I recently noticed this exchange on Facebook about the above graphic. (Yes, it's old news. JPMorgan expects US GDP to slow to 2.8% in the fourth quarter and then shrink by 1% during the first three months of 2021.) Comment: The country that started the pandemic has the least effect on GDP. Mmmmh… Response: Sad … Continue reading The Trumpy Mindset: A COVID-19-Related Example
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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”
Letter From Under Secretary Keith Krach to the Governing Boards of American Universities
What a surprise. Here we have Keith Krach, one of Trump's .01% political appointees, lackeys, and cheerleaders grinding an anti-China ax. I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that this 18 August 2020 letter will end up being so much pissing in the wind. I'm thinking trash folder, recycle bin, or … Continue reading Letter From Under Secretary Keith Krach to the Governing Boards of American Universities
Racism in China (& Viet Nam) the Result of “Naivety & Ignorance”
Photo: Alex Leung I was inspired by the story of Jasmine Cochran, a young African-American woman who has been teaching teaching English literature and language since 2016 to students aged 14 to 16 in China, where she lives with her husband and two children. It was serendipity that I came across a BBC profile of … Continue reading Racism in China (& Viet Nam) the Result of “Naivety & Ignorance”
COVID-19 & Viet Nam
This is a screenshot from Jealous Coronavirus, an animated music video and public service announcement from the Viet Nam Ministry of Health. Click on "CC" for English subtitles. The transcript has translations in 22 languages. It is based on Jealous, Vietnamese hit song from 2017 Update on 15.3.20 This Wikipedia article 2020 coronavirus pandemic in … Continue reading COVID-19 & Viet Nam
B-1/2 vs. F-1 Visas to the USA
The adjusted refusal rate for B (tourist/business) visas issued to Vietnamese citizens in 2018 was 26.2%, which means the issuance rate was 73.8%. I wish we had access to the same information for F-1 (student) visas broken down by state and even institution and type of institution. Student visa issuance rates are generally quite a … Continue reading B-1/2 vs. F-1 Visas to the USA
The Latest Fake News on Vietnam
Follow this link or click on the image to read a 12 September 2018 article version of a blog post I wrote on 12 August 2018. Peace, MAA
Viet Nam Ranks 60th Out of 163 in 2018 Global Peace Index
Viet Nam is a peaceful country. For those of us who live here, I'm stating the obvious. According to the latest Global Peace Index report, Viet Nam ranks 60th out of 163 countries surveyed. That ranking is in descending order from the "most peaceful" (Iceland) to the "most dangerous" (Syria). The "state of peace" categories include: very … Continue reading Viet Nam Ranks 60th Out of 163 in 2018 Global Peace Index
The Tip of the Iceberg? “China’s New Oriental accused of US application fraud”
It is thanks to the crack reporting of Reuters that we have this high-profile story about New Oriental Vision Overseas (NOVO) Consulting, a China-based educational consulting company that has allegedly behaved badly. Otherwise, it would be business as usual. You can be sure that this is not an exception to the rule but rather a … Continue reading The Tip of the Iceberg? “China’s New Oriental accused of US application fraud”
An International Educator in Vietnam 
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