Man
| Hành trang của "chiến sĩ" Hoàng Mập. Đoàn làm phim phải đặt may riêng một bộ quân phục ngoại cỡ vì không có bộ đồ may sẵn nào vừa với vóc người của chàng diễn viên hài này. |
| Chuẩn bị vượt hàng rào dây kẽm gai nguy hiểm. |
| Trong khi cả đoàn phim và các thí sinh đang căng thẳng theo dõi Hoàng Mập vượt chướng ngại vật thì anh vẫn cười tươi rất thoải mái. |
| Quay cảnh thí sinh trườn trên mặt đất, quay phim phải trèo lên cây cao... |
| Và có lúc lội hẳn xuống mương nước để ghi hình. |
| Kiểm kê đạn mã tử, lựu đạn diễn tập, lựu đạn khói được hỗ trợ cho mượn để thực hiện chương trình. |
| Đạo diễn Xuân Phước (áo xanh) cùng các khách mời tham dự chương trình. |
| Gác súng nghỉ giải lao. |
| Các chiến sĩ tranh thủ chụp ảnh lưu niệm 13 ngày "nếm mật nằm gai" trong quân ngũ cùng nhau. |
| Nhưng khi nghe hiệu lệnh, tất cả đều nhanh chóng tập hợp đội ngũ chỉnh tề. |
Underground but loud
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A week doesn’t go by without a beauty pageant or fashion show making headlines in Ho Chi Minh City. Publicity magnets, these events have launched the careers of several of Vietnam’s most successful models, actresses and singers. But as the times change, so have the beauty contests and fashion shows, as some of the most popular pageants are now for homosexuals and teenage girls while the catwalks have become crowded with transsexuals. Many of these events are unlicensed, but they’ve been growing in popularity and numbers throughout the country. But some worry about their legality. Issued last December by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Performing Arts, Regulation No. 87 states that transsexuals cannot take part in beauty contests. The regulation, however, doesn’t mention anything about pageants for homosexuals. But in Vietnam, it is commonly accepted that if something is not mentioned in the law, it is forbidden. Gender benders Despite technically being underground, gay contests have attracted a lot of public attention.
One popular pageant is the annual Miss Angel Contest for homosexual men, first held in 2006 by The gioi thu ba (The Third World) Co. Ltd. and gay club Bau troi xanh (Blue Sky). Contestants, aged 16-24, compete in three rounds including the female costume round and a session in which they must demonstrate their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and safe sex. The jury consists of make-up artists, psychologists and members of the Ho Chi Minh City’s AIDS Prevention Committee. This year’s pageant was held in June, attracting hundreds of contestants from HCMC and other provinces. An audience member who wished to remain anonymous said most of the contestants were transvestites but that some transsexuals had also participated in the event. The crown was won by Lam Thy, 20, from the southern province of Tay Ninh. In an interview with Thanh Nien after the contest, Thy said she had had her breasts augmented and would undergo more complicated sex-related surgery in the near future. The Prince Style Contest for lesbians was held earlier this month, becoming the first public contest of its kind in HCMC open to all lesbians from southern provinces aged 17-28. Opening up? Vietnamese society is relatively conservative on issues of homosexuality and gay people and transgendered individuals often suffer social stigma.
But in recent years, several famous transsexuals, such as singer-actress Cindy Thai Tai, have opened up about their sexuality and gained acceptance. An increasing number of people from the transgender and homosexual communities have become more confident in going public about their sexuality. Many experts have said the government should consider changing laws to accommodate cultural events for transgendered people and homosexuals. The Department of Performing Arts is currently drafting a new law on fashion shows, but it so far does not mention whether or not transsexuals and homosexuals can perform in fashion events. Transsexual model Ha Vy, however, told Thanh Nien, she had been earning a living performing at parties, bars and other local venues throughout HCMC and neighboring provinces. The Dem Vong (Echo of the Night) Café in Hanoi is famous for its regular fashion shows every Monday and Thursday by models from Pattaya Club, the first public transsexual model group in the capital. An official from the HCMC Department of Justice who asked to remain anonymous said Vietnamese law only allows sex-related surgery for those who want to reaffirm their innate gender, specifically in cases of genital deformities and unclear genitalia. “There is no mention about transgendered people in the Civil Code,” he said. Too much too young Miss Teen Vietnam 2009, also called Teenage Star Vietnam, organized by Vietnam Multimedia Corporation’s VTC Television and VTC Game, has attracted female student competitors aged 16-19. Thousands of contestants competed in the pageant’s initial round from June to July 15, hoping to win a wide range of prizes from tourist trips to scholarships and cash. But the contest has violated the Regulation No. 87, which states that only those over 18 can compete in beauty contests. Pham Dinh Thang from Department of Performing Arts said the department had told organizers that underage girls cannot take part in the pageant. “We also asked Miss Teen’s organizers to consult the Ministry of Education and Training because the contestants are high school students, but the ministry has not responded yet,” he said. Reported by Do Tuan | |||||||
Vietnam’s credit growth may spur inflation, Morgan Stanley says
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Property prices in some projects have increased as much as 30 percent in Vietnam and new loan creation this year is equivalent to about 17 percent of gross domestic product, economists Deyi Tan, Chetan Ahya and Shweta Singh wrote in a note published Wednesday. Vietnam’s economy accelerated in the second quarter as stimulus spending that the government values at more than US$8 billion helped drive loan growth and buoy construction activity. The nation’s banks have lent more than VND389 trillion ($21.8 billion) to businesses as part of the government’s loan-subsidy program as of July 30, according to the central bank. “Credit disbursement has provided a cushion at a time when external demand indicators remained weak,” the economists wrote. “The current mode of policy-driven recovery could face limitations. With Vietnam having a functional banking system to push out liquidity via credit growth, strong credit acceleration could pose inflationary concerns.” Inflation slowed for an 11th straight month in July, with consumer prices rising 3.3 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 3.9 percent gain in June, according to General Statistics Office figures. Monetary policy Vietnam’s inflation will soon begin accelerating again, driven by commodity prices, a weakening currency and increased bank lending, HSBC Holdings Plc economist Prakriti Sofat said last month. Inflation will probably begin accelerating in September after dropping to about 2 percent in August, she said. The State Bank of Vietnam on July 20 said it will manage monetary policy in the second half to ensure credit grows as much as 27 percent for the year. Loans growth so far this year is about 20 percent, Morgan Stanley said. “If the lending target is to be adhered to, credit disbursement for the second half will have to slow to less than half the pace of the first half,” the economists said. “The delicate task of policy adjustment will likely have to take place to reduce the possibility of demand-pull inflationary pressures.” The central bank has kept the key interest rate at 7 percent since January, after reducing it six times from 14 percent in October, to slow inflation. Shipments from Vietnam dropped 13 percent to $32.35 billion in Januaryto-July from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the General Statistics Office. Exports from Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest shipper of coffee and rice, are poised to recover as commodity prices and production increase, fund manager Dragon Capital told investors this month. “Limitations to a policy-driven recovery due to potential inflation and trade deficit pressures suggest that the growth baton will have to be passed from policy-makers to make way for a market-based export-driven recovery,” the Morgan Stanley economists said. “We believe a market-based export-driven recovery is in the cards.” Source: Bloomberg | |||||||
Heart Attack Grill
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| Nhà hàng mang tên Heart Attack Grill ở bang Arizona, Mỹ, chuyên phục vụ đồ ăn nhanh, trong đó có burger cỡ bự. Trước khi vào nhà hàng này, khách được cảnh báo bằng một tấm biển lớn đề chữ: "Nơi này không tốt cho sức khỏe của bạn". |
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| Heart Attack Grill thường bị chỉ trích vì phục vụ đồ ăn quá thừa dinh dưỡng. |
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| Tên của bánh burger ở đây được đặt tên giống các cuộc phẫu thuật tim. Loại bánh cỡ lớn nhất chứa tới 8.000 calo. |
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| Những vị khách ăn hết một chiếc bánh cỡ to nhất được ưu tiên đưa ra xe hơi trên xe lăn. |
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| Thực khách thì được mặc đồ giống như bệnh nhân. |
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| "Chúng tôi có lẽ là nhà hàng thẳng thắn nhất nước Mỹ. Này anh, đồ ăn này có thể giết chết anh đấy", chủ nhà hàng tên Hon, đóng vai bác sĩ, cảnh báo. |
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| Nhiều nhà hoạt động chỉ trích nhà hàng. Văn phòng chưởng lý bang Arizona còn dọa đóng cửa nhà hàng vì phản đối tiếp viên ở đây ăn mặc giống các nữ y tá. |
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| Tuy vậy, cửa tiệm vẫn nổi tiếng tới mức chủ của nó tuần nào cũng phải trả lời phỏng vấn của báo chí, đài phát thanh từ khắp nơi trên thế giới. |
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