...my official route through s.e.a. (for real this time)

12.16 KL – Bangkok

12.17 Bangkok

12.18 Bangkok – Siem Reap

12.19 Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)

12.20 Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)

12.21 Siem Reap – Phnom Phen

12.22 Phnom Phen

12.23 Phnom Phen - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

12.24 Ho Chi Minh City

12.25 Ho Chi Minh City

12.26 Ho Chi Minh City – Bangkok – Phuket

12.27 Phuket

12.28 Phuket

12.29 Phuket

12.30 Ko Phangan (Haad Rin)

12.31 Ko Phangan (Full Moon Party)

01.01 Ko Phangan – Surat Thani – Bangkok – Vantiane

01.02 Vantiane

01.03 Vantiane – Vang Vieng

01.04 Vang Vieng

01.05 Vang Vieng – Luang Prabang

01.06 Luang Prabang

01.07 Luang Prabang

01.08 Luang Prabang – Bangkok – Hong Kong

01.09 Hong Kong – Toronto – London (?)

...poetic justice?

tonight: el gran clasico...

forget where both teams came off; forget bernd schuster's words; forget the injuries; forget almost everything, and get out of your mind an easy victory for barcelona.

the greatest rivalry game in the world has to write its own history, and this history will take place tonight at camp nou at 10 p.m. local time.

anything can happen...

the big sellout trailer...

just one more week in malaysia. then, it's hanoi to phuket in 24 days//

powergrab in ottawa...

harper's nationally televised speech on monday night was an eerily faithful reprise duplication of george bush's many ponderous addresses from the oval office. wrapping himself in the maple leaf, harper rattled off the familiar patriotic buzzwords and catchphrases: "we will use all legal means to resist this undemocratic seizure of power," harper thundered, peering straight into the camera. fortunately, harper doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. constitutional scholars unanimously agree that the parties have the right to deliver a "no confidence" vote and strip him of his power. harper is just trying to brazen it out to buy some time. "the canadian government has always been chosen by the people," said the prime minister. not true, and harper knows it... // mike whitney, 12.05.08, counterpunch

memo for obama...

uri avnery offers the president-elect a number of suggestions for peace b/w israel and palestine, based on his experience as an underground fighter, special forces soldier in the 1948 war, editor-in-chief of a newsmagazine, member of the knesset and founding member of a peace movement. // tikkun

barry schwartz on the paradox of choice...

( freedom ≠ choice )

study: nearly half of the world's jailed journalists come from the web...

more than print, tv or any other medium, online journalists are now the most-jailed category of journalists worldwide. a study by the committee to protect journalists said that the online reporters, editors and bloggers make up 45% of the 125 journalists it found behind bars, the first time the web category has eclipsed print (42%) since the study began in 1997. CPJ director joel simon observed that without organizational support, online journalists are easier targets. "the image of the solitary blogger working at home in pajamas may be appealing, but when the knock comes on the door, they are alone and vulnerable," simon said in a news release. the study notes that in china, which leads the world in captive journalists, 24 of the 28 currently behind bars did their work online. cuba, burma, eritrea, and uzbekistan round out the top five countries on the list of journo jailers. read more about the report at the CPJ website // david sarno, 12.04.08, los angeles times 

the reality behind 'clean' coal technology...

town of the rings, south korea...

surrounded by a picturesque lake and forested hills, korea is set to create a sustainable township which will be a self sufficient city of 77,000 inhabitants, to be located about 35 kilometers south of seoul. called gwanggyo, all elements of the new town will be designed as rings so that each part of the program has a terrace for outdoor life...

an internship update featured on the FIMS website...

a dream you dream alone is only a dream. a dream you dream together is reality. // john lennon

confronting the terrorist within...

the hindu-muslim communal violence that led to the attacks in mumbai, as well as the warnings that the new york city transit system may have been targeted by al-qaeda, are one form of terrorism. there are other forms. the wars in iraq and afghanistan, when viewed from the receiving end, are state-sponsored acts of terrorism. these wars defy every ethical and legal code that seek to determine when a nation can wage war, from just war theory to the statutes of international law largely put into place by the united states after world war II. these wars are criminal wars of aggression. they have left hundreds of thousands of people, who never took up arms against us, dead and seen millions driven from their homes. we have no right as a nation to debate the terms of these occupations. and an afghan villager, burying members of his family’s wedding party after an american airstrike, understands in a way we often do not that terrorist attacks can also be unleashed from the arsenals of an imperial power. barack obama’s decision to increase troop levels in afghanistan and leave behind tens of thousands of soldiers and marines in iraq—he promises only to withdraw combat brigades—is a failure to rescue us from the status of a rogue nation. it codifies bush’s “war on terror.” and the continuation of these wars will corrupt and degrade our nation just as the long and brutal occupation of gaza and the west bank has corrupted and degraded israel. george w. bush has handed barack obama a poisoned apple. obama has bitten it... // chris hedges, 01.01.08, truthdig

analysis: defense policy under obama and gates // 01.01.08, reuters

neocons, republicans and war criminals rave about obama's 'team of rivals'...

As Barack Obama’s opus, 'Team of Rivals,' continues its rolling debut, the early reviews are in and the 'critics' are full of praise for the cast:

“[S]uperb…the best of the Washington insiders…this will be a valedictocracy — rule by those who graduate first in their high school classes.” – David Brooks, conservative New York Times columnist

“[V]irtually perfect…” – Senator Joe Lieberman, former Democrat and John McCain’s top surrogate in the 2008 campaign.

“[R]eassuring.” – Karl Rove, “Bush’s brain.”

“I am gobsmacked by these appointments, most of which could just as easily have come from a President McCain…this all but puts an end to the 16-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, the unconditional summits with dictators, and other foolishness that once emanated from the Obama campaign…[Hillary] Clinton and [James] Steinberg at State should be powerful voices for ‘neo-liberalism’ which is not so different in many respects from ‘neo-conservativism.’” – Max Boot, neoconservative activist, former McCain staffer.

“I see them as being sort of center-right of the Democratic party.” – James Baker, former Secretary of State and the man who led the theft of the 2000 election.

“[S]urprising continuity on foreign policy between President Bush’s second term and the incoming administration….certainly nothing that represents a drastic change in how Washington does business. The expectation is that Obama is set to continue the course set by Bush…” – Michael Goldfarb of the neoconservative Weekly Standard.

“I certainly applaud many of the appointments…” – Senator John McCain

"[T]he new administration is off to a good start." – Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell.

Hillary Clinton will be “outstanding” as Secretary of State – Henry Kissinger, war criminal.

'Team of Rivals' will be playing all day, every day for at least the next four years. // jeremy scahill, 11.30.08, huffington post

obama's kettle of hawks // jeremy scahill, 01.02.08, counterpunch

real news on the coalition...

kuta, bali...

( kuta beach )

( slow season )

( beach boys )

( floral sacrifices, apparently the gods chew wrigley's )

( hindu-buddhist temple )

( on my left: brazil, our surf instructor, on my right: michael, the german kevin spacey )

( bounty )

( eikon )

( moderately impressed )

( popies II )

( drinking bintang, the national brew )

( monument to victims of the 2002 bombing )

( drunken aussie foam party )

( bali sorgawi hotel )

( pro surf school )

( the souvenir shops )

( kopi pot )

( our local friends: martin, mr. and mrs. x, tito/tino )

( all hail the culinary crab god )

( crusoe's )

( "enjoying" our bintang/guiness concoctions )

( post-scuba )

( pretty sure this strapless helmet was mostly for show )

( flat )

( some new-age yogi )