MotoFoto of the Week

What We Don't Know, Can't Hurt Us...?

I just got cable this week. It's a pretty interesting package too. I've got 9 channels of quality programming from VietnamTV, about 3 Chinese channels, a few Korean channels, Disney, Discovery, National Geographic, a porn-free version of Cinemax (which I didn't even know exsisted), about eleven football (er, soccer) channels, BBC and CNNWorld, in english.

So, you all can rest assured that I know what's going on in the world. For example, I know that there's gonna be a hoe-down tomorrow in Crawford. When I first saw the story on CNN, they were showing still photos of Jenna and for a second I thought "oh my god!, Jenna Bush has gone missing!", then I turned up the volume. D.C. bloggers are reporting that GW spoke to God and called off all scheduled thunderstorms near Crawford tomorrow.

And I know that Hillary isn't giving up without a fight. I think as a poor white man, I speak for myself when I say I've had enough of those elitists and they're math. But, then again, Hillary and I both finished college.

I also saw the huge press coverage of Russia's Annual Victory Day parade. That report brought on nostalgia for me, because I was at that same exact parade last year. In fact, I attended that parade every year for the last five years. But, I guess this years parade was bigger...

But to CNN's credit, they did actually have one example of solid journalism . I've been watching his reports for the past few days, and I have to say, I thought they were pretty solid. As far as I know, he's the only TV journalist that's been able to get in to Myanmar and broadcast anything. The reports were still very theatrical, that's all news these days, I guess. I think CNN has another guy in Myanmar now, but I'm not sure if he's broadcasting.

This site, based in Thailand, has some eyewitness accounts of Nargis, as well as interesting perspective on the referendum that Myanmar is currently "voting" on. It's also where I got the cartoon from above, the artist is Burmese, and he doesn't seem to pull his punches. Here, in Hanoi, I haven't seen one single report about Myanmar on the local news. It seems that even though we can't see anything, it doesn't make it look any better...

Sorry for the delay...

I feel it's time to explain my consistently inconsistent posting on this blog. If you look back at the post dates, they're usually about ten days apart, with intermittent flurries of several posts in few days. You see, I've been testing a theory about the ten day cool-off period which until my last post had seemed pretty solid. But, my last post was on the 27th of april, I lost access to my blog again immediately after, and still can't access today. I would post more often, but somebody needs to speed up the editorial process.

Dude, Where's my Carbs?

Update : Local repercussions

Global food crisis. Silent Tsunami. Food riots in Africa and Asia. Rice hoarding. Scary stuff. What's going on? Why is this happening? Why isn't anyone doing anything about it?

I don't pretend to be an economist. Nor do I claim to have a firm grasp on this problem or it's cause(s). I won't try to offer any solutions, or even criticize any particular parties. But I've been thinking about it alot, and trying to read alot about it from different sources, so I just want to post some of the things that I've been reading, examining it from different angles.

Vietnam has taken alot of flack in the mainstream media for curbing their exports. Some say this amounts to hoarding on a national level.

Calls for free(er) trade have been hailed as solutions.

Creative solutions are needed

It can be blamed on America.

By more than one person.

By lots of people in fact.

Rice production is enough to meet global need.

But people can't afford it.

Biofuel leads to price increase

Food for thought:

In a capitalist model, if the price were to spike on a product, production would increase to meet demand thereby steadying prices. This can't apply to agriculture, as a production increase would take at least a season, in which case demand will not be met. That only works for things like cabbage patch kids and eminem cd's. Not for important things.

Vietnam's curb on exports could be likened to America longing for energy independence. Domestic production meeting domestic demand.

Perspective.



You can tell me I'm an idiot in the comment section...

Mildly Controversial with a Happy Ending

I found this article after I heard about the idea being kicked around for some of the provinces in Vietnam. Apparently the higher-ups here in Hanoi are planning to closely monitor the success of this program in Indonesia, with the intent of possibly implementing the same measures here.

I haven't yet been to Indonesia, or Thailand, but we've all heard the stories about the S.E. Asia sex trade. Vietnam, while not quite as obvious (or oblivious) as some of it's neighbors doesn't appear to be an exception. Massage parlors are seen in all corners of the city and seem to be doing quite a good trade, and "boarding houses" with beds for "short term" rent are scattered around the city as well. The life-size pictures of bikini clad girls and bright neon which mark these establishments leave little doubt as to what's going on behind closed doors.

While I doubt that anybody is really using those boarding houses for the actual purpose of boarding, some of the massage parlors appear to be legit. A few of them in the center of town have gone upscale and expensive with the hope of capturing the tourist demographic, while most others are simple little neighborhood places, catering to local guys. In the interest of research, your dedicated blogger decided to scout a few, to see for myself what's really going on in Hanoi.

Full Disclosure : My mother reads this blog.

Spoiler Alert : Don't worry Mom, it's safe to keep reading.

In my first month here, I've been for four different massages, in three different places. My first massage here in Hanoi was the day I got off the plane. I had flown 18 hours from New York, with stops in Alaska and Taipei, with the owner of the company I'm working for, and when he suggested we get massages, I jumped at the chance. We went to one of the upscale places, clean and expensive, and paid for an hour full body massage. (Keep in mind, expensive is a relative term, I think that hour cost about 12 bucks.) My second massage was about two weeks later, the day he left to return to the states. It was also in a more touristy place with signs and prices in English. My third and fourth massages were both in a nieghborhood place near my house, catering to local Vietnamese guys. It was clean, simple and crowded. There weren't any signs in English and after a short game of charades and negotiation, an hour cost me four bucks.

Now here's the interesting part. In both the first two places, the massage wasn't that great, and I was offered "extra services" after about 35 minutes of half hearted back rubbing. When I politely declined and gestured that I only wanted my shoulders rubbed, the massage went from half-hearted to no-hearted. She seemed genuinely dissapointed, and maybe a little angry with me, that she wasn't going to make a few extra bucks. In the local place, the masseuse almost killed me with the effectiveness of her massage, and never even showed the slightest interest in anything other than massage. This saved me the embarrassment of having to politely but firmly (no pun intended) refuse, and as a result I've been back to that place twice, and I'll probably go again this weekend.

So, I think those experiences are interesting when viewed in light of American stereotypes about Asian countries and the sex trade. This idea that massage means something more than massage seems to be an idea that has been imported. It's something that has sprung from the demand side of economics, not from the supply side. To them massage means massage, nothing more nothing less. Remember Full Metal Jacket? "What can I get for ten dollars? Those weren't Vietnamese guys asking the question. But then again, maybe this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone either. I mean, the oldest profession in the world has always done good business with guys from out of town. Sailors in port, wandering cowboys, visiting dignitaries, etc. Where there's a dollar (or, in all fairness, a Euro) to be made somebody is going to try to make it, right?

I'm not really sure that the padlock on the pants thing is really addressing the issue. Is it a laughable response to an unsolvable problem? Possibly. But from a public policy standpoint, it's brilliant. It is enforceable legislation, aimed at the perpetrator of the crime. A beat cop can walk into a massage parlor and check to see if the girls have their padlocks on. If they don't, then the massage parlor owner gets fined, as opposed to the girls, themselves, taking the rap. I'm taking a stand and applauding the unorthodox thinking behind this legislation and hoping for it's success. But I imagine a padlock on a a girl's belt won't really do much if she's wearing a skirt...

Recurring Theme

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted since April 7th, about ten days ago. The internet censors strike again? Impossible to say, but for the past 10 days, I again didn't have access to my blog, and during that time I had sooo much to say. If it is indeed internet censorship that we're dealing with here, it seems to be working brilliantly. Mainly because everytime I'm given access, I have absolutely nothing to say. Check back soon, I'll think of something to test this theory... If you don't hear from me in the next ten days....just wait longer.

A different view from afar

Here's an article from The Economist about what some people in the middle east think of our presidential race. I'd be interested to see a poll of Americans on who they think should be leading countries in the middle east. Guliani would probably be leading across the board.

I haven't really asked any Vietnamese people what they think of the American presidential race, I can say this though. There is a monument to John McCain in Hanoi. I'll let you guys decide who you think the Vietnamese might prefer as the American President. Rumour has it that when McCain came to visit Hanoi in 2000, he elected to stay at the Sheraton.