Amazingly, I don’t think this piece from a BBC correspondent in Vietnam is a self-parody. The BBC reporter is candid: he once “hugely admired” Ho Chi Minh. He’s aghast at how he is commemmorated. He is clearly appalled by the capitalist revival in the country. He seeks out an old Ho ChiMinh soldiertofindsomeone whocan expres regret for Vietnam’s transitionto market capitalism. The end of the piece runs thus:
“The goal of the party today is to create a nation which is prosperous, strong AND equal,” he said. “And one day I hope we will be equal.” It’s a very faint hope. Vietnam is still a long way from the raucous consumer culture in neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia – but that’s where it’s heading. Sooner or later, Saigon will start to resemble Bangkok or Singapore. Its people will pour into shopping malls, unable to afford most of the products on display but happy enough to dream that one day they might. It is impossible not to be in awe of the sacrifices made by men like Colonel Duong – but if Vietnam ends up like its neighbours, he may be tempted to ask himself just what it was he was fighting for.
It is impossible not to be inawe of the sacrifices made by former soldiers of a brutal communist regime. This is a true insight into the worldview of many BBC reporters. They are former Communist sympathizers, fanatical anti-Americans and deeply hostile to market capitalism. No wonder they are now trying to bring down Tony Blair. But why does the British public still tolerate financing this ideological crusade?
THE AMERICAN RIGHT AND ANGLICANISM: Was the successful attempt to stop a celibate gay man becoming an Episcopalian bishop financed in part by the American far right? Some Anglicans believe so:
The Very Reverend Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark Cathedral, condemned the opponents of Canon John as the “Anglican Taliban”, and called for an inquiry into how such groups are funded. “The campaign against Jeffrey was enormously well organised and well funded,” he said. Another senior Anglican close to the affair said: “One of the things that’s become apparent is the role of American evangelicals. You begin to see the same people cropping up all around the globe.” Dr Slee accused evangelicals from America and Australia of making substantial cash handouts to third world bishops who support their views, particularly at the time of the Lambeth conference in 1998, which produced a strong Anglican statement backing traditionalist teaching on sexuality.
American evangelicals deny colluding with African conservatives to bring down an openly gay cleric. But they would, wouldn’t they?
The Dish 