[Vnbiz] A vietnamese thought what is going on around him
Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov
Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov
Fri Feb 29 15:57:03 PST 2008
Dear anh Thang,
You are giving me a big nose/head.
My diplomatic skills leave much to be desired. Our long-suffering Forum
leader, anh Hoanh, can attest to that.
But it does feel good to be recognized.
By calling it as I see it, I hope our friends in Vietnam will benefit from
seeing things through another set of eyes.
Best,
HPP
pthang at comcast.net
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02/29/2008 09:20 AM
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Re: [Vnbiz] A vietnamese thought what is going on around him
[ Vietnam Business Forum ]
Dear anh Phong,
Your explanation is great and well said . " Ngo pai phuc ". Your point
is precise, practical , realistic and diplomatic .
It expresses well the Viet community thinking process. Your talent is
very well fit to be ambassador .
One day, may it be true .
I feel so proud and lucky to have you as a viet , one of us .
Many thanks,
Thang Pham
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
----- Message from Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:40:34
+0000 -----
To:
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Subject:
Re: [Vnbiz] A vietnamese thought what is going on around him
Dear anh Thang anh chi Huong:
No Presidential candidate can really promise line-item funding in foreign
affairs targetting a specific country unless it is specifically tied to
national security or national interest. Being a big recipient of U.S.
foreign aid should not be a goal in itself that any ethnic group should
advocate for. Too much aid will likely do more harm than good. I even
have concerns about the volume of remittance, now larger than all foreign
aid combined, and contributing to the inflation problem.
A/O and even UXO are still more political problems than resources issues.
They are issues deserving attention. But their value is not in foreign
aid. Even if Congress decided to be generous, how much? A billion max?
There are aid programs on education and HIV/AIDS and other tropical
diseases that are doing good work.
Look at what Vietnam is getting from improved commercial relations with
the U.S. just in terms of merchandise trade alone. From virtually nothing
a decade ago to $10.6 billion last year. How many jobs does this create?
How many lives does it improve? Along with this came technical assistance
and legal reforms that benefit the domestic private sector as well as than
the foreign business community. How many Congressional budget line items
would it take to appropriate this kind of money?
In looking for a framework on how to decide our issue- based support for
the candidates, it would be more effective to portray the issues of
interest to us as our own interest, not those of Vietnam. Instead of
conditioning our support for a candidate based on his support for a
country, we should instead say how certain policies support American
interests in the region, and how we benefit as well. For example, by
continuing to keep the American market place open to products and services
from Vietnam helps create wealth and livelihoods for people in both
countries, reduce poverty in Vietnam and make it a stable and more
responsible member of ASEAN and the World community; helps our friends and
relatives in Vietnam as well as creates more business opportunities for
us and other Americans, makes available to us goods and services from
Vietnam. This is saying what we can do for both countries, not asking
what America can do for us. JFK would approve!
Cheers, HPP
huong luong <huongluongdc at yahoo.com>
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02/28/2008 10:54 AM
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[ Vietnam Business Forum ]
Fair argument, anh Thang!
We all know that Life is not always fair. Unjustice and unfairness will
continue exist around the world. Then we have to continue fighting
against it.
I have my feelings for AO, land-mined victims. Personally, I do know a
friend working in Pentagon to work with VN to remove existing landmine in
VN. And I myself initially work with the Landmine Victim network - an NGO
to help landmine victims, based in DC- to set up their operation in VN.
This is not a hoax, either.
I also hear that the fight for AO interests/rights is still going on, even
in DC. The issue was burried due to having no diplomatic relations b/t
US-VN for decades. Now it's time we should continue to unfold and fight
the issue until it's fairly resolved.
The bottom line is if American people can choose a great leader for
themself, the world will be better off in general as US has an undeniable
importance in world affairs. It's not neccessary which country he hearts,
he will still act out for the best interest of humankind.
Peace,
H
pthang at comcast.net wrote:
[ Vietnam Business Forum ]
Dear brothers and sisters,
I keep thinking about this sentence .
if we (vietnamese) support McCain just b/c he supports VN..it sounds a
little bit selfish of us.
I could not agree more . Since I am a liberal , I learnt many things from
black ,jewish, muslim, chinese and hispanic communities. I watch how they
vote their candidates . Since I am born in VN, why can 't I do the same ?
I have worked in the Pentagon, Congress, yearly funding and planning.
There is yearly multi billions dollars economic and military aid earmarked
for Israel . Besides the volunteer help from NGOs and a few scholarships,
Vietnam gets very little. I am proud that VN is not begging for donation .
How about the agent Orange victims, The US courts rejected to even help
the victims as of today, while they pay thousands of dollars to their
veterans for the same Agent Orange illnesses related. This is not a hoax,
you can find many pictures off google about agent orange victims.
How about thousands tons of unexploded bombs dropped by US bombers still
hidden in the field which continues to continue to VNese farmers and
children until to this very day ? I don't see a US line item to help
removing these bombs. I am not so sure who is selfish and irresponsible .
That is all my personal thought . Everybody has his/her opinion. We want
to exchange vietnamese ( both inside and outside VN) ideas including
others who care about vietnamese .
Do we have our own agenda, interests and goals as other groups ? The
answer is inside each of us .
I really like what Kennedy said :" Please don't ask what your country can
do for you , but ask what you can do for your country ?"
For the election 2008, I feel the opposite is true . " Ask the candidates
to promise to give us everything for free even at the expense for our
future generations ."
Cheers,
thang Pham
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