Tieng Viet lovers club

[teta]

Originally Posted by KangTuo

no i work little. mostly at home already go work. if rest then go back province visit family.

Thks bro kangtuo for the translate.

[jackbl]

For Bro KT...........

The “BlackBerry race” heating up
============================================
VietNamNet Bridge – The fact that BlackBerry tries to conquer the Vietnamese market by joining hands with the three Vietnamese biggest network operators: Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone has created a race among the three big guys.

The path of BlackBerry entering Vietnam is not as rosy as other mobile phone manufacturers. Nguyen Viet Dung, Deputy Director of Viettel Telecom said that in 2005, BlackBerry began penetrating Vietnamese market through unofficial channels (unofficial imports). At that time, BlackBerry became the dream of hi-tech players.

In August 2008, Viettel began distributing BlackBerry, but it had to do this through Alcatel-Lucent. Only in September 2009, did Viettel begin launching push mail service into the market, the specific characteristic of BlackBerry.

Nowadays, with the rapid expansion of Apple, BlackBerry has to go more quickly to conquer the Vietnamese market by joining hands with Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone.

Especially, BlackBerry has introduced BlackBerry 9780 with the keyboard allow to type in Vietnamese, a move that shows its special attention to the Vietnamese market.

On August 2, Viettel announced new service packages for BlackBerry in Vietnam. The two BlackBerry service packages provided by Viettel to pre-paid subscribers include the package with full functions BB Mail which has the subscription fee of 100,000 dong a month, and the basic package BB Chat which has the subscription fee of 65,000 dong.

The BB Mail pre-paid package has been designed to the pre-paid clients with no associated data content, the number of free minutes of calls or SMS, therefore, it has the subscription fee lower than that of BB Mail post-paid package.

Meanwhile, BB Chat targets the clients who regularly use the functions of sending instant Yahoo messages, Gtalk, BlackBerry® Messenger, while they do not pay much attention to email receiving and sending.

The special thing of BB Mail and BB Chat for pre-paid subscribers is that users can register the service use per weekly or monthly to optimize their expenses: 30,000 dong per week for BB Mail, and 20,000 dong for BB Chat.

The two service packages provided by Viettel to post-paid subscribers are BB Web and BB Chat, who target the clients who still do not want to use all the available functions of BB Mail package. Using BB Web with the subscription fee of 150,000 dong per month, clients would be able to use 50 minutes of inner network conversations and 50 inner network SMS with 350MB data. When using BB Chat, clients have to pay the subscription fee of 65,000 dong a month.

“Viettel now has 10,000 clients using BlackBerry services. After joining hands with the manufacturer BlackBerry and lowering the service charges, we hope the services will become popular in Vietnam,” Dung said.

MobiFone has tested BIS package since July 13, at the fee of 21,000-133,000 dong. By July 28, a lot of subscribers registering the trial use of BIS received a message from MobiFone that the trial period has finished.

The move shows that MobiFone has completed its experiments to officially provide BlackBerry services to clients, possibly begin from August 2011.

VinaPhone is also testing BIS, but it has been applying only to special subscribers. The representative from the network operator said the service fee of the package is similar to that of MobiFone’s BIS. However, as the trial period is still running, he still cannot reveal the details about the charges and the ways of making registration.

According to telecom experts, the distribution of BlackBerry is the good way that helps network operators to attract VIP clients and sell high grade service packages. They say that big network operators will never miss the chance to show their strength, while users nowadays pay less attention to charges than the attention to the quality of services.

Dany Bolduc, Deputy President of RIM Vietnam affirmed at the ceremony on introducing the Vietnamese version for BlackBerry® Bold™ 9780 in Hanoi on July 21 that Vietnam is one of the strategic markets for RIM.

Buu Dien

[jackbl]

Another trend in VN

Your husbands are gays!
=====================================
VietNamNet Bridge – There are women who fell into adversity: getting married, having baby and knowing their husbands are gays.

A research on male homosexuality in Vietnam released in July 2011, by the STDs/HIV/AIDS Prevention Center, which releases a lot of interesting information about gays in Vietnam.

According to the survey, many women were shocked to discover that their husbands are gays after a long time living together.

Ha, 25, in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi got married at the age of 25. One year later, she had a son. The family life was very smooth until she found out that her husband is a gay.

This man had no sexual desire with his wife while he watched porno films for gays and masturbated, even when he lied besides his wife.

The couple’s relationship got worse. One day, after a violent quarrel, the husband confessed that he is a gay.

“He said he knew himself as a gay when he was 22 years old but he hid himself because being afraid of discrimination. He married me because his parents wanted to have someone to maintain the continuity of family line,” Ha said in tears.

The man confessed with his wife because he wanted to live with his nature, with one person – his wife.

While Ha’s husband confessed himself as a gay, many women had to spy to confirm their husbands being gays.

Phuong Anh, 36, from Dong Da District, Hanoi doubted that her husband was committing adultery with somebody because the man did not have sex with his wife for a very long time. The man often sent text messages to someone at night.

One night, when her husband slept well, Phuong Anh checked his cell phone and saw one message with passionate words, but it was very strange that the message sender called her husband “em” (used for women).

Phuong Anh called the strange number and heard a male voice who asked “It’s me. Don’t you sleep yet, my sweetheart?”

“From that moment, I knew my husband is a gay,” Phuong Anh said.

It is an obsession for women who know their husbands are gays. Most of them want to divorce but it is only easy for newly-married couples who do not have babies yet.

According to the research, most gays do not want to reveal their secret to avoid social discrimination. They still get married and have children. Their secret is mainly detected by their relatives.

A 34-year-old gay in Hanoi said: “I knew I’m a gay at the age of 22. My family knew that secret but they forced me to get married. I could still have sex with my wife and we had babies. But my wife is the first and will be the last woman in my life. I do not have sex with my wife often. I have to seek other gays to satisfy my instinct.”

It is a tragedy for gays whose families force them to get married. A 30-year-old gay in Hanoi said he could not change his nature.

“I’ve tried with girls several times but I failed. My father is nearly 80 years old and I want to get married to assure him. I had a girlfriend but she left me after a month because I could not have sex with have. It is terrified but I do not know how to do,” he said.

According to experts, social discrimination against gays maintains because people lack knowledge about homosexuality. People often think that homosexuality is pathologic and disgusting. Even gays discriminate themselves.

Discrimination of families and community against gays has caused bad effects for gays and community. Many gays have negative reactions like quitting school, leaving their home or even committing suicide.

Many of them leave their home without stable jobs. They do not dare to participate in social activities and even do not dare to go to hospital when they are ill (for come-out gays).

N.Anh

[jackbl]

Tragedies of closeted gays
======================================

VietNamNet Bridge – The biggest difficulty of gays is seeking partners. Many gays, therefore, have become prostitutes to satisfy their sexual desire and to seek suitable male partners.

For coming-out gays, it is not difficult to have a partner but it is a big problem for closeted gays, particularly who get married.

A closeted gay, 32, single, in Hanoi, who is a member of gay club, said: “I knew I’m a gay when I was very young. But at that time I could not find anyone to share because around ten years ago, homosexuality was very strange in Vietnam. Until the society knows more about it and clubs for gays are opened, we can easily find partners.”

This man also said that during that difficult period of time, he had to masturbate or had sex with women, but he could not satisfy because he did not have any feeling with women.

When “love markets” for gays appeared in some places in Tu Liem district, Hanoi, many gays consider these are the places to seek partners.

“Many gays who are not poor but still prostitute themselves because seeking a partner is very difficult, they have to go to ‘markets’,” he said.

Of 813 gays interviewed in the survey by the STDs/HIV/AIDS Prevention Center (SHAPC), up to 37 percent said they have prostituted themselves and one third of them have been clients at “love markets” for gays. They have sex with four partners a month, on average.

Some gays were robbed, beaten or even killed by their partners from the “love markets”.

“Many gays have to use materials to seduce and exchange to have sexual partners,” the 32-year-old gay in Hanoi said.

Some coming-out gays cannot find a sexual partner, because their like-woman outward even prevents them from seeking a female partner like closeted gays. However, if they see coming-out gays like them, they can live together easily.

Homosexuality is not accepted in Vietnam, at least in society, the Law on Marriage and Family only bans same-sex marriage. The hurdle for gays in seeking partners and satisfying themselves is high.

Most of gays said they have the right to have sex with same-sex partners but not with different-sex partners.

A gay who is a member of a gay clubs in Hanoi said: “I’m a gay but I can have sex with women. When my wife did not know about my secret, everything was still normal. But since she knew it, her attitude has changed completely. She said that having said with me is disgusting, unhealthy and unnatural”.

Some gays face family tragedy when their wives know about their secret. They are neglected by their wives and children because these people think that homosexuality can transmit to normal people.

Vietnamese awareness of homosexuality is limited, according to SHAPC’s survey. Up to 36 percent of interviewees say that they see homosexuality as social evil, 68 percent say homosexuality is a disease, 48 percent say it is unhealthy relations, 27 percent say it is corrupted and 56 percent say homosexual is unnatural.

“The biggest difficulty of gays is not being accepted. We have to sneakily seek partners. The most miserable tragedy is we cannot live with ourselves,” a gay said.

Sexual relations among gays has become a big worry because gays often have several sexual partners at the same time, even with partners of both sexes, which can spread sexual transmitted diseases fast. In addition, they do not use condoms often or use condoms in wrong ways.

Moreover, the rate of gays using drugs is on the rise. Gays do not perform periodical tests of HIV because social stigma prevents them from having access to consulting and testing services.

The numbers of HIV carriers who are gays increase in Hanoi, HCM City and big cities in Vietnam.

According to the Agency against HIV/AIDS, over 10 percent of gays in Hanoi and HCM City were infected with HIV in 2009. The rate was 5 percent in Can Tho, the biggest city in the Mekong Delta.

FHI Vietnam’s research shows that the rate of HIV carriers rose from 6 percent 2006 to 16 percent in 2009 for the group of male prostitutes and from 10 percent in 2006 to 14 percent in 2009 for the remaining group. The rate of gays with sexually transmitted diseases rose from 17 to 21 percent during this period, for both groups.

N.Anh

[jackbl]

The miserableness of coming-out gays
==============================================
VietNamNet Bridge – Closeted gays can hide themselves but for coming-out gays, they have to suffer from nitpicking glances and contempt of others.

Some coming-out gays hope to have hospitals for gays because when they go to hospital, they do not know where to go, the room for male or female patients.

Trung, a member of K.V.S club for gays in Hanoi, is a coming-out gay. He wears like a woman and speaks with female voice. “It is better to be a closeted gay. I’m miserable to be a coming-out gay,” Trung said.

Trung is always eyed by people on the street. They point and whisper when they see him from a distance. “They look at me because I’m different, different in negative meaning,” Trung says.

Trung says he does not participate in any community activities held by his office. Since he graduated university, he has changed job five times due to discrimination.

Coming-out gays like Trung, therefore, always aspire to have transgender operation, besides the aspiration to be accepted by the society.

Also a member of K.V.S club like Trung, Minh looks exactly a woman because he has breasts, a gentle face and smooth voice. Trung says Minh performed a transgender surgery in Thailand to become a woman.

Minh’s family paid huge amount of money for the surgery, which has helped turned his life to another direction.

Trung says he wishes to have a transgender operation like Minh but the fee is huge.

There is a big trouble for gays, even after transgender surgery: their physical appearance is women but in legal documents, they are still men.

“Once I went to a bank to borrow money but I could not because I looked different from my personal papers. When I made my ID card, officers asked me to cut my hair and put on men’s clothes,” Trung said.

Nam, in Hanoi, came out three years ago. Since then he has never gone to hospital, though he is very sick.

Nam explains: “I could not go to hospital because I do not know to go to the male or female examination rooms. Furthermore, they disdain me.”

According to STDs/HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre’s research, of nearly 1,000 gays in five cities interviewed, 86 percent say they want to have friendly health service for coming-gays.

Vu, a coming-out gay in Can Tho city, says: “I do not dare to go to hospital because I have a male name but I have breasts. They will question me why and look at me curiously.”

Huy, chair of the Night Starlight club for gays in Da Nang City, says: “At the hospital door we are pointed and glanced. Doctors even refuse to make check-up for us.”

Gays like Nam have to treat diseases themselves or go to private clinics to avoid discrimination and stigma.

Nam says: “I often let my diseases self disappear, buy medicines to treat at home or go to small private clinics.”

Discrimination of doctors and gays themselves has built up barriers for gays to approach healthcare services. Without timely and proper treatment, they can easily spread their diseases to their partners and the community if they do not use condoms.

N.An – Than Trung Dung

[jackbl]

Moon cake market starts early with higher prices
================================================== ===

The moon cake market for this year’s mid-autumn festival has made an earlier start over last year with higher prices due to rising input costs and soaring prices of food, rice and cooking gas.

Many well-known bakeries including Kinh Do, Dong Khanh, Bibica and Thanh Long have started production for the moon festival since mid July, two months ahead of the festival.

Most of the moon cake makers said prices this year would be 15 to 30 percent higher than last year since input cost soared.

“Flour, sugar and salted duck egg prices rose by 40 percent, 60 percent and 77 percent respectively,” Thanh Long Moon Cake Company said.

Kinh Do, Bibica and Dong Khanh all announced price hikes of between 10 and 20 percent over last year, standing around VND65,000-120,000 (US$3-6) a cake.

However, Tuoi Tre found out that prices could actually be higher as the producers have reduced the cake’s weight.

A 210-g moon cake with ham, for instance, is sold at VND72,000 each, while consumers had to spend only VND66,000 for a 300-g cake of the same kind last year.

This week (August 1-7) also sees many price hikes in essentials including rice, pork and cooking gas.

Rice prices increased by 10 percent over last week, why grain prices of this year’s summer-autumn crop surged by 54 percent over last year.

The director of a Tien Giang-based rice exporter attributed the price increase to the 15-percent hike in the rice exporting contracts of the domestic rice firms.

“Since a large amount of rice has been exported, there is not much [rice] left on stock,” he said. “The exporters have to increase prices of the summer-autumn crop to have rice for exports.”

Meanwhile, prices of pork, beef and poultry meat have also surged by up to 40 percent as of August.

The 12-percent increase of feed prices and the 30-percent hike in maintenance cost have sent food prices skyrocket, many producers said.

For their parts, cooking gas suppliers Saigon Petro, Petrolimex Saigon have announced a retail price increase of VND8,000 per cylinder early this week, after two reductions in the last two months.

The move was made after global contract price has surged by $25 per ton.

[KangTuo]

uncle jackbl!!!!
why are you still reporting news at this hour? you should be on your way to jc...

[Rasta Marley]

Originally Posted by KangTuo

uncle jackbl!!!!
why are you still reporting news at this hour? you should be on your way to jc...

He He, nice entertaining post on "Uncle" Jackbl making a move on, brought a smile to this Forum with your candid comment Just upped you

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by Rasta Marley

He He, nice entertaining post on "Uncle" Jackbl making a move on, brought a smile to this Forum with your candid comment Just upped you

thanks for the points. return when power up.

not really an entertainment post lah... its true uncle jackbl should be on the move because he had a date with me i don want him to make me wait to long

[jackbl]

Originally Posted by KangTuo

not really an entertainment post lah...

These news very informative leh... you forgot your gang got a few INTO DARK SIDE???

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by jackbl

For Bro KT...........

The “BlackBerry race” heating up

i am a Hiphone user

Originally Posted by jackbl

These news very informative leh... you forgot your gang got a few INTO DARK SIDE???

Originally Posted by jackbl

Your husbands are gays!
=====================================

Originally Posted by jackbl

Tragedies of closeted gays
======================================

Originally Posted by jackbl

The miserableness of coming-out gays
==============================================

you should post it in another thread fro them to read

[jackbl]

Vu Lan festival in Hanoi, HCM City
==============================================
VietNamNet Bridge – Pagodas in Hanoi and HCM City were densely crowded in the Buddhist festival of Vu Lan, August 14 (the 15th day of the seventh lunar month).

Vu Lan (Ullambana) festival, also known as the Amnesty of Unquiet Spirits, is held during the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which is believed to be the spirit month.

Ullambana or Bon festival, the Festival of All Souls in Mahayana Buddhism, is celebrated on the seventh full moon of the lunar calendar in many Asian cultures as a way of honoring the dead. On this day, souls are believed to return to their former homes.

The origin of the Sanskrit name of the festival, Ullambana, is uncertain but appears in early Buddhist holy writings known as sutras. These stories tell how Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, the two principal disciples of the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, saved their mothers from needless suffering after death.

The original idea of this ceremony is contained in the legend of Maudgalyayana, known as Muc Kien Lien in Vietnam, one of the 10 great students of Buddha, as well as in the Ullambana Sutra (The Buddha Speaks the Ullambana Sutra) which was translated into Chinese by Dharmarakya in third century and became very popular in Vietnam.

According to the Sutra, Maudgalyayana, thanks to his divine eye, saw that his mother had been reborn as a hungry spirit because of evil actions in her previous life. He wanted to save her but as an Arhat Maudgalyayana could not save her by himself. The Buddha told him that only the combined effort of all Buddhist monks could soothe the sufferings of the tormented. He directed Maudgalyayana to organize an assembly of monks to make offerings for the benefit of his dead mother.

From this assembly, many Buddhist countries developed the custom of offering food, clothing and other items to hungry spirits in the month when the realms of Heaven, Hell and the living are open. Intrinsic to the seventh month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.

From India, these stories honoring the dead reached China and the Chinese assimilated certain Buddhist teachings into their ceremonies. Strongly influenced by the traditions of its neighbor, Vietnamese families began celebrating Ullambana.

The object of this ceremony is to feed the hungry ghosts and to pray for their salvation. This ceremony is a way for people to meet their compassionate filial duty.

During the ceremony, offerings are made to rescue up to seven generations of ancestors from whatever misery they might be suffering. During the month, every family can choose a day to present a feast and burn joss paper and incense in front of the house to invite the spirits to eat.

The Ullambana Sutra says: “People should vow to help their parents live 100 years without illness, suffering, afflictions or worries. They should also vow to alleviate the suffering of the hungry spirits of seven generations of ancestors to allow them to be born among men and gods and to have blessing and bliss without limit.”

The Vu Lan festival has become exceedingly popular. It is closely connected to the Asian tradition of ancestor worship and filial piety.

One of the traditions of this day is for people – Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike – who wish to express their gratefulness and appreciation towards their mothers, to go to a pagoda, often wearing a rose.

Thousands of people flock to pagodas wearing red roses if their parents are alive or white roses if their parents have passed away. Developed by the respected Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, this new aspect of the Vu Lan Festival quickly attracted younger generations. It started at the same time as the new development of Buddhism in South Vietnam in 1962.

The noted monk said he was inspired by the flower-wearing tradition of Japanese people on their own Mother’s Day. The rose has been a symbol of love and sharing among parents and their children regardless of social background.

While the Westerners have Mothers’ Day to be proud of, Vietnamese treasure their seventh lunar month festival in general and the Vu Lan day in particular as a time to pay tribute to their loved ones, dead or alive.

[jackbl]

Please take note ........

Vietnam reduces travelers’ foreign currency limit
================================================== ======
The State Bank of Vietnam has reduced the amount of foreign exchange that can be taken out of the country without customs declaration from US$7,000 to $5,000 with effect from September 1.

In case of dong, the limit remains unchanged at VND15 million.

[jackbl]

Taxi cabs in disguise trap travelers with high fares
================================================== ====
Many cars in Ho Chi Minh City have been disguised to look like well-known taxi brands in order to cheat customers, local authorities have said.

The Transport Department and Traffic Police have reported that the fake cabs use meters that do not run properly and charge customers more than they should, according to a Tuoi Tre article published Tuesday.

The newspaper reported that the department issued the statement while in the middle of an on-going investigation into the issue.

A representative from Mai Linh Taxi, one of Vietnam's most popular and reputable cab companies known for its green markings, said that many cars have copied its distinctive logo and coloring in order to cheat customers and avoid the police.

The cars use a light box and stickers that can be removed when police are sighted, the representative said.

Fake taxi cabs operate mostly in the city’s backpacker district on streets like Pham Ngu Lao and De Tham, or at places where large numbers of tourists gather such as Ben Thanh market, the Saigon River wharf, and Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Ta Long Hy, President of HCMC Taxi Cab Association, said it’s almost impossible to distinguish between fake taxi cabs and real ones. He added that customers only realize they'be been duped when it comes time to pay.

An investigator from the city Transport Department said fake cabs often take tourists, who have no knowledge of the city, on roundabout routes that cost more. The meters in many fake cabs have also been tampered with, he said.

In May this year, Mai Linh Taxi received a complaint from a customer who traveled with a Mai Linh-labeled taxi from District 1 to Tan Son Nhat Airport and was charged VND4 million (US$194).

The fare would be a couple of hundred-thousand dong in a normal taxi.

A source from Vinasun, a popular taxi brand in HCMC, said that the firm receives five to seven complaints every month from customers who use fake taxis emblazoned with the Vinasun logo.

The corporation has filed dozens of lawsuits against cars and drivers illegally using its brand name and logo.

In early July, a trial in Binh Thanh District forced a driver to compensate the firm with VND1 million for using it's logo.

Hy said customers can avoid being cheated by calling a real taxi company and ordering a cab instead of hailing one on the street.

He also said that taxi cab firms can also help themselves by improving their services and having their own inspectors, instead of relying on authorities.

Officials from the Transport Department have fined hundreds of taxi cabs a total of nearly VND500 million (US$24,250) for such violations. And that's just one month into its current investigation. More fines are sure to follow.

But representatives from large taxi cab firms said that the average fine of VND2.5 million per violation is too small.

They say that most fake cabs were not seized and have continued operating after paying such fines.


Thanh Nien News, Original Vietnamese story by Tuoi Tre

[ilovedoggie]

i got a quite difficult sms to understand:

me ma biet em qua day la me chet mat em khong the cho me biet e dang o sin duoc