New World Order Mind Control
Video demonstrating how we are all conditioned and manipulated by the establishment in order to dumb us down so we can go along with their agenda without much resistance.
Thanks to DeesIllustration for many of his pictures.
http://www.deesillustration.com
new world order nwo bilderberg Toronto Police State Canada puppet barack obama fall of the republic Obama Deception exposed alex jones infowars prison planet zbigniew brzezinski CFR us troops military army canadian forces police state mind control predictive programming CIA experiments MK Ultra mkultra alan watt illuminati psych warfare
Duration : 0:8:27
Method to Ethically Eliminate All Political Corruption
Our Political System was a revelation in 1776, before
Hidden Microphones & Cameras,
Big Business,
Indoor Plumbing and Toilet Paper,
before Ethics was understood,
and
before the National Security Agency (NSA).
The actions of our political Representatives like George Washington were shaped by the ethics of honor instilled by the educational system and social awareness of that time. Ethics plays no large part in our present educational systems. Ethics should be a formal part of every class from pre-school to doctoral presentation. Instilled formally, the people would better understand how to predict consequences from any proposed action. The corrupt would die out with time and attrition.
Since the Declaration of Independence (and the first fights against taxation without representation), technology has allowed Special Interest groups (to include Terrorist Groups, souless Corporations, and corrupt politicians) to use the innate weaknesses of our political structure to undermine the basis for our Constitution; a modern form of racketeering and organized crime, jeopardizing national security.
The Citizens of the United States
require implementation of
State representation, including ALL states,
by a large and diverse Ethical Oversight Committee
to ensure the security of peoples Freedoms,
to manage National Security Agency (NSA) operations,
and
to determine how the information collected and derived by
the NSA shall best be used
as it relates to our Freedoms and Security,
and to “absolutely” restrict this information
from any other purpose.
Who are the ghosts behind the faces of our government, who continues to manipulate the world into a continuous chain of wars. A chain that has killed many millions of people, and that deters development? This is only one relationship the NSA should be informing the public about.
The NSA is soley controlled by the office of the President of the United States and only needs a single judge to obtain a warrant to covertly monitor any person or corporation (wire tapping, covertly breaking in to copy documents, copy by any means computer information, record in detail the habits and personal relationships of anyone, …).
Recently, President Bush took control away from that judge and even though the judge was ineffectual, the President now has absolute control over the NSA.
The President is a puppet of the same organization that controls the Federal Reserve. Therefore they control the United States, not the President, not the People, and certainly not ethics. The Fed encourages war to promote special interest prosperity. Loans with interest to both sides of every war. Interest paid on every dollar produced for the United States. Who benefits from the interest paid?
Current NSA warrants are meaningless and effectively allows the NSA to collect information without public scrutiny, while Presidential directives prevent the NSA from monitoring special interest group corrupt practices and disclosing those actions to the public
Under our current system a single judge would have to oversee thousands of covert transactions nationwide to adequately monitor national security issues, and to follow up to ensure those requests were legitimate. Further, since information collected by the NSA can be arbitrarily “classified”, the NSA can arbitrarily prevent the judge from monitoring the kinds of data collected.
The current system is not practical and therefore unethical, there is no reasonable way the judge would know what the NSA does with the information collected; and since the judge is controlled by the President, this is highly susceptible to corrupt practices. The current system allows for shielding corruption while promoting unscrupulous special interest activities.
The “Protect America Act” is unconstitutional. But a “simple change” to provide “REPRESENTATION by all States” in the covert collection and processing of data would make the Act Constitutionally sound.
The NSA must be managed by doctors of science (one parallel position for each State elected political representative; but with no affiliation) to evaluate all data collected and eliminate the useless requirement of warrant by a judge (presently coerced into signing off on any NSA warrant presented before them); and to require the NSA to monitor for corrupt political practices (terrorist activities, criminal activities, political practices that endanger National Security, …), with the mandate to notify the offending parties quietly to correct their unethical behavior, only then after they have failed to correct their actions adequately, their actions are publish on a NSA publicly available website.
We the people would then boycott corrupt representatives and their supporting corporations. The associated District Attorney would be notified, and be given the details to substantiate investigation. The District Attorney would then fully investigate and prosecute in accordance with the law. The NSA would at no time directly intervene, thereby limiting their power to nudging our political system away from corrupt activities.
The following details how to update our 200 year old political structure to provide representative governance that promotes the economy, desires of the masses, and ethical government practices; allowing the Government and the people to think as ONE. This same system can be seeded into other governments like Iraq to create an ethical environment for all peoples.
_______________________________________________________
To find & email your specific Congressmen and Senators:
To email Congressman all across the United States:
To talk directly with the staff of your representatives:
- (202) 225-3121 for the House
- (202) 224-3121 for the Senate
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COPY & PASTE THE FOLLOWING to your Representatives
Subject: Create an “Oversight of NSA Ethics committee” (ONE) to manage NSA Data Collection, Assessment, and Directives in the United States
As your constituent, I request that you forward the following to all political delegates in every State of the United States, and that a Highly Ethical group of diverse people representing every State and its population be instated to provide ethical oversight and management of all National Security Agency (NSA) data collection, assessments, and directives.
Because this large representative body of individuals will act as a covert, but highly trained publicly elected governing body, this will allow the NSA to continue data collection without warrant. The Senate and Congress will provide “oversight and not direct control” of this new branch in our political structure, thereby providing the needed checks and balances.
The problem with our current political system is that Special Interests (Oil Companies, Defense Contractors, Big Business Corporations, Foreign Interests, …) actively and covertly influence our political representatives. Private research (to include Terrorist involvement with genetic engineering in all its forms, nuclear physics research, economic initiatives, social reform efforts, …) are potentially high risk threats to National Security, yet are largely unmonitored. Corrupt and Neglective influences are not ONLY the fault of our Representatives, they are the fault of our unupdated 200 year old political structure.
To correct this weakness in our Government, in addition to the Senate and Congress, create a new branch of State elected political representatives whose only purpose is to manage the National Security Agency (NSA), which did not exist at the birth of our political structure.
Candidates for these new positions must be doctors of science with proven understanding of ethical evaluation. Doctors of science are necessary because they need to understand and interact with the inner workings of computer software to continuously analyze the large amounts of diverse real world data collected.
Our present political structure does not have an ethical political component to effectively neutralize the criminal aspect of political pandering, coercive control over our Representatives, or Terrorist influences in our Society and in our Government, but we do have the resources to do so.
The National Security Agency (NSA) monitors ALL organizations: CIA, NIS, Air Force, Army, PLO, Al-Qaeda, Defense Contractors, Oil Companies, Greenpeace, ALL of our Politicians, and basically all organizations whether domestic or abroad. Anyone with this information controls the focus of our Nation, along with our Freedoms and Security.
An important point here is that collecting information is necessary and of little negative consequence in an ethical environment, what specifically is done with that information is extraordinarily important, especially in unethical and abusive hands. Currently, Special Interests unethically manipulate our country’s assets, despite “We the Peoples” desires. How many people and soldiers have died supporting a business interest rather than a national interest?
Greater than $12 Billion “lost” in Iraq, destruction of New Orleans, War in Iraq, manipulation of the media, greater than $12 Billion illegally allocated to Halliburton where they subsequently moved outside of our legal system to Dubai (Saudi Arabia), …
As a consequence of Special Interest actions, they erode human rights, leave our country unnecessarily exposed to security threats, and hinder commerce that would flourish were it not for unethical business practices of Special Interests and Large Corporations.
Each “Oversight of NSA Ethics committee” (ONE) delegate represents elected representation by certified highly ethical doctors and non-partisan control over our country’s human rights, freedoms, and security.
Together with Congress and the Senate, ONE delegates provide a tertiary and complementary system of representation, with each representative political faction having unique assets and control mechanisms. The combination of focused representation for business, the people, and ethics makes the system innately representative, well informed, ethical, and stable. Businesses will continue to sponsor individual Senators and Congressmen, however, all money contributed to ONE candidates shall go into a common fund to promote all potential ONE candidates equally within each State.
Because this large representative body of individuals will act as a covert, but highly trained publicly elected governing body, this will allow the NSA to continue data collection without warrant.
No longer will we need to have less Freedom to have more Security, or vice versa.
These highly trained elected personnel provide for independent maximizing of Freedoms and maximizing of Security for all citizens !!! While the Congress and Senate provide oversight and continues to control the military as part of the checks and balances to make this political structure stable.
Presently, special interests make Security and Freedom mutually incompatible. Many countries have the same political structure as we do and yet live in a police state where the individual has no recognized rights; we must prevent a similar situation from happening here in the United States. The current actions of the President’s Office are a prelude of worse things to come.
To take into account all perspectives and actual events to maximize both Freedom and Security for our entire country requires much more raw information than 10,000 people can amass, and assessment that would take these people many lifetimes to be just. But events happen concurrently every day that threaten our Freedoms and Security.
NSA computers process diverse data at great speeds to provide minute by minute evaluation of threats to our national security, and currently as directed by special interests. To stop the unethical use of NSA resources, a large group of persons extensively trained in ethical reasoning needs to create the “computer-based automated keys” (Directives) for unlocking relationships related to promoting BOTH Freedoms and Security.
Directives are computer software analysis functions that sift through real world information. Something like Antivirus programs for protecting your computer. When key relationships are found, a task is generated to cleanup that corrupt system. Ethical care must be taken to ensure good relationships are not disturbed, while corrupt activities are corrected. The concept being: “To do the least necessary to allow unhindered natural social development; while ensuring that repeated corrupt practices of the same types identified do not recur.
As Directives are developed that can be generalized for a particular class of social system, they can be shared amongst similarally structured nations. Thereby helping to reduce the development costs for all countries; and provide international peer review of all Directives developed. At no time will raw data be shared by various National Security Agencies of the different nations.
Computer systems have been used for similar purposes for many years with great success in economics to limit risks and promote investment diversity. By developing automated directives, this helps to provide integrity and consistent behavior of the NSA. The derived results can then be evaluated by this large team of elected Representatives using state of the art ethical evaluation tools; thus ensuring the information collected is used solely to independently promote the Freedoms and Security of ALL citizens.
Please instate a comprehensive “Oversight of NSA Ethics committee” (ONE) to manage the National Security Agency (NSA) as outlined below, a system allowing the Government and the people to think as one.
- To maintain equitable representation of all peoples, each State shall publicly elect an Oversight of NSA Ethics (ONE) delegate paralleling each elected Congressman and Senator position; but having no affiliation.
- The Constitution for each State shall act as the basis for the ethical perspective of each delegate.
- The requirements for election as a ONE delegate are:
- shall be a certified doctor from a nationally accredited school
- shall have authored and published a paper related to ethics in a nationally distributed professional journal
- shall be a permanent resident of that State
- shall pass uniform but unique tests related to Ethics, Critical Reasoning, probability, and statistics
- shall be free of a felony record
- shall not be strongly biased regarding any special interests
- shall forever be disallowed from ever discussing any information formulated or witnessed while in office; and shall teach ethical evaluation for two years after their term in office
- shall submit themselves for lie detection and questioning periodically to prevent outside influence by any special interest
- The delegates shall be relocated to the surroundings near the NSA and will be furnished Government owned housing while in office. Physical security for the delegates shall consist of NSA surveillance with an armed NSA controlled security force to control any attempt to access or disproportionately influence the delegate or their family.
- Each delegate shall have a two person staff at the NSA and a two person staff in their home State to monitor, collect, and research information.
- Each State shall have one highly trained field agent for each delegate for that State whom shall collectively implement directives from the NSA using legal resources.
- All work surrounding NSA data collection shall be done in a secure facility protected from military threat.
- Absolutely no raw data or interest specific data or interest specific directives shall ever leave the facility under penalty of treason related to all intentionally involved.
- No interest specific data or interest specific directive shall be propagated outside of the confines of the NSA by delegate staff or agents under penalty of racketeering.
- The ONE delegates shall poll their respective communities related to values and perspectives, but polls shall not contain any Special Interest specific information.
- The NSA shall devise and maintain a relational database to allow delegates to productively relate all measure and kind of ethical issue to the vast amounts of information collected by the NSA.
- The delegates shall formulate “Automated Directives” for automatically: flagging potentially destructive relationships, developing priorities, developing issued directives to field agents, monitor metrics to verify results, track long term effects and related relationships, provide for a continuously updated scores related to the qualities related to our freedoms and security at that moment in time, and provide simulations for anticipating the effects of issuing a proposed directive and how it would affect the freedoms and security scores, …
- The creation of directives shall solely be governed by the ONE Committee. The President, Congress, the House, the Military, nor any other special interest group shall ever have any influence over the creation of directives, other than approved ethical channels of communication. Any attempt to do so outside of approved channels shall be considered treason within the confines of the NSA, and racketeering otherwise, and all involved shall share the same fate, regardless of political standing or financial backing.
- Because the positions of the delegates are elected positions. Data would be provided by the NSA which tracks the number of hours each delegate actively performed research, the influence each delegate had on the overall freedom and security qualities, and the core generalized formulas for creating the Automated Directives would be publicly disclosed but would not relate delegate involvement nor the data or type of data that they relate. This is necessary to help ensure high-tech corporations do not fillfully subvert NSA monitored data. Each delegate would be allowed to create public announcements that do not violate that which is outlined above.
- The ONE delegates shall govern themselves regarding inappropriate actions generated by a delegate, with periodic oversight by the Senate and Congress. A delegate that fails to use ethical reasoning in promoting a Directive and which benefits a special interest may be penalized and a State elected alternate may take their place.
- The term of service for each Delegate shall be four years; followed by a two year mandatory position at an accredited University teaching related ethics topics involving analysis and software. The Delegate may then accept nomination for the following election cycle.
- Classes in ethics for learning to create automated Directives shall use independently developed computer models and simulation systems. At no time shall any Directive from the NSA be directly analyzed. The simulated environment would cause errors inconsistent with NSA real world processing. However, relationships discovered can be submitted to the NSA for review through approved ethical channels.
- Collectively, the ONE committee shall determine the information necessary to guide the President, Congress, Senate, and the Military. The President, Congress, Senate, and the Military will have continuous one-way input into the NSA as part of NSA data collection, without warrant, the feedback will be immediate, so there is no need for any political party or military component to have dialog with ONE delegates or the NSA data collection and assessment systems.
- The Congress and Senate shall provide a team trained in ethical evaluation to periodically monitor (not control) the NSA and report back to the Senate and Congress.
- The military remains under the control of the Senate and the Congress; and the NSA shall only be allowed restricted control over a military asset with minute by minute support of the majorities of both the Senate and Congress where time critical relationships exist.
- Every political representative in the United States will be able to send their viewpoints to the NSA by sending an email to a NSA server, with only an automated response. But their views will be collected and processed automatically by the data collection system. The same applies for all citizens. All citizens shall have representation and voice.
- The administrators necessary to manage the NSA regarding operations personnel, supplies, existing field agents, the budget, and all other aspects of the NSA shall answer to the ONE committee and shall provide a continuous and accurate assessment of resource managment to Congress.
- As technology provides greater capabilities in diverse areas such as spy technologies, computer modeling of world economics, …, the NSA shall continue to evolve systems to better represent and anticipate the needs and desires of all citizens.
Under this system, the NSA shall collect and assess all information as practically possible worldwide, without the need for warrant in the United States.
Instate a comprehensive “Oversight of NSA Ethics committee” (ONE) to govern NSA data collection systems as outlined above; a system allowing the Government and the people to think as one.
James Dunn
http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/method-to-ethically-eliminate-all-political-corruption-672089.html
DNC protester said, "Fox News is a corporate whore". Is there an ounce of truth to this?
I have always thought of Fox News as an alternative to the more
liberal CNN and network news channels, filling a niche that existed in the news industry. Is there any truth to what
the protester believes that Fox News is a puppet of the corporations?
Or is this completely wrong and irrational?
I think those protesters were payed well by George Soros as a smoke-screen.
He hates the fact Fox news is the only television news network he does not own or control.
Is the term New World Order a system that includes all the world conspiracies?
Who could be the master mind behind the so called New World Order?
The term "New World Order" is more a descriptive code name given to an agenda; the agenda of bringing about a "One World Government". You might call it the "Mother of all Conspiracies". This agenda is and has been being executed by the Illuminati (a.k.a. : The Illuminated Ones; The Enlightened Ones; The Global Elite; The Money Changers; International Bankers; World Bankers; Secret Government; Shadow Government; "The Powers That Be"; Puppet Masters; Sheeple Herders).
The Illuminati is a group that practice a form of faith known as ‘enlightenment’. It is Luciferian, and they teach their followers that their roots go back to the ancient mystery religions of Babylon, Egypt, and Celtic druidism. They have taken each foundational practice and joined them together into a strong occult discipline. The Leaders are extremely wealthy people, known mostly as International Bankers, who finance goals and interact with the leaders of many countries. Their elite members include members of The Rothschild family, The Rockefellers, The Morgans, The Mellons, and The Warburgs just to name a few.
Illuminati Defector Details Pervasive Conspiracy
http://www.rense.com/general30/illuminatidefector.htm
In 1913, members of these International Bankers Shanghaied the U.S. government and economy: They managed to take control of the U.S. Monetary system. After seventy years of failed efforts, they were able to railroad the Congress and the President to pass the "Federal Reserve Act" and the "Income Tax Act" (Revenue Act). With the passage of these acts, our government is now required to pay interest, to the bankers, for money that is printed by their own privately owned Federal Reserve Bank. Before the passage of the Act, our government would just pay the printing cost for the money. Also, the people are now taxed for their labor, where as before, only capital gains was taxed. These two Acts help put billions of dollars into the control of the "World Bankers": Money which they ("these enlightened people") could use to direct our country and its people as they see fit. They now have control of the most powerful nation in the world, including control of its industries, national media, government agencies and military. Today, they use this power to secure most any resource they want from most any country.
AMERICA: FREEDOM TO FASCISM
There is video and photo evidence that captured members of the Illuminati and their guests (many U.S. Presidents and other high ranking officials), at Bohemian Grove California. There they were secretly filmed, wearing red robes and worshiping "Moloch", a giant stone owl of Babylon origin: The same owl that is printed (strategically hidden) at the top right corner of every one dollar bill the Federal Reserve Bank prints. They are definitely engaged in some sort of an occult practice, complete with all the rituals and symbolism that go along with occults. See time = 1:13:00
DARK SECRETS: INSIDE BOHEMIAN GROVE
The following link contains a list of organizations they have infiltrated and secret societies they control. It also contains a little history of the Illuminati and their strategy for bringing about "The New World Order" or "The One World Government".
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Aj7pVKnKu_JqcbKaOk2qqQ_ty6IX?qid=20070808181140AAw67sV&show=7#profile-info-AA10451238
This following video, tells most every important detail of the Illuminati. It will show you Who they are: Where they originated from: How they operate: Where they derive their money and power: Their goals and methods to achieve them and what impact they have on our government/ society/and the world. It will show you how to easily prepare for an economic disasters to keep a roof over your head and bread on the table for you and your family. The key to survival is knowing they control our currency, so you’ll need a medium of exchange that is out of their direct control, in case they decide to pull the plug (make money scarce or without value).
THE MONEY MASTERS -
How the International Bankers Gained Control of America
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Additional Information
The Illuminati and the New World Order
The Illuminati and the Council on Foreign Relations
http://100777.com/myron
Additional Reading
BEHOLD A PALE HORSE by William Cooper
http://www.archive.org/details/WIlliamCoopersBeholdthePaleHorsePart1and2
How To Stop The New World Order
And so it begins…
You Have The Right To Remain Silent.
But We Hope You Won’t.
www.puppetgov.com
www.infowars.com
www.davidicke.com
“IT’S A MASTERPIECE”
~Alex Jones
Copy and pass out this and any of our videos. This is the time of mass awakening. We have much to do.
Duration : 0:8:52
Sparkling Singapore & Ancient Vietnam Trip Journal
I have always loved aircrafts and long haul flights. We boarded award winning Singapore Airlines in LAX with about 30 hours of travel time ahead of us. With 8 magazines, 6 movies, 4 meals and a sleeping pill, the time went quickly and I arrived relaxed and ready to explore. American airports are not very people friendly. Singapore’s ultra-modern airport invites you to linger with free internet terminals, a cinema, rooftop swimming pool, aromatherapy spas, oxygen bars, indoor nature garden with waterfalls and koi pond.
I’m part of a group of 28 singles. This was a smaller group than expected, but I understand several people dropped out claiming fear of bird flu. I could sense I was part of a quality entourage of seasoned culture-vultures.
We began with an orientation tour at the top of Mt. Farber and its spectacular views. The group was impressed by this sparkling metropolis located between Malaysia and Indonesia. Singapore is the leader of S.E. Asia, a bustling port that was modernized by the East India Trading Company and the British Empire. It’s called the Lion City and inhabited by 4 million souls. 76% are Chinese and the other minorities all blend harmoniously. Singapore is a city, state, capital and country all in one and draws 8 million visitors per year, yet few Americans have yet discovered it.
We checked into the opulent Regent Hotel of The Four Seasons. I’m given a suite and swear this hotel wins the award for the most gracious staff on the planet. We’ve arrived at a perfect time with the “Great Shopping Festival” on full swing. There’s nothing like “retail therapy” to soothe our jet lag minds. Orchard Road, like a tree lined Fifth Avenue, was only a block away and center of all life. Shopping is the national obsession here and bargain hunting a blood sport.
There are 150 mega-malls with some that never close. I’m a label slave and purchased a used authentic Rolex with documents, for a fraction of its original cost. We had only 4 days here. So I had much to do, it’s like Hong Kong on steroids. The Arts Festival was on with many venues from painting and sculpture to music and dance. At night Clarke Quay on the river became party central with its trendy clubs rocking until dawn.
We had an astute and friendly guide named Farida who showed us all the sights with a wonderful sense of humor.
We visited the lush National Orchard Gardens with its 60,000 orchids, China Town with its markets and temples and Little India with its intense aromas and vibrant colors. Then we went to the ultra-contemporary financial district, Merlion Park with its landmark fountain and the historic colonial area that was established by Sir Stanford Raffles.
We stopped to sip a Singapore Sling at the famous Long Bar of Raffles Hotel where rooms start at $700 per night. Our other tours included Jurong Bird Park and the Night Safari at the zoo, considered the best in the world with its free roaming enclosures for 2500 animals.
In our free time, we rode rickshaws around town and took the cable car over to Sentosa Island.
Some of us opted to head back to the zoo for a Jungle Breakfast with the Orangutans. At night Terry & I dinned on jumbo chili crabs and rice cakes.
This vibrant island-state of Singapore is glistening clean with purple bougainvillea bushes lining the highways. All cars are equipped with alarms to sound if one exceeds the speed limit. No graffiti, no gangs and in this tightly “controlled democracy”, it’s the death penalty for drug traffickers. We all made jokes about getting caned for chewing gum or jay-walking.
It was a nice leisurely visit here. I usually feel like Jack Bauer on the TV series “24″ on my trips with non-stop itineraries. Here I felt well rested as I boarded for our 3 hour flight to Vietnam.
Arriving in Hanoi is like stepping into another world with rice paddies, sampans, lotus blossoms, coconut milk and noodle soups. It’s like a time machine dropped us back to the 15th century in this graceful land steeped in history. It was far poorer than I anticipated. There was however, an alluring charm which was found in the gentility of the people with the sincerest of smiles.
I’ve always been a fan of the Third World. Whereas Singapore was dynamic, Hanoi was culturally stimulating. The city was studded with lakes and shaded by tamarind trees. It was a dichotomy that bustled with Chi-energy and yet was tranquil at the same time.
We checked into the deluxe Sheraton Resort, an oasis of calm amidst the chaos. Our fabulous guide named Hong was with us for 6 glorious days.
His first lesson was to teach us how to cross the streets. The traffic here is horrendously busy with 7 lanes packed with 2.4 million motor scooters. “It’s called the Chicken Game” he explained. “Don’t run, don’t stop, just walk slowly so the drivers can predict your direction. They will miss you!” That afternoon I stood in fear stranded 20 minutes curbside realizing this “lesson” went against every one of my survival instincts. Entire families passed by on a single scooter; I understand this is called the “Vietnamese sandwich.” Everything was transported by these mopeds, 8 piglets, a dozen chickens upside down, a TV, a tree and more. The pollution was thick and heavy. The inner city looked tired and worn. Suddenly there was a monsoon downpour. People draped ponchos and it became raincoat city. The traffic never slowed. I ducked for cover. It dissipated as quickly as it began, life went on and the air was temporarily washed clean. I finally crossed the street by walking slowly at an even pace. Everyone missed me.
The sun shined every day on our tours which included the Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, the French Quarter and the Ho Chi Mihn memorial. We lined up with hundreds of people and entered the tomb where Ho Chi Mihn’s preserved body is visibly encased just like Lennon in Moscow. Armed communist soldiers commanded us to remain in silent reverence, no cameras, umbrellas, sunglasses allowed and arms at our sides at all times.
Later we visited Hoa Lo Prison, or the Fiery Furnace. Built by the French in 1896, thousands of political prisoners were tortured here until 1954. We viewed the dungeons with leg irons, torture equipment and “head cutting machines.”
In the 1960′s the Vietcong used it as a prisoner of war detention center for American pilots shot down during the Vietnam War. It was our captive pilots that sardonically named this place “The Hanoi Hilton.” We also did a walking tour through the Old Quarter where each narrow lane was named for its ancient craft: Silk St., Coffin St., Grilled Fish St., etc. Hong led us to a food market with turtles, sea slugs, pig heads and other unmentionable creatures for sale. “Thit Chow” is dog stew which is considered peasant food here and “country rat” is ceremoniously served at all birthday parties. They say it’s much healthier than “city rat.”
Most of our meals were included and thankfully rodents were never offered. We enjoyed elaborate American and Japanese breakfast buffets and 10 coarse lunches. Every restaurant was affordable. One evening my dinner menu presented salad of jellyfish, deep fried eel, ginger crickets and sticky rice with tender roasted pigeon. It seems the Vietnamese will eat anything that moves because it all “tastes like chicken.”
We attended the Water Puppet Show, an ancient art form unique to Hanoi. This blend of music and dance on water was has been the source of entertainment of villagers for centuries.
We then scattered to explore the city, Asia’s oldest capital. Some went for massages and pedicures at prices that couldn’t be resisted. Some shopped for souvenirs while others had clothes tailor made for them. I had an embroidered silk dress cut to my body in 4 hours for only $45. We also visited the handicraft villages for bargains in art. Want a “Monet?” No problem, just $25. Be careful, it’s wet. There were also ceramics and beautiful lacquerware. The currency was a great challenge for us as $10,500 Dong equals 65 cents. We felt like millionaires, yet it was disheartening to learn that the annual per capita income is just $320! We tipped generously throughout.
Vietnam’s pulse is found in its cities whereas its decorous grace is found in its villages. We headed out through the countryside for a full day cruise on Halong Bay. The air was fresh as we passed rice paddies, duck and prawn farms. It was rice harvest time and hundreds of rice farmers were laboriously bent over their ponds. Timid children smiled and waved as we drove by.
We arrived at this natural UNESCO World Heritage Site and boarded our private wooden junk boat. Quietly we sailed into a peaceful dreamscape that looked surreal with 3,000 islands of sheer limestone cliffs emerging from the calm emerald sea. There was a timeless, haunting quality to this scenery. Nat. Geo. called it “magic in stone and water.” We enjoyed a fantastic seafood lunch with fresh caught crab and prawns. It was a perfect day in the sun in the land of escapism and serenity.
The highlight of the trip for me was our group’s cyclo-tour through Old Hanoi on the last day. We turned a corner downtown to find 28 bicycle-rickshaws lined up to peddle us individually for an hour through the narrow scooter filled lanes of oncoming traffic. There were some near-misses at the red lights which were always ignored. We all laughed as the locals stared. Terry at 6’4” is considered huge even in America. Here he looked like King Tut seated on a throne as his 90lb. driver peddled him effortlessly in line with our group.
Later we went our separate ways for independent exploration. After several hours, I found myself lost in an area of town with no taxis. I had to get back to join others for dinner. I had no choice but to hire a ride on a scooter. Dressed in a skirt with my arms full of bags, I mounted the tiny seat and off we went. On the highway, I wrapped my arms and legs around my driver like an octopus. He laughed the entire way to the Sheraton.
We flew back to Singapore for a good nights rest at the Le Meridian before our long flight home to Los Angeles via Tokyo. I reflected on journey well done with new insights gained on history and culture. It was like visiting two different planets within one vacation. The contrast of this trip is evident in our photos from the contemporary garden paradise of Singapore, to the new renaissance of traditional Vietnam. This is certainly an Asian affair to be remembered.
Susan Davis
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/sparkling-singapore-ancient-vietnam-trip-journal-118762.html