Thứ Tư, 31 tháng 10, 2012

 Touching love story of the “extraordinary man”

 VietNamNet Bridge – “I “hugged" her with my eyes! We sat together to feel our love and talked with each other until midnight. The stars were brighter. The atmosphere was extraordinarily quiet. Later, she sat on my lap, I put my feet around her to hug her tightly,” teacher Nguyen Ngoc Ky recalled his first love.

“Extraordinary man” Nguyen Ngoc Ky and his studies
“Secrets” about extraordinary man Nguyen Ngoc Ky

Your example of overcoming difficulties and the fate has been known to many people. What about your love story? There are still many secrets about it. Could you "reveal" something?

(Laugh) I've always been happy, fortunate in friendship and love even though I’m paralyzed of both arms!

In the 6th grade, I was invited to speak at a school. After the talks, a schoolgirl ran up to the platform, taking off her red scarf to put it on my shoulder. I was so happy! In the 7th grade, that girl moved to my school and studied in the same class with me!

She had a very good Chinese compass, which was very rare and very precious at that time. But she put it in my bag together with a piece of paper with several words "To NNK (abbreviation of Nguyen Ngoc Ky)".

After that, the girl, named Lieu studied accounting. Until know, we are still good friends, after half of a century!

That’s friendship, how about love? I’ve heard that it was also very romantic.

After I graduated from the college, I returned home to teach at the same school with my previous teacher, Mr. Chau.

A friend of mine visited me, with his daughter. Love at first sight, I was stunned. She also delivered a "signal." I expressed my love to her.

About 20 days later, she rode her bike to the school to visit his brother, when he was out! So she met me. We chatted.

She invited me to go out. That was the first time I sat behind a girl on a bicycle on the road. I was very touched.

We’d hang out, talked, forget all else around. By the time we remembered it was dark. She was about to go home but I was determined to hold her back. That night the sky was without the moon but there were a lot of sparkling stars only and we were together...

What then?

“I “hugged" her with my eyes! We sat together to feel our love and talked with each other until midnight. The stars were brighter. The atmosphere was extraordinarily quiet. Later, she sat on my lap, I put my feet around her to hug her tightly.

Wow, it is so ... unique!

Mr. Ky and his current wife, who is his first wife's younger sister.
Teacher Ky stopped here. Perhaps he was recollecting his first love. Then he used his feet to seek a notebook on the shelf, with comments of his visitors, to show me a poem by poet Truong Nam Huong, entitled "Fun verses to Nguyen Ngoc Ky."

There is a schoolboy
With books in the mind
The soft hands guide wind
The feet write sentences
His love is very clear
Do not use the hands ... to enjoy spring
Every night with wife
Loving her by... three legs


After I read the poem, teacher Ky said:

"She" in the poem is my first wife. Her name is Vu Thi Nhieu, also a teacher, who was with me for tens of years and shared with me all sadness and happiness in life. She died for tens of years!

It seems that you are pretty "lucky" and happy in love?

Not completely! She and I came together with love, but we faced intense opposition from her family. Because the love with me, she was thwarted and beaten so much!

Who would believe that the most beautiful girl in the region, who studied highly chose a disabled husband like me?

Thanks to poet Doan Van Cu, who lived near her home, her father allowed us to get married. Poet Doan Van Cu had credibility with her father because her father was a fan of Cu’s poems. Poet Cu told him that I had talent, good capacity and I was a good son-in-law.

And it is the fate to have love and to marry someone. Finally, her father agreed! The wedding was held!

Your marriage life must be very "special" to overcome obstacles and to be happy?

I and my wife were both teachers. Like others, we had to try a lot to build a happy family and to bring up our children. I always have to try multiples higher than normal people to compensate for my defects and misfortune.

In addition to teaching, do you help your wife with housework and child care? And how can you do?

There's nothing that I do not do. The most difficult stage was when we shared a house with my mother. When my wife delivered the first child, I had to handle more housework.

After school, I did housework. Up early in the morning I did the laundry at a nearby pond. My mother saw this; she was merciful and shouted at my wife: "Your husband has two paralyzed arms. He teaches all day but he has to get up early to do laundry, how can you let him do it?"

My wife was weak after giving birth. Being afraid that she was sad, I had to encourage and comfort her a lot. Since then I had to get up very early to do laundry to avoid my mum’s eyes, then I came back to the bed waiting for the morning to go to school. Thanks to that trick, I could maintain peace in my home!

You are an extraordinary example but your wife is also an extraordinary woman who dared to love with the heart and overcome all obstacles to marry you. In your married life, do you have any secret to nurture your great love and the happiness of your family?

Back then, many people told me that only mad girls agree to marry me.

So when I married the most beautiful girl in the area, I had to try to build and maintain my happiness.

Secret? Living and trying with all my heart.

I've told my friends that I had paralyzed arms but in return, the god gives me great happiness.

My wife is "the gift of God" for me. When she knew that she could not be besides me for any longer, my wife was very worried about me. She did not know how I would live without her. Our children have grown and they would have their husband and wife.

On the hospital bed, my wife did not stop thinking about me.

My wife’s younger sister (my current wife) lived in the North at that time and her husband had died for more than 10 years ago. She lived alone with her two children. She flew from the North to the South to visit her sister who was about to die.

Lying in bed, my wife cried and held her sister’s hands to say: "I beg you only one thing. You replace me to be the wife of Ky, to love and take care of him in his remaining days."

I could not hold back tears, turned away, and did not know what to say.

Actually, before my wife’s sister’s visit, my wife talked to me several times about this, but I brushed off.

I did not expect that my wife told her sister her last wish and then went forever...

My current second wife is my first wife’s younger sister. Her name is Vu Thi Dau.

Duy Chien
 Vietnam cargo ship sinks off Sri Lanka, 4 missing 


 
A Vietnamese-flagged cargo ship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving four crew members missing, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) announced Tuesday.

The Saigon Queen, owned by the Saigon Shipping Joint Stock Company (SSC), was carrying timber from Myanmar to India with 22 crew members onboard when it sank in Sri Lankan waters due to bad weather caused by a storm.

After Vietnam MRCC received a mayday call from the ship at around 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, it transmitted an emergency announcement to other ships in the vicinity of the Saigon Queen for help.

At 9:20 p.m. the same day, the Cyprus-flagged ship Pacific Skipper rescued three sailors from the Saigon Queen and kept in touch with 16 others who boarded life-rafts after the accident.

Three sailors were still missing. Bad weather and darkness hindered rescue efforts.

At 10:40 p.m. the Pacific Skipper successfully approached the 16 crew members on the life-rafts. The sailors were reported to be in good health, except for one who was slightly injured.

When the Pacific Skipper was bringing the sailors aboard, Saigon Queen’s captain Nguyen Minh Luan, 51, accidently fell into the water. He has been missing ever since.

The Vietnam MRCC told newswire VnExpress it was still working with relevant agencies to search for Luan and three other missing sailors named Hoang Van Ban, 58, Tran Van De, 54, and Pham Phu Huu, 27.

The Pacific Skipper was heading for Bangladesh with 18 rescued sailors. It is expected that the ship will arrive at the port of Mongla on November 3.
By Le Quan, Thanh Nien News
 “Extraordinary man” Nguyen Ngoc Ky and his studies

 VietNamNet Bridge - The name of Nguyen Ngoc Ky has become a typical example of overcoming difficulties in Vietnam in the 60-70s. Ky can be compared to the world well-known American physicist Stephan Hawking.


“Secrets” about extraordinary man Nguyen Ngoc Ky 

Teacher Ky said:

“I still remember the morning that I woke up after illness. I was 4 years old that year. I walked out to the yard. My mother gave me an orange. I put my hand to hold it but it was very weird, my arm could not move.

I tried to raise my hands to get the orange but they did not listen to my command. No matter how I tried, they were still dangling.

I burst out crying. My mother hugged me. After that I knew that my mother cried more than me.

Many times I found her crying. Seeing me, she hastily wiped tears, hugging me tightly. Her eyes were red.

Sometimes, she lost her control and sobbed: "Son, your if parents die, what will you do to live, huh?"

Mother's tears fell down my shoulders. I choked to cry. I wanted to hold my mum but my arms kept hanging down.

My mum held and hugged my arms: "Oh, how my child’s arms are like this? If I am guilty, let me suffer it, please give my child’s healed arm, let me be paralyzed!"

At that time, I craved for embracing my mother as previously, or taking her hand. But my arms did not understand my heart. Helplessly, I rubbed my head on her lap; her tears wet my hair. I and my mum cried together for a long time.

That night, during the dinner, my mum said: "I'm going to give the eldest daughter a few acres of land. You have to take care of your brother in the future. If you get married, you have to still take care of your brother."

There was an astrologist near my house. He came to see me and told my mother: "Ky is paralyzed his both arms but he will become a good person. He will have a bigger house than yours!"

My mum uttered: "Oh dear, normal people cannot be sure about their future, let alone my son with two paralyzed arms. I just hope that his sister to take care of him after I die!"

The astrologist said: "He will help his sister in the future!" Anyone who knew this story laughed because they thought that the astrologist just comforted and encouraged me and my mom.”

Teacher Ky stopped telling that old story. Then we continued talking about his school age.

How did you start studying with two paralyzed arms?

The school was close to my home. Seeing my friends going to school, I was very sad. Every morning I stood at the door of my friends’ class to see them. They turned looking at me so the teacher drove me away because "the class was distracted!"

I stood a little far from the class to see my friends studying. Then the teacher let me enter the class. After school, he took me home and told my mum: "You should keep him at home, please don’t let him go to class. My students are distracted by him."

I was very sad. I stayed at home and used my foot to keep pieces of brick and coal to write on the yard. Some people saw my effort and said: "Oh, I’ve never seen anyone who can write by feet. Please stop wasting your time!"...

Were you frustrated?

No! Prior to that, when I was abandoned from the class, I was sad and wandered in the garden where I saw a bird carry food with its beak. I mimicked it to write by my mouth but I could not.

I thought the other way. Once I saw a chicken used its legs to scratch garbage for food. I discovered that I could use my foot to write. So I practiced writing by my foot.

Unlike other kids, I did not start from the letter A. Initially, I had to use different positions to write. I bathed in sweat to be able to write letter O then V; later to other letters.

After write letters on the yard by brick, I moved to write letter by pencil on papers. Then I tried to draw lines and boxes by ruler and draw circles with a compass. For normal people, this is very simple but to me it was torture.

Could you go to school when you were able to write?

It was not so simple. At first because of the respect for my family, a teacher allowed me to attend her class, but she stated that I could not study!

But my perseverance, patience shook my teacher. She allowed me to join other students. I demonstrated that the foot can replace hands for writing, drawing, rotating the compass, doing craft tasks, folding paper boats and birds, etc.

In my free time, I made bird cages, which were always better than those of my friends.

By the will, energy and patience, you graduated from a college, how iwas it?

Teacher Ky met with PM Pham Van Dong.

I was good at math. When I was a 7-grade student, I was selected for the math competition for gifted students of the northern region in 1963. Uncle Ho presented me a badge. In the high school, I still studied well.

Once, the teacher gave me the book "How the Steel Was Tempered" by Russian writer Ostrovsky. I read and loved the character Paven Corsaghin so much. I dream of becoming a writer or a poet.

Character Paven Corsaghin inspired me a lot with his sacrifice for his ideal, the dare to live with all the energy of heart, overcome adversity to live a meaning life.

I entered the college with the dream to rewrite my life. The book "The unforgettable years" was written when I was a student.

Being graduated from the University of Hanoi, in 1971 my book was printed with the title "I go to school." It was a big success and it was great encouragement for my next step.

This book was reprinted dozens of times. Once in Haiphong, I was very moved when an audience gave me the book "I go to school," published in 1975. The book has the words of a father before he went on the battlefield : "Only a few minutes I will cross the 17th parallel to the B battlefield. I present this book to you. I hope you will pass yourself as character Nguyen Ngoc Ky."

At that time, graduating from the University of Hanoi, the Literature Faculty, was very impressive, why did you choose to become a teacher?

Indeed, at first I did not choose that profession. Prime Minister Pham Van Dong invited me to meet him. He talked with and encouraged me a lot.

The Prime Minister advised me to become a teacher to teach children overcoming all obstacles and difficulties, contributing to the reunification of the country and I should get married, if necessary, the Prime Minister would be a matchmaker. I only got the advice to become a teacher!

If you had a chance to choose your job again, would you have still chosen the teaching profession again?

Yes! I discovered a lot of great things about this job though now I have new "career" as a writer and consultant. Thanks to the teaching job that I could realize my dreams, my ambitions, and contribute more to society!

Duy Chien

 Vietnam’s once richest man longs for good old days

Tam is very open in answering questions from the press gave during a break of the plenary session of the conference on the socioeconomic situation
Photo: Tuoi Tre
The return of businessman-cum-National Assembly deputy Dang Thanh Tam has heated up the ongoing NA meeting, as Tam was very open in answering questions from the press gave during a break of the plenary session of the conference on the socioeconomic situation.

"If I had not stepped into the financial sector, I would not have to suffer like this. I want to go back to the good old days because at that time I owed very little debt, so I did not have to worry about repayment,” Tam said.
“Sometimes when people are told to return to ordinary life, it is better than the life of luxury. All businesses are dreaming of those old days," he added.
Given the current situation, will there be any opportunities to expand production in 2013?
In deciding whether to expand or not, we should look into the State's plan. When the government projects 5-5.2 percent economic growth, I have to say that it’s good to scale down your production for your own sake, as expansion will be a death penalty.
With such an economic growth plan, businesses have to understand that 2013 will continue to be difficult, so they need to be aware of their own situation and find the best way to survive. Optimism is good, and we businesspeople need that, but we also have to be realistic, and you must plan ahead to fit in such a socioeconomic growth plan.
The final result of 2012 may leave everyone worried. I do not know what the end of 2013 will be like, but I’m sure that the 5.2 percent GDP growth plan is too low. I think that in 2013 it should be at least at 6 percent.
Everyone is afraid of bad debt, it’s true. But in my view, it should be classified into two categories: bad debt in securities- real estate, and bad debt in the manufacturing sector caused by rising unsold inventories.
Out of the approximately VND300 trillion ($14.4 billion) in bad debt, how many percentage points the two categories make up needs to be sorted out.
For the second category, I think it should not be necessarily considered as bad debt, as when the economy flourishes, the flow of goods will regain its speed, thus enabling the borrowers to repay the principal and interest.
Regarding the stock market, I think it faces a very long road to recovery.
Do you have plans for the future in the field of finance and banking?
I, like many other people, rushed to buy banking shares and shares of securities firms in the past. But those old days have passed, and very few people do so now.
In this case, I don’t want to tell people to stay away from the market, but I just want to draw a clear picture so that the people recognize the reality, and they will know where they should channel their money to.
As for our financial investment, no one wants to say that I failed, and I have to say that I’m absolutely not successful, and have suffered huge losses.
If I had not gotten involved in the financial sector, I would not have to suffer like this.
Luckily, the field of industrial infrastructure is still profitable and we can still collect factory rents regularly.
Financial investment brings me a profit of just a few percentage points per year, while loans cost tens of percent per year. We have to learn from such failures and bitter experiences.
We don’t own any stocks of Phuong Tay Bank, and we have divested nearly all our investments in the stocks of other banks to focus on our core business.
“A lot of people say we owe so much. But my total debt, including that of my sister at Tan Tao Group, is less than $500 million, while our total capital is worth over VND20 trillion ($960 million). The debt to equity ratio is less than one.”

“Regarding our business, particularly in the field of industrial infrastructure and foreign investment attraction, if we die, no one can live "
Tuoi Tre News

Thứ Ba, 30 tháng 10, 2012

 Flying through storm to rescue people in distress

PANO – Thanks to good flying skills, experience and expertise of the pilots, a tough mission in rescuing workers on a drifting drilling platform named GSF KEY HAWAI at high sea, has ended up with success.

By order of the higher command, two crews of the North Helicopter Company under the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation flew helicopters in severe weather to the drifting drilling platform. The pilots had to struggle against strong wind, heavy rain and rough seas to take them ashore at 10.50 am on October 29th, successfully saving the lives of all 35 workers on the drilling platform.  

Calling for help at high sea
Landing on Gia Lam airport after successfully completing the rescue operations, Senior Colonel Tran Xuan Dinh, Director of the North Helicopter Company, said that this was one of the most difficult tasks he had accomplished so far in his career.
He told the story about the rescue operations, as follows:
At 7pm on October 28th, the Company received a call for help from the drilling platform. Workers on the platform said that the platform had been blown off by storm No 8 and was now drifting freely on the high seas. The lives of the workers were in danger.
At that time, the weather in Hanoi was bad. It was raining and windy. Meanwhile, information about the weather at the location of the drilling platform showed that the weather conditions were exceeding the safety standards for helicopter operations.
On one hand, leaders of the Company ordered involved parties to maintain communication with the drilling platform and on the other, pilots and mechanics carefully checked helicopters and actively prepared for rescue flights. The pilots and helicopters were ready to take off and implement the task when weather conditions permitted.
Leaders and experienced pilots were summoned together to discuss plans on how to rescue the workers on the drilling platform. Finally,  a plan proposed by Senior Colonel Tran Xuan Dinh was agreed. Under the plan, several helicopters would fly to Cat Bi airport in Hai Phong, which could shorten the time flying to the platform.
During the night of October 28th, the drilling platform kept drifting in strong winds towards Bach Long Vi Island with terrified workers on it that could only call for help. The situation on the platform became worse when the power went off and communication lines between the platform and the shore were disrupted. The only way to exchange information between the platform and the helicopter unit was via a hand phone of a worker on the platform.
From the phone, workers on the platform continually called for help and that urged leaders and pilots of the helicopter unit to act.
Landing on “sloping plate”
At 5.30 am on October 29th, two helicopters left Gia Lam airport for Cat Bi airport. Senior Colonel Tran Xuan Dinh, the Director of the Company and Senior Colonel Do Xuan Hoa, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Company, flew helicopter EC-155B1 and Colonel Tran Quang Tuan and Colonel Chu Quang Minh were on another helicopter heading to Cat Bi airport.
After landing on Cat Bi airport, the four experienced pilots actively digested the current meteorological information in the rescue zone and along the planned air route to the workers. According to weather forecasts, the weather might be improved. The two crews made a resolution to fulfil their task and immediately prepared for their rescue operations. 
The flight plan was approved by the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation Command. The two helicopters took off and started their mission. On the way to the platform, it rained heavily and wind blew at 80km per hour. As clouds were thick and low, the helicopters flew completely in cloud cover. When the helicopters reached the platform location, the pilots had to pull all of their experience and skills to beat the cloud s and find a landing zone.
The platform had drifted 100km away from the original location and it was now stuck in rocks, which made the platform slope dangerously by about 4 degrees. Additionally, high seas and strong wind swung the platform violently. Almost impossible for the pilots to land their helicopters
But, bravery, high resolve and the expertise of the pilots won over the bad weather. The pilots selected a proper and suitable method in these circumstances and safely landed on the “sloping plate” on the top of the platform. Each helicopter had to conduct 4 flights to take all 35 workers from the platform to shore safely.
The rescue mission was successful. With the iron will, resolve and bravery of soldiers, the pilots have saved 35 workers’ lives in an almost desperate situation.
Translated by Thu Nguyen

12:01

 1 tỷ USD để tăng lương từ 1/7/2013


(Dân trí) - Theo phương án tăng lương vừa được Chính phủ trình Quốc hội, mức tiền lương tối thiểu chung cho cán bộ công chức, cán bộ nghỉ hưu, người có công (8 triệu người) sẽ tăng 100 nghìn đồng/tháng trong 6 tháng, bắt đầu từ 1/7/2013 tổng kinh phí khoảng 21.700 tỷ đồng (1 tỷ USD).
 

Phát biểu tại phiên thảo luận về kinh tế - xã hội sáng nay 31/10, Bộ trưởng Bộ tài chính Vương Đình Huệ cho biết: Vấn đề tăng lương không chỉ là mối quan tâm của người hưởng lương mà còn của Chính phủ và lãnh đạo các Bộ, ngành liên quan.
Tuy nhiên, để tăng lương đúng lộ trình 1/5/2013 thì cần 60.000 đồng - 65.000 tỷ đồng (tương đương 3 tỷ USD) và 29.000 tỷ đồng để thực hiện mức lương tối thiếu 1,05 triệu đồng và phụ cấp công vụ 25% thêm 4 tháng trong 2013.
“Điều này vượt quá khả năng cân đối của ngân sách năm 2013, do thu ngân sách 2012 đạt thấp, mức tăng thu 2013 cũng khó khăn do mức tăng trưởng dự báo chỉ 5,5%. Trước tình hình này, Chính phủ báo cáo Quốc hội tháng 5/2013 dự kiến thực hiện một phần mức lương tối thiếu hoặc bố trí tăng lương cho người nghỉ hưu, người có công, cán hộ có hệ số lương thấp”, Bộ trưởng Vương Đình Huệ cho hay.
Tuy nhiên, sau khi thảo luận, Thủ tướng Chính phủ đã chỉ đạo dự kiến trình Quốc hội xem xét phương án tăng lương ngay trong khi xem xét quyết định dự toán ngân sách trong kỳ họp này với phương án cụ thể như sau:
Tăng mức tiền lương tối thiểu chung cho cán bộ công chức, cán bộ nghỉ hưu, người có công (8 triệu người) ở mức 100 nghìn đồng/tháng trong 6 tháng, bắt đầu từ 1/7/2013 tổng kinh phí khoảng 21.700 tỷ đồng (tương đương 1 tỷ USD). Trong đó, nguồn ngân sách trung ương lo 18.400 tỷ, địa phương 3.300 tỷ đồng.
Với ngân sách địa phương 3.300 tỷ đồng, Chính phủ sẽ lấy ở 10% tiết kiệm chi thường xuyên đã bố trí trong dự toán trình quốc hội và 50% tăng thu dành để làm lương còn lại ở một số địa phương.
Bộ trưởng Huệ cho biết thêm, để có nguồn tăng lương phải cơ cấu lại các nguồn chi ngân sách và triệt để tiết kiệm chi tiêu. Bởi dự toán thu nội địa xuất nhập khẩu, dầu thô ở mức cao, độ rủi ro lớn nên không tăng thêm khoản dự toán thu.
Theo đó, để vừa đạt mục tiêu tăng lương, vừa đảm bảo thực hiện mục tiêu tăng trưởng GDP 5,5%, dự kiến Chính phủ báo cáo Quốc hội giảm mức đầu tư công từ 180.000 tỷ đồng xuống 170.000 tỷ nhưng vẫn đảm bảo cao hơn mức bội chi ngân sách, phát hành trái phiếu chính phủ 55.000 tỷ đồng - 60.000 tỷ đồng. Tuy nhiên, theo khẳng định của Bộ trưởng Huệ, dù cắt giảm đầu tư công nhưng vẫn đảm bảo tổng mức 225.000 tỷ đồng đã được Quốc hội quyết định cho cả giai đoạn đến 2015, đồng thời tiết kiệm chi ngân sách trung ương 10%, giảm bớt chi hoàn thuế giá trị gia tăng, trong điều kiện ngân sách 2012 có tăng thu thì sẽ bố trí tăng thêm cho mức hụt chi này.
“Đây là phương án khả thi nhất có thể tính đến, Chính phủ cố gắng kiểm soát lạm phát ở 7 - 8% để đảm bảo tăng thu nhập thực tế cho người hưởng lương”, Bộ trưởng khẳng định.
(Theo Dân trí)  Nguyễn Hiền

Cái nhỏ nhoi nhất: Bữa cơm công nhân (và cả nông dân), đơn vị tính tiền nghìn.
Cái “vĩ đại nhất”: Sự tham nhũng, lãng phí (đang hiện hữu), đơn vị tính nghìn… tỉ.
Mong các vị Đại biểu Nhân dân hãy nhớ tới chuyện nhỏ nhoi: bữa cơm người dân.
Thương Giang
 Deputies emphasize efficiency of votes of confidence in reality

PANO – The draft Resolution on votes of confidence and votes of no confidence on holders of positions elected or approved by the National Assembly (NA) and People’s Councils was again thoroughly discussed by deputies in groups on October 29th.

Most deputies agreed that such a resolution is necessary and some offered suggestions to the draft, so that the votes of confidence could be applied more effectively in reality.
Avoiding formalism  
According to NA deputies, such a resolution could help the NA and People’s Councils at all levels to improve the efficiency of their supervision over the performance of elected post-holders or of those approved by the NA and People’s Councils. This is also seen as a specific step required within the parameters of “votes of confidence” as stated in the Constitution and other legal documents. In addition, the results of votes of confidence can faithfully show how much people trust in elected officials or those approved by the NA and People’s Councils, so that they can take serious measures to improve the effectiveness of their performance and responsibilities.
Deputies also focused discussions on the scope of votes of confidence. According to many deputies, votes of confidence and votes of no confidence should be applied to key positions in State agencies and localities.
“Votes of confidence should not be extended to all elected positions or those approved by the NA and People’s Councils, because a number of officials do not have much impact on administrative systems at all levels,” Deputy Huynh Minh Thien from Ho Chi Minh City said.
He stressed that votes of confidence conducted on an extensive scale could lead to formalism and that is the thing voters across the nation do not expect.
Some deputies from Vinh Phuc province shared the same view.
Many deputies agreed that votes of confidence should be limited to holders of key positions, who lead important organisations and administrative systems at all levels and who have considerable influence over administrative systems at all levels.
Meanwhile, a number of other deputies from Ho Chi Minh City said that many important positions, such as directors of city or provincial departments, who are seen as chiefs of sectors in a city or province, do not have to undergo votes of confidence as they are not elected or approved by local People’s Councils.
“Votes of confidence should be applied to such important positions. Local People’s Councils should have authority to hold votes of confidence on holders of all key positions in the local administration. After the votes, local People’s Councils are responsible for dealing only with elected officials or those approved by them, and the results of votes of confidence on other positions should be handed over to other competent agencies,” Deputy Huynh Thanh Lap from Ho Chi Minh City proposed.
“Confidence” or “no confidence”
The draft Resolution on votes of confidence states that deputies of the NA and People’s Councils will have four options when they cast ballots in votes of confidence for elected or approved officials. The four options are “high confidence”, “middle confidence”, “low confidence” and “no idea”.
According to NA deputies, it would be difficult for competent agencies to evaluate the results when the four options are applied in a vote of confidence. Many suggested that there should be two options instead: “confidence” and “no confidence”.
Deputy Tran Du Lich said that most voters advocated the Resolution and hoped that votes of confidence and votes of no confidence could be conducted effectively. But they believed that votes of confidence would be less practical and effective with the four levels of confidence.
“There should be two levels: “confidence” and “no confidence”, he suggested.
With the same view, Deputy Huynh Thanh Lap said that it is much easier for deputies to rate confidence on cadres in a vote of confidence as well as for competent agencies to decide the rate of confidence if there are two clear-cut levels.
A large number of deputies agreed that votes of confidence should be held every year, but a vote of confidence on elected or approved officials should start from the second year of their term of office. They also agreed that votes of confidence should be held first and votes of no confidence would be held only when cadres did not gather more than 50 percent of confidence votes.
Translated by Thu Nguyen 
 Australian aircraft carrier docks Ho Chi Minh City

PANO - A light aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy, “HMAS Sydney”, carrying 229 troops on board, anchored at Ho Chi Minh City Port on October 29th, to start its six-day visit to the city.

Colonel Ha Xuan Xu, a representative from the Naval Command, welcomed HMAS Sydney’s captain, Colonel Luke Charles Jones and other Australian guests.

During the visit, the crew will lay a wreath at President Ho Chi Minh’s Statue and pay courtesies to the City People’s Committee, the Military Zone 7 Command and the Southern Naval Command.
During their stay, they will share their experiences on operating helicopters on battleships with Vietnamese troops, participate in sporting exchanges with the Naval Technique School and the Ho Chi Minh City RMIT University, and tour some famous sites and historical relic sites in the city.

A group of disabled students from the Vietnam-Australia Loreto Group - funded Binh Minh School, will have the opportunity to visit the “HMAS Sydney”, when in port.
The visit is a contribution to strengthening the friendship between the two countries in general, and the two sides’ navies in particular.
Translated by Van Hieu
 Dyke system to get upgrade

Farmers dredge an irrigation trench in Nho Quan District in northern Ninh Binh Province. Under the new plan, coastal dyke systems in the province will be strengthened to cope with strong storms. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngo Lich

HA NOI (VNS)— More than VND59.67 trillion (US$2.84 billion) has been earmarked to fund measures to control flooding and provide water drainage and supply to cities and provinces around the Hong (Red) River Delta during the period of 2012-20 under a decision made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last week.

Le Hung Nam, deputy director of the Water Resources Management Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: "This plan has been updated with current developments and the potential impacts of climate change and rising sea levels in Viet Nam and especially the Red River Delta, where comprehensive work will take place to prevent flooding and utilise the river system to its utmost capacity."
He also said the plan was based on the latest research on dyke systems, pumping stations and reservoirs to work out effective solutions to ensure water supply for 20 million people in the delta and water supply and drainage for 1.3 million hectares of agricultural land.
Under the plan, coastal dyke systems in the cities and provinces of Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Quang Ninh and Ninh Binh and river dyke systems along the Red, Ninh Co, Thai Binh, Kinh Thay and Day rivers will continue to be strengthened to cope with the strongest storms and high tides.
Flood drains to the sea will be built along the Red River via the Ba Lat estuary, the Duong River via the Van Uc estuary, and the Kinh Thay River via the Cam estuary.
Barriers in the river beds which prevent water from flowing and houses situated along the drainage routes will be removed.
Medium and small-scale reservoirs will be checked and repairs will be made where necessary to ensure safety. Large-scale pumping stations including Lien Mac, Cau Xe, Vinh Tri, Co Dam and Huu Bi will be upgraded.
An observation system will also be set up to assess the safety of the projects.
Delta cities and provinces, especially Ha Noi which are always on high alert during the rainy season because of weak points in their dyke systems, have backed the plan.
Do Duc Thinh, director of the Ha Noi office of the Flood, Storm Control and Dyke Management Department, said landslides along the city's 470-km dyke system had occurred more frequently this year than in the previous three, and with more serious consequences.
There have been more than 10 landslides since the end of August, putting local people's lives at risk.
Nguyen Huu San, a resident in the city's Ba Vi District, said a landslide 50-70m long and 15-20m deep had swept a large part of his garden into the river in one of the most serious incidents to have occurred for years.
If the dyke system was not improved, landslides and fissures would become more serious. His family was one of four who had been relocated, he said.
San said he and his neighbours just wanted the threat of the dyke collapsing to go away so they could focus on agricultural production and other work.
Hoang Thanh Van, director of the city's Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said that a comprehensive assessment of the dyke system was needed, because just patching it up was not enough to ensure the safety of the whole system.
Investment procedures for the degrading dyke systems also required a lot of time and effort, he said.
Officials and residents agreed that for the implementation of this plan, barriers should be removed.
More work
Regarding water supply, reservoirs located on the upper reaches of Red River in the provinces of Son La, Hoa Binh, Lai Chau and Tuyen Quang will be regulated in co-ordination with high tides to supply water for agricultural production in the dry season.
Research on stabilising the flow of water in the Red and Duong rivers and finding solutions to raise water levels to ensure the operation of pumping stations in the dry season will be implemented to the year of 2015.
Water inlet sluices in the Thai Binh and Moi rivers and fresh water storage works will be constructed.
Nam said the plan also focused on raising people's knowledge about climate change and rising sea levels, improving the effectiveness of management on irrigation works, the operation of reservoirs, and sand exploitation along river banks.
A specific co-ordination mechanism on this issue between relevant agencies would be applied, he said.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has entrusted the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Environment and Natural Resources and the relevant cities and provinces to implement the measures needed for the plan.
Specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for co-ordinating with localities to work out specific tasks based on the list of priorities.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment with relevant agencies will allocate funding which is expected to come from the State budget and people's contributions.
Finally, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources will increase management of sand exploitation along river banks.— VNS

 Proposed amendments expand President’s power

  
Current President Truong Tan Sang (R) with former President Nguyen Minh Triet
Photo: Tuoi Tre
Vietnam’s state President will have more influence with the power to appoint army generals and admirals under a proposed amendment to the current Constitution as being discussed by the National Assembly.

>> Click here to download the 1992 Constitution

The nine proposed changes to the 1992 Constitution were read out loud by chairman of the Legislative Committee Phan Trung Ly yesterday (October 29) during the on-going fourth session of the 13th National Assembly, the country’s top law-making body, in Hanoi.
Only the President has power to appoint generals
Accordingly, the President “leads the military forces and holds the position as chairperson of the National Defense Commission and Security”. He/she will have the power to appoint generals, admirals, vice admirals, rear admirals; appoint chiefs of staff, or chairpersons of the General Political Department of the People’s Army.
The President also has the power to abolish regulations issued by the Government or by the Prime Minister to ensure unity in the legal system. The President has the right to attend all meeting sessions of the Government besides being able to demand the Government to discuss issues falling within the President’s supervision scope.
Also, the proposal re-affirms Article 103 of the current Constitution regarding the President’s power to recommend to the National Assembly to elect or dismiss Vice Presidents or the Prime Minister.
As for the Prime Minister’s power, he/she is empowered to propose to the National Assembly to appoint or dismiss Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, deputy ministers or other members of the Government.
The Prime Minister ratifies the appointment of, dismissal of chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of the provincial (city) People’s Committees.
The National Assembly will discuss the suggested changes on the 6th and 15th of November.
Vietnam’s current President is Truong Tan Sang while Nguyen Tan Dung is the incumbent Prime Minister.
The draft rule also affirms Article 4 of the Constitution: that the Communist Party of Vietnam is the vanguard of the working class adhering to Marxism –Leninism and President Ho Chi Minh thoughts. The Party is the leading force of the state and society.
4 terrorism attempts in Vietnam
On the same day, public security minister Tran Dai Quang submitted the draft law on anti-terrorism to the NA.
Accordingly, although no terrorism cases committed by international organizations have been reported in Vietnam, there have been four cases by reactionary forces in exile that have been busted since 2000.
Vietnamese security forces have caught hundreds of exiled hostile Vietnamese elements entering the country with tons of explosives and weapons aimed at carrying out sabotage, terrorism activities.
Due to the complex global issues, the potential risk of a terrorism attack is huge, the security minister added.

President Truong Tan Sang (front R) with top leaders visiting Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi before the National Assembly session this month (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Eliminate worms in the state machinery
In the afternoon, the National Assembly discussed the draft resolution on collecting votes of confidence and casting votes of confidence with regard to top officials holding positions ratified by or voted by the National Assembly and the People’s Council.
Many deputies said the confidence vote should be conducted every year instead of every two years as is being currently proposed.
The National Assembly also differed on the levels of assessment.
According to some, the rating should be divided into three levels (i.e high, medium and low) without the “no comment” option as is being proposed, while some others believe there should only be two levels (i.e confidence and no confidence).
According to deputy Bui Thi An of Hanoi, such confidence rating is very important in contributing to deterring officials from wrongdoings, helping eliminate “worms” within the state machinery.
Meanwhile, secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee Nguyen Ba Thanh opined that “there must be changes. It’s not true that there are no well-performing officials. But if you hold onto that position, who can replace you? The danger is the knowledge that you can never be replaced. But now there is a new drug to force you to move, to try”.
Mr. Thanh also suggested subjecting lower-ranking officials like heads of provincial departments of transport, construction, of natural resources and environment to the confidence votes since those officials, although not appointed by the National Assembly, greatly influence the public through their actions.
Deputy Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, of Ho Chi Minh City, similarly suggested measuring pubic credibility with regard to provincial heads of important departments that greatly affect citizen’s lives.
Earlier on 26 October, a draft law on anti-corruption was presented under which the head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-corruption will not be the Prime Minister as is now the case. 
tuoitrenews
 When young people have to pay for “showing-off”

VietNamNet Bridge – The young always want to express and show themselves off,  but when they try to prove their personality by odd hobbies, then perhaps it's time for young people to look back.

Passion for photography or half-hearted hobby?

Photography has become a very hot trend for young people today. With a digital camera or a phone with camera function, youngsters can realize their hobby.

For many people, the purpose of hunting beautiful photos is to satisfy their passion, but there are also many people who follow this trend only to ape others.

The idea to become a photographer flashed in the head of N. (20 years old, Hanoi) since his photos were posted on facebook and they were enthusiastically supported by his friends. At first, N took photos by his cell phone, but to have quality pictures, he needed a dedicated camera. This prompted N. "thinking seriously about photographic enthusiasts."

Participating in online photography clubs, N. was advised to "play hard." The young man invested all his money to become an amateur photographer with tripods, lens and accessories such as moisture-proof box, special backpack, external hard drive, etc.

However, not long after that, N. felt sluggish when this pleasure was not only costly but also time consuming. N. offered for sales his cameras and accessories on the Internet.

From hobby to show pictures


Showing acts of killing rare animals on personal blog.

Many young people also love to show off their "sparkling" portraits or their presence in somewhere on facebook to get like or comments.

"Photography is a hobby of many people and I have no idea about it. But when I visit monuments and construction works, it is very frustrating that I could not take any photo just because of young people who always surrounded the works to take photo," one commented on a photographic forum.

Some young people have gestures such as kissing, hugging, or climbing on majestic statues to pose for photos.

At the recent Mid-Autumn occasion, toy shops on Hang Ma, Hang Luoc streets in Hanoi and the lantern street in HCM City had to ban young people from standing in front of their stores to take picture. Many shops hang a sign warning: "Not shooting here."

Hunting to monstrous pictures

Recently, a number of online newspapers also reflected a new movement of the youth that make others to shiver of fear. That is the "hobby” of hunting pictures of accidents. With cameras and cell in hand, these people are scrambling to hunt macabre images of accidents, violence ... then post them on the social networks for people to make comments.

The more creepy pictures are, the more photographers show their dedication and skill and the more their pictures attract people’s comments. Every month we also choose the most grisly photos to present awards. The person with most impressive photo will be elected as the chairman and may make recommendations to other members of topics," a young man shared about this frightening trend on a newspaper.

Many people are skeptical about this movement because they cannot imagine that there is a part of young people who have such bizarre thought and behavior. However, just go to Google, people can see hundreds of social networking sites regularly publish and update tragic images of death by a large team of corpse-hunting “photographers”.

Many young people after making "victory" as killing endangered animals, causing deadly accidents, slandered each other show these "achievements" on social networks. In the most recent case, a soldier posted a series of photos on killing a langur on Facebook on July 16.

Before that, a young guy "showed off an achievement” on facebook and was arrested by the authorities. This man, named Nguyen Manh Linh, 21 in Lao Cai province, who has nick name "keo mut choi boi" wrote that he killed an old man on an accident, with words of emotionless, ruthless.

These people are not only criticized by the online community but also have to take responsibility before the law for what they caused. This is a lesson for those who love to express themselves but lack of knowledge, lack of understanding of the law.

Le Hieu