Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucsd!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!vega.uucp!tam
From: tam@vega.uucp
Newsgroups: news.groups
Subject: Re: Call for Discussion soc.culture.vietnam
Message-ID: <21182@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 16 Jan 90 09:28:45 GMT
Sender: news@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU
Reply-To: tam@vega.uucp ()
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Lines: 35

What does one think of when one hears of the word "Vietnam"?
    - the war: American involvement, the dead, the wounded (physically
	and emotionally), the MIAs?
    - the state of the nation: communist, very poor, ...?
    - the state of people: (former?) refugees now living in the US, Europe, 
	Australia and other nations, the boat people in concentration 
	camps, ... ?
    - the future: diplomatic relations? new leadership? multi-parties?
    - the culture: primarily Eastern, with a touch of Western absorbed
	from the French and the Americans?
    - the food: 10+ varieties of noodle soups, rice paper eggrolls, 
	the various spicy, sweet, sour, tart, and even bitter tastes...?
    - the written language: Roman alphabet with a few special characters
	and 5 accents?

These are but a few of the many topics that can be discussed on 
soc.culture.vietnam.  There are over 1 million people of
Vietnamese origin in the US and Canada, plus 100s of thousands in 
other parts of the world.  There are also millions of Americans whose 
lives have been touched by the VN war and who are part of or are experiencing
the presence of the Vietnamese culture.  The proposed new newsgroup will 
provide a forum for expression and exchange of information and opinions. 
It is not only a communication channel for those of Vietnamese origin
but also for all others who care to listen and to express their viewpoints
regarding Vietnam: the nation, the culture, and its people at home and 
abroad.

Almost 15 years have passed since the end of the war.  It's time for
the establishment of a communication channel for those who care to
review the past, evaluate the present, and ponder the future.

		- Tam M. Nguyen -


Tam M. Nguyen   { tam@ernie.Berkeley.EDU | ...!ucbvax!ucbernie!tam }