After the Pol Pot auto-genocide, Christian missionaries must have thought that the surviving Cambodians would be easy targets for conversion to Christianity. When I first arrived in Cambodia in 1995, I saw a traumatized people. There were almost no psychiatrists to treat the PTSD that was rampant across the country. Not only had most of […]
Author: whatimnothearing
I REALLY GREW UP IN APPALACHIA
J.D. Vance has been touting his knowledge of Appalachia through his book Hillbilly Elegy, even though he grew up in northern Ohio and knows very little about Appalachia, except for a collection of negative cliches that point to Appalachians as a bunch of genetically degenerate losers. I actually grew up in a small town of about […]
CHERCHEZ LE PATRONAGE
If a Westerner observes some act of Cambodian behavior that he finds rather bewildering, my advice is: ‘cherchez le patronage’. Khmer society is governed by a system of patronage, where every person owes allegiance to their ‘bong’, very much like the old European feudal system, or in some ways like Chinese Confucianism. The patronage mindset […]
CAMBODIAN DEBT
Here’s a small factoid: Cambodian private debt is 180% of GDP. 180%! In layman’s terms, this means that the average private Cambodian is in debt up to their eyeballs. All those new cars and new houses are not paid for, and as far as I can see, will never be paid for. They will all […]
WHAT I’M NOT HEARING ABOUT IMMUNITY
The media have been going berserk talking ad nauseum about Presidential immunity. But it seems there are many questions that they are not asking. Does this ruling mean that there can be no more impeachments of Presidents? Can the Republicans forget about impeaching Joe Biden? If so, can a former President be un-impeached? Trump’s infamous phone […]
PRIVATE EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Public education in almost all developing countries is under-funded, and therefore of poor quality. One result is that developing countries fall further and further behind developed countries in human capital. Their poorly educated graduates just cannot compete with those from developed countries. Private schools spring up in developing countries in order to meet the demand […]
DOES A FETUS HAVE A SOUL?
This is not a political screed about abortion. I have placed it in my ‘Religion’ category. My thinking was stimulated when a friend told me that I would someday see my deceased daughter in the afterlife. My first question was: “She was 7 when she died. Will she still be a cute 7-year-old whenever I […]
HOW CITIZENS UNITED DIVIDED THE CITIZENS
I contend that the Supreme Court ruling Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Committee (2010) is a prime cause of exacerbating the divide between the rich and the poor in America. In short, it allowed the rich, through large corporations, to buy politicians, who then enact laws that benefit the rich and harm the poor and middle […]
‘STANDARDS’ and VYGOTSKY’S HIGH-JUMP
I hear so many educators pontificate about ‘maintaining standards’. In developing countries, there is a cry of, “Don’t water-down the curriculum” from the standards of Harvard, Oxford, and other top Western universities. This attitude usually comes from local scholars who have achieved their advanced degrees from top Western universities. When they return to their home […]
ROCKETS FROM RAFAH
Hamas’ latest actions are consistent with my earlier posts about their motivation. First, firing rockets at Israel is a message – a show of strength, even though the chances that the rockets do any damage are minimal. Hamas needs such bravado to show the world that it is still a fighting force. As I pointed […]