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	<title>18XEEM &#187; Culture</title>
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		<title>10 Resources on learning how to write and read in Hmong</title>
		<link>http://18xeem.com/home/2009/04/28/10-resources-on-learning-how-to-write-and-read-in-hmong/</link>
		<comments>http://18xeem.com/home/2009/04/28/10-resources-on-learning-how-to-write-and-read-in-hmong/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:06:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>18XEEM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancient language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethnic language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmong dictionary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmong history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmong language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmong resources]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmong translation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmoob history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hmoob language]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[learn hmong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moob history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[moob langauge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[read in hmong]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[write in hmong]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://18xeem.com/home/?p=226</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like any other language, the Hmong or Mong language, takes time to learn and get accustomed to. One of the most difficult things people have with learning the Hmong language, is the sound, because the spoken language is a tonal language, pronunciation makes a huge difference when you&#8217;re trying to say a word. The easiest [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Like any other language, the Hmong or Mong language, takes time to learn and get accustomed to. One of the most difficult things people have with learning the Hmong language, is the sound, because the spoken language is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonal_language" target="_blank">tonal language</a>, pronunciation makes a huge difference when you&#8217;re trying to say a word. The easiest thing about learning Hmong is, once you master the basics, writing and reading it is extremely easy. Some people spend only a few days learning how to read or write in Hmong, while learning how to pronounce it, can take months or years. Here are some great resources to start off with, if you&#8217;re interesting in learning more about the Hmong language.</p>
<p><span id="more-226"></span></p>
<ol>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://hmongabc.com/" target="_blank">Hmong ABC</a></h2>
<p>Hmong ABC is the ultimate source for all Hmong books, artifacts, audio books and movies. Check out the Books section for unique titles like the English-Hmong Dictionary Pocket Reference.</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4908/" target="_blank">Hmong Language Group (Hmong LG)</a></h2>
<p>Created by the Hmong Language group, this exel document consists of a long list of Hmong Words which includes both Hmoob &#8216;Dawb&#8221; (White) and Moob &#8220;Ntsuab&#8221; (Green) words.<a href="http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/translation/hmong.html" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/translation/hmong.html" target="_blank">Hmong Translated Material</a></h2>
<p>The Minnesota Department of Health offers a vast number of MDH materials translated into Hmong. We think this is the best way in really learning how to read/write in Hmong, by looking at real-life examples. In the process, you&#8217;ll learn a few things such as Parenting for children with Asthma, Immunizations, and Lead Poisoning!</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.wpt.org/hmong/language.html" target="_blank">Being Hmong Means Free</a></h2>
<p>Learn about the Romanized Popular Alphabet that was created in Laos during the 1950s and the different tones in language.</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_language" target="_blank">Hmong language</a></h2>
<p>Our resource list wouldn&#8217;t be complete without a wikipedia reference. This is a good place to start to get a general overview of the Hmong language.</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.ferazelhosting.net/~bryce/hmong.html" target="_blank">Bryace Schroeder&#8217;s Resources on Hmong</a></h2>
<p>An interesting collection of Hmong language in its many forms.</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.moob.org/" target="_blank">Mong Literacy</a></h2>
<p>Though this website needs major design revamping, we do enjoy learning about the vast amount of information available on this website in regards to the Mong langague.</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.hmongdictionary.com/" target="_blank">Hmong Dictionary</a></h2>
<p>This website is a given, however we&#8217;d like to see a more user friendly approach to using the website, as well as a cleaner interface. Though we weren&#8217;t able to find some words, it is a useful resource if you&#8217;re searchig for simple words like &#8220;You&#8221; and &#8220;I&#8221;.</li>
<li>
<h2><a href="http://www.tc.umn.edu/~kanx0004/index_files/languagecuesL1L2.htm" target="_blank">The Languages: Hmong and English</a></h2>
<p>A Comparison of the cues between Hmong and English. A project created and managed by several individuals from the University of Minnesota.Hmong Translation</li>
<li>
<h2>Saturn Hmong Homepage</h2>
<p>Our last resource doesn&#8217;t seem to be working at the moment or has been taken down by its owner, but we decided to include it because, we want it back up! This is byfar the most useful resource (though we also recommend that the interface ought to be redesigned to have a more user-friendly touch to it). Check out an old version of the website, courtesy of Archive.org: <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060909015855/ww2.saturn.stpaul.k12.mn.us/hmong/dictionary/enghmong/newmenu.html" target="_blank"> English-Hmong</a> and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060909015911/ww2.saturn.stpaul.k12.mn.us/hmong/dictionary/hmongeng/newmenu.html" target="_blank">Hmong-English</a></li>
</ol>
<h4>Did we miss any other resources? Are there other resources that you have bookmarked or have recently come across that you want to see here? Tell us about it in the comments area! We are always excited to discover new or old resources!</h4>
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		<title>10 simple things that you can learn from a fellow Hmong on how to live green.</title>
		<link>http://18xeem.com/home/2009/04/23/10-simple-things-that-you-can-learn-from-a-fellow-hmong-on-how-to-live-green/</link>
		<comments>http://18xeem.com/home/2009/04/23/10-simple-things-that-you-can-learn-from-a-fellow-hmong-on-how-to-live-green/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:53:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>18XEEM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Live Green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eco-friendly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[enviroment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[save global warming]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://18xeem.com/home/?p=169</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are some simple but often overlooked things we are already doing to be more eco-friendly and have been doing for centuries. Others could really learn a few things from us on how to further prevent global warming.
1. Car pooling
Hmong people are known for riding in small cars with more passengers than seat belts. Can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here are some simple but often overlooked things we are already doing to be more eco-friendly and have been doing for centuries. Others could really learn a few things from us on how to further prevent global warming.</p>
<p><strong>1. Car pooling</strong><br />
Hmong people are known for riding in small cars with more passengers than seat belts. Can you just picture your entire family getting out of a Honda Civic?</p>
<p><strong>2. Pack our own lunch in a bamboo container</strong><br />
Although this practice has been somewhat replaced with plastic containers, its important to note that the bamboo containers are a lot safer and culturally more appealing than plastic tupperware.</p>
<p><strong>3. Park far away from destination and walk halfway there</strong><br />
Having a good sense of direction helps, and for Hmong people, it&#8217;s usually landmarks that are the giveaways for traveling (like that rock at the corner, or the tree stump on the side road). Who needs a gigantic paper map or a battery hungry gps system?</p>
<p><strong>4. Fill up our own bottles with tap water</strong><br />
That&#8217;s what you call reusing!</p>
<p><strong>5. Grow herbs, vegetables and fruits in our own backyard</strong><br />
Not only have our grandmas and ma&#8217;s been doing this, but we&#8217;ve sort of picked up on the trend&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>6. Raise our own meat</strong><br />
If your neighbor has ever caught you trying to catch that chicken that escaped from its coop, then this applies to you! Just remember to keep them quiet and out of the neighbors bushes&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>7. Prepare our own food from scratch</strong><br />
Killing your own cow emits less of a carbon footprint.  Just uh, don&#8217;t do it in your backyard or basement (read more about the <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/food/ci_12179341" target="_blank">impact of eating red meat here</a>).</p>
<p><strong>8. Hunt for our own meet</strong><br />
It&#8217;s a fact, Hmong people love hunting for deer and fishing for fish because we get to cook it for ourself and our family later.</p>
<p><strong>9. Pass down old clothing to younger siblings</strong><br />
This is nothing new people! That shirt your little brother is wearing was something you got 6 years ago and it&#8217;s perfectly ok.</p>
<p><strong>10. Use old clothes as rags for cleaning up</strong><br />
No more reason for buying tissue and napkins if you use the rags laying around the house to clean up and washup.</p>
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		<title>I’m Fighting Back Against Cyber Stalking</title>
		<link>http://18xeem.com/home/2009/03/02/i%e2%80%99m-fighting-back-against-cyber-stalking/</link>
		<comments>http://18xeem.com/home/2009/03/02/i%e2%80%99m-fighting-back-against-cyber-stalking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:21:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Hlee</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Editor's Letter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://18xeem.com/home/?p=168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[By Mai Hlee Xiong, Editor-in-Chief, 18XEEM
Thank you for visiting 18XEEM.com. This article may come to some of you as a surprise.
You may have heard that in 2008 I was the victim of a cyber stalker who defamed me on the internet. After months of investigation, the Warren Police Department and the Macomb County Prosecutor determined [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>By Mai Hlee Xiong, Editor-in-Chief, 18XEEM</em></p>
<p>Thank you for visiting 18XEEM.com. This article may come to some of you as a surprise.</p>
<p>You may have heard that in 2008 I was the victim of a cyber stalker who defamed me on the internet. After months of investigation, <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">the Warren Police Department and the Macomb County <span class="style9">Prosecutor determined through forensic evidence that the culprit behind this criminal activity is a man named Nhia Lee, who also goes by the name of &#8220;Tyler&#8221; or &#8220;Tong Chai&#8221;. </span></span></strong></p>
<p>I have not taken steps to sue Mr. Lee or anyone in this matter. However, using my web knowledge I was able to help the Warren Police in their investigation to determine that Mr. Lee was hiding behind a computer, anonymously cyber stalking and harassing me. I have asked law enforcement to ensure that he be prosecuted and, if found guilty, that he be punished to the fullest extent of the law for his actions. Nhia Lee is charged with one count of a two-year felony by the state of Michigan, in Macomb County, the cybercrime of <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;"><span class="style9">“Unlawful Posting of a Message” </span></span></strong>case no 09-. Mr. Lee has publicly admitted to committing the malicious acts that constitute this crime. As of March, 2, 2009, he is released on bail for $15,000. He currently resides in Shelby Township, Michigan.</p>
<p>Nhia Lee has alleged that he was a beauty pageant “organizer&#8221; who was trying to do a good deed by posting on the internet a video compilation that included images of a video of a nude woman that he alleged was me, Mai Hlee Xiong. As a former Miss Lao Hmong &#8211; Wisconsin (2004-2005) [<a href="http://18xeem.com/home" target="_blank">click here to read an article that I wrote for 18XEEM about my pageant experiences</a>], such an allegation and widespread dissemination of derogatory material about me is very hurtful. Yet I have had no contact from any pageant officials, organizations, or individuals asking me or demanding that I be stripped of my crown, title, or prize. Nor have I accused any community group, organization or individual other than Mr. Lee of instigating and defaming me.<br />
<span class="style9"><br />
<strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">Nhia Lee has never been an “organizer” of any beauty pageant. </span></strong></span>He was once a male pageant contestant [where he actually got 2nd place and threatened to sue the judges for not making him the winner!], as well as an emcee in the singing competition portion of the Hmong Michigan New Year 2007. His sister, Nee Lee, won the crown of Miss Hmong Michigan pageant 2007 (I was the runner-up that year). In fact, Mr. Lee was heavily involved in promoting his sister’s participation in the pageant.</p>
<p>After the pageant ended, Mr. Lee began to cyber stalk me on different media channels including MySpace for several months prior to the actual criminal incident. He collected and took personal photos of me and information on my personal life and even posted video clips of me and other former pageant contestants performing in public venues on YouTube without our knowledge or permission. He then made immature comments about each of us and mocking our abilities. In addition, Mr. Lee anonymously created a false profile in order to become my MySpace friend, using a fake name and photo of someone named<strong> <span class="style9">&#8220;<span style="color: #ff0000;">Jeffrey&#8221;</span></span></strong>. He also used my own photos and profile information to create a false profile of me. He pretended to be me and messaged my real friends in inappropriate ways and requested to be friends with strangers as if he were me. I have logs and logs of consecutive days where he visited my MySpace page and my website, <a href="http://hleex.com/">HleeX.com</a>, daily, during normal and odd hours like 2, 3 in the morning (if you are visiting this website, you should know that your information has been logged and documented as well).</p>
<p>Since this terrible incident, I have received numerous Google searches such as <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span class="style9">“pornstar Hlee Xiong”</span>, <span class="style9">“Hlee XXXiong”</span></strong></span><em>. I am telling you personally now, that is not the person that I am. I do not portray myself as such, and this is an insult to my family and to me. </em>I have retained numerous documents showing page views and hits coming from Mr. Lee’s home IP address in Shelby Township, and his specific MySpace ID to prove that it was him who was cyber stalking me and sending out harassing and malicious emails to me and others.</p>
<p>Mr. Lee used photos that he lifted from my MySpace page and hand crafted a slideshow compilation of me and my family to create a false impression and defame my reputation. He created a YouTube account <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><span class="style9">“TheHmongTruth”</span></strong></span> and uploaded the slideshow with an accompanying song called<span class="style9"> <strong>“<span style="color: #ff0000;">Apologize” </span></strong></span><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>by </strong></span><span class="style9"><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Timbaland and One Republic</strong></span>,</span> suggesting in the chorus that it was<strong> <span style="color: #ff0000;">“too late to apologize”</span></strong>. Mr. Lee then used an anonymous email account that he specifically created for the purpose of widespread posting of the defamatory material under the name<strong><span class="style9"> <span style="color: #ff0000;">“thehmongtruth@yahoo.com”</span></span></strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">. </span> He sent the material to multiple recipients who were close family, friends, and colleagues of me, including messages such as <strong><span class="style9">“<span style="color: #ff0000;">Quit being a fake a$$ whore!”</span></span><span style="color: #ff0000;"> <span class="style9">“pictahs”  “uh oh&#8230;.Wat ur excuse be  now?”</span> </span></strong>A friend of mine told this anonymous person to stop and reveal his true identity.  Mr. Lee responded:<span class="style9"> <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>“U is prolly a SlUt h3o like yo frend Mizz XXXiong!  She aint no innocenT no mo huh?  lol!” </strong></span></span></p>
<p>Mr. Lee’s false and defamatory emails and postings were sent far and wide, to close family and friends of mine, to a pageant official, to dozens of Michigan State University students (where he attended school), as well as to several mailing lists that contain many more addresses. Finally, the material was then distributed virally on numerous discussion boards and online blogs by some recipients.</p>
<p>These materials were posted and sent throughout the same time my mother was still recovering from brain surgery at the hospital. During this time, my family and I were still grieving for my mother’s life while she fought to survive the effects of two aneurysms. And with Nhia Lee’s visual image and noise embedded in my mind, forever instilled in me,<span class="style9"> <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">it made my life a living hell</span></strong></span><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">. </span></strong>I will never forget the chilling feeling that crossed my mind over this for as long as I live. I was frozen but shaken all at the same time. This experience is forever embedded into my mind and has caused me intense emotional upset.</p>
<p>I live my life by a moral standard, and that is to <span class="style9">treat others the way you would expect them to treat you.</span> I live my life to serve others and make others happy while putting my own happiness last. I am content, knowing that I can bring happiness to others. My success is my family’s success, and my success is shared in my community. Never have I had cruel intentions towards others. I am, the<span style="color: #ff0000;"><em> ‘girl with the smile, who always goes the extra mile’</em></span>. I like to believe that there are good people in this world who strive to do good things. I used to believe that doing good things will yield good returns. And so I tried to do good things in my life for others. But now, I often wonder why bad things happen to good people?</p>
<p>A beloved uncle of mine once told me: <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;"><em class="style9">“Use your intelligence to do good things in this world, not to do bad things to harm others”.</em></span></strong> And a famous Hmong saying goes, <span class="style9">if Hmong do not love Hmong, who will love the Hmong?</span> When I found out the truth from the Warren Police that it was a fellow Hmong American Nhia Lee who harassed and cyber-stalked me for months under the alias <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;"><span class="style9">“TheHmongTruth”</span> </span></strong>I was deeply hurt knowing that this cruel person came from my own community. I was always taught that we should stand together, support each other, and love each other, because ‘we are like one family’ and we stem from the same tree. There is no good reason why Nhia Lee would do what he did to me. I have never given him any reason to treat me in a hostile manner. There are no words to describe all the feelings that I have internally. Nhia Lee violated and invaded my privacy. He harmed the only family I have. My community has suffered greatly and felt betrayed by Nhia Lee and his family’s senseless acts and animosity.</p>
<p>Before I went to the police I asked Nhia Lee directly if he did it. I was willing to accept an apology if he would cease doing it. But he denied it, belittled me for it, and recruited his family in perpetrating his lie. Now that he has admitted to be the perpetrator behind <strong><span style="color: #ff0000;"><em class="style9">TheHmongTruth@yahoo.com</em> </span></strong>it is clear that he has brought the same onto his family and community.</p>
<p>As the victim of an awful cyber stalking crime, I have decided to come forward from here on out to let people know that they do not have to suffer cyber stalking silently and can fight back against online defamation by cowards who hide behind false identities on the internet. Because of the terrible experience that I went through and am still going through today, <span class="style9">I have set up a resource website to help create awareness of the crime, and to provide a forum for people who use social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube to assist them in preventing cyber stalking. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>So please visit <a href="http://quitstalkingme.com/" target="_blank">WWW.QUITSTALKINGME.COM</a> to find out more.</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://digg.com/security/I_m_Fighting_Back_Against_Cyber_Stalking" target="_blank">DIGG this story</a></p>
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		<title>My Name is Kong Lor.</title>
		<link>http://18xeem.com/home/2008/02/01/my-name-is-kong-lor/</link>
		<comments>http://18xeem.com/home/2008/02/01/my-name-is-kong-lor/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:22:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>18XEEM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Issue 03]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://18xeem.com/home/?p=66</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Four years ago, I had the chance to participate in the first ever Mr. Hmong Southeast Puavpheej Inc. 2004-2005 Pageant in North Carolina. I entered the pageant as a way to challenge myself and to have fun. We practiced for two months straight on walking, dancing, and speaking. It took a lot of time and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://18xeem.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/konglor.jpg" title="Kong Lor" alt="Kong Lor" align="left" height="292" width="224" />&#8220;Four years ago, I had the chance to participate in the first ever Mr. Hmong Southeast Puavpheej Inc. 2004-2005 Pageant in North Carolina. I entered the pageant as a way to challenge myself and to have fun. We practiced for two months straight on walking, dancing, and speaking. It took a lot of time and effort, but it was well worth it in the end. &#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://18xeem.com/home/?page_id=3">Subscribe today</a> to read this entire story in the Feb 08 issue of 18XEEM.</p>
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		<title>Confessions of a Beauty Queen</title>
		<link>http://18xeem.com/home/2008/02/01/confessions-of-a-beauty-queen/</link>
		<comments>http://18xeem.com/home/2008/02/01/confessions-of-a-beauty-queen/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:22:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>18XEEM</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Issue 03]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://18xeem.com/home/?p=69</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Within this predominantly American environment, I forged a path independently by not following what is normally considered traditional, but instead I carried my tradition into new spaces. Willing to take a risk of adapting and sharing my culture with a broader audience, I made it my passion and my priority to put my heritage above [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://18xeem.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/confessions.jpg" title="Confessions of a Beauty Queen" style="padding-right: 8px" alt="Confessions of a Beauty Queen" align="left" height="246" width="190" />&#8220;Within this predominantly American environment, I forged a path independently by not following what is normally considered traditional, but instead I carried my tradition into new spaces. Willing to take a risk of adapting and sharing my culture with a broader audience, I made it my passion and my priority to put my heritage above all, and to allow it to define who I was.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Once backstage I made a comment to my friend who was helping me get dressed, “Who knew looking pretty took so much work!” On stage I portray flawless beauty and elegance, but backstage, things are another story. Looking beautiful and flawless takes a lot of effort. Thankfully, I have my family and friends to help me every step of the way.&#8221; &#8211; Hlee Xiong</p>
<p><a href="http://18xeem.com/home//?page_id=3"> To read this entire article on print, please click here to subscribe.</a></p>
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