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Here are links to views on politics, economics, culture, and
a bit of advice thrown in for good measure. In some cases we wrote them,
and as of yet, agree with them. These are under "
Jan's Jottings " and "
GerryGrumblings
". We didn't write everything that is here. Under "
We Agree "
are those that — its obvious — we agree with and think are
important enough to point out. Under "Nonsense" are things that — excuse
us — we think are nonsense.
There is so much of this that we could fill a web of webs, so we only
pick the really egregious or topical. And finally under the "Advice"
category is a miscellany of recommendations that we have culled from our
experience while travelling. Some of it is truly travel advice but not
all.
Jan's Jottings
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Election Fever (November 2004)
Follow the 2004 Presidential Election with us as we travel through the US, Central America
and Ecuador
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Party enanigans (August 2002)
What goes on in England when
a couple decides to get married? Find out here.
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Why Learn a Language II? (June 2002)
Another lesson in the unexpected benefits of learning a language.
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This Year in Jerusalem (March 2002)
Being a tourist in terrorist targeted Jerusalem in 2002.
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Ras Mohamed Snorkeling (January 2002)
Battling the waves to discover the serenity of life over the reef.
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Why Learn a Language I? (June 2001)
A language learner's adventure on the Vietnamese Chinese border.
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A Hair-raising Experience (April 2001)
Being in China you can be really pampered when you get your hair done.
And that includes the pleasures of a massage, all for a small price.
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Impressions of Vietnam (March 2001)
Moving forests of deep green kumquat trees and rivers and mountains, range upon range of
green-clad mountains, palm-fringed beaches. Does the beauty never end?
That's the impression of Vietnam.
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Impressions of Beijing (December 1999)
Dusty, dusty, and friendly.
That's the first and the lasting impression of Beijing. There are lots
of wonderful sites but sometimes their memories pale by comparison to
those of the dust and the people.
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A Staircase to Heaven (November 1999)
What's it like to climb 6600 steps to the top Taishan, one of the most famous mountains in
China accompanied all of the way up by hawkers, tourists who want their
picture taken with you, and passing lovely views and temples.
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Ankling for Attention (July 1999)
Do you have to get old? Are you human? Well, ankles and hips may wear themselves out, so
before that happens, lets travel. Andele!
GerryGrumbling
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Leg
on the Lam (1993)
A short story that Gerry wrote in 1993. Care to illustrate it?
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China WWII Boasting (January 2001)
The Chinese communist government boasts that it defeated the invading Japanese. But it ain't so.
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Vote 2000 Fairness (March 2001?)
The US Presidential election was determined by court rulings as to what votes should be
counted in Florida. Roger Ebert thought a great crime was committed and
Gerry thinks he went overboard in his criticisms. See
Voter Technology Project for
more on the subject.
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Response
to Walden Bello's "You will reap what you sow" (September
2001)
Bello writes shortly after the terrorist attacks on
the World Trade Center and Pentagon. In guise of condeming the attacks
Bello "explains" why they occurred in such a way as to attack the USA
for multiple supposed faults through the last 60 years. These attacks
have subsequently appreared in many forums. Here I respond to each
of the charges.
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Saigon
Evacuation (February 2002)
The famous helicopter
departure from the roof of the American embassy was a rescue of
anti-communist Vietnamese, not part of the American retreat.
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Osama
Bin Laden (March 2002)
Bin Laden
financed his anti-USSR efforts in Afghanistan; it wasn't the CIA. Those
who say so are usually part of the crowd who think every aspect of US
foreing policy wrong and immoral. See the
Bin Laden Book.
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Death
Penalty (August 2002)
The arguments against the death
penalty are more wishful thinking than logic.
We Agree
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A
Tragedy — Red Cross Double Cross By Lawrence S. Eagleburger
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent is a grouping of national organizations usually known as "The
Red Cross". The Israeli version is the "Mogen David" (Star of David).
The Federation has refused for decades to allow Mogen David to use the
star instead of cross or crescent (the Moslem emblem). Now Eagleburger
and others advocate that the American Red Cross withhold its membership
dues until this policy is changed. Incidentally, the previous head of
the American Red Cross was Dole, the wife of Senator Dole.
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Proof
of Loyalty - Food for Thought about Muslims in the West.
What
should American Muslims be doing with regard to the Arab-Muslim attacks
on the World Trade Center? Do they have a duty to speak up and show
their loyalty? Or, is the special scrutiny that they sometimes receive
improper? We've put this "Letter to the Editor" under "We Agree" but
actually think the issues are complicated and that the letter is a bit
too harsh.
Nonsense
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China's
Water
Lester R. Brown writes an article called
"Falling Water Tables in China may soon Raise Food Prices
Everywhere". There are some interesting facts but the conclusions
are way off base because they assume a static situation. In a market
economy (and even a planned economy, but China is well on its way to
being a market economy) people innovate and find solutions to what would
otherwise be shortages. The title comes from an assumption of a zero-sum
world — what one country has/uses other countries can't have. But
because of technology and searching for new resources the world isn't
zero-sum. Today Europeans and Americans eat bananas, melons, beef, and
many other products that come from half-way around the world. If Chinese
start to do the same it probably won't mean that Europeans and Americans
will pay more, but that farms in Brazil, New Zealand, Australia, etc
will expand.
Advice
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Hotel Picks
Here are some of the hotels we have particularly enjoyed on our travels.
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Language Tools
What does the itinerant linguist consider must have tools for the journey?
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