Asian Ripoff XCIV - Love Story

Artist: Lam Nhat Tien
Language: Vietnamese

Vietnam re-enacts fall of Saigon

Source: BBC

Vietnam has marked 35 years since the end of its war by staging a re-enactment of the fall of the Saigon.

Thousands of troops marched through the streets of what is now officially called Ho Chi Minh City to mark the day the communist North claimed victory.

Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet used the event to praise the country's economic development.

The Vietnam War claimed the lives of three million Vietnamese and some 60,000 US soldiers.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the former presidential residence, now called Independence Palace, in Ho Chi Minh City, to watch the military and cultural display.

The BBC's Nga Pham in the city said the events began in the early hours to avoid the heat of the day, with a play recounting the history of the country from ancient times to when the North's tanks smashed through the gates of the palace, leading to the surrender of the southern government.

A replica tank drove through the city to the palace, greeted by cheers from the crowds.

The event was an emotional one for many who lived through the war itself, with some people crying as they watched the display.

"We are here today, very emotional, and thinking of what happened 35 years ago," said Vu Dang Toan, a member of the tank unit involved in the victory in 1975.

"It was a great victory, it was very quick to liberate Saigon and the country is reunited."

It's this last statement that bothers me the most. Severe brainwashing that still exists today. You liberated Saigon from what? Saigon was one of the most advanced cities in Asia in the 50s and 60s. The Paris of Asia.

Look at this picture of Saigon in 1966.



Big buildings, commercial advertising. Looks very advanced!

Liberated from what? Liberated from capitalist to communist ruin? From 1975 to 1995 Saigon was sent back to the dark ages. Upon taking control of the bomb-ravaged country, the Vietnamese communists banned all other political parties and forced public servants and military personnel of the Republic of Vietnam into re-education camps. The government also embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. Reconstruction of the war-ravaged country was slow, and serious humanitarian and economic problems confronted the communist regime. Millions of people fled the country in crudely built boats, creating an international humanitarian crisis. The boat people. If you had a degree, it was cancelled. If you had a house, they could just come and take it.

This is liberation?

Beginning in the late 1970s, the quality of health care began to decline as a result of budgetary constraints, a shift of responsibility to the provinces, and the introduction of charges. Inadequate funding has led to delays in planned upgrades to water supply and sewage systems. As a result, almost half the population has no access to clean water, a deficiency that promotes such infectious diseases as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, and cholera. Inadequate funding also has contributed to a shortage of nurses, midwives, and hospital beds.

This is liberation?

Vietnam can say they have advanced all they want, but Vietnam in 2010 is still nowhere near Vietnam in 1975. While other countries like US and Canada have made amazing advances in the last 35 years, Vietnam is still backwards. But of course that's liberation from evil forces, wherever they might be.

Asian Ripoff LXXX - Underneath Your Clothes

Artist: Nghi Van
Language: Vietnamese

Betty Nguyen: Help The Hungry

CNN's Betty Nguyen receives Time Warner's Andrew Heiskell Service Award for outstanding volunteer achievement through her foundation Help The Hungry.

Source: CNN

Still sad to see how poor the Vietnamese are in the countryside 30+ years after the war.

Asian Ripoff LIX - Vietnamese Medley

Artists: Anh Minh, Doan Phi
Language: Vietnamese

Ah only the Vietnamese could put three songs into a medley that have nothing to do with each other :)

1. Telephone-moi
2. Jamaica Farewell
3. Lambada


Youtube Link

Previous Asian Ripoffs

Asian Ripoff LII - I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight

Artist: Don Ho
Language: Vietnamese

Been looking for this awhile since I watched it when I was younger :)


Youtube Link

Asian Ripoff L - I Like Chopin

For some inane reason, this is an extremely popular song in Asia. It's not a bad song, I like the piano parts :)

First it was Alan Tam in Cantonese. Sorry for bad quality of a 1984 concert.


Youtube Link

Then HK group Grasshopper re-made it and re-titled it Rainy Days. Also in Cantonese with a much quicker beat but they took out the piano :(



Youtube Link

And In Mandarin


Youtube Link

Then in Japanese by Asami Kobayashi


Youtube Link

Then in Vietnamese by Nguyen Thang


Youtube Link

And then just the piano score from Japan. There's no sheet they say. Just from memory.


Youtube Link

And finally Alan Tam decided that everyone else's version sucked and remade it again last year for his new CD using traditional instruments.


Youtube Link

Now. Does anyone recognize/remember/like the original English song? Must be a popular song for it to be copied this many times!

Building on Layers of Tradition

MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm. Love every layer! Especially the PATE!

Source: NY Times

FRED HUA’S banh mi pho does not look like a cultural revolution. But in its juicy, messy way, it is. Served at Nha Toi in Brooklyn, where he is the chef and owner, banh mi pho is stuffed with the ingredients for pho, the sacred soup of Vietnam: beef scented with star anise and cinnamon, fresh basil and crunchy bean sprouts.

“I could never get away with this in San Jose,” said Mr. Hua, referring to the city with a large Vietnamese-American community in Northern California, where he grew up. “New York has a history of being open to creative ideas.”

At 31, Mr. Hua is part of a rising generation of American cooks of Vietnamese descent who are tinkering with a once-rigid culinary tradition.

They start by reinventing the banh mi — the classic street-vendor Vietnamese-French sandwich. They are taking it back to its roots with house-cured meats that blend French, Vietnamese and Chinese influences, but also nudging it forward with cross-cultural fillings (Polish sausage), local breads (crisp rolls from Parisi Bakery in Little Italy), and American influences like the sloppy Joe.

“My mother worked so hard to recreate the flavors of Vietnam in America,” said Vinh Nguyen, the 29-year-old owner of Silent H, a few blocks away from Nha Toi. “We are doing it our way, but with respect.”

If you haven’t tried a classic banh mi, imagine all the cool, salty, crunchy, moist and hot contrasts of a really great bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Then add a funky undertone of pork liver and fermented anchovy, a gust of fresh coriander and screaming top notes of spice, sweetness and tang.

I would to try a Pho Banh Mi, or a Polish Banh Mi or an OPA Banh Mi. You can pretty much put anything in a baguette.

Deadly rampage at N.Y. immigrant center

Source: CNN

At least one gunman began shooting Friday in an immigration services building in Binghamton, New York, killing at least 12 people, Gov. David Paterson said.

A gunman is among the dead, law enforcement officials said.

"This is a horrible situation," Paterson said. "There's no available data on what's going on there other than the fact that lives have been lost."

The local police command center said SWAT teams are still inside, clearing the building.

A law enforcement source said that more than a dozen people were wounded.

Two people were seen being led from the building in plastic handcuffs, WBNG reported. It was not immediately known whether the two were under arrest.

The shootings began about 10:30 a.m. ET at the American Civic Association, which helps immigrants and refugees, the source said.

The source said there may have been 20 to 40 people taken hostage.

The American Civic Association helps immigrants and refugees with a number of issues, including personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship and reunification, and provides interpreters and translators, according to the United Way of Broome County, which is affiliated with the association.

Like most of you, I've been glued to CNN as details come in.

Reports are describing the shooter as a young male of Asian descent. Police are looking for someone who speaks Vietnamese to help them with translation so one would assume either the shooters or hostages are Vietnamese. Now there are reports that the shooter is dead.

I'm sure more details will come out about motive and why such a thing could happen.
Very sad all around :(

Looks like these people were in the immigrant center to either take a course on how to pass the citizenship test or taking the citizenship test itself. If they died while doing that, that's so sad! :(

Asian Ripoff XLIII - Poupée de cire poupée de son

Artist: Doanh Doanh
Language: Vietnamese

Take a famous french song, speed it up, get some dancers and you got a Vietnamese version!


Youtube Link

Asian Ripoff XXXVIII - All Rise

Artist: Viet Quang
Language: Vietnamese


Youtube Link

That was pretty bad. I need a paper bag.

Controversial art exhibit on Vietnam ends early

Source: LA Daily News
Source: LA Times

A sign outside an art exhibit warned visitors about the "highly sensitive political material" inside.

One photograph showed a woman sitting next to a golden bust of communist leader Ho Chi Minh and wearing a red tank top bearing the yellow star of the Vietnamese flag.

Other images depicted the painful flight of refugees from Vietnam nearly four decades ago and their ongoing struggles in the U.S.

The Vietnamese American Arts &; Letters Association hoped its exhibit would spark dialogue about the wide range of viewpoints in the Southern California community founded by refugees from communism.

But the show drew a barrage of criticism and prompted demands for curators to remove the provocative pieces.

Co-curator Tram Le said the exhibit closed two days early Friday because of community anger and news from city code inspectors that organizers were not allowed to hold an art exhibit in the ground floor of the office building they had leased.

"We just realized how hurt the community was, and we wanted to be sensitive," she said.

Nice to see you JUST realized that honey. You wanted to bring communist symbols to Orange County and "challenge" the people into opening their minds and ideas. You got the response didn't you :)

A protest had been planned for today. It was unclear whether the early closing would stop the demonstration.

It did not. Pictures here (Vietnamese).

Santa Ana police officers arrested a man this morning after he unfurled a flag of communist Vietnam among a crowd of hundreds of anti-communist demonstrators protesting a provocative art exhibit. The exhibit was shut down Friday after organizers grew concerned about the threat of large-scale demonstrations and Santa Ana officials said it didn't the proper permits.

Woohoo! A guy with a red flag disturbing the demonstration got arrested and not the demonstrators who beat him up. That's justice to me :)

Asian Ripoff XXVI - Love Potion No. 9

Here's a old Mandarin version from 1967.

Artist: Nancy Sit


Youtube Link

And here's my favorite version. A jazzed up Vietnamese one from a few years ago :)

Artist: Nguyen Hung


Youtube Link

It rocks! Dance dance dance.

Asian Ripoff XX - Christmas Edition!

Are you sick of Christmas Carols yet? If you are. TOUGH! Here are some that you never thought you'd hear.

Artist: Aki Maeda
Language: Japanese


Youtube Link

Artist: Quang Vinh
Language: Vietnamese


Youtube Link

Artist: Cookies
Language: Cantonese

A medley of a bunch of songs.


Youtube Link