Occupation of Independence

 A strong hiker once told me that he disliked walking on the loose gravel of arroyos in the desert.  But dogs love a surface like that -- only a beach could be better.  Every now and then you find an arroyo that has a packed, tight surface.  Sometimes this happens after rains.  But most arroyos are indeed rather loose to walk on.   Somehow I only recently noticed the firmer and higher arroyos that run parallel to the main arroyos.  For fun, let's call them arroyos altos , using fake Spanish.  Apparently arroyos altos see water flow much less frequently than the main arroyo, arroyo bajo .  Therefore the arroyo alto has less rounded, pebble-like gravel.  And it has more dirt and vegetation.  But it isn't as sharp and uncomfortable as the main part of the desert. While enjoying walking on one of these arroyos altos the other day, my dog took after her first jackrabbit of the entire winter!  With all the green vegetation in...

For over 50 years, the specter of 'Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz' has haunted the world.  Is it a realistic fear?  Doesn't Iran need to sell its oil as badly as China needs to get the oil?  Why would Iran want to hurt BRICS countries?  China is providing some assistance to Iran these days, so it is not in Iran's interest to weaken a developing alliance. Of course, closing the Strait shuts off the oil from the Arab states, and not just from Iran.  This would make the Arab countries more hostile to Iran in an era when Iran is trying to become friendlier to Arab states on the Persian Gulf.  Some of the Arab countries have closed their airspace to Israeli-American bombing of Iran.  But was this done out of the goodness of their hearts or perhaps because Iran threatened to close the Strait? How selective could the closing off of the Strait of Hormuz be?  Iran doesn't really have the navy to provide protective convoys to friendly countries. These ar...

Hegseth et al. must be thinking: Can you believe these nambie-pambies and their "stupid rules of engagements?"  Americans seem resistant to Trump's desire to impose IDF ( Israel Defense Forces) methods across America.   If he succeeds, it will be the ultimate triumph for Netanyahu and Israel.  IDF methods won't even be considered news if they become normalized.  The genocide in Gaza will magically disappear: how can it be a genocide if they are just using 'normal' law enforcement methods. After the entire population of Gaza has been exterminated, Congress can pass the " Gaza Freedom and Democracy Reconstruction Act ."  It will offer government-guaranteed 1% loans to build casinos and hotels along the Trump Riviera. I wonder how fast the grass is growing in Greenland ?

 What a great wildflower season there should be this March, in the desert.  Of course, a snowbird may leave before the wildflower season in order to escape the heat.  But the wildflowers can be impressive.  A couple years ago I wallowed in desert poppies at a well-known place near Tucson : The long-suffering reader knows that I am prone to anti-tourist snobbery.  But still, who won't admit that standard tourist-industry memes at well-known locations feels too much like 'consumption' rather than 'experience?'  And does it really do you any good to see 10 million identical specimens of a certain flower or tree? What happened yesterday was at the opposite end of the numerical spectrum.  In perfect -- that is, mildly chilly -- weather, my little dog and I were biking along, on a dirt two-track .  We were climbing.  We were huffing and puffing.  And I wasn't exactly sure it was the correct route.  Then this surprised me: It was the firs...