Vietnam's revenge

A tidbit from Stephen Kotkin's article on Vietnam in the January 30 New Republic
(requires $ubscription although you can get a taste here):

At 17.5 percent, Vietnam has a significantly higher degree of per capita Internet penetration than China (10 percent) or Indonesia (8 percent)....

Vietnam ranks sixth globally in recorded hits on MIT's "open courseware" site, which offers information from more than fifteen hundred college courses -- exclusively in English. If nothing else, this testifies to aspirations.

Actually, the site (which is not the same as an MIT education but no doubt a sight better than none at all) does offer at least some courses translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, and both simplified and traditional Chinese. Among the most frequently visited are courses in classical mechanics, linear algebra, electricity and magnetism, and circuits and electronics.

What should be the last word on the Mitt campaign

David Weigel at Reason's Hit and Run blog calls this the least convincing political quote of the week: "Americans do not respect believers of convenience. Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world." - Mitt Romney, Dec. 6

The candidate alludes to Mark 18:36 (King James Version), where Jesus is quoted as saying, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Careful readers will note that Jesus said nothing whatsoever about gaining the presidency.