 (theo giao duc) - Phát biểu trong lễ tốt nghiệp của các học sinh lớp 12 Trường trung học Wellesley High ở bang Massachusetts (Mỹ) tuần trước, giáo viên tiếng Anh David McCollough Jr đã gây sốc khi nói thẳng: "Các em chẳng có gì đặc biệt”. Thế nhưng, bài phát biểu của David McCollough lại được nhiều tờ báo và hãng tin Mỹ đăng tải, và thu hút được hàng chục ngàn comment (bình luận) trên mạng Internet, phần lớn đều ủng hộ thông điệp của ông McCollough. Trong bài diễn văn tại lễ tốt nghiệp năm 2012, thay vì lặp lại những câu sáo mòn như "Chúng tôi rất tự hào về các em”, "Các em rất tài năng”, "Thế giới là của các em”..., ông McCollough đưa ra một thông điệp mà giới truyền thông Mỹ mô tả là "Xin chào mừng các em đến với cuộc đời thực”. Wellesley High là trường công nổi tiếng ở thị trấn giàu có Wellesley, có truyền thống lâu đời và từng sản sinh nhiều nhân tài cho nước Mỹ. David McCollough Jr là con trai của nhà sử học - nhà văn David McCollough, người từng đoạt giải thưởng Pulitzer. Trước các học sinh của mình đang xúng xính trong bộ đồng phục tốt nghiệp giống nhau, đang háo hức cầm trên tay tấm bằng, McCollough dõng dạc nói rằng "Các em chẳng có gì là đặc biệt”, "chẳng có gì là phi thường”! Một gáo nước lạnh như được giội xuống mọi thành tích vẻ vang của trường! Được chăm bẵm quá mức Trước bao ánh mắt mở to sửng sốt, McCollough điềm nhiên nói tiếp: "Các em đã được hầu hạ tận miệng, nâng niu mỗi ngày, được nuông chiều, được bảo bọc cẩn thận. Vâng, người lớn đã ôm hôn các em, cho các em ăn, lau miệng... cho các em. Họ dạy dỗ, hướng dẫn, lắng nghe, động viên và an ủi các em. Các em được nâng niu, phỉnh phờ, dỗ ngon dỗ ngọt, được nghe toàn những lời nài nỉ. Các em được người lớn ngợi khen đến tận trời xanh, được gọi là cục cưng. Đúng vậy đó. Chúng tôi đã ở bên cạnh các em trong các trò chơi, vở kịch, các cuộc biểu diễn âm nhạc, hội chợ khoa học. Những nụ cười tỏa sáng khi các em bước vào phòng, đáp lại mỗi tin nhắn trên Twitter của các em là những tiếng hô hào hứng. Và giờ các em đã chinh phục được trường trung học. Nhưng đừng lầm tưởng rằng các em là đặc biệt. Không có chuyện đó đâu nhé!”. Đến đây, McCollough dẫn các học sinh vào một hiện thực đang chờ đợi mình. "Mỗi năm có ít nhất 3,2 triệu học sinh tốt nghiệp từ hơn 37.000 trường trung học trên toàn quốc. Đó là 37.000 học sinh tiêu biểu của các trường, 37.000 chủ tịch hội học tập, 92.000 giọng ca nổi bật, 340.000 vận động viên... Nhưng tại sao lại tự giới hạn chúng ta ở trường trung học thôi? Hãy thử nghĩ xem. Nếu cả triệu người mới có một người như các em thì trên thế giới 6,8 tỉ dân này sẽ có tới gần 7.000 người như các em. Hãy nhìn toàn cảnh. Hành tinh của chúng ta không phải là trung tâm Hệ mặt trời, Hệ mặt trời không phải là trung tâm Ngân hà, Ngân hà cũng chẳng phải là trung tâm vũ trụ. Các nhà thiên văn đã khẳng định vũ trụ không có trung tâm đâu, do đó các em không thể là "cái rốn” của vũ trụ. Ngay cả tỉ phú Mỹ nổi tiếng Donald Trump cũng chẳng là "cái đinh” gì”. McCollough dẫn dắt tiếp: "Người Mỹ chúng ta giờ đây yêu các danh hiệu hơn là những thành công thật sự. Chúng ta coi danh hiệu là mục tiêu và sẵn sàng thỏa hiệp, tự hạ thấp các chuẩn mực, hoặc phớt lờ thực tế khi cho rằng đó là cách nhanh nhất hoặc duy nhất để có được những thứ có thể đem ra khoe mẽ, để có một vị trí tốt hơn trong xã hội... Hậu quả là chúng ta đang coi rẻ các trải nghiệm đáng giá, thế nên việc xây dựng một cơ sở y tế ở Guatemala trở thành chìa khóa để chạy xin vào học tại Bowdoin (học viện nghệ thuật nổi tiếng ở Mỹ) hơn là việc này vì cuộc sống của người dân Guatemala”. Giáo viên David McCollough Jr khi đọc bài diễn văn gây sốc Hạnh phúc không tự tìm đến McCollough nhấn mạnh mục tiêu thật sự của giáo dục không phải đem lại lợi thế vật chất mà là sự hiểu biết, yếu tố quan trọng của hạnh phúc. "Trước khi các em tỏa đi khắp nơi, tôi kêu gọi các em hãy làm những gì mình yêu thích và tin tưởng. Hãy kháng cự lại sự thỏa mãn nhất thời, vẻ lóng lánh bề ngoài của vật chất, sự tê liệt của lòng tự mãn. Hãy xứng đáng với những lợi thế mà mình có”. Sau khi khuyên các học sinh hãy tiếp tục đọc sách thường xuyên, phát triển ý thức về đạo đức, khẳng định cá tính, dám ước mơ, làm việc chăm chỉ và tư duy độc lập, yêu những người mình yêu hết mình, McCollough nhắc nhở: "Hãy làm như vậy một cách nhanh chóng, bởi mỗi giây phút đều quý giá. Cuộc sống hạnh phúc, có ý nghĩa là một thành tựu đòi hỏi nỗ lực, chứ không phải là thứ từ trên trời rơi xuống vì các em là người tốt hay vì cha mẹ đưa đến tận tay các em. Các em hãy nhớ rằng những người tạo dựng nên nước Mỹ đã nỗ lực đảm bảo quyền được sống, được tự do và mưu cầu hạnh phúc. Mưu cầu là một động từ, và tôi nghĩ các em sẽ không có nhiều thời gian để nằm ườn một chỗ xem mấy trò nhảm nhí trên YouTube. Đừng mong chờ cảm hứng và niềm đam mê sẽ tự tìm đến với các em. Hãy đứng dậy, bước ra bên ngoài, tự mình khám phá, tìm kiếm cảm hứng cùng niềm đam mê và hãy giữ chắc nó bằng cả hai bàn tay”. Kết thúc phát biểu của mình, ông McCollough nhắn nhủ các học sinh hãy tự chủ, độc lập, sáng tạo không vì sự thỏa mãn do hành động đó mang lại, mà vì những điều tốt đẹp nó đem đến cho người khác. "Và khi đó, các em sẽ phát hiện sự thật vĩ đại và lạ lùng của cuộc sống. Đó là lòng vị tha, sống vì người khác, và đó là điều tuyệt vời nhất các em có thể làm được cho bản thân. Những niềm vui ngọt ngào nhất trong cuộc sống chỉ đến khi các em nhận ra rằng mình không có gì là đặc biệt”.
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 Hotel staffs in the red-light districts have often become reluctant witnesses to tricks and traps set up by prostitutes to rob or steal money and other assets from their male clients. Usually, a client who appears loaded enough with money will fall victim to their traps, with the aid from other male gangsters who are also their pimps. After leaving a wedding party in Hoc Mon District after having a few drinks, NVD picked a street girl on his way home on national highway 22 near An Suong Bus Station. They agreed on a ‘happy deal’ of VND200,000 (US$10) for an hour of fun. After NVD had paid VND50,000 ($2.5) for a room in a nearby motel, the girl changed her mind and insisted on raising her ‘labor cost’ to VND500,000. While he was trying to cut a bargain with her, she abruptly left the room. NVD rushed out after her only to run into three rough-looking men waiting outside who punched him in the face and asked him to pay VND500,000 if he did not want to be beaten up. After taking VND500,000 from him, they further demanded that he pay another VND200,000 to cover for their fuel cost to get to the motel. Not wishing to risk his life, NVD bitterly complied with the request. In the face of these incidents, hotel staffs often choose to stay out as they do not want to get involved in fights and fear retaliations from gangsters. Nguyen Van Hoa, a staff of a hotel at Phu Lam round-about, said he has seen many men rushing out of their hotel rooms to chase after the girls who have stolen their pockets while they are in the restroom. In another case, a male client stood helpless under the threat of a knife, to see the prostitute taking away his wallets after warning him she would not give him back his ID should he report to the police. Drunken men have also fallen prey to these crimes after being lured into hotel rooms, Hoa added. A security staff in District 5’s Ward 9 said he was reported of a case in which a man was robbed of VND10 million after picking a street girl and following her into a hotel room. The poor man did not know he was walking into an ambush -- a pimp had been lying in wait for his victim under the bed -- until it was too late. "I was helpless to do anything to help him,” the security man admitted. 
girl 2 A girl sitting on pavement of Nguyen Chi Thanh Street in District 5 is dealing with a man on bike (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Report by District 6 police department shows that 17 prostitutes in Phu Lam round-about have been arrested this year for cheating and stealing. "It was clearly just the tip of the whole hidden iceberg as many male victims were ashamed and didn’t report the incidents to police,” said Pham Van Nho, chief of a police unit in district 6. Investigation by Tuoi Tre showed that most street prostitutes in those red-light areas work under the protection of pimps and have to pay them for their protection services. When a disguised Tuoi Tre (female) journalist was standing in Hoa Binh Park on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, a mama-san in her middle age approached her and suggested, "You can come here to work at night. I can take care of you, for both food and protection, but you have to pay me half of your earnings.” "Initially, you just stand here under my protection. After a while I will rent a motorbike for you to ride around to look for clients,” she added. At Phu Lam round-about, a pimp named Tung bluntly told the disguised Tuoi Tre journalist, "If you don’t want to get a slash on your pretty face, follow me. I’ll give you protection. "If you discover some fat game [wealthy men], tell me and we’ll share the spoils.”
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 "Wanna have some pleasure for 300,000 dongs? Rent of room included.” Most men riding their bikes alone in some streets in Ho Chi Minh City would find themselves the target of these sex solicitations in public, regardless whether it is during day time or night. Part 1: "Red light” districts in Ho Chi Minh City Part 2: Street prostitutes cum robbers WE RECOMMEND:
Local models embrace Euro with body painting ‘Super parties’ with sexy shows and luxury cars Berlin red light district turns into art hub Nude bath with ‘ecological’ girls on island beach Though banned in Vietnam, prostitution has never been completely eliminated – driven underground during police crackdown campaigns and thriving when police enforcement is lax. The "butterflies of the night,” as the prostitutes are commonly referred to by the locals, ply their trade around certain streets in Ho Chi Minh City, some riding motorbikes, others on bicycles or just standing under the tree shades on street pavements. Picking up one of the girls on the streets to have a few brief moments of sexual pleasure, male customers sometimes get more than what they have bargained for. As some men are getting ready in the toilet, the girls disappear from the hotel, together with their wallets, money and cell phones. Sometimes, the prostitutes, working in cahoots with mafia gangs, beat up their customers and rob them of all their money. One of the current hot spots in Ho Chi Minh City is Hoa Binh Park, located on the corner of Hung Vuong and Nguyen Chi Thanh streets, lying in the border between two districts 5 and 10. Just spotting a man pulling his bike over to answer a phone call, a girl riding an expensive motorbike approached him and asked, "Looking for pleasure? Three knots (slang for VND300,000 or US$15), rent of room included.” Getting no response, she moved on to another man sitting on his bike nearby. They had some brief exchanges and, apparently after agreeing on the price, rode away together on their bikes. It was a brief scene a Tuoi Tre journalist witnessed on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street on August 24. On a stretch of street that is only 500 meters long, running from Nguyen Chi Thanh Street to Hoa Binh Park, prostitution activities seem to go on around the clock. The girls just need to cross the street to enter another jurisdiction to escape in case of police raids or ID checks. 
girl 2
Two men riding on a motorbike stop by a street prostitute to bargain on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street in District 5 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Mr. Sau, a taxi motorbike rider in the area, said, "Prostitutes parade themselves on this street every day from early morning till mid night. They used to cruise the street only at night but recently have started to hang around here all day long.”
It is estimated that around 40-50 "butterflies of the night” work this stretch of the street.
"The police raided the area some months ago, bring down the prostitution activities for a time, but the problem has re-surfaced recently,” said NVT, a night watchman of Ward 9 in District 5.
Other streets, such as Le Tuan Mau and Kinh Duong Vuong in District 6, Hong Bang in District 5, Cong Hoa in Tan Binh District, 23-9 Park in District 1, Linh Xuan Bypass in Thu Duc District and An Suong T-Road in District 12, have also seen prostitutes publicly waving down passers-by.
A sex worker who introduced herself as Lan admitted, "I had a customer at 7:00 am early morning today.”
"It doesn’t really matter whether it is day time or night time. As long as a guest has money, anytime is ok.
"Recently, many men want to do it during day time. And supply comes after demand,” she said curtly, bringing our conversation to an end.
To be continued
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 Online marriage brokerage activity has become more popular and sophisticated with numerous websites opening in Vietnam and other countries like China to introduce Vietnamese brides to foreigners. Dozens of Chinese websites have been opened and publicly operated to introduce Vietnamese girls to Chinese men. They use a wide array of promotional tricks to lure customers. For instance, the tagline ‘ We are the most prestigious marriage brokers in Vietnam’. Some use the well-known Vietnamese song Beo dat may troi ( Flowing duckweed, wandering cloud) for background music and post images of Ms. Vietnam winners on their home pages. Their consultants are always available on hot lines or QQ, the most popular chat software in China, to serve customers. "Vietnamese brides are obedient and will never run away unless they are beaten,” a consultant nicknamed ‘deng’ said. Another, named ‘sa sa’, advertised that "We have plenty of brides for you to select.” With a click, customers can choose their wives from among hundreds of prospective brides. Some websites even have forums for the grooms-to-be to comment on the women in both Chinese and Vietnamese. Pinyin City of Guangxi Province is the center of the online Vietnamese bride market in China. Of the ten bride websites which are said to be the most prestigious in China, six have their head offices in Pinyin. The others are from Shanghai and Beijing, and Hebei Province. While pretending to be men who are looking for wives, Tuoi Tre reporters received hundreds of consultations from these marriage brokerage websites. Consultant Xiao Huang shared that the all-in price for a seven-day trip to look for a wife in Vietnam is about CNY36,000 (US$5,671). Huang affirmed that his company would perform all the necessary services and procedures, including a wedding ceremony. A prospective groom will only have to present a certificate affirming that he is not married and some photos of his house. "I guarantee that within seven days you can bring your bride home. All customers seeking wives via my company have been fully satisfied. Vietnamese brides are very obedient and will not disappoint you,” Huang said. Some Chinese brokerage websites even provide fake addresses in Vietnam to increase their reliability. They also provide several Vietnamese phone numbers; Tuoi Tre dialed ten of them but eight were out of service. After trying number 016556…, Tuoi Tre met a Vietnamese man named Mai from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. After the reporters talked about how poor they were and their desire to earn money to help their families, Mai revealed that his daughter had married a Taiwanese man. At the end of every year she returns to Vietnam to find girls for Taiwanese men. When his daughter is not in Vietnam, Mai will take prospective brides to Ho Chi Minh City, where matchmakers named Gioi and Ha will bring them to a Chinese woman named Bao, according to Mai. After asking carefully about the girls’ appearance, including the three major measurements, Bao takes them to District 10, where they do nothing besides tend their beauty and wait for Chinese men to choose them. ‘Changing hands’
A number of Chinese men have accessed these marriage brokerage websites to select Vietnamese brides, not for themselves but for other men in their country, in order to enjoy commission. Two weeks after applying to be a potential bride, a Tuoi Tre reporter received a phone call from the HM marriage brokerage company telling her to be present at their office on a Saturday to meet a Chinese man. They said that he had come from Shanghai for business work and would also see some prospective brides during the trip. The man, who was around 50 years old, saw the Tuoi Tre reporter and three other girls. He went around, took a good look at the girls, and said something to the company staff. The reporter was then informed that he had chosen her for a friend from Guangxi, who would become her husband. "Don’t worry, a lot of his friends demanding to get married. He has worked with our company to find Vietnamese brides for Chinese men for nearly two years,” a staff member said. Websites put on fancy dress Several Vietnamese companies have established websites supposedly for people to make friends, but actually provide marriage mediation services. Tuoi Tre reporters sent an email to a company which introduced itself as one of the most popular website in Vietnam for women seeking foreign boyfriends. They were then told to visit the company in the Thuan Viet building in District 11. After filling in a form with personal information, the girls were carefully made up and asked to dress in short and low-necked clothes and high heels to take suggestive photos.
"Your photos will be posted on the internet for foreigners to choose from. The company will help the girls find out about their partners,” said makeup artist Yen. Most of the Vietnamese girls chat or send emails to the foreign men via interpreters at the company. They also provide a foreign language crash course for the girls if they want one, she added. "After marriage, the company will take no further responsibility for the girls’ destiny,” said another staff member.
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 While members of a women’s rights group in Ukraine have been stripping to their waist to protest against the month-long Euro 2012 to be co-hosted between their country and Poland, two Vietnamese models have done something different: they wear body painting to welcome the championship. Models Sella Truong and Tu Hanh Van exposed their curvy body under paintwork featuring the national flags of the two co-hosts of the European football championship, which kicks off tonight. Truong, who also played in several TV series and wide-screen movies, has her body painted white and red to represent Poland; while Van, who earlier this year debuted on the silver screen with a role in the badly-reviewed "Cam Hung Hoan Hao” (The Perfect Inspiration), chooses the yellow of Ukraine. The photo shoot was spread widely amongst local newswires, but audience responses were aimed at discouraging to the two models. "The photos are unnatural, not real body painting art, and Photoshop-intervened,” netizens said on certain websites. As the two are not really well-known in the local show business, some also see the photos as an attempt to spread their names and images. Below are some photos published by 2sao.net newswire:
Sella Truong 
Ukraine's Femen group
Meanwhile, the Kiev-based Femen women's rights group has conducted several protests against the Euro tournament, including grabbing the championship’s cup when it was on display in mid-May.
The group believes the Euro-2012 soccer tournament being played in Ukraine will encourage sex tourism, according to a Reuters report.
On May 13, one Femen member strode up to the silver trophy, which was on display as a tourist attraction in an open air exhibition in central Kiev, ostensibly to be photographed alongside it like hundreds of other sightseers, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian police detain an activist from women's rights group Femen as she enacts a performance in central Kiev May 31, 2012. Photo: Reuters
The woman then pulled down her red T-shirt to reveal the words "Fuck Euro 2012" scrawled on her torso.
She was later seized by security guards, who appeared to have had advanced warning of the protest.
A feminist protested against the European 2012 football championships being held in Ukraine by trying to pinch the trophy. Report by Sam Homewood.
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