Monday, June 27th 2022
The realities of War.
Mr. Zelinski is admonishing the people of Belarus not to allow themselves to be drawn into the war. He also mentions that anyone responsible for targeting or pushing a button that sends rockets into civilian areas is committing a war crime and that they will be found and never forgotten.
Ukraine Says Russia Aiming To Drag Belarus Into War After Strikes
Ukraine on Saturday said Russia was aiming to drag its ally Belarus into the war, after reporting that missiles which struck a border region near Kyiv came from Belarusian territory.
Twenty rockets fired from Belarusian territory and the air targeted the village of Desna in the northern Chernigiv region at around 05:00 a.m.
Ukraine war: fears that Belarus might invade on Russia’s side are growing
over May and June 2022 there has been an increase in military activities along the Belarus-Ukraine border. Russia has deployed Iskander, Pantsir and S-400 missile systems in the area. Lukashenko, has reportedly decided to create a southern command and expand the country’s armed forces to 80,000 from its current strength of 65,000. Belarus has also held further military exercises. Perhaps most worryingly, Lukashenko also hinted that his forces might have to “fight for western Ukraine” so that it is “not chopped off by the west”.
Moscow to send Belarus nuclear-capable missiles within months
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday offered to upgrade Belarus’ warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons, amid soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine.
“Many Su-25 (aircrafts) are in service with the Belarusian military. They could be upgraded in an appropriate way. This modernisation should be carried out in aircraft factories in Russia and the training of personnel should start in accordance with this,” Putin said after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked him to “adapt” the planes in a televised interview.
Personally, I saw what was either a MIG or one of these su-25s flying last week when I was near the railroad station in town. The thing was very fast and was practicing very sharp aerial maneuvers. Literally, if you are used to seeing either passenger or cargo jets flying, this was a different thing. This was very fast and agile.
I also heard a military jet yesterday when I was in town. Whether this is an actual buildup, propaganda before an actual buildup or just pressure from Russia to Belarusians understand that sympathies for Ukraine will be met by similar Force to that exercised in Ukraine, we have war planes flying overhead in Pinsk.
And if it means anything, I was told something in passing months ago by a person with some connections to the government that musically speaking, I was really going to enjoy the crescendo during the finale of the war. At the time, the idea that he might be talking about nukes popped into my head. I didn’t mention anything about it because I thought he was just advising me to leave. As of the moment, the thought seems to be carrying some weight.
***
Good morning. It’s about a quarter to 7:00 and I’ve been up for a while. There was no particular reason to wake up in the middle of the night. But to be slapped in the face with news of the war pretty much meant I was not going back to sleep.
I think I’m actually like most people when it comes to politics or even war politics. I’m talking about people here. It’s not the kind of place where you feel that you can say anything. They don’t appreciate protests here. Any public demonstrations are frowned upon and I believe that there are even laws about groups of people meeting in public. I have been told that if you meet in a group of more than three people in the middle of the square, the police can break it up. Not a free country.
But on the other side, nobody I know here in this little out of the way village has anything really to do with national politics. If I talk shit in the government office, if I say something political in any way even if it’s just a sarcastic remark, they raise eyebrows and stare at me but just let it go. Even when the KGB had their little interrogation meeting with me at the beginning of last year, I got the feeling Good the guy doing his job really had no saying things. He was actually no different from a lot of people and was just getting off on getting to play with a real American. Or whatever they think a real American is.
All of this makes for kind of a passive situation. Me personally, I’ve never really had a choice. I just don’t really have anywhere to go that would be even remotely satisfying as what I have now. I know I bitch a lot and certainly it’s a lot of work keeping things going here. This is winter or summer. But it’s pretty compelling to have some physical responsibilities to balance out my normal laziness. It’s not really a question of whether I’m a tiger or not. I’m just an old guy trying to stay comfortable.
But you can’t help thinking that some really horrible things are on the horizon. This is a genuine bloodthirsty War. I may have my opinions of the true nature of it. I believe it’s an oil War and I also believe it’s anti-semitism. Literally, if Ukraine does not want to be subservient to Russia and is even ballsy enough to elect a Jew to be president, it’s almost like they were asking for it.
Or you may look at this logically and ask yourself why these things still happen in the world. I’m talking about a world where we can genuinely speak to each other in 30 seconds no matter where we are. I mean, I have quite a few people who don’t want to talk to me anymore because I’m such a horrible person etc etc. And I’m not saying that talking to me would be the answer to their personal questions because obviously, everybody has their personal problems and lives and responsibilities. It doesn’t really matter that we are not talking because if we are not involved, there’s nothing really to talk about. But the point is that we could. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, hello how have you been? I haven’t seen you, how are you getting along?
And this is not even touching on our ability to stay in touch with public news offerings. This would be both professional and amateur. If you want to check it out, there are probably quite a few Ukrainian bloggers out there doing their thing. I’m sure there are soldiers blogging the war from both sides. And of course there are the stolen transmissions and the propaganda War and everything else. It’s not my hobby to dig around on the internet. I’m just getting through my days and worrying about my own deals. I’m just saying it’s there.
And yet with all of this available information and the obvious knowledge that people are people and that we are all basically the same, the perversions of these parasitical and empirical entities just will not let people go. I mean, we have communications and we have learning capabilities because of it that so far exceeds anything that’s ever been on the planet before, you simply have to ask yourself why we require such insanity.
Just as an example, I’ve been playing guitar for a long time. I’m not playing very much this year because my hands are kind of torn up and I’ve been putting my attention elsewhere. But as a guitar player, I find it fascinating the level of skill that exists. Simply the number of virtuosi that are possible to access completely for free simply because they go online to share their talents is amazing. And of course they learned because they had access to hundreds of guitar players and their techniques to learn from.
In almost any form of media, the amount of information possible to access is now infinitely easier and faster and basically for free.
When I was young and in the University, we had to go to the library which was, though more knowledge than we could ever get to, limited by size and resources. We had these ancient readers that could look at microfilm perhaps of old newspaper articles. But if you wanted to learn something about something, especially music, you physically had to go to some place to find some teacher. Or you went to the University libraries physically and started waiting through the paperwork and the sheet music to try and find things. It was physical labor and time to acquire knowledge and we were all unbelievably limited to our personal experience. And I’m not even talking about money to afford to buy the records.
Now, just for the desire to look for it on my phone, I have access to pretty much every album I ever wanted as a kid. All of that music is online, most all of it is free. There are an infinite number of films of concerts and regardless of the medium that’s interesting for you, it’s right there. And not only are the original artists right there, if the song has any popularity at all, there are anywhere from 10 to 100 other musicians right there to show you how to play it.
I mean, when it came out, Van Halen came out with Eruption and everybody shook their heads. Go into it now and everyone says that it’s played on the b string and you can find 7-year-olds playing it in talent shows. And even more, capping is now a part of everybody’s playing style and they’re doing it on every string instrument you can possibly find.
And yet we can’t think of anything else but to murder each other.
With all of this potential education, you would think that people would have an amazing chance to find some sense of personal happiness.
I agree that there are certain limitations put on You by money. I’ve certainly been very poor for large sections of my life and even now with this bloody war coming, I don’t have enough money to pay for a life immigration anywhere. That would be ridiculous. There would be no way for me to transplant myself now and end up anywhere else that wouldn’t feel even more like a prison. I understand how people see this country as a prison and how it’s not free. I completely agree with that. It’s very much savagery and a lot of the interpersonal relationships seem very prison-like to me. No argument here.
But with so many possibilities, with so much information out there, so much free teaching and so many people sharing so much, why is it that we’re not enjoying ourselves? Why is it that we can’t slow things down and figure out a way to make rich quiet peaceful lives available? I mean, I’m kind of a minimalist. I don’t need very many things to be happy. In fact I have way too much of certain things like clothes. But I think it would be possible for a lot of people to really enjoy some sustainable hobbies that can be shared in festivals or gatherings. Musicianship, art, agriculture. I know I sound square but I have no idea why we can’t just enjoy the fruits of life at a time where we seem to have opened up all of the possibilities for almost anybody to learn from.
They just never stop having a war. We never stop the Hysteria. They never stop the hunger.
So I put this screen on the window of this room so I can leave the window open all the time. I guess it gets a little cold at night but there’s more fresh air. Honestly, I was used to having the windows closed at night. You get used to anything. And right now, ironically, there are three insects sitting on the inside of the screen unable to get out.
But as always, the birds are singing. The temperature is very pleasant. It’s going to be a hot day today. There’s a slight Haze in the sky but it’s just a peaceful calm morning.
I’m not particularly hungry but maybe I’ll get some breakfast. Or maybe I’ll just start puttering around. I’ve got some jobs that need to get done and now that I have some tools to do it, I might as well get started. I guess I’m going to be breaking the peace if I actually get grinding but, this was the best choice I came up with. And of course, I won’t be the only one tearing up materials out here. There are a lot of people disturbing the peace.
I guess the only question is how long does it last? There are a few bureaucratic points to consider. I’m waiting for notification for a health issue for when I get to go and deal with that. Those inspectors never bothered to show up to measure my land. Anytime fellows. And after that it’s just a matter of trying to bring in the garden and maybe save some food. There really isn’t much excitement in any of this and honestly, that doesn’t bother me one bit. In fact, I’d be pretty thrilled if this is the level of life and excitement I have for the rest of my time on the planet. Without the slightest hint of dishonesty, I’d be pretty pleased if the rest of my life was exactly as boring as what I’m representing to you now.
***
I had a walk around the garden this morning. The plants genuinely enjoyed a good solid watering. The pickles especially seemed to jump into life and grow. I don’t really recommend starving the plants to death just to see such an ecstatic reaction. I’m not much into sadism. I just want my guests to be happy.
I caught a few potato bugs in my box. Literally, a couple of them slipped through my fingers but the rest of them made a very satisfying crunching sound on their way off of the planet. I don’t want to sound like I have some sense of maliciousness. In this case, it really is a war for resources. I would like to enjoy some decently sized potatoes if this is at all possible. If these little bastards eat the leaves, the plants will not get enough light.
It does seem as though I’m doing an awful lot of killing this year. Last year, I seemed to have a really good idea about how to get some food out of this property without really bothering anything here. I didn’t really segregate lots of land or do any construction. I know I’m questioning my choices a lot these days. Coming out of the hospital, it was extremely beneficial to me at least psychologically to have access to building supplies and to be able to create a project like I did. I haven’t been this physical in a very long time and it did feel me with a great sense of purpose. Now though, I’m wondering if I wasn’t better off last year. I did less damage but it’s all much less work and much more sustainable. Literally, if I just dug a few holes for some pumpkin and zucchini and then just planted some trees and Berry bushes, I would have literally no work to do except sit back and let things grow.
Or maybe this is something that you grow into. Maybe if I stay at this for a couple of years, I’ll get used to all of the work and everything I’m doing right now will be secondhand. There is a lot more energy that gets spent when you’re doing something for the first time than when it’s just something that you do by habit. This very normal human trait is probably what keeps my neighbors from understanding the issues of global warming. That and pro oil business/pro Russian propaganda. The Russians are pretty good at destroying things. In fact, they seem to take an awful lot of pleasure in it.
Anyway, I offed a few potato beetles this morning. The potatoes look wonderful. Even some whose leaves were contracting from thirst have opened up after last night’s watering. Despite the heat, this is something I need to keep up with.
The plan for today is to cut some sticks to make wigwams for the beans. They are already starting to grasp each other and grow upwards. They need to be trellised. I could also spend a little more time weeding the peas. I am really upset at how badly the pea Garden was set up. It’s much too minimalist and we didn’t think very far ahead. Peas or something you should have a ton of. I use them all the time dried for almost anything up to and including cheese / tofu. It’s an excellent source of protein and is pretty good at making thick sauces. How can you argue with such a versatile vegetable?
After that, there are a few Minor details In The water system. One pallet needs to get moved from one place to another and I might move one of the barrels as well. I’m not quite convinced that I need more than two barrels under The Root cellar.
I don’t know if I’ll have so much time or energy after this. It’s going to be a hot day today and I personally am not always so thrilled about having to work in the hot sun. I basically let breakfast go today and satisfied my need with some sunflower seeds and dates. This and a couple of glasses of water seem to be enough to get me going.
I guess I have some phone calls to make about bureaucratic things. I guess I’m pretty busy. I guess I say I guess a lot. I guess that’s a habit.
But basically I should just start moving a bit and do what I can. All of this conjecture and thinking and planning is great but at some time, you have to pull the trigger and move. And besides, no matter how close to the deal you are when you make the plan, the modifications and improvisations come exactly when you are in the field and on the spot. Sometimes the flaw in the plan becomes apparent and you have to be willing to keep marching. Sitting at the drawing board doesn’t get anything done.
Do I sound ambitious? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.
***
***
Hi, just a brief break right now. I’m in the middle of cutting sticks to make bean poles and some kind of framework for the most disappointing peas. It took me a little while to get my system together. The first couple were not very good looking cuts. But after a while, things started to get pretty straight and simple in the manufacture. I’m making pretty good time and I’m definitely going to finish today.
But right in the middle of it, this guy came to say hello and just would not leave until I listened to him. He said that it was most important for me to know that he and his fellow butterflies were very happy and grateful for the amount of really nice food for them to eat. He especially appreciated my leaving the ragwort alone and commented on my wisdom for even leaving that one plant right in front of my front door. He said that he and his friends like to have parties everyday and I’m welcome to come and be a part of the festivities anytime I feel like it.
***
I’ll be honest, that was hard. I don’t really think I can even explain all of the reasons behind why it was so hard. It’s just too bloody hot. No, I can’t really say that. I didn’t really feel like I was being burned by the Sun. I’ve been in places where the sun actually hurts. I worked an incredibly stupid job for some extra dollars while riding across the country in Louisiana. Pulling nails out of boards in the hot sun for a few pennies. That Sun hurt. Working in the sun in the summertime in Louisiana hurts. This wasn’t like that.
I’ve made a decision about my diet though. I am absolutely going minimalist for the rest of the summer. This was the real problem. I eat some nice things in the morning. I put some quinoa in the pot and threw in some vegetables. No oil and quinoa will wake you up. But it was just too much food in my belly. My belly followed me all day long and made everything ridiculous. That’s the thing I’ve got to get rid of immediately.
The new rules call for smaller meals. There ain’t no other way to say it. Maybe on Friday nights and Saturday morning I might fill up the tank because I’m not going anywhere. But if I’m going to have to move around, pain or no pain, I can’t be carrying a meal with me all day. I’ve got to let my belly shrink.
I’m not sure if I’ve gotten it right or not but there are a bunch of triangles in the bean Garden. Perhaps tomorrow I will tie them together for stability. I think the beans will enjoy climbing them. I didn’t water today though I probably could have. By late afternoon, you could see the cruciferous vegetables sagging very sadly. The boxes drain too well. We should probably mulch everything seriously. The mulch helps. We mulched three of the grape plants and I most several of the berry bushes. Everything that’s sitting under wood bark is looking good and healthy and vibrant. The stuff that’s been guarded by grass, he’s not really hanging in there very much.
I could have watered today. I could have watered at least those boxes that were looking sad. I could have done something even without setting up the pump. I could have even taken a bucket of water to and just hand fed those plants that really needed it. I couldn’t do it though. I couldn’t take another step. By the time I was done in the motor gardens, I was absolutely at my limit.
It wasn’t only my belly. It was my legs. I really took a beating today. I did quite a few movements that I don’t do naturally and just created and ungodly pain. I just didn’t have the energy to stand up and fight through it. Every step became an adventure by the end of the day. All I wanted to do was finish the job I was doing and quit. It was all I could think of just to get everything off the field and packed away. There was nothing left in the tank.
When I finally stumbled into the house and locked the doors and closed the windows against the mosquitoes, I stumbled into the war room and passed out immediately. It was one of those half sleeps where you realize that you’re just in shock. That’s exactly what it was. I was just in shock.
I was down for about an hour before the stuff of life started to creep back in. My eyes were pasty in my head. Probably dehydration. Everybody needs water. Everybody and everything needs water.
I drank a couple of glasses and decided that I actually needed to eat something. I didn’t want to eat too much but I did need to eat something. I just wasn’t right.
Not even wanting to stand up, I crawled into the other room and found some oatmeal and mixed it with cold water and a bowl. That was really all I wanted and along with yet another glass of water, it went down easy and I started to feel much better. This is where the idea of eating smaller meals came Crystal clear into my consciousness. I simply cannot deal with this summer with a full belly.
I talked about this subject with my dad one time. My dad was actually pretty smart about matters of health. My mom was more like my worst side. She also ate when she was bored or anxious or basically anything. For her, eating replaced love and she was greatly in need of love all the time. The woman needed to remain plugged in. She would get a little persnickety when miffed. I just said that in kind of a quaint folksy way but the truth was that she would get violent and I was an available Target.
I’m not going to lie. I’ve got a temper. I did quite a bit of cussing today. Cussing and growling. My body was just not allowing me to do what I needed to do. The work was too bloody hard. It was taking too much out of me and just trying to get to the end of it was grinding on me.
This doesn’t mean that I have assaulted people in my life. I don’t remember ever starting a fight. I don’t remember ever going out specifically looking to fight. That was not who I was and it’s not who I am. However, I don’t like being picked on very much. And when people do find it amusing to latch on to me just to see what happens, well, I had a pretty good record in street fighting when I was younger.
It comes to bite you though. Being willing to physically fight your own battles has a downside. People love to point their fingers at me and say I am kind of a Savage. I have never been a Savage a day in my life. Well, at the moment I’m living pretty rustically. But I am conscious. I am sentient. I am not an animal grubbing for food. I live by my intelligence.
This does not stop people from making accusations. My ridiculous chicken neighbor did this. Actually I have the film of her bullshit. My Florida relative did this. I have the evidence putting him in jail too if the state of Florida actually wanted evidence of crimes. They just want money unfortunately. And it is unfortunate that I get to live in a world where no one can think of anything else to say except that I am dangerous. And usually, people just say this when they want some money. Sorry about that, there is no money for you. You can accuse me and slander my character all you want. There’s no money for you. I just Garden.
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