Jacqueline Nguyen Appoints to Ninth US Circuit Court

According to the SF Chronicles

" The Senate on Monday confirmed President Obama's nomination of Judge Jacqueline Nguyen to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where she will become the first Vietnamese American and first Asian-Pacific woman to serve on a federal appeals court.

The vote was 91-3. Nguyen, 46, is a former federal prosecutor and Superior Court judge who was appointed by Obama in 2009 to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. "


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/07/BA7K1OEMAF.DTL#ixzz1uRZLQvim

Nguyen came to the US in 1975 and won a scholarship to Occidental College in LA and received her JD at UCLA School of Law.    President Obama is also an alumini of Occidental College.  

She is married to Pios Kim, a federal prosecutor in LA.

April 30, 2012, 37th Anniverary of the Fall of Vietnam

This is probably the first ever public march in the free world to mark the fall of Vietnam to the current communist regime.   The event was staged spontaneously by the Vietnamese foreign students in Paris, France, three days before April 30, 1975.   All students wore the traditional white funeral headbands to symbolize the death of their motherland.   

Supposedly somewhere in this picture one could find Tran van Ba.  He was a famous student activist who in 1985 was executed by the communist regime in Vietnam for plotting a coup against the regime.   There are memorial plaques in Paris (13th District) and Liege, Belgium, to commemorate his heroic fight for freedom and democracy.

Madison Nguyen Supports Tam Truong for City Council

The race for San Jose District 4 city council is heating up as Tam Truong, a political novice that has not been seen in the community until now, is pushing hard to challenge the incumbent Kansen Chu. 

With Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen constantly at his side at various Vietnamese-American events, Truong is determined to win the Vietnamese-American votes.   District 4 is made up of about 25% Vietnamese-American voters and about 18% Chinese-American voters.   

Nguyen has been spending time at his fund raising events and even showed up to give advise to the volunteers at Truong's campaign headquarters.     Nguyen has been quoted in the media for strongly emphasizing her point:   ".....Truong is the best choice for it is unprecedent for any candidates to receive the endorsement of both the mayor and vice mayor at the same time.."

Nguyen's former campaign media consultants are also sending out email and writing in Vietnamese-language newspapers espousing the slogan "Vietnamese people vote for Vietnamese people  only". 

The recent candidate forum arranged by Berryessa Citizen Advisory Council between Truong, Chu and another unknown candidate, Rafael Sabic, showed the lack of depth and understanding about the community by the challengers.  You can see the candidates in action at - http://bcacsanjose.org/


To Truong's credit and also Mayor Chuck Reed's astute memory, Truong is not as bad as Hon Lien, the disastrous candidate that Reed brought from again nowhere to challenge his political rival in District 4, Kansen Chu, in 2008.  However, for Nguyen and Reed to think that they are so powerful that they could string along a candidate of their choice and use their political muscle and reosources to persuade the people to vote for really an unqualifed candidate can be a turn-off for many voters.  But of course the reward is if  Truong wins, he will be indebted to them and hopefully be their puppet in City Hall. 

Vietnamese Cinema Symposium

Vietnamese Cinema Symposium 6 – “Shifting Scenes”

Sunday, April 22, 2012
2:30 PM - 6:30 PM
121 Dodd Hall
UCLA Campus

Vietnamese Language & Culture (VNLC) and the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA) present the sixth biennial Cinema Symposium: Shifting Scenes. The symposium will feature ten notable panelists who lend diverse perspectives to the creative, technical, and commercial aspects of film-making. The possibilities for filmmakers to tell stories and for audiences to engage with cinema have greatly expanded due to ongoing ‘shifts’, such as the increasing fluidity of geographical and cultural boundaries, internet-based distribution and networking channels, and the accessibility of digital film-making technology. The event will provide a forum for audiences to engage with film-industry professionals in examining the unique opportunities and challenges that present themselves in this dynamic landscape.

The diverse and accomplished speaker panel includes: Elizabeth Ai (Producer, Saigon Electric), Michael Chang (Attorney, Warner Bros. Entertainment), Chris Dinh (Actor/Writer, Crush the Skull, Things You Don't Joke About) Ellen M. Harrington (Exhibitions Director, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), Mye Hoang (Writer/Director, Viette), Le Van Kiet (Director/Writer, Dust of Life, House in the Alley), Porter Lynn (Actress, Touch), Duc Nguyen (Director/Producer, Bolinao52, Stateless), and Marcus Manh Cuong Vu (Editor/Director, Yxine Film Festival). In addition, the audience will have a special Skype session with director Victor Vu (Battle of the Brides, Blood Letter), who is currently on location in Vietnam.

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. Reception & Introductory remarks (Ysa Le & Linda Ta)
3:00 – 5:30 p.m. Panel discussion and showcase of film clips (Moderators: Thuy Vo Dang & Justin Tran)
5:30 – 5:45 p.m. Break
5:45 – 6:30 p.m. Special screenings of short films followed by Q&A

Films

• Cá chuoi / Mother never cries (2011) Director: Do Quoc Trung 15:34 min.
The story is about a middle-aged woman who finds a girl to sleep with her mentally challenged son.

• Duoi bóng cây / Under the Tree’s Shadow (2011) Director: Doàn Tran Anh Tuan 07:00 min.
Due to a boasting from Mouse, Snake takes Frog away. Mouse goes to save Frog, actually with another purpose.

• Un Interrogatoire / An Interrogation (2011) Director: Nghiêm Quynh Trang 15:56 min.
After her wedding with a Frenchman, a Vietnamese student is interviewed for her residence permit.

• The Man Who Was There (2009) Director: Andy Nguyen 11:58 min.
It’s Christmas Eve in New York, a man who lives alone leaves his flat for the first time in 8 years because of a silly reason and, fortunately, a girl helps him.

Web announcements here and here.
Free and open to the public.

Trip to Sacramento to Discuss California Education

                          Save our Schools

Tired of overcrowded classrooms and no money for supplies, teachers, or counselors?

Saddened that arts and sports programs are on the chopping block at your kid’s school?

Shocked by closed libraries and elimination of basic homework assistance and special needs programs?

Disappointed that your student slated for transitional kindergarten won’t be able to attend?

Worried about the funding cuts slated to hit our community colleges?

Join us… Parents, teachers, administrators, students, activists, anyone who cares about education – all are invited to attend our free bus trip to Sacramento to talk with our legislators about protecting school funding.

· Sacramento Bus Trip Wednesday May 2, 2012 from 6:00am to 6:00pm

(bus will depart from Eastridge mall, Free transportation, free breakfast & lunch)

To RSVP for any of the following events please contact: Lara McCabe (408)299-5030 or lara.mccabe@bos.sccgov.org

Online Registration: http://bit.ly/bustrip2012

Vietnamese American Poetry and Art Festival

Project Ngoc New Exhibit at UC Irvine

The UCI Libraries is pleased to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibit, “Hope of Freedom: Project Ngoc’s Decade of Dedication on Tuesday, April 24th, at 5:30 pm in Langson Library. The exhibit chronicles the history and wide-reaching impact of Project Ngoc (Project Pearl), a UCI student-led humanitarian organization whose decade of activism raised awareness and support for the plight of Vietnamese refugees detained in camps in Asia after the Vietnam War.

This special evening will feature a talk by Manuel N. Gómez, Ph.D, Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Student Affairs, titled Student Activism and Social Justice: A History of Social Change. The program will include introductions by Interim University Librarian Lorelei Tanji and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Thomas Parham, Ph.D.

Conceived in 1987 by graduate student Tom Wilson, Project Ngoc grew into a remarkable humanitarian effort that made a difference in the lives of many Vietnam War refugees. Hope of Freedom traces Project Ngoc’s impressive accomplishments, including sending student volunteers to camps in Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines to teach classes and deliver gifts, supplies and financial donations. Featured prominently in the exhibit are photographs of the camps, and paintings the refugees made, many with powerful images of their desperate yearning for freedom. The exhibit highlights Project Ngoc’s influence at the local, national, and international level through newsletters, student journals, and program materials that reveal the group’s tireless efforts on behalf of the refugees.

Project Ngoc donated their rich materials to the Southeast Asian Archive, which is part of the UCI Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department, where they are available for research. The nationally recognized Southeast Asian Archive documents the experiences of refugees and immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who came to the United States - many to California - beginning in 1975.

Our guest speaker Manuel Gómez served as UCI Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs before retiring in 2011 after 38 years of service to the campus and UC system. Over the course of his career, Gómez inspired countless students to meet their goals and laid a strong foundation for academic, character and leadership excellence at UCI. His legacy includes founding the UCI Center for Educational Partnerships, co-founding the UC-wide Silk Road to the Future, and establishing the UCI XIV Dalai Lama Endowed Scholarship. A published poet, Gómez received the UCI Medal in 2011.

A light reception and exhibit viewing will follow the presentation. The event is free and open to the public. Space is limited; reservations are first come, first served. Please go to http://partners.lib.uci.edu/projectngoc to make an online reservation. For further information please call 949.824.4651 or email partners@uci.edu.

Hope of Freedom will be on display through October 2012 in the Langson Library Muriel Ansley Reynolds Gallery during regular library hours.