Tác giả: Trần Đình Hoành

I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn. . I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law. I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam. In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship. Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam. I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN. I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net). I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries. I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi: "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011) "10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013) "Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023) I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.

North Korean Leader’s Top Enforcer Is Now the One Getting Purged

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By CHOE SANG-HUN FEB. 3, 2017

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, at an undisclosed location in January. The decision by Mr. Kim to purge his top enforcer highlights the turmoil that has engulfed the upper reaches of his regime. Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

SEOUL, South Korea — The chief of North Korea’s powerful secret police, long considered the right-hand man for the top leader, Kim Jong-un, has been dismissed on charges of corruption and abuse of power, the South Korean government said on Friday.

The firing of the chief, Gen. Kim Won-hong, as minister of state security highlights the turmoil that has engulfed the upper reaches of Mr. Kim’s government. The general is the latest in a series of high-ranking party and military officials Mr. Kim has fired, demoted or executed as he tried to consolidate his totalitarian power through what South Korean officials and North Korean defectors have called a “reign of terror.”

North Korea No. 2 threat to Beijing after U.S., Chinese military strategists say

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at what is believed to be the tip of a rocket warhead after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile at an unidentified location in this undated photo released in March. | REUTERS

Japan Times

Kyodo Jan 31, 2017

TAIPEI, KYODO – North Korea is seen as the No. 2 threat to China after the United States, according to a recent document written by strategists with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and seen by Kyodo News.

It shows that despite the two neighboring countries’ traditionally friendly diplomatic ties, North Korea is seen, from a military perspective, as a threat in view of its nuclear arms and missile programs.

The document, issued in May 2016, is a wartime exercise guideline for designed to prepare in the event of threats from hypothetical enemies.

In their analysis of the situation facing China, the strategists cite “five potential threats,” the foremost of them being the United States and its “rebalance” to Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “North Korea No. 2 threat to Beijing after U.S., Chinese military strategists say” →

Trump Tells South Korea That Alliance With U.S. Is ‘Ironclad’

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By CHOE SANG-HUN JAN. 30, 2017

Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting leader of South Korea, spoke by phone with President Trump from Seoul on Monday. The call followed North Korea’s warning that it could test an intercontinental ballistic missile “anytime.” Yonhap/European Pressphoto Agency

SEOUL, South Korea — President Trump assured South Korea’s acting president on Monday of the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to defend the country, agreeing with Seoul to strengthen joint defense capabilities against North Korea.

Mr. Trump’s assurances came amid anxiety in South Korea over the future of the alliance with the United States. During his campaign, Mr. Trump cast some doubt on the United States’ defense and trade commitments, saying that South Korea was not paying enough to help keep 28,500 American troops in the country.

But speaking by phone to Hwang Kyo-ahn, the acting president of South Korea, Mr. Trump said that the coming visit to South Korea by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reflected the close friendship of the two countries and the importance of their alliance. Mr. Mattis is scheduled to visit South Korea on Thursday on his first official trip abroad, which also includes a stop in Japan.

“President Trump reiterated our ironclad commitment to defend the R.O.K., including through the provision of extended deterrence, using the full range of military capabilities,” the White House said in a statement after Mr. Trump’s phone conversation with Mr. Hwang, using the initials for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Billionaire Is Reported Seized From Hong Kong Hotel and Taken Into China

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By MICHAEL FORSYTHE JAN. 31, 2017

Xiao Jianhua at a park in Beijing in an undated photograph. He has been missing since Friday. The New York Times

HONG KONG — A Chinese-born billionaire who has forged financial ties with some of the country’s most powerful families was taken by the Chinese police from his apartment at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong late last week and spirited across the border, a person close to the businessman said on Tuesday.

The billionaire, Xiao Jianhua, who has been missing since Friday, is in police custody in China, where he apparently is safe, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. Mr. Xiao is a Canadian citizen with an Antiguan diplomatic passport, though he was born in China.

His removal from Hong Kong appears to contravene the “one country, two systems” rule that allows the former British colony to run its own affairs and bars the Chinese police from operating here.

Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh to Be Relocated to Remote Island

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By MAHER SATTARJAN. 31, 2017

The Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, this month. The United Nations has called the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group denied citizenship in Myanmar, the most persecuted minority in the world. Allison Joyce/Getty Images

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s government is moving forward with a plan to relocate Rohingya refugees staying in camps near the country’s largest tourist resort towns to a remote island that is underwater for much of the year.

A cabinet order on Thursday directed officials to have the refugees transferred to Thengar Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal that is lashed by high tides year round and submerged during the monsoon season. The suggestion that they be moved to the largely uninhabitable marshland several hours by boat from the mainland drew criticism from around the world.

Dangerous Fruit: Mystery of Deadly Outbreaks in India Is Solved

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By ELLEN BARRYJAN. 31, 2017 New York Times

A man comforted his sick daughter at a hospital in Muzaffarpur, India, in 2013. Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times

NEW DELHI — Three years ago, Dr. Rajesh Yadav, an investigator with the India Epidemic Intelligence Service, moved to the city of Muzaffarpur, the site of one of the country’s most mysterious outbreaks. And he waited.

Every year in mid-May, as temperatures reached scorching heights, parents took children who had been healthy the night before to the hospital. The children awakened with a high-pitch cry in the early morning, many parents said.

Then the youths began having seizures and slipping into comas. In about 40 percent of cases, they died.

Every year in July, with the arrival of monsoon rains, the outbreak ended as suddenly as it began.

Beginning in 1995, investigations variously ascribed the phenomenon to heat stroke; to infections carried by rats, bats or sand flies; or to pesticides used in the region’s ubiquitous lychee orchards. But there were few signposts for investigators.

Continue reading on New York Times

Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea’s problem of elderly poverty

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“In order to survive, I just close my eyes and get it over with,” a 78-year-old sex worker tells the investigative programme Get Rea!

An elderly ‘Bacchus lady’ approached by the programme Get Rea! on the streets of Seoul.

SOUTH KOREA – It’s 10.30am and Madam Park (not her real name) is out prowling the streets of central Jongo district, Seoul, waiting to make a quick sale.

This 78-year-old targets grey-haired men, in practising the world’s oldest profession.

At Seoul’s heart, next to the busy business district, is a street where sex is for sale by women old enough to be grandmothers. These so-called ‘Bacchus ladies’ – named after a popular energy drink – are the subject of an investigation by Channel NewsAsia’s Get Rea! documentary on South Korea’s elderly poor, which premieres on Jan 31.

At her age, Mdm Park should be at home, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Instead, she stands on the streets for at least 6 hours a day, waiting for customers.

“In order to survive, I just close my eyes and get it over with,” she said in Korean. “In one day, if there is good luck, we meet three to four men and receive about 100,000 won (S$120).”

She does this so that she can afford the US$250 (S$350) worth of arthritis medicine a month. Her arthritis is so severe that she can barely walk.

When Channel NewsAsia approached her on the street, she said: “You came to play? To meet someone? The room fee is US$10. The fee for the woman is US$30.” Tiếp tục đọc “Granny prostitutes reflect South Korea’s problem of elderly poverty” →

Philippines says U.S. military to upgrade bases, defense deal remains intact

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Reuters Jan 28, 2017 Japan Times

MANILA – The United States will upgrade and build facilities on Philippine military bases this year, Manila’s defense minister said on Thursday, bolstering an alliance strained by President Rodrigo Duterte’s opposition to a U.S. troop presence.

The Pentagon gave the green light to start the work as part of an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a 2014 pact that Duterte has threatened to scrap during barrages of hostility towards the former colonial power.

“EDCA is still on,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a news conference. Tiếp tục đọc “Philippines says U.S. military to upgrade bases, defense deal remains intact” →

As Trump stresses ‘America First,’ China plays the world leader

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by

Reuters Jan 29, 2017 Japan Times

BEIJING – China is calmly mapping out global leadership aspirations from trade to climate change, drawing distinctions between President Xi Jinping’s steady hand and new U.S. President Donald Trump, whose first days have been marked by media feuds and protests.

Just days ahead of Trump taking office, a self-assured Xi was in Switzerland as the keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, offering a vigorous defense of globalization and signaling Beijing’s desire to play a bigger role on the world stage. Tiếp tục đọc “As Trump stresses ‘America First,’ China plays the world leader” →

‘How Do I Get Back Home?’ Iranians Turned Away From Flights to U.S.

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They were turned back from flights to the United States in Tehran and in the major transfer hubs of Istanbul and Dubai. Some of those who arrived in the United States after midnight, when the decree went into effect, were held or deported, rights groups and airline representatives said.

No one, not passengers, airline representatives or even United States border control officials, seemed to know how to interpret the executive order that went into effect at midnight on Friday. Under the new policy, refugees, immigrants and almost anyone from seven countries deemed to be hotbeds of terrorism are banned from the United States for 90 days, pending a review of policies.

Tiếp tục đọc “‘How Do I Get Back Home?’ Iranians Turned Away From Flights to U.S.” →

U Ko Ni, a Prominent Muslim Lawyer in Myanmar, Is Fatally Shot

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By WAI MOE JAN. 29, 2017

Police and security officers guarding the scene where U Ko Ni, a prominent Muslim lawyer and adviser to Myanmar’s leader, was fatally shot on Sunday at Yangon International Airport Nyein Chan Naing/European Pressphoto Agency

YANGON, Myanmar — U Ko Ni, a prominent human rights lawyer and a legal adviser to Myanmar’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was fatally shot at Yangon International Airport on Sunday.

Mr. Ko Ni, 65, a Muslim and a member of the ruling National League for Democracy, was returning from Indonesia with about 20 other government officials and civic leaders, who had traveled there as part of a government-organized trip to discuss democracy and conflict resolution.

Tiếp tục đọc “U Ko Ni, a Prominent Muslim Lawyer in Myanmar, Is Fatally Shot” →

Văn học Miền Nam Tự Do (1954-1975)

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Chào các bạn,

Trên Website Tạp Chí Da Màu, tác giả Nguyễn Vy Khanh có đăng chuỗi bài 2 kỳ, Văn Học Miền Nam Tự Do (1954-1975). Nhận thấy đây là chuỗi bài có giá trị nghiên cứu, mình để link vào đây cho các bạn.

Đây đó trong bài, ngôn ngữ có khuynh hướng chính trị của tác giả, mình đưa link bài này là để nghiên cứu văn học nghệ thuật và không quan tâm đến từ ngữ chính trị trong bài. Các bạn đọc tự do đọc kiểu của các bạn.

Văn học Miền Nam Tự Do (1954-1975) – Phần I (1954-1963)

Văn học Miền Nam Tự Do (1954-1975) – Phần II (1964-1975)

Mến,

Hoành

China may be developing ‘breakthrough’ long-range air-to-air missile

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Japan Times

Reuters

BEIJING – China may be testing a new, long-range air-to-air missile that could take out early warning aircraft and aerial refueling aircraft, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday, after pictures of the new missile surfaced online.

President Xi Jinping is overseeing an ambitious military modernization program that includes stealth jets and aircraft carriers. The country has also tested anti-satellite missiles. Tiếp tục đọc “China may be developing ‘breakthrough’ long-range air-to-air missile” →

Vietnam punishes 4 officials over Formosa environmental disaster

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 26 Jan 2017 20:45
  • Updated 26 Jan 2017 20:52

File photo of Vietnamese workers demonstrating outside the Formosa Plastics Corp headquarters in Taipei. (Photo: AFP/Sam Yeh)

HANOI: Vietnam said on Thursday (Jan 26) it would punish four officials over one of its worst environmental disasters, caused by a unit of Taiwan conglomerate Formosa Plastics, in the first action against government officials ten months after the accident.

Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, which runs an US$11 billion steel plant, polluted more than 200km (125 miles) of coastline in April, killing more than 100 tonnes of fish and devastating the environment, jobs and economies of four provinces. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam punishes 4 officials over Formosa environmental disaster” →

South Korea Can Keep Buddha Statue Stolen From Japan, Court Says

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New York Times

By CHOE SANG-HUN JAN. 26, 2017

Sekko Tanaka, a Buddhist monk on the Japanese island of Tsushima, in 2013, holding a photograph of a Buddha statue that was stolen the year before. Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

SEOUL, South Korea — A court ruled Thursday that a South Korean temple can have a Buddha statue that was stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012, on the grounds that it had been taken from Korea centuries earlier by Japanese pirates.

Japan called the ruling “regrettable” and urged the statue’s return. The dispute is being closely watched by both governments, whose relations are often roiled by historical disputes.

Tiếp tục đọc “South Korea Can Keep Buddha Statue Stolen From Japan, Court Says” →