Well, there you go. According to a study done by the Mississippi State University, Vietnamese catfish is tastier and just as safe as catfish farmed in the United States. But then, if you heard about the “catfish wars” a few years ago, you probably already knew that.
The Subcontinent
Pakistan: Ghosts
by lukebrown •
It seemed to weigh heavily on him, this bespectacled middle-aged man opposite me. Alternately hunching his shoulders when lapsing into deep thought, and then rising up again when making a vital point, he would continue to talk, at times lowering his voice to a whisper, conscious not to allow his voice to reach the surrounds…
The Subcontinent
India and Pakistan: An afternoon at the circus
by lukebrown •
Cross late in the afternoon from Pakistan into India through the Wagah border point, complete immigration and customs formalities, walk a further couple of hundred metres down the road and you’ll find crowds of people, predominantly Indians, assembled outside a large closed gate. They are not touts awaiting tourists leaving Pakistan; you’ll find them a…
The Politics
Free Trade: what’s government got to do with it?
by lukebrown •
Someone once told me that he was all for free trade but couldn’t understand why free trade agreements needed thousands of pages. The simple answer is that this is not free trade. All that is required for free trade are willing buyers and sellers agreeing voluntarily to deal peacefully with each other, the eradication of…
Books
Book Review: “Setting the East Ablaze” by Peter Hopkirk
by lukebrown •
(Oxford University Press – 252 pages) Reviewer – Luke Brown Having seized power of Russia in the 1917 Revolution and being subsequently disappointed that it didn’t have a snowballing effect on Europe, the murderous, tyrannical, communist dictator Lenin decided that it was through the East that he could hope to conquer the West. As Britain…
Logs
Book Review: “The Gilgit Game” by John Keay
by lukebrown •
(Oxford University Press – 277 pages) Reviewer – Luke Brown Posted: 29 September, 2003 During the 19th century the Great Game (see Peter Hopkirk’s excellent book by the same title for more details) was being played between two imperial powers, Russia and Britain, for control of Central Asia. British India was deemed to be under…