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March 15, 2006
Eavesdropping in America
I saw on the CNN webpage yesterday an article concerning the Wisconsin Senators proposal to Censure Bush over the Eavesdropping program.
At the heart of the argument is if Bush knowingly violated the law or if Bush legally had the power to bypass the law since it is a time of war.
As for myself, I am a big picture guy and through the study of history it's extremely interesting to see how previous leaders, kings, Popes' bypassed or trampled on established laws for some reason or another.
Therefore, it got me thinking just how fragile a "Law" can be. When we are young, we are taught that we must follow the law without question. As we get older, we start to learn that some laws can be bent, or broken entirely and some laws are just plain wrong. But in the classroom, the argument always comes back to the reasoning that we must be a nation of laws and try to uphold the laws as much as possible to ensure a stable society.
If one law is broken by leaders, then all the other laws become less stable since the example has been set that laws need not be followed.
Living abroad and visiting more than a few dubious countries has taught me to always look at the big picture. No doubt the lawyers, politicians and so on are getting lost in the details of this issue and it is very easy to drown in the legal technicalities of either side.
So as a normal, average citizen what I understand is this. I used to have rights in America, but since the leaders are using this "war" to get around established laws, and this "war on terror" will probably never end, I therefore am not guarenteed my rights in America since they can be broken since we are at "war." Suspects can now be detained indefinately and incommunicado which is a serious violation of our rights as American citizens. If I don't have this basic right to tell my family or lawyer that I have been detained, then the USA is no better than China at the moment........
Many would say, "well, that's stupid because as long as your not a terrorist, you don't have to worry."
This is not the point. The point is America is a nation of laws, and these laws are supposed to be followed. If the leaders can get around laws during times of war, and this war has no real definable enemy since anyone can be labeled a "terrorist," and no forseeable end, then the laws can be bent or broken forever.
From the hardliners ...ahem... I mean conservatives who side with Bush on this, I think it will be impossible to defend his actions unless you use the argument that he used this tool to be more effective in stopping terrorists on America's own soil. To this I say, he could have done that within the reigns of the law. The government has always had the power to spy on it's own citizens and always has all throughout history. In America, even the president has to follow the law, even in times of "war."
Also, should one feel inclined to defend this, I say they would do very well here in Southeast Asia and China. They make laws here too but it doesn't mean you necessarily have to follow them.
To me, if the Government of that great place called America is no longer following it's own laws, and the people no longer have their rights guarenteed by the constitution, then there is no difference between the USA and China or some other South East Asian countries.
In fact, the politicians supporting this breach of law actually sound like some leaders here in the East.
The clip below is from an article on CNN
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"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, also speaking on ABC, said Feingold "is just wrong."
"He is flat wrong, he is dead wrong," said the Tennessee Republican -- also a potential presidential candidate in 2008 -- adding that "attacking our commander in chief ... doesn't make sense."
"We are right now at an unprecedented war where they really want to take us down," he said. "A censure resolution ... is wrong. It sends a signal around the world.
"The American people are solidly behind this president in conducting the war on terror."
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Boy does he sound like a Chinese Communist! What is he saying here?
1. He is flat wrong, dead wrong. - Does this mean he will have Feingold Killed?
2. "Attacking our Commander in Chief (The President) doesn't make sense" - Translation - Do not criticize the government, or ruling administration.
3. The American People are solidly.... yadda yadda yadda... - Here I believe he is part Chinese communist at heart. Yes yes, of course in China too the CHINESE PEOPLE have always been 100% behind everything the government has ever done! To not think so would be unpatriotic!!!
So what have I learned?
1. Rights are no longer guarenteed in America
2. Laws need not be followed by leaders
3. "The American People" now all think the same and I'm sure when I step off the plane over there, everyone will be in grey uniforms and calling each other comrade.
Posted by Mateo at 9:20 AM | Comments (1)
March 2, 2006
RUN!! The CAPITALISTS ARE COMING!!!!!!
RUN!!!!!! THE CAPITALISTS ARE BACK!!!!!! I never thought I would see an ad like this in Vietnam. It was from the British Business Group in Saigon. Doesn't it look like some sort of Evil corporate / Nazi propoganda poster? Hell, at least the communists smile in their posters! And to make it worse, it's lead by the evil white man!!!!! AHHHHHHH RUNNNNNN!!!!!! Vietnam needs Michael Moore!!!!
Seriously though, what is this ad trying to say? I cut out the bottom half of the ad which showed the groups involved in putting on this seminar. It's actually not sponsored by a group called "the Capitalists", but instead something much worse. LAWYERS!!!! The message conveyed is;
"You don't need to be fair managers, pay decent wages, or limit the amount of overtime to your poor employees!!! What you need is LITIGATION and lots and lots of FORMS AND MORE LITIGATION!!!!!"
I can just imagine this army of lawyers storming into a factory like a batallion of soldiers, walking passed the sweaty poor, underpaid employees and up to the managements office where they will furiously fill out FORMS!!! And lots of them!!!! Then after creating a couple mountains of paperwork have the employees sign their one hundred page contract of which they cannot understand a word, and then be paid an obscene salary for successfully oppressing the poor masses.
And as a side note, why is the English language always so violent? It's always THE FIGHT against something or other,, or THE WAR on this or that. Tackling isn't as aggressive, but it still means stopping something by using force. I guess, "Fair Management practices to ensure strikes become unnessary" is simply not catchy enough. Since I'm American and have learned much during the past couple years from our DEAR LEADERS, I might be able to offer some suggestions with the full blessing of the US of A.
1. The SHOCK and AWE of Labor Strikes
2. FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!! from labor strikes.
3. BATTLE for the Hearts and Minds of Labor Strike Leaders!
4. The WAR on Labor Strikes!
5. GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....... Hates Labor Strikes
6. Labor Strikes do not reflect the will OF THE American People!
Posted by Mateo at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
Saigon Stories
If you've read my blog before, you understand I love living in Saigon. The main reason is really the community and the fact that I can go to any bar, restaurant and will know people. Most ex-pats hang out mostly in District 1 and feels more like a village than a city. I can also just hop on my motorbike or take a xeom (motorbike taxi) and get to where I'm going in under five minutes. This is what I'm afraid of losing most should I go back to the USA. The image is of isolating myself in my car, then cubicle, then car, then home which I think describes a typical day for most Americans. Should we go out on the town, we will be isolated in any bar, restaurant or cafe since we won't know anyone.
It's not a fear of meeting new people as I love doing that, but as an example, I lived in Columbus, Ohio for most of my life and when I go out to a restaurant or bar, I rarely see people I know unless it's in a very small section of the city. I'm used to going out here and seeing at least 10 people I know.
I'm also going to miss the laid back, friendly people here. The Vietnamese are extremely friendly and happy people. It really is a love / hate relationship here though as since they are so relaxed, it can make an uptight foreigner like myself crazy.
So switching gears from my love Vietnam side to my hate Vietnam side, let me go into the things that have driven myself and my girlfriend crazy in the last week.
1. At the Restaurant - My girlfriend and I sit down at a table with place settings for four. The waiter clears two away and my girlfriend no longer has a place setting but the empty seat next to me does. She just gives me a look of disbelief and says the usual Japanese expression of complete frustration, "Baka!"
2. At the office - We have wireless on two floors, HP1 and HP2. I can usually get both signals but HP2 is stronger and I have used it for the past 4 months. The other day HP2 had disappeared so I call the computer company in the same building who takes care of the computer problems. They are notoriously bad though and manage to break things more than they fix them. So anyway, I ask them where HP2 has gone and they tell me it's only for the floor below me. I said I used it before and they tell me I cannot use it in our office room.
So I take my laptop down to the lower floor and stand directly under the transmitter and search for a signal. The result was that I came up with signals from buildings all around ours but not HP2. He reset the system, and it worked for half a day. Now it's doesn't work again.
3. In the elevator - As a rule in Vietnam, when the elevator door opens, you should not let the people exit but instead enter immediately and make the people trying to exit bump into you and have to fight their way out.
3b. About 3 times a week, the people wanting to go down, get in the elevator going up and the reverse. The point is, when in Nam, do not check to see if the elevator is going up or down, just enter immediately while not letting people exit.
4. I arrive at my destination and get off my motorbike, and two or three taxi drivers will ask if I want a taxi.
5. At our accounting office. No matter what time of day you go in, the two smartest accountants have "gone out," and the dialogue goes like this
a.) where is Ms. x?
b.) she go out.
a.) When will she come back?
b.) don't know. You come back tomorrow.
Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration but isn't too far off the mark. Usually all I need to get is my salary, and although we have about 30 accountants, and they know where my salary is, and simply need to give it to me and have me sign, it's only the job of the head accountant so nobody else can do it, except for the only other smart accountant in the room. But should the head accountant be out, you can be sure the other smart account - "He have a lunch."
6. At the bar - At every single bar the waitresses will watch over you and the moment you have about an inch of beer left in the glass they will come over and ask, "One More?" And it's always those two words, often before you've even had one and just sat down they might say "Fosters, one more?"
But if you've just finished your beer, and say you don't want another one, another waiter will be along in five seconds to ask "One more?" And this usually occurs for about 4 waitresses/waiters.
But I've found out why and it doesn't bother me so much anymore. It's because some of them get a commission of a few cents on every beer they sell. So if you just want to relax and not get wasted, leave about two inches of beer in your glass and finish the rest when you are ready to leave.
7. Censorship - While reading the International Herald Tribune at the Club, I noticed one small article had been blacked out with a pen. I was shocked to see this throwback to another era was still alive here. The progressing Vietnam, and one of my favorite countries was still practicing this sort of censorship? Besides, if you hold the paper up to the light, you can still make out what the story is. And with the internet, you just can't censor everything although China is giving it a damn hard try. But Vietnam is a happy country unlike China so why do they still do this sort of thing?
Posted by Mateo at 9:24 AM | Comments (0)