An interesting development

It's Monday morning here, and I haven't been able to access this page since about 12 hours after I published my last post. I'm not really sure what that means, and I'm not really sure what to do about it. I can access all other pages, but not this page. I can get to the dashboard here, and I can create a new post, but I can't publish it, I can't view the blog, and I can't read comments. So, I'm writing this from home today, but I think kreplech will have to publish it for me (from an undisclosed location....in America.)

Maybe someone is trying to answer my poll question for me? Maybe I had a few too many hot keywords in my last post that somebody misinterpreted? Maybe the link to the State Department Report was a bad idea? I don't know. But, as those who know me probably already guessed, I'm a bit paranoid at this point. I like making comparisons, but the inside of an American jail cell is not fun, and I'm not that interested in seeing the inside of a Vietnamese one.

So, I 'd like to take this opportunity to clear a few things up. I am not a revolutionary. Did ya hear that, guys? I AM NOT A REVOLUTIONARY!!! I think everybody who knows me was pretty sure of that already, but I just felt the need to say it aloud. Here. So, if you're looking to start a revolution, take it somewhere else. There's no place for that here, ya understand?

I'm a socialist, for crying outloud. I love communists. 5 years in Russia with excellent free health care did it to me. I'm a young, healthy, working class male, the picture of socialism. You need a dollar? I'll give you one. Need some Dong? I'll give you some. Glory to the workers!! Down with the Bourgeoisie!! Granted, I'm a liberterian socialist to coin a term, but a socialist none the less. For me, now, in Vietnam, I want to maintain the status quo. I love the staus quo.

Maybe I'm overeacting, but I think it's not entirely out of the realm of possibilities that my last post contained some items, or phrases, or links which could be viewed as unfavorable to a certain government, which happens to be in power in the country where I happen to be currently situated. And as a result of those words, phrases and links I have been blocked from posting more, and the State Security Services are now on the way to arrest me and sentence me without trial to a life of hard labor. But, I maintain that the subleties of my message could have been lost in translation, and I'm now issuing a formal apology to the offended parties. I'm not too proud for that. Sorry. I was actually trying to start a revolution in MY country, but now, I've even changed my mind about that. Because, as I said before, I'm not a revolutionary and I love the status quo.

So, in the interest of my personal safety, I've made some changes to my last post. I've replaced the link to the State Department with something I feel will be viewed in a much better light. And I've changed the quoted text at the bottom to claify what I was actually trying to say. Save all that journalistic integrity stuff for Judith Miller. This blogging thing is cool, but I like walking around outside. The view from here should not be from behind bars.

A Can of Worms

So, I went out to dinner last night with some Vietnamese friends, and we somehow got started on a pretty interesting topic. They've seen all the controversy in the states about Reverend Wright but they didn't really have the context to understand what the controversy is about. From their point of view the issue was framed differently. Americans have freedom of religion. And Americans have a seperation of church and state. So, What's the big deal? Why do Americans care about what somebody's pastor said or says? Imagine trying to explain that to someone who speaks less than perfect english, when I only know about 25 words in Vietnamese, and 10 of those are numbers.

So, It got me thinking. In one of my first days here I took a trip with those same people to a few Buddhist temples on the outskirts of Hanoi. And it struck me that Vietnam is, technically, a communist country. Yet, the temples seemed to be alive and well, I'd even say thriving. I mean communism and religion don't normally go hand in hand, right? Didn't I hear something once about The opiate of the masses?

Their Constitution says

"citizens enjoy freedom of worship, and may practice or not practice a religion"

but that

"no one may misuse religions to violate state laws or policies."

So, I guess that kinda covers all the bases there. Basically, worship whoever, whatever, however you want to, but don't start setting yourself on fire in the streets. The word "misuse" I think is particularly interesting.

Then this morning I came across this.

And here is a link to something which is NOT the State Departments Report on Human Rights in any country.

So, maybe we can use this stuff to start a discussion. Why do Americans care what somebody's pastor says or said? Could it (or should it) be spun into a freedom of religion issue? Does the State Department have a "Country Report on Human Rights Practices- U.S.A." And if there were such a report, what kind of grade would we give ourselves? Here are some things which could have been said about America, but were actually said about Vietnam.

Police sometimes abused suspects during arrest, detention, and interrogation. Prison conditions were often severe. Individuals were arbitrarily detained for political activities and were denied the right to fair and expeditious trials.

The government exercised oversight through the Ministry of Culture and Information, reorganized during the year to become the Ministry of Information and Communication, and supplemented its control through pervasive party guidance and national security legislation sufficiently broad to ensure effective self-censorship by the domestic media.

By law detainees are permitted access to lawyers from the time of their detention, but the system often functioned in a way that denied detainees free and open access to legal counsel.

Interestingly enough, I couldn't find anything in the report about warrantless wiretapping ocurring anywhere in Vietnam.

Ngon means Tasty

Hấp Dẫn means delicious...but it also means attraction, so be careful. This was in yesterday's Viet Nam News, a local english language paper. I like the end of the third paragraph. I also found this, in case anyone is interested.

The View from here...

Alright, Inaugural post. Hanoi Jake is up and running. My hope for this blog is that it will act as The Foreign desk for Illiterate Electorate. The view from the outside looking in. A foreign perspective on all things American, and an American perspective on all things Foreign. We'll start with this....



This Blog could be a bit like Hanoi traffic. In fact, I hope it is. Going this way, and that, always moving, never stopping, no rules, just motion. Stay tuned....