The Elephant Story

COMPLACENCY KILLS AS DOES REVENGE

Nov 26, 2023 | 0 comments

COMPLACENCY KILLS AS DOES REVENGE We are all witnessing the folly of Israel’s complacency relative to the overwhelming attack by Hamas and the swift and deadly retaliation by Israel against Hamas. In both instances, the greatest losses occur among the innocent civilian bystanders caught in the crossfire. Whereas Hamas killed more than 1,400 in their October 7 invasion of Israel, Israeli strikes have allegedly killed over 10,000 people in Gaza and injured another 20,000. On the Israeli side, there has been considerable finger-pointing between the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has recently had more than his fair...

THE BROKEN MIDDLE EAST RECORD

Nov 19, 2023 | 0 comments

THE BROKEN MIDDLE EAST RECORD In May 1979, I chose to leave the comfort of a major oil company to join the charismatic Joe Reid, CEO of Superior Oil, and become the Chief Financial Officer of the largest U.S. independent oil and gas company. It was one hell of a good ride. No one at Exxon could imagine that I would leave in the first place and then do all the things without restraint required to bring Superior into the modern world. Accordingly, I took the liberty of recruiting the best and brightest of Exxon to join me. Joe had...

CHRISTMAS CHEER THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

Nov 15, 2023 | 0 comments

CHRISTMAS CHEER THAT KEEPS ON GIVING In the world of home and office design, there are many well-known architects and designers. None of them are as well known to me as Sara Story of Sara Story Design. Let’s forget any allegations of nepotism and just look at the facts. Sara recently opened an art gallery in Center Point, Texas. You might ask “why Center Point, Texas,” to which I would respond because we are the “center of the Universe.” Sara will have an artist-in-residence on a rotational basis to support this emerging community in the design world. Her gallery, shown...

CHINESE CHECKERS IS A NEVER-ENDING GAME

Nov 12, 2023 | 0 comments

CHINESE CHECKERS IS A NEVER-ENDING GAME Over the years, it should have become apparent that I am “no friend of China.” I would clarify that description is relevant only to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and not Chinese people. It reminds me of my father-in-law, Bill Coldiron, who served as U.S. Under Secretary of Indian affairs and was nicknamed by various American Indian tribes as being “no friend of the Indians.” Interestingly, this wonderful man’s surname could have had Indian heritage roots many years back. Maybe he understood them better than most which I believe qualifies me to offer...

JAPAN AIRLINES SEATS THE SUMO TITANS

Nov 05, 2023 | 0 comments

JAPAN AIRLINES SEATS THE SUMO TITANS CNN Travel recently published an article entitled “The Middle Seat was the Toughest.” Japan Airlines (JAL) had to adjust its flight configuration to solve weight limitations when they had a plane load of sumo wrestlers to transport from Tokyo to a competition in southern Japan. The cumulative weight of the wrestlers exceeded the aircraft limits which then required two planes and careful consideration of the seating arrangements. The average weight of the sumo wrestlers was 264 pounds each as compared to 154 pounds for the average more svelte JAL passengers. There were complaints...

INDIANA JONES AND LOOTED ART

Oct 27, 2023 | 0 comments

INDIANA JONES AND LOOTED ART An article in a recent The Week magazine entitled A Reckoning Over Looted Art strikes a bit close to home. A big part of my life has been spent in the Far East where I became fascinated by just about everything that part of the world had to offer. Maybe it is not surprising that I became an amateur collector of Asian artifacts. Mind you, it was long before Indiana Jones glamorized the life of an archeologist, saving precious art treasures from being lost and relocating them to museums, where they could be viewed...

ARE WE FACING THE END OF THE PLANET

Oct 17, 2023 | 0 comments

ARE WE FACING THE END OF THE PLANET In the days of Dr. Strangelove and the threat of nuclear warfare, we were taught how to seek shelter in the event of a nuclear attack. The more cautious folks built bomb shelters with supplies of food and water. Even as a youngster, I wondered what the point was since, if you walked out once your supplies were exhausted, there would only be an uninhabitable wasteland. Although the threat of a nuclear exchange may have grown in the past few years, the more sinister likely ending is self-inflicted climate change which...

THE POPE WALKS A HIGH WIRE WITHOUT A SAFETY NET BELOW

Oct 08, 2023 | 0 comments

THE POPE WALKS A HIGH WIRE WITHOUT A SAFETY NET BELOW An old friend approached me about oil exploration opportunities in Mongolia in the early nineties which I found interesting. We structured a venture to pursue the opportunities which made us either true pioneers or evidenced insanity. In 1992, the Republican Presidential Convention was held in Houston, which was then the oil Mecca of the world, and a visit was underwritten by the International Republican Institute (IRI) for the new democratic leadership of Mongolia. Potential commerce in Mongolia arose following the peaceful overthrow of the communist Mongolian government by...

MERCENARY ARMIES ARE NOTHING NEW TO THE WORLD

Oct 01, 2023 | 0 comments

MERCENARY ARMIES ARE NOTHING NEW TO THE WORLD Sean McFate, professor at the National Defense University, published an interesting article in The New York Times entitled Prigozhin’s Real Legacy: The Mercenary Blueprint addressing the future of the world’s most dangerous private army. Whereas Putin forced many Wagner mercenaries to surrender their weapons to the Russian military following his embarrassment in a coup attempt by Prigozhin, Wagner’s best fighters are in Africa. The Russian government will likely take control of this lucrative enterprise to improve the finances of both the government and Putin. The hired gun labor pool is quite...

INSPIRATION COMES IN WAYS AND WAVES

Sep 24, 2023 | 0 comments

INSPIRATION COMES IN WAYS AND WAVES It can be a challenge to write about something every week to which one can relate and hope readers can do the same. Latching on to an election in Thailand seemed logical since politics tend to be pretty much the same from Thailand to Timbuktu though in Thailand the subtle innuendos were quite different. On the other hand, it is awfully boring to write about the same sort of thing from week to week. Therefore, where do you find inspiration? I found it in a House of Suntory, an elite Japanese whiskey...

CHINESE CHECKERS IN AN ECONOMIC WORLD OF CHESS

Sep 16, 2023 | 0 comments

CHINESE CHECKERS IN AN ECONOMIC WORLD OF CHESS Recently over a home-cooked meal with close friends that go back a long time, we got around to the economic future for China. Two of our friends are of Vietnamese ancestry, which makes them follow the actions of “big brother” to the north with a watchful eye. Moreover, the husband and I go back many years in the oil business of Vietnam. I related my experiences in Russia and China as a backdrop to the conversation and drew the distinction between the two goliaths who basically surround Mongolia. Some years...

BUDDHISM FOR MIND OVER BODY

Sep 08, 2023 | 0 comments

BUDDHISM FOR MIND OVER BODY I began a loose affiliation with Buddhism back in the late sixties when I moved to Thailand. I was surrounded by wonderful Thai people who practiced the faith. Now, I will define Buddhism in terms of a faith to influence the mind rather than a religion. More about that later, but it evolved for those of us in the “black and white days” who exposed ourselves to bad folks that it might improve our odds in those situations. If any of our aircraft fell out of the sky in Laos, it would probably...

ARE YOU A PHOENIX?

Sep 01, 2023 | 0 comments

ARE YOU A PHOENIX? If you watch much television, you are most likely familiar with the commercial “I Am a Phoenix” which advertises the online educational programs of The University of Phoenix. In fact, I have a good friend who is “A Phoenix” graduate. Moreover, in another life, I had a friend who was our general counsel and a former combatant from the Phoenix Program of the U.S. Military during the Vietnam War which targeted suspected communist civilians. My friend was Georgian by birth (former U.S.S.R.) with a name that was quite difficult to pronounce which he always...

IN THE LAND OF SMILES THE GRAY BEARDS PREVAIL

Aug 27, 2023 | 0 comments

IN THE LAND OF SMILES THE GRAY BEARDS PREVAIL I opened my digital Bangkok Post this past Tuesday to a headline that says it all about the recent Thai parliamentary election and the blurry Thai military, royal and commoner segments of the population. The news was Parliament Elects Srettha Prime Minister. The subtitle was Property Tycoon from Pheu Thai-led Coalition Secures Comfortable Majority 100 days After Election. The image below reflects the actual voting process as parliamentarians are called by name during the joint sitting to elect a prime minister. In fact, I have been in that impressive...

MOVE FORWARD IS SLIPPING BACKWARD TO THE PAST

Aug 20, 2023 | 0 comments

MOVE FORWARD IS SLIPPING BACKWARD TO THE PAST I realize most of you stalwarts who are still following the May 14 Thai Parliamentary election results and the prospects for the future are weary of the drama that has unfolded. As we have covered, the exciting Move Forward Party (MFP) was denied their leading position in government though there were hopes of a coalition with the Pheu Thai party enabling them to participate in some fashion. That possibility has foundered considering other parties’ demands that MFP be denied a place at the ruling table which will make them an...

WHO CAN SAY ONLY THE WEST HAS COMPLICATED POLITICS?

Aug 14, 2023 | 0 comments

WHO CAN SAY ONLY THE WEST HAS COMPLICATED POLITICS? I realize that I am fixated on the May 14 Thai parliamentary election as I was in Bangkok that day and got caught up in the excitement. Nonetheless, the election has failed to result in the formation of a government, and we are now into August. Every morning I quickly turn to The Bangkok Post which is my source of information on the ongoing political saga. The majority winner, the Move Forward Party (MFP), has been forced to stand down and forego their majority position to form a government...

THE REWARDS OF EDUCATION

Aug 07, 2023 | 0 comments

THE REWARDS OF EDUCATION As the presidential contest in the U.S. is moving into full swing, many politicians seem to believe they can seize upon education to reward their constituents by manipulating class curriculums to conform with whatever suits their purpose which is to win votes. Their self-serving rewards come at a costly price to the educational process and the youth of America. Over the years, we have left those issues behind and focused on the more manageable village of Ban Ta Klang in Surin Province, Thailand near the Thai border with Cambodia. As the isolated village is...

THAILAND - TWO STEPS FORWARD FOLLOWED BY ONE STEP BACKWARD

Jul 31, 2023 | 0 comments

THAILAND - TWO STEPS FORWARD FOLLOWED BY ONE STEP BACKWARD We have followed the election results and the ensuing drama in Thailand since May 14, 2023, when The Move Forward Party (MFP) won the first election in nine years. The Thai Military had previously taken control in a coup and finally succumbed to pressure to have an election. Coups are a rather common experience in Thailand but the shattering news in this election was the success of an unknown party of “youngsters” who took over the political arena and won which stunned a great many people. MFP...

FOREIGN NEWS MEDIA AND SPOOKS SWIM IN THE SAME POND

Jul 20, 2023 | 0 comments

FOREIGN NEWS MEDIA AND SPOOKS SWIM IN THE SAME POND For many years, a reporter friend of mine in Bangkok who worked for an Asian news agency always wanted to interview me following one of my trips around the Far East. She would come over to our hotel for a meal. I enjoyed her questions and insight into my favorite part of the world outside of Texas. I also assumed she was a good spook in addition to being a solid reporter. Nonetheless, I conned her into doing an elephant video for her network which she did. Following...

THE SAINT OF MYANMAR VERSUS THE SINNER MILITARY

Jul 16, 2023 | 0 comments

THE SAINT OF MYANMAR VERSUS THE SINNER MILITARY As you might suspect the “Saint of Myanmar” is Aung San Suu Kyi, shown below in the poster to the left, and the “Sinner Military” is encapsulated in the image of General Min Aung to the right. I first went to Burma fifty-five years ago as it was just coming out of its cocoon and one could only stay 72 hours on a shore pass. It was way too soon to visit as there was no transportation from the airport into town. Anyone who went there had a private vehicle...