Category Archives: Southeast Asia

Flashbacks! I’m Having 1967 Anti-Draft Flashbacks! From Vietnam to Jerusalem

Sheesh! Did somebody slip one (or two) of those “new” cure-all psychedelic pills into my low-sodium tomato juice?? Must have, because I’m having wild and weird hallucinations from —I don’t know— 1967? They’re full of long-haired young men shouting slogans against the draft. I can tell they’re hallucinations because other than the hair, the protesters … Continue reading Flashbacks! I’m Having 1967 Anti-Draft Flashbacks! From Vietnam to Jerusalem →

A Long Read to Ponder: Biden in Vietnam & at the UN: Who Could Have Imagined?

NOTE: Friends, this material just blows my mind. Yes, that’s an outdated 1960s expression, but it fits here: this material is about the Vietnam War. And for me (plus, I figure, most of the remaining survivors of that era of national agony), having our minds blown was a thing. Maybe initially it was fun, or … Continue reading A Long Read to Ponder: Biden in Vietnam & at the UN: Who Could Have Imagined? →

U. S. & China are new Competitors in an old, obscure, but important island dispute

A tug of war between China and America in the Indian Ocean Saltwire: Atlantic Canada News Service — Sept. 6, 2023 Most of the international community regards the Chagos Islands as belonging to Mauritius, from which they were detached in 1965. Henry Srebrnik, a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island, … Continue reading U. S. & China are new Competitors in an old, obscure, but important island dispute →

A Dyer Twofer: Thailand’s Struggles & Pope Francis’ s Mixed History

Thailand: The Last Rigged Election? Lèse-majesté is the ‘crime’ of offending the dignity of the king, and these days it has gone out of fashion. In Britain, you can say anything you like about King Charles the Turd (as an Irish friend calls him), and no one turns a hair. But if you insult King … Continue reading A Dyer Twofer: Thailand’s Struggles & Pope Francis’ s Mixed History →

A Midweek Twofer: Ireland In NATO? India Dumping Democracy?? Shakeups In the “I” Countries

The Guardian #1- Ireland ‘playing with fire’ for opening debate on military neutrality, says president Michael D Higgins says government risks burying country in other people’s agendas amid ‘drift’ towards Nato Rory Carroll — Ireland correspondent — 19 Jun 2023 Ireland’s president has rebuked the government for launching a debate about the country’s longstanding military … Continue reading A Midweek Twofer: Ireland In NATO? India Dumping Democracy?? Shakeups In the “I” Countries →