This is Gaza

05/05/202507/05/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary ethnic cleansing, gaza, genocide, greater israel project, israel, palestinians, starvation, Zionism

This is Gaza. A child arrives, silently asking for food. Her neck and shoulders reveal the unmistakable signs of severe malnutrition — prominent bones, depleted fat and muscle. She holds a pot of stew like it’s life itself.And in many ways, it is. Let the food in, world. If you feel powerless, make sure the … Continue reading This is Gaza

Happy Reunification Day!

30/04/202530/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Events april 30, City of Dreams and Pride, day of liberation of the south, hanoi, reunification day, us war in vietnam, victory day, vietnam, vietnam war

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the US war and the reunification of Vietnam. It's been my privilege and honor to be a resident of Vietnam for 20 of those 50 years. This national holiday is also known as "Victory Day" and "Day of the Liberation of the South." The most common reference … Continue reading Happy Reunification Day!

“Why I Cancelled My 2025 Trip To Trump’s America”

23/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, video ICE, rob groves, Trump's America

That's the title of a recent video by Rob Groves, who is based in the UK. Rob has a YouTube channel with nearly 60,000 subscribers, where we speak truth to power about British politics, and challenge the establishment narrative peddled by the overwhelmingly right-wing press and BBC. In the words of Noam Chomsky, 'power knows … Continue reading “Why I Cancelled My 2025 Trip To Trump’s America”

Vietnam Today (Video)

22/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, video hobart and william smith colleges, mark ashwill, us department of education, video, vietnam today

About 20 years ago, I helped create a video entitled Vietnam Today for the In FOCUS: Vietnam project funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. It was part of a series designed to serve as a pre-departure orientation tool for students who participated in the Hobart and William Smith … Continue reading Vietnam Today (Video)

Of China, the USA, and Tariffs

14/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary china, debt, functional illiteracy, tariffs, trade, us nationalism, USA, world economy

Here's a short and sweet take on the tariff situation between these two superpowers by Paul Renaud, a "trusted independent adviser to CxOs and boards in Canada, the UK, and the US. (Source: LinkedIn.) I especially like the graphic that puts things in perspective. I've been hammering away at the blind spot of US nationalism, … Continue reading Of China, the USA, and Tariffs

The Land of a Thousand Handshakes

11/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary AI images, AI text, chuck searcy, david sedaris, hanoi, project renew, us war in vietnam, UXO, vietnam, vietnam war

Yes, this image was AI-generated. 😀 I created this story about my friend Chuck Searcy but did not write it. I asked my digital friend ChatGPT to "write a short story about Chuck Searcy using the style of David Sedaris." I then copied and pasted it into Grammarly's free AI detector. The result? 12% of … Continue reading The Land of a Thousand Handshakes

Revisited: “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

07/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary do not regret growing older, ethnic cleansing, gaza, genocide, israel, it is a privilege denied to many, mortality, palestinians

https://markashwill.com/2023/04/07/do-not-regret-growing-older-it-is-a-privilege-denied-to-many/ This remains my most popular post since I launched this blog in 2009. When I last searched for "do not regret growing older" in Google, there were 68.1 million results. There were 27.1 million results for "It is a privilege denied to many." In both cases, my original post was the first result. It's … Continue reading Revisited: “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

The Future Belongs to Those Who Welcome Talent

05/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary canada, immigration, project 2025, USA

This is a guest post by Rakhmad Sobirov, a Canada-based attorney and LinkedIn connection. The answer to his rhetorical question is a resounding YES. This is one of the many prices the US will pay for implementing the Project 2025 playbook. Peace, MAA Life offers strange ironies. Rakhmad was interrogated by Officer Ahmad. 🤣 Here's … Continue reading The Future Belongs to Those Who Welcome Talent

Integrity

04/04/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary gaza, genocide, integrity

This is a guest post by Johanna Santana, a LinkedIn contact. Reprinted with her permission. She's referring to integrity without compromise, not selective integrity. I've used this unattributed saying a lot in the context of business: Success without integrity is failure. Peace, MAA What does it really mean to lead with integrity, even when it’s … Continue reading Integrity

Vietnam, You Shine Ever So Bright

24/03/202524/03/2025 Mark A. Ashwill Announcement ai, vietnam, vietnam you shine ever so bright

This image is AI-generated. With wisdom and youth hand in hand, building tomorrow, a prosperous land. I created this song about Vietnam using AI-generated text and music based on my input. Let me know what you think either here or on my YouTube account. Here are some of the comments the song has received so … Continue reading Vietnam, You Shine Ever So Bright

An International Educator in Vietnam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue

Author: Mark A. Ashwill