A Quiet American

B. and rented ‘A Quiet American’ (an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one :P) starring Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser and Do Thi Hai Yen. It wasn’t bad. I enjoyed the historical angle… It made me want to read about the French occupation of Vietnam. Which lead to more reading on Vietnam which led me to read about a Buddhist monk who burned himself alive in protest during that time. (you may recognize the famous photo from the Rage Against the Machine self titled album cover…’The burning monk on the cover is Thich Quang Duc immolating himself on a main intersection in Saigon, Vietnam on June 11, 1963 to protest the rule of Ngo Dinh Diem, the American backed leader of Vietnam who was leading an anti – Buddhist campaign in southern Vietnam. The photo won the Pulitzer prize in 1963.’)

Certainly very interesting history. The Americans exerting their ‘influence’ around the world with big gun diplomacy. Amazingly – it continues to this day unabated. I think one day I will catalogue all the wonderful things the U.S. has done in the name of ‘insert catch phrase here’ worldwide. I’m sure it will be remarkable.