[Khum Saob, Cambodia on 10/13/23] In the early 70’s, Cambodians went berserk on their Vietnamese minority. Murdering hundreds, they tossed bodies, often headless, into the Mekong. Sailing upriver to Phnom Penh, the South Vietnamese Navy brought thousands back to Vietnam, while the North Vietnamese Army also rescued a few.
I forgot to note that, in the penultimate photo, the man wasn't flipping the bird, but making a sign of rubbing his thumb and middle finger together. He did this a lot. Often, he wanted me to press my thumbs against his, to indicate everything was OK.
Another enjoyable travelogue bit, Linh. I've never commented on your pictures (they're all interesting) however the selfie with those young kids just puts it all together; live your life, each day, be happy, and enjoy the company of strangers. Just that in itself makes for great times. You have an interesting life, Linh, keep on truckin' 👍
"They have none of the pinched anxiety on the faces of Americans."
This drew my attention to the fact that I almost never see South Asian people wearing glasses in your pictures. Contrast that with Singapore, where 83% of young adults are myopic.
I've been highly myopic most of my life - I used to need lenses as strong as -8.0 diopters. I've managed to dial back my prescription after years of trying different "exercises" and figuring out the connection of my mental state to my ability to see clearly.
I've become exceedingly aware of the "pinched" feeling in my face, and it is incredibly challenging to let go of that.
there is an antiwar song written by mark knopfler, first performed with his band 'dire straits' - the song is called 'brothers in arms'
"and we have just one world/but we live in different ones" -
which i understand to mean that all parts of our planet affect each other, to a lesser or greater degree, in many different ways - "just one world"
but that for each sentient being, our individual experiences, our understandings, our motives, our hopes and fears, are all different, not just because of our different places in the world but because of our way of looking at it -- "we live in different ones" -- for example, the vietnamese woman you encountered in cambodia who was afraid to speak vietnamese to you had a good reason for this
i am an old white guy who lived for a while in asia and then europe while i was a child, who participated in peace marches in the states in the 20th and 21st centuries, who married a woman from peru - to quote a humorist, "i love humanity -- it's people i can't stand" - the pursuit of truth, justice, and the common good can be found in many places and times -- but maybe not quite as much as mass murder -- both seem to be inextricable parts of the human condition
i wonder if the 4 noble truths the buddha proclaimed might be a way to go on - as the dutch used to say in their struggle against their spanish overlords, it is not necessary to be optimistic, just to persevere
as tennyson wrote, nature is red in tooth and claw
i hadn't heard the sense of "digested" mentioned here, to represent the triumph of entropy in one's individual fate as an organized entity
as kurt vonnegut's creation 'the tralfamadoreans' put it - "life has good parts and bad parts - enjoy the good parts"
may love, peace, and joy come - to the extent possible - to all who read these words, especially our host linh
"They have none of the pinched anxiety on the faces of Americans..."
Most of the working class ("proletariat"to use Karl Marx' term) knows something is very wrong here in The States, but they don't know what it is.
To be entrapped in an empire in steep decline with rising rents, a rising cost of food and no means of escape results in "pinched anxiety."
The American working class fails to understand that it is just that: A working class subject to the whims -- and greed -- of their capitalist "masters" (Marx) and overlords.
Americans have no class consciousness or awareness. They sense something is very wrong but they don't know exactly what as the 1% capital-financier class vacuums up more and more of the wealth of society (created by themselves, the workers through their addition of goods and services to the American economy).
So in desperation Americans believe they are just one lotto ticket or one (not coming) pay raise away from "easy street."
And instead of recognizing the deep inequities of the American capitalist system (the inequities being temporary ameliorated by FDR's New Deal in the period from 1945 to 1975) the working class seeks scapegoats in "illegal" aliens, minorities and other easily targeted groups. Thus the American working class lives in a kind of fantasy nightmare-dream world of their own stunted imagination flamed by the propaganda of their capitalist overlords with such tripe as, "there are good jobs for everyone and if you don't have one you're a loser and it's your own fault"; or, "Everyone is rich in America and if you're not there is something fundamentally wrong with you as an individual." In this way Americans are made to blame themselves for the failures of their society.
Is it any wonder Americans look pinched and anxious?
I love the selfie with the kids! You're looking good, Linh! Keep it up! The complicated history of Vietnam and Cambodia after the end of the US War of Aggression against Vietnam was unknown to me until I visited Vietnam on a tour about 8 years ago. I spent some time talking to a few Vietnamese guides I met and got filled in on what happened after the US was driven out. It's just unbelievable what those people went through. You're filling in a lot of those gaps here. Thanks!
Good to be able to smile. Here everyone seems depressed as fuck, and things don't seem to be getting any better. And there's one deranged psy-op going on after the other -- I don't believe anything anymore.
Does anyone know what has happened to Brother Nathanael Kapner? His website and channels have all been taken down. (Or at least it appears so from where I am, in Canada.)
Hi, yes, his sites appear to be down, but, surprise, he appears to have a new YouTube channel now. I wonder how long it will last. https://www.youtube.com/@BibleWithBrother
He's definitely not in Canada! But it could be Vermont - the backgrounds in his shoots looks like roughly that geography, or some other northern area of the US.
Hard to find many smiles where I am these days. Hard to understand the Israeli strategy (?) of bombing anything in Gaza. Hard to understand how Biden's visit to the region won't cause even more chaos. Meanwhile in Belgium a Tunisian killed two Swedes, apparently because of the Koran burnings, although recent events in the Middle East didn't help. Take care, Mr. Linh. I would like to think South East Asia will remain in peace even with all this global turmoil.
O/T - Does anyone know what has happened to Brother Nathanael Kapner? His website and channels have all been taken down. (Or at least it appears so from where I am, in Canada.)
FYI Linh, our Unz Review bete noire, Steve Sailer, has a book, "Noticing: An Essential Reader/ 1973-2023," shipping December 2023-only $395! Not only that, you can see Steve in a "small, intimate" event" in Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, Miami, or New York City in March-May 2024: which includes "dinner, an open bar, and a unique conversational setting with Steve & special guests."
I'm sure you agree Steve will be covering the Covid Coup 2020, the corrupting influences permeating Western society, and other sources of the dystopia enveloping the world. Or not. Such a pathetic figure, longing for recognition that will never come, despite kissing the a** of his masters.
What?! $395 just for the book, or does that include the dinner? Anyway, I guess that's only for his boomer hardcore fans, can't see anyone else paying that.
Hi everyone,
I forgot to note that, in the penultimate photo, the man wasn't flipping the bird, but making a sign of rubbing his thumb and middle finger together. He did this a lot. Often, he wanted me to press my thumbs against his, to indicate everything was OK.
Linh
Another enjoyable travelogue bit, Linh. I've never commented on your pictures (they're all interesting) however the selfie with those young kids just puts it all together; live your life, each day, be happy, and enjoy the company of strangers. Just that in itself makes for great times. You have an interesting life, Linh, keep on truckin' 👍
You are looking healthy, bro. Good to see.
"They have none of the pinched anxiety on the faces of Americans."
This drew my attention to the fact that I almost never see South Asian people wearing glasses in your pictures. Contrast that with Singapore, where 83% of young adults are myopic.
I've been highly myopic most of my life - I used to need lenses as strong as -8.0 diopters. I've managed to dial back my prescription after years of trying different "exercises" and figuring out the connection of my mental state to my ability to see clearly.
I've become exceedingly aware of the "pinched" feeling in my face, and it is incredibly challenging to let go of that.
Funny thing. I've just realized that smiling with my whole face is the opposite of pinching it. :)
there is an antiwar song written by mark knopfler, first performed with his band 'dire straits' - the song is called 'brothers in arms'
"and we have just one world/but we live in different ones" -
which i understand to mean that all parts of our planet affect each other, to a lesser or greater degree, in many different ways - "just one world"
but that for each sentient being, our individual experiences, our understandings, our motives, our hopes and fears, are all different, not just because of our different places in the world but because of our way of looking at it -- "we live in different ones" -- for example, the vietnamese woman you encountered in cambodia who was afraid to speak vietnamese to you had a good reason for this
i am an old white guy who lived for a while in asia and then europe while i was a child, who participated in peace marches in the states in the 20th and 21st centuries, who married a woman from peru - to quote a humorist, "i love humanity -- it's people i can't stand" - the pursuit of truth, justice, and the common good can be found in many places and times -- but maybe not quite as much as mass murder -- both seem to be inextricable parts of the human condition
i wonder if the 4 noble truths the buddha proclaimed might be a way to go on - as the dutch used to say in their struggle against their spanish overlords, it is not necessary to be optimistic, just to persevere
as tennyson wrote, nature is red in tooth and claw
i hadn't heard the sense of "digested" mentioned here, to represent the triumph of entropy in one's individual fate as an organized entity
as kurt vonnegut's creation 'the tralfamadoreans' put it - "life has good parts and bad parts - enjoy the good parts"
may love, peace, and joy come - to the extent possible - to all who read these words, especially our host linh
It's hard to find the kinds of smiles that I see on Postcards.
"They have none of the pinched anxiety on the faces of Americans..."
Most of the working class ("proletariat"to use Karl Marx' term) knows something is very wrong here in The States, but they don't know what it is.
To be entrapped in an empire in steep decline with rising rents, a rising cost of food and no means of escape results in "pinched anxiety."
The American working class fails to understand that it is just that: A working class subject to the whims -- and greed -- of their capitalist "masters" (Marx) and overlords.
Americans have no class consciousness or awareness. They sense something is very wrong but they don't know exactly what as the 1% capital-financier class vacuums up more and more of the wealth of society (created by themselves, the workers through their addition of goods and services to the American economy).
So in desperation Americans believe they are just one lotto ticket or one (not coming) pay raise away from "easy street."
And instead of recognizing the deep inequities of the American capitalist system (the inequities being temporary ameliorated by FDR's New Deal in the period from 1945 to 1975) the working class seeks scapegoats in "illegal" aliens, minorities and other easily targeted groups. Thus the American working class lives in a kind of fantasy nightmare-dream world of their own stunted imagination flamed by the propaganda of their capitalist overlords with such tripe as, "there are good jobs for everyone and if you don't have one you're a loser and it's your own fault"; or, "Everyone is rich in America and if you're not there is something fundamentally wrong with you as an individual." In this way Americans are made to blame themselves for the failures of their society.
Is it any wonder Americans look pinched and anxious?
I love the selfie with the kids! You're looking good, Linh! Keep it up! The complicated history of Vietnam and Cambodia after the end of the US War of Aggression against Vietnam was unknown to me until I visited Vietnam on a tour about 8 years ago. I spent some time talking to a few Vietnamese guides I met and got filled in on what happened after the US was driven out. It's just unbelievable what those people went through. You're filling in a lot of those gaps here. Thanks!
Good to be able to smile. Here everyone seems depressed as fuck, and things don't seem to be getting any better. And there's one deranged psy-op going on after the other -- I don't believe anything anymore.
You're looking much healthier. Good to see.
Does anyone know what has happened to Brother Nathanael Kapner? His website and channels have all been taken down. (Or at least it appears so from where I am, in Canada.)
Hi, yes, his sites appear to be down, but, surprise, he appears to have a new YouTube channel now. I wonder how long it will last. https://www.youtube.com/@BibleWithBrother
An update: Andrew Torba, the founder/CEO of Gab, has just posted this Brother Nathanael video:
https://gab.com/a/posts/111256576234683049
Strangely, Bro Nathanael's account on Gab is deleted. I wonder what is going on?
Wow, well that shows you can't keep a good guy down! Thanks for the link... I hope he lasts.
I don't use Gab, so I don't know. But it's strange that they allow him on Youtube. Doesn't he live in Canada? Or in Vermont.
He's definitely not in Canada! But it could be Vermont - the backgrounds in his shoots looks like roughly that geography, or some other northern area of the US.
nice to receive post from another life
Very nice. Thank you. It is good to know that SE Asia is peaceful.
don't jinx it.
Hard to find many smiles where I am these days. Hard to understand the Israeli strategy (?) of bombing anything in Gaza. Hard to understand how Biden's visit to the region won't cause even more chaos. Meanwhile in Belgium a Tunisian killed two Swedes, apparently because of the Koran burnings, although recent events in the Middle East didn't help. Take care, Mr. Linh. I would like to think South East Asia will remain in peace even with all this global turmoil.
O/T - Does anyone know what has happened to Brother Nathanael Kapner? His website and channels have all been taken down. (Or at least it appears so from where I am, in Canada.)
Hi Anne, I believe Jeff Rense is publishing Brother Kapner videos now (again as he used to).
Just go to rense.com
Best Regards,
T
Thanks Thomas. I accidentally posted this question 2x - see the answer above from Tom as well.
Good to know Brother Nat is still with us!
FYI Linh, our Unz Review bete noire, Steve Sailer, has a book, "Noticing: An Essential Reader/ 1973-2023," shipping December 2023-only $395! Not only that, you can see Steve in a "small, intimate" event" in Los Angeles, Austin, Texas, Miami, or New York City in March-May 2024: which includes "dinner, an open bar, and a unique conversational setting with Steve & special guests."
I'm sure you agree Steve will be covering the Covid Coup 2020, the corrupting influences permeating Western society, and other sources of the dystopia enveloping the world. Or not. Such a pathetic figure, longing for recognition that will never come, despite kissing the a** of his masters.
What?! $395 just for the book, or does that include the dinner? Anyway, I guess that's only for his boomer hardcore fans, can't see anyone else paying that.