This piece about the US commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War was published in The Huffington Post blog on 9 April 2013. I introduced it with this excerpt from a 2003 essay written by war veteran Steve Banko: One of our victims was searched when the shooting stopped and the bleeding continued and was … Continue reading “The 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War: Revising the Past, Revisiting the Lies”
Commentary
The Double-Edged Sword That Is US Higher Education
I was recently invited by Madame Ton Nu Thi Ninh, President of the Tri Viet Institute for International Studies and Exchange within Ton Duc Thang University and Senior Advisor to the President of TDT University, to speak to interested students, faculty and staff about US higher education in comparative perspective with an implicit focus on Vietnam. As with people, every … Continue reading The Double-Edged Sword That Is US Higher Education
Not What They Signed Up For
"The bittersweet fact is that America exports some of the world's best and worst higher education." (MAA) When Albert Anarwat applied to the for-profit Aristotle University, in California, the Ghanaian student said he asked the university if the institution was accredited. Not only was he told yes, he said, but he also was told that … Continue reading Not What They Signed Up For
“how to buy a phd”
It's amazing how many people visit my blog in a vain attempt, no pun intended, to find out how to buy a degree, especially a Ph.D. In addition to "how to buy a phd," other search engine terms include life experience phd, get a phd based on job experience, buying phd and buy university degrees. Some want something for nothing, as … Continue reading “how to buy a phd”
Hagel Hearings & The Vietnam War/Kill Anything That Moves (KATM)
Below is another Vietnam Studies Group exchange about Nick Turse's new book Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam (KATM). I responded to a colleague from the University of Arizona whose main criticisms are that Turse "tells us nothing new" and that he commits a sin of omission by excluding information that contradicts this colleague's theory - hypothesis … Continue reading Hagel Hearings & The Vietnam War/Kill Anything That Moves (KATM)
The US Student Visa: It’s Not Rocket Science!
This is a slightly expanded version of a short article I wrote for Capstone Vietnam's StudyUSA Higher Education and Community College Fair Guides and for publication on a news website. For those of you whose dream it is to study in the USA but who worry about the visa process, worry no more! The truth is that US consular … Continue reading The US Student Visa: It’s Not Rocket Science!
Calling a Spade a Spade: Stanley Karnow, Stanley McChrystal & Vietnam
Below is a recent exchange on the Vietnam Studies Group (VSG) listserv. Members include Vietnam scholars and practitioners, current and former diplomats and spooks ("agents or people involved in espionage"), journalists, non-governmental (NGO) organization staff, etc. Quite a few are overseas Vietnamese (Việt kiều). Read from the bottom up. Bernard Kalb, the journalist and former US State Department spokesman during … Continue reading Calling a Spade a Spade: Stanley Karnow, Stanley McChrystal & Vietnam
Winning the Hearts & Minds of Young Vietnamese
Note: If you’re an employee of the US State Department, do not pass go, do not collect $200, close this tab immediately. This post contains a “sensitive” Wikileaks cable that originated in the US Embassy-Hanoi and commentary on the same. If you read it, you are breaking the law, not to mention disobeying Madam Secretary. Please pardon … Continue reading Winning the Hearts & Minds of Young Vietnamese
Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
This post is quite obviously NOT about education or US-Vietnam educational exchange. It's about history, its impact on the present, and the United States' (in)ability to overcome its past. The German word that describes this process, Vergangenheitsbewältigung, implies dealing with, learning from, but also overcoming the past. It's about a horrible truth that Nick Turse tells his fellow citizens and the world about … Continue reading Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam
The “Agent Issue”: Yes, No, Maybe
aka "Talking Out of Both Sides of Its Mouth" - The US State Department will have nothing to do with education agents, the US Commerce Department facilitates agent matchmaking for US institutions of higher education as part of its Gold Key Service and the US Homeland Security Department sponsors an "Agent Internet Lounge" at a … Continue reading The “Agent Issue”: Yes, No, Maybe
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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