Private lessons provide main income to teachers

qua tang valentine | school health |

VietNamNet Bridge – Despite a lot of exertions, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) still fails to restrict private teaching. Teachers keep private tutoring classes, because the classes are the main bread earner for their families, while students have to go to the extra classes if they want to pass the university entrance exams.

"Extra income" is higher than "main income"

The private tutoring classes of LDD, a physics teacher of the Gia Dinh High School on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street in HCM City are always full of students. D has three tutoring shifts a day, except Monday and Friday. Especially, on Saturday and Sunday, D spends all of his time on the teaching.

The students going to D's classes have to pay 1.5 million dong for three month learning with two shifts a week. Every month, D can earn 50 million dong from the private tutoring classes, much higher than the salary paid by the State budget, just several million dong a month.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the monthly income of 10 million dong is considered "high income."

It's very difficult to book at a seat at D's classes. Students need to begin studying here when they enter the 10th grade. Meanwhile, D would refuse the students, who do not follow his classes from the beginning.

A teacher of a high school for the gifted, who runs private tutoring classes in Phu Nhuan district in HCM City has been so well known, that students have to scramble for a seat at the classes. Parents would have to register study for their 8th grade children, so that the children can begin following the private tutoring from the 9th grade. This means that parents need to book a seat at the classes one year in advance.

The well-known teacher is so professional that he has a website of his own, where he informs the timetable for every school year.

NH, who is also a well-known teacher of a high school for the gifted, only accepts 10 students for every class. The students are mostly from well off families, which are ready to spend big money to be able to learn with good teachers. In general, the students gather in small classes, because they think that overcrowded classes would not bring the desired effects.

When asked about the income from the private tutoring classes, H said: "Of course, the "extra income" is much higher than the "main salary" I receive for my job as the teacher of the high school."

H went on to say that his income is more "modest" than some other teachers, who can earn enough money to buy villas in the central area of the city just after several years of teaching privately.

The assistant professors at private tutoring classes

NCD, a well known teacher in HCM City, gives private English lessons in the living room of a house on Huynh Van Banh Street in Phu Nhuan district. When giving lessons, D usually stands next to the gate, and he runs two classes at the same time. Sometimes, when there are too many students, he would ask for the help of an assistant, named Lan, who takes care for the students of the small class.

The students go to class two times a week and they have to pay 150,000 dong a month. As such, the teacher can earn 75 million dong a month, if he runs 10 classes with 50 students in each class.

For the last many years, people have voiced their criticism against the private tutoring movement. MOET has promulgated strict regulations to restrict the private teaching. However, despite the efforts, the problem has not been settled to every root.

Source: Tien phong

Theo en.baomoi.com

Sarajevo Marks War Anniversary

News | school health |

Sarajevo"s main street is lined with 11,541 red chairs - one chair for every man, woman and child killed in a war that broke out 20 years ago.

Photo: AP

Red chairs are displayed along a main street in Sarajevo as the city marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian war, April 6, 2012.

Bosnians Friday marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the 1992-1995 war that drove millions - about half of the population - from their homes.

On April 6, 1992, Bosnian Muslims, Serbians and Croats, poured into Sarajevo's main square to demand peace and freedom.  But the three ethnic groups soon turned on each other and Sarajevo fell under a siege that lasted 44 months.

Sarajevo resident Miralem Simcevic said Friday it is hard to think back to that time, "but the most important thing is that we somehow lived through it, and we are now enjoying our freedom."

A U.S.-brokered peace accord ended the war in 1995 but Bosnia remains split among the three ethnic groups.  It now lags behind other former Yugoslav republics in achieving European Union membership.

The International Court in The Hague is still prosecuting war criminals including ex-Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic.

Mladic is being tried for his alleged role in the siege of Sarajevo and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

Theo www.voanews.com

DJ Bo dies aged just 30 of pneumonia

Download game | school health |

DJ Bo (My Quyen), one of Vietnam's most popular DJs, died of acute pneumonia during a recent northern tour which included a gig in Haiphong City. Quyen leaves behind her three-year-old daughter Yuna whose father is DJ Hoang Anh, reports VnExpress.

DJ Bo dies aged just 30 of pneumonia

Vietnamese DJ Bo (My Quyen) dies aged just 30

DJ Bo (My Quyen), one of Vietnam's most popular DJs, died of acute pneumonia during a recent northern tour which included a gig in Haiphong City. Quyen leaves behind her three-year-old daughter Yuna whose father is DJ Hoang Anh, reports VnExpress.

DJ Phat, Quyen's mentor for the past seven years, said she had a severe cough for a long time but refused to see a doctor. She did not protect herself from the cold weather in Haiphong. She used sedatives for relaxation and to help her sleep. But the medicine did not address the problem and she fell into a coma. Quyen was pronounced dead on Sunday after being taken to hospital.

She was a DJ for more than 12 years and was one of the most popular nationwide. She won a number of awards, such as second place in the Asia DJ Talent Search in Malaysia. She was a hit with fans for her DJ skills, beautiful looks, sweet voice and big brown eyes.

The funeral ceremony was held on Tuesday at Xa Loi Pagoda in HCMC.

Theo en.baomoi.com

Multiplayer Computer Games are Big Business for Small Devices

binh nong lanh | saint james medical school |

Millions of people are addicted to playing games on mobile devices, with rivals and teammates spread around the world.  A company in Austin, Texas has developed such a game, known as a mobile multiplayer online game, for the Apple iPhone and iPad, basing it on a pen-and-paper game that was popular in the 1970s called Traveller.

Traveller AR is a game that takes players to the far corners of space on a small screen. The space ship exists in a virtual world of vast dimensions, but you see it on an iPhone.

Brothers Tony and Kieran Howlett grew up playing the old Traveller game and developed the online version at their Austin-based company, IngZ Inc.

Tony says they modified the game for remote, online players. "We create missions, we have what we call a mission system," he said.

Don Ballew of Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, has been on many missions. "If you get bored, you can just pull your pad out and pick up right where you left off no matter where you are at," he said.

Ballew, who spoke to VOA via Skype, is a big Traveller AR fan and says he seldom has trouble finding another member of his player group. "We are scattered all over the world, so, in our little group, there is usually somebody online at some point in time during the day," he said.

While the game can be played as a peaceful venture, players can find their ship destroyed in a fight. "That's part of the thrill of the game, you never know what you are going to run into," said Ballew.

No problem, says Tony Howlett. His company sells ship insurance. "So if your ship blows up and everything on it blows up, you survive and we will give you a new ship, but it won't have any of the things you added to it," he said.

Although only a small percentage of players buy extra features, Kieran Howlett says being tied into Apple's large customer base makes it lucrative. "Once they approve you, you are in their store and you benefit from their resources and distribution, and then you have to follow their rules," he said.

Creating the virtual space world of Traveller AR was an undertaking that involved around 30 computer programers, as well as artists and designers.

Computer programer Chris Kauffman said, "It is a lot of different people working in a lot of different areas. I am not much of a visual artist, but I can take the pictures that you give me, and I can make them move around."

Tony Howlett says the ultimate attraction of these role-playing games is the opportunity they give players to momentarily leave their ordinary life behind. "They may work a regular job during the day, but here they are in this giant space ship, and they are the king of the universe," he said.

Traveller AR is now in the beta testing phase, but it has already become one of the top 20 role-playing games in Apple's online store, and the Howlett brothers are working on other applications they hope will also meet with success online.

Theo www.voanews.com

Obama Sidesteps Issue of Asylum for Chinese Dissident Chen

game angrybirds online | international summer school |

President Barack Obama avoided comment on Monday when asked by reporters whether the United States would offer political asylum to an escaped Chinese dissident. The president and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a news conference after meeting at the White House.

Photo: AP

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and President Obama at White House, Washington, D.C., April 30, 2012.

With high-level U.S.-China talks set to start on Thursday in Beijing, the president sidestepped the delicate issue of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng.

The blind lawyer fled house arrest last week and is reported to have entered the protection of U.S. diplomats in Beijing.

Obama would not confirm that Chen is under U.S. protection or that American and Chinese diplomats are trying to negotiate an agreement for him to receive asylum.

"Obviously, I am aware of the press reports on the situation in China, but I am not going to make a statement on the issue. What I would like to emphasize is that every time we meet with China, the issue of human rights comes up," he said.

Analysts say the issue could have implications beyond the upcoming strategic and economic talks between Washington and Beijing. China has been cooperating with the United States on global economic issues, working to discourage North Korea and Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and trying to prevent a war between Sudan and South Sudan.

Obama and Noda criticized North Korea's recent failed missile launch. The president said he has tried to ensure that Pyongyang is punished for provocative behavior.

"The old pattern of provocation that then gets attention and somehow insists on the world purchasing good behavior from them - that that pattern is broken. What we said is that the more you engage in provocative acts, the more isolated you will become," said Obama.

The Japanese leader said North Korea's action undermined efforts to resolve the situation peacefully. Noda also called on the international community to work together to discourage Pyongyang from conducting nuclear tests.

Both leaders highlighted their agreement to move about 9,000 U.S. Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa to other locations in the Pacific region.

Obama praised Noda and the Japanese people for their country's recovery from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that struck Japan more than a year ago. Noda thanked Americans for their support.

Theo www.voanews.com

Auctions

may anh | school health |

Auction of Islamic Art Shines a Light on Rare Glories

By SOUREN MELIKIAN

Published: April 27, 2012

LONDON — The accelerating surge of interest in history came out spectacularly at the auction scene on Wednesday. It was reflected in the three highest prices at Sotheby's, where the subject was art from the Islamic world.

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Sotheby's

A page torn from a royal manuscript of the "Shah-Nameh" (Book of Kings) was auctioned Wednesday for £1.39 million.

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Sotheby's

A 13th-century bronze basin extols a sultan, Abu'l-Harith Qara Arslan ibn Il-Ghazi.

The ultimate rarity of the session was a 13th-century bronze basin with a beautiful shape but only remains of its erstwhile silver and gold inlay, which sold for £361,250, about $584,000.

The importance of the Arab vessel lay in the monumental inscription that runs around the sides and two tiny inscriptions engraved on the rim more than 100 years after the piece was made.

The large inscription spells out the titles and name of a sultan of Turkic stock, Abu'l-Harith Qara Arslan ibn Il-Ghazi, descended from the 12th-century Artuq Shah. Qara Arslan, who from 1261 to 1293 ruled a large area around the city of Mardin, now in southeast Turkey, had no mean opinion of his own persona. The titulature, introduced by a set phrase found on 13th- and 14th-century royal objects, glorifies the sultan in traditional bombastic eulogies. Qara Arslan is hailed as "Our Lord, the Sultan, the King, the Pride of the World and Religion, the Master of Kings and Sultans" and lots more of that ilk.

This wording suggests that the basin was commissioned when the ruler mounted the throne, which appears to be confirmed by the exclusive role of the inscription in the decorative scheme, excepting a band of arabesques at the bottom.

No other vessel to the name of Qara Arslan has been recorded. The mastery of the execution tells us that Qara Arslan, "The Black Lion" in Turkish, was prosperous enough to attract great bronze makers and calligraphers. That is useful historical information.

But what makes the basin unique is the addition of two inscriptions engraved on the rim by his descendants.

One names "Amir" Dawud ibn Malik al-Salih (1368-1376). The title "amir" that Dawud gives himself instead of "sultan" proves that his father, al-Malik al-Salih, who died in 1368, was still alive and ruling. Al-Malik al-Salih, possibly aware of his nearing end, passed on to his son Dawud the splendid basin as part of the dynasty's regal possessions. This provides tangible evidence of the existence of dynastic chattels in the Near East.

Eight years later, Dawud's successor, Majd Ad-Din 'Isa (1376-1406), ordered an inscription to be engraved on the rim. His titles "The Lord, the King" prove that he had ascended to power.

The verified use of the basin for more than a century explains why so much of the inlay is gone, as on so many other royal bronzes.

The history of Qara Arslan's basin does not stop there. In 1406, the Mardin-centered Artuqid sultanate was overrun by another Turkic dynasty, the Qara Qoyunlu. It was soon defeated by the Ottoman sultanate of central Anatolia that kept conquering ever larger swaths of territory, and with that begins part two of the history of Qara Arslan's basin.

Mercury gilding was added inside to cover the loss of inlay in a large rosette on the bottom, erased by wear. The gilding, typical of 16th-century Ottoman fashion, indicates that the basin was still treasured. It got worn, in turn.

Part three of the basin's history begins in 1845. Michelangelo Lanci, an Italian scholar who collected Arabic texts on monuments and objects, saw the basin in Rome at the hands of the jeweler and antiquarian Alessandro Castellani. Lanci published the inscriptions in Volume 2 of his "Treatise on Arab Symbolical Representations and Various Categories of Islamic Inscriptions Wrought on Different Material Supports." Written in Italian, it was published in Paris with a subsidy from King Louis Philippe.

Lanci's reading included minor mistakes and one huge error. The inscriptions naming three sultans were merged into one, as if they concerned a single ruler. The great French Arabist Gaston Wiet recorded the inscriptions in his 1934 general repertory of Arabic inscriptions, amending them as best he could without having seen the actual object.

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US, Afghanistan Compromise on Night Raid Operations

Hot Girl | school health |

Afghanistan and the United States have reached a compromise on the controversial issue of night raids on Afghan homes by international forces.The agreement gives Afghan authorities veto power over planned operations and more say in the treatment of detainees.

The memorandum of understanding authorizing Afghan-led night raid special operations was signed Sunday in front of reporters by Afghan Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak and the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen.

The Afghan defense minister says the agreement will take effect immediately.

He says as of today, special operations become Afghan-owned and will be conducted by the special contingent of the ministry of defense, ministry of interior and national security directorate in accord with Afghan judicial bodies.

Night raids had been a constant source of tension between the Afghan government and U.S. military. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called previously for an end to all international night raids, saying they are provocative when carried out by foreign troops. But NATO commanders have said the operations have proven extremely effective in apprehending Taliban insurgents and al-Qaida commanders.

The compromise reached continues to authorize night raids under Afghan leadership. General Allen says it also stipulates measures to ensure that special operations be conducted in ways that adhere to the rule of law.

"With this memorandum of understanding, the United States has not only formalized the Afghan special forces lead in special operations missions but has also agreed to ensure that those missions are conducted in a manner fully consistent with the Afghan constitution and Afghan laws," he said.

Under the deal, Afghan and supporting U.S. forces are required to apply to an Afghan judge for a warrant before operations are approved. Also, Afghan authorities will have control over prisoners taken in night raids and will decide whether to allow U.S. interrogators access to detainees.

Recently the two sides resolved another contentious issue when they signed a deal transferring Afghan detainees to Kabul's custody.

General Allen says these two agreements remove the last major obstacles to developing a long-term strategic partnership pact in advance of a May NATO Summit in Chicago. The partnership pact will authorize a reduced U.S. military presence in Afghanistan after the planned 2014 withdrawal of most Western combat troops.

The signing comes at a time of heightened sensitivity in Afghanistan over the presence of foreign troops after a series of incidents, including the massacre of 17 Afghan villagers blamed on a U.S. soldier, and the inadvertent burning of Qurans at an American military base.

Theo www.voanews.com

At Least 23 Wounded in Afghan Blast

Tin The Thao | saint james medical school |

Officials in northern Afghanistan say twin bomb blasts have injured at least 23 people, including at least seven security personnel.

Authorities say the explosions tore through a market Monday in Baghlan province.

The French news agency says the second explosion happened after security forces arrived to investigate the initial blast and that half of those wounded were children.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Theo www.voanews.com

For Some New York Shoppers, No More State Sales Tax

intergirl | saint james medical school |

Many shoppers got a pleasant surprise on Sunday as New York State reinstated its sales-tax exemption on clothing and footwear items costing less than $110.

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Shoppers at Century 21 in Lower Manhattan got a pleasant surprise on Sunday, when New York State exempted clothing and footwear purchases under $110 from the state sales tax.

By KATE TAYLOR

Published: April 1, 2012

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"Oh, wow," Candy Conway, a mother from Pennsylvania who was shopping at Century 21 in Lower Manhattan with a friend, Brenda Alek, and the two women's teenage daughters, said when informed of the exemption.

"I wish we'd known that yesterday, because we bought stuff yesterday, too," said Ms. Conway, explaining that the group was here for a "girls' weekend." But the exemption, she added, would "bring us back here."

New York first exempted clothing and footwear under $110 from its 4 percent sales tax in 2000, but it has periodically suspended the exemption to balance the state's budget. Most recently, the tax was reinstated from Oct. 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011, bringing in $330 million in revenue, according to Morris Peters, a spokesman for the New York State Budget Division. On April 1, 2011, the exemption was restored for items costing less than $55, with the lower threshold meaning an extra $210 million for the state, Mr. Peters said.

The state may be forgoing some revenue, but some shoppers said the exemption would be an incentive to buy more — and it certainly made the math easier.

Dalila Billon, 29, a tourist from France, was delighted when a sales clerk at Century 21 told her about the exemption. Because American retailers do not include sales tax in the price, as they do in France, "it's difficult to compare" prices here with the ones at home, she said.

Two sisters from Cape Cod, with matching gray bobs and black coats, were also pleased.

Before she read about the exemption going back into effect, "I said to my sister, 'I don't really want to buy any clothing here,' because you have to pay sales tax, and you don't in Massachusetts," one of the sisters, Diane Hanna, said. "I think it's good for New York State, because it makes it more competitive."

New Jersey exempts most clothing and footwear from its 7 percent sales tax, and some New York politicians, like the State Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, hope that their state's exemption will stop people from going over the border to shop for clothes.

In fact, with the exemption in effect, shoppers from the suburbs and perhaps those from nearby parts of Connecticut, which has a 6.35 percent sales tax, might be enticed by a simple calculation: Shop for clothes (under $110) in New York City, and pay no sales tax. And city residents might be enticed to stay.

New York City already exempts items under $110 from its 4.5 percent sales tax and will continue to do so. Most jurisdictions, including Nassau and Suffolk Counties, which charge a 4.25 sales tax, do not exempt such items.

At Fresh Meadows Shopping Center in Fresh Meadows, Queens, and at Green Acres Mall, just over the Queens border in Nassau County, few shoppers were aware that the exemption had been reinstated.

"Now that I know this, it would make a difference," said Ingrid Peter, a nanny from the Bronx who had crossed the border into Nassau to visit the Green Acres Mall with her sister and brother-in law. "Every little bit helps."

Then again, decisions about where to shop are driven by many factors, not all of which are rational.

Nick Arapias, 74, of Bayside, Queens, who was pacing the aisles in Kohl's at Green Acres while his wife shopped, said, "Listen, you know how women are. If my wife wants to go to Macy's in Manhasset, you think I can say no? Of course I can't."

Angela Macropoulos contributed reporting.

Theo www.nytimes.com

The Bay Citizen

girl xinh | school of medicine |

Despite Deadly Fungus, Frog Imports Continue

By JOHN UPTON

Published: April 7, 2012

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A clerk serving Cantonese-speaking customers at a cluttered market in San Francisco's Chinatown reached into a tub of American bullfrogs. She drew a one-pound frog from the top of the pile. She whacked its head, sliced its neck and placed its body in a plastic grocery bag.

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Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

A Chinatown seafood-store sign warns that releasing frogs into the wild is illegal.

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More than half the frogs imported into San Francisco every year carry the chytrid skin fungus.

The frog cost about $4. If it was sautéed, stir-fried or cooked in a clay pot and served with rice and vegetables, it could provide enough poultry-flavored white meat for a meal for at least two people.

Tests on the bullfrog by Raul Figueroa, a researcher at San Francisco State University, confirmed that it was infected with an invisible but virulent fungus. The chytrid skin fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or B.d., is harmless to humans but may have wiped out hundreds of amphibian species. Two other bullfrogs that The Bay Citizen bought from other Chinatown markets also tested positive.

The disease appears to affect only amphibians, and some species are immune to its effects while others succumb rapidly. It causes the amphibians' skin to thicken and leads to cardiac arrest.

American bullfrogs are native to eastern North America but are reared in factory farms around the world. Two million bullfrogs are imported into the Bay Area every year, according to federal import records, and millions more are shipped to other major cities.

Scientists and conservationists fear that the global trade could lead to the extinction of countless species of frogs and salamanders. Amphibians play subtle but substantial roles in California's ecosystem, eating insects and feeding wildlife.

American bullfrogs are an invasive species in California. State law requires markets to kill the bullfrogs when they are sold, although pet stores are allowed to sell them alive. Yet the bullfrogs make their way into rivers and lakes, where they spread the disease and devour everything from native tadpoles to ducklings.

Some of the bullfrogs that are free in the Bay Area are former pets. Buddhists may have released others during traditional ceremonies that liberate living creatures. Once in the environment, the frogs can reproduce.

Efforts to ban the live bullfrog imports have been strenuously opposed by Chinese-American leaders who defend their communities' rights to a traditional part of their diet.

A study of 493 fresh-bought frogs from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York found that 62 percent were infected with the chytrid fungus.

"We don't know if the bullfrogs contributed to the introduction of B.d. into the U.S.," said Lisa M. Schloegel, a disease ecologist and lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Biological Conservation in 2009. "But the bullfrogs are a constant source of infection."

Vance T. Vredenburg, a biology professor at San Francisco State University who specializes in amphibians. said he had seen "literally hundreds, and tens of thousands" of dead animals on the shorelines of lakes. "With this fungus pathogen, we have something the world has never seen before," he said. "It's jumping from species to species to species, and we have very little predictability about what species it's going to have an effect on."

American bullfrogs survive the pathogen but can transfer the fungus spores to other, less fortunate species. The fungus has torn through the Sierra Nevada, leaving the once-abundant mountain yellow-legged frogs on the brink of extinction.

Proposals to ban the live imports into California were initially pushed forward by conservationists and animal rights groups in the mid-1990s. A few years later, scientists perplexed by worldwide amphibian deaths discovered B.d.

Assemblyman Paul Fong, Democrat of Cupertino, who championed a bill last year that outlawed the sale of shark fins, opposes a ban on live frog imports. So does Senator Leland Yee, Democrat of San Francisco.

"It's a food stock that many Chinese-Americans rely on," Mr. Yee said.

Pius Lee, chairman of the Chinatown Neighborhood Association in San Francisco, said he warned Buddhists that "pro-animal groups are watching you" and suggested they free animals from containers without releasing them into the wild.

But Kerry Kriger, an ecologist who founded the Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Save the Frogs after studying B.d. in Australia, said regulations were needed.

"People set them free on purpose. They escape, and the water they're held in has chytrid in it — and that gets flushed out into the environment," Dr. Kriger said. "You can ship in as much chytrid fungus into the United States as you want right now, and that's what people do with the bullfrogs."

jupton@baycitizen.org

Theo www.nytimes.com

Social Qs

tin tức tổng hợp, tin nhanh | school of medicine |

My husband, who is long divorced, pays his ex-wife much more than required child support. And he’s financed their children’s college accounts by twice the agreed amount. He does this because his ex-wife claims she is broke, even though she remarried a rich man and lives a lavish life. Worse, he’s started hiding his payments from me. It’s admirable that he’s so generous, but after six years of marriage, with my own child entering college, I feel taken advantage of. Do I have the right to speak up?

A New Payment Plan

By PHILIP GALANES

Published: March 29, 2012

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G. P., Long Island

Something tells me you’ve already spoken up once or twice (an hour). That may be why Hubby is paying in secret, annoying you further, and shrinking the pot of do-re-mi available to you and yours. Whoever said blending families was going to be easy?

Your feelings are natural. But asking your husband to do less for his children is not the solution here. (His ex-wife may not work, or her Richie Rich husband may have no interest in providing for her offspring.)

Try again. Say: "Honey, you need to do what you feel is right. But you can’t keep me in the dark about your payments. We’re in this together. So, let’s agree that you’ll be more forthcoming, and I’ll only vent when my head is about to explode. Deal?"

Or take a page from "Hunger Games": Stage a war to the death between Wifey No. 1 and you. The television rights alone will pay for a dozen college degrees — even the meal plans.

Up in Smoke

I am a smoker. (I know, it’s terrible.) But every time I try to give it up, I fall right back again. The problem is my boyfriend, who picks on me relentlessly and gets pretty nasty about my smoking. He makes me feel even worse about myself. (Otherwise, he’s a terrific boyfriend.) How do I get him to stop? Jeannie, Brooklyn

Just this once, I will let the ciggies slide. Your predicament sounds as rough as it was up on Brokeback Mountain (though probably not as sexy): "I wish I knew how to quit you," Marlboro Lights.

Find a peaceful moment (when no one is sniping or sucking on cancer sticks) and say: "I’m trying my best to quit. I know you’re only picking on me because you care, but could you go a little easier? You’re hurting my feelings."

Then show him your new homepage: nysmokefree.com , New York State’s excellent program for helping smokers quit — and keeping them smoke-free (with a hot line and everything). Good luck, Jeannie!

My Serfdom for a Ticket

I am a full-time intern at an arts organization. For months, I’ve been working with my boss on the annual fund-raising gala. Recently, I learned that everyone involved was given two tickets to the performance and the dinner afterward — except me. I will be working during the show, and only received one ticket to the dinner. Should I feel insulted that I’m being treated differently and can’t bring my partner to an event I spent hundreds of hours working on?

E. G. M., New York

Try not to make this personal. Your boss is focused on raising buckets of cash from no more than a few big donors and hundreds of plates of rubber chicken. You are the last thing on her mind. And because you’ll work during the show (and I hate to break it to you, probably during the dinner, too), your partner may get lonely. You’ll be up and down like a (low man on the totem pole) jack-in-the-box. Don’t stew. Find your boss in a good mood and say: "Depending on ticket sales, can we spare a seat for my partner? I’d love to show him what we created." Then live with the answer. You are not an employee yet, though you may want to be. Stay on your boss’s good side.

Time to Build Cooperation

I am building a new house. Every time I walk in, the workers are blaring music — in Spanish, no less. I can’t hear myself think, much less have a conversation. Is it rude to ask the workers to turn off the music when they see me coming?Anonymous

You may feel like an interloper at your site, but I promise, you are paying for every last nail. (Also, the music would be just as deafening in English. Happily, volume knobs work in all languages.) Ask your contractor if he could kill the tunes when you come for meetings. There will be no insurrection — though the joint will be a little less caliente.

For help with your awkward situation, send a question to SocialQ@nytimes.com or SocialQ on Facebook . You can also address your queries on Twitter to @SocialQPhilip . Please include a daytime phone number.

Theo www.nytimes.com

Tourism sector targets Japanese visitors

Xem tivi truc tuyen | columbia university summer school |

The country has targeted to welcome 1 million Japanese tourists by 2015 as Japan has always been among the top five markets for Viet Nam"s tourism sector for recent years.

Japanese tourists arrive in the central city of Da Nang through Tien Sa Port. Viet Nam was ranked the third most attractive destination to Japanese tourists in the ASEAN region. — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Cong Dien

HA NOI — The country has targeted to welcome 1 million Japanese tourists by 2015 as Japan has always been among the top five markets for Viet Nam's tourism sector for recent years.

Viet Nam ranked the third most attractive destination to Japanese tourirsts in the ASEAN region with nearly 482,000 Japanese coming to the country last year, up 8.9 per cent from the previous year, although it was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in March last year.

The first two months of the year saw nearly 110,000 Japanese visiting Viet Nam, up 16.9 per cent year-on-year.

Viet Nam has significant advantages to attract Japanese tourists including stable political security, 15 days visa to be exempt from Japanese guests travelling to Viet Nam, near distance between Viet Nam and Japan (only 5 hour direct flight), many cultural similarities between two countries, good diplomatic relationship and various tourism resources of Viet Nam which meet the Japanese people's tastes.

However, deputy director of the Viet Travel Channel Company Ho Kim Dung said that it was not easy to be access to Japanese tourist market as Japanese arrivals are high demanding while Viet Nam's tourism service quality has remained restricted.

The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) also admitted that there remained difficulties to attract Japanese tourists including limited expense for promoting tourism, no tourism promotion office in Japan, lack of marketing strategies for this market and restricted tourism products quality.

Therefore, the goal of attracting 1 million Japanese tourists by 2015 is deemed as ambitious but given available air links, efforts of travel firms in both countries and the appeal of Viet Nam as a favourite destination of Japanese tourists, industry insiders expected that the target would be achievable.

Nguyen Minh Man, director of the Communications Division of Vietravel, which receives roughly 1,000-1,500 Japanese arrivals monthly on average, said that the target would be met if all domestic tourist companies considered the attraction of Japanese visitors a key task from now to 2015 and focused on it to create a comprehensive promotion campaign to attract the visitors.

VNAT has so far drawn up a scheme with various specific activities intended to attract more Japanese visitors, including the inauguration of a representative office in Japan late this year. When the office is in place, marketing and advertising projects on television and in newspapers and direct interactions with customers will be conducted in a more regular basis.

Besides creating website in Japanese language to promote Viet Nam tourism on the base of studying taste characteristics of Japanese market, VNAT will also establish the group of Viet Nam-Japan tourism development and step up training the Japanese tour guides as well as the human resources to improve customer service quality.

An expansion of direct flights between the two countries is also considered a measure to attract more Japanese tourists to Viet Nam. — VNS

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