lacking finances, and other reasons. Living in the United States also with jobs and school, there is not that much time to take a week off, which is how long most of these funeral rituals take. There are several differences between traditional funeral rituals in Laos, Thailand and in the United States. Usually in Laos and Thailand funerals occur immediately in the home after a person dies. The person is dressed and then held within the hours at the home (Lee, 2009). Funerals can last three to four days and require washing and dressing the deceased, and conducting animal sacrifices to properly prepare the soul to be reincarnated. Hmongs in the media 2007 coup conspiracy accusations and arrests On June 4, 2007, following a lengthy federal investigation labeled "Operation Flawed Eagle," warrants were issued by a California-based US federal court for the arrest of General Vang Pao, eight other Hmong people, and one non-Hmong person for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government of Laos in violation of the federal Neutrality Acts and various US weapons laws. The federal charges allege that members of the group inspected weapons, including AK-47s, smoke grenades, and Stinger missiles, with the intent of purchasing them and smuggling them into Thailand in June 2007 for use in Hmong guerrilla war efforts against the Laotian government. The one non-Hmong person of the nine arrested, Harrison Jack, is a 1968 West Point graduate, and retired Army infantry officer. The defendants faced possible life prison terms for violation. Vang Pao and other defendants were ultimately granted bail, following the posting of $1.5 million in the property. Following the arrests, many Vang Pao supporters had called on President George W. Bush and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to pardon the defendants. On September 18, 2009, the federal government dropped all charges against Vang Pao, announcing in a release that the federal government was permitted to consider "the probable sentence or other consequences if the person is convicted.” On January 10, 2011, charges against all of the remaining defendants were dropped as well. In popular culture The 2008 film Gran Torino, directed by Clint Eastwood, was the first mainstream US film to feature Hmong Americans. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an elderly, racist Korean War veteran living in Detroit, Michigan who befriends a Hmong teenager named Thao, played by Bee Vang, who previously tries to steal his Gran Torino as an initiation into