The Conrad Boys director Justin Lo

On Monday 24 April, 2006, we chatted with Justin Lo, the Hapa (Chinese/Caucasian) director of a new film, The Conrad Boys, set in OC with a gay theme. The film had its world premiere at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach Monday evening at 5 pm as part of the Newport Beach Film Festival. See: Film web site. See press release.To hear the audio of the show, click here: .

Justin Lo directs and stars in The Conrad Boys

Buffalo Boy filmmaker Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo

On Monday, 17 April, 2006, we chatted with filmmaker Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo (above right during filming), director of award-winning The Buffalo Boy (Mua Len Trau), set in 1940s Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

His film is currently showing at Regal Cinema 16, Garden Grove, 9741 Chapman Avenue (at Brookhurst St.) on selected days: April 16, 22, 23, and 29th. Each day has (corrected:) 1 screening: 12:45 PM. Discussion with filmmaker after each showing.

Concurrently in Vietnam, legislators there are considering, ironically, a proposed new cinematography law that would bar overseas Vietnamese and other expatriates like Nguyen-Vo from being involved in making Vietnamese films in Vietnam, despite his film's selection as the official 2005 Oscar submission from Vietnam. The head of Vietnam's cinematography department has been quoted in press reports as saying that "expatriates living away from their native country would not fully understand its ethics, customs, aesthetics, and cultural values." (Thanh Nien, Ho Chi Minh City, 15 March 2006: www.thanhniennews.com/commentaries/?catid=11&newsid=13564.

See press release.

To hear the audio of the show, click here:

Scene from The Buffalo Boy

Immigration Movement at Ground Zero: Costa Mesa

Two days after several thousand immigration rights marchers rallied in Costa Mesa, what are the prospects of immigration reform in Congress, and does it go far enough? On our April 3, 2006 show, the first of Spring Quarter 2006, we chatted with Amin David, who heads Los Amigos in Orange County, and with John Earl, publisher of OCorganizer.com, about Costa Mesa and ground zero in standing up to repressive law enforcement. David, who serves on the Orange County sheriff's advisory commission, breaks with him on this issue.

To hear the audio clip of the show, click here: .

Photo of Costa Mesa, California, Rally, April 1, 2006, © Daniel C. Tsang 2006

See also photo, from Reuters, of activist Coyotyl Tezcalipoca of Colectivo Tonantzin, addressing the crowd after initially being barred from the podium.

Another View on Immigration Debate

On our 10 April 2006 show, we talked with Christopher Punongbayan, trained as a lawyer, who's a Ford Foundation New Voices Fellow at Filipinos For Affirmative Action (FAA) in Oakland, CA., about the latest developments in immigration legal reform. We talk about why he is active on this issue.

See press release on this show: press release.

To hear the audio of the show, click here:

Bush War Crimes Commission Testimony continued

Observing the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the Monday after peace rallies opposed to the war, on our 20 March 2006 show, we aired testimony by former UN weapons inspector Scot Ritter and unimbedded freelance writer Jeremy Scahill before the Bush War Crimes Commission (http://www.bushcommission.org). The commission has released preliminary findings: http://www.bushcommission.org/Findings/preliminaryfindings.pdf. Thanks to Not in Our Name for their help in letting us air the audio of the testimony. More audio is on the Bush Commission web site.

To hear the audio clip of the show, click here: .

Graffiti Artists and Quality of Life

On our March 13, 2006 show, we did a live interview with Ben Morgan, the director of a new independent film, Quality of Life, about graffiti artists on the streets of San Francisco. The realistic dramatization of these budding artists' lives has won invites to festivals in Berlin and Seattle. We chat with Morgan about the politics of art and state repression with increasingly punitive law enforcement on "quality of life" issues. See film wesbite at: qualityoflife-themovie.com.

To hear the audio clip of the show, click here: .

Thanks to the film's producer for letting us post the audio of the trailer from the show online. This film is currently showing across from UCI in a limited run. It may end this week unless viewers show up.

Morgan has also been interviewed in the OC Weekly and in the New University. See also: Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall for evidence of graffiti's global reach.

Muslim Protests over Cartoons at UCI; Bush Crimes

On Monday, 6 March 2006, we looked back at the protests at UCI over the Danish cartoons on Mohammed, airing some of the protest speeches, while doing another audio feed from the hearings of the International Commission of Inquiry" on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration, including Harry Belafonte and former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray on CIA and MI5 turning a blind eye to torture there. Thanks to Not in Our Name for letting us air the audio.

To hear the audio clip of the show, click here: .