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

29/04/2022 maavn 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

It’s Time to Ban Tobacco Products

14/04/202224/04/2022 maavn 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 maavn 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

How Wealth Reduces Compassion

14/03/2022 maavn Articles, Commentary compassion, nouveau riche, philanthropy, USA, viet nam, vietnam, wealth

Source: The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley I recently stumbled upon this 2012 Scientific American article that makes the point, using the results of various studies, that people's empathy for others is generally linked to their economic status, hence the subtitle, As riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline. … Continue reading How Wealth Reduces Compassion

A Vietnamese tradition inspires a genealogical journey

24/02/2022 maavn Articles, Commentary 1610, 1620, ancestor worship, genealogy, mayflower, new england, settler colonialism, viet nam, vietnam

Here's my latest essay for VNExpress International. In it I mention a December 2021 article From New England to Vietnam: Settler Colonialism in Cross-Cultural Perspective that was published behind a paywall. Since VNExpress doesn't include links to other sites, follow this link to another blog post to read it free of charge. Photo courtesy of … Continue reading A Vietnamese tradition inspires a genealogical journey

Trash, Trash, Everywhere, Everywhere!

19/02/202222/02/2022 maavn Commentary ecocide, environmental pollution, environmental protection, single-use plastic, tipping point, viet nam, vietnam

Photo by MAA. This is a common sight in Viet Nam, especially in the countryside. Like a magnet, a small trash dump becomes a large one. Let's take a partial inventory of the items in this disgusting pile of garbage, shall we? ---lots of plastic bags (it can take up to 1,000 years for a … Continue reading Trash, Trash, Everywhere, Everywhere!

Small Business Loyalty

15/02/202215/02/2022 maavn Commentary economy, small businesses, viet nam, vietnam

Bottom center is a barbershop. Something I've noticed about the small market sector in Viet Nam is people's loyalty to a range of family-run businesses that are at risk of being driven to extinction by large companies and chains that promise and often offer greater selection and lower prices. (This is a trend not unique … Continue reading Small Business Loyalty

Some Reminders for US Higher Education Colleagues: It’s Still a Jungle Out There

17/01/2022 maavn Commentary cheating, educational consulting, study in the USA, unethical business practices, viet nam, vietnam, vietnamese parents, Vietnamese students

Courtesy of IT Governance Services My first post of Solar 2022! When it comes to working with partners in the educational consulting industry, choose carefully, as with all relationships, personal and professional. Here are some of the unethical practices I've written about that continue unabated because of a lack of oversight and accountability in this … Continue reading Some Reminders for US Higher Education Colleagues: It’s Still a Jungle Out There

Another Year of Living (and Dying) with COVID-19

30/12/202111/01/2022 maavn Commentary, Updates 2021, 2022, COVID-19, delta variant, mass vaccinations, viet nam, vietnam

As 2021 draws to a merciful close, I thought this would be a good time to glance at the latest COVID-19 stats in Viet Nam, including the ones that give me and others hope. While most people tend to obsess over the daily number of infections, I periodically check the number of vaccinations because a vaccinated … Continue reading Another Year of Living (and Dying) with COVID-19

Christmas in Vietnam: bookending a long festival season

23/12/202111/01/2022 maavn Articles, Commentary christmas, lunar new year, solar new year, tet, viet nam, vietnam

Here's my latest essay for VNExpress International. Even though the percentage of Vietnamese who celebrate December 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ is in the single digits, Christmas has evolved into a full-fledged secular holiday in recent years. A sure sign Christmas is approaching is when elaborate and colorful holiday displays at banks and … Continue reading Christmas in Vietnam: bookending a long festival season

An International Educator in Viet Nam

Information, Insights & (Frequently) Intrigue

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