It will be interesting to see how the economies of Vietnam, Laos, and the Kurdistan region are functioning in the world economy of high oil prices and the Middle East turmoil.  I see Isreal knocked North Korea out of the front pages for the time being.  
   I know that the last two times I was in Vietnam they seem to operate in a bubble unto itself regardless of the outside world.  Within that bubble I also realized, the people do not seem to hate Americans.  They do not seem to even be able to identify Americans, let alone hate them.  Their population is so young.  Kids in their teens seem to run everything over there, at least down in the old South Vietnam.  It does not surprise me then that they see the American Vietnam War as ancient history. 
   I can see that the price of gas here in the Midwest has started to effect other activities and prices.  Our heating and air bills are hight now also.  I am guessing these prices will cause the average guy to hunker down in his own little world more than usual.  This is a troubling trend, because i believe from my own experiences, that people that do not get out of their bubbles have to guess about the greater world.  And people that have to guess about the world at large can be manipulated with "the sky is falling" media stories.  The Bird Flu comes to mind.  The average guy in Vietnam and Laos just seems to be plugging away at daily life.  I wonder if half the people over there have even have heard of the Bird Flu?