At least we have each other

Edward's weekly news roundup & open thread (June 18, 2023)

Jun 18, 2023

Salam. Welcome to Edward Slavsquat’s Weekend Link-Dump & Open Thread. You have permission to shill any and all links in the comments section. Or just say hello, and I will say hello back.

Forward!

News from Russian media

Tara Reade, a former aide to Joe Biden (who accused the US president of sexual assault), has moved to Russia. (The story is two weeks old but I just saw it.) [URA]
Sberbank and Moscow’s city government signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of sustainable development. [Lenta.ru]
Gref, Sobyanin, carbon units, digital transformation, and the UN SDGs: At SPIEF, Russia plays the role of a globalist actor in the Eurasian zone. [Katyusha.org]
Andrey Bezrukov, President of the Association for the Export of Technological Sovereignty, said at SPIEF that we are approaching a geopolitical situation similar to what the world witnessed a hundred years ago: “Imagine 1914, the world of empires, they still ride horses. Crowned heads meet and embrace, do not think that they will soon kill each other. Could you recognize in 1930 the world that was in 1914?” [Nakanune.ru]
The Ministry of Economic Development proposed introducing tax incentives for foreigners who moved to Russia. [TASS]
The task of the special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine has actually been accomplished, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. [URA]
Mortgages have become even more inaccessible to Russians. [Nakanune.ru]
Prigozhin: “Regarding the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a friend of mine emailed me a series of photos from the Internet, or rather collages: On the one hand, today’s forum, and on the other hand, what is happening at the front. These are two different realities. What is happening today at the St. Petersburg forum can be described as a feast during the plague. And it has nothing to do with the economy, it has to do with the secular lifestyle, and the parties that used to be in London.” [Prigozhin’s press service]
Since June 13, one of China’s largest banks has been blocking Russians from transferring funds to western nations, according to reports. [Kapital Rus]
Russia will start producing its own long-haul aircraft. [RIA Novosti]
Pharmacy owners are threatening to increase prices by 20% for drugs that are not included in the list of vital medicines. They claim price hikes will be necessary if the State Duma passes a bill on limiting marketing bonuses, which are a significant part of pharmacy revenues. [Vedomosti]
The average salary of teachers in preschools and kindergartens will increase by more than 30%, according to a report released by the Cabinet of Ministers. [Nakanune.ru]

Links from around the interwebs

Companion Robots: A New Way to Betray the Elders [Tessa Fights Robots]
Deconstructing Marianna in Conspiracyland: Part I (and Part II) [Iain Davis]
Vladimir Putin and the fine technical art of deception [Nikola Mikovic]
Plasmid contamination in the mRNA shots are altering your DNA, brought to you by Pfizer. [The Daily Beagle]
Putin Flashes Page of Secret Agreement Signed Between Moscow and Kiev Last Year at African Peace Summit [Rolo Slavskiy]
How I Discovered They Don't Want Us Educated (The Education Wars Part 23) [Rounding the Earth]
Wait…are they REALLY going to do a UFO psy-op? [Kit Knightly]

Edward’s dispatches in foreign languages

A new Open Thread feature: Translations of E. Slavsquat’s blog posts. If you are aware of any non-English versions of this blog’s offerings, please share them in the comments section, and I will include them in next week’s edition of At Least We Have Each Other. My sincere gratitude to those who take the time to translate my work into their native languages—it is very humbling. (You are always welcome to republish or translate any of my work. You do not need special permission.)

Tests PCR, thérapie génique et potins juteux sur le climat : le Davos russe démarre à Saint-Pétersbourg! [CSP - Comment Se Préparer]
Присоединится ли Россия к системе цифровых «сертификатов здоровья» ВОЗ? [Anna Rudneva]

Is this blog worth at least minimum wage? Only you can decide!

Excluding an elite group of internet superstars, blogging is not really a financially viable line of work. I’m not complaining—it was my choice to be a blogger, and like almost all choices I make, it was a very silly one.

For the past two years I’ve been sustaining my blog-activities with various side hustles (mostly related to teaching English, or editing academic papers written in English by non-native speakers).

As part of a daring experiment, I decided last month not to engage in side hustles, because it is not very interesting work, and I wanted to focus on The Blog. Things in Russia (and everywhere) are getting very “interesting”, for lack of a better term, and I concluded my energies would be better spent feeding my blog.

It was my decision, and I will accept the consequences of this decision. But you must also understand that, as of June 18, 2023, this blog pulls in considerably less than US minimum wage, if we’re talking about monthly earnings.

I have been working very hard to provide my dear readers with quality blog content, but be forewarned: If I can’t make at least minimum wage, probably I will need to return to side hustles. I would prefer not to do this. But you can’t always get what you want.

No matter what, I will still work as hard as I possibly can on this blog (after all, some of you are paying me, and I must honor this generosity), but juggling my financial obligations, with my barely paying passion (blogging, which is not actually my “true passion”—that would be playing piano, and also building dry stone walls), can sometimes be challenging. I’m sure you understand.

By the way: If you have stones in need of stacking, I will gladly stack them for you. Email me. Not a joke.

I built this stone tower-thing in New Hampshire, about 12 years ago. If you can geolocate it, you win a free paid sub. (Yes, it can be seen from outer space.)

My SUMMER OF BLOG-LOVE SUB-SPECIAL ($38 for a 12-month subscription) is my attempt to meet you guys halfway. I fully understand that every writer on the internet asks you for money every day, and that’s very annoying. Well, I am no different, I guess. I gave my “pitch” last weekend if you need some extra nudging before making a final decision.

A Slavsquat paid sub would make a wonderful Father’s Day gift for yourself, or for your dad, whom I’m sure is very interested in Russia-related things!

On a related note: I am working on various Paywalled Gimmicks as an expression of thanks to my extraordinarily sophisticated, and frankly amazing, paid subscribers.

Obviously, I am extremely grateful for, and humbled by, the support I already receive, and I am well aware that there are many deserving writers, some of whom are probably even more ruble-deprived than I am. Whether or not you are backing this blog with your hard-earned fiat, I want to stress that I value your readership.

If for some reason you are not in a position where you can provide financial support, but in theory would like to, you can always “heart” all of my blog posts, and share them with your friends and enemies on social media. I like “hearts”. They fill my actual heart with warm feelings of validation. I’m a blogger—I’m very easily pleased.

I also accept bitcoin (and could “gift” you a paid sub, in exchange for your delicious crypto). Email me (my contact info is on the About Page) if that’s something you’d be interested in.

That’s all I wanted to say about that. Thanks again.

By the way: I will be joining Jesse Zurawell on TNT radio on Tuesday, June 20, at 7-8pm (UTC)/2-3pm (ET)/10-11pm Khachapuri Time. Tune in! I think we will be discussing SPIEF, and Herr Gref. Should be fun.

Have a relaxing Sunday, friends.

—Riley

Don’t forget about the SUB-SALE!!! I will dance for you!!!

Edward Slavsquat