Wake up, wake up, wake up, it's the first of the month..
I've been avoiding election cycle talk these past 2 weeks because it's just about everywhere: IG, Twitter, TikTok. There's no escaping it.
But it's less than 100 days til election day. If you're able to vote, are you registered? I know some folks may choose not to vote this time around and I get it. Honestly, that's how I'm feeling these days but link below if you need to check your registration status or need to register.
I remember that the 2004 election (holy shit, I can't believe that was two decades ago now) was my first chance to vote and at the time, I was away at college. I had mailed-in my absentee ballot for John Kerry but they never received it. As we know, that turned out to be a larger absentee ballot scandal but I was so devastated that I spent the day crying alone in my dorm room. Not me shedding tears for John Kerry. I was so serious about my civic duties then.
Another weekend adventure exploring our own backward—this time a longer visit to Untermyer Park & Gardens in Yonkers.
This gorgeous 43 acre public garden was created in 1917 by Samuel Untermyer and overlooks the Hudson River. It combines horticulture and architecture with nods to Ancient Rome and even Lake Como's Villa D'Este. It truly does look like you're in Lake Como as you descend those stairs. ^
But after Untermyer passed away in 1940, the gardens slowly fell into a state of decay as the city of Yonkers could not afford the upkeep. In the late 1970s, amidst society's new found obsession with the occult, the park was littered with Satanic scribblings and ominous graffiti on the garden's columns, towers, and walls. Some even claimed to see torch flames moving within the woods along with strange chanting—dead, mutilated bodies of dogs were also found along the aqueduct over a period of years.
In the summer of 1976, Yonkers resident David Berkowitz, the serial killer known as Son of Sam, was arrested after a year long spree of murders. He consistently maintained that he was part of a large scale satanic cult that held frequent gatherings in the wooded grounds of Untermyer Park.
Since 2011, The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy has worked to renovate the 43 acre property to its original look and feel—the satanic headquarters a faint memory today. 💐🌺🌿
I've shared in previous newsletters that the Sahel Region of Africa is going through widespread upheaval with several military coups from Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, to Guinea. The countries have also ousted their former colonial ruler, France, from the region, to ensure total sovereignty, and as a result, Russia and China have been growing a noticeable footprint, particularly Russian mercenary groups.
In this essay, journalist Jame Pogue explores Mauritania's largest export, gold, the Gulf's demand of gold, and the ever-changing landscape of Sahel players. Speaking with Colonel Moulay, a méhariste (camel cavalry) of Groupement Nomade de la Garde Nationale, shared the following:
He said that Mauritania’s approach, combining counterinsurgency warfare with development aid, was unique in the region. I noticed that when he used the word ‘development’ he meant something different than the promises usually held up by the West, that modern economies would rise to fill the void left by the upset of colonization and a changing climate.
His version of development meant things like offering water stations in the desert – for better or worse allowing for nothing more than that nomads might remain nomads. Moulay said the Mauritanians fought their frontier war by living and thinking like a frontier people. ‘Our work is intelligence,’ he said. ‘And we work by aiding the nomadic populations. The nomads are our school.’
Overall, a great read on the impact of new bloc coalitions forming in the Sahel and the Gulf's demand of gold impacting the stability of the region.
Israel's assassination of Hamas' political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, dims hope of any true ceasefire as it attempts to plunge the entire region into war.
The other night, I was at dinner with two friends and had a refreshing two hour catchup where we managed to not talk about this year's election cycle—at least, not up until it was time to pay the bill.
One friend blurted out, “have you guys heard of pig-butchering?” I hadn't but I was intrigued. He explained that pig butchering is a fairly new type of scam or fraud in which folks lure victims into digital relationships to build trust before convincing them to invest in cryptocurrency schemes.
I did some extra digging and pig butchering scams cost victims tens of billions each year. 🤯 This episode in particular delves into the story of Guracha Belachew Bersha aka Billy, who was trafficked to the Thailand/Myanmar border under the pretense of customer service work. To date, they estimate 120,000 people have been trafficked to Myanmar for these scams and another 100,000 to Cambodia.
Absolutely tragic and horrific for all the victims involved.
