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But Putin, at this stage, likely sees challenging US influence in Asia, by bolstering North Korea, as a bigger priority.

But Putin, at this stage, likely sees challenging US influence in Asia, by bolstering North Korea, as a bigger priority.   This is particularly jarring given Russia's membership of the UN Security Council, and its role in imposing waves of sanctions aimed at cutting off North Korea's nuclear program. "The demise of the post-cold war world and the return of bloc mentality tend to encourage these kinds of realignments," wrote Sergey Radchenk a professor at the Henry A Kissinger Center, in The Guardian. "The elephant in the room is Pyongyang's longtime sponsor China, which has also been drawing closer to Russia by the logic of its own deepening conflict with the US. The last time these three countries were on the same wavelength was in the late 1940s to early 1950s, which cannot be described as a happy time for north-east Asia."

Mark, a former NBA referee, goes on weeks-long expeditions in his Jeep Rubicon to photograph wildlife.

  Mark, a former NBA referee, goes on weeks-long expeditions in his Jeep Rubicon to photograph wildlife. For Mark, overlanding is about solitude. His thing is taking his Jeep out for weeks on end, alone, to stalk and hunt wildlife—but for photography. “The process is almost identical to hunting,” he says. “Get up early, stake out a spot, and wait. Same outfit, knee pads, everything.” He’s got a stoic manner. The thing he keeps ranting about is the noise. The chatter. The phones. His belief, he reiterates over our second Coors, is that by getting out here alone, with only yourself to rely on, you’re tapping into what’s real. There’s an undeniably libertarian, borderline prepper quality to some of these characters, whose extreme readiness can feel like a vehicular manifestation of the Second Amendment. On Saturday, I get a full tour of an outrageous new off-road trailer made by Mammoth Overland, the Seattle-based former aircraft manufacturer, called the Extinction-Level Event camper....