1/14/2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It’s raining again. Even though we are supersaturated, our drought is not over. Dang! As I seek a different silver lining, I will note that this wetness makes it easy to stay inside & get organized.

            How was your visit with PM Fumio Kishida? I was happy to hear you espousing democratic values, but troubled to see that Japan plans to buy hundreds of American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles. 

            Even more disturbing is your plan for a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, & a separate sale of F-35s to Greece. I agree with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)’s statement yesterday, that you shouldn’t sell weapons to President Erdogan, who “continues to undermine international law, disregard human rights & democratic norms, & engage in alarming & destabilizing behavior in Turkey & against neighboring NATO allies.” In other words, he’s a dictator. Just remember WINTA!!

            I am also disturbed after learning about the rare earths being mined in Burma from a piece in foxnews.com. As you know, ““rare earths” are relatively common in trace amounts on the earth’s crust & possess an extraordinary magnetic power critical to technology. However, extracting enough rare earths requires intense mining that can be environmentally destructive…Global demand for rare earths is expected to explode by 300% to 700% by 2040… Myanmar is now China’s single largest source of heavy rare earths, making up nearly half of the supply. It is a ‘sacrifice zone’ or a place that destroys itself for the good of the world. Dang!

My conclusion from this info is that China is benefitting from the unrest in Burma, because no one is keeping an eye on the primitive mining taking place on the border so they have a steady supply of what they need. The USA could be accused of the same thing.

Please do more to address the situation in Burma.

BYBS,