Last update: September 15, 2017 Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia As a kid, I was in awe of skyscrapers. Even at four years old, I would count the windows from the ground level to...
What are “American Values”? Are they just clinging to the past?
Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia We hear a lot these days about "American Values". Everyone from politicians of every stripe to talk show hosts extol these mythical virtues with...
The world’s five largest prison populations per capita
They call it "The Land of the Free", but just how free are you in the United States? When police in the USA aren't tasing fathers saving their kids from burning buildings,...
Are Diplomatic Passports a Legitimate Second Citizenship?
Last updated February 10, 2021 Dateline: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia is a melting pot of people from around the world – Malay, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and more....
The mystique of country borders and the best government mafias
Dateline: Johor Bahru, Malaysia I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of borders. Growing up on the United States, we learned early on about The Land of the Free’s only two...
Top 5: Countries by highest inflation rate
Milton Friedman said that inflation is "always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon". Throughout history, plenty of countries have seen inflation rates so high that...
How a second passport helps your privacy rights
Reporting from: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Privacy rights seem to be a lost art these days. In their quest to totally make you their slave, desperate governments are working to...
Why is the United States called America?
Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand To be honest, I didn't even realize today was Columbus Day. I guess any excuse for lazy government workers to take a paid day off and celebrate...
The US government shutdown shows just how unfree “America” is
Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand I have to say, I'm a little embarrassed. No, not for "my" country and all of the crazy things they're doing to innocent people during the...
They always had a second passport and offshore gold waiting
Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand I've often said that I love spending time in Asia for one simple reason. While I love the big cities, the hustle and bustle, and the great food,...
The rise and fall of societies and the death of the Constitution
Reporting from: Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia I love to walk, but I have to admit yesterday’s journey through the temples of Siem Reap - including Angkor Wat - has left my...
Is the Cambodia second passport a scam?
Dateline: Siem Reap, Cambodia In Khmer, Siem Reap literally means "Siam defeated". It's an old tribute to the great expansion of the Khmer Empire, which covered most of...
Why I choose flight over fight
Reporting from: Phnom Penh, Cambodia Last month in Vietnam, a local business owner told me a story about doing business with the Vietnamese. He talked about just how important...
The government slaves that couldn’t get a Cambodian passport
Reporting from: Phnom Penh, Cambodia I'm not a big fan of the United Nations. If you don't know just how ridiculous, condescending, and useless the UN is, go take a tour of their...
A reminder of big government power and Manifest Destiny
Reporting from: Bavet, Cambodia I’ve always found borders to be an interesting thing. As an eight year old, I would stand in my bedroom and stare at the large world map my mother...
Is “transparency” overrated? Is political corruption good?
Reporting from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam There’s a notion in the western world that “transparency” - a word largely co-opted by western governments to prove their superiority to...
Are Taxes the Price We Pay for Civilization?
Last updated October 15, 2020 Dateline: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. claimed: “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized...
Shadow statistics: why government statistics are lies
Reporting from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The idea of a census has been around for thousands of years. The Babylonians are believed to have taken the first government census over...
Thank You for Smoking: A Vietnam Smoking Ban No One Follows
Reporting from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam This past Saturday night, the scene was dizzying. The taxi driver here in Ho Chi Minh City didn’t know where the relaxed, chill “Skybar”...
Nationalism made them slaves in life… and death
Reporting from: Hue, Vietnam The Citadel here in Hue is the central part of the city, and the basis from which the rest of the city grew. As the capital city of Vietnam’s Nguyen...
