Thank you Tieng Dan Weekly for the attached copy of the response from Nguyen Tam Chien of the VN Embassy to a letter from Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D - San Jose) regarding the recent demonstration and arrests in Saigon. The letter is particularly odious and deceptive, saying that the issue is not human rights but "land disputes" as "stated by sources unfriendly to Vietnam." The letter, dated August 1, 2007, was authorized by VN President Nguyen Minh Triet. Congresswoman Lofgren is fighting hard and well to insure the rights of small groups of immigrants and their children to the USA as well as speaking out for human rights in Vietnam. Her battle with showboating Republicans who are appealing to ethnic prejudice with "immigration backlash" as chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee is front-page news in the San Francisco Chronicle today. Also in Congress yesterday, Representative Tom Lantos (D - San Mateo), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has opened an inquiry into the conduct of Yahoo when it turned over information to Chinese officials about the pro-democracy journalist Shi Tao. A human rights group has recently published the search warrant presented by China to Yahoo to gain information and it is clear to Congressman Lantos that Yahoo should be investigated for misrepresenting their role in the jailing of Mr. Shi Tao. Jean Libby, editor, VietAm Review.   more »