It's Just Paper

I'm back in the States for a quick stopover - just in time, it seems, to watch the country's economy plummet into complete chaos. Fortunately, Mr. GW Bush was on the scene today to reassure the public that "In the long run, our economy is going to be fine". Fox News reports that Mr. Bush also said he was "on top of the situation". Let's have a quick look at today's announcements:

Whew! I was worried for a second that the federal reserve had lost control of the financial system and was furiously printing dollars in order to bail out banks, thereby further diluting the value of the already pathetic dollar... oh wait, that's exactly what's happened, and from all signs will continue to happen. In effect, you, me, and everyone else who holds dollars is subsidizing the stupidity and greed of the financial institutions that allowed this to happen.

The principles are fairly easy to understand. The more money you print, the more there is in circulation, the more money in circulation, the less each dollar is actually worth. That's inflation. There are examples throughout history, like the Weimar Republic in 1930's Germany, the 1970s in this country, the list goes on. The federal reserve is panicking, throwing money around, and wreaking havoc on the poor little dollar. This will certainly not turn around tomorrow, nor probably this year or next.

Considering I have no money I'm not in the most authoritative position to be giving financial advice to those who do, but well this is my blog so I'm gonna do it any damn way (and there are plenty of financial experts behind me. Get rid of your dollars. Buy Gold. Do it now. Yeah, I hear you say, but gold is freakin' expensive right now. What if I shell out a thousand bucks for a gold coin, and tomorrow the dollar recovers and gold drops back down to reality? Well friend, you can be damn sure that's not gonna happen, what with the fed's printing presses coughing up greenbacks like, quite literally, there's no tomorrow.

But wait, what about that economic stimulus package that was signed into law? Won't that give the tired ol' economy a shot in the arm? I heard the IRS was going to send out checks for $600 in May! Aside from the obvious question of where the hell is this $140 billion coming from, considering the current account deficit, May is an awfully long time from now. That was clearly an election year political maneuver aimed at elating the very short-sighted, like a $2000 hand-job charged to a credit card.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Let's face it: economies have ups and and downs. They are cyclical. You can't have a booming, growing economy now and forever after. That's just not the way economies, or anything, really, works. The U.S. has been consuming far more than it produces, and far more than it's share of the world's resources for some time, and it looks as though that time is coming to an end. Accept it. Let a few weak and stupid banks fall. Today it's Bear Stearns, tomorrow there will be another. What kind of message does it send to private banks if they can be assured that the government will throw away everything to save them when their risky investments lead to disaster?

Swallow the medicine: have a recession. Let unemployment rise. Let consumer spending fall. There is no way to avoid it, but there is a hell of a lot of harm to be done by staying in denial about it. Hey, maybe when gas costs $6 a gallon like in most of the rest of the world Americans will have second thoughts about buying that bad-boy SUV and opt for a Prius.... or a bike?

Bangkok in Photos: Khlong Saen Saeb

Khlong Saen Saeb: The last remnants of the canal transportation system in a city once dubbed "The Venice of the East". Most canals have been filled in and converted to roads, but this one has survived. A putrid odor emanates from the dead, oxygen deprived water, particularly in the hot season when the water levels are low, but if you can put up with the smell and the possibility of splash, this is one of the fastest, cheapest ways to penetrate the heart of Bangkok.

50 years ago, life along the canals must have been lovely with frogs, flowers and birds in abundance. Not much lives in that water now aside from bacteria, but I have heard of a certain breed of walking amphibious fish that populates the canal and the lands nearby.
Money is collected by boat staff who trot dexterously around the outer ledge of the boat.
Here, a boat pulls into the central pier at Pratunam.

Khao Sarn Road

Khao Sarn Road (KSR), for those who haven't had the pleasure, is the ultimate backpacker's ghetto in Bangkok. By day it does brisk business in Thai tourist trinkets, bags, shirts, books, fake university degrees and such - but KSR exists for the night. The real excitement takes place under gaudy neon. Katoey (lady-boy) look for unknowing Johns straight off the plane, who haven't yet learned that Thai women never have deep voices and big hands. Pickpockets have a heyday with the drunkards. Taxi drivers loiter about searching for someone to "take for a ride". It's a concentration of the worst of Bangkok, but it's a brilliant spot for people watching.

KSR is not Bangkok at all, but a kind of vortex that pulls tourists in, and doesn't allow them to leave. Inconveniently located away from the city center, it takes great motivation and strength of mind for the average visitor to leave the road and see other parts of Bangkok, which is a great shame. I would assert that if all you've seen of it is KSR, you haven't actually been to Bangkok. It's like transiting in Istanbul and saying you've been to Turkey. You've just been in the waiting lounge.

The Many Faces of Kuala Lumpur

Walk down the street in Kuala Lumpur and the variety of Asian ethnicity really blows me away. Smiling, headscarf donning young Muslim women mix with Indian women in saris, Chinese in business suits, and so on. Refreshingly, caucasion faces are rather few. This is, after all, Asia. I've not been in a country before with such a variety of Asian ethnicities living together, and as a first time visitor it looks like a great model of different races with different beliefs living together in peace. After talking to friends I've come to realize the situation is not as perfect as it seems.

The primary racial groups are the ethnic Malays, and then the Chinese and Indian minorities. Malays are granted a certain amount of preferential treatment in university admission and government job placements, among other things, but the other side of the coin is that they have additional prohibitions placed on them by law, like being unable to eat pork, which the other ethnic groups are not subject to.

Things move along with relative peace, but there are deeper underlying problems with the current arrangement, which reached a bloody climax in 1969 when the ruling coalition was momentarily deprived of power in place a of a pro-chinese party, resulting in street violence with the Chinese being targeted specifically and suffering the worst as people were killed and business burned.

It's a complex subject that I have an admittedly basic Understanding of, and it's tempting to say that, well, today's Malaysia is among the most prosperous nation in South-East Asia, so why rock the political boat? But that is exactly the justification the goverment puts forth to stay in power. If you take us out of power, they say, you'll be inviting a repeat of the bloody events of '69. Malaysia is under pretty heavy surveilence by a sort of secret police, and the media doesn't enjoy nearly the freedom I'm seen in places like Thailand, the Philippines, or even Cambodia.

And on I go about a subject that I know little about. Any Malaysians care to comment?

All that said, I had a brilliant time in the country and met lots of interesting people, thanks to my gracious hosts, Sze and Spes. Thanks guys!

The Subterranean River at Sabang

Like entering the mouth of some mythical beast, the boat journey into this, the longest known navigable underground river on earth, is an awe inspiring moment. The darkness sucks the 8 man paddle boat into it's womb and the only thing seperating you from the pitch black is a light and car battery.

As you journey further into the depths the guide points out rock formations in the caves. There's it is, a mushroom. And over to your left, the virgin Mary. Look closely fellas, a naked female form is just around the next corner. Do you see the banana flower?

Actually the rock growths and formations could be anything your mind wants, like an inkblot test that envelops you, and the guides' constant suggestions become an annoyance seperating your from what could be a truly meditative experience.

All in all the trip was unforgettable. It's a shame that along with easier accessibility (the road was built in the early 90's - before that you had to take a boat some three hours up the coastline, through devil's point, a dangerous whirlpool) comes hordes of tourists and the corresponding price hikes, crowds, and waits. I must have seen too many Indiana Jones movies.