Cambodia

Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia. The name means "Penh's Hill". The city was founded in 1434, at the spot where some Buddhist icons were found in a floating log. 

The oldest structure in the city is Wat Phnom, which means "The Temple on the Hill". This was originally built to house the Buddhist images that were found in the log, and the city of Phnom Penh grew up around it. From the beginning, this was a Buddhist city. The Buddhist structures, that are shaped like a bell, are known as a stupa. The first three images of Wat Phnom are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@11.5761424,104.9232926,3a,75y,156.27h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNO4hHfSJ-12jLN0gGmkiKvQhwFFG6rqPr6ODom!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNO4hHfSJ-12jLN0gGmkiKvQhwFFG6rqPr6ODom%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi1.209325-ya281.79462-ro-1.0887631-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

Not far from Wat Phnom is the Royal Palace. This was built in the Nineteenth Century. The first five images of the Royal Palace are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@11.5628701,104.9318915,3a,75y,98.45h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipONzU87U071ENpAlhDsJnewHaOz7QhlOPiasBCG!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipONzU87U071ENpAlhDsJnewHaOz7QhlOPiasBCG%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya348.61948-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

Looking like a boulevard out of Paris, the Independence Monument, which ironically celebrates Cambodian independence from France, is linked to a statue of Norodom Sihanouk. This is the most prominent name in Cambodia since independence. Norodom Sihanouk had been king, prince and, prime minister throughout the country's post-independence history. The first four images of the Independence Monument and the statue of Norodom Sihanouk are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@11.5564065,104.9285978,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sDynWennePIctwE9lfml4sQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DDynWennePIctwE9lfml4sQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D52.667503%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here are some scenes of the city, not far from downtown. The first three images are from Google Street View. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@11.5644471,104.8940014,3a,75y,181h,87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBSDwTGQw7sxLfCxne224og!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DBSDwTGQw7sxLfCxne224og%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D181.5%26pitch%3D-3%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is more of the city, south of downtown.

https://www.google.com/maps/@11.5378175,104.9168344,3a,75y,214h,87t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPEkbzxmZ7Xgo9BlYax191A!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DPEkbzxmZ7Xgo9BlYax191A%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D214.5%26pitch%3D-3%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

To the northwest of Phnom Penh, the great visitor attraction of Cambodia is Angkor Wat. It began as a vast Hindu temple, but had a conversion to Buddhism undertaken in the 12th Century. This is the largest religious monument in the world, and the towers represent mountains. The stories from the Hindu scriptures are carved in stone.

Some people see more possible meaning in Angkor Wat. It is a mystery why, unlike other Khmer temples, it is aligned to the west. The carvings in stone tell the story of Hindu scriptures but, unlike other temples, the story is told counter-clockwise around the temple, rather than clockwise. The towers that represent mountains, also appear to be aligned like the stars in the constellation Draco.

Indeed Draco is a circumpolar constellation, near the north celestial pole, and these stars rotate around the pole in a counter-clockwise direction, as the earth revolves around the sun from season to season. The constellations do move clockwise as the earth rotates daily. Also, of course, the constellations are seen after the sun has set in the west. The first six images of Angkor Wat is from Google Street View.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/@13.4125355,103.8668271,3a,75y,213.31h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMGTFqKQgImrhvXkBkBCnEBYvoP4H4S1UXmmahh!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMGTFqKQgImrhvXkBkBCnEBYvoP4H4S1UXmmahh%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya267.58676-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

An image of Angkor Wat is on the flag of Cambodia. From the Wikipedia article "Flag of Cambodia".

 

Angkor is from the Sanskrit word meaning "city". Just as Wat Phnom is the temple of Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat was the temple of a great city that was named Angkor. The city of Angkor was the largest city in the world. It's residents were known to be masters of water management, and an abundance of rice was grown in the surrounding area to feed it's population. Angkor lasted about six hundred years, and was abandoned at about the time that Phnom Penh was founded, during the 15th Century.

But why was such a great city abandoned? No one seems to know for sure. Angkor Wat began as a Hindu temple. But we saw how Phnom Penh was a Buddhist city from the beginning, having been founded where Buddhist icons were found in a floating log. It could be that, as the country moved from Hinduism to Buddhism, it was felt necessary to abandon the "Hindu City", which had been Angkor, to start the "Buddhist City", which was Phnom Penh.

This logic would then help us to understand events in Cambodia during the 1970s, when the Khmer Rouge took power. When there is a new order to society, the city that represented the old order is abandoned. The Khmer Rouge emptied Phnom Penh, leading all of the people into the rural areas, in the quest for a primitive, rice-growing, purely communist society. Private property or religion was not even allowed to be mentioned.

These are the rice fields, and village, where Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, was born. Maybe the difference in wealth between the city and the countryside was part of what not only led him to Communism, but also to the hostility toward cities. He had spent time in France, and elements of the French Revolution can be seen, as the reign of the Khmer Rouge began with "Year Zero". The first image is from Google Street View.

Have Bangladeshis noticed how in rural Cambodia houses are built on stilts to avoid flooding?

I once investigated what all great dictators might have in common. What I found is that just about all seem to come from small towns.

https://www.google.com/maps/@12.6940602,104.861009,3a,75y,244h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sl0OoK6qpTtDWkdWdVp-Q_g!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dl0OoK6qpTtDWkdWdVp-Q_g%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D244.0126%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is the nearest town to where Pol Pot was born, in Kampong Thom.

https://www.google.com/maps/@12.7120577,104.8880648,3a,75y,175h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWI6rOsSngWHGB4gpkuwgww!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DWI6rOsSngWHGB4gpkuwgww%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D175.89607%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The Khmer Rouge had a policy of simply killing anyone who did not fit their vision of a Communist agrarian utopia. Being educated, or being able to speak French, or even wearing eyeglasses could get one killed. One story is that Pol Pot, in his student days, had been sent to France to study radio electronics. But he was unable to learn it, and returned to Cambodia with a hatred of anything modern.

While I was in high school, we didn't know that this former high school on the other side of the world was being used by the Khmer Rouge as an interrogation and execution center. Of nearly twenty thousand prisoners who entered here, only seven are known to have come out alive. About a quarter of the population of Cambodia would die between 1975 and 1979.

https://www.google.com/maps/@11.5496854,104.9174677,2a,75y,37.06h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slRB3WQvCUKsWTAA6P7MbXg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DlRB3WQvCUKsWTAA6P7MbXg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D36.49307%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

For Americans who remember the "Mayaguez Incident", The only military encounter between the U.S. and the Khmer Rouge, the following is a view of Koh Tang. This is the island where three U.S. Marines may have been left behind. The Khmer Rouge, shortly after coming to power, seized a cargo ship, which it claimed was in it's territorial waters. The U.S. launched an operation to rescue the crew, not knowing that they had already been released, and many Americans were killed in an accidental helicopter crash.

The coastal islands had been heavily fortified by the Khmer Rouge, but Americans were not the reason. The emergence of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, renamed Kampuchea, and the victory of the Communists in the nearby Vietnam War had coincidentally occurred at about the same time, in April 1975. Some of the coastal islands near the border of the two countries were disputed, and the Khmer Rouge had immediately fortified it's islands in case the victorious new government in Vietnam might try to seize the disputed islands. But what came through was an American ship. Four years later, it would be war between these two countries that would drive the Khmer Rouge from power. Image from Google Earth.

Things Made Really Simple

Wouldn't it be great if things were simple? Actually they are. 

LIFE 

We are more complex than our inanimate surroundings. The surrounding keep trying to pull us back down to their level. When this happens is when we die. We require sustenance and care to maintain our higher complexity level. Injury or illness represents a step downward but not all the way to the level of the inanimate surroundings. Since the surrounding environment can provide only a limited amount of sustenance that brings us into potential conflict with others.

MISTAKES

Since we are at a higher level of complexity than our inanimate surroundings there is not enough complexity for all that we can conceive of to be true. This is why we can be wrong about things and can conceive of things that do not exist. It is also why we require senses, to tell us just what is in our surroundings, and brains to process it. 

WORK 

We can impose our own complexity on our surroundings but it takes the expenditure of energy on our part. We need food as sustenance to maintain our higher level of complexity. We need shelter against the inanimate surroundings that are trying to pull us down to their level of complexity. We need transportation because our higher level of complexity makes it necessary for us to move around to get the sustenance we need. It is true that energy can never be created or destroyed, but only changed in form, but we cannot reuse the energy we have spent because it is lost to the lower complexity level of our inanimate surroundings. 

WHY THINGS GO WRONG

In everything we do, we are at a higher level of complexity and our inanimate surroundings are trying to pull us back down. We are at a higher complexity "altitude" and if we slip or misstep there will be a fall. Technology is us imposing our complexity on our surroundings and when it breaks down it is a fall. Whenever we plan something, the more complex it is the more risk there is of a fall. 

ART, MUSIC AND, SPORTS

Art, music and sports transmits patterns. Before we could develop complex technology, such as integrated circuits, we had to first work out the complexity in complex art. Have you ever noticed how the operation of a car engine, with the rythmic movement of the pistons and camshaft, resembles the rythm in a song? It is not a coincidence. Before complex machinery, with moving parts, could be developed, we had to work out the complexity with complex sports and dance movements.

RACE 

The earth's latitudes get different amounts of sunshine. Humans began in Ethiopia and developed melanin in the skin to protect against the sun. But melanin is a higher energy state and, when people migrated from Africa to cooler climates they gradually lost melanin because it was unnecessary. If they later returned to a hot climate elsewhere, such as south India, they would regain melanin. The widespread high terrain of central Asia exposes the eyes to more solar glare, and those who migrated over that developed slanted eyes as protection.

POLITICS 

Like technology, our economy and our society is as complex as we are. This makes it difficult to see the full "big picture". It is much easier for each of us to see only part of the picture. Since we each have different experiences that gives us different viewpoints. Each economic transaction involves both a buyer, represented by the left, and a seller, represented by the right. It is much easier for each of us to see either one side or the other, rather than the big picture. Politics has to represent all of the different viewpoints.

THE MIDDLE EAST 

Imagine putting a box on the floor and then covering the box with a sheet. The box is the long history of the region and the sheet is Islam. Historical events back to ancient times are being reenacted, but usually done in the name of Islam.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR 

The last third of the Nineteenth Century and beginning of the Twentieth Century was a long period of mostly peace and general prosperity, with a lot of technical progress and scientific discoveries. It was called the Victorian Age. In America it was sometimes called the Gilded Age and, in France, the Belle Epoque. But peace got boring after awhile. When a war started in Europe, that wasn't really over anything important, crowds were actually cheering the declaration of war. They were under the delusion that the war would last only a short time, but it turned into a war like the world had never seen before.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND COLD WAR

The West had been getting more secular for decades. But people are designed to believe in something, and when they don't believe in God they will just replace Him with something else. All kinds of political-economic ideologies were emerging, democracy, socialism, communism. Some ideologies, like fascism, had a nationalistic or racial component. The Nazis in particular did a magnificent job of giving people something to believe in. There had been a devastating economic depression and military production was proving to be the best way out of it. What ended up happening is that people chose one or another of these emerging ideologies, which provided them with something to believe in, and then slaughtered millions of each other that had made different choices.

The Absurdity Of The Cold War

Has anyone ever grasped just how absurd the Cold War was? An economic system is just about how the society is organized, such as capitalism, socialism or, communism. The obvious way to determine where a society will operate on this political-economic spectrum is to just let it develop over time, since culture is a factor, or let voters decide.

When you stop to think about it, nations preparing to launch nuclear missiles at each other because they have different economic systems is just absurd beyond belief.

I have an idea for a world war.

Does your city have a system like garbage gets collected every week and recycling gets collected every other week? You might be sent a map with a red zone and a blue zone. If you are in the red zone your recycling is collected one week. If you are in the blue zone your recycling is collected the next week.

Why don't we have a world war between people who get their recycling collected on different weeks? That wouldn't be any more absurd than a world war over economic systems.

The Stone Of David

Remember the principle that I pointed out called "The Cardinal Rule Of Military Strategy". This rule is that, whenever a nation has won a great military victory, it cannot help but try to repeat the victory in future combat. 

The following image, from Google Street View, is of the Valley of Elah, where the confrontation between David and Goliath took place.

The carefully timed operation, and perfectly aimed bomb, that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was a modern version of the stone that brought down Goliath. After felling Goliath with the stone from the sling, David then cut off his head with his own sword. Today we usually carry phones, rather than swords, and Israel killed many of the Hezbollah leadership by causing their own communication devices to explode. 

But this shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has studied the Bible.

Here is a link to "The Cardinal Rule Of Military Strategy":

www.markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/2009/07/us-economic-collapse.html?m=0

Hezbollah And Other Militias

With the recent death of the leader of Hezbollah remember that there is something that I have never seen written about the Middle East. It is about how history repeats itself. The present militias, including Hamas, are reflections of the organizations of knights during the Crusades. 

I think of the Middle East as a box on the floor covered by a sheet. The sheet represents Islam and the box represents the history of the region, going back to ancient times. While things are done in the name of Islam it is also a reenactment of other historic events. We saw this also in "Babylon Strikes Back".

In the following posting see section 3) THE MILITIAS OF THE MIDDLE EAST. 

http://markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-history-repeats-itself.html?m=0

Laos

Laos is the small country in southeast Asia, between Vietnam, China, Cambodia and, Thailand. The Plain of Jars is a well-known Iron Age historical site, with burials around large jar-shaped stones.

Lan Xang was a kingdom in what is now Laos that was founded in the Fourteenth Century. It was often invaded by neighbors. The capital was moved to Vientiane, which is the present capital city, in 1520.

Lan Xang eventually split into smaller kingdoms but, during the colonial era, it was put back together by the French. Laos was recolonized by the French after the Second World War.

The country gained autonomy in 1949 and independence in 1953. It became a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong.

The former flag of Laos had three elephants on it. It had been known as the "Land of a Million Elephants".

The monarchy ended in 1975 when the Communist Pathet Lao came to power. Communist governments had just gained power in neighboring Vietnam and Cambodia.

King Savang Vatthana would die in a reeducation camp.

The Pathet Lao had begun during the French colonial period. America's Vietnam War spilled over into Laos, as it did into Cambodia. The Pathet Lao was matched against the Laotian Army. Communist North Vietnam assisted the Pathet Lao.

Ethnically, the Lao people make up just over half the population of the country. There are other tribes, such as the Hmong. The U.S. supported the Hmong, and others, against the Pathet Lao, then took in a quarter million refugees when the Communists came to power.

The Pathet Lao government has remained close to Vietnam. But Communism came to power in Laos with much less violence than in Vietnam, and certainly Cambodia.

The campaign in Laos was referred to as America's "Secret War". But it was no secret that an incredible volume of bombs was dropped on Communist positions in the country. In fact, it is reputed to be the most-bombed country in the world, considering the tonnage of bombs dropped relative to it's population. Not all of the bombs exploded when dropped and many people are killed and injured when undiscovered bombs periodically explode.

The grandson of the last Laotian king lives in exile in Paris. In the opinion of many people Laos, like neighboring Vietnam, remains Communist in name only as private enterprise thrives.

Hinduism came before Buddhism. Vat Phou is an old Hindu temple in Laos that was later converted to Buddhist use. The first five images of Vat Phou are from Google Street View.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow. After clicking the up arrow you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you so wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@14.8489072,105.8147164,3a,75y,125.08h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPNvwwjMnrpbhgt0XAD-i1H8kUm7uP9Ch7M7j6e!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPNvwwjMnrpbhgt0XAD-i1H8kUm7uP9Ch7M7j6e%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya126.00006-ro0-fo100!7i12000!8i6000

This is a Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang, which was the royal capital before it was moved to Vientiane in the Sixteenth Century. The first four images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@19.8975025,102.1434294,3a,75y,354.86h,104.07t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPr9oj5t_WfuF2AMmixKfHPr_YQpTilViGLYRud!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPr9oj5t_WfuF2AMmixKfHPr_YQpTilViGLYRud%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-14.071294-ya21.728334-ro-0-fo100!7i6912!8i3456

Here is more of the former capital of Luang Prabang.

https://www.google.com/maps/@19.8760975,102.124254,3a,75y,223.7h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sf-M7nXwk4JWjeELmMU33dg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Df-M7nXwk4JWjeELmMU33dg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D223.70122%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Vientiane is on the Mekong River, with Thailand on the opposite side. The Pha That Luang began as a Hindu temple but is now a Buddhist stupa. It has been damaged and rebuilt many times. The first seven images of it are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9768324,102.6374254,3a,75y,255.09h,95.69t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0TWhDLxnM8Ici_syf3GH8A!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D0TWhDLxnM8Ici_syf3GH8A%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D79.552826%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Sisaket Temple is another well-known Buddhist temple in Vientiane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9633564,102.611089,3a,75y,132.31h,88.9t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYDtueArSeVmPlBTsqgg5qg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DYDtueArSeVmPlBTsqgg5qg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D82.96557%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is the Arc De Triomphe and Patuxay Monument, across the street from office of Prime Minister. Since Laos was once a French colony, it shouldn't be surprising that it has it's own version of the Arc De Triomphe. The first two images are from Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9708322,102.6188829,2a,75y,216.77h,107.48t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4MBVKqTJZld5rveQLRjdQw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D4MBVKqTJZld5rveQLRjdQw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D264.56262%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is central Vientiane along the Mekong River. The first five images are from Google Street View. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9700603,102.5967968,3a,75y,80h,110t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipP_aks6-IOtjdv3pkATumoHRdFZ_WsZZ_K4dtQv!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP_aks6-IOtjdv3pkATumoHRdFZ_WsZZ_K4dtQv%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-20-ya211.54797-ro-0-fo100!7i7440!8i3720

This is just outside Vientiane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9828873,102.6633552,3a,75y,118.24h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swcTMnCDarWoWLcdYkeYlMw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DwcTMnCDarWoWLcdYkeYlMw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D118.24375%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

North of Vientiane is a more rural area.

https://www.google.com/maps/@18.011092,102.6325714,3a,75y,203.83h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sYZr33BP-H6kLIYCqcp1UOA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DYZr33BP-H6kLIYCqcp1UOA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D203.8263%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is the southern part of Vientiane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9547923,102.6263904,3a,75y,106.68h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3SmASdcWQlxknhpsVhl7dQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D3SmASdcWQlxknhpsVhl7dQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D106.68381%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is a village outside Vientiane.

https://www.google.com/maps/@17.9086841,102.6636791,3a,75y,99.01h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgHSPcJSNA-IR06K6sZtNng!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DgHSPcJSNA-IR06K6sZtNng%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D99.005554%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

News

THE ORIGIN OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES 

With the move toward electric vehicles always in the news, why don't we remember where they originated? The first electric vehicles that the world became familiar with were the "Lunar Rovers" that were used on the moon in the latter Apollo missions. The vehicles had to be electric because there is no air on the moon for a combustion engine. The following image is from the Wikipedia article "Lunar Roving Vehicle".

THE DIFFICULTY OF USING PARATROOPERS 

This week was the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, with a reenactment. The use of paratroopers in wartime is complicated and risky, and usually only done when the enemy has a strong front line. In my opinion the primary value of having paratroopers is the enemy knowing that we have them forces them to guard their entire territory where they might land. So why then did Russia use paratroopers early in the war with Ukraine? With all of Russia's tanks it was both militarily unnecessary and unwise. Could it be that the real purpose of the war in Ukraine is to incite the emergence of the Antichrist, who will seem to have all of the answers that the world needs, followed by the Apocalypse? The use of paratroopers is what I believe to be the prophecy in the Book of Ezekiel about "a cloud that covers the land", in the final series of wars. 

WARS REPORTED IN THE NEWS 

One thing that we do not seem to be paying enough attention to, or any attention to, is that enemies, or potential enemies, are reading and watching our news. This doesn't mean spying or hacking, just reading ordinary news. If the news reports that soldiers are short of supplies, ammunition, manpower or, morale, you can be sure that they are watching. During the Tet Offensive, in the Vietnam War, America's best-known reporter, Walter Cronkite, expressed the opinion that "The war is now unwinnable". Can you imagine how much confidence that must have given the enemy? After 9-11 I didn't know what to make of those color-coded alerts about the level of possibility of an attack. All the potential terrorists had to do is wait until the possibility was low, and then attack. We act as though our enemies are not watching. There must be a careful balance. A news cannot lie or, omit things that should be reported, or people will lose confidence in it. Honest reporting shows that the country is a democracy. But it must be remembered that potential enemies are watching.

SYMBOLISM AND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Remember that symbolism is a powerful force. All around Buffalo are statues of buffalo and I am campaigning to have it replace the eagle as America's national symbol. Image from Google Street View.

The two would be assassins of Donald Trump were just like eagles, perched just out of sight and just waiting for the right moment to unexpectedly nail their prey. Wouldn't America be better with the buffalo as it's national symbol? 

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

This week is the U.N. General Assembly, with the resulting gridlock in traffic. What would the Buffalo Niagara region be like if the U.N. had been located here? The original plan was for it to be located on Navy Island. This is the island in the Upper Niagara River that Canada was going to donate for the U.N. 

The following image from Google Earth shows Navy Island. Mainland Canada is at left, Grand Island is to the right, the city of Niagara Falls NY is at the top.

THE MUSIC OF 1969

I am not sure how many readers there are who can remember the music of the legendary summer of 1969. Those who do will know what I am referring to. It is really something to celebrate that we have come 10% of the way to the Year 2525.