From Sonny Le, a Hyphen advisory board member
For two million Vietnamese in America, our journey here began on April 30, 1975, the day the Vietnam War officially ended. The longest and one of the deadliest conflicts of the 20th Century ended 30 years ago this week.
Here is a look at the Vietnam War in numbers. The sources are Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century's war death tolls.
These numbers exclude the war between 1954, when Vietnam was divided, and 1965, when the US officially entered the war, or took over from the French.
American deaths: 58,226; wounded: 153,303
Allies deaths (Filipinos, Koreans, Australians, Thais, New Zealanders & Canadians): 7,000
Vietnamese military deaths (North & South): 1.8 million
Vietnamese civilian deaths (North & South): 2 million, and counting
Furthermore, these numbers exclude casualties as the result of political executions, imprisonment, famine, and the refugee EXODUS. It's all part of the larger conflict involved the peoples of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, that seems to have lasted for almost a century. Though no longer with bullets and on the battlefield, it is still raging on in parts of the expatriate communities.
*****
Listen to Sonny's commentary on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" which aired earlier this week here.
See him on CNN tonight at 7:30 pm Pacific Time/10:30 pm Eastern Time.
Posted by Melissa at 2:48 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
From Sonny Le, a Hyphen advisory board member
For two million Vietnamese in America, our journey here began on April 30, 1975, the day the Vietnam War officially ended. The longest and one of the deadliest conflicts of the 20th Century ended 30 years ago this week.
Here is a look at the Vietnam War in numbers. The sources are Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century's war death tolls.
These numbers exclude the war between 1954, when Vietnam was divided, and 1965, when the US officially entered the war, or took over from the French.
American deaths: 58,226; wounded: 153,303
Allies deaths (Filipinos, Koreans, Australians, Thais, New Zealanders & Canadians): 7,000
Vietnamese military deaths (North & South): 1.8 million
Vietnamese civilian deaths (North & South): 2 million, and counting
Furthermore, these numbers exclude casualties as the result of political executions, imprisonment, famine, and the refugee EXODUS. It's all part of the larger conflict involved the peoples of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, that seems to have lasted for almost a century. Though no longer with bullets and on the battlefield, it is still raging on in parts of the expatriate communities.
*****
Listen to Sonny's commentary on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" which aired earlier this week here.
See him on CNN tonight at 7:30 pm Pacific Time/10:30 pm Eastern Time.
Posted by Melissa at 2:48 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
From Sonny Le, a Hyphen advisory board member
For two million Vietnamese in America, our journey here began on April 30, 1975, the day the Vietnam War officially ended. The longest and one of the deadliest conflicts of the 20th Century ended 30 years ago this week.
Here is a look at the Vietnam War in numbers. The sources are Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century's war death tolls.
These numbers exclude the war between 1954, when Vietnam was divided, and 1965, when the US officially entered the war, or took over from the French.
American deaths: 58,226; wounded: 153,303
Allies deaths (Filipinos, Koreans, Australians, Thais, New Zealanders & Canadians): 7,000
Vietnamese military deaths (North & South): 1.8 million
Vietnamese civilian deaths (North & South): 2 million, and counting
Furthermore, these numbers exclude casualties as the result of political executions, imprisonment, famine, and the refugee EXODUS. It's all part of the larger conflict involved the peoples of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, that seems to have lasted for almost a century. Though no longer with bullets and on the battlefield, it is still raging on in parts of the expatriate communities.
*****
Listen to Sonny's commentary on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" which aired earlier this week here.
See him on CNN tonight at 7:30 pm Pacific Time/10:30 pm Eastern Time.
Posted by Melissa at 2:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Seems like every couple of months, we write about some radio DJs who say stupid racist shit on the air. This time it's two hosts on New Jersey 101.5 FM's talking about Jun Choi, who is running for mayor in Edison, NJ. Details here at Poplicks, where you'll also find a link to the transcript. (Hot 97's Miss Jones, by the way, is back on the air.)
Here's an excerpt:
Craig Carton: I'm using Jun Choi [said in fast-paced, high-pitched, squeaky voice] as an example of a larger problem.
Ray Rossi: and you know...
Carton: We're forgetting the fact that we’re Americans.
Rossi: You know that he’s going to get the... whatever that vote is
Carton: And here's the bottom line... no specific minority group or foreign group should ever ever dictate the outcome of an American election. I don't care if the Chinese population in Edison has quadrupled in the last year, Chinese should never dictate the outcome of an election, Americans should.
****
Caller: You just said it all, the last couple of … callers, I guess they don't know that they live in America and we're being overrun. I had just moved out of Edison because of what has happened in the past 10 years… Orientals are all along, the whole complete route 27. And Indians have taken over Edison in north and all over.
Carton: Damn Orientals and Indians .
Caller: I..i moved out..36 years I've lived in Edison
Carton: And what was the biggest problem you had with the Orientals and the Indians?
Caller: I can't handle them! There's no American people anymore.
Carton: Eh..
Caller: There shoving us the hell out!
Carton: It's like you're a foreigner in your own country isn't it?
Posted by Melissa at 4:46 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
Seems like every couple of months, we write about some radio DJs who say stupid racist shit on the air. This time it's two hosts on New Jersey 101.5 FM's talking about Jun Choi, who is running for mayor in Edison, NJ. Details here at Poplicks, where you'll also find a link to the transcript. (Hot 97's Miss Jones, by the way, is back on the air.)
Here's an excerpt:
Craig Carton: I'm using Jun Choi [said in fast-paced, high-pitched, squeaky voice] as an example of a larger problem.
Ray Rossi: and you know...
Carton: We're forgetting the fact that we’re Americans.
Rossi: You know that he’s going to get the... whatever that vote is
Carton: And here's the bottom line... no specific minority group or foreign group should ever ever dictate the outcome of an American election. I don't care if the Chinese population in Edison has quadrupled in the last year, Chinese should never dictate the outcome of an election, Americans should.
****
Caller: You just said it all, the last couple of … callers, I guess they don't know that they live in America and we're being overrun. I had just moved out of Edison because of what has happened in the past 10 years… Orientals are all along, the whole complete route 27. And Indians have taken over Edison in north and all over.
Carton: Damn Orientals and Indians .
Caller: I..i moved out..36 years I've lived in Edison
Carton: And what was the biggest problem you had with the Orientals and the Indians?
Caller: I can't handle them! There's no American people anymore.
Carton: Eh..
Caller: There shoving us the hell out!
Carton: It's like you're a foreigner in your own country isn't it?
Posted by Melissa at 4:46 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
Seems like every couple of months, we write about some radio DJs who say stupid racist shit on the air. This time it's two hosts on New Jersey 101.5 FM's talking about Jun Choi, who is running for mayor in Edison, NJ. Details here at Poplicks, where you'll also find a link to the transcript. (Hot 97's Miss Jones, by the way, is back on the air.)
Here's an excerpt:
Craig Carton: I'm using Jun Choi [said in fast-paced, high-pitched, squeaky voice] as an example of a larger problem.
Ray Rossi: and you know...
Carton: We're forgetting the fact that we’re Americans.
Rossi: You know that he’s going to get the... whatever that vote is
Carton: And here's the bottom line... no specific minority group or foreign group should ever ever dictate the outcome of an American election. I don't care if the Chinese population in Edison has quadrupled in the last year, Chinese should never dictate the outcome of an election, Americans should.
****
Caller: You just said it all, the last couple of … callers, I guess they don't know that they live in America and we're being overrun. I had just moved out of Edison because of what has happened in the past 10 years… Orientals are all along, the whole complete route 27. And Indians have taken over Edison in north and all over.
Carton: Damn Orientals and Indians .
Caller: I..i moved out..36 years I've lived in Edison
Carton: And what was the biggest problem you had with the Orientals and the Indians?
Caller: I can't handle them! There's no American people anymore.
Carton: Eh..
Caller: There shoving us the hell out!
Carton: It's like you're a foreigner in your own country isn't it?
Posted by Melissa at 4:46 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack
Over the past few years there have been quite a few 'revisited' movies that somehow make their way into US theatres. Movies that originated elsewhere. Some are 'reinterpretations,' or '(heavily)inspired by,' while others are outright cut and pasted facsimiles of the originals (though they star actors who are a bit more "American" in deference to the American audiences). Some rather obvious examples are Amenábar's "Abre Los Ojos" (AKA "Vanilla Sky"), Shimuzu's "Ju On" (AKA "The Grudge") and Nakata's "Ringu" (AKA "The Ring").
Recently I heard rumors that "Holy"wood is planning to remake the Wai Keung Lau/Siu Fai Mak HK film "Infernal Affairs,"(Wu Jian Dao) with a star-studded cast directed by Martin Scorsese. The cast includes Leo "The Titanic Aviator" DiCaprio, Marky "Mark" Wahlberg, and Matt "One-hit Wonder" Damon, in addition to others. The original film has garnered critical acclaim for it's direction, storyline, production, and acting. I've seen the original and it is, in my opinion, worthy of much of the kudos it's been given. I wonder why a re-interpretation is necessary?
Some have said that the remake craze merely pays homage to the original directors/actors/producers. Others have said that they hope to spark interest in global cinema by doing such a thing (somewhat of a similar line of reasoning Sean Combs utilized in his blatant use of old R&B/Soul tracks in their entirety) in other words, getting people to start crate digging for movies. Still others say they hope to give access to ideas that may not be otherwise seen by the average mainstream moviegoer.
Perhaps recycling has so permeated our popular culture that it has even affected our movies and music? And this is not to say film producers outside the United States haven't and still don't bite US movies for concepts. It is, to all intents and purposes, a two-way street. What do y'all out there think about this phenomenon? I'm torn, sort of like Natalie Imbruglia.
Posted by at 7:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Over the past few years there have been quite a few 'revisited' movies that somehow make their way into US theatres. Movies that originated elsewhere. Some are 'reinterpretations,' or '(heavily)inspired by,' while others are outright cut and pasted facsimiles of the originals (though they star actors who are a bit more "American" in deference to the American audiences). Some rather obvious examples are Amenábar's "Abre Los Ojos" (AKA "Vanilla Sky"), Shimuzu's "Ju On" (AKA "The Grudge") and Nakata's "Ringu" (AKA "The Ring").
Recently I heard rumors that "Holy"wood is planning to remake the Wai Keung Lau/Siu Fai Mak HK film "Infernal Affairs,"(Wu Jian Dao) with a star-studded cast directed by Martin Scorsese. The cast includes Leo "The Titanic Aviator" DiCaprio, Marky "Mark" Wahlberg, and Matt "One-hit Wonder" Damon, in addition to others. The original film has garnered critical acclaim for it's direction, storyline, production, and acting. I've seen the original and it is, in my opinion, worthy of much of the kudos it's been given. I wonder why a re-interpretation is necessary?
Some have said that the remake craze merely pays homage to the original directors/actors/producers. Others have said that they hope to spark interest in global cinema by doing such a thing (somewhat of a similar line of reasoning Sean Combs utilized in his blatant use of old R&B/Soul tracks in their entirety) in other words, getting people to start crate digging for movies. Still others say they hope to give access to ideas that may not be otherwise seen by the average mainstream moviegoer.
Perhaps recycling has so permeated our popular culture that it has even affected our movies and music? And this is not to say film producers outside the United States haven't and still don't bite US movies for concepts. It is, to all intents and purposes, a two-way street. What do y'all out there think about this phenomenon? I'm torn, sort of like Natalie Imbruglia.
Posted by at 7:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Over the past few years there have been quite a few 'revisited' movies that somehow make their way into US theatres. Movies that originated elsewhere. Some are 'reinterpretations,' or '(heavily)inspired by,' while others are outright cut and pasted facsimiles of the originals (though they star actors who are a bit more "American" in deference to the American audiences). Some rather obvious examples are Amenábar's "Abre Los Ojos" (AKA "Vanilla Sky"), Shimuzu's "Ju On" (AKA "The Grudge") and Nakata's "Ringu" (AKA "The Ring").
Recently I heard rumors that "Holy"wood is planning to remake the Wai Keung Lau/Siu Fai Mak HK film "Infernal Affairs,"(Wu Jian Dao) with a star-studded cast directed by Martin Scorsese. The cast includes Leo "The Titanic Aviator" DiCaprio, Marky "Mark" Wahlberg, and Matt "One-hit Wonder" Damon, in addition to others. The original film has garnered critical acclaim for it's direction, storyline, production, and acting. I've seen the original and it is, in my opinion, worthy of much of the kudos it's been given. I wonder why a re-interpretation is necessary?
Some have said that the remake craze merely pays homage to the original directors/actors/producers. Others have said that they hope to spark interest in global cinema by doing such a thing (somewhat of a similar line of reasoning Sean Combs utilized in his blatant use of old R&B/Soul tracks in their entirety) in other words, getting people to start crate digging for movies. Still others say they hope to give access to ideas that may not be otherwise seen by the average mainstream moviegoer.
Perhaps recycling has so permeated our popular culture that it has even affected our movies and music? And this is not to say film producers outside the United States haven't and still don't bite US movies for concepts. It is, to all intents and purposes, a two-way street. What do y'all out there think about this phenomenon? I'm torn, sort of like Natalie Imbruglia.
Posted by at 7:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
When we say that Hyphen is a grassroots, by-the-seat-of-our-pants organization, we're not exaggerating. We do EVERYTHING ourselves. Not because we're particularly industrious, but because it saves money. Subscriptions, bookstore sales and advertising doesn't pay all the bills. Not even close. Our writers, editors, designers, illustrators and photographers generously donate their talent. We would like to pay these amazing people. But for now, we've got to pinch every penny twice. If you’ve ever donated to us, you can be assured we’re not spending your money recklessly. In fact, we've done some pretty ghetto things to stretch our dollars to the max (doing our part to keep that stereotype of stingy Asians intact).
One thing we do is mail the magazines ourselves. If there's a subscription card in one of your magazines, it's because one of us put it in there by hand. We put all the mags into envelopes. We lug them to the post office. We mail via bulk mail, which is cheap and it's cheap because we do half the work for the postal service. We have to sort all the mail by zip code, bundle them in very specific ways following arcane rules. Hell, even the way you rubber band the bundles has to be exact (lengthwise first, then short ways next). It took us 4 to 5 hours on Saturday to complete this task. And yesterday Stefanie the Art Director drove them over to the post office.
So, subscribers, they're on their way to you now. They should be in all our Bay Area bookstores by this weekend. And they should get to bookstores in other parts of the country the first or second week of May (let's just say the second week to be safe). Our gratitude to Ann Ninh, our bulk mail mistress, who oversaw the whole production. Thank you Ann! You’re the best!
Hope y’all like the new issue. Send comments to us at hyphen@hyphenmagazine.com
Posted by Melissa at 1:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
When we say that Hyphen is a grassroots, by-the-seat-of-our-pants organization, we're not exaggerating. We do EVERYTHING ourselves. Not because we're particularly industrious, but because it saves money. Subscriptions, bookstore sales and advertising doesn't pay all the bills. Not even close. Our writers, editors, designers, illustrators and photographers generously donate their talent. We would like to pay these amazing people. But for now, we've got to pinch every penny twice. If you’ve ever donated to us, you can be assured we’re not spending your money recklessly. In fact, we've done some pretty ghetto things to stretch our dollars to the max (doing our part to keep that stereotype of stingy Asians intact).
One thing we do is mail the magazines ourselves. If there's a subscription card in one of your magazines, it's because one of us put it in there by hand. We put all the mags into envelopes. We lug them to the post office. We mail via bulk mail, which is cheap and it's cheap because we do half the work for the postal service. We have to sort all the mail by zip code, bundle them in very specific ways following arcane rules. Hell, even the way you rubber band the bundles has to be exact (lengthwise first, then short ways next). It took us 4 to 5 hours on Saturday to complete this task. And yesterday Stefanie the Art Director drove them over to the post office.
So, subscribers, they're on their way to you now. They should be in all our Bay Area bookstores by this weekend. And they should get to bookstores in other parts of the country the first or second week of May (let's just say the second week to be safe). Our gratitude to Ann Ninh, our bulk mail mistress, who oversaw the whole production. Thank you Ann! You’re the best!
Hope y’all like the new issue. Send comments to us at hyphen@hyphenmagazine.com
Posted by Melissa at 1:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
When we say that Hyphen is a grassroots, by-the-seat-of-our-pants organization, we're not exaggerating. We do EVERYTHING ourselves. Not because we're particularly industrious, but because it saves money. Subscriptions, bookstore sales and advertising doesn't pay all the bills. Not even close. Our writers, editors, designers, illustrators and photographers generously donate their talent. We would like to pay these amazing people. But for now, we've got to pinch every penny twice. If you’ve ever donated to us, you can be assured we’re not spending your money recklessly. In fact, we've done some pretty ghetto things to stretch our dollars to the max (doing our part to keep that stereotype of stingy Asians intact).
One thing we do is mail the magazines ourselves. If there's a subscription card in one of your magazines, it's because one of us put it in there by hand. We put all the mags into envelopes. We lug them to the post office. We mail via bulk mail, which is cheap and it's cheap because we do half the work for the postal service. We have to sort all the mail by zip code, bundle them in very specific ways following arcane rules. Hell, even the way you rubber band the bundles has to be exact (lengthwise first, then short ways next). It took us 4 to 5 hours on Saturday to complete this task. And yesterday Stefanie the Art Director drove them over to the post office.
So, subscribers, they're on their way to you now. They should be in all our Bay Area bookstores by this weekend. And they should get to bookstores in other parts of the country the first or second week of May (let's just say the second week to be safe). Our gratitude to Ann Ninh, our bulk mail mistress, who oversaw the whole production. Thank you Ann! You’re the best!
Hope y’all like the new issue. Send comments to us at hyphen@hyphenmagazine.com
Posted by Melissa at 1:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Speaking of racism (and aren't we always?) a little exercise in journalistic spin this week illustrated to me how well accusations of racism sell news.
Last week a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury in the case against two Palo Alto cops who beat up a homeless man. Yes, race was at issue, since it was Palo Alto and the homeless man was black. The twist inserted into this story by the Palo Alto Online News is that the two cops were Chinese American, and the jury split along racial lines: the eight non-Asian jurors voted to convict, and the four Asian jurors voted to acquit.
Most of the jurors' questions hinged around the issue of whether or not the cops had a right to detain the homeless man, who hadn't committed a crime (he was sleeping in his car.) Neighbors had called in a complaint, the man had spooked a woman in a nearby car, and the cops claimed that they felt threatened by the man's behavior when they attempted to question him. However, whether this all constitutes a legal cause to detain the man is very much in question.
Of the eight convicting jurors, one was African American and the rest "appeared" to be white. Of the four acquitting jurors, two were Chinese, one was Filipino, and one was Vietnamese.
The strange thing about the article referenced above is that it makes an issue of the race of the acquitting jurors, yet none of the participants interviewed accused them of racial bias. The prosecutor raised the issue of race in the complaints against and possible detention of a black homeless man, pointing out that residents of that white neighborhood would routinely call in complaints about black men. But again, no one directly accused the Asian American jurors of favoring the cops, or possibly discounting the homeless man, on the basis of race.
Yet, though there are no direct accusations, there's the indirect accusation made by not accusing. You know, creating an insinuation out of nothing. "Oh, the rumors about his pedophilia are completely unfounded ...", while a true statement of someone about whom there are no rumors of pedophilia, is intended to mislead, and suffices to both accuse and convict someone of pedophilia.
Likewise in this article, the statement by the defense attorney is taken entirely out of context: "To call [the acquitting jurors] all Asians is a little bit misleading. My discussions with them is they looked at the facts and the law and didn't believe the D.A. proved his case." We can assume that he uttered this howler in response to a question from the reporter regarding the racial issue of the jurors. Yet the fact that he said it at all seems to indicate that the race of the jurors was an issue completely on its own. However, if the reporter created the issue out of thin air, simply by asking the question, how would we know?
The above statement, coming together with a quote from Sunday Udoffia, the sole black juror ("There was not even a chance that those four (would) change their mind") appears pretty damning, although you'll notice that Udoffia made no reference to race whatsoever.
It's possible that the article is just poorly written, or that the reporter was responding to definite complaints of racism in the jury, which then evaporated when the reporter asked direct questions. On the other hand, the vagueness, the mistiness of this article's premise and point, could also be the effects of the wool being pulled over our eyes. How would we ever know?
And what's the point of making misty spins in the internet air, you ask. Well, had you ever heard of the Palo Alto Online News before this? Neither had I. And yet know I'm linking to their website. Racism sells news.
Posted by claire at 11:44 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Speaking of racism (and aren't we always?) a little exercise in journalistic spin this week illustrated to me how well accusations of racism sell news.
Last week a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury in the case against two Palo Alto cops who beat up a homeless man. Yes, race was at issue, since it was Palo Alto and the homeless man was black. The twist inserted into this story by the Palo Alto Online News is that the two cops were Chinese American, and the jury split along racial lines: the eight non-Asian jurors voted to convict, and the four Asian jurors voted to acquit.
Most of the jurors' questions hinged around the issue of whether or not the cops had a right to detain the homeless man, who hadn't committed a crime (he was sleeping in his car.) Neighbors had called in a complaint, the man had spooked a woman in a nearby car, and the cops claimed that they felt threatened by the man's behavior when they attempted to question him. However, whether this all constitutes a legal cause to detain the man is very much in question.
Of the eight convicting jurors, one was African American and the rest "appeared" to be white. Of the four acquitting jurors, two were Chinese, one was Filipino, and one was Vietnamese.
The strange thing about the article referenced above is that it makes an issue of the race of the acquitting jurors, yet none of the participants interviewed accused them of racial bias. The prosecutor raised the issue of race in the complaints against and possible detention of a black homeless man, pointing out that residents of that white neighborhood would routinely call in complaints about black men. But again, no one directly accused the Asian American jurors of favoring the cops, or possibly discounting the homeless man, on the basis of race.
Yet, though there are no direct accusations, there's the indirect accusation made by not accusing. You know, creating an insinuation out of nothing. "Oh, the rumors about his pedophilia are completely unfounded ...", while a true statement of someone about whom there are no rumors of pedophilia, is intended to mislead, and suffices to both accuse and convict someone of pedophilia.
Likewise in this article, the statement by the defense attorney is taken entirely out of context: "To call [the acquitting jurors] all Asians is a little bit misleading. My discussions with them is they looked at the facts and the law and didn't believe the D.A. proved his case." We can assume that he uttered this howler in response to a question from the reporter regarding the racial issue of the jurors. Yet the fact that he said it at all seems to indicate that the race of the jurors was an issue completely on its own. However, if the reporter created the issue out of thin air, simply by asking the question, how would we know?
The above statement, coming together with a quote from Sunday Udoffia, the sole black juror ("There was not even a chance that those four (would) change their mind") appears pretty damning, although you'll notice that Udoffia made no reference to race whatsoever.
It's possible that the article is just poorly written, or that the reporter was responding to definite complaints of racism in the jury, which then evaporated when the reporter asked direct questions. On the other hand, the vagueness, the mistiness of this article's premise and point, could also be the effects of the wool being pulled over our eyes. How would we ever know?
And what's the point of making misty spins in the internet air, you ask. Well, had you ever heard of the Palo Alto Online News before this? Neither had I. And yet know I'm linking to their website. Racism sells news.
Posted by claire at 11:44 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Speaking of racism (and aren't we always?) a little exercise in journalistic spin this week illustrated to me how well accusations of racism sell news.
Last week a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury in the case against two Palo Alto cops who beat up a homeless man. Yes, race was at issue, since it was Palo Alto and the homeless man was black. The twist inserted into this story by the Palo Alto Online News is that the two cops were Chinese American, and the jury split along racial lines: the eight non-Asian jurors voted to convict, and the four Asian jurors voted to acquit.
Most of the jurors' questions hinged around the issue of whether or not the cops had a right to detain the homeless man, who hadn't committed a crime (he was sleeping in his car.) Neighbors had called in a complaint, the man had spooked a woman in a nearby car, and the cops claimed that they felt threatened by the man's behavior when they attempted to question him. However, whether this all constitutes a legal cause to detain the man is very much in question.
Of the eight convicting jurors, one was African American and the rest "appeared" to be white. Of the four acquitting jurors, two were Chinese, one was Filipino, and one was Vietnamese.
The strange thing about the article referenced above is that it makes an issue of the race of the acquitting jurors, yet none of the participants interviewed accused them of racial bias. The prosecutor raised the issue of race in the complaints against and possible detention of a black homeless man, pointing out that residents of that white neighborhood would routinely call in complaints about black men. But again, no one directly accused the Asian American jurors of favoring the cops, or possibly discounting the homeless man, on the basis of race.
Yet, though there are no direct accusations, there's the indirect accusation made by not accusing. You know, creating an insinuation out of nothing. "Oh, the rumors about his pedophilia are completely unfounded ...", while a true statement of someone about whom there are no rumors of pedophilia, is intended to mislead, and suffices to both accuse and convict someone of pedophilia.
Likewise in this article, the statement by the defense attorney is taken entirely out of context: "To call [the acquitting jurors] all Asians is a little bit misleading. My discussions with them is they looked at the facts and the law and didn't believe the D.A. proved his case." We can assume that he uttered this howler in response to a question from the reporter regarding the racial issue of the jurors. Yet the fact that he said it at all seems to indicate that the race of the jurors was an issue completely on its own. However, if the reporter created the issue out of thin air, simply by asking the question, how would we know?
The above statement, coming together with a quote from Sunday Udoffia, the sole black juror ("There was not even a chance that those four (would) change their mind") appears pretty damning, although you'll notice that Udoffia made no reference to race whatsoever.
It's possible that the article is just poorly written, or that the reporter was responding to definite complaints of racism in the jury, which then evaporated when the reporter asked direct questions. On the other hand, the vagueness, the mistiness of this article's premise and point, could also be the effects of the wool being pulled over our eyes. How would we ever know?
And what's the point of making misty spins in the internet air, you ask. Well, had you ever heard of the Palo Alto Online News before this? Neither had I. And yet know I'm linking to their website. Racism sells news.
Posted by claire at 11:44 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
With the scandal-ridden resignation of city Assessor Mabel Teng, Supervisor Fiona Ma will be the only Asian American to hold elected office at City Hall in San Francisco, one of the most Asian American of American cities.
The San Francisco Chronicle tries to explain why in a story today. Earlier stories by the Chronicle publicized accusations of cronyism by Teng, which contributed to her resignation. She's going through a divorce and says she's quitting for personal reasons.
Politics in San Francisco is crazy, and Asian Americans haven't put together the coalitions needed to be a real player in the city, and are often pitted against each other.
There's a huge population of Chinese Americans in San Francisco, many of whom are home owners and tend to be more conservative (which in San Francisco is a moderate Democrat). There are newer immigrants who don't take part in the process and various other factions from the left to the right. I think that's the misnomer, that there is a "Asian American" group that thinks of one mind. I suppose that's good thing for many reasons, but it doesn't help get people elected.
Posted by harry at 11:10 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
With the scandal-ridden resignation of city Assessor Mabel Teng, Supervisor Fiona Ma will be the only Asian American to hold elected office at City Hall in San Francisco, one of the most Asian American of American cities.
The San Francisco Chronicle tries to explain why in a story today. Earlier stories by the Chronicle publicized accusations of cronyism by Teng, which contributed to her resignation. She's going through a divorce and says she's quitting for personal reasons.
Politics in San Francisco is crazy, and Asian Americans haven't put together the coalitions needed to be a real player in the city, and are often pitted against each other.
There's a huge population of Chinese Americans in San Francisco, many of whom are home owners and tend to be more conservative (which in San Francisco is a moderate Democrat). There are newer immigrants who don't take part in the process and various other factions from the left to the right. I think that's the misnomer, that there is a "Asian American" group that thinks of one mind. I suppose that's good thing for many reasons, but it doesn't help get people elected.
Posted by harry at 11:10 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
With the scandal-ridden resignation of city Assessor Mabel Teng, Supervisor Fiona Ma will be the only Asian American to hold elected office at City Hall in San Francisco, one of the most Asian American of American cities.
The San Francisco Chronicle tries to explain why in a story today. Earlier stories by the Chronicle publicized accusations of cronyism by Teng, which contributed to her resignation. She's going through a divorce and says she's quitting for personal reasons.
Politics in San Francisco is crazy, and Asian Americans haven't put together the coalitions needed to be a real player in the city, and are often pitted against each other.
There's a huge population of Chinese Americans in San Francisco, many of whom are home owners and tend to be more conservative (which in San Francisco is a moderate Democrat). There are newer immigrants who don't take part in the process and various other factions from the left to the right. I think that's the misnomer, that there is a "Asian American" group that thinks of one mind. I suppose that's good thing for many reasons, but it doesn't help get people elected.
Posted by harry at 11:10 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Whoo-hoo! Issue 6 was just delivered today at 3 PM. Thanks to erin for holing up in her apartment all day, waiting for them to arrive. And thanks to Willie, the UPS guy, for helping us lug them up all those flights of stairs.
Subscribers, your copies will be in the mail Monday.
Posted by Melissa at 4:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Whoo-hoo! Issue 6 was just delivered today at 3 PM. Thanks to erin for holing up in her apartment all day, waiting for them to arrive. And thanks to Willie, the UPS guy, for helping us lug them up all those flights of stairs.
Subscribers, your copies will be in the mail Monday.
Posted by Melissa at 4:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Whoo-hoo! Issue 6 was just delivered today at 3 PM. Thanks to erin for holing up in her apartment all day, waiting for them to arrive. And thanks to Willie, the UPS guy, for helping us lug them up all those flights of stairs.
Subscribers, your copies will be in the mail Monday.
Posted by Melissa at 4:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
One fun thing about working at a magazine is that you get a lot of mail. Checking the mail has always been one of my favorite things to do every day. But unlike your mailbox at home, where you find a lot of bills, our PO Box always has something unexpected. The best are subscriptions from readers, an affirmation of our work. We love the scribbled notes. And your checks of course. But we really get excited about folks subscribing from a ways. No disrespect to our local readers in the Bay, but when mail comes in from Wisconsin or Maryland, our imaginations start to run wild. Who are you? How did you hear about us? What are you like?
Of course, we get a lot of junk as well. Some of it goes straight in the recycling bin. Save the Manatee people, just stop please. It's clear that a lot of folks who send us mail haven't even looked at a copy of Hyphen. If they did, they'd realize they shouldn't have bothered.
And then, once in a blue moon, we get something really cool. The latest batch of mail contained an envelope that had been spray painted. Always a good sign. Someone handy enough with a spray can? Gotta be something good inside.
And there was.
Seems Jeff Chang has asked artist Mike Stern and his clothing company Origin to make t-shirts based on ideas in Jeff’s book about the hip-hop generation, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. That’s me in the photo trying on the t-shirt that was sent over. Stern made three limited-edition designs. (I like this one the best, though. How did they know to send this one?) There's countless people out there making t-shirts, but this one, I would actually wear. Check out the other designs here.
Posted by Melissa at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
One fun thing about working at a magazine is that you get a lot of mail. Checking the mail has always been one of my favorite things to do every day. But unlike your mailbox at home, where you find a lot of bills, our PO Box always has something unexpected. The best are subscriptions from readers, an affirmation of our work. We love the scribbled notes. And your checks of course. But we really get excited about folks subscribing from a ways. No disrespect to our local readers in the Bay, but when mail comes in from Wisconsin or Maryland, our imaginations start to run wild. Who are you? How did you hear about us? What are you like?
Of course, we get a lot of junk as well. Some of it goes straight in the recycling bin. Save the Manatee people, just stop please. It's clear that a lot of folks who send us mail haven't even looked at a copy of Hyphen. If they did, they'd realize they shouldn't have bothered.
And then, once in a blue moon, we get something really cool. The latest batch of mail contained an envelope that had been spray painted. Always a good sign. Someone handy enough with a spray can? Gotta be something good inside.
And there was.
Seems Jeff Chang has asked artist Mike Stern and his clothing company Origin to make t-shirts based on ideas in Jeff’s book about the hip-hop generation, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. That’s me in the photo trying on the t-shirt that was sent over. Stern made three limited-edition designs. (I like this one the best, though. How did they know to send this one?) There's countless people out there making t-shirts, but this one, I would actually wear. Check out the other designs here.
Posted by Melissa at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
One fun thing about working at a magazine is that you get a lot of mail. Checking the mail has always been one of my favorite things to do every day. But unlike your mailbox at home, where you find a lot of bills, our PO Box always has something unexpected. The best are subscriptions from readers, an affirmation of our work. We love the scribbled notes. And your checks of course. But we really get excited about folks subscribing from a ways. No disrespect to our local readers in the Bay, but when mail comes in from Wisconsin or Maryland, our imaginations start to run wild. Who are you? How did you hear about us? What are you like?
Of course, we get a lot of junk as well. Some of it goes straight in the recycling bin. Save the Manatee people, just stop please. It's clear that a lot of folks who send us mail haven't even looked at a copy of Hyphen. If they did, they'd realize they shouldn't have bothered.
And then, once in a blue moon, we get something really cool. The latest batch of mail contained an envelope that had been spray painted. Always a good sign. Someone handy enough with a spray can? Gotta be something good inside.
And there was.
Seems Jeff Chang has asked artist Mike Stern and his clothing company Origin to make t-shirts based on ideas in Jeff’s book about the hip-hop generation, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. That’s me in the photo trying on the t-shirt that was sent over. Stern made three limited-edition designs. (I like this one the best, though. How did they know to send this one?) There's countless people out there making t-shirts, but this one, I would actually wear. Check out the other designs here.
Posted by Melissa at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
From our Director of Photography, Seng Chen:
I'm a procrastinator. If there's a way to avoid something until the last second, I'll do it. The more important it is, the longer I'll put it off. On a last minute assignment, I'll procrastinate to protest of the lack of preparation of my taskmaster. Don't they know how long these things take? Once you factor in an appropriate amount of time for reading catalogs and watching TV instead of doing work?
But there are some things that have deadlines, real ones. The assignment might go away and you might be none the worse for it- because no one really, really expected it do get done - but you know you should have and could have done them anyway. Because they aren't about getting around your responsibility, they have an affect on other people's lives.
Eddy Zheng is in danger of being deported to China. Why should you care?
Eddy and his family immigrated to Oakland from China when he was 12. The family didn't speak English. His father worked at a Burger King and his mother worked as a live-in babysitter to support the family. When he was 16, Eddy and his friends participated in a robbery; he was arrested and pled guilty to all counts. Charged as an adult, Eddy was sentenced to seven-years-to-life in 1986. Although the parole board agreed in 1998 that Eddy had been rehabilitated, he has been kept in prison.
While in prison, Eddy has been a model prisoner. He learned to speak, read and write English fluently. He even has his own blog. He worked with at-risk youth.
(Read about Eddy in this story by one of our editors, Bernice Yeung, which ran in the SF Weekly. Or check out the Asian American Bar Association's summary of Eddy's case here.)
Eddy was finally paroled on March 8 after serving more than 19 years. He was then taken into custody by the INS and is now in danger of being deported. Eddy came the US legally, but because of extremely strict immigration laws passed in 1996, any non-citizen who has committed a crime can be deported. His deportation hearing is coming up quickly: May 9, 2005. However, the deadline to send a letter of support is Thursday, April 21st. Tomorrow. Eddy's lawyers must formally file all of Eddy's letters of support this Friday, April 22. This means that any letters must be received by tomorrow, Thursday, April 21, or they will not count.
The judge will consider community support as one of the main factors in determining whether Eddy can stay in the United States. He desperately needs as many of us as possible to write letters of support for him.
Please fax your letter to 415-981-3003 either today or tomorrow.
Below is SAMPLE TEXT TO USE FOR YOUR LETTER. Just a few moments of your time will have a real impact on Eddy's chances of staying in the US. DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE JUDGE
Please FAX it directly to:
VAN DER HOUT & BRIGAGLIANO
Fax number: 415-981-3003
--------------------------------
Sample letter:
[Date]
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Office of the Immigration Judge
San Francisco, CA
RE: Xiao Fei Zheng
Honorable Judge,
I am writing to urge you not to deport Xiao Fei (Eddy) Zheng. I am aware that he is currently facing deportation for crimes he committed when he was 16 years old.
I am also aware that Eddy Zheng, now 35, has proven that he has rehabilitated himself and no longer poses a threat to society. In fact, his impressive record of accomplishments demonstrate that he can make positive contributions to society, which the California Board of Prison Terms and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger considered when granting his parole.
The United States should not deport people who have the ability to make such a positive contribution to our society and have shown complete rehabilitation. Eddy Zheng is uniquely positioned to be a positive force in the community.
His deportation would undoubtedly be a tremendous loss to his friends, family, and the community. He is exactly the type of person we should want in this country.
Please allow Xiao Fei (Eddy) Zheng to stay in the United States.
Sincerely,
[signature]
[address and telephone number]
Posted by Melissa at 12:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
From our Director of Photography, Seng Chen:
I'm a procrastinator. If there's a way to avoid something until the last second, I'll do it. The more important it is, the longer I'll put it off. On a last minute assignment, I'll procrastinate to protest of the lack of preparation of my taskmaster. Don't they know how long these things take? Once you factor in an appropriate amount of time for reading catalogs and watching TV instead of doing work?
But there are some things that have deadlines, real ones. The assignment might go away and you might be none the worse for it- because no one really, really expected it do get done - but you know you should have and could have done them anyway. Because they aren't about getting around your responsibility, they have an affect on other people's lives.
Eddy Zheng is in danger of being deported to China. Why should you care?
Eddy and his family immigrated to Oakland from China when he was 12. The family didn't speak English. His father worked at a Burger King and his mother worked as a live-in babysitter to support the family. When he was 16, Eddy and his friends participated in a robbery; he was arrested and pled guilty to all counts. Charged as an adult, Eddy was sentenced to seven-years-to-life in 1986. Although the parole board agreed in 1998 that Eddy had been rehabilitated, he has been kept in prison.
While in prison, Eddy has been a model prisoner. He learned to speak, read and write English fluently. He even has his own blog. He worked with at-risk youth.
(Read about Eddy in this story by one of our editors, Bernice Yeung, which ran in the SF Weekly. Or check out the Asian American Bar Association's summary of Eddy's case here.)
Eddy was finally paroled on March 8 after serving more than 19 years. He was then taken into custody by the INS and is now in danger of being deported. Eddy came the US legally, but because of extremely strict immigration laws passed in 1996, any non-citizen who has committed a crime can be deported. His deportation hearing is coming up quickly: May 9, 2005. However, the deadline to send a letter of support is Thursday, April 21st. Tomorrow. Eddy's lawyers must formally file all of Eddy's letters of support this Friday, April 22. This means that any letters must be received by tomorrow, Thursday, April 21, or they will not count.
The judge will consider community support as one of the main factors in determining whether Eddy can stay in the United States. He desperately needs as many of us as possible to write letters of support for him.
Please fax your letter to 415-981-3003 either today or tomorrow.
Below is SAMPLE TEXT TO USE FOR YOUR LETTER. Just a few moments of your time will have a real impact on Eddy's chances of staying in the US. DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE JUDGE
Please FAX it directly to:
VAN DER HOUT & BRIGAGLIANO
Fax number: 415-981-3003
--------------------------------
Sample letter:
[Date]
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Office of the Immigration Judge
San Francisco, CA
RE: Xiao Fei Zheng
Honorable Judge,
I am writing to urge you not to deport Xiao Fei (Eddy) Zheng. I am aware that he is currently facing deportation for crimes he committed when he was 16 years old.
I am also aware that Eddy Zheng, now 35, has proven that he has rehabilitated himself and no longer poses a threat to society. In fact, his impressive record of accomplishments demonstrate that he can make positive con