly showing more effective decision making considered in another language is the current popular meme often used to justify killing people in foreign policy contexts, "oh we did it to save more people later." I hear or read propaganda variants all the time, from "humanitarian intervention" to "appeasement" arguments (more people will die later if we don't intervene militarily now), to "fight em over there so we don't have to fight em over here." The defect in the experiment is that one has the authority to judge when homicide is necessary in order to prevent an event anticipated in the future. What if the fact situation as presented is false, a deliberate deception? What if the fact situation is simply an incorrect estimate? What if the future outcomes are misjudged? Is history on rails like a train track? Don't we have brakes? Aren't there any rail switches? Is killing people the only alternative? Weird experiment isn't it?

I found some of the observations interesting, such as recovery from trauma, risk taking, etc.

(edited for clarity)

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語必忠信 行必正直

QMS's picture

RT’s ‘threat’ to US national security exposed

It was a satire vid on RT from while back.

Like snoopy, I can not imbed twits.

https://www.rt.com/news/583301-rt-satire-us-threat/

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@QMS

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QMS's picture

@humphrey

that's the one. Guess the national security apparatus will have to
ban the site for spreading misinformation? Or maybe they just don't
possess a sense of humor.

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Cassiodorus's picture

Here's her take on RFK Jr.:

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“One of the things I love about the American people is that we can hold many thoughts at once” - Kamala Harris

at the UN.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/4214187-zelensky-humankind-no-l...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for reforming the United Nations Security Council during an address to the body Wednesday, urging it to suspend the veto power Russia has used to deadlock the council in responding to the Kremlin’s war against Kyiv.

Veto power applies to the five permanent members of the Security Council, including Russia. The Kremlin’s U.N. ambassador has used the power to reject any resolution that seeks to condemn Moscow or impose costs for its invasion of Ukraine — from its 2014 invasion of eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea to its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matters of aggression. Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N.,” Zelensky said in a speech at the Security Council.

Zelensky called for empowering the General Assembly in votes to overcome the Security Council veto. Security Council resolutions, when passed, can impose real-world consequences like sanctions or authorizing the use of force, including peacekeeping missions.

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soryang's picture

@humphrey ...the war in Ukraine is the UN's fault because Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council? What part of permanent doesn't he understand? He is such a dirtbag. It seems as if Kishida can barely stomach being seated next to him. LOL. It's part of the charter. If a great power like Russia would lose it's seat more wars would be approved and the UN really would lose whatever efficacy and legitimacy it still has. I could see having a great power like India added.

Elensky and his sponsors don't have a clue. He really doesn't get the notion probably at least 2 thousand years old, that the smaller country is unwise to provoke its much larger and more powerful neighbor. The US in its hubris also apparently doesn't get the ancient principle that imperial powers shouldn't overextend themselves. It's a costly mistake.

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語必忠信 行必正直

snoopydawg's picture

.

This is huge and it will cancel whatever is left of the constitution and give the WHO power over what every country involved has to do during the next planned pandemic. They will tell every person in the countries that signed on to the treaty that they have to get jabbed and follow all other protocols that they come up with. Biden of course has already been involved in this and helped design the protocol and got his amendments in the treaty.

At the “Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response” (“PPPR”) meeting on the 20th, the proposed outcome will be a political declaration that “aims at ‘mobilizing political will at the national, regional and international levels for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.’” This meeting and the document they will pass – unless one country objects -- appear to be designed to provide political momentum to the passage of the problematic Amendments to the International Health Regulations and the new proposed pandemic treaty, both of which would seriously compromise if not destroy our national sovereignty and personal medical freedom.

Taken together, these pandemic instruments would destroy essential freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly. These proposed actions would threaten the sovereignty of nations, as well as personal medical freedom. Indeed, they would destroy Western Civilization.

The UN, in cooperation with the WHO, proposes to pass this PPPR document through its “Silence Procedure.” Under this procedure, unless a nation objects to the document, it is deemed to have passed unanimously. If one country objects, it derails his process. “If there are objections, the President of the UN General Assembly will circulate a letter that the silence has been broken.”

As Americans, we have a right to petition our government. We must act together to demand the United States defund and exit the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

We have been Praying for "ONE BRAVE NATION" to Step into the Breech. You may have the connection that can make the difference and put a halt to the UN's plans for silently consenting to the WHO's planned assault on the very Sovereignty of America.

It only takes one nation to Stop the "Consent by Silence Procedure" of a worldwide declaration in support of the WHO's unprecedented power grab at tomorrow's UN/WHO High Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response.

This document explains the details of what is planned and how even one nation could object to the Consent by Silence Procedure.

We received news this morning from James Roguski that in fact, eleven nations have already objected. This is encouraging news, but after debate and some negotiating, the political declaration in support of the WHO’s power grab is still likely to be pushed through a vote.

So again, this is very dangerous. We cannot underestimate its significance. It’s like a stick of dynamite ready to be exploded. This is all part of the Globalists Strategy to create a Worldwide Totalitarian Medical and Scientific Police State under the guise of the WHO.

"So we have the Amendments to the Regulations, the Pandemic Treaty, the Expansion of the Powers of the UN Secretary General and now this Declaration. This constitutes a Full Court Press by the Globalists against Humanity under International Law. All of this is coordinated. It’s the same Team of Lawyers behind it all and behind them are the Globalists paying them."

Link

This is not only a bad treaty, but it’s evil and it’s being pushed by the sociopathic globalists who want a one world government. I think there may be some republicans who are pushing back against this, but of course big pharma also wants it passed and 2/3 of congress is on their payroll…I’m mean they take campaign donations from it.

The treaty will cancel human rights which they don’t understand are INALIENABLE!

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A leftist is someone with morally correct politics. A liberal is someone who wants to feel morally correct w/o ever putting themselves at odds with power or costing themselves opportunities or experiencing the uncomfortable emotions that truth causes.

snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

JAMES ROGUSKI has been covering this from the beginning This article is a must read. The treaty hasn’t gotten any traction from the corporate Pfizer sponsored media of course.

Under this procedure, a draft resolution is circulated to Member States with a timeline to respond. If a country supports a resolution, it does nothing. If it opposes a resolution, it sends an email breaking silence. Just one such action stops the adoption of the resolution and could trigger an extension of time for revisions or to resolve the objections.

Eleven countries have formally objected to the political declarations that were scheduled to be adopted during the High Level Meetings (HLM) at the annual United Nations General Assembly.

It seems that they have “broken the silence.”

The objections were conveyed in a letter dated 17 September 2023 to the President of the UN General Assembly H.E. Dennis Francis that was signed by the permanent representatives of the following countries:

Belarus
Bolivia
Cuba
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Eritrea
Islamic Republic of Iran
Nicaragua
Russian Federation
Syrian Arab Republic
Venezuela
Zimbabwe

Let’s hope the 11 countries don’t bow to the pressure that I’m sure they are under.

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A leftist is someone with morally correct politics. A liberal is someone who wants to feel morally correct w/o ever putting themselves at odds with power or costing themselves opportunities or experiencing the uncomfortable emotions that truth causes.

soryang's picture

Yoon Seok-yeol is another dirtbag psychopath. That the Kennedy organization is going to give him an award reflects on them. Yoon and his wife individually spend over 3 grand regularly on lunch and evening get togethers. Yoon has been trying desperately to hide his expense accounts on the government taxes, both as a chief prosecutor and prosecutor general and also as president from public scrutiny. He's as corrupt as the day is long. Many of his office appointees are either family related or close friends. Others have proven to be corrupt as well. Yoon is incompetent and vulnerable as leader because of his corruption. The CIA has already proven they can tap the presidential offices requiring the highest security. He's a puppet. Some polls current show his support as low as 28 percent, and disapproval as over 60 percent.

From Simon Chun's article-

Axis Of War: The Japan-Korea-US Alliance
BY SIMONE CHUN Sep 20

Second, the axis fuels Japan’s remilitarization. For years, Japan–a “failed peace state” actively girding for war under a so-called pacifist constitution–has used the North Korean threat as cover for a rearmament program targeting China. Prime Minister Kishida announced that Japan will double military spending within the next 5 years and develop “counterstrike measures”–a euphemism for pre-emptive strike capabilities–in direct contravention its constitution. Japan has already purchased US-made missile systems capable of targeting the Chinese mainland, and deploys its warships far beyond Japanese maritime zones. In effect, Biden’s axis fuels Japan’s long-simmering imperial ambitions by intertwining them with Washington’s hegemonic quest at the cost of placing Japan–propped up by South Korea–in the front lines of a brewing US-led war against China.

The JAKUS fits all too well with Japan’s proven history of repeatedly invading Korea in order to secure mainland bridgeheads against other enemies. As in the past, by virtue of its geography, the Korean Peninsula remains Japan’s stepping stone and gateway to the continent. With the US military already firmly entrenched in South Korea, Japan is virtually guaranteed to use a “security crisis” on the Korean Peninsula as a pretext to dispatch and even base troops on South Korean soil in furtherance of its renewed imperial ambitions, handily facilitated by the US. Step by step, the US has been clearing the path for the Japanese military to once again operate on Korean soil. Apart from providing doctrinal cover for the deployment of Japanese forces to South Korean soil, the US has significantly evolved the nature of Japanese involvement in joint military exercises with South Korea. Unlike the past US-led joint naval exercises conducted in international waters, the latest maneuvers involve the operation of Japanese ground, sea and air forces in a consolidated rehearsal for the entry of the Japanese military into the Korean Peninsula. Mindful of the catastrophic consequences of forcing Korea down a proven and disastrous historical path, Kim considers Japan’s involvement in a crisis on the Korean Peninsula as the biggest single risk of Biden’s JAKUS, likening it to “letting a tiger into your own living room.” Thus, the alliance ushers in a bleakly high-risk, no-gain scenario for South Korean security and sovereignty by subordinating the nation’s interests to those of Washington and Tokyo, subsuming it in the intensifying power struggle between the US and China on the one hand and Japan’s resurgent militarism on the other.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/09/20/axis-of-war-the-japan-korea-us-a...

Recommend the entire article.

A lot of the contemporary commentary on Japan characterizes it as the innocent peace loving dupe of US hegemony. Nothing could be further from the truth. The ruling right wing LDP is anything but. Many of the people of Japan may be peace loving but I think Japan poses similar risks to Taiwan, which was also a colony of Japan from 1895 until Aug. 1945. And even the Philippines.

Yoon said once during the campaign that he could envision circumstances where Japanese forces could be invited onto Korean territory. He's out of his mind. I don't know how any East Asian country could even consider letting Japanese soldiers on their territory.

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語必忠信 行必正直

I am in a motel in Amarillo. Of all things, some couple were out in the court yard, likely in their 60s, had some video playing on a cell phone. All French. They spoke French to each other. The concierge asked if they wanted lights on in the court yard, the man had to translate it for the woman. Unexpected, to say the least. It's Amarillo.
Take care, friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981