Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, appeared recently on The Daily Show. The clip is available on YouTube.
Bolivia expert Miguel Centellas has some commentary.
{ 0 comments }
October 2007
Big news in the travel publishing world: BBC Worldwide has purchased indie guidebook publisher Lonely Planet. Founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler will retain a 25 percent stake in the company they founded more than three decades ago. Reuters puts the price of the deal at $203 million. Tony Wheeler said he believes the sale will help Lonely Planet stay competitive while allowing the publisher to remain true to its original values. While he and Maureen will now have more time to travel, it wasn’t easy for them to “sell out,” he said. In an audio interview, he told Australia’s ABC, “It’s been 34 years, it’s been our entire working life together…It’s been a long road…although we’re convinced it’s the right thing for the business…it’s a difficult thing to do.” I can’t say I’m terribly surprised.
Read the whole post for more info.
Related: My Gridskipper post from last year, when the Wheelers were in Bangkok for a book signing.
{ 0 comments }
Tom Fuller has a good story in the New York Times about how Myanmar’s resources affect regional politics (“Myanmar’s Resources Provide Leverage”):
For two decades, Myanmar’s neighbors have grappled with the question of how to respond to the unrelenting repression by the country’s ruling generals of its people. In Thailand, the answer comes each time Thais pay their electricity bill.
Natural gas from Myanmar, which generates 20 percent of all electricity in Thailand, keeps the lights on in Bangkok. The gas, which this year will cost about $2.8 billion, is the largest single export for Myanmar’s otherwise impoverished and cash-strapped economy.
Thailand’s gas imports highlight the dilemma facing China, India, Singapore and Malaysia, among other countries, as they vie for Myanmar’s hardwoods, minerals, gems — and access to its market of 47 million people.
At a time of spiraling world energy prices, the prospect of extracting resources appears to override the embarrassment and shame of dealing with a junta that has attracted world notoriety. For this reason, the countries that have the most leverage over Myanmar seem to be the most reluctant to use it, analysts say.
And regarding the protests — which appear to be dying down now — here’s a a NY Times blog post worth checking out (“Hints of a Vast, Grim Toll in Myanmar”).
{ 0 comments }
Sylvester Stallone — who, you’ll recall, has weighed in on Myanmar before — says he received death threats while filming his upcoming flick, “John Rambo,” here in Thailand. Times of India:
Actor-director Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he received a series of death threats while filming upcoming sequel John Rambo along the troubled Thailand-Myanmar border.
The 61-year-old star said that his crew was filming on the Salween River when they were warned that they would be shot if they did not leave the place immediately.
“We were on the Salween River and we were told to get out because we were going to be shot,” Contactmusic quoted him as telling American TV show Entertainment Tonight .
Stallone also claimed watching refuges fleeing from Myanmar to Thailand during his stay at the location.
“It’s the most brutal regime in the world and the most secretive. It has an oppressive regime that (keeps all riches) for themselves. Everyone is forced into drugs or prostitution or slavery,” he said.
“People are escaping all the time (from Myanmar), coming over with gaping, maggot-infested wounds, their ears being cut off. You saw a lot of suffering, a lot of malnutrition,” he added.
{ 3 comments }
I'm Newley Purnell, an American journalist in Bangkok. I report for Bloomberg BNA, ABC News Radio, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more.