… Controls America. Proof emerging that the DEA cooperated with the Sinaloa Cartel to allow drugs into the US in exchange for intelligence against other cartels. Which has got to figure in to why HSBC only got a slap on the wrist for laundering a billion dollars for them.
Author Archives: bingregory
Batang jati kangkung
Kangkung, Ipomea aquatica, is a crawling vegetable with hollow stems, allowing it to float on the water, from whence it gets the name water spinach. There’s no relation – in fact it is in the Convulvulaceae or morning glory family. It is a mainstay of kampung cuisine, growing freely in the canals and marshy places. […]
Three Pipers: Lada, Sirih, Kaduk
Black pepper is the quintessential spice of the Spice Route, the ancient trade routes across the Indian Ocean that have brought merchants and travelers to the Nusantara since antiquity. Pepper was once as valuable as gold, and even now, it is the world’s most traded spice. Piper nigrum is well suited to cultivation in Sarawak: pepper […]
American Nations: Review
Colin Woodward traces the origins of settlement in the United States to demonstrate that American attitudes, values and politics are highly regional and perpetuate over time. This basis for this is the “Founder’s Effect”, a recognized phenomenon whereby the original settlers of an area have an outsize effect on culture across time. Looking at patterns […]
Knowledge of Self
Theodore W. Allen (1919-2005) told me where white people come from. We like to think we know who we are, and indeed many things about ourselves we can easily define: male, muslim, American. But I am white and I could not explain to myself what that meant. Any meaning I set was either too narrow, […]
Awal Muharram
The first day of the Islamic New Year is a national holiday in Malaysia, but it usually passes unremarked. This year, the State Mosque decided to host a day of activities on the grounds around the mosque. It was grand: there was a marathon, sports competitions, a bazaar, a stage with silat, traditional dance and […]
Gurindam 12 Fasal 4
The 12 Gurindam of Raja Ali Haji ___________________________ This is the Gurindam of the fourth issue: Ini gurindam pasal yang keempat: The heart over the body rules all; if it oppresses, every part falls. Hati kerajaan di dalam tubuh, jikalau zalim segala anggota pun roboh. Whenever jealousy has been sown, shoot forth a multitude of […]
Guidance and Error
Driving through the city last month, I was nearly out of gas. With a 2 and a half hour daily commute, it happens a lot and I tend to ride the “Empty” line as long as I can. But here I was riding on fumes in a part of the city I rarely drive through […]