Dear Nigel, I know you can hear me, I am a bit mad at you but it will pass. I want to cuss you out right now because I am a bit selfish not being able to communicate with you via email anymore. How can I walk by the Honey Hotel here in Bangkok without thinking of you, or walk down my street Sukhumvit road or go to Singapore without thinking of you. Many of your friends may not know how well you knew Asia but I do. Before I came here for the first time in 1990, you Sir Nigel taught me the ways; sort of the Birds and the Bees kind of talk as well as where to eat and stay and what I could expect on my first trip to Bangkok and other countries. It was you that told me about this fabulous nightclub scene in Batu Ferringhi Malaysia, or that I should go hang out at Lucky Plaza in Singapore. We had so much to share after my first adventure to Asia because I had walked and experienced some the same places you knew so well. We go back a long way, I remember the first time meeting you and Diana at my parent’s house in Rancho Santa Fe. Peter and Pam Johnson brought you along knowing we would all get along well. My god we were young back then. How long has it been, more than 20 years, I care not to remember dates as you know. How odd, you are as close to my parents as you to my sister Teri and I. You had a unique relationship with all of us, and of course it goes without saying with all of your friends. I remember many a time waking up in the Bonny house with a wicked headache. Somehow Dianna was first up; well actually she never drank like we did so it goes to figure her coffee making skills were much better than ours at that time of day after a night of it. You may recall that Howard had placed you “in-charge” of Teri and I, especially me when we worked for Morrow Mortgage. You had a special case to deal with – Todd. If only I could recount how you put it to me back then that I would benefit by being in the office at 8 am instead of 9 or 10. The Nigel way of explaining couldn’t be argued with; you had all the bases covered. The difficulty for you is when I laughed at your explanations; all you could do was laugh too. I always laughed at you, the primitive maniacal mind laughing at the intellectual trying to describe so eloquently this or that. How many times you had me in stitches when trying with all of your heart to improve the way I was doing a task or thinking about a certain subject. It was never abrasive but often hysterical in the very way you approached the problem and explained it. Do you remember that time Howard took us on a three day deep sea fishing adventure with the Torrance Bank crew? My God, three days on a boat with you are hard to forget. Both of us were inept at tying that dam hook to the fishing line and casting too was not something of gracious-motion but more like frustrated spastics determined to get it right. All of us on the boat were surprised when you actually caught something. You were elated if not surprised – now legitimate “Nigel the fishermen.” What then took place perhaps is what I remember most of this illustrious fishing trip. There is Nigel Bonny, in the mid-afternoon sun hoisting this large fish on deck; to your detriment the fish is alive and shaking furiously. Nigel would not have that fish leaping back into the water, no sir…instead and to the bewilderment of all of us onboard, Sir Nigel jumps and tackles the fish wrestling the slippery sea-creature until it had calmed down enough to bag it. It was the most unexpected thing to see you determined on controlling that dam fish. Coming to the present time, I must ask you how are we to continue the banter we share? Your referring to the leaders of the Red Shirts here in Thailand as “pitchfork millionaires.” Ha! That doesn’t invalidate their cause, bloody hell we are not finished with this argument. I could not help but to share this mail below even if you are lashing out at me like a Wolverine. It was great fun being put in my place by you Nigel, I’ll get you back one day, and you can’t have the last word. I am going to miss you old boy, take care where ever the heck you are, I am sure you’re doing fine and moving forward, being a Buddhist my take on it is that you are recounting, pausing and readying for your next incarnation. With great love and admiration, Your Mate Todd Following is one email exchange with Nigel. Ooh he could get at me, but we both knew it was all in fun. http://bangkokbanks.blogspot.com/2010/05/people-power-china-and-quiet-american.html Nigel wrote: Time to re-read The Quiet American. "People Power" has never been about "People". People (the romantically notioned "farmers & rural poor") never have had and never will have "power". The treat of China looms large over the Ivory Towers of the American Banksters. At a snap of their fingers, China can destroy the dollar. Someone is moving the pawns to protect the King, and Thailand is the chessboard. Reply from Todd: Mate: Interesting insight you provided me, thank you very much. Great movie too the Quiet American, I will have to read the book as you suggest. With regard to your comment: I am not espousing "People Power" I simply said, "never underestimate the rural poor" what I mean is, the poor as a movement, as a voice - even as a catalyst for change, they are a force to be recognized even if to note - their profound ignorance and vassal like status especially relevant here in Thailand. The likes of Mao rose to power taking advantage of the commoner’s plight. There are striking similarities with regard to the wealthy Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra a power hungry man with dictator intentions. More on that later and keeping to the subject regarding the power of the poor is the very shirt Red Shirt’s are waring. Like a badge of honor (in Thai) the word “PRI” handsomely displayed on their beautiful Red Shirts in bold white lettering. It means subject, commoner, “serf” “peon” “servant” when I learned what the word meant, I had to go out an buy a few of these shirts. Unfortunately, I ware it otherwise danger may follow. It is that sensitive here. I take aim without judgment at what seems your begrudge for America or that there is some master conspiracy at odds with us all; actually I am bemused by it - huh? After all it is the place you choose to live and most importantly educate your children and have earned rightly so a handsome living. You might argue my English born friend that your affluence was not and never was the result of anything American. That does not discount the fact that you do live there. My observation may be misplaced and unwarranted; you will have to excuse me. I am often accosted here - no longer to my surprise from British person’s spiteful anti-American attitudes. Mind you Sir, not so from the French or Australians but more voice from the Brits. It took me time to learn to disregard their hostile remarks which I may or may not repute at the time. It strikes at the heart but I am a pragmatic old sot that realizes often enough when people are bitter it is often a cause of there own misfortunes, financial or otherwise that makes them act like a belching barbarian. NO WAY TO STOP THE MACHINE The Chinese could crush the American Dollar as you say but at what cost to them? It is not their interest to do so. Certainly it is the Chinese who will do in the Chinese, I do not think it is in their agenda to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. America still is the largest economy in the world and will be for some time. If we were smart we would make illegal all the Walmart's and stores like them that keep the Chinese manufacturing machine alive. The evils of consumerism unfortunately are at the heart of the people’s of America and too Europe. What’s important in life, family, relationships, nature all that sort of talk, has hopelessly been lost. Doing without is not an option; consumers are hungry for the cheap convenient Chinese made goods; it is now now now instead of save up and buy. If the Western world wants to take back its weakening strength it must put its thinking back in order and revise the opposing rhetoric policies in this balance shifting world. The axis is shifting; stopping it would require a huge effort to break the habit of spending both in consumers and governments. We are a mess, Asia is there to take advantage. At least that is it for now. Your S.E. Asian representative Mr. Toddman -------------------- "In many respects, we now live in a society that is only formally democratic, as the great mass of citizens have minimal say on the major public issues of the day, and such issues are scarcely debated at all in any meaningful sense in the electoral arena. In our society, corporations and the wealthy enjoy a power every bit as immense as that assumed to have been enjoyed by the lords and royalty of feudal times."-- Robert W. McChesney, author -- Rich Media, Poor Democracy. Nigel's Response - quoted text - Sent at 10:00 PM (GMT-07:00) May 8th, 2010. Current time there: 8:35 PM. hmmmm...surely you can do better than that? If the premise of any theory/argument is unsound, then the rest is nonsense. Most Americans are unable to indulge in critical analysis. Instead they tend to sight their scopes on the messenger and pull the trigger. My views are not born of rancor or bitterness towards this country. On the contrary, although still a Brit, I am a true American patriot. Patriotism is love of country, not love of government. I can (and do) love this country, and, by and large, its people. Government , however, bother here and in Britain, has been co-opted by a foreign force which has destroyed the Republic, illuminated Democracy and incinerated the Rights given to the American people by those who freed them from British tyranny. Now we have another nation which controls our destiny. A shitty little country with less than 6 million people which controls, through blackmail and terror, the lives of 300 million Americans and 60 million Brits. Nothing happens on the international stage without the approval of a group of thugs who control the banking system from 4000 miles away. To mention the name would render me vulnerable to be falsely accused of anti-semitism. (I'm not anti-jew, I'm anti-lsrael). Yes, I do choose to live here (for the time being) but the issues are not about me. Thailand has resolutely refused to kow tow to the extortionate demands of the IMF (aka Fed Reserve...aka private cartel of Zionist Banksters) and as such, while the CIA/Zionist masters send in their agit-prop machinery, they will pay the price until they do. (Hence the Quiet American tip). I did not suggest you espoused "People Power"...I was trying to say that it doesn't exist. Lenin was not a representative of the peasants (he was a tool of the Banksters) but he pretended to be. Once in power his lifestyle was equal to, if not grander than , that of the Royal family who he had murdered. Ayatollah Khomeini did not arrive in a vacuum of "People Power" to drive the American Puppet, Shah Palhavi, out of office. the Shah had already turned against the States b/c he realized they were raping his country and that he had no real power to act if those actions defied his CIA Masters. While the States Zionist controlled media had us all believe the Ayatollah was the Devil Incarnate, the CIA, quietly and behind the scenes, were facilitating the resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism as cover to remove the recalcitrant Shah who was straying off the reservation. (It backfired, as CIA plots often do...look up the definition of BLOWBACK). The topic is way to broad to be covered here. I just wanted to address the common accusation that b/c I'm a Brit, any criticism of US Foreign policy is a result of anti-American feeling or indigestion which makes this barbarian belch. It's not and it is convenient, yet myopic, for you to think so. Until we shout "The emperor has no clothes" the slavery will continue, both here and in Britain, and the free world will continue to suffer the attempts by the evil axis (USA, Britain and lsrael) to enslave it. Try this essay. I think it explains my positon far better than I can and it was written by an american. (Wow, he must be a bitter, belching barbarian !!!). http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/author/shane_solano/288/ Power To Speak An realistic perspective on government By Shane Solano 05/06/2010 In aid of all the attention (I would say more like a smear campaign) being lavished by the MSM on the Tea Party (or Tea Bagger, if you're a leftist) movement, here are a few observations on some of the issues/concerns/planks I've seen raised by many of its participants, and some perspective from an anarchist point of view................. "Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." George Bernard Shaw