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My July fund-raising campaign to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black is now over. I want to thank all those who so generously donated or subscribed, especially those who have become regular supporters. I can't do this without your help. I also find it increasingly hard to express how much your support means to me. God bless you all!

 

The donations during this year's campaign were sadly less than previous years, but for this I blame myself. I am tired of begging for money, and so I put up the campaign announcement at the start of the month but had no desire to update it weekly to encourage more donations, as I have done in past years. This lack of begging likely contributed to the drop in donations.

 

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Azerbaijan officials hold cooperation talks with SpaceX

In connection with the visit of Azerbaijan’s president to the United States, he and other officials held a meeting with SpaceX vice president Stephanie Bednarek to discuss possible areas of cooperation. From Azerbaijan’s state-run press:

At the meeting, we noted Azerbaijan’s economic potential, strategic development directions, and favorable investment climate. We discussed prospects for cooperation with SpaceX, including partnership opportunities in the application of innovative and space technologies, artificial intelligence solutions, and knowledge and experience transfer.

In plain language, Azerbaijan is considering buying services from SpaceX. That it is doing so underlines once again the negative consequences of Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. Azerbaijan now fears Russia, and is looking elsewhere for aid. It also senses Russia’s increasing weakness, economically, technologically, and militarily, making it more willing to forge alliances with others.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

6 comments

  • Shallow Minded Reader

    Not quite Bob, the Azeris have a close relationship with Israel and lots of cash from oil revenue. If you are a cash buyer, where do you shop? Spacex or Roscosmos? Has nothing to do with what the Ukro-Nazis, the Uniparty Neocons or the Drunken fools in the UK say about so the called failing Russian economy which grew at over 4% last year. Projected to slow this year, but who can you really believe when it comes to economic predictions?? Its all a psyop on you.

  • Dick Eagleson

    As usual, things are a bit more complicated than your reflexive and tedious Russophilia accounts for. The Azeris are a Turkic people and their relationship with Israel tracks with that of Turkey. The relationship between Israel and Turkey, once close, has been increasingly strained by the Islamism of the current Turkish regime in recent years.

    The Azeris recently took a piece of Armenian territory that was majority Azeri in population despite the Armenians having a defense pact with Russia. As both Armenia and Azerbaijan were formerly part of the Soviet Union one can see that, whatever their differences with each other, both nations can obviously see the current Russo-Ukraine War as part of Putin’s long-time ambition to restore Russia’s borders to those of the erstwhile Soviet state, making both of them future items on the Russian imperial menu. In the wake of complete Russian default on their defense pact, the Armenians are now looking to Turkey, of all places, for help tamping down remaining tensions with Azerbaijan. Given the bloody history of Turkey and Armenia, to see the latter turning to the former and away from Russia is – well – interesting to say the least.

    But it is also merely a part of Russia’s decreasing influence in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Kazakhstan is pulling further away from Russia by the day. Right now it’s pretty much a race between failing Russian finances and Kazakh annoyance as to which factor will see off Baikonur as a viable Russian launch facility.

    Even the Serbs have made some recent energy-related moves that clearly indicate an intent to tilt away from Russia and toward Western Europe.

    Russia continues to act the gorilla to the extent it can, but it’s down from 800 pounds to maybe 200 and losing weight by the day. It has lost the ability to produce, or even acquire, anything of military consequence at rates more than fractions of those at which the Ukrainians destroy same. Russia being Russia and Putin being Putin, I expect the Russo-Ukraine War to continue right up until Russia is literally unable, physically, to continue or until Gospodin Putin accidentally falls out of a window. But I think we’re appreciably closer to that future point now than we are to the start of the war in Feb. 2022.

    You talk of “psyops” while quoting Russian government economic statistics as it they have any sort of validity. The Russians are running psyops alright, but the only ones falling for them are pathetic specimens such as yourself.

  • Shallow Minded Reader

    The Russian GDP growth last year was 4% according to the IMF.

  • Steve Richter

    I assume SpaceX cannot build a launch pad outside of the US. But does that restriction apply to Elon and him operating a 2nd rocket company? Are American aerospace engineers allowed to work for a foreign company?

  • Steve Richter: Musk or anyone with security clearances would probably face criminal charges if he tried to get work with foreign governments. It’s called treason, in case you hadn’t heard. :)

    Once again, why this desire to run? Musk is a fighter, which is what we need more of.

  • DJ

    Dick Eagleson, your comments are spectacularly well voiced and I always enjoy reading them. But on the Russiaphobia, Russia has military technology that the US will not have for some time. Internationally it is understood that the US deep state even under Trump is doing as much as possible to undermine every country that has ties to Russia. This Azerbaijan super win just took only a few billion dollars to the right people and “voila” the US has a stake in the land bridge. Now it can set the greased skids toward NATO and US bases again right on Russia’s border. But nothing to see there? The US and the UK play dirty all around the world. Overlay the US military bases around the world and overlay that with Russia’s military bases around the world. Then do it with China too. If of course one wants to believe that the US just does good to the world, then alright. I am not in that camp. (I once was, by the way). So, yes, Russia is having a tough time dealing with 30,000 sanctions. Would not the US hurt if that were applied to us? So their space industry is not anywhere near where it once was. But the US has now pushed countries to BRICS by the dozens. Once you look at the overlay maps of military bases around the world, you will see that Russia was never the 800 pound gorilla. That esteemed position is taken by the good old US. Just sayin. But I absolutely enjoy reading your comments.

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