As a woman who broke into the male-dominated business world during the Vietnam War, I felt the novel created the perfect archetype of the women’s liberation pioneers with female protagonist Lisette Vo. Lisette is the first female correspondent to become the face of a major US TV network in what became known as, “America’s television war.” Continue reading

“This is criminal behavior plain and simple. Wrongdoers directly attack the weakest link—the consumers who rely on cryptocurrency exchanges and their digital wallets for their transactions. They lure their victims in through elaborate phishing campaigns, drive-by downloads, and other subterfuges,” says Jeremy Samide, CEO of Stealthcare. Continue reading

images, giving visitors the most extensive understanding of the city that became the capital of Vietnam when Nguyen Anh took control in 1789. Though in American minds, Hue is often thought of as the site of one of the most intense battles of the Vietnam War, Exploring Huế takes us on a journey of discovery far into theist through the ancient Nguyễn dynasty in the heartland of Thừa Thiên Huế province. Continue reading

If you want The Boston Globe to cover your company, you must build personal relations with its reporters. The Boston Globe's Assistant Managing Editor Larry Edelman and Hiawatha Bray, who has been covering technology for The Globe since 1995, encourage editorial visits, especially when the executives are willing to come to the newsroom. Bray joked, “I just met with a company and they were all from MIT, so I figured it must be important.” Edelman emphasized, “Even though information is available online, reporters still have to get out of the office to cover stories in person and PR folks have to build relationships with reporters. News is a relationship business – a good batting average though is worse than a major league baseball player.” Continue reading

How do authors create characters from real-life experiences. Says Dick Pirozzolo, "Escape from Saigon" coauthor, "The creative process is complicated. Some characters, who bear no resemblance to actual people, were inspired by snippets of my experience in Vietnam over the years. So I thought it would help to match a scene in Escape from Saigon, to one of those experiences to show how real life can evolve into fiction." The incident occurred years after the war had ended when I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels; the subterranean labyrinth of passageways, offices, barracks, hospital, and conference rooms where the Viet Cong were hold up until they emerged during the 1968 Tet Offensive. The Cu Chi Tunnel experience was about a former Viet Cong officer with a New Jersey accent. the incident was recast in the novel as an argument over American baseball. Continue reading

if you aspire to attain Next Level PR— the kind of public relations that generates exposure in A-List traditional and online media, establishes your CEO as a thought leader, influences stakeholders, builds brand equity and generates qualified leads, then you must always be mindful of journalistic fundamentals. MediaCollege.com lists the five basics of a news story to which Pirozzolo Company has added five more. Let’s consider each one and how your can turn your public relations campaign into a news-making powerhouse. Dick Pirozzolo is a Boston Public Relations leader whose PR campaigns have helped companies become publicly traded or acquired by public corporations, Continue reading

Says Max Tegmark, "Let’s, talk about the growing power of AI, and then a bit about steering it, and then a bit about where we want to go with it. The power of AI is improving dramatically. Whereas past accomplishments like when we got overthrown in chess by IBM Deep Blue, we hear the intelligence of the machine was largely programmed in by humans who knew how to play chess. It won simply because it could think fast and remember more. But, in contrast, Alpha Go and the new Alpha Zero that was just announced a few days ago took 3,000 years of human Go games, millions of them and Go books and poems and wisdom and threw them all in the trash. And just learned from scratch one day and was able to blow away everything." Continue reading

Great Powers, Grand Strategies is edited by Anders Corr Ph.D. He writes: Great Powers, Grand Strategies delivers much-needed insight into China’s behavior and desire to project its power worldwide. Its behavior in this vital region for shipping, fishing, and oil exploration has on occasion sparked armed conflict between China’s warships and Philippine and Vietnamese commercial and military vessels. Amidst the ongoing disputes, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and other Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with a stake in maintaining peaceful, multifaceted trade relations with China are being blackmailed by China’s overreach. What is more, the United States needs maintain a Naval presence in the Pacific or cede American influence and power to China. Continue reading

In his review "Great Powers, Grand Strategies" Dick Pirozzolo writes: Throughout 2017, U.S. foreign policy has been conflicted, confusing, and churlish with the US withdrawal from the Transpacific Partnership, spats between the President and the Secretary of State, a paucity of foreign affairs officers and the threat of armed conflict between the US and North Korea involving China and Russia. In this muddled foreign policy environment comes "Great Powers, Grand Strategies", offering a thoughtful analysis of how a regional trouble spot in the Pacific—the South China Sea—can have far reaching global consequences that impact major world powers. Continue reading

They tell the story through the lives of war correspondents Sam Esposito and Lisette Vo, sandwiched between a terse narrative about the final decline of opposition to the north. Sam returns to Vietnam as a Washington, D.C., newspaper correspondent after the Kennedy assassination, wanting to get away from the U.S. He’s remained there for 13 years. Lisette is half-French, half-Vietnamese, and American, working for a broadcast news company. “She portends the rise of women in the media,” Pirozzolo said. They remain until the bitter end because of their work. “They’re journalists,” Dick Pirozzolo said Continue reading

"With assured identity, Estonia has eliminated the need to request personal information repeatedly. Once your personal information is on file, starting at birth, Estonian law prohibits any government agency from requesting that information ever again," stated former president of Estonia Toomas Ilves in an article by Dick Pirozzolo. Continue reading

This year’s Global Cybersecurity Day conference theme is Cyber-Defense Strategy for a Nation, featuring discussions by noted world authorities: “Can We Develop Norms to Control Cyber Conflict?” by Prof. Joseph Nye; “A Cyber-Defense Strategy for a Nation” by Prof. Nazli Choucri “Applying Estonia’s Cyber-Defense Strategy Internationally” by Estonia former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves Global Cybersecurity Day was created by Boston Global Fourm to inspire the shared responsibility of the world’s citizens to protect the Internet’s safety and transparency. Continue reading

"Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees," award-winning author C.L. Hoang's newest book chronicling the return to his ancestral homeland after a four-decade absence. "Rain Falling on Tamarind Trees," is a stunningly beautiful and personal account of the country. It was just released on November 18th and is widely available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all online bookstores, in both paperback and eBook editions. Continue reading

Best way to thank someone for their service is to make sure employers are considering them for jobs that utilize the leadership and management skills acquired in the military. Most notably, their can-do spirit. Military folks believe they can achieve anything. After returning from Vietnam, I served with the 253 Combat Communication Group in Massachusetts. We could install all the navigation, air traffic control and communication needed for a temporary airport, while the Navy Seabees, built the runway and erected tents for the whole lot of us. Done quickly and as a matter of routine. And consider Mike Cotton, who created a surf club at China Beach while serving in Vietnam so that airmen and soldiers could get a taste of home when they were off duty. It would be great to hear from veterans about their job hunting experiences, how the military helped them with their careers and also from companies looking to hire smart, motivated veterans with a can-do attitude. Continue reading

“Thank you for your service!” What better way to honor and thank our veterans for their service, than to make sure they come home to a job that recognizes the skills they acquired in the military. Things have changed for the better. When Vietnam veterans returned, we met resistance from potential employers who wrongly claimed military people are too regimented, unfamiliar with latest civilian technology, and can’t think for themselves. Sometimes, opposition to the war resulted in opposition to veterans. Continue reading

Ornstein tells his readers that Vietnam Vets "...have been waiting eight months for a decision to compensate. Yet more than eight months later — and after his department promised a decision by Nov. 1 — the VA essentially punted, issuing a statement late Wednesday saying it would “further explore” the issue and pushing its decision to some undisclosed point in the future." Continue reading

In a ProPublica article by Charles Ornstein, published days before Veterans Day, the Veterans Administration told Vietnam Vets who suffer from bladder cancer, thyroid disease, hypertension and Parkinson's like symptoms associated with exposure to Agent Orange to keep on waiting to find out whether they will be compensated for exposure to the deadly defoliant used throughout the protracted war in Southeast Asia. Continue reading

Trump Administration policy on energy, energy trade, and climate change initiatives between the U.S. and Canada are among the issues to be covered at The New England-Canada Business Council’s (NECBC) 25th Annual Energy Trade and Technology Conference being held November 8 and 9 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. Continue reading

Boston Voyager recently profiled Pirozzolo Company client J/Brice Design International . This firm is making a big impression with its residential interior designs for the new luxury condominiums and apartment building on Boston's waterfront the Seaport District. Boston Yoyager identifies local businesses, entrepreneurs, independent artists, institutions that matter and those who contribute to making Boston a world-class destination. Part of their objective is to showcase the leaders in Boston's independent creative community, so the editors chose J/Brice Design International for one of its Most Inspiring Stories. The article is about J/Brice Design's beginning, its influence as a hospitality design innovator, and its outlook for the future. Continue reading

In his latest blog post, Dick Pirozzolo, Author of "Escape from Saigon" and Boston Public Relations Guru writes about the mystery, intrigue, romance and danger of Saigon in novels, movies and even comics over the past decades. Saigon, like Casablanca, Shanghai or Istanbul, is a city synonymous with intrigue, mystery, danger and romance. Perhaps that is why so many stories are set in Saigon—once known as the Pearl of the Orient and celebrated for its Parisian boulevards, French colonial villas, intimate piano bars and of course brothels. Most folks can tick off "The Quiet American" by Graham Greene, "Good Morning Vietnam" by Adrian Cronaur, "The Love"r by Marguerite Duras and the musical classic "Miss Saigon." Perhaps one day "Escape from Saigon" will rank with the classics. Continue reading

The new PBS-TV series, “Make48, dubbed reality TV that works, hopes to foster imagination, creativity, problem solving and the inventive spirit,” says "Make48 CEO", Tom Gray." In addition to Squatty Potty, Scrub Daddy and other popular brands, Stanley Black & Decker is the Make48 exclusive production underwriter. Says Tim Perra, Vice President, Public Affairs for Stanley Black & Decker, “This show is a reminder that everyone has great ideas. We hope Make48 inspires other individuals to see their ideas through to fruition.” Continue reading

Scholars and international relations authorities gathered at Harvard University recently to urge a diplomatic solution to the US-North Korean conflict and an end to the maelstrom of threats and personal insults. The symposium, organized by the Boston Global Forum (BGF) and the Michael Dukakis Institute for Leadership and Innovation as part of its annual World Reconciliation Day events here and in Japan, was moderated by former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, who cofounded the BGF think tank in 2012. In his article on the meeting Nguyen Anh Tuan focused on the words of international relations authorities were Prof. Joseph Nye, Asst. Secretary of Defense during the Clinton Administration, who called for employing soft power diplomacy to reduce tensions, and Professor Sung-Yoon Lee of theFletcher School of Diplomacy, Tufts University, who offered his analysis of North Korea. Continue reading

Soft power innovator Joseph Nye (r) and Gov. Michael Dukakis will address media, diplomats, scholars, and business leaders at World Reconciliation Day Event “A single misstep can turn political brinksmanship into a global conflagration. Nowhere is there a greater risk today than with North Korea,” Gov. Michael Dukakis, chairman, The Boston Global Forum Boston Global Forum scholars and experts on international relations will discuss solutions to the nuclear missile crisis posed by North Korea; with recommendations to be aired during the World Reconciliation Day Symposium at 8:30 AM to Noon, Sept. 9th, Loeb House, Harvard University, 17 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Mass. Coverage is invited, preregistration required, Continue reading

Tony Mariano on the evacuation and fall of saigon in his words: On April 29th of 1975 Bing Crosby began to croon “White Christmas” over Armed Forces Radio, the prearranged signal the begin the evacuation of all Americans and others to the Navy’s 7th fleet just offshore in the South China Sea. I was hired that day as a field producer for ABC News in New York and sent from Hong Kong to the Philippines with instructions to manage logistics in Manila and to coordinate a satellite feed for ABC after picking up Ken Kashiwahara at the Navy base in Subic Bay. I also was told to cover the first evacuee allowed off the USS Blue Ridge. The TV station was ready and I got word the chief enlisted man had left the ship and I was on my way. I scrambled to an awaiting helicopter at the station and I took a quick flight to Subic Bay to meet Ed Bradley CBS News who had drawn the short straw for this assignment. The first thing he did was hand me very heavy Navy duffle bag stuffed with every piece of raw film from every news agency covering the evacuation and mass exodus out to the Navy fleet. The recorded history of the end of an era was in my hands and I it was my responsibility to get it back to New York as quickly as possible for distribution, processing and broadcast. Continue reading

Life with my father Frank Mariano ABC-TV war correspondent by Tony Mariano: My mother and I would call that house home and for the first time in our lives we were all together as a family. But my father, a former Army helicopter pilot, and now a civilian, was compelled to return to Vietnam. He went with $1,500 in his pocket in late ’68 figuratively trading in his grip on a helicopter’s cyclic and collective to hold a microphone and begin a new career as a stringer for ABC News Radio at age 39. Though he was away from home, I was comforted by the fact that I could hear his voice and see him on TV. Continue reading