Apart from reading The Economist and The Spectator, I every now and then read a couple of German newspapers. I read in particular Die Welt (www.welt.de) and Manager Magazin (www.manager-magazin.de). Die Welt is worth reading because it’s one of the very few German papers that don’t rehash mainstream opinions. Instead, it quite often offers a […]

Lasting 14 days the celebration of Chinese New Year was unlike anything I have experienced.
This year it started on the first day of the lunar month, February 14 and ran until Sunday February 28 which is the Chinese Valentine’s Day or Chap Goh Mei.
Traditionally it is a time families spend together so […]

En route to acupuncture at KL’s Tung Shin Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital I took the back roads, which is always a treat as you see the other side of life.
My route took me down Jalan Alor, Kl’s famed hawker stall heaven. In the morning it doesn’t have quite the allure it has at night, […]

When I decided to travel outside of Panama this year during Carnival I didn’t think my trip would be in any way about politics but the trip ended up being dominated by politics. My first destination was Costa Rica which a week before I arrived had elected the first woman president in its history Laura […]

My globetrotting has led me to numerous far flung spots. These spots are situated both in the developed and the less developed world. Across the board, folks in the less developed world strike me as more patriotic and nationalistic then people in the developed world. For instance, in a rather backward spot like Colima everybody […]

My biography reads like a travel catalog. When another shift is in the offing, exchanging currencies comes along the way. Because of my regular shifts to spots off the beaten pike I hold an emergency fund in US - Dollars and Euros. These currencies are considered real dough across the globe, in contrast to the […]

When the “unsinkable” Titanic sank, there were not enough Lifeboats.
The lesson learned back in 1912 was—more lifeboats—which became Maritime Law. The lesson evidently not learned was; the large and unsinkable can sink and they still are; evidence the true state of affairs in our homelands. The lifeboat concept makes perfect sense for unsinkable […]

My globetrotting has taken place so far largely outside Europe, even though I was born and raised in Europe. During my days as a teenager and a student, however, I graced a few European spots with my presence. As a student, for instance, I’ve been to London a few times as well as to Liverpool […]

At the time of this writing, I am in Cambodia, in the middle of creating a video series and a comprehensive book on all of the Cambodian martial arts and martial arts masters. The first many videos have already been edited and posted on my youtube channel, Brooklynmonk1.
http://www.youtube.com/user/brooklynmonk1
I was promised a budget of $6,000 USD […]

Early this afternoon a giant gas explosion rocked the banking district of Panama City. The explosion occurred while a 3,000 pound gas truck was delivering liquefied petroleum gas to a local restaurant. The restuarant, Sushi Express, caught on fire after the explosion. So far no one has died because of the explosion; most city residents […]

The new government of my country of birth Germany has set out with quite a bumpy start. Across the board, there are only two cabinet ministers, who strike me as up to the job. They’re the finance minister and the defence minister. All the other cabinet ministers there project the image of being mediocre or […]

This year’s Panamanian Carnival will see Carnival celebrations in Panama City change venue from the Transístmica back to Via España. Carnival will also be conducted under a newly elected government that was voted into office to improve security and cut government spending. In line with its fiscal conservative platform, the new government decided to […]

Almost nobody in my country of birth Germany questioned the concept of the European Union during my days as a student. Almost everybody and his sister took the concept of the European Union for granted. That was about twenty five years ago. Since my biography resembles a travel catalog, however, I view that shop plentifully […]

(Figure 1 El Cid Castilla provided the perfect backdrop for New Year’s Eve Fun) For more years than I care to count, we have taken the safe route to celebrating New Year’s Eve; a fine dinner at home, champagne, reflecting on the past year and struggling to stay awake to see the ball drop in […]

The government of my country of birth Germany includes a ministry for economic cooperation. That ministry for economic cooperation is in charge of shelling out foreign aid. I recently read about Germany’s new minister for economic cooperation that he used to be in favour of doing away with that outfit. Since he heads that shop, […]

It was no surprise to anyone who has been following the life of Manuel Noriega when it was announced last week that he would be extradited from the U.S. to France; he would not be returning to Panama anytime soon. The Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear arguments about whether or not […]

Have you heard of Dambisa Moyo? Dambisa Moyo grew up in Zambia. After growing up in Africa, she studied at Harvard and Oxford. Dambisa Moyo then worked for Goldman Sachs and the World Bank. She recently penned and published a book, which pretty much comes across as a kick in the butt for the foreign […]

Despite the global economic downturn, Bali continues to draw in tourists and new expats. A record number 2,259,000 tourists visited Bali in 2009 and brought in over US$2.7 billion for the Balinese economy. In addition to foreign tourists, over 3 million domestic tourists visited Bali in 2009 and added another US$800 million to the […]

I happened to scan a few forecasts about the unfolding year and decade. They emphasise that the new decade is going to play out as the Chinese decade. Let’s wait and see what stretch of time it’s going to take the China to take centre stage. This century may turn out to be the Chinese […]

Twice in the past month Aria and I caravanned in to nearby Kruger Park, she following close behind in the Land Rover she’d acquired in Cape Town after completing a certified off-road driving course almost a year ago, right before taking several months snaking her way up to Limpopo province following no particular route. And […]