Vinmart to Win-Mart

10/05/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary vingroup, vinmart, winmart

Credit: MAA The renaming of Vinmart to WinMart is an example of serendipity in the corporate world. Vingroup sold its retail subsidiary VinCommerce, which operates VinMart, VinMart+ and agriculture arm VinEco, to Masan Group in a merger deal in December 2019. There are other recent examples of Vingroup selling subsidiaries, or stakes in the same, … Continue reading Vinmart to Win-Mart

The Shadowy Business of International Education

06/05/202206/05/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary canada, commission-based reccruitment, international education, international student recruitment

Credit: Academic Matters (OCUFA) "According to Broitman, the economics of the system reveal a fundamental truth: a student who walks into an agent’s shop is not the client—they’re the product. If an agent is getting commissions from an unremarkable community college in rural Ontario, then their only motivation is to get every teenager who walks … Continue reading The Shadowy Business of International Education

Marijuana & Viet Nam

03/05/202205/05/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary cannabis, industrial hemp, legalization, marijuana, vienam

Source Here's a topic I have yet to address on the hallowed pages of this venerable blog. I'm confident that it encompasses the holy trinity of the main themes, Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue, the trifecta of blogging, so to speak. You be the judge. Why Not? In response to an article about the tax … Continue reading Marijuana & Viet Nam

“Nothing is Impossible” Finds It Impossible to Tell the Truth About Vietnam

29/04/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Books, Commentary bob kerrey, fulbright university vietnam, john kerry, madeleine albright, nothing is impossible, ted osius, viet nam, vietnam

Here's my latest for CounterPunch. Thanks to Rutgers University Press for the review copy. Better late than never. Here are some excerpts, including the two paragraphs followed by a section entitled The Measure of the Man. Enjoy (or not)! Just before the Lunar New Year, I finally received my review copy of Nothing is Impossible: America’s … Continue reading “Nothing is Impossible” Finds It Impossible to Tell the Truth About Vietnam

Ha Long Before & in the Midst of Hyperdevelopment

27/04/202226/04/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary halong bay, hyperdevelopment, overdevelopment

Photo by MAA My first trip to Ha Long Bay was 26 years ago this June. I had traveled to Viet Nam, the second time that year, to look in on a summer study abroad program I created. I went with a group of US students and two program staff. I remember the students complaining … Continue reading Ha Long Before & in the Midst of Hyperdevelopment

It’s Time to Ban Tobacco Products

14/04/202224/04/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary cancer, smoking, tobacco, viet nam, vietnam

Our vocation can nourish our understanding and compassion or erode them. We should be awake to the consequences, far and near, of the way we earn our living. - Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926-2022) Credit: Vietnam smoking via Michael Hero / Shutterstock.com It's time to ban tobacco products. There, I said it, what some are thinking but … Continue reading It’s Time to Ban Tobacco Products

Vietnam: Fewer Natural Forests, Increasingly More Golf Courses

11/04/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary ecocide, environmental degradation, golf courses, pollution, sustainable development, viet nam, vietnam

This essay is from a website called TheVietnamese with the tagline Independent Journalism Matter. What it describes is yet another example of development in Viet Nam that is far from sustainable and of ecocide, defined as the destruction of the natural environment by deliberate or negligent human action. Who will benefit? That's easy. The company … Continue reading Vietnam: Fewer Natural Forests, Increasingly More Golf Courses

Faux Wine: Up Close and Personal

06/04/202205/04/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary buyer beware, carcinogenic coffee, consumer movement, counterfeit products, fake products, recycled condoms, vietnam, wine

Here's a bottle of "wine" that I received as a Tết (Lunar New Year) gift. I ran out of my regular supply so I opened it - with low expectations. One whiff and I knew it was essentially grape juice in a wine bottle with what looked like a fake (read cheap) cork that didn't … Continue reading Faux Wine: Up Close and Personal

Ford Ranger & the US Army in Viet Nam

04/04/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary ford ranger, us army, us war, vietnam war

As seen on a recent drive into Hanoi. This is what I'd expect to see some yahoo in the US driving with a gun rack, a handgun in the glove compartment, and a MAGA bumper sticker. Here in Viet Nam, you can look at this nasty symbolism in one of two ways: 1) it's offensive … Continue reading Ford Ranger & the US Army in Viet Nam

Liquid Sugar a Hot Item in Viet Nam

31/03/2022 Mark A. Ashwill Commentary coca-cola, coke, liquid sugar, sugary drinks, vietnam

Photo by MAA Every time I pull into the parking lot of Mega Market in Hanoi, I let out a groan, after seeing a wall of plastic-covered red, thousands of liters of Coca-Cola waiting to be shelved and purchased by thirsty customers looking for their next sugar fix. In case you're wondering and even if … Continue reading Liquid Sugar a Hot Item in Viet Nam