#summitry

[unendingwanderlust]

KINKTOBER DAY 27: DOUBLE PENETRATION IN 2 HOLES  ||  KINKTOBER MASTERLIST

TITLE: For Only One Moment RATING: E WARNINGS: None. RELATIONSHIPS: Bard/Thorin/Thranduil WORD COUNT: 960 SERIES: Summitry, Diplomacy, And Everything In Between

SUMMARY: In Erebor, Thorin enjoys being the center of all attention…

READ ON AO3

[mariacallous]

The global south seemed to be top of mind for policymakers and diplomats this year, from the halls of the United Nations to leaders’ podiums. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called his country the “voice of the global south,” hosting a virtual summit by that name to start the year that elevated the perspectives of dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In Vietnam in September, U.S. President Joe Biden exchanged the Cold War-era phrase “Third World” for “global south” as he spoke.

For some commentators, the new politics of the global south recalls the heyday of the Non-Aligned Movement, first convened in Indonesia in 1955. The comparison may seem particularly apt when it comes to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Since February 2022, many countries in the global south have avoided criticizing Moscow, including by abstaining from or voting against U.N. resolutions to condemn aggression against Kyiv—and continuing to import Russian oil and gas despite Western sanctions.

In September, more than 18 months after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to the U.N. General Assembly, in large part seeking to bolster wider international support for his cause. At the time, FP’s Howard W. French wrote that many developing countries simply had other priorities: “Increasingly, the poor are saying to the rich that your priorities won’t mean more to us until ours mean much more to you.”

Two major meetings underscored the shifting role of the global south in world politics this year: the BRICS summit held in August in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the G-20 leaders’ summit hosted by New Delhi in September. In Johannesburg, the bloc—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—announced it would add six new members, giving it a bigger share of the world’s GDP than the G-7 in terms of purchasing power parity. Whether the BRICS expansion will lead to more power or less cohesion remains to be seen, but the bloc has at least succeeded in making de-dollarization a talking point.

Meanwhile, Modi used the G-20 summit—and India’s leadership of the group this year—to expand the agenda to include issues of significance to the global south, such as trade, climate change, and migration. He touted the event and the resulting consensus declaration as a success for New Delhi, scoring increased World Bank funding aimed countries in the global south. But tensions and differences within the group were apparent, especially on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The war in Gaza that began in October marked another shift, as countries in the global south pointed to Western support for Israel’s collective punishment of the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 as hypocritical—particularly considering the West’s insistence on a so-called rules-based global order. In November, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations argued that the United States and its allies are bound to lose such a “battle of narratives.”

With the global south now commanding the world’s attention, the fluidity and the imprecision of the term—once relegated to academia—have also become more clear. Even as analysts question the very concept, what is certain is that the global south will remain a central figure in diplomacy and summitry in 2024.

Below are some of Foreign Policy’s top pieces on global south politics and debates this year.

1. The World Isn’t Slipping Away From the West

By Comfort Ero, March 8

More than a year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Comfort Ero, the president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, reflected on an increasingly common question: Why have so many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America sat this one out, offering limited support to Kyiv?

It’s tempting to say that the West is losing the global south. But that is too simplistic, Ero argues, writing that Western countries should look to recent history to better understand what motivates countries with different perspectives: “It’s no wonder that many officials from countries in the global south feel that the West is demanding their loyalty over Ukraine—after not showing them much solidarity in their own hours of need.”

“[N]early all the officials I’ve spoken with seek to define their national policies on their own terms—reflecting their own sovereign interests—rather than framing them as part of a West-Russia contest,” Ero writes.

2. 6 Swing States Will Decide the Future of Geopolitics

By Cliff Kupchan, June 6

In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky courted the support of Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia—so-called middle powers that, along with other leaders of the global south, including South Africa and Turkey, “have more power today than ever before,” Eurasia Group Chairman Cliff Kupchan writes.

These six “swing states” have already shaped optics around Russia’s war in Ukraine, namely by refusing to fall in line with Western plans for military aid to Kyiv and sanctions against Moscow. The United States needs to “up its game” with regard to these six powers and the global south more broadly, Kupchan writes. “We now have more drivers on every geopolitical issue. That makes predictions of geopolitical outcomes, already a fraught endeavor, even harder.”

3. Can the G-20 Be a Champion for the Global South?

By Darren Walker, Sept. 8

The Group of 20 includes many countries from the global south, but its wealthiest members long wielded the most influence at the table. As India hosted the annual G-20 leaders’ summit in September, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker argued that the group was now “poised to usher in an unprecedented era of not only influence, but also economic justice, for the global south.”

Walker writes that India used its year-long G-20 presidency to highlight issues that disproportionately affect countries in the global south, particularly sovereign debt, and to amplify voices from this global majority. Significant divisions remain among the G-20, but India’s leadership is part of the “establishment of a new standard” led by developing countries, he argues.

“With their upcoming G-20 presidencies, Brazil and South Africa have the chance to build on the momentum created by their predecessors,” Walker writes.

4. Why the Global South Is Accusing America of Hypocrisy

By Oliver Stuenkel, Nov. 2

The war in Gaza exposed a new challenge to the West from the countries of the global south: accusations of hypocrisy. “Many in the developing world have long seen a double standard in the West condemning an illegal occupation in Ukraine while also standing staunchly behind Israel, which has occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1967,” Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor in São Paulo, writes.

Stuenkel argues that this perceived inconsistency could damage Western claims of a so-called rules-based global order, especially as civilian casualties rise and calls for a cease-fire grow. “The longer the Israel-Hamas war goes on, the greater the risk to Western credibility in the global south becomes,” he writes.

5. Is There Such a Thing as a Global South?

By C. Raja Mohan, Dec. 9

As the term “global south” has gone mainstream, so to speak, FP’s C. Raja Mohan writes that it has become a “convenient shorthand” in debates over issues as diverse as climate policy and Russia’s war in Ukraine—putting the global majority in a “single category with supposedly similar interests.” But Mohan raises a pointed question: Is there even such a thing as a global south?

Mohan points out several analytical flaws with the concept, which he calls “old wine in a new bottle.” He explains that countries of the global south have divergent economic interests and development paths, and that the group itself has much too fluid boundaries. Given these issues, is “global southism” worthwhile as an explanatory framework? Mohan doesn’t think so, but he acknowledges that it may be here to stay.

“Despite my and others’ calls to retire the category global south, it is unlikely to disappear from the international relations vocabulary anytime soon,” Mohan writes. “For many in the West, it is a way of othering the rest; for the chattering classes in the rest, it is a way of channeling deep reservoirs of resentment against continuing Western dominance.”

[midnightcreator12]

The 244th Corvid Squad

My Clone Wars/Star Wars oc dump. I didn’t want to design six unique outfits so the clothing isn’t final but the faces and coloring is.

Anyway, basic summitries below the read more, top to bottom!

Astra Ader is the Zygarrian Jedi General of the 244th. She’s a skilled Jedi, welding a lightsaber staff that can be broken into duel lightsabers. She is also very kind and open to her troops, doing what she can to ease the war for them. She is very aware that her men are slaves of the Republic and fully intends to whisk them away if the Republic doesn’t give them citizenship by the end of the war. The only reason she hasn’t yet is that she fears what may happen to them if she leaves mid-war, the last thing her men need is to be labeled traitors and hunted down because she wants to just bundle them all away somewhere in Wild Space.

Seena Ader is Astra’s sister. She is the elder sibling and spent most of her younger years under her fathers wing. Her father constantly crowed about how Astra would come back after she finished training under the Jedi and would make their slave trade more profitable then ever. So when Astra never returned Seena grew more and more angry and confused along her father. But where their father started to curse Astra’s name, Seena wondered why her sister wouldn’t want to come home to a far more comfortable lifestyle then that of a Jedi. She left home and traveled the universe for a few years, trying to find what made her sister abandon her family. Astra, who had kept tabs on her sister, found her with the help of Chula and the sister sat down and had a chat. Seena was already coming to the conclusion but Astra sitting down and talking about how much pain their people cause was the final push Seena needed.

Neither talk to their family anymore and Seena goes in to break up the slave trading rings that Astra can’t because of legal reasons.

When Astra becomes the General of 244th, they hold up a similar system. Astra gives Seena intel and Seena does the jobs that Astra can’t do without getting into serious trouble with the Order and Senate

Crow is the medic for Corvid Squad. He was decanted two batches before the rest of the Squad and has a very surly and grumpy personality and he always looks done with everything so the other three like to say he’s the grumpy old man of the group. Seena refuses to see anymore but him unless it’s an emergency so the two of them spend a lot of one on one time together.

Magpie is the teams sniper, his aim is unmatched by anyone in the 244th. A fact he will brag about along with anything else he can think of. He’s loud and proud, erratic and constantly jumping from on thing to another. He likes to collects trinkets (hence his name) and likes to share those with his Jay and Raven. He also likes hanging out with Chula if she’s on board because she encourages his antics (verbally and physically)

Jay is the team scout. He’s just as chaotic as Magpie but he’s more of the calm chaotic type, following along with his escapades and grinning like a loon next to his brother. But he also fills in the big brother roll, stepping up to lead if the Astra, Seena or Chula can’t. He’s also the only one who knows Astra’s plan to take them all away if the Republic doesn’t recognizes them as people and, becasue of that, is very overly protective of her. (If the general survives this, my siblings are guaranteed to be safe) He’s also the one who came up with the Squads theme when Astra mentioned she liked birds.

Raven is the technician/hacker. She’s more anxious and timid then the rest of the squad when it comes to socializing, using her armor as a physical barrier between herself and people outside her battalion. She also isn’t a fan the war in general and fully plans to hang her gear up and get far away from the Republic the second the war is over.

This guys are still a WIP but this is the general direction I’m going with them.

[darkmaga-retard]

The Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency, Donald Trump, recently made several statements suggesting his readiness to engage in a more constructive relationship with Iran than has been the case for the better part of the last 45 years, since anti-American revolutionaries toppled the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979.

In mid-August, Trump said he hoped for “friendly relations” with Iran. In early September, at the Economic Club of New York, he spoke about how Washington’s addiction to sanctions weakens the dollar’s hegemonic position in the world by forcing countries like Iran, Russia and China to ditch it in favor of alternative financial arrangements, undermining America’s global position.

Trump’s narrative on this point is sensible. To get a sense of the perspective, one only needs to look at the expansion of BRICS, initially a grouping comprising China, Russia, Brazil, India, and South Africa. Since 2024, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Ethiopia have joined it. Turkey—a NATO ally—has applied to join. Reportedly, more countries have expressed interest in exploring the idea, including some of those with which the U.S. has close security relationships, such as Azerbaijan.

While at first sight BRICS may not amount to more than summitry and earnest communiques about the advent of a multipolar world, one key incentive for countries to consider joining are the prospects—so far, mostly tentative—to find alternatives to dollar for their trade and investments, in order to shield themselves from the weaponization of dollar for geopolitical purposes by Washington. Considering that BRICS after its expansion now represents 45 percent of the world population, Trump’s concerns about the U.S. sanctions overreach are fully justified.

[businesspr]

As Challenges Pile Up, a Spate of Summitry Spotlights Western Resolve

Wars in Ukraine and Gaza, along with Donald J. Trump’s candidacy, are testing the Western alliance. But starting with the 80th anniversary of D-Day this week, leaders have a rare opportunity to showcase unity. source https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/world/europe/dday-nato-summits-western-alliance.html

[cavenewstimes]

Crimea looms in the crosshairs as Ukraine’s counteroffensive bogs down

You’re reading an excerpt from the Today’s WorldView newsletter. Sign up to get the rest free, including news from around the globe and interesting ideas and opinions to know, sent to your inbox every weekday. After a week of summitry and politicking, all eyes returned to the war. On Monday morning, Ukrainian forces used a sea surface drone to strike and damage the Crimean Bridge, a vital road…

[worldfreshnews]

Australia live news: cruise ship with 800 Covid-positive passengers docks in Sydney; Albanese at Cambodia summit

Australia live news: cruise ship with 800 Covid-positive passengers docks in Sydney; Albanese at Cambodia summit

Key events Albanese to meet Ukrainian foreign minister Katharine Murphy Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, has sent this briefing on what to expect from Anthony Albanese’s summitry in Cambodia today: Good morning from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, where Anthony Albanese is kicking off his first day of the November summit season. Australia’s prime minister will attend the Asean-Australia…

[oupacademic]

“The election of President Donald Trump upended the emerging structure of global climate mitigation policy codified by the 2015 Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)… As leadership at one level of governance retreats, it is hoped that another might take its place. Will subnational governments—cities, states, and provinces—step up in the absence of U.S. climate policy leadership?”

Focusing on California’s rich history of environmental policy, explore past and current efforts to build multilateral climate policy cooperation at the state level.

Image credit: San Francisco, golden gate, bridge by Meriç Dağlı. Public Domain via Unsplash

[zvaigzdelasas]

Some foreign leaders are slamming Washington for planning to exclude three adversarial, non-democratic regimes — Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua — from the gathering, and threatening not to show up themselves. [...]

The critics include Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. On a visit to Cuba this month, he slammed the U.S. sanctions on the communist-led island and said he would urge Biden to invite Havana to the summit. He later said that if all the countries in the region were not invited, he personally would not attend the summit and send a representative instead. [...]

On Tuesday afternoon, Reuters reported that Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, who has often been at odds with the United States, planned to skip the summit, too. [...]

Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United States warned late last month that leaders from most Caribbean Community countries won’t bother to show up to the summit if Cuba is excluded. [...]

“It’s basically the Biden administration’s best chance to lay out their vision for Latin America, and it might be one of their last chances,” said Ryan Berg, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. [...]

Latin American leaders want Biden to unveil new investment and financial support for their countries, but having seen little emerge so far, some are instead turning to Beijing, analysts and former U.S. officials said.

“The real risk is that — after nearly three decades of summitry — this year’s event may be interpreted as a gravestone on U.S. influence in the region,”

11 May 22

[unendingwanderlust]

KINKTOBER DAY 22: BONDAGE  ||  KINKTOBER MASTERLIST

TITLE: View RATING: M WARNINGS: None. RELATIONSHIPS: Bard/Thorin/Thranduil WORD COUNT: 394 SERIES: Summitry, Diplomacy, And Everything In Between

SUMMARY: Bard pretends not to notice how Thorin's breath hitches as soon as his touch makes light contact with his bare skin. He turns to Thranduil. “I thought you were going to read the terms of the new trade agreement.”

Thranduil surveys his work, slips a finger between the rope and Thorin's wrists to ensure that it will not cut off his circulation. Then, he tugs, testing the knot. “And I am. But first, I like to have a view while I work...”

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[newstfionline]

Friday, November 19, 2021

Biden brings back North America summit (AP) North America’s leaders are reviving three-way summitry after a Trump-era break. As President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador resume the tradition of the North America Leaders Summit on Thursday, the three allies face deep differences on migration, climate and trade. Thursday’s meetings at the White House will be the first trilateral get-together for North American leaders since a June 2016 gathering of Trudeau, Barack Obama and Enrique Peña Nieto in Ottawa. The gatherings took a hiatus under President Donald Trump, who feuded with Trudeau and Nieto during his tenure.

US overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year, officials say (AP) An estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year, a never-before-seen milestone that health officials say is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than two decades, accelerated in the past two years and, according to new data posted Wednesday, jumped nearly 30% in the latest year. Experts believe the top drivers of overdose deaths are the growing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the illicit drug supply and the COVID-19 pandemic, which left many drug users socially isolated and unable to get treatment or other support. The number is “devastating,” said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University expert on drug abuse issues. “It’s a magnitude of overdose death that we haven’t seen in this country.”

‘Stressed and worn thin’ workers seek more fulfilling jobs, better work-life balance amid COVID (USA Today) For Michelle Rickert, the COVID-19 pandemic gave her time to realize that while she could do it all, it was wearing her out. The owner of a consulting business in New York City, Rickert says she decided to put work on hold last spring to focus on her family, including her children, ages 8 and 12. “That time gave me the space to think about how I could balance things, and really I don’t need to schedule meetings from 8:30 in the morning to 5,” Rickert, 52, says of the break. “If it’s time to pick up my kids ... or I want to make breakfast or whatever it is so we can spend time together, now I make space for that.” She’s not alone. The pandemic has spurred many workers to reevaluate their lives and the role work plays in them, leading some to set fresh boundaries, find new jobs or maintain the side hustles that got them through the shutdowns and layoffs. Nearly 6 in 10 American workers in an October survey by job search site LinkedIn said they had gone through a career awakening during the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it was a desire for better work-life balance, deciding to pursue a promotion or redefining their meaning of success.

Germans, Austrians line up for shots as COVID cases soar across Europe (Reuters) Germans and Austrians are rushing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as infections soar across Europe and governments impose restrictions on the unvaccinated, figures showed on Wednesday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week said he was cautious about rising cases in Europe, warning of gathering “storm clouds” of infections. Britain has had much higher case loads than the rest of western Europe since the summer, but those rates are coming down just as they are rising in central and eastern Europe.

Russia added to State Department list of worst religious liberty violators (RNS) he U.S. State Department has added Russia to its list of nations it considers among the world’s most egregious violators of religious freedom. Russia joins Myanmar (referred to as Burma on the list), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on the list of “countries of particular concern.” “For years, the Russian government has conducted a purge of ‘non-traditional’ religions, frequently labeling as ‘extremists’ and imprisoning peaceful Jehovah’s Witnesses, and readers of the moderate Islamic theologian Said Nursi,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom tated in a November fact sheet. “Russian courts continue to deliver harsher and more numerous prison sentences for Jehovah’s Witnesses seeking to practice their faith.”

Iraqi migrants caught in border crisis in Belarus fly home (AP) Hundreds of Iraqis returned home Thursday from Belarus after abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union—a repatriation that came after tensions at Poland’s eastern border, where thousands of migrants became stuck in a cold and soggy forest. Many others still in Belarus have moved into a heated warehouse not far from the border, emptying out a makeshift camp, Belarusian state-run media reported. But the Polish Defense Ministry posted video showing a few hundred people and their tents still near an official crossing point. “We were hostages—victims stuck between Belarus and the European Union,” said a young Iraqi returnee in a black hoodie after his flight arrived in Baghdad. “Belarus police are the same like Daesh,” he said, referring to the brutal militants from the Islamic State group that rampaged through Iraq several years ago. Perhaps as many as 7,000 migrants remain in Belarus, according to authorities there. Many have moved to the temporary shelter of the warehouse since Tuesday, where they were given mattresses, water, hot meals and medical assistance.

New Delhi’s air still ‘very poor’ despite emergency measures (AP) Air pollution remained extremely high in the Indian capital on Thursday, a day after authorities closed schools indefinitely and shut some power stations to reduce smog that has blanketed the city for much of the month. New Delhi’s air quality remained “very poor,” according to SAFAR, India’s main environmental monitoring agency. The concentration of tiny airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter—known as PM 2.5—neared 300 micrograms per cubic meter in some parts of the city, it said. The World Health Organization designates the maximum safe level as 25. The tiny particles can lodge in the lungs and other organs, causing long-term health damage. New Delhi, a city of 20 million, is one of the world’s most polluted cities.

South Korea’s intense college entrance exam (Worldcrunch) Today, students in South Korea are sitting the college entrance exam, the Suneung, a gruelling eight-hour marathon considered one of the world’s hardest tests. The Suneung (also known as the College Scholastic Ability Test, or CSAT) has faced rising scrutiny in recent years over the stress it puts on students and its focus on rote memorization over deeper learning. Keeping a quiet environment during the exam (which grades students on a scale from 1-9 in five subject areas) is so important that American and South Korean military planes on the Korean Peninsula are grounded while it takes place.

Hong Kong declares wild boars fair game after animal attacks (AP) Hong Kong authorities have had enough of wild boars. An increasing number of attacks by the animals, including one that bit a police officer last week, triggered an operation Wednesday night in a district less than half an hour’s drive from Hong Kong’s financial center. Experts used dart guns to capture seven wild boars, which were later put down via medicine injections. Wild boars are a common sight in Hong Kong along hiking trails. They are often fed by people despite appeals by authorities not to do so. There have been about 30 cases of wild boars attacking humans.

In major shift, Japan looking to accept more foreigners indefinitely (Reuters) In a major shift for a country long closed to immigrants, Japan is looking to allow foreigners in certain blue-collar jobs to stay indefinitely starting as early as the 2022 fiscal year, a justice ministry official said on Thursday. Under a law that took effect in 2019, a category of “specified skilled workers” in 14 sectors such as farming, construction and sanitation have been allowed to stay for up to five years, but without their family members. If the revision takes effect, such workers—many from Vietnam and China—would be allowed to renew their visas indefinitely and bring their families with them, as the other category of more skilled foreigners are allowed to do now. Immigration has long been taboo in Japan as many prize ethnic homogeneity, but pressure has mounted to open up its borders due to an acute labour shortage given its dwindling and ageing population.

Mass Detentions In Ethiopia (NYT) Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has been waging a grisly war with Tigrayan rebels. On November 2, as the rebels grew closer to Addis Ababa, the government declared a state of emergency and began rounding up anyone of Tigrayan descent, many with no ties to the rebels or even affinity for them. Young men and women, mothers with children, the elderly, and those with disabilities have been seized from streets, homes, and workplaces, including banks, schools, and shopping centers, and taken to overcrowded cells in police stations and detention facilities. At least 10 United Nations staff members and 34 subcontracted drivers were also seized. The ethnically-motivated detentions come amid a significant rise in online hate speech, and as massacres, ethnic cleansing, and widespread sexual assault by all sides in the civil war have been reported.

Eastern Congo lawmakers sound alarm over 144 violent civilian deaths this month (Reuters) At least 144 civilians have been killed in eastern Congo this month, lawmakers from the conflict-hit provinces said on Wednesday, refusing to back extending a state of siege they said was failing its mission to end decades of instability. Despite the lawmakers’ objections, parliament on Wednesday approved the motion to extend the state of siege as it has done every two weeks. Civilians have been killed at the same rate as before the state of siege, according to data from Kivu Security Tracker, which maps violence in the region where more than 120 rebel groups operate.

From backflips to pogo sticks, Guinness World Records are smashed (Reuters) From a backflipping gymnast to a man pulling a car while walking on his hands, this year’s Guinness World Records Day is as colourful as ever. Talent from around the world have smashed all kinds of records for the eighteenth annual GWR Day on Wednesday. British gymnast Ashley Watson broke his own record for the farthest backflip between two horizontal bars when he managed to propel himself 6 metres (19.7 feet) through the air. Meanwhile in China—balanced on his hands—Zhang Shuang pulled a car for 50 metres in just 1 minute and 13.27 seconds. Other winners include American Tyler Phillips, who broke the record for the most consecutive cars jumped over on a pogo stick and Takahiro Ikeda from Japan who managed 45 BMX time machines in 30 seconds. Craig Glenday, editor in chief of the Guinness World Records book, said that they’ve been “blown away by the incredible talent and show of strength from our new record holders.”

[mariacallous]

After more than three years of intense, self-imposed isolationism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ventured outside of his country’s borders this week. Kim headed for the Russian far east—on the same armored train once favored by his father—to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was Kim’s first meeting with a foreign leader since 2019. Playing host allowed the Russian president to project an image of relative diplomatic normality amid his own diplomatic isolation, crystallized by his absences from the recent G-20 and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summits.

Putin greeted Kim informally in Russian, displaying a familiarity with the North Korean leader, whom he first met in 2019. Kim, for his part, professed his country’s fealty to Moscow’s “sacred struggle” against Ukraine. While both aimed to project solidarity against a global order dominated by the West, their strategic convergence actually stems from a more transactional logic spurred on by difficult circumstances for both leaders. Simply put, each man has much to offer the other.

Kim and Putin have held their cards close to their chests about what exactly they’ve sought from each other. Unlike typical leader-level summitry, the two chose not to issue any kind of joint statement hinting at what they may have discussed or agreed to. The optics of their meeting, however, along with other recent high-level diplomatic engagements between the two countries, were much more overt.

In the lead-up to Kim’s trip, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, flanked by other senior defense officials involved in the procurement of weaponry, toured an exhibition hall in Pyongyang that was plush with North Korean weaponry. The fact that North Korea remains under a comprehensive United Nations Security Council-backed arms embargo that Russia has long supported seems to not be much of a hindrance.

The choice of venue for the Kim-Putin summit was equally unsubtle. For starters, the two leaders chose to meet at Russia’s relatively new Vostochny Cosmodrome: an eastern spaceport designed to reduce Moscow’s reliance on Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. Putin said that the decision to meet there was an acknowledgement of Kim’s “great interest in rocket technology,” noting the North Korean leader’s push to “develop space … that’s why we came to Vostochny Cosmodrome,” Russian state media reported. Indeed, North Korea is trying to develop a mature space program, but as its two failed satellite launch attempts this year indicate, it has room to grow. Russian assistance with space launch technology could go a long way in abetting Pyongyang’s military modernization ambitions, which include the development of military reconnaissance satellites.

But there are other perks that Pyongyang seeks from its full-throated support of Russian interests. Following his meeting with Putin, Kim’s train carried on toward Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he visited a factory producing Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets—systems far more advanced than the obsolete airframes currently available to the Korean People’s Air Force. Even short of procuring new fighters, North Korea could benefit from a steady supply of spare parts and components to shore up its existing fleet of Soviet-origin military aircraft, significantly improving their airworthiness and reliability.

Kim will also likely seek access to raw and composite materials sourced from Russian suppliers that could supercharge his indigenous missile programs. North Korea has long relied on organized criminal networks to source materials such as Kevlar and aramid fibers from Russia for use in its advanced missiles. Active Russian facilitation of such transfers—while a violation of United Nations sanctions—would assist in fulfilling Pyongyang’s military ambitions. North Korea could also seek covert technical assistance. Putin’s contempt for international rules and norms may make forms of technical cooperation that were previously unthinkable between the two countries increasingly feasible.

Beyond hardware, Kim likely approached Putin about the prospect of food aid, which could address severe nutritional challenges that have intensified in North Korea through the pandemic. Such assistance would not violate sanctions, but nevertheless help Kim address food shortages that he has openly acknowledged in recent years even as he has continued to spend lavishly on nuclear modernization. Separated by only their own land border and territorial waters, North Korea and Russia can conduct large-scale transfers with ease.

Russia can also offer its diplomatic support for North Korean goals. Pyongyang has already benefited considerably from Russian—and Chinese—shelter at the United Nations Security Council. Since the collapse of the last round of U.S.-North Korea diplomacy in 2019, both Beijing and Moscow have been unequivocal in their rejection of any new sanctions or even formal censure at the United Nations—a far cry from their acquiescence to exceptionally broad, sectoral sanctions in 2016 and 2017. Last year, neither state was willing to even support a presidential statement condemning Pyongyang’s testing of intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

Moscow’s interest in the latest meeting, meanwhile, likely lies in North Korea’s substantial inventory of artillery shells and rocket artillery munitions that are reverse-compatible with Soviet-era launchers in use by Russian armed forces. U.S. intelligence sources, cited by the New York Times last September, suggested such transfers had already taken place, but this was likely premature. Instead, the recent spate of bilateral diplomacy between North Korea and Russia appears to have been designed to facilitate such a transfer, which a White House spokesperson said was “actively advancing” after Shoigu’s visit.

Despite their attempts to project a shared ideological front at the summit, Putin and Kim may not be willing to fully yield to the other’s demands—at least, not yet. North Korea, for instance, may seek access to sensitive Russian naval nuclear propulsion technology, which Moscow is unlikely to part with for little in return. Similarly, Russia may seek to acquire more advanced North Korean missiles for possible use in Ukraine, but Kim may prefer to keep these for his own national defense and deterrence needs.

While their meeting will prompt talk of a new authoritarian axis in northeast Asia, there’s little to suggest that the recent surge in this relationship has foundations deeper than each country’s immediate strategic interests. Moscow may seek to revise the global order in its favor, but enlisting North Korea as a partner in that endeavor will be of limited use.

For North Korea, meanwhile, the desire to build deeper ties with Russia predates both the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; when Kim met Putin for the first time in the Russian far east in 2019, it was shortly after the last failed U.S.-North Korea summit. Later that year, Kim hinted that he’d follow a “new way” when it came to his country’s strategic approach. Better ties with Russia are one part of this new way, it would seem. Current geopolitical dynamics, including Russia’s isolation and greater willingness to flaunt global norms, have presented Pyongyang with an immense opportunity.

While there is much that is striking about Kim’s visit, what is particularly notable is that he chose Russia over China for his first overseas visit since 2019. In 2018, Kim chose to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping before he eventually turned toward summit diplomacy with South Korea and the United States. At their very first meeting, according to the Chinese readout, Xi first and foremost emphasized the importance of “high-level exchanges” between the two countries and said he was “willing to keep frequent contacts with Comrade Chairman.”

Kim’s choice, however, doesn’t indicate a major rift between Beijing and Pyongyang: He and Xi exchanged letters during the pandemic, and a senior Chinese official attended a military parade in the country recently. However, it does likely suggest that Kim assesses that he will find a more willing patron, at least for the short term, in the increasingly desperate Putin, rather than Xi. While Beijing and Pyongyang have both been supportive of Putin’s war effort, only the latter appears willing to provide munitions at scale.

North Korean support for Russia’s campaign against Ukraine will likely fail to prove transformative on the battlefield. A shortage of conventional munitions is hardly the factor standing between Russia and swift victory. The most important short-term effect of Pyongyang’s expected supply of munitions may be that Russia will be able to backfill and sustain its own stockpiles in the event of a future conflict with NATO.

For the United States, the prospect of closer Kim-Putin ties is bad news, but not apocalyptic. Even if Putin and Kim had little interest in each other, both leaders would independently continue to pose a serious challenge to U.S. interests.

Perhaps no consequence of this relationship will be more significant than its implications for the status quo diplomatic approach to North Korea’s continued possession of nuclear weapons. Open and flagrant Russian support for North Korea in the face of the existing U.N. sanctions regime is going to make what was already a fanciful short-term objective—denuclearization—impossible.

This should prompt the most profound rethink of the U.S. approach toward North Korea in decades. While the prospect of diplomacy appears dim now, Washington should recall that it was largely the same transactional approach to navigating its relations with great powers that once led Kim to board his train to Hanoi to meet former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Incentivizing Kim to look away from Moscow will be difficult, but Washington should be ready to use every tool in its diplomatic kit to give North Korea a reason to at least contemplate the possibility of diplomacy once again. Last year, Kim complained that though the United States has called for open-ended negotiations and professed its lack of hostility toward Pyongyang, the Biden administration’s behavior—in particular, many of the steps it has taken to reassure South Korea—has given North Korea “no reason” to believe it.

Washington should also recall that what Kim sought when he went to Hanoi was a deal that would see sectoral sanctions relaxed on his economy in exchange for limited nuclear concessions. Using the prospect of sanctions relief—with some snapback provision to guard against North Korean noncompliance as an inducement—may continue to have value. Should Washington fail to act soon, however, the salience that Kim once gave to seeking sanctions relief in a negotiation may wane considerably. That’s especially so now, given Russia’s willingness to do business.

Finally, the United States and its allies continue to have an interest in reducing the risk that North Korea’s increasingly capable nuclear arsenal might be used in a crisis or conflict. Indicating to Kim that the premise of a future negotiation can focus on nuclear risk reduction or restraint could create a reason for North Korea to test the waters diplomatically.

[the-family-fortune]

can you give us a summitry of the rp stories you and razputinrp are writing

Yeah!! We have three major RPs, two of which have been wrapped up.

Thicker Than Water: Zalto Galochio's curse has left Razputin as the last surviving Aquato, who is adopted by and assimilated into the Galochio household. They are strict, oppressive, and abusive, but Raz strikes up a friendship with their youngest, Guillelmina. When Raz runs away from his new home, Zalto decides he's more trouble than he's worth and tries to drown him. Thankfully, Mina is able to save him with with her hydrokinesis, and Raz is able to escape from the Galochios as he flees to Whispering Rock, never to be seen again. Nine years later Raz, a full fledged Psychonaut, returns to the Galochio household with Sasha and Milla to rescue Mina.

Cruise Ship Capers: Raz and Mina, both agents with the Psychonauts, meet on an undercover mission to bust a psilirium snuggling operation masquerading as a cruise to the Rhombus of Ruin. Because Milla, Raz's usual chaperone for water-related missions, is abroad working her own case, Hollis pulls Mina from her deskjob to chaperone Raz without telling either about their partner's true identity. They discover each other's family history in the middle of the mission, and their making amends snowballs into uncovering Hollis's plot to drive Guillelmina from the organization in favor of her future-seeing great-grandfather, Zalto Galochio. When Hollis's attempts to strike a deal with Zalto fail, she resorts to giving Zalto information on Raz, which leads to a confrontation at the Motherlobe.

Our third RP is still in progress.

Trapeze and TK: Mina accidentally ends up at the Aquato Family Circus and strikes up a friendship with the middle child, who she is surprised to find has psychic powers just like her. Neither of them are aware of the plot enacted by Zalto Galochio that very same night.

[scottbcrowley2]

Kim Jong Un says he hopes to extend nuclear summitry with Trump - Mon, 31 Dec 2018 PST

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he hopes to extend his high-stakes nuclear summitry with President Donald Trump into 2019, but also warns Washington not to test North Koreans’ ... Kim Jong Un says he hopes to extend nuclear summitry with Trump - Mon, 31 Dec 2018 PST

[enchantingdragontree-blog]

Private collection. "Galaxy and the origin of summitry." SOLD $850

[yessadirichards]

Train likely belonging to N. Korea's Kim seen at resort town: report

SEOUL: A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted at a resort town in the country's east, satellite photos reviewed by a US-based think tank showed, as speculation persists over his health.

The train was parked at a station reserved for the Kim family in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23, the respected 38North website said in a report published Saturday.

38North cautioned that the train's presence "does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health".

"But it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," it said.

There has been growing conjecture about Kim's health since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the regime's founder -- the most important day on the North Korean political calendar.

Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a meeting of the Workers' Party politburo on April 11 and inspecting drills by fighter jets at an air defence unit, which was reported by state media on April 12.

Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month and was recovering at a villa in North Pyongan province.

Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.

South Korea, which is still technically at war with the North, has played down the report.

CNN, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official, reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery.

But on Thursday, US President Donald Trump rejected reports that Kim was ailing.

"I think the report was incorrect," Trump told reporters, but declined to state when he was last in touch with him.

"We have a good relationship with North Korea, as good as you can have," he said.

Trump has met Kim three times in historic summitry and has voiced admiration for him, although hopes have dimmed for reaching a comprehensive agreement.

Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets.

On Thursday, citing an unidentified government official, South Korean broadcaster SBS reported that Kim appeared to have been in Wonsan for at least the past four days and would soon return to the public eye.

The report added that the military was monitoring Kim's train, which had been seen in Wonsan, while his personal jet -- frequently used by Kim on his trips to Wonsan -- remained in Pyongyang.

Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health.

In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.