nwasianweekly.com
June 14, 2008

Photo by Bill Haber/Associated Press

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (right) takes Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, on a tour of an area in New Orleans that is still struggling to recover. Despite persistent rumors, Jindal has denied he is being considered for the vice presidential position..

Gov. Bobby Jindal said on May 27 that he enjoyed his meeting with Sen. John McCain, but insisted the two did not discuss the idea of Jindal serving as running mate to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Jindal spent the Memorial Day weekend at McCain’s Arizona ranch, along with two other prominent Republicans who have been touted as possible running mates for McCain. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney were also there.

“There was absolutely no discussion of the vice presidency, either joking or serious,” Jindal said.

Though he characterized the visit as “primarily a social visit,” Jindal said he did speak with three U.S. senators who were also visiting McCain’s ranch about Louisiana’s hurricane recovery needs and with several business leaders present about Louisiana’s economic development incentives.

Jindal is the son of Indian immigrants and the nation’s youngest sitting governor, as well as the first Indian American governor. He has repeatedly tossed aside rumors he could be McCain’s running mate, though he’s met with McCain and been touted by several prominent conservatives as a good candidate.

“It’s very flattering, but I’ll say again, I’ve got the job that I want,” he said, echoing past statements.

Surveillance cameras to be installed at Hing Hay Park

The Seattle City Council decided at their June 9 meeting to install surveillance cameras at three parks around the city, including Hing Hay Park in the International District.

The cameras are part of an effort to address complaints about drug use and other illegal behavior in city parks. The two other parks that will be equipped with cameras are Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market and Occidental Park in Pioneer Square. Earlier this year, Mayor Greg Nickels ordered several cameras installed at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill.

The cameras will be installed in a few months; they will be in place for 21 months, at which time the City Council will vote on whether to keep or remove them, based on their effectiveness as crime deterrents.

In recent months, several incidents have occurred at Hing Hay, including a stabbing.

The cameras will record 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but the tape will not be monitored, except in the case of a 911 call, as part of a criminal investigation or during a state of emergency. Images will be erased every two weeks.

Possible investigations into Japanese Latin American internments

The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act, introduced in the House of Representatives last year as H.R. 662, would create a commission to investigate the internment of over 2,200 persons of Japanese ancestry from 13 Latin American countries by the U.S. government during World War II.

The House Judiciary Committee has now scheduled a hearing for July 31 to consider the bill calling for the commission, introduced by Rep. Xavier Becerra, Rep. Dan Lungren, Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Chris Cannon.

The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil

Liberties will hold a hearing on this bipartisan effort. The subcommittee will hear testimonies from several witnesses, including members of Congress, scholars, community supporters and former internees themselves.

If established, the commission would investigate U.S. government policies and actions resulting in wartime violations (including hostage-taking, indefinite internment without charge or trial, forced labor and placement of civilians into war zones) and make recommendations for any appropriate remedies to Congress based on their findings.

The commissioners would be composed of nine members, three each appointed by the president, speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate.

A community delegation of former Japanese Latin American internees and supporters will travel to Washington, D.C., to attend the congressional hearing.

For more information, contact info@campaignforjusticejla.org.

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