[Dialogue] (no subject)

[Evelyn Philbrook]

Good one John! Thank you for the lighter side and pass the rendang too.

Respectfully,

Evelyn Kurihara Philbrook, 
Conference Preparation Team... Japan2008  see you in Takayama Nov. 17!
Certified Facilitator, 
ICA International Director    
ICA Office 3fl, No.12, Lane 5, 
Tien Mou West Road,   
Taipei, Taiwan ROC 11156
email: evelynaphilbrook at yahoo.com
  

--- On Sun, 11/2/08, JOHN L. EPPS <jlepps at pc.jaring.my> wrote:

> From: JOHN L. EPPS <jlepps at pc.jaring.my>
> Subject: [Dialogue] (no subject)
> To: dialogue at wedgeblade.net
> Date: Sunday, November 2, 2008, 11:05 AM
> This article appeared in a Kuala Lumpur newspaper the other
> day. It
> provides a somewhat humorous Asian view of the USA
> elections. Note the
> surname of the author and see if it reminds you of someone
> we once knew.
> 
> Such Sweet Torture
> Nury Vittachi
> 
>    A Western journalist called me the other day to ask what
> Asians thought
> of Sarah Palin.
>    "Just a minute," I said. "I'll ask
> them." I held my hand over the
> phone, counted to 20 and then got back on the line.
> "They like him," I
> said. "But they think he should make more episodes of
> Monty Python.
>    There was a long pause. I heard the journalist's
> brain cell click into
> place.
>    "That's not Sarah Palin," she eventually
> said. "That's Michael Palin.
>    "Well Asians would like her to tell her husband to
> make more episodes
> of Monty Python."
>    "Actually, I don't think Michael Palin is her
> husband."
>    I took a sharp intake of breath. "They are not
> legally married? That's
> something that Asians definitely do not approve of."
>    "No, no, no, she's married to someone else, not
> Michael Palin."
>    "That makes it worse," I said.
>    There are few things in life more pleasurable than
> tormenting American
> journalists. The only downside is that it is so easy. They
> are absolutely
> convinced that the rest of the world watches every detail
> of what happens
> in the United States as if it was some sort of wacky global
> sitcom
> designed to entertain the rest of the planet. Actually,
> that IS more or
> less the case. But I still like teasing them.
>    Anyway, the caller explained in words of one syllable
> that Sarah Palin
> could possibly be "the second most powerful person in
> the world" in a
> month and she needed a commend from Asia for a feature she
> was writing.
>    "I understand," I said. "Well, the first
> thing that Asians would want
> to know is does this Palin come from Palin?"
>    "What do you mean?" she said.
>    "You do know there's a place called Palin in
> Asia?"
>    Silence.
>    "It's 400 kilometers north of Yangon. You do
> know where Yangon is,
> don't you?" I asked.
>    She changed the subject.
>    "Sure, but are Asians concerned that someone with
> no practical
> understanding of Asia could soon be in a position of global
> leadership?"
>    It was my turn to sound baffled. "George W. Bush
> has been leader of
> America for eight years already. There's a
> difference?"
>    "Ms Palin's level of familiarity with Asia
> makes George W. Bush look
> like an old China hand," she replied.
>    "Now you're scaring me," I complained.
>    "So Asians wouldn't vote for her?"
>    "Most of us are not even allowed to vote for our
> own leaders. What’s
> the point of asking us whether we'd vote for
> yours?"
>    Her tone was becoming icy, so I decided to strike a more
> conciliatory
> note. "What's Ms Palin's position on Jammu and
> Kashmir? How does she see
> Taiwan? For late night takeaways, does she prefer Indian or
> Chinese?"
>    The journalist told me that Ms Palin had expressed no
> opinions on those
> subjects. Bit she claimed to have foreign experience, since
> she lived in
> Alaska, which was near Russia.
>    I nodded over the phone. "Alaska is near Russia,
> and Russia is near
> Asia, so that makes her an Asia expert."
>    "She might think so," the journalist said.
>    Reluctantly, I decided I had to give a straight answer.
> "I think most
> Asians would rather that Obama's team won."
>    "Because he lived in Asia?"
>    "Because his favourite food is chili. He says his
> heart is
> all-American, but his bowels are definitely Asian."
> 
> 		The Sun, Kuala Lumpur, October 13, 2008 p. 19.
> 
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