It appears that the great California South University (CSU), a diploma mill based in Irvine, CA, is in the news again. I noticed a spike in traffic to my blog, in particular previous posts about CSU, including one linked in a February 2018 post by Derek Lowe entitled The Dark Side - Down the Rabbit … Continue reading “California South University” is Back in the News!
Commentary
“54% of U.S. Adults between the Ages of 16 and 74 Years Old Lack Proficiency in Literacy”
I noticed this rather disturbing fact in a LinkedIn post by a colleague whose organization had just received a $200,000 grant from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. I knew it was bad but not this bad. For detailed information, have a look at this report Assessing the Economic Gains of Eradicating Illiteracy Nationally … Continue reading “54% of U.S. Adults between the Ages of 16 and 74 Years Old Lack Proficiency in Literacy”
SPAM is US(A)
The US and China often trade places for the dubious distinction of being the world's leading Spam Haven country. Here's the latest from an authoritative source, Spamhaus. (My only other post about this was in January 2020.) Below are the world's worst Spam Haven countries for enabling spamming, as of 25 October 2020. Notice that … Continue reading SPAM is US(A)
“Beijing’s Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam”
Screenshot of the webinar On Saturday, 10 October, Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) organized a webinar entitled Beijing's Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam in which Murray Hiebert, one of whose titles is Senior Associate (Non-resident), Southeast Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), spouted the prevailing anti-China party line and hawked his new book … Continue reading “Beijing’s Expanding Shadow: Choices for Vietnam”
“Vietnam’s Economic Hopes Fade as COVID-19 Takes Away Business”
A flower vendor wearing a face mask to protect against the coronavirus waits for customers in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Aug. 3, 2020. Vietnam has tightened travel and social restrictions after the country's death toll of COVID-19 to six. (AP Photo/Hau via VOA) This 4 October Voice of America article is a textbook example of propaganda … Continue reading “Vietnam’s Economic Hopes Fade as COVID-19 Takes Away Business”
Is Vietnam the Next ‘Asian Miracle’?
The country is making autocratic capitalism work unusually well. Hang Ma Street in Hanoi, last month. Linh Pham/Getty Images This 13.10.20 New York Times op-ed by Ruchir Sharma, the chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is a decent analysis for someone who is probably writing about Viet Nam from his perch in New … Continue reading Is Vietnam the Next ‘Asian Miracle’?
Going Home Again – The Vietnamese overseas return
Source images: Bitexco Financial Tower, in Ho Chi Minh City © Kevin Miller/Alamy; vendors in Hoi An © John Milligan/Alamy; Tra On, in the Mekong Delta region © Robert Harding/Alamy; Mekong Delta © Jason Langley/Alamy Here's an interesting take on Viet Nam, overseas Vietnamese, and related identity issues that appeared in the June 2020 issue … Continue reading Going Home Again – The Vietnamese overseas return
RE: Racist Aspects of the Recent DHS Proposed Rule to Eliminate F & J Visas Duration of Status (D/S)
Below is letter sent to one of the international education listservs of which I'm a member by a frequent contributor, Boston-based immigration attorney Richard L. Iandoli. (The italics are mine.) He mentions the three white nationalist musketeers. Drop them a line, if the spirit moves you. Stephen Miller, Senior Policy Adviser to the President and … Continue reading RE: Racist Aspects of the Recent DHS Proposed Rule to Eliminate F & J Visas Duration of Status (D/S)
“I can’t be a pessimist because I am alive.”
Photo courtesy of the New York Times Warm Mid-Autumn greetings from Viet Nam! How many of you are familiar with this quote from the great James Baldwin? I can't be a pessimist because I am alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter. So, I am … Continue reading “I can’t be a pessimist because I am alive.”
The Battle of the Coffee Chains in Viet Nam
Inside a Phuc Long tea and coffee outlet in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Tuan Tu. In this November 2019 blog post My Starbucks Story: Made in Viet Nam I told the story about how I reached out to Starbucks in 2005-06 to offer some unsolicited (and free!) advice about entering the Viet Nam market. Fast forward … Continue reading The Battle of the Coffee Chains in Viet Nam
