Hubris, or shrewd business move?

When trying to gain online access the Vientiane Times, the government mouthpiece..er..English-language daily Newspaper of record in Laos, you now get this message:

Dear Vientiane Times readers
The Vientiane Times would like to inform you that we are now providing an online subscription service. Readers can fill in the form on the Vientiane Times website www.vientianetimes.org.la and will be given a logon name and password so that you can read our daily news on our website. Readers can make payment with a SWIFT code through correspondent banks around the world, so it will be easy for you to transfer the subscription payment. The correspondent banks are listed below. When you have completed the transfer of subscription fee, please email the receipt details to the Vientiane Times.

$10 per month, $50 per year, or $120 for 3 years. Thanks, but no thanks.

Unfortunately, that means that I cannot continue to provide you with all the news from Laos, as provided by the Times. I guess you'll just have to be content with headlines. They tell most of the story anyway.

Such as this one that was in the Times recently:

Champassak Hopes for Goats

Concise, informative, lyrical. Really, you don't need much more to understand the desire, nay, dire need, for goats in a southern province.

And I'll tell you, there was something missing from my trip to Champassak last week that I never could quite put my finger on. I now realize it was the acute shortage of goats that I was noticing, but not quite understanding. We need to get goats there STAT!

Thank you Vientiane Times!