We flew back to Bangkok from Danang in Vietnam. Prices at Danang Airport are in dollars. No surprise then that, apart from a family of Chinese tourists enjoying 18 USD dollar combos, Burger King was empty. I felt guilty buying a small bottle of warm Sprite for $3.80. What a waste of money. An odd … Bangkok Observations
Originally published in the Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel as Sartorial Sychophany As Venezuela has been the recipient of over half of China’s loans to South America, the ongoing crisis there is of concern to Beijing. China continues to support the embattled government of Nicolás Maduro and, like Russia and Turkey, doesn’t recognize … Fashion for Socialist Dictators: Maduro in China
Axel Kaiser reminds me of the wealthy students I taught at the Grange School in Santiago, Chile in 2005. Some good kids among them but a sense of superiority from many. One of the richest guys in Chile, if not the richest, Andrónico Luksic, sent his sons to the Grange. Maximiliano, one of the middle … Kaiser and The Minimum Wage