April 30, 1975: Commemoration Day for the Fall of Saigon

Normally, I would have some special article based on some notable historical figure of Vietnam to attach to a day like this.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to do such a thing, so I’m just going to get straight to the point.  This article is dedicated to that fateful day on April 30, 1975, when the North Vietnamese steamrolled into Saigon to bring an end to the long civil war.

There really isn’t much left I can say about this day.  It was a tragedy, a day that marked the fall of one of Vietnam’s brightest periods in the modern era.  South Vietnam was not without its flaws; there were numerous corrupted idiot officials in the government.  However, despite these bad eggs, the key values which Republic of Vietnam represented were democracy, freedom, and liberty.

South Vietnam never got to reach its full potential because of the war, but in its short lifetime, the RVN gave a glimpse of what Vietnam was capable of.  The people of Vietnam, then, now, and always, have so much to offer to make the country great.  Unfortunately, because of Ho Chi Minh and his Communists, the endless talents of the Vietnamese people have been, and continue to be squandered and suppressed.

On that day, thousands of scared and heartbroken South Vietnamese people pored into the American embassy in Saigon.  Many others jumped on the nearest boat and set sail into the open sea.  All of this to escape the impending brutally and slaughter that followed after the North Vietnamese formally consolidated their rule over the population.  Many of the refugees lost their lives at sea, but some were lucky to land in many countries such as Australia, France, Canada, and America.

These survivors started new lives overseas, and are our mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, cousins, our brothers, and our sisters.  They were the boat people, those who braved the perils at sea to start all over, in an alien place that we all take for granted today.  As the new generation, we don’t really know how lucky we are to be living in a land of opportunity, liberty, and freedom.  I’m not just talking about America, but of all liberal democracies across the world.

If you are a Vietnamese whose loved ones are among the few to survive the dangerous journey across the seas, and have provided you with an amazing life in this wonderful democracy of ours, I suggest you go to them and give them a giant hug.  After that, tell them that you love them, and then thank them for providing for you in a land of freedom, democracy, and equal opportunity.  Today may be a sad day in history, but it is also a time to appreciate the gifts that we so often take for granted: freedom.  Have a nice day, my fellow leaders of tomorrow.  To my people in Vietnam, a change will come, and you will be the ones to do it.  Just believe.

Breaking Down Joel Brinkley’s Racist Article

Joel Brinkley doesn’t need to find facts, facts find Joel Brinkley.

Meet Joel Brinkley.  Supposedly, he is a professor at Stanford University who teaches in the Faculty of Communications…  So you know this guy knows exactly what he’s talking about when it comes to biology and genetics, right?  After all, aren’t Communications professors all experts at biology?  Obviously not.  Joel Brinkley knows nothing about these subjects.  As a matter of fact, for someone in the arts, he sadly knows nothing about history either. This explains why the things he says in his article makes it more of a comical piece, as opposed to real academic writing.

If you haven’t heard about it yet, there is an article out there right now that speaks ill of the Vietnamese people, it’s author: Joel Brinkley.  There are a number of problems that the article poses, the most notable being that it’s racist, the other being that none of it makes any sense at all.  Heck, even those of us with no ability to distinguish scientists from scientologists can tell that Brinkley is a nut case for the things he is saying in his article.

For one, Captain ‘So-Not-Insane’ (I call him this for the ironic effect) thinks he can fabricate lies about the Vietnamese people and label them as having “aggressive tendencies” because they have too much meat in their diet.  Yeah, I know.  Joel Brinkley, ‘Professor,‘ thinks that we are an aggressive people because we eat meat and have too much protein in our diet.  Wait a minute! Who else eats meat, by the way? Oh right, just every other nation in the history of our earthly existence.  Good job, Joel, you failed miserably, and not just at one thing.  Furthermore, Vietnam, being an agricultural and coastal nation, lives majorly off of rice and seafood.  Once again, ‘professor,’ you fail miserably.

How Joel Brinkley became a professor at a fine American institution such as Stanford University, I will never understand.

Another thing, Joel Brinkley, ‘Professor,’ (wink) says that Vietnam has “always been an aggressive country,” fighting “17 wars with China since gaining independence” and repeatedly moving into Cambodia as a result of all that protein in our diet.  Somebody get this guy a cookie, he’s on a roll!  I can’t take Joel Brinkley seriously, call me nuts (or Brinkley), but I just can’t seem to come to grips with how someone with a university degree can be so darn stupid.  Maybe his PhD was from the same school Nguyen Tan Dung got his, who knows.

To address the claims of belligerence, since I must, the wars that we have fought with China are ones of self-defense and self-preservation.  They invaded us, occupied us, and threatened to end our existence.  As a result, we had no choice but to fight in order to keep them out.  If you’ve been reading my material, you know that this is fact and not just hearsay, myths, exaggeration, and fabrication like the works of Joel Brinkley.  He also claims that people in Vietnam like to capture squirrels, birds, rats, cats, dogs, tigers, and even rhinos as part of their meals.

Let me get this straight.  Yes, there are some degenerates in Vietnam, either that or people who are excessively poor and must live off anything they find (I blame the Communists), who eat dogs.  I actually cringe a bit at that, but nonetheless, that is something I know of and cannot deny.  Even then, that is limited to a very, very, very small part of the population, and is not limited to Vietnam alone.  Poor people in China and other countries in the region eat dog too, but you don’t hear the professor talk about that.  As for the allegations of eating small critters and rhinos, that is false.  Congratulations, Joel, you are a complete and utter failure at three different subjects.  Go home.

On a serious note, though, there is another possibility for why Joel Brinkley wrote such an unfair and despicable article.  There is a very real possibility, that I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Joel Brinkley, ‘Professor’ of Stanford University, has a hidden agenda in writing his article.  Maybe he isn’t stupid, maybe he knows exactly what’s wrong with his slanderous article.  There is something sinister about what Joel Brinkley is doing, and he’s doing it on the behalf of someone else.   I can’t say who it is without evidence, but I can tell you to put the pieces together.

Think, who in the world right now has a problem with Vietnam?  Who wants Vietnam to seem like an aggressive country, to stifle it from defending itself upon another invasion?  Who has had quarrels with Vietnam, has been staking claims to Vietnam’s land, and would benefit greatly from a negative portrayal of Vietnam?  Who has been trying to takeover Vietnam for the longest time, but failing continuously?  This is not the first time that they have tried to rewrite history, and, it saddens me to say, it won’t be the last.  With time, all the facts will come out.  In the meantime, just think about it.

Here is a link to Joel Brinkley’s article: 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-01/news/sns-201301291330–tms–amvoicesctnav-c20130129-20130129_1_dog-meat-da-nang-meat-eaters

Petitions for Brinkley’s removal have also been resoundingly successful, yet he refuses to resign:

https://www.change.org/petitions/professor-joel-brinkley-stanford-university-resign-from-teaching

http://www.change.org/petitions/stanford-university-remove-joel-brinkley-no-place-for-racism

The Release of Le Cong Dinh

Several days ago, on February 6, 2013, human rights activist and Harvard-educated lawyer Le Cong Dinh was abruptly released from Vietnamese prison.  In 2009, Mr. Le was sentenced to 5 years by the Communist government for “spreading propaganda against the state,” which was basically defending human rights and peacefully expressing his views.  His release from prison is peculiar, since he has only served three years of his jail term so far.

Mr. Le is a prominent figure in Vietnam’s human rights movement.  Before his arrest, Le Cong Dinh openly opposed China’s bauxite mining on Vietnamese soil, a project that was harmful and destructive to Vietnam’s environment.  He is also a strong voice in defense of Vietnam’s human rights and democratic activists.  Furthermore, Mr. Le expressed his intention to sue Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party for their terrorist activities in the seas, and their nihilistic behavior towards Paracel and Spratly.

As once can see, Mr. Le poses a threat to many.  Not only were the Communists in Vietnam worried about this man, but the Chinese were too alarmed by Le Cong Dinh’s activism.  This is what makes his recent release from prison so puzzling.  Given his track record, Le Cong Dinh is not someone the Communists would want in the streets.  If you ask me, since I’m such a skeptic, his recent release is simply a political maneuver by the party to get themselves back on America’s good graces.

Even though Mr. Le is released from confinement, there are still strings attached to his “freedom.”  Le Cong Dinh is currently under house arrest, for three years.  So even though he is no longer in prison, he still cannot leave the house and communicate with the outside world.  The upside of his release is that now he can be closer to his family, and that he is free from the horrid conditions of Vietnamese jail.

As far as human rights goes, the Communist still have no intention of making any improvements.  Though I am pleased that they have released Le Cong Dinh from jail, I am not impressed by the fact that he cannot even leave his house.  This is simply one of those tricks they play form time to time in an attempt to appear as though they are changing.  Their behavior is reminiscent of that dirt bag relative who occasionally shows up at your house.  That one relative who pretends they changed, begging you to throw them another dollar for them to carry on their worthless lives.  Before the Communists release Cu Huy Ha Vu or Viet Khang, I am not impressed.

The dirt bag relative is only a metaphor, of course.

The Songs of Freedom

Alright everyone, here are four songs that I am making downloadable on this website, just for you.  Two of the songs are from brother Viet Khang, the heroic prisoner of freedom, justice, and human rights.  The next two tracks are from Mr. Truc Ho, the great crusader, who has fought tirelessly to raise the human rights issue, and mobilize us Vietnamese across the seas.  Both of these men are great musicians, composing  extremely powerful songs that have left the Communists shaking in their little boots.

The list presented below includes Truc Ho’s popular song, “Dap Loi Song Nui,” which translates to “Answering the Call of the Mountains and Rivers.”  This song was composed earlier in 2008, though I have yet had the opportunity to share it with you.  Any fans of Truc Ho surely know about this song already.  However, if you have not listened to it yet, now is as good a time as any.

The Songs of Freedom:

Viet Khang – Viet Nam Toi Dau?

Viet Khang – Anh La Ai?

Truc Ho – Trieu Con Tim

Truc Ho – Dap Loi Song Nui

To download the songs above, simply right click on each file, then choose the “save link as” option on your computer.  The next step is self explanatory: click “save,” or “download,” whatever it is that comes up at this point.  These steps apply both to Macs and PCs, as the process and results will be exactly the same.  To my users outside of North America, Vietnam especially, choose the corresponding options in your language and you too should receive the songs.

From here, do as you please with the music.  Listen to it, enjoy it, and share it with the world.  To my people in Vietnam who are able to access this blog, here is your chance to acquire what your government has been trying so hard to shield from you all this time.  Take this music, spread it as far and wide as you can, by whatever means at your disposal.  This is only a small step, but it’s a small step forward.  The world is with you, may you never give up.

Million Hearts, One Voice: Truc Ho’s Human Rights Campaign

For the past couple months, Mr. Truc Ho has been conducting yet another brilliant campaign for human rights in Vietnam.  This most recent campaign is called “Million Hearts, One Voice,” and has caused quite a headache for the Communist leadership in Hanoi.  Not only did Truc Ho present a petition with over 135,000 signatures to both American and U.N leaders about Vietnam’s human rights issue, he also crafted a beautiful new song to support his campaign.

One of the flagships of Truc Ho’s campaign, next to his petition, is his newly composed song, “Trieu Con Tim,” or “A Million Hearts.”  Trieu Con Tim is a finely crafted song that vividly describes the countless abuses and failures of the Communist Party in Vietnam.  Their pathetic display on the world stage, especially their kowtowing to Beijing and the CCP, as well as their pathetic displays at home brought to light.

The song mentions some specific cases that happened recently in Vietnam.  One such case is the self-immolation of a mother in protest of the Hanoi government.  As a blogger, her daughter was detained as result of her courage to criticize the party.  Other cases, such as the government’s seizing of a citizen’s property, and the losing of Paracel and Spratly are also mentioned.  These stories will be mentioned in more detail in future posts.

This campaign has made a huge impact America’s new foreign policy towards Vietnam.  The Obama Administration’s Vietnam policy has shifted dramatically, and relations between the two nations have begun to deteriorate.  The U.S. has become fed up with the lack of progress on Vietnam’s human rights situation.  Therefore, they no longer seek to strengthen relations with the Communist Vietnamese.  This recent development will too be covered in a follow-up article.

For now, if you haven’t already, give this song a listen, enjoy it, and think about the message that it is delivering.  In the near future, I will write an article that gives everyone an opportunity to download the music of Truc Ho, as well as the music of Viet Khang.  This will make it possible for anyone who has access to this blog, whether inside or outside of Vietnam, to download the music and circulate it where ever they feel necessary.  Until then, hang tight, my fellows, and stock up on some blank CD’s.

Once Again, Merry Christmas!

Seasons greetings,

Hopefully you’ve all been enjoying this festive holiday season.  I may not have been writing as much as I would like to, it would be a shame if I didn’t give you all my annual Christmas card.  I deeply appreciate your continued support, and am excited to bring you more quality material for many days to come.

It doesn’t have to be Christmas for us to enjoy those things that are important to us.  However, since it’s snowing outside, the fireplace is warm, the candles are shining bright, and the eggnog is just… just fantastic, we might as well enjoy it with the ones we love most, whoever they are.

With that said, I hope you all have a great holiday season, and a very Merry Christmas!

Thank again,

Ian Pham

Viet Khang’s Verdict

Alright, so a little over a week ago (October 30… Sorry we took a while), the Communist Party delivered their verdict on Viet Khang’s trial.  After a half-day of rigorous show-trialling, the Communist Party, Viet Khang was sentenced to four years in prison and a supposed two years of house arrest.

On trial with Viet Khang is fellow musician/songwriter Hoang Nhat Thong (his real name is Tran Vu Anh Binh), who is also sentenced to a harsh prison term of six years in prison.  Mr. Tran Vu Anh Binh wrote a song in honor of the democracy activist Dieu Cay, titled “Nguc Toi Hien Ngang”, or “Courage in the Dark prison”.

Viet Khang’s verdict is somewhat lighter than I expected (though it is still extremely harsh) when comparing to other democracy activists (Dieu Cay got 12 years).  This may or may not be due to the international attention given to Viet Khang’s case, and there was a lot of attention from the Vietnamese community around the world regarding Viet Khang.

It is not yet clear what the situation in Vietnam is like now that a sentence has been placed on Viet Khang.  What I am sure of however is that the arrests and unfair treatment of innocent people will continue.  It’s a long and arduous process but there is really no way the Party can ever regain their legitimacy.  They have demeaned themselves, the country, and the people of Vietnam for so long, it is no longer a tangible task for them to gain any respect from their people, the world, or each other.

A coward can only hide his cowardice for so long, and even then, he cannot fool himself into having courage.  As far as the Communist Party is concerned, they are surviving off borrowed time.  They can keep suppressing, they can keep censoring, and they can keep pretending they aren’t Chinese dogs.  However, they cannot wipe the blood off their hands, and they will never again look valiant and righteous in the eyes of their people.  Even the great regimes don’t last forever, and the Communists are definitely not the greats.