Jim Laurie
@jimlaurie.bsky.social
Writer, Speaker, Broadcaster. Travelling the world. A believer in learning from history. Author: The Last Helicopter: Two Lives in Indochina - a story of war, love and survival in the 1970's https://shorturl.at/oB6K7
Labor Day in America. Time for some reading? Life may seem complicated in 2026 ... but how about a read of war, trauma, love and survival 55 years ago! Life perhaps simpler then but more life threatening. #Cambodia, #Vietnam history matters #booksky @neglectedbooks.com Suggested reading:
. #Trump calls Xi’s Washington visit ‘exciting’, but claims US leads China in AI race. Trump praises Xi jinping and predicts they have ‘a lot of good things to discuss’ at summit, while bragging of beating #Beijing in tech war sc.mp/1ovm0?utm_so... via @scmpnews
Trump can’t wait for Xi’s Washington visit, but claims US leads China in AI race
US president praises Xi and predicts they have ‘a lot of good things to discuss’ at summit, while bragging of beating Beijing in tech war.
sc.mp
Sometimes forgotten South China Sea issue: #Vietnam Demands ‘Immediate Cessation’ to Construction Activities in Paracel Islands Request follows reports of extensive Chinese construction activities on Antelope Reef and a nearby islet thediplomat.com/2026/08/viet...
Vietnam Demands ‘Immediate Cessation’ to Construction Activities in Paracel Islands
The request follows reports of extensive Chinese construction activities on Antelope Reef and a nearby islet.
thediplomat.com
Japan seeks record $56.6b defense budget starting in April as PM Takaichi plans buildup. Drones, artificial intelligence and new warfare methods of warfare at core as it adapts its strategies to changing times. apnews.com/article/japa...
#Booksky A short excerpt below from THE LAST HELICOPTER as I celebrate the life of Soc Sinan, the woman I profiled in this unique memoir. An audiobook, digital book or paperback awaiting your weekend. Check out Amazon. It's the history of #Cambodia's genocide told as it's never been told before:
Trump's Iran War #China to 'firmly safeguard' its interests after US threatens #Iran's trade partners. China has already stated many times that it firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions f24.my/C7YW.BS
Middle East live: China to 'firmly safeguard' its interests after US threatens Iran's trade partners
A day after Washington announced sweeping new sanctions on Iran and its trading partners, China's foreign ministry said Tuesday that China – which buys some 90 percent of Iranian oil exports – would…
f24.my
As a former employee of ABC, I wish the network success! ABC files LAWSUIT against #Trump's FCC. Lawsuit unusual, a rare example of a major media organization suing Trump regime over its unrelenting campaign to punish US media through regulations and lawsuits. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/b...
ABC Sues Trump Administration Over F.C.C. Threat to Its TV Licenses (Gift Article)
The network asked a court to stop the agency from taking steps that could force ABC stations off the air and accused the F.C.C. of violating its First Amendment rights.
nytimes.com
Ex Premier's funeral. Beijing wants to portray today’s China as carrying forward Zhu Rongji’s era of growth, but for many Chinese, optimism of that time has since faded. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/w...
At Ex-Premier Zhu Rongji’s Funeral, China’s Past Shadows Its Present (Gift Article)
Beijing wants to portray today’s China as carrying forward Zhu Rongji’s era of growth, but for many Chinese, the optimism of that time has since faded.
nytimes.com
In Cambodia, Iran war forcing families to choose between school for kids or survival. Developing countries reliant on imported energy are most exposed to disruptions from the war, with girls more likely to be impacted in places that prioritize sons www.timesofisrael.com/in-cambodia-...
In Cambodia, Iran war forcing families to choose between school for kids or survival
Developing countries reliant on imported energy are most exposed to disruptions from the war, with girls more likely to be impacted in places that prioritize sons
timesofisrael.com
In Moldova, a country of about three million people with outsize importance to Vladimir Putin. Moscow paid Orthodox priests, conducted a vote-buying scheme & set up training camps on election interference — all in an effort to derail the Western-leaning government. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/w...
Inside Russia’s Giant Push to Upend a Tiny Country (Gift Article)
In Moldova, Moscow paid Orthodox priests, conducted a vote-buying scheme and set up training camps on election interference — all in an effort to derail the Western-leaning government.
nytimes.com
Weekend and time for some reading. #booksky Go back in history to the 1970's in Cambodia and Vietnam for a story of love, war, and survival. Two people and helicopters taken and not taken!
#Cambodia Clearly out of touch, took me by surprise: Opening of new multimillion$ MORMON Church in Phnom Penh. One of 111 temples outside US. 18k Mormons in Buddhist nation. I do remember 1975,the Catholic Cathedral here later destroyed by KR www.globalconstructionreview.com/the-way-we-c...
"The way we connect with our ancestors”: Cambodia’s first Mormon temple opens - Global Construction Review
A 115ft-tall, 10,000-sq-ft temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has opened to the public in Cambodia. It stands on a 3.16-acre site along Russian Federation Boulevard in the capi...
globalconstructionreview.com
The cognitive blindness that Washington displayed in Vietnam is on exhibit in the Iran war today. They have even deepened and become more glaring, writes columnist @hofrench.bsky.social. foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/14/i...
Yes, the Iran War Really Is Similar to Vietnam
Trump’s war is “The Best and the Brightest”—but without the best and the brightest.
foreignpolicy.com
Our Vietnam draft evader offers his view about deployment....I kid you not... www.mediaite.com/media/news/t...
Trump Says USS Abraham Lincoln Sailors Deployed ‘Not Nearly Long Enough’ as He’s Quizzed About Poor Conditions on Ship
President Trump brushed off concerns about mental health among U.S. service members aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Friday, telling reporters they have been deployed "not nearly long enough."
mediaite.com
In #China, a push for adoption of Artificial Intelligence. Use at a scale far outpacing USA. That means some workers are being displaced from their jobs. Now, Chinese courts are stepping in. In some cases, ruling that worker displacement is unlawful. www.npr.org/2026/08/13/n...
China's courts side with AI-displaced workers but job anxiety persists : State of the World from NPR
In China, top leaders are pushing the adoption of Artificial Intelligence. Companies there are using AI at a scale that far outpaces that of the US. That means some Chinese workers are being displace...
npr.org
Overnight stays by foreign visitors in Japan reached an estimated 179.92 million in 2025, up 55.6% from the prepandemic level in 2019, a Japan Tourism Agency survey has found.
Overnight stays by foreign guests exceed prepandemic levels in 39 prefectures
Such stays reached an estimated 179.92 million in 2025, up 55.6% from level in 2019, a Japan Tourism Agency survey has found.
ebx.sh
Eric Olander with another good podcast: #China #India entering cautious period of diplomatic re-engagement after years of confrontation...shifting global power dynamics are reshaping the balance between Asia’s two largest powers. Sushant Singh is interviewed: open.substack.com/pub/sinica/p...
China's View of India Has Changed. Is New Delhi Ready?
China and India are entering a cautious period of diplomatic re-engagement after years of confrontation, but deep strategic mistrust, unresolved border disputes, and competing security interests conti...
open.substack.com
#Vietnam pays the price at home for sending workers abroad Between 130,000 and 150,000 3Vietnamese go abroad to work annually, leaving seafood and garment sectors scrabbling for labourers = @southchinamorningpostrss.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy = www.scmp.com/week-asia/ec...
Vietnam pays the price at home for sending workers abroad
Between 130,000 and 150,000 Vietnamese go abroad to work annually, leaving seafood and garment sectors scrabbling for labourers.
scmp.com
Weekend reading. If you haven't already, check out my story of Love, War, and Survival in Cambodia and Vietnam - available in digital form, book form or audiobook on Amazon #booksky
#Trump regime with Stephen Miller cheering on, deports 44 year mother to #Vietnam a country she barely knows. For small crimes as teenagers, #Trump is deporting hundreds of Vietnamese, Khmer, and Hmong Lao = many refugees from war - a long war which America started. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...
Fled to America at 11. Stole at 18. Deported to Vietnam at 44. (Gift Article)
The Trump administration is sending back record numbers of Vietnamese, Laotians and Hmong. Many came to the United States as young war refugees and later committed crimes.
nytimes.com
Rhode Island federal judge orders federal immigration officials to release Cambodian refugee who has lived in Providence since arriving in the United States as an infant and whose detention by ICE prompted outrage and more call for ICE to be abolished. rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/05/j...
Judge orders release of Providence man ICE seeks to deport to Cambodia • Rhode Island Current
A Rhode Island federal judge orders U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release a Cambodian refugee whose detention during a routine immigration check-in prompted protests and appeals from ele...
rhodeislandcurrent.com
The ease with which Iran seized its new weapon shocked its foes. Its grip on the Strait of Hormuz looks set to outlast the war
How long can Iran weaponise Hormuz?
Longer than the world hopes, according to our Hormuz dependency dashboard
bit.ly
Some see #Japan’s beefier defence posture as counterweight to #China, in view of US engagement reduction. Consensus: Japan’s moves emblematic of a tougher regional security environment... yet Sino-Japan security dilemma is dangerous. Lowy Institute: www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...
Defusing Japan and China’s unmanaged security dilemma
A hotline has existed between Tokyo and Beijing since 2023 and barely been used.
lowyinstitute.org
This China piece from @thediplomat.com May 2026 may be of interest: #history What’s Driving Anti-Qing Sentiment in Contemporary China? Patriotic film backfired because a growing number of Han Chinese don’t see the Manchu-origin Qing dynasty as a part of their history. thediplomat.com/2026/05/what...
What’s Driving Anti-Qing Sentiment in Contemporary China?
A patriotic film backfired because a growing number of Han Chinese don’t see the Manchu-origin Qing dynasty as a part of their history.
thediplomat.com
#Vietnamese pushed off ancestral land. 5,000 #Vietnam households forced to accept trivial sums for fields and orchards to make way for $1.5 billion dollar #Trump golf and resort project. @donaldjtrump-maga.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/asiasent...
Viet Families Pushed Off Land For Trump-linked Project
5,000 families lose farms as US$1.5 billion real estate project goes forward
open.substack.com
#China's cyberspace regulator releases draft law aimed at curbing cyberbullying, including AI-enabled abuse, as #Beijing tightens oversight of online bullying in the world's largest internet community www.usnews.com/news/world/a...
usnews.com
#Asia’s Tourist Hot Spots Are Missing a Staple: Europeans Soaring airfares and disruptions to Middle Eastern travel hubs are keeping many travelers away from destinations in #Cambodia, #Thailand and #Indonesia. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/w...
Southeast Asian Resort Towns Suffer as Iran War Keeps European Tourists Away (Gift Article)
Soaring airfares and disruptions to Middle Eastern travel hubs are keeping many travelers away from destinations in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia.
nytimes.com
Summer reading: Not exactly a beach book but for anyone captivated by a war of long ago, or by love, and survival in Cambodia and Vietnam... why not order your copy of THE LAST HELICOPTER: TWO LIVES IN INDOCHINA (also available as an audio book) #booksky
