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Sorry for bad formatting...but I'm in an Internet lounge in Kuwait, not much time...
 
 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091107/ap_on_re_as/as_vietnam_us_unlikely_odyssey
 

> > http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?s=11461826&clienttype=printable
> >
> > Unique
> > homecoming to Vietnam
> > for US
> > commander
> > Posted: Nov
> > 07, 2009 12:36
> > AM EST Saturday, November 7, 2009 12:36 AM
> > EST
> > Updated:
> > Nov 07, 2009 3:56
> > AM EST Saturday, November 7, 2009 3:56 AM
> > EST
> >
> >
> > By BEN
> > STOCKING
> >
> > Associated Press Writer DANANG, Vietnam (AP) - On the
> > day his side lost
> > the Vietnam War, Hung Ba Le fled his homeland at the
> > age of 5 in a
> > fishing trawler crammed with 400 refugees.
> > Thirty-four years later, he
> > makes an unlikely homecoming - as the commander of a
> > U.S. Navy destroyer.
> >
> > Commander H.B. Le was scheduled Saturday to pilot the
> > USS Lassen into
> > Danang, home of China
> > Beach , where U.S.
> > troops frequently headed for R&R during the war,
> > which ended on April
> > 30, 1975, when the southern city of Saigon
> > fell to communist troops from
> > North Vietnam .
> >
> > That was the day Le and his family embarked on an
> > uncertain journey in a
> > fishing boat piloted by Le's father, who was a
> > commander in the South
> > Vietnamese navy. They were rescued at sea by the USS
> > Barbour County,
> > taken to a U.S. base
> > in the Philippines , a
> > refugee camp in California
> > and finally to northern Viriginia, where they rebuilt
> > their lives.
> >
> > Le will return on the Lassen, an $800,000 million,
> > 509-foot, 9,145-ton
> > destroyer equipped with a crew of 300. The ship, as
> > well as the USS Blue
> > Ridge, is making the latest in a series of goodwill
> > visits to
> > Vietnam , which began in 2003 when the USS
> > Vandergriff paid a port call to Ho Chi Minh City ,
> > the former Saigon .
> >
> > "This visit reflects the growing cooperation
> > between our two
> > countries," Le said via e-mail as his ship
> > approached Danang for a
> > welcoming ceremony Saturday. "It happened to be
> > my ship that was
> > chosen, which is an incredible opportunity for me
> > both personally and
> > professionally."
> >
> > The ship visits represent the efforts of both the
> > United States and
> > Vietnam to develop their relationship as a
> > balance to Chinese power in the region, without
> > antagonizing
> > Vietnam 's
> > massive northern neighbor.
> >
> > Directly east of Danang are the Paracel
> > Islands , where
> > China and
> > Vietnam are engaged in a
> > sensitive territorial dispute over the archipelago,
> > from which the
> > Chinese drove out south Vietnamese troops in 1974.
> > They are also
> > wrangling over the Spratlys, another island chain
> > believed to contain
> > valuable oil and gas reserves.
> >
> > Le grew up in Hue ,
> > a city on the central coast about 65 miles (105
> > kilometers) north of
> > Danang where he still has relatives. He will be
> > returning to a country
> > that is vastly changed from the days of the Vietnam
> > War.
> >
> > Along the Danang coastline where
> > U.S. troops used to swim and
> > surf, luxury hotel chains such as Hyatt and Marriott
> > are springing up.
> > Tourists are flocking to the region, where they can
> > shoot a few rounds at
> > a course designed by professional golf star Colin
> > Montgomerie.
> >
> > The relationship between the United States
> > and communist Vietnam
> > has also changed dramatically since the former foes
> > normalized relations
> > in 1995. Trade has boomed, and diplomatic and
> > military ties have grown
> > closer.
> >
> > "Next year will mark the 15th anniversary of the
> > normalization of
> > diplomatic relations between our two countries,"
> > Le said via email.
> > "I'm very proud of the progress we've
> > made."
> > Copyright
> > 2009 The
> > Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
> > may not be
> > published, broadcast, rewritten or
> > redistributed.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>

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 Man spends 3 days in tree during Vietnam storm
 By TRAN VAN MINH (AP) ? 2 days ago

 
 HANOI, Vietnam ? The 69-year-old watchman couldn't swim so when
 Tropical Storm Mirinae sparked a flash flood he ran, shimmied up a
 tree and hung on ? for three nights and two days.

 After several failed attempts to rescue Phan Cao Chuc, a military
 helicopter was able to reach him Thursday by lowering a cable with a
 soldier down to grab him and save him from a disaster that has killed
 at least 108 people in central Vietnam.

 But the rescue wasn't without drama. The first cable snapped, tossing
 the soldier into the 16-foot (5-meter) waters still raging waters
 below. He managed to swim to safety, but Chuc was now spooked and
 clung even tighter to the tree. Only after another cable was shot into
 the tree by a spear, was another soldier finally able to reach him.

 "The man initially refused to go, fearing he could be dropped into the
 river," said Lt. Nguyen Duc Vinh. "It took me 20 minutes to persuade
 him that it was safe to go with me."

 Chuc survived by lodging himself between two branches and catching
 rainwater in his construction helmet. Soldiers on the ground could not
 reach him, but on Wednesday managed to at least deliver biscuits, milk
 and a mobile phone to him through a pulley system anchored to the
 tree. They then called him and offered calming words of encouragement.
 "It's a miracle that this old man survived on rain water for two days
 and three nights in the tree," Vinh said by telephone from the Central
 Highlands province of Gia Lai.

 Chuc worked as a guard at a hydroelectric plant that's under
 construction in Gia Lai province in the Central Highlands, where five
 people died from the flooding. Despite rising floodwaters, he stayed
 to stand watch over the equipment. But when the swollen river suddenly
 jumped its banks, Chuc and a colleague were trapped. The other man,
 who could swim, managed to reach dry land. He then sought help for
 Chuc.

 The storm smacked ashore Monday and its death toll was at 108 in
 central Vietnam by Friday.

 In the hardest-hit province of Phu Yen, 72 people were killed and 11
 were reported missing. In neighboring Binh Dinh province, 18 deaths
 were reported.

 The storm also injured 66 people, destroyed or damaged more than
 27,000 homes and ravaged some 74,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of rice
 and other crops, according the national committee for flood and storm
 control.

The committee made an initial damage estimate of 2.1 trillion dong
($115 million), but the number is likely to rise after a more complete
assessment of losses.

Central Vietnam, one of the communist country's poorest regions, has
 been battered by two rounds of storms and flooding in just over a
 month. Tropical Storm Ketsana killed more than 160 people in the
 region in late September.

 In the Philippines, Ketsana and two other storms killed more than 900.

 
 
 

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http://www.makli.com/norton-buffalo-0011774/
 
 
 
Norton Buffalo, one of the multitalented and brilliant harmonica players and well-known singer and songwriter died after battling with lungs cancer on October 30, 2009. Norton Buffalo was famous for his strong and expressive performance in harmonium as well regarded as a distinguished and remarkable songwriter, singer, producer and engineer. He was 58 years old at the time of his death.
 
He was suffering from pneumonia and stage four lung cancer. This brutal stage of cancer had spread to his brain. He had trouble breathing and as he got himself checked, it was diagnosed that he has severe lungs cancer.
 
Oakland born Buffalo started his career from very early age under the guidance of his father, who was also a harmonica player. During his high school education, he performed in a number of bands. In the early 1970s he got fame as a popular San Francisco Bay Area musician and singer. He started playing with different musical groups as Elvin Bis, Clover, and The Moonlighters.
 
He also performed in numerous films. He gave his appearance for a cameo role in a rock movie, "The Rose" in which he was accompanied by Bette Midler, he played the role harmonica player. "Heaven's Gate" was his second movie in which he again used to play a cameo role.
 
He was much an endowed artist and his death is a big loss for music. In 1978, he won a Grammy for his performance as harmonica player at a track of "The Doobie Brothers".
 

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