Bill Dalton is communist !

There’s a picture that wasn’t so clear at first, accompanying the Nguoi Viet piece accusing Janet Nguyen of chumming with commies here.

The picture is one of a group of people paying respect to South Vietnam’s military dead. The altar was put up by Ky Ngo and other protesters against Nguoi Viet around the time of Vietnamese New Year in February, about a couple weeks after the protests began. It has been kept there since then, until recently when the landowner asked them to move it.

The accusation in the Nguoi Viet piece was that Ky Ngo and the Nguoi Viet protesters are communist tools, and the people who visit their altar are too.

The photo appeared in black and white on Nguoi Viet’s printed paper, but the online version is in color and shows more clearly one of the individuals in it.

See that person holding the joss stick, marked with “X”? That’s Bill Dalton, Garden Grove Mayor.

Heh heh heh. Good thing Dalton’s not running for anything.

 

Nguoi Viet accuses Janet of chumming with commies

 

Proving that McCarthyism is not the exclusive domain of Ky Ngo and his ilk, Nguoi Viet Daily News today ran an extensive two-page spread accusing incumbent OC Supervisor Janet Nguyen of communist sympathies.

Janet is in a three-way all-Vietnamese race to retain her seat on the Board of Supervisors. The election is set for June 3, and absentee ballots are being received now. The claim that Janet is chum with a communist was first made by her rival Hoa Van Tran in a mailer to Vietnamese voters, here.

The piece published in the two-page spread on Nguoi Viet is authored by a group named Coalition Against Resolution No. 36 (Vietnamese: Liên Ủy Ban Chống Nghị Quyết 36), the organizer of the protests against Viet Weekly on Garden Grove Main Street. It’s the group mentioned by Dina Nguyen (Janet’s other rival) in a City Council meeting here.

The basis for the piece is an individual named Eric Le (Vietnamese: Lê Công Trứ), president of the Vietnam Business Association, a trade group promoting doing business in Vietnam. While Hoa’s mailer tentatively stated that ““the Vietnamese community suspects (Le) of organizing the event for (Vietnamese president) Nguyen Minh Triet in Dana Point,” the Nguoi Viet piece firmly asserts that Le is a communist agent sent to infiltrate the Vietnamese community, that Le is the force behind the commie paper Viet Weekly. (Read more about the visit by President Triet here and here.)

Quoting Nguoi Viet’s editor-in-chief Anh B. Do, the piece also claims that the protests against Nguoi Viet is stoked by communists, and that Le and Janet Nguyen are supporters of the protests. Ironically, while the Coalition was not the organizer of the Nguoi Viet protests, it did issue a statement in support of Ky Ngo and his band, about two weeks or so after the protests had begun.

Also accused by Nguoi Viet of being a communist sympathizer is Tony Lam, former Westminster City Councilman and the first Vietnamese-American elected to public office. In 1999, Lam was the subject of a lengthy and obscene picketing by none other than Ky Ngo - something that still scares other Vietnamese office holders today. Read the Reg’s Frank Mickadeit’s analysis of Lam’s case here.

The Nguoi Viet piece further claims that at one point, Janet’s policy advisor Nick Lecong came to Nguoi Viet’s management and asked them to reinstate, among others, the Bolsavik. For the record, the first time the Bolsavik heard about it was about a week ago in one of those right-wing Vietnamese emails that the Bolsavik reads every day; this is the second time. Check out Dina’s reaction to the mention of Lecong’s name, here.

 

APIAVote’s Presidential Town Hall at UCI today

All three presidential candidates are expected to join the APIAVote’s Presidential Town Hall by satellite this afternoon. The Bolsavik will be there, but doesn’t know if he can report live or will have to report after the event.

Following is the press release for the organizer, APIAVote, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Islander Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2008
Contact: Naomi Tacuyan / 202.460.2644
Alice Siu / 650.799.6899

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CONFIRMED TO SPEAK AT
APIAVOTE PRESIDENTIAL TOWN HALL ON SAT., MAY 17TH

IRVINE, CA�The presidential candidates, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, and Senator John McCain, today have confirmed their participation in the first APIAVote Presidential Town Hall, to be held tomorrow, Saturday, May 17th, 2008, at U.C. Irvine’s Bren Events Center, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m (Pacific Standard Time).

“We are glad to hear that, after months of discussions, the candidates have agreed to participate and publicly address the questions and concerns of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the nation,” said Noe Kalipi, co-chair of APIAVote. “AAPIs from Hawaii to Florida have convened in Irvine to hear them speak, and more than 15 cities all over the country will be joining us over the internet as well.”

“The Town Hall harnesses the growing strength of Asian American and Pacific Islander voting power,” said EunSook Lee, co-chair of APIAVote. “It is important that AAPIs continue to hold presidential candidates accountable to our issues and our communities, and that the candidates also take the initiative to include AAPIs in dialogue and in any policy-formulating or decision-making processes,” said Lee.

The APIAVote Presidential Town Hall’s most updated schedule is as follows:*

4:00 p.m. � 4:30 p.m.        Senator Hillary Clinton

�    California State Controller John Chiang to introduce Senator Clinton
�    Senator Clinton to address the Town Hall participants and answer questions via satellite feed.

4:35 p.m. � 5:00 p.m.        Senator John McCain**

�    California State Assemblyman Van Tran to introduce Senator McCain
�    Senator McCain to be available via teleconference to answer questions from Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders.
** Senator McCain’s schedule is still subject to change.

5:00 p.m. � 5:30 p.m.      Senator  Barack Obama

�    Representative Xavier Becerra to introduce Senator Obama
�    Senator Obama to be available via teleconference to answer questions from Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders.

* all times are Pacific Standard Time.

For more information about the APIAVote Presidential Town Hall, please visit www.apiavote.org, or email townhall@apiavote.org. To register to attend the Town Hall, please visit www.apiavote.org.

###

 

The mysterious Mr. Trong Doan

The OC Register’s Deepa Bharath just had this in-depth look at Trong Doan, (pictured, by the Reg’s Eugene Garcia) one of the lead protesters against Nguoi Viet Daily News, here.

Deepa was trying to find out more about Doan, who was nowhere in the community before the visit to the U.S. by Vietnam’s President Nguyen Minh Triet, and is now everywhere.

She did find people who knew Doan from Boston. But a lot of other information Doan provided about himself could not be verified. The man seemed to be quite adept at making claims that cannot be easily proven one way or another.

Most intriguing in Deepa’s story is this assertion by Doan, a very young-looking 59-year-old (see Westminster PD’s press release here):

Between 1970 and 1975, Doan says he worked as a liaison for the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam. His job was also to research and procure new equipment for the navy, he said.

That means he was working at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon between the ages of 21 and 26. Doing procurement, so probably working for the military attache. Not impossible. Just, well, intriguing.

Click here for all Bolsavik entries about Trong Doan. By the way, the page that Doan posted on that tree trunk was taken from Nguoi Viet’s filing in its civil lawsuit against protesters Doan, Ky Ngo and Cung The Tran. It’s a list of alleged unlawful acts by the protesters.

 

More misspells, more gay porn

Chris Prevatt at TheLiberalOC.com over here caught this one: OC Supervisor candidate Hoa Van Tran’s mailer to Vietnamese voters in the First District (read its contents and get PDF images here) contains a misspell on his web site address.

See the extra “w”?

And if you follow that misspelled address?

Yep, just like fellow candidate Dina Nguyen’s misspelled URL, this one too rolls over to a gay porn site.

Except that Dina’s porn site is Asian.

Whereas Hoa’s is a Cholo gay site.

A not-so-oblique reference to photos of campaign workers flashing gang signs.

These errors have been showing up only in mailers to Viets, which suggests that the candidates may not have had as many people proofing the Vietnamese materials, as they do the English ones.

 

Another sign Nguoi Viet protests may end soon

In another sign that the protests in front of Nguoi Viet Daily News may soon end, the protesters have been asked to clear their materials off the ground where they’re located.

The protests have been ongoing continuously day-and-night since late January. The protesters have been laying out their paraphernalia all over the ground across the parking lot from Nguoi Viet. That location is the property of Dong Loi, a seafood wholesaler and distributor.

Until now, Dong Loi has been tolerant of the protesters, because Dong Loi has been using only their back door.

However, as told to the Bolsavik, Dong Loi has recently asked Ky Ngo to move his altar, flags and enlarged photographs of various democracy activists and Nguoi Viet personnel. The materials used to be on the ground and on the building’s wall (both of which belong to Dong Loi). Some of them are now moved and are placed on a truck (see photo), and others have been cleared away altogether.

Apparently, Dong Loi is remodeling their building and will start using the front side. (Interestingly enough, Dong Loi’s land is the only lot in the neighborhood that’s not zoned M - manufacturing.) Once that happens, it is likely that Ky Ngo and his mob squad will be asked politely to take their stuff somewhere else.

 

Man fought sea lion over fish bait, got probation

The title says it all.

Garden Grove resident Hai Nguyen was fishing in Newport Beach when a sea lion came up to eat his fish bait, so he stabbed the federally protected animal with a steak knife.

That was in July of last year.

Today, Nguyen was in federal court, pleaded guilty, and received probation. The government had asked for 6 months imprisonment. Read more here.

 

Four Viets honored by Asian Biz Ass’n of OC

The Asian Business Association of Orange County in collaboration with South Coast Plaza is honoring 12 local Asian Pacific Island Americans, of whom 4 are Vietnamese.

The Vietnamese-Americans honored by ABAOC are: Master Ce Hang Truong, a Buddhist monk and lecturer and founder of Compassionate Services Society; Judge John Nho Trong Nguyen (who a year ago was just Judge Nho Trong Nguyen), Superior Court of Orange County; Quang X. Pham, Founder and CEO of Lathian Health, Marine Corps pilot and author of “A Sense of Duty”; Michael Quang Nguyen, UCI student and community volunteer.

Full announcement:

http://www.abaoc.org/Events/upcoming_details.php?eventID=20115

JubilASIAN of Heritage 2008

Event Specifics		Cost and Contact Information
Date: May 17, 2008		Non-member:  Free
Time: 10am – noon		Member:  Free
Location: Carousel Court, South Coast Plaza		Co-Chair: Maria Dumatol Co-Chair: Howard Chan Contact: Howard Chan
3333 Bristol Street
Costa Mesa CA 92626
Event Description
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month The Asian Business of Orange County in collaboration with South Coast Plaza will honor and recognize Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders and role models. Cultural presentations will add to the spice of this festivity. This event is complimentary Community Leader Honorees Adalberto Quijada, District Director, Santa Ana Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration Master Ce Hang Truong, Founder, Compassionate Services Society Ellen Lu, Community Relations, University of California, Irvine Jack Toan, Wells Fargo Foundation Michael Matsuda, Anaheim Union High School District Dr. Nitin Shah, Community Healthcare Advocate Role Model Honorees Cassandra Hepburn, Model-Actress, Active Humanitarian, CEO of Stop Trafficking Now, Inc. Judge John Nho Trong Nguyen, Superior Court of Orange County, West Justice Center Manny Legaspi, Founder, MyGringos.com Quang X. Pham, Founder and CEO of Lathian Health, Military Veteran and Renown Author Dr. Ramon Sison Geluz, Multi-Award Winning Filipino Opera Writer and Composer Michael Quang Nguyen, Student Role Model Honoree RSVP by calling 949.222.2291 or 714.721.0925, or click here to RSVP online

 

Calif Supreme Ct: Gay marriage is constitutional right

OK, this is not a Vietnamese-American issue, but the Bolsavik would like to briefly mention it here in honor of one of his best friends, a Vietnamese-American district attorney in the Bay Area, who once stood in line in San Francisco to be “married” to his gay partner. That “marriage” was subsequently annulled by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1055 (PDF here). That case was decided on the narrow grounds of whether San Francisco officials had the authority to issue the marriage certificates to gay couples.

They can now try again under the court’s new ruling, In re Marriage Cases, PDF here, Word doc here. Quote:

[U]pon review of the numerous California decisions that have examined the underlying bases and significance of the constitutional right to marry (and that illuminate why this right has been recognized as one of the basic, inalienable civil rights guaranteed to an individual by the California Constitution), we conclude that, under this state’s Constitution, the constitutionally based right to marry properly must be understood to encompass the core set of basic substantive legal rights and attributes traditionally associated with marriage that are so integral to an individual’s liberty and personal autonomy that they may not be eliminated or abrogated by the Legislature or by the electorate through the statutory initiative process.  These core substantive rights include, most fundamentally, the opportunity of an individual to establish — with the person with whom the individual has chosen to share his or her life — an officially recognized and protected family possessing mutual rights and responsibilities and entitled to the same respect and dignity accorded a union traditionally designated as marriage. 

….

[W]e conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional.

 

Hoa goes on attack: Janet commie, Dina anti-Vietnamese

Hoa Van Tran’s Vietnamese mailer hit mailboxes today; the Bolsavik got his from someone in Westminster. (PDF here) Hoa went on the attack, accusing Janet Nguyen of accepting contributions from alleged communist sympathizers, and Dina Nguyen of failing to speak out against the deportation of Vietnamese back to the communist country.

In the three-pager printed on a folded 17 x 11 paper, Hoa first went after Janet, accusing her of accepting contributions from “pro-communist capitalists.” While noting that Janet Nguyen did join the June 2007 protests against visiting Vietnamese president Nguyen Minh Triet at the St Regis in Dana Point, Hoa claimed that Janet had taken money from people associated with that visit.

Hoa attached copies of Janet’s financial disclosure showing a January 2007 contribution from Tru Le, which Hoa claims to be Eric Le (Vietnamese: Lê Công Trứ) about whom, he said, “the Vietnamese community suspects of organizing the event for Nguyen Minh Triet in Dana Point.” Hoa also copied entries showing contributions in December 2006 from managers of Lee’s Sandwiches. The company’s owner Chieu Le caught flaks from the anti-communist forces for allegedly showing up at the St Regis event, and for a brief period the Viet Weekly protesters also staged loud and obscene protests outside the Lee’s Sandwiches on Bolsa. (For some unknown reasons they never hit other Lee’s locations…)

Dina, at least, was not accused of being a communist. But she was accused of being anti-Vietnamese. (Not sure if in Hoa’s mind anti-Vietnamese is better or worse than communist.)

The genesis for Hoa’s accusation is a memorandum of understanding between the Bush administration and the government of Vietnam. Signed by the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 22, the MOU provided for Vietnam to take back its nationals who have been deported by the United States. (Prior to the MOU, Vietnam would not take them back and as a result, most deportees had nowhere to go and had to be released.) Read the DHS press release here.

While most community service groups opposed the MOU and held seminars to help people who may be caught in it (read the Bolsavik’s previous entry here), the Trannies stayed mum. It’s that silence that Hoa is now going after Dina Nguyen for, questioning whether her loyalty was with “her party or her people.”

Anyway, none of it was what first caught the Bolsavik’s eyes. 

Maybe it’s because of his former job dealing with printers every day, but the first thing the Bolsavik noticed was how the entire letter is poorly prepared, all rasterized and the black-and-white mostly gray.

As you know, Vietnamese language is based on the regular alphabet, but with diacritical marks all over the place. Most commercial printers don’t have those character sets. The way most people do it, is to produce a PDF file with the font set included, and have the printer’s prepress department create a plate from that.

Hoa’s team, however, appeared to have just scanned his letter and printed the whole thing as an image. It came out with the words gray and not crisp, the page dirty with black dots, and the black-and-white photo totally flat.

 

Houston college honors Viet, draws objection

Houston Community College is set to bestow an honorary degree on a Vietnamese-American businessman this week-end, but the plan drew an objection from anti-communist quarters who criticize the honoree’s meeting with the Vietnamese ambassador at a business seminar.

HCC’s 2008 commencement this Saturday will honor Danny Quoc Nguyen (pictured), a real-estate investor and president of the Vietnamese-American Chamber of Commerce.

Nguyen, however, has been catching flaks for speaking at an event organized by Greater Houston Partnership where Vietnam’s ambassador Le Cong Phung was the invited speaker. Phung’s talk (video here) was entitled “Vietnam - US Relations, Opportunities for Doing Business & Making New Investments in Vietnam.” Many consider doing business and investing in Vietnam an act of propping up the dictatorship there.

One objector, Luan Nguyen, has circulated on the internet his letter to the Board of Trustees of HCC. The letter says, in part, “we discovered to our dismay that Mr. Nguyen had gone against the will of majority of Vietnamese Americans in the US by assisting the ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRVN) to promote doing business in that country without revealing to the participants the high political, social and economic risks associated with this oppressive communist regime.”

Danny Nguyen’s opponents have posted on YouTube the video of his speech at the luncheon. His picture above was taken from the video.

 

Nguoi Viet protests ending soon?

A poll running on an online forum of mostly right-wing Vietnamese is currently voting to continue the protest against Viet Weekly but to end the protest against Nguoi Viet. The result, however, reflects only a tiny percentage of the forum’s members.

(Read all posts on the Viet Weekly protest here, the Nguoi Viet protest here.)

The Yahoo! group “diendancongluan,”a huge mailing list that generates more than 100 emails every day including weekends, has been running two parallel polls since May 5 seeking input on the two protests. Major players in both protests regularly participate in this mailing list, including Ky Ngo and Cung The Tran, two of the three defendants sued by Nguoi Viet.

One poll asks, regarding Viet Weekly, to choose from 5 choices: (a) End the protest; (b) Do not end the protest; (c) Protest until the publication closes; (d) Viet Weekly is on the communists’ side; (e) Viet Weekly is on South Vietnam’s side.

(Although the choices don’t seem to be mutually exclusive, people can only vote for one.)

A second poll asks the exact same questions, regarding Nguoi Viet. Both polls are slated to close May 31.

So far, the polls have not attracted too many takers. Out of a massive membership of 3412, only 16 have voted in the Nguoi Viet poll, and even fewer, 9, have voted in the Viet Weekly poll.

The current standing shows, for the Nguoi Viet poll:

11 to end the protest,
1 not to end the protest,
0 to protest until Nguoi Viet closes,
3 that Nguoi Viet is on the communists’ side
1 that Nguoi Viet is on South Vietnam’s side

As for Viet Weekly (pictured above):

1 to end the protest,
0 not to end the protest,
3 to protest until Viet Weekly closes,
5 that Viet Weekly is on the communists’ side
0 that Viet Weekly is on South Vietnam’s side

The low participation rate may be a function of how a Yahoo! group poll works: Only those with Yahoo! ID’s can vote, and votes are not anonymous.