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.

‘Superhero’ delivery driver catches toddler falling from 12th-floor balcony in Vietnam

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‘Luckily, the baby fell into my lap,’ says 31-year-old in Hanoi who climbed on to a roof to get closer to dangling child

A two-year-old Vietnamese girl was caught by a delivery driver after falling from 12th floor.
A two-year-old girl was caught by a delivery driver after falling from 12th floor of a building in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photograph: Quang Son

Helen Sullivan@helenrsullivanTue 2 Mar 2021 05.16 GMT The Guardian

A “superhero” delivery driver in Hanoi has saved a two-year-old girl who fell from a 12th-floor balcony.

Nguyen Ngoc Manh, 31, was sitting in his car waiting to make a delivery at 5pm on Sunday when he heard a child crying, he told the Anninhthudo news organisation. A woman started screaming and he stuck his head out of the window to see what was going on.

He told local media in the Vietnam capital that he first thought it was a child having a tantrum, but quickly realised it was something else. The child was nearly 50 metres above ground.

“I saw a girl climbing out of the balcony,” he said. He jumped out of his car and climbed up on to a nearby building to get closer should the child fall.

“I mounted a two-metre-high tile roof to seek a proper position to get the girl,” he said, still trembling from the rescue, according to the Vietnam Times.Baby on small inflatable rescued by coastguard 1km off Turkish coastRead more

Standing on a metallic roof used to store generators, he lost his footing as the child began to fall, he told VN Express International. But he flung himself forward to catch her, landing so hard that he left a dent in the roof.

“I tried to reach out my hand and took the maximum effort to catch the girl,” he said, hoping that at the very least he might be able to prevent her from falling straight to the ground.

In a video of the incident taken from a nearby apartment building, the child can be seen climbing over the balcony railing and on to a thin ledge. Neighbours in a building opposite can be heard crying out to her. The child holds on for a few moments before losing her grip and falling.

“Luckily, the baby fell into my lap,” Nguyen said. “I hurriedly embraced her then saw blood leaking from her mouth, I was very frightened.”

The child was taken to the National Children’s Hospital where doctors told local media she had dislocated her hip but suffered no other injuries. Le Ngoc Duy, a doctor at the hospital, said she was in a cast and being monitored.

BEIJING BOLSTERS THE ROLE OF THE CHINA COAST GUARD

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BY SUMATHY PERMAL | MARCH 1, 2021
AMTI UPDATE

Beijing’s South China Sea moves have ramped up with the passing of a law allowing the China Coast Guard (CCG) to fire on what it identifies as illegal foreign vessels in waters under its jurisdiction. By virtue of China’s nine-dash line claim, this law applies to the entire South China Sea. Given that China’s claims are opposed by other South China Sea claimants as well as numerous non-claimant countries, the law has proven controversial and raises concerns over whether it will increase the risk of confrontation and conflict in the disputed waters.

The Law

On January 22, the standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress passed a new law empowering the CCG to employ “all necessary means” to stop or prevent threats from foreign vessels and specifying the circumstances under which different weapons, “handheld, shipborne, or airborne,” can be deployed, as well as allowing it to demolish structures built by other claimants in areas China considers its own. This new law is another manifestation of the CCG’s expanding role. The roles and practices of the CCG have generally been in line with those of other coast guards around the world. This specific law, however, lays out the powers and duties of the CCG in so called “jurisdictional waters,” which include the highly contested areas in the South China Sea. For now, the law amounts to a figurative shot across the bows of other claimants—but that shot could soon be literal.

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US raise concerns over China’s upstream dams on Mekong

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ANI
02 Mar 2021, 02:18 GMT+10 Asiapacificnews.net

Washington [US], March 1 (ANI): Raising concerns over the dipping water-levels of the Mekong River and upstream dams in China, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Atul Keshap points out that upstream dams in China that exacerbate droughts are hurting the communities and ecosystems that have relied for countless generations on the Mekong River’s natural flood pulse.

Speaking at the Indo-Pacific conference on Strengthening Transboundary River Governance, Keshap on Saturday (local time) said the conference report launched at the event is excellent and summarizes our work examining the challenges facing the Mekong River basin and its ties to the economies, livelihoods, and culture of nearly 70 million people.

“We remain concerned just as we were in October during the conference–that record droughts and the upstream dams in China that exacerbate them are hurting the communities and ecosystems that have relied for countless generations on the Mekong River’s natural flood pulse,” he said as reported by the Frontier Post.

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Golden Globes: Jane Fonda receives Cecil B. DeMille Award

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Golden Globes: Jane Fonda receives Cecil B. DeMille Award

ANI
01 Mar 2021, 13:55 GMT+10

[TĐH: Jane Fonda was an anti-Vietnam-War activist]

Washington [US], March 1 (ANI): At this year’s Golden Globes, American actor Jane Fonda received the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award.

According to Variety, the honour recognises Fonda’s illustrious career in film, one that saw her top the box office and cement her name in movie history by starring in such classics as ‘Klute,’ ‘The China Syndrome’ and ‘9 to 5.’More recently, Fonda has appeared in the Netflix series ‘Grace and Frankie’ as well as ‘Book Club’ and ‘Youth.’ The 83-year-old star’s other films include ‘The Electric Horseman,’ ‘Barefoot in the Park,’ ‘Coming Home, and ‘Julia.’One of her biggest commercial successes was the 1982 release of her first exercise video, ‘Jane Fonda’s Workout,’ which went on to sell 17 million copies and spawned several follow-ups.

Fonda has been equally well known for her political stances – protesting the Vietnam War, campaigning for civil rights, and advocating for feminist causes. Currently, Fonda is leading Fire Drill Fridays as part of a national movement to raise awareness about the climate crisis.

The Cecil B. DeMille Award is the highest honour given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organisation behind the Globes. Past recipients include Robert De Niro, Sophia Loren, Sean Connery, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese, Jodie Foster, Steven Spielberg, and Meryl Streep. Last year’s honouree was Tom Hanks.

A 15-time nominee, Fonda has been awarded Golden Globes for seven-times.

The 78th Golden Globe Awards is taking place nearly two months later than normal, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema and television.

This is the first bi-coastal ceremony, with Tina Fey hosting from the Rainbow Room in New York City, and Amy Poehler hosting from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The nominees for Golden Globes were announced on February 3. (ANI)

The Pitfalls and Promise of America’s Founding Myths

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Maintaining a shared sense of nationhood has always been a struggle for a country defined not by organic ties, but by a commitment to a set of ideals

Smthsonian

Westward Course of Empire
For generations, Americans have sought to understand the sense of shared destiny—or perhaps, civic obligation—that forged the nation. (Emanuel Leutze via Wikimedia Commons under Public domain)

By Colin Woodard SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
FEBRUARY 22, 202122332

Alexander Hamilton had no illusions about what would happen to Americans if the United States collapsed.

If the newly drafted Constitution wasn’t ratified, he warned in Federalist No. 8, a “War between the States,” fought by irregular armies across unfortified borders, was imminent. Large states would overrun small ones. “Plunder and devastation” would march across the landscape, reducing the citizenry to “a state of continual danger” that would nourish authoritarian, militarized

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The United States’ Enhanced & Enduring Commitment to the Pacific Islands Region

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East West Center in Washington

Key officials engaged in United States relations with Pacific Islands countries discussed expanding presence and engagement in the region from development, military, and congressional policy perspectives. They explained how these moves position the United States to deepen strategic partnership with Pacific Island nations in support of a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific. Opening comments followed by moderated discussion covered the development trajectories of Pacific Island countries, COVID-19’s impacts on the region, and US-China dynamics.

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VNExpress: 20 năm trước

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ 1 bình luận

Thứ sáu, 26/2/2021, 00:00 (GMT+7) VNExpress

“Ngày thành lập ư, có thật quan trọng không?”, tôi đã nghĩ thế… Nhưng hôm nay, chợt nhớ về 20 năm trước, kỷ niệm lần lượt hiện về.

Lần đầu tiên tôi “nhìn thấy” Internet là vào năm 1998, nửa năm sau khi Việt Nam chính thức kết nối. Ấn tượng đầu tiên là hầu như không có gì bằng tiếng Việt để đọc. Đang làm biên tập viên báo Lao Động, tôi nhận ra đây sẽ là phương tiện phát hành mới, mảnh đất chưa khai phá cho báo chí. “Mình có thể là người đầu tiên làm điều đó?”, từ lâu tôi mong ước làm một tờ báo thực sự hữu ích cho người dùng.

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Massive boats dredge sand, threaten erosion on rivers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

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Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 17:42 GMT+7 tuoitre

Massive boats dredge sand, threaten erosion on rivers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta
Two sand-mining boats with dredgers extract sand from the Tra On River, only 100 meters away from the shore, in Vinh Long Province, Vietnam, February 23, 2021. Photo: Chi Hanh / Tuoi Tre

Despite facing furious opposition from local residents, a big barge equipped with dredgers is publicly extracting sand off the Tra On River in Vinh Long Province, located in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

The barge has mined sand on the river for a few days, residents of My An Village in the province’s Binh Minh Town, said in a report to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday.

As witnessed by Tuoi Tre, a massive boat numbered LA-07135 appeared at the junction of the Hau River and the Tra On River.

It was accompanied by another boat with registration number BTr-7402, with a perceived load capacity of hundreds of cubic meters of sand.

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How can Mekong Delta fly high if no one gives it wings?

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By Nguyen Trong Binh   February 22, 2021 | 07:51 am GMT+7 vnexpress

On the morning of May 21, 2000, I woke up to a scene I had never witnessed before.

Nguyen Trong Binh
Nguyen Trong Binh
Những hình ảnh tuyệt đẹp về mưu sinh mùa nước nổi ở miền Tây - Báo Người lao động

An endless stream of people driving motorbikes and cars from various provinces in the Mekong Delta like Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, and An Giang flooded the roads near my sister’s house in Vinh Long Province: They had come to see the inauguration of the My Thuan Bridge.

I was one of them.

Excited at the prospect of seeing the country’s first cable-stayed bridge, one that spans the Tien River, a major branch of the Mekong, to link Vinh Long and Tien Giang, I had gone to my sister’s house, eight kilometers from the bridge, the previous day, and got up early the next day for the inauguration.

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Red River’s clear colors blamed on dams, pollution

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By Gia Chinh   February 25, 2021 | 08:09 am GMT+7 vnexpress

With the Red River turning a surprisingly clear blue-green shade in its upstream sections, experts have blamed it on dams and polluting factories.

The Red River as flows through Lao Cai Town in February 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Ngoc Trien
The Red River flowing through Lao Cai Province in February 2021 is clear and not murky. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Ngoc Trien.

For a week now, the Red River section that flows through Lao Cai Province has become so clear that there are some shallow areas towards the banks where the river bed can be seen at a depth of one meter.

The Red River, over 1,100 km long, originates in China and flows through Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc and Hanoi. The river section that flows through Vietnam is about 510 km long.

Nguyen Thi Lan, a resident of Lao Cai, said the water of the Red River in her town was normally a thick brown color, and if seen from afar, it looked like a pinkish strip.

“It is really strange now that the river has such a clear green shade,” she said.

Local people swim in the water full of silt in 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh
Locals people swim in the Red River in 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

Vu Dinh Thuy, deputy director of Lao Cai’s Natural Resources and Environment Department, said this is not the first time the Red River has changed into such a color and this phenomenon has happened around this time of year for the past five years.

“Maybe the reason is that the natural alluvium that has always flowed down naturally from further upstream has been absent; and also northern Vietnam has had no rainfall this season (to muddy the waters).”

Dao Trong Tu, chairman of the Vietnam Rivers Network, also set out two possible reasons for the changes seen in the Red River.

He said a series of hydropower plants and reservoirs operated by China further upstream could have held back alluvium.

The other reason, he said, could be the pollution caused by factories operating in upstream areas and along the banks of the river.

Tu added that theory of pollution would require specific monitoring and study of the water samples to arrive at a final conclusion.Related News:

Thang Long Imperial Citadel expected to become Heritage Park

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Chia sẻ | FaceBookTwitter Email Copy LinkInterested024/02/2021    20:32 GMT+7

The Thang Long Imperial Citadel in the centre of Hanoi should be preserved and developed with a vision to become a Heritage Park, said Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue.

Bac Mon (northern gate) – one of the gates of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel. Photos: VNA

The Hanoi leader said at a working session with its management body – the Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre on February 23 that along with the Co Loa Relic Site, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel is a precious heritage of Hanoi. He stressed the need to promote the citadel relic site’s values in line with tourism development.

He also underscored the importance of strengthening international cooperation in restoring and promoting the values of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

The Thang Long Imperial Citadel was built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty, marking the independence of the Dai Viet.

The Centre Sector of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel was recognised as a special national relic site in 2009 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2010. So far, the city has showed strong performance in implementing seven out of eight commitments to the UNESCO and continued realising the commitment in unification of management.

Currently, five projects to restore and develop the site have been underway and planned.

At the meeting, experts, scientists and researchers held that unifying management is a focus of the UNESCO and Vietnam. They advised Hanoi to coordinate with relevant agencies to speed up the hand over of the remaining area of 1,729 hectares and archaeological items, while focusing on prioritsed projects at the 18 Hoang Dieu Archaeological Site and the Kinh Thien Palace restoration.

Luu Tran Tieu, Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council, suggested that Hanoi should add a number of additional items to the construction of an outdoor museum at the site to draw visitors.  VNA

Vietnamese Tet Programme at Thang Long Imperial Citadel

A Vietnamese Tet (Lunar New Year) Programme with folk rituals and games took place at the Thang Long ….

Evening tour to introduce visitors to the best of Thang Long Imperial Citadel

An evening tour named “Decoding the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long” is scheduled to be launched later ….

National Assembly to elect state leaders in late March

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POLITICSFace BookTwitterBình luậnTin nóng

24/02/2021    08:17 GMT+7 vietnamnet

The upcoming National Assembly session, which will take place from March 24 to April 7, will elect a number of positions in the State apparatus for the 2016-2021 term.

Quốc hội bầu lãnh đạo nhà nước vào cuối tháng 3
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

National Assembly Chair Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said at the 53rd session of the 14th National Assembly Standing Committee which concluded on February 23 that the upcoming National Assembly session, which will take place from March 24 to April 7, will elect a number of positions in the State apparatus for the 2016-2021 term.

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Mực nước sông Mekong thấp ‘đáng lo ngại’, TQ cần cấp thêm dữ liệu về đập

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Đập Đại Triều Sơn chặn sông Mekong ở tỉnh Vân Nam, TQ.

Ủy hội sông Mekong (MRC) hôm thứ Sáu 12/2 cho hay mực nước của sông Mekong đã hạ thấp xuống mức “đáng lo ngại”, một phần do lượng xả bị hạn chế từ các đập thủy điện của Trung Quốc ở thượng nguồn. MRC kêu gọi Bắc Kinh chia sẻ tất cả dữ liệu của họ về lưu lượng nước.

Dòng sông cũng là tuyến đường thủy quan trọng đã chuyển sang màu xanh lam dọc theo biên giới Thái-Lào, thay vì có màu nâu đục thường thấy. Điều này báo hiệu về mực nước nông và lượng phù sa giàu dinh dưỡng bị giảm xuống thấp – một phần do hạn chế về lượng nước xả từ đập Cảnh Hồng ở tỉnh Vân Nam của Trung Quốc, ủy hội liên chính phủ MRC nói.

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Chinese Assessment of New U.S. Naval Strategy

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February 19, 2021 10:28 AM USNI News

The following is a translation of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies assessment of the recently released U.S. maritime strategy, Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power. The China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College made the translation.

The Prelude to All-Encompassing Maritime Competition Between China and the U.S. is about to Begin—An Appraisal of America’s Newest Maritime Strategy

By Shi Xiaoqin and Liu Xiaobo

On December 17, 2020, the U.S. Navy (USN), U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) jointly issued a new maritime strategy entitled Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power. This tri-service strategy is a follow-on to A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, which the three services jointly issued in 2007 and 2015. Two characteristics of the document deserve attention: one, it directly regards China as an opponent and two, it simultaneously classifies China and Russia as opponents. Compared with the U.S. maritime strategy issued at the height of the Cold War in 1982, this document might be regarded as the first maritime strategy document issued after the inauguration of Sino-U.S. strategic competition.

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Rush Limbaugh Dies at 70; Turned Talk Radio Into a Right-Wing Attack Machine

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With a following of 15 million and a divisive style of mockery, grievance and denigrating language, he was a force in reshaping American conservatism.

[TĐH: A tidbit of the history of present day US politics. How the extremist voices become powerful in the public opinion domain.]

By Robert D. McFadden and Michael M. Grynbaum

  • Feb. 17, 2021Updated 6:42 p.m. ET

Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing radio megastar whose slashing, divisive style of mockery and grievance reshaped American conservatism, denigrating Democrats, environmentalists, “feminazis” (his term) and other liberals while presaging the rise of Donald J. Trump, died on Wednesday at his home in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 70.

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