This election year was one of the most exciting election years that we have had for more than a decade, some said in history. Many people were busy watching or directly participating in the election by phone banking and canvassing. I had the pleasure of speaking to James Yee about what happened on the night of the election in his neck of the woods. Here follows what he shared with me:
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Tags: APIA, asian american, Barack Obama, Ehren Watada, internment camp, james yee, japanese, Olympia, Ron Oshima, Sam Song, Seattle, Washington state, World War II

James Yee, the former US Army Guantanamo Chaplain and 2008 National Delegate for Barack Obama was out doing some grassroots campaigning in Ohio from October 23-26 for the Democratic Presidential Nominee. He made stops in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.

During the four days, Capt Yee made several Get Out The Vote presentations at major Islamic centers in Columbus and Cincinnati, also focusing on Muslim Participation in the Political Process The American Muslim vote will make a serious impact this year in several key battleground, swing states which have significant Muslim constituencies - Ohio being one of them.
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Tags: american, APIA, asian, asian american, Chinese, Christine Chen, cincinnati, college democrats, columbus, dayton, delegate, democrat, election, filipino, Gov Gary Locke, jacl, james yee, muslim, national, obama, ohio, Politics, vote

Brian Tee who has starred in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, is going to be a regular cast member in the series Crash on the television station Starz. He plays EMT Eddie Choi, who is caught between the Korean gang world he left behind and the mainstream medical world where he wants to fit into in Crash.

Crash is based on Crash, the movie of the same name, that came out in the year 2004 that followed the lives of everyday people in the city of Los Angeles that eventually intertwined together.

The first show airs on Starz, October 17, this Friday Eastern Standard Time. I watched the first two episodes earlier tonight here: http://www.starz.com/originals/crash/screeningroom

The first few minutes of the show is sure to grab your attention. The characters have a lot of flavor and they also were able to make you place yourself in their shoes, feeling their pain. They also made me yell a few times at the screen at them either in fear or anger.
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Tags: Brian Tee, cops, Crash, gangs, Korea Town, police, Starz, T.V., Tokyo Drift

http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/governorlocke/bios/bio.htm

http://www.mltsf.com/lawyer-attorney-1067081.html

On Friday October 3, 2008, James Yee and other notables attended an Obama Victory Fund event at the home of Laurie and Scott Oki in Bellevue, WA. The Asian American Finance Committee also headed the event.

Representative Mike Honda was scheduled to attend this event, but he was unable to attend, because he was voting on the Emergency Bill to bail out Wall Street. The first person that spoke at this event was Washington State Senator, Maria Cantwell. She talked about why Obama is good for Washington State and for America. There were several people who were there from the Microsoft community. It was not surprising, because Microsoft is headquartered in Seattle.
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Tags: Asian American Finance Committee, Bellevue, Chinese, civil liberties, Dale Minami, Didi Saluja, election, Emergency bill, Fred Korematsu, Gary Locke, Indian American, james yee, japanese, Laurie Oki, Maria Cantwell, Microsoft, Mike Honda, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Obama Victory Fund, Scott Oki, Seattle, wall street, Washington

Hello everyone on ningin! I recently talked to a trailblazer by the name of Laurence Louie who is the editor-in-chief of the hot new Asian American newspaper, Native Tongue. I was first introduced to him through another friend of mine. I began viewing his website and his newspaper online. I noticed how he and his staff desperately wanting to make a change in the Asian American community on campus, locally, and nationally. The interview that I have had with this wonderful man Laurence follows.
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Tags: activism, Asian American issues, Asian culture, Asian men, Boston, Chinatown, Chinese, discrimination, Massachusetts, media, minorities, Native Tongue, New Jersey, newspaper, Rutgers, Stanford

In eastern New Orleans there is a town called Versailles that was founded by Vietnamese refugees. After Hurricane Katrina blew through their town and they picked up the pieces, they had to fight against the city’s choice of putting a landfill just a few miles from their town that they cultivated with so much love. They stood and fought their ground. Now their struggle and joyous victory will be turned into a full-length feature by filmmaker S. Leo Chiang. Please click on the following links included in this blog to learn more about these courageous residents story.

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Tags: catholic, Center for Asian American Media, church, courage, democracy, environment, Hurricane Katrina, landfill, Mayor Ray Nagin, New Orleans, refugees, S.Leo Chiang, Versailles, Vietmanese, Vietnam