Tieng Viet lovers club

[technofreak]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Wanted to report a new influx of Viet FL in GL but not sure whether this is an appropriate place to post the info.... Please advice.

Please own time own target carry on...

Bro jackbl...Pls translate if u can:-

Em cam giac minh ko that long voi em. Em rat that long voi minh.

[jackbl]

Was eating near to LOR 24 and saw that there are quite a handful of viet FL. The damage will be $30.... looks so so but saw 1-2 look not bad... they are all hanoi...

Originally Posted by jackbl

Wanted to report a new influx of Viet FL in GL but not sure whether this is an appropriate place to post the info.... Please advice.

[jackbl]

I felt you not truth to me. I very disappointed with you.

Originally Posted by technofreak

Bro jackbl...Pls translate if u can:-

Em cam giac minh ko that long voi em. Em rat that long voi minh.

[jackbl]

Traffic accidents claimed 28 lives a day in 2008
===============================

The number of traffic accidents fell by nearly 13 percent this year, officials told a traffic safety conference on Saturday in Ho Chi Minh City.


According to statistics released by the National Traffic Safety Committee, an estimated 11,500 accidents occurred this year, killing 10,039 people 12.7 percent lower than last year but still an average of 28 a day.

The committee said the number of people injured in traffic accidents dropped 24.8 percent this year to 7,400.

Road traffic accidents accounted for 97 percent of the accidents, with the remaining 3 percent occurring on railways and waterways.

The committee set a target of a further 5 to 7 percent decrease in the number of traffic fatalities next year.

The latest figures were “a good sign” as the country’s transport infrastructure continues to decline while the number of vehicles on the road rose, according to officials.

Of Vietnam’s 55 cities and provinces, Dong Nai Province and its neighbor Ho Chi Minh City had the biggest decline.

Meanwhile, six localities recorded increases in the number of road traffic fatalities over the past year, with Binh Duong and Tien Giang provinces topping the list.

Nguyen Huu Chi, chairman of Tien Giang Province People’s Committee, said the province had worked hard to prevent traffic accidents and Tien Giang traffic police had become known as “the toughest in Vietnam.”

Chi and authorities from other provinces said that traffic accidents frequently occurred on national highways, accounting for 46.5 percent of accidents and 51.2 percent of fatalities.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai expressed concern that the death toll was still high, more than 10,000, and the number of traffic violations was increasing.

Hai said efforts to improve traffic order had not been enough.

He asked the Ministry of Transport to compile a list of traffic blackspots,

which required more traffic control staff and improved infrastructure. Hai said fixing the sites of frequent traffic accidents could be funded by the government’s $1 billion stimulus package.

Hai suggested that the ministry cooperate with the Ministry of Public Securities and the traffic safety committee to have cameras installed to record traffic violations, with the fines collected used to pay for the cameras and other devices.

He requested traffic officials of all levels to maintain traffic safety for New Year’s Day this Thursday and the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday in January.

Reported by Minh Nam

[jackbl]

Hard times bring wedding worries
============================
Because the wedding gift money didn’t cover the cost of their modest wedding party, her husband had to borrow VND4 million (US$236) from his relatives.

The couple only ordered eight tables at VND650,000 ($38) each.

The global economic slowdown has resulted in a dramatic slump in orders from overseas customers of Vietnamese factories and thousands of workers have either been stood down or had their hours cut.

So they try to make their weddings as simple as possible: gowns rented at between VND100,000 to VND200,000 ($6-12), wedding cakes a little bit bigger than a handspan, sometimes even fake cakes, menus comprising of four dishes with enough for only a tiny portion for each guest.

Mai Thi Duy Phuong, the manager at Tan Vinh Loc restaurant in Binh Tan District , where many Ho Chi Minh City factory workers celebrate their marriages, said some brides tried to leave their wedding jewelry, traditionally gifts from their new in-laws, to pay for their wedding parties.

“We don’t have the heart to take it,” she said. “If I were in their place, I couldn’t bear it.”

Guests then often advise each other to eat something before attending a wedding party. They come in T-shirts and jeans - no skirts, dresses or make-up for the female guests.

Restaurants for workers’ weddings are simple affairs. Sometimes it’s just a house with 30 tables, of 10 guests each, with different wedding parties separated by sheets of plywood.

Nguyen Xuan Thong, from the northern province of Ha Tinh, and Dinh Thi Hai from the nearby Nghe An Province, spent only VND5.8 million ($341) for their wedding last month.

“We could not pay for it all,” said the couple, whose total income is about VND3 million ($177) a month.

Despite their efforts, almost all factory workers are haunted by wedding debts.

They either borrow money to pay for the day or plan to use the wedding gift money, known as greeting money, to pay for the party but their guests don’t give enough.

Sometimes couples are hit with both problems.

Workers’ weddings “are even plainer this year,” said Tran Cam Hong, owner of Dai Nam restaurant in Binh Tan District, which has hosted around 70 parties a month this wedding season.

A survey conducted among HCMC industrial parks showed that only 30 percent of worker couples who were in love dared to marry, and among those married, only 13 percent were thinking about having children.

Le Thi Bich Thuy, owner of Lien Thuy restaurant in the district, said there had been fewer workers’ weddings at the restaurant compared to the same time last year. Thuy said more than half the wedding parties had only five tables of guests or fewer.

Thuy said some couples had paid a deposit but had to postpone their weddings because they had been laid off.

Their meager incomes not only caused prospective brides and grooms to think hard about getting married but also meant their guests were unwilling to come and greet them.

Many couples are most worried about “no-shows,” when fewer guests show up than expected.

As a result, some wedding parties last until midnight because the brides and grooms start their parties later than the due time, hoping for more guests to come.

Tan Vinh Loc restaurant’s manager Phuong said the restaurant had to accept orders of four to five tables with no fixed ending time; otherwise, workers don’t dare to book.

“It’s all due to difficulties the workers cannot avoid and we understand,” she said.

Hong of Dai Nam restaurant said last week that worker Luong Thi Lan and her husband waited until 8 p.m. but the guests only filled six of the nine tables they had booked.

Worker Dao Van Khoa of Dewberry Company in Binh Duong Province and his wife said that around 20 guests didn’t come to their wedding earlier this month.

And they still owe VND2 million ($118) for the party.

Nguyen Hai Hao and Duong Thi Thang, celebrating their marriage at Tan Vinh Loc restaurant last week, are among the few lucky couples as the greeting money just met the cost.

“We wouldn’t know what to do if that hadn’t happened,” they said.

Source: TT, SGGP

[zhu star]

New Year is round the corner. Anyone can suggest some usual and unusual new year greeting in Viet. Thanks

[jackbl]

New Year: Quiet Hanoi, lively HCM City
===========================

VietNamNet Bridge – While entertainment activities in Hanoi during the New Year 2009 are not so different from normal days, residents in HCM City have many choices for their New Year holiday.

Hanoi: Where will we go this New Year?

It is really a challenge to find a good place to relax during the New Year holiday. There are too few entertainment centres in the capital city.

Hanoians don’t have the habit of going to night clubs to enjoy music or go to theatres to watch dramas as frequently as Saigonese so it is difficult to find a place to free your mind during a holiday. The chorus “I don’t know where to go, what to play” is repeated again this New Year.

Many Hanoians go to Hoan Kiem Lake to watch public music shows. A small number of them welcome the New Year like Westerners by joining New Year’s Eve parties at luxury hotels such as the Sheraton and Sofitel Metropole. A small group leaves Hanoi to discover tourist sites.

There will be few entertaining activities for Hanoians during the first days of the New Year. The Youth Theatre, the most popular theatre in the capital, has decided to close its doors during the New Year holiday to give its artists a chance to relax. People who planned to go for a drama will have to change their plans.

Watching movies may be the best choice for now. Normally, Megastar combines entertaining activities with film shows during the New Year holiday, but this year it is busy with the construction of two new Megas so it will not organise extra activities.

The National Cinema Centre, meanwhile, may become an attraction because the centre has been upgraded into a complex of cinemas, a game centre, fast food shops and supermarket to follow Vincom Tower.

Home box offices in the capital city will continue screening Christmas movies like Bolt, Transporter 3, Twilight, and Four Christmas. However, two new films will be introduced on January 1, 2009, The Spirit and Australia.


HCM City: Hundreds of flowers bloom

Features of Christmas on HCM City’s streets and shopping malls are becoming less prominent to give space for the New Year’s atmosphere, which is also a time for entertaining activities.

A free music show named “Longing for Vietnam” will take place in the evening on December 30 at 23/9 Park, featuring famous singers like Dan Truong, Thanh Thao, Phuong Thanh, Nguyen Phi Hung and others.

The last day of the year will get warm with the “New Year’s Eve” show at the Lan Anh Stage. This is a special charity show with Phuong Thanh, Nguyen Phi Hung, My Le, Hoang Le Vy, Luong Bang Quang, Duy Manh, Sy Luan, Van Quang Long, etc. Ticket revenue will be donated to disabled children.

The final round of the Star-Model of New Generation contest, organised by the PL Model Training Company, will be held at the Youth Cultural House on December 30.

Children will have their own play, arranged by Idecaf, entitled “Mermaid’s Daughter” at the Ben Thanh Theatre on December 31.

A drama named “Love World” will be introduced at the 5B Theatre.

Night clubs will also have special music shows.

Bich Hanh – Thanh Chung

[jackbl]

Families and schools letting students down
================================

Declining family values and inattentive schools mean students are not being properly equipped with the skills they need to become good citizens, a conference in Ho Chi Minh City heard last week.


Early this month, the General Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security reported that nearly 2,300 students across the country had been charged with crimes, including serious crimes such as murder.

HCMC People’s Procuracy, meanwhile, recently reported 18 students from the city had been charged with crimes such as murder and rape this year.

A conference, held by the HCMC Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs last Thursday, heard many students resorted to violence for the most trivial reasons.

A counselor from Phu My Secondary School said she has dealt with many cases where students began fighting for such reasons as “he’s a nerd” or “I asked her something and she didn’t reply.”

Parents and teachers at the conference also said students were carrying knives to school or joining gangs that stripped their victims in the street to belittle them.

Insufficient care

Students’ morals have become shaky because of unstable family and school environments, experts stated at the “Child violence at school: Status and Solutions” conference.

Vo Phi Chau, an official from District 4’s Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Office, said, “Students now are not given enough chances to share their thoughts and problems with adults, so they are often badly influenced by their friends.”

Students, in fact, who do not receive sufficient guidance from adults, are often left to learn from their environment which is filled with violent games and websites.

They also lack knowledge about the law, experts said. Many young people were unaware it was illegal to have sex with their teen girlfriends or cut down electrical wires from power poles to sell it.

While schools are required to teach students life skills, most of them fail to do so, not even giving students an understanding of the law or how to behave properly in different situations, conference attendees said.

They also said that the life skills classes had been cut back from four classes a month to two.

Reap what you sow

The violence of adults, including teachers and parents, towards children is also a main reason for students’ aggressiveness, the conference heard.

Many graduates of teaching courses do not have enough skills to deal with class situations and analyze their students’ behavior, so they often resort to violence, said Principal Tran Thi Hien of Nguyen Van Be Secondary School in Binh Thanh District.

Phan Thanh Minh, head of Children Protection under the HCMC Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said many teachers were aware that violence towards students was not good, but they couldn’t help it because they didn’t know what to do in certain situations.

From 2005 to 2007, while domestic violence has tripled and community violence has increased seven times, school violence has increased 13 times, according to the statistics of Children Care and Protection Bureau under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Last month, Plan – an international organization working to improve children’s lives in developing countries – released a survey of 499 Vietnamese children that found 94 percent were physically and mentally punished at school.

Ninety-three percent, meanwhile, suffered violence at home, according to the survey.

Seeking solutions

Several schools in District 4 were able to reduce violence perpetrated by teachers and students by setting up a mail-box for students to give suggestions to the principal.

Le Thi Thanh Nha, from HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, suggested training teachers in psychology to help them cope better in the classroom.

Conference participants also urged the introduction of life skills training into schools so that students can protect themselves from bad elements and choose suitable behavior for themselves.

Counseling centers should be established at schools, as studies show most of the students turn to counselors when they have problems, not parents and teachers, according to the conference.

Source: Agencies

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Was eating near to LOR 24 and saw that there are quite a handful of viet FL. The damage will be $30.... looks so so but saw 1-2 look not bad... they are all hanoi...

which part of Lor 24? I drive pass but see no girl look vietnamese...

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by jackbl

My prediction will be a DRAW at Hanoi My Dinh Stadium....

You are so chun in your prediction

Originally Posted by jackbl

Vietnam gets AFF Cup 2008

This photo is taken when Vietnam beat Thailand on 24 Dec.
On 28 Dec I was in Vietnam. Once Vietnam win the Cup, I saw many many bikes proceeding to D1. JAM like hell... taxi also do not want to drive me back.

[jackbl]

From GL main road, u turn left it will be Lor 24. They will stand on the pathment.... Got time we go down together, we leave not far away each other...

Originally Posted by KangTuo

which part of Lor 24? I drive pass but see no girl look vietnamese...

[jackbl]

Just win lose or draw only... very easy... say say only. I thought of buying at SPORE pool, but later withdraw the idea cos seeing draw will be bored, but this DRAW is very exciting. 94min then score

I watched it at coffee shop opp HM... 1 group watch AFF Cup, another watch Newcastle v Liverpool....

The group watching VN v THAI, majority are VN fans......

Originally Posted by KangTuo

You are so chun in your prediction




This photo is taken when Vietnam beat Thailand on 24 Dec.
On 28 Dec I was in Vietnam. Once Vietnam win the Cup, I saw many many bikes proceeding to D1. JAM like hell... taxi also do not want to drive me back.

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by jackbl

From GL main road, u turn left it will be Lor 24. They will stand on the pathment.... Got time we go down together, we leave not far away each other...

huh? you know where i leave? I may be going out again later. How?

Originally Posted by jackbl

Just win lose or draw only... very easy... say say only. I thought of buying at SPORE pool, but later withdraw the idea cos seeing draw will be bored, but this DRAW is very exciting. 94min then score

I watched it at coffee shop opp HM... 1 group watch AFF Cup, another watch Newcastle v Liverpool....

The group watching VN v THAI, majority are VN fans......

I watch in VN with all the viet... even more exciting.
The atmosphere after the match is damn shiok and happy. You never get it in SG. Heard from my girlfriend that VN waited 49years to win a cup.

[jackbl]

Counted abt 13FL working there, abt 5 not bad (One man's meat is another man's poison)

Originally Posted by jackbl

Was eating near to LOR 24 and saw that there are quite a handful of viet FL. The damage will be $30.... looks so so but saw 1-2 look not bad... they are all hanoi...

[Hurricane88]

Happy New Year to all members of SBF and contributors of this thread...