Could Resignation of Boris Bondarev Indicate Internal Pressure on Putin?

Russian UN official Boris Bondarev, the Russian counselor at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations resigned his position stating, "For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 of this year."

‘Ashamed’ Russian diplomat resigns over Putin’s ‘aggressive war’

This marks a type of turn in the war. While Russia has gained some ground in Eastern Ukraine it also is coming with increased cost. They are loosing diplomatically and economically. Military strength has somewhat been tarnished. It is not guaranteed they will continue to make headway as Ukrainians create countermeasures and receive new equipment.

While this may mark a turn in internal dissention, that appears to be growing, it does not mean that Russia is down for the count. What it does mean is that he will now feel internal pressure, in addition to external pressure, to end the war. Sustained pressure that leaves a diplomatic "out" for Russia to leave Ukraine is important. 

The longer the war the more costs should mount on the Russian side until the potential gains of Ukraine are much less than the loss of achieving a lukewarm victory.

As a make it or break in historical time for Putin, he may seek to double down on efforts which will likely have mixed results. What it will likely do is increase internal pressure to remove the president from his position. High ranking officials and oligarchs may start thinking about the long term health of the  nation and devise desperate/alternative strategies with a new administration.

The question is 1.) Do they have the ability? and 2.) What is their long-term vision for the nation?

As with all things time will tell. FYI it is unsigned but appears to be true.

 

Getting that Johnson Outboard to Work

In Escanaba you are on the water and it becomes to many residents part of our lives. One of the places that hasn't truly been tapped for development. It is also one of those places that carries old world charm. 

While many are out in there in their $40K boats I'm styling in my $500 boat. I couldn't care less anymore. I would rather have a retirement account and run around in an old boat. 

The only problem I face is that the old Johnson motor that came with the boat didn't work. The guy promised me it did but I had a hard time starting it in the water so I took it home and put it on a rack to play with it. 

You can use a barrel of water to test it. In this case I had a bucket so I used that and once I ran it for a few seconds I shut if off because I didn't want it to overheat. You can read about the water inlet and why it needs to have constant flow HERE.

It was a fuel problem. I ensured the connectors were tight with some zip ties and ensured it was drawing fuel from the tank. Once I had a good flow and played with the choke and and other knobs it started up right away. 

I'm going to try and put it back on the boat and see if I can get it to run consistently in the water. Because its an untested engine I don't want to get too far out there the first few times. I will have my electric and my oars just in case. 

Its the simple things in life that make all the difference. Happy fishing!!!!

RIT FirefighterTraining 4 Man Crews

Today I had a second dose of RIT team training with 4 man crews. We went in blind again (wax paper in mask) and were the second team in to help extract the victim. This time they person was covered in debris. Half way through the pretend victim went into cardiac arrest. The person at the head pulled off the mask and helmet and removed the hands from the jacket. The person on the left hand side of the victim helped loosen air pack straps, the person on the victim's right hand side started chest compressions and the person at the victim's feet pulled them out of the equipment.  

As usually it takes time to learn and develop those skills. We were in full gear so that always makes things more difficult. If real chaos happens we have to be as second nature as possible and rely heavily on training. Other things we learned were better ways of rolling and preparing hoses as well as how to move people down the staircase (My back is a little sore. Yikes!)

Investigation of Missing Money Continues in Escanaba (05/22/2022)

I have been watching the missing money as it relates to the Delta County Jail issue because it is associated with hotels, investments and some lose connection to some other questionable behaviors. Furthermore, tracking the activities to see if I can perhaps put together a model of how something like this might work, who it is connected to it and the ways to avoid having something like this repeated is important (Taxpayer money should be used for furthering the public's interests). Sometimes I'm fairly successful in finding new things and other times I'm not (usually a time issue. I got a life but like to sort of see how things unfold.). 

An article on in the Daily Press showed up by Ilsa Minor on May 21-22, 2022. The following key points were pulled (Minor, 05,21-22/2022).

- $29K missing from a state grant (That is interesting that it was grant money. Yikes!)

-Escanaba Public Safety and FBI investigating.

-$23 million development project with Proxima Management Group

-Issues with City and Developer with 60-day notice of termination based on lack of progress in 8 months.

-Issues related to Michigan and California

-Proxima is based in Indiana.

-Proxima address is associated with an address used in 8 other businesses of which Proxima and a hotel are still associated (A possible red flag but also could be an entrepreneurial approach. Its a little odd from a business stand point.)

-City manager indicates no one in the city administration was involved (I kind of think that as well but I don't rule out anything. He is probably right.)

A couple of questions arise? 

1.) Who was the contract person at Proxima and the City/County?

2.) Who had access to the money? (Applied for the grant, managed it, wrote the check, which grant, bank used, etc...)

Minor, I. (May 21-22, 2022). Investigation continues into missing funds. Daily Press, vol. 114 no. 59, page. 1.

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Hyundai Builds $5.5 Billion EV Plant in Georgia: Great for U.S. But Michigan Should Attract EV Business

Georgia is gaining Hyundai's $5.5 Billion EV plant which will create 8,100 new jobs. While I am super happy the U.S. is attracting international EV manufacturing (something we must be doing to stay ahead) I'm a little sad they didn't choose Michigan. Having the pre-existing infrastructure and working together to reach out and attract investment is important. Awesome for Georgia and kind of sad for Michigan. At least its a big investment in the U.S. 

Hyundai to build $5.5 billion EV and battery plant in the US. Here’s where

Cooking Over an Open Fire in the Upper Peninsula

This seems like a fun little post but sometimes they are kind of educational. I have lots of down branches and brush from an old tree so I called my local DNR to determine if burning personal fires are ok and they said yes. You can check everyday at DNR Burn Restrictions. 

Threw some chicken with seasoning on and a pot of vegetables with an all metal pan and we are in business. Burning up some old brush, cooking supper and having a good time. 

Delta County Michigan is rural so you have a relatively small town covered by lots of woods. Its normal to have fires around here and cook hot dogs. I'm trying to get a little more into natural cooking with wood. Not as easy because it cooks uneven and the heat intensity changes. You also have to nurse it. 

Our ancestors may have been better at it. Apparently cooking on fire started like 2 Million Years Ago. I suspect wild boar or fish or something. Up here you are still connected to that nature in some ways.

Democracy Can Survive If? Those Who Fight for Democracy to Survive (Centralists Needed)

Saving democracy requires more than lip service and partisan politics. I reading an interesting article An author who studies diverse democracies shares what he sees as the future of the US. He discusses that there has been a lot of bad behavior but some hope and that in his studies he believes democracy can thrive and succeed in the modern world. We have to learn how to create a conception of how we can rally around certain values and intermingle as different peoples. To me that is the universalism of our American values and how that applies to everyone based on values and merit and not subject to differences of race and religion.

I've seen this attempt to split society through social networks and inappropriate use of a few law enforcement officials on a local level and the coordinated sacking of our capital on a national level. (...before you jump a conclusion I'm 100% in support of law enforcement and many rallied to a higher cause. Some did not.). The smirky selfishness of some exploited their social networks to carve up society and damage opportunities (i.e. a local college that said I was more than qualified and then retracted once they found out I was the "Muslim" guy that the members of their social group were targeting. This is what happens when you have HR departments with officials who are seeking to control institutions and retain/limit access to them. Your quality, character, history, and qualifications don't count. Doctors, veterans, etc...are all discounted. Only your perceived value to a certain group's racial and religious preferences becomes important. It may be illegal but is all to common and often not held to account by local officials. ). 

As we intermingle and interrelate we can create shared opportunities and shared perspectives. Some will seek to separate society in hopes of maintaining their distorted position and create power through manipulation of fear and hate. Others will fight to keep us a single people and jump across those gaps to avoid a major split in society (I can walk between the two worlds because I have lived long enough in both to understand their peoples.) 

The author is a light left Jewish and I'm a light right Muslim, Catholic, Jew (Meaning I'm a universalist with a cultural Catholic background that lived with Muslims for 20+ years. I adhere to all of them in some ways accepting what I believe is helpful in each.). We are both centralists that seek to create a better world and who have experienced the atrocities of hate. He has lost his grandparents during the Holocausts and me and my children were threatened through group targeting (That isn't the only account I have experienced.). 

We can keep our democracy intact and thriving if we can get our political leadership to pull together to work on solving problems versus serving only their political interests. It is us centralist that have the highest American values and yet as a people we often vote for the most radical of society. Biggest Threats, Fred Upton Receives Death Threats, U.S. Can Outperform China. 

Some of us fight for our country and people and some of us fight for only their social networks, race, religion and parties. Which are you?