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Owner of Bi Da 47 [Billard 47], with the 47 referring to kilometer 47 on Highway 26, where we are. In over three months in this Ea Kly, I have yet to see anyone read a book or newspaper. Granted, the entire world is regressing towards semi-literacy, thanks to the internet, but Ea Kly is particularly adverse to the written word, which is fine with me. Most of these people are farmers, manual laborers and fishermen. Many people in Ea Kly have seen me write in this or that cafe, so they've decided I'm a journalist, which is half true, and they also know that I'm some sort of a manager at the plastic recycling plant. The lady in the photo, though, is the very first to ask me questions about my writing activities.

She used to work at Dung Quat, Vietnam's first oil refinery. Since there were foreigners there, she had occasions to practice her English. Now, she must improve her English on her own.

Dung Quat is a joint venture between the state and foreign companies, and it made headlines for being corrupt and inefficient.

Socialism promises to bring power to the people, but in real life, it gives the state unprecedented power, and it uses this power to fatten its functionaries and oppress the masses. In the States, the young and naive are seduced by their professors and the mass media into hankering for socialism, but this will only give the state more power. The state is behind the new vogue for socialism, in short. A bait and switch, it won't deliver goodies, only oppression.



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