PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet

via Fightforthefuture.org

PROTECT-IP is a bill that has been introduced in the Senate and the House and is moving quickly through Congress. It gives the government and corporations the ability to censor the net, in the name of protecting “creativity”. The law would let the government or corporations censor entire sites– they just have to convince a judge that the site is “dedicated to copyright infringement.”

The government has already wrongly shut down sites without any recourse to the site owner. Under this bill, sharing a video with anything copyrighted in it, or what sites like Youtube and Twitter do, would be considered illegal behavior according to this bill.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill would cost us $47 million tax dollars a year — that’s for a fix that won’t work, disrupts the internet, stifles innovation, shuts out diverse voices, and censors the internet. This bill is bad for creativity and does not protect your rights.

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My Lai

PBS’s American Experience re-examines the massacre at My Lai.

What drove a company of American soldiers — ordinary young men from around the country — to commit the worst atrocity in American military history? Were they “just following orders” as some later declared? Or, did they break under the pressure of a vicious war in which the line between enemy soldier and civilian had been intentionally blurred? AMERICAN EXPERIENCE focuses on the 1968 My Lai massacre, its subsequent cover-up, and the heroic efforts of the soldiers who broke ranks to try to halt the atrocities, and then bring them to light.

You can watch it here.

 

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Adoption Stories Series on PBS

POV is featuring three films about adoption and launching a national public awareness campaign to explore the challenges of adoptees forging new identities while holding on to their cultural and racial identities, and of parents helping their adopted children make sense of their new lives.

August 31: Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy by Stephanie Wang-Breal

September 7: Off and Running by Nicole Opper

September 14: In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee by Deann Borshay Liem

Check their video page for other projects as they update!

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Living Between Two Worlds interview with Anh Ðào Kolbe

ADK’s recent interview with Krittiya Wongtavavimarn…

Through the Lens

She appeared a little shy when asked to strike a pose for the camera. That might explain why Anh Dao Kolbe, a gay and lesbian activist, said she felt more comfortable behind the lens.

“I used to be desperately shy and my camera has always been my security blanket,” says Kolbe, now 38. “Photography is a good way of meeting people and pushing through that shyness.”

Kolbe, who self-identifies as a queer, believes in the power of photography to create public awareness on gay and lesbian rights. A self-taught photographer for over a decade, the Vietnamese activist uses her images to educate people about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) issues, HIV/AIDS prevention, and to make the GLBT people more visible in the community.

“I like to document people’s lives, trying to capture their true spirits,” says Kolbe, now a health program manager at MAP for Health. “When people look at my photographs and ask why I took them, I take that as a compliment. It means I can explain and teach them my perspective–no matter what you are, either straight or gay, you can be proud of yourself and be successful as who you are.”

Kolbe says she takes a lot of pride having triple identities: being lesbian, Vietnamese and adopted. Born in Vietnam in 1970, she was adopted by her Greek artist mother and German architect father when she was 6 months old. The young Kolbe came to New York City in 1972. Two years later, she moved to the Middle East and spent four years in Qatar and nine years in Oman, where she had a blessed, carefree childhood with her adopted parents.

continue reading

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Running Dragon

Ohh, I really want to see this one.

In 1972 near the end of the Vietnam war, the Vietnamese government were outcasting Ameriasian children while several U.S. families began to adopt them. Running Dragon is an autobiographical story about one of these American orphans, Joe Christmas (a.k.a. Lyn Phi Long or Running Dragon), and his biological Vietnamese sister, Hoa, who was separated from Joe during their adoption. 28 years later Joe discovers that Hoa has tracked him down and arranges for them to meet with her Vietnamese family in Little Saigon.

As the story unfolds we realize that Joe has never successfully fit in his with “All-American” family and community while growing up in America. And as a result of years of separation from his Vietnamese heritage, he also struggles to connect with Hoa’s adopted traditional Vietnamese family, making it all the more difficult for him to find acceptance in either world.

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Sunday Night Safran

This week on Sunday Night Safran : Cult buster Raphael Aron talks SATANISM! Do they live among us? White people with brown babies… Sumeia Williams Vietnamese adoptee and author of the Ethnically Incorrect Daughter blog talks cross cultural adoption. Bahram Soroush from the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain has renounced his religion and thinks others should too he will explain. And the Australian Turkish Arts and Music Community is in for religious song of the week.

As Kevin mentioned, I was a guest on Sunday Night Safran with John Safran.  You can listen to it if you click on one of the links in the “Listen : stream last program” box.  First of all, I’m cracking up at being sandwiched between Satanism and Ex-Muslims.  Secondly, I know I keep swearing I’ll never do another audio interview, mostly because of my chronic “um” problem.  I checked out some of John’s earlier work though and appreciated his sense of humor.  Anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time talking to me will understand why.

Thanks, John.  I hope you touch on the subject of international adoption again on your show.  I can even give you several excellent suggestions for guests. 

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