Dining Out American Style

Yes, I found one of the very few places in this city of 1.3 million that sports burgers and fries.  They never tasted better!  The hamburger filled the entire plate smothered with cheese, mushrooms and tomatoe.  The fries were also delicious.  This is sort of a hole-in-the wall place where I met two English teachers, one from Baltimore and one from England.  The English fellow just got engaged to a young woman from Framingham, Mass. and had dinner in Reading several weeks ago before they both came back over.  They will live in China after the marriage.  He says there is good money to be made in China if you teach English and speak good Mandarin which he does.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had a busy day at the office.  We arranged for me to meet the defense lawyer for Chulanbaatar who was convicted of illigal privatization of a leading newspaper and is now on appeal.  He was one of the principal founders of GI and a close colleague of former Pres. Enkhbaar who was also convicted on unrelated charges.  Also, I was given copies of the latest anti-media decisonsbby the trial and appellate courts.  These decisons would easly be dismissed in the U.S. but result in convictions here.  The alleged libels were substantially true.  Here the defendant must prove that his published statements are true.  In the U.S. the complaining must prove the falsity to win (a huge difference in this rather arcane practice of law. I will explain all this in my lectures.

Next week I am scheduled to meet Mr. Chlanbaatar in prison after his lawyer and I work on his appeal (I am advisoy only and will not formally appear).  We also worked out a rough agenda of other matters to address over the next 4 weeks, all subject to possible change. I will shoot you a pic of my meal at AB & F.  Also, I may get to do a 4 hour hike on Sunday into a valley and upslope forested area.  More on that later.  And so it went...