Posted on 05/31/2017 5:31:50 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
US President Donald Trump discussed trade with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a White House visit on Wednesday (May 31) and welcomed the signing of business deals worth billions of dollars and the jobs they would bring.
General Electric Co said it had signed deals with Vietnam worth about US$5.58 billion for power generation, aircraft engines and services, its largest ever single combined sale with the country.
"They just made a very large order in the United States - and we appreciate that - for many billions of dollars, which means jobs for the United States and great, great equipment for Vietnam," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Phuc said on Tuesday he would sign deals for US goods and services worth US$15 billion to US$17 billion during his Washington visit, mainly for high-technology products and for services....
(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...
After the consolidation phase was over in the south the Chinese mostly decided they were Vietnamese due to their fear of being forced to go to China where their great great grandparents were born. Among the expatirates at least in America you won't find any that say they are Chinese though about half of the refugees were Chinese. They mostly speak only Vietnamese as their old language and, of course, English as their new. The Kinh- ethnic Viets won't out them, either. They are all Vietnamese.
In Viet Nam the southerners are more easy going and entrepreneurial. It is probably because the southern area was Viet Nam's own Wild West in the 1800s. The land was largely empty except for some pesky aborigines and adventurers and men on the run migrated away from the family structure and the mandarins of the north to open up new land that they could own and farm for themselves. The southerners are thus more individualistic. You can really feel that difference between Sai Gon and Ha Noi.
...Vietnamese are very pro American. Obama despises that quality in foreigners.
Here is part of the problem. My last name is uncommon. There are less than 100 of us in the US (and even less elsewhere). There has never been a war, never, where at least one of us has not “answered the call”. Since 1776. None above the rank of Pvt. I was the FIRST Officer. The rest were all Infantry “grunts”. Farm boys. To have suffered, bled, and even died and to see all that sacrifice become trivial in your own life is bad policy. Especially over a weekend during which we “pay respect” to those giving the ultimate sacrifice. This could well lead to families not being willing to make that sacrifice again.
Fine if it never becomes necessary.
Now here we are Iraq, Afghanistan, ISIS, more wars we never intended to win. Bad policy, IMHO. Not the mark of a great Republic, evidence of a people who are floundering, which when all considered seems to be the case.
I guess it is just in line with everything else.
Not anger. Just a deep sadness. Futility.
The world turns and things/times change. Stewing in the past, under a super corrupt Johnson Admin seems a bit counterproductive. My draft lottery number was 300. Watched friends go over and hated what was going on but that fiasco was over 40+ years ago.
It necessarily too ambitious..i think they see many other countries changing and upping tradecdeald and want in.
CORRECTION...NOT necessarily too ambitious...trade deals
I just think this was really handled quite clumsily. After all, I was the one that posted “I live for the day when I see graffiti ‘Yankee come back’.” I had no idea my wish would be fulfilled so quickly. Problem is, it really hasn’t been. There has been no “build up”. No throngs of Vietnam Namese civilians waving signs. No politicians giving speeches, apologies, etc. For decades they made a big PR deal of how they “Rubbed the Yankees Dog nose in it.” Maybe there have been “back channel” communications for years, fine. You can’t expect folks like me to just one day say, “Whatever.”
Perhaps - although a lot of those who were actually there don't seem as scarred by it.
And maybe that is it. SInce I didn’t actually go maybe I unintentionally, in my mind, perceived the suffering as worse than it was. Survivor’s guilt or something.
The Venezuela bailout, this deal over the Memorial Day weekend, one thing after the next, I have been “right there” with Trump for many, many months but now I am wondering what the heck is going on.
Not unheard of - many of those I know and associate with are bikers who detest what went on but have turned to living life and enjoying it - to include honoring their fallen comrades and helping other vets of the era and of the era beginning with Desert Storm. I suffered some guilt in resting on a high lottery number while others weren’t so lucky. After 24 years in the AF (working with many who had been to ‘Nam) and another 15 as a civilian working with military, I discovered that there is no reason for harboring those feelings.
I have a feeling that any way we participate in the “Venezuela bailout” may be to keep our finger in as a counterbalance to Russian/Chinese influence as they both seem to want their fingers in that (s)pot. Just about anything that occurs in today’s world has far-reaching, ancillary effects. It may become clearer as it develops.
I don’t consider myself to be below average in intellect and up until these events I have been able to see the logic, even brilliance of some, of Trump’s actions and words. All of a sudden I am wondering. I don’t have access to knowledge he does and the world cares little what I wonder. Just have to wait and see. They say it takes 20 years to understand what a president accomplishes so I probably don’t have the time. Just trust and obey...
He's what we have and I remain ever hopeful that my trust/support will bear fruit.
I also believe most of the folks on FR tend to be a bit above average in intellect than the other way around ...;-)
This is just such a change for me. I have always felt that I had something to contribute here, to help others understand and interpret. Now, I just don’t understand so I have nothing to contribute. Disorienting.
We all contribute one way or another - I have been called out many times for misunderstanding and basing comments on that misunderstanding - I look at it as part of my personal learning experience. If my pants fall down in public, I pull them back up and keep on trucking. There are a few here that seem to have analytical minds that go beyond anything I’ll ever be capable of - even they, IMO, manage to miss the occasional point/impact of some things.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.