Category Archives: Southeast Asia

Activism, Antiwar activism, Conscription/military draft, History, Israel, Israel/Hamas War, Jews & Judaism, Karma, Military Matters, Other War Notes, Palestine, Religious Issues & Conflicts, Remember . . ., Resistance, Signs of the Times, Southeast Asia, The Law — Inside & Outside it, The Military Industrial Complex, Vietnam

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

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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 are dressed all alike in the most un-hip getup ever:  not a tie-dye in sight, nary a scrap of paisley, and no roaches anywhere. Maybe it’s a back alley scene from the Haight-Ashbury?

Also, the slogans seem to be aimed at overthrowing the government, but they’re all in some exotic local slang that, from the accents, sounds kind of —  kind of, like, maybe, Hebrew?

I know I’m delirious because I heard one of the longhairs talking English to some TV guy, and he  insisted they’re gonna make the revolution so they can all be free to — what?? Study Tarot? “Say what?” I asked. “Dude, like, the Age of Aquarius is so over.” He just grunted and flipped me off.

I must really be having a bum trip, I figured . . . .

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

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

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An image from Vietnamese TV news, during Biden’s visit.

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Yes, that’s an outdated 1960s expression, but it fits here: this material is about the Vietnam War.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 mind-expanding. But for me, and for many, it happened too often back then, and it didn’t always mean by taking drugs. I didn’t do much of that, but had mind-blown fatigue anyway. Continue reading A Long Read to Ponder: Biden in Vietnam & at the UN: Who Could Have Imagined? →

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

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A tug of war between China and America in the Indian Ocean

Saltwire: Atlantic Canada News Service — Sept. 6, 2023

The Chagos islands, with Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean

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, provided the following opinion article.

Is the sun about to set on Britain’s control of the Chagos Islands? This archipelago of around 60 islands can be found halfway between East Africa and Southeast Asia. They are over 1,500 kilometres south of India, and even further from Mauritius, from which they were detached in 1965.

The Chagos group is currently governed by London as the British Indian Ocean Territory, but most of the international community regards it as belonging to Mauritius.

Also at stake is the future of the indigenous population, the Chagossians, who were expelled from their homes in the 1960s and 1970s. For decades, Britain has blocked them from returning to their islands. For what reason? And why has this become the centre of a power struggle between the United States and China?

Unlawful occupation Continue reading U. S. & China are new Competitors in an old, obscure, but important island dispute →

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

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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 Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, you’re in deep trouble.

By Gwynne Dyer – September 4, 2023

Credits: Unsplash; Author: @jay_5;

Thailand’s Lèse-majesté law decrees specifies a jail term of up to fifteen years for insulting the king, and it is vigorously enforced. Every insult attracts a separate punishment, so the penalties pile up fast.

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

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

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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 neutrality and the possibility of joining Nato, saying ministers were “playing with fire”.

Michael D Higgins accused the government of a dangerous “drift” from a cornerstone of Irish foreign policy and said it risked “burying” Ireland in other people’s agendas.

The intervention, made in an interview with the Business Postnewspaper on Sunday, puts a spotlight on a government-sponsored forum on international security, where Ireland’s neutrality will be debated. It also raises questions on the role of the president, who occupies a largely ceremonial post.

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