tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post4627364355004435966..comments2024-03-29T05:03:05.347+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: James Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-82364798132402241422017-08-03T17:51:30.508+03:002017-08-03T17:51:30.508+03:00I've been wondering, how much better the world...I've been wondering, how much better the world would have been if the pols in Washington DC only bothered to learn the wisdom taught by Lederer & Burbick. So many similar books and articles have been written which reveal that these and other wars are all being fought in order to generate higher corporate profits. Years go by, people needlessly die, more instability takes place, more and Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-17713334359637401592017-07-28T20:46:54.842+03:002017-07-28T20:46:54.842+03:00Ch 22 Epilogue
This reads like one of my old PAS...Ch 22 Epilogue<br /><br /><br />This reads like one of my old PAST IS PROLOGUE segments which were summaries of what we can glean from the readings so that we can utilize it today for our betterment. <br /><br />The writers affirm that the story is one of fiction, but fiction based on fact. They knew the territory first hand and personally knew the events that were taking place. The characters Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-40353379583488534102017-07-27T23:25:27.647+03:002017-07-27T23:25:27.647+03:00Heading down the stretch ...
But before I do, a s...Heading down the stretch ...<br /><br />But before I do, a slight meander once again, if you please.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It is often said, there are no atheists in fox holes. Many moons ago I read Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead" in which he presented tormented soldiers who became atheists as a result of the hell fire they went through in war. While some of the Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-33449026887761265182017-07-27T17:32:17.475+03:002017-07-27T17:32:17.475+03:00Ch 21
The Sum of Tiny Things
A humbled MacWh...Ch 21<br /><br /><br />The Sum of Tiny Things<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A humbled MacWhite has seen the errors of his past ways and now stands corrected. He further sees how corrections have taken place in Sarkhan. He writes to Washington DC in reply to a warning from the Secretary of State regarding what are alleged to be instances of undue interference from him. His letter gives details as Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-64907746348752639042017-07-26T20:07:51.962+03:002017-07-26T20:07:51.962+03:00Ch 20
Senator Brown was once a rather shady char...Ch 20<br /><br /><br />Senator Brown was once a rather shady character but is now incorruptible (or so it is said). As member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he wants to see first hand how things are going along in SE Asia because of all the USA money and energy spent there. While he believes that he has taken every precaution imaginable to make this a fruitful and informative trip, he is Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-21917638497688827032017-07-26T14:45:38.641+03:002017-07-26T14:45:38.641+03:00Homer and his wife made quite the couple, like a t...Homer and his wife made quite the couple, like a transplanted Midwest pair. I particularly liked the business deal he struck up with Jeepo. It was important to L&B to show the need to get local input as well as subtly giving back something to the community as Homer's wife did with the brooms. You get so set in your ways, you don't even see what it does to you until someone from theJames Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-31075021851427735222017-07-25T05:06:26.525+03:002017-07-25T05:06:26.525+03:00I should have added above that when she got that l...I should have added above that when she got that letter, her eyes welled at the kindness bestowed on her by the villagers. This showed that she had a genuinely humble heart which is a big contrast with the snobby and exploitative French and American know nothings.Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-90610066854730199362017-07-24T21:44:12.314+03:002017-07-24T21:44:12.314+03:00Bent backs - a message that still has not been ful...Bent backs - a message that still has not been fully delivered in Asia and other parts of the world to this day:<br /><br /><br />https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/5f/a2/30/5fa230c57717c1d8b58baa736d073b35.jpg<br /><br /><br />https://i10.fotocdn.net/s21/185/public_pin_m/206/2533805496.jpg<br /><br /><br />http://cdn.universityhealthnews.com/wp-content/uploads/dreamstime_xs_5134390.Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-22118102709471227682017-07-24T05:33:03.196+03:002017-07-24T05:33:03.196+03:00Ch 17/18 Homer Atkins ~ the Ugly American.
&quo...Ch 17/18 Homer Atkins ~ the Ugly American.<br /><br /><br /> "His hands were laced with prominent veins and spotted with big, liverish freckles. His fingernails were black with grease. His fingers bore nicks and tiny scars of a lifetime of engineering. The palms of his hands were calloused. Homer Atkins was worth three million dollars, every dime of which he had earned by his own efforts...&Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-60744707807233790132017-07-20T20:49:18.562+03:002017-07-20T20:49:18.562+03:00I'll try to be brief:
Ch 14 =
Chicken far...I'll try to be brief:<br /><br /><br />Ch 14 =<br /><br /><br /><br />Chicken farmer Knox learns the local language and does all he can to expand poultry farming for the good of the people. He is unhappy with the results and resolves to go to Washington DC to demand change. Along the way he is lavished with all kinds of goodies and is literally seduced by it all. Thereafter, he drops his Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-3272724623850151062017-07-20T20:30:57.797+03:002017-07-20T20:30:57.797+03:00Actually, I had a few more ideas that I wanted to ...Actually, I had a few more ideas that I wanted to share. But if you prefer, I won't add them.<br /><br />Meantime, just a brief meander:<br /><br /><br /><br />https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/12/in-henry-david-thoreau-footsteps-my-journey-to-walden-bicentennial-of-original-declutter<br /><br /><br /><br />150th Anniversary of Thoreau's "Walden". It has gotten much Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-60058831697386308002017-07-20T16:08:47.840+03:002017-07-20T16:08:47.840+03:00Seems like blogger is blocking a recent comments w...Seems like blogger is blocking a recent comments widget. Yet, they won't block unwanted ads. I've tried several widgets available online. Don't know why they don't supply one themselves. One of the many reasons I thought about canceling this blog. <br /><br />Anyway, it has been fun Trip. Seems like we are coming to and end of the discussion here. Food is also a window into James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-67178658580363970352017-07-17T20:58:09.422+03:002017-07-17T20:58:09.422+03:00oops, for some reason the sole escabeche did not a...oops, for some reason the sole escabeche did not appear above<br /><br /><br />here is a recipe:<br /><br /><br /><br />http://www.food.com/recipe/moms-filipino-escabeche-419367Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-27456749305201927672017-07-17T20:55:57.065+03:002017-07-17T20:55:57.065+03:00Food for thought:
In addition to reading/studyin...Food for thought:<br /><br /><br />In addition to reading/studying history, literature, and sports, I also enjoy a good discussion of food. Over the years, I have exchanged recipes with forum posters and with professional cooks and have been complimented for my culinary ideas.<br /><br /><br />In "Ugly" there are numerous references to food and I thought a discussion of that is Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-20682355033923002902017-07-17T00:31:20.806+03:002017-07-17T00:31:20.806+03:00Ch 13 starts out with an error. An Asian expert i...Ch 13 starts out with an error. An Asian expert is quoted as saying,<br /><br />"Poor America. It took the British a hundred years to lose their prestige in Asia. America has managed to lose hers in ten years."<br /><br /><br />Actually, British imperialism and the many genocidal depredations they imposed on the Indian subcontinent starting in the 1700s never was a secret. Nor was Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-32362423394028263632017-07-16T20:23:11.296+03:002017-07-16T20:23:11.296+03:00http://www.snopes.com/ronald-reagan-taliban-photo/...http://www.snopes.com/ronald-reagan-taliban-photo/James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-7303220729794320492017-07-16T20:21:36.725+03:002017-07-16T20:21:36.725+03:00It seems much of L&B's criticism was direc...It seems much of L&B's criticism was directed at our support of the French in Vietnam. We were forewarned, yet we got into that quagmire anyway. Never could understand why LBJ wasted his Civil Rights legacy on Vietnam. Those who don't read history are doomed to repeat it.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-69430725281814020722017-07-14T19:07:17.301+03:002017-07-14T19:07:17.301+03:00https://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkkr6xh6d81qbkr...https://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkkr6xh6d81qbkrq4.jpg<br /><br /><br />'Nuff said.Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-71487179820915483302017-07-14T08:51:18.136+03:002017-07-14T08:51:18.136+03:00It's funny how the US views countries. Reagan...It's funny how the US views countries. Reagan was all high on the resistance fighters in Afghanistan in the 80s because they were resisting the Soviet Union, but when they are resisting the US or one of their allies they become terrorists.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-28132135401953678552017-07-14T06:15:59.262+03:002017-07-14T06:15:59.262+03:00As a sports coach, I always taught my players that...As a sports coach, I always taught my players that the key to success in baseball and softball, if there is one magic term for these sports, it is the word "adjustment". Learn to make the proper adjustments and you will improve your chances of success.<br /><br />Same for war.<br /><br />In ch 12, MacWhite, Monet, and Tex made an effort to learn Mao's successful tactics used in hisTripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-59343135564022833882017-07-13T05:35:11.013+03:002017-07-13T05:35:11.013+03:00"LBJ ... quagmire"
He did so because h..."LBJ ... quagmire"<br /><br /><br />He did so because he was a tool of the military industrial complex:<br /><br /><br /><br />"the real money is in government contracts. Indeed, military contractors are among the most profitable businesses in the country today. The largest contractors are the Vinnell Corporation of Fairfax, Virginia, which on July 2 {2003} received a $48 million Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-27958141140335982112017-07-12T18:52:47.840+03:002017-07-12T18:52:47.840+03:00100% spot on, Gintaras.
The imperialists called t...100% spot on, Gintaras.<br /><br />The imperialists called them "insurgents" and terrorists but they saw themselves as liberators. History shows that this is not unprecedented as shown in the example of the 13 colonies and the efforts of Washington and other patriots.<br /><br />When you think about it, a close look at Mao's writings on local liberators and guerrilla tactics sound aTripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-24071056431271774842017-07-12T16:51:39.473+03:002017-07-12T16:51:39.473+03:00The director's cut of Apocalypse Now has a len...The director's cut of Apocalypse Now has a lengthy segment on the French presence in Vietnam, told in retrospect by a family still living on the river. Reminds of a decaying Southern family out of one of Faulkner's novels. <br /><br />The big problem here as in Burma and other Asian countries is that the Brits, French and Americans never saw the Asians as humans, let alone their James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-35126508978346198322017-07-12T06:27:48.410+03:002017-07-12T06:27:48.410+03:00Ch 11 could well have been entitled "shrapnel...Ch 11 could well have been entitled "shrapnel", for this characterizes Tex Wolchek who is the principle subject in that unit. No doubt he is a war hero for his services in WW II and Korea. But he is present as a mercenary in Nam albeit a principled one in his mind. <br /><br />The French imperialists and their mercenary allies are dealt a terrible blow by the patriotic Vietnamese Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-48642795800471685422017-07-11T06:36:30.680+03:002017-07-11T06:36:30.680+03:00I should have added above one important point: wh...I should have added above one important point: when MacWhite learned of his crucial error, he thought to himself that "somewhere in his carefully trained mind ... was a flaw ... there had been a rigid core of ego which permitted him to place a fatal amount of faith in his own, unsupported judgment." <br /><br />Upon visiting the Philippines he was advised to get what was called "Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.com