12.19.07
Posted in Media and Entertainment at 4:26 pm by william_lee
According to this article, the Aurora Asian/Pacific Community Partnership recently announced its decision to suspend its annual film festival for 2008 because of departing sponsors, a lack of volunteers and stagnant attendance.
This is one of many hundreds and hundreds of Asian themed film festivals throughout the nation that are all more or less doing the same thing. They are so commonplace in American Asian life that even the graphic novel Shortcomings mentions them in a light-hearted half-joking way. I can’t see how American Asian film festivals, in their current modus operandi, can have much appeal given the way media is distributed nowadays (torrents, warez…. youtube). How are we, American Asians, supposed to overhaul the dying breed of dinosaur known as the American Asian film festival to make it more palatable for modern day society?
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Posted in Activism and Empowerment at 4:12 pm by william_lee
The South East Asian Refugee Community Home is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist Southeast Asians to become integrated into, and to contribute to, the social and economic well-being of society.
Here is a brief list of some of their accomplishments:
- 2002 - Employment programs add job-specific training. Youth program expands to full time & convenes Asian youth tobacco advocacy project with four Asian partner agencies.
- 2000 - SEARCH receives United Way “Fostering Excellence Award;” serves 340 people; 9 staff; $448,000+ budget.
- 1997 - Publishes Asian business directory to promote commerce for Asian-owned businesses.
Learn more about SEARCH online at www.asian-search.org. Visit their offices at 1113 E. Franklin Avenue, Suite 212, Minneapolis, or call 612-673-9388.
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12.18.07
Posted in World News at 4:00 pm by william_lee
According to this article:
- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — International health experts have been dispatched to Pakistan to help investigate the cause of South Asia’s first outbreak of bird flu in people and determine if the virus could have been transmitted through human contact, officials said Sunday.
Four brothers — two of whom died — and two cousins from Abbotabad, a small city about 30 miles north of Islamabad, were suspected of being infected by the H5N1 virus, said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl in Geneva.
A man and his niece from the same area who had slaughtered chickens were also suspected of having the virus.
The H5N1 virus has killed at least 208 people worldwide, mostly in Southeast Asia and China, since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with sick birds.
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12.17.07
Posted in Politics, Activism and Empowerment, Community Offenders, Racism, Education, China at 7:44 am by mark_chang
December 17 marks the anniversary of The Magnuson Act being signed into law (in 1943).
Proposed by U.S. Representative Warren G. Magnuson (Washington), it made moot the Chinese Exclusion Act allowing immigration to the United States from China for the first time since 1882
It allowed for 105 Chinese immigrants to enter the United States each year. These immigrants were to be hand picked by the U.S. government.
Coincidentally (or not?) this came at a time when the U.S. sought China as an ally in WWII.
Regardless, a number of us are thankful for the passage of The Magnuson Act.
The Chinese Exclusion Act Of 1882 is the first and only act ever to target a specific nationality unfavorably.
Exclusions were extended to other (non Chinese) Asians via The Immigration Act of 1924.
Although in either a “omitted” or “repealed” status, currently “Exclusion of Chinese” headlines Chapter 7 of Title 8 of the United States Code (http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title8/chapter7_.html).
The Canadian version of the story is The Chinese Immigration Act (or lack thereof) Of 1923 which was repealed in 1947.
Currently, there are small movements to bring back the Chinese Exclusion Act while larger U.S. movements target the boycott of Chinese made goods.
The following incidents provide some insight into the “zeitgeist” of the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act:
The Chinese Massacre Of 1871
An angry mob of Anglos and Latins (over 500 strong) ransacked LA’s Chinatown. Robbing, raping, pillaging and murdering between 18-23 (of 178 total residents) Chinese people. The corpses were hung on display in various parts of the district.
As is the norm when it comes to anti-Asian violence, no one ever spent a day in jail for the crimes (you know “technicalities”, etc. …)
The Rock Springs Massacre Of 1885 (Wyoming)
Several white miners armed with rifles went into mining rooms occupied by Chinese miners and either robbed them first then shot them or shot them first then robbed them (does it really make a difference?) resulting in 28 deaths.
None of the assailants were convicted (that’s the surprise of the century) and received a post “trial” ovation.
The cause was attributed to lower wages paid to Chinese workers (much like today where Asians, specifically Chinese receive the lowest pay for the the same work) driving down the wages of the white workers.
Chinese Massacre Cove (Oregon, 1887)
A gang white men robbed, killed and subsequently mutilated 31 Chinese men.
No one was ever convicted (another chalk mark in the “believe it or not” column).
Washington State riots:
The Tacoma riot (1885)
The Issaquah riot (1885)
The Seattle riot (1886)
Then of course there’s the infamous Anti-Chinese riot of 1880 in Denver where
2000 rioters beat and robbed Chinese residents and hung an elderly man from a lamppost.
The Australian version of anti Chinese rioting would be the Lambing Flat Riots.
With anti Asian sentiment on the rise due to increased immigration for high tech grunt work and unfounded paranoia of rampant disease and an economic takeover, the only question is whether we have learned from our past and are now in a better position to defend ourselves more effectively?
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12.14.07
Posted in Media and Entertainment at 10:44 am by telly_wong
The Journey begins for Filipino singer Arnel Pineda (center)
Last week, has-been rockers Journey announced their new lead singer, who will replace the singer who replaced the singer who replaced the irreplaceable Steve Perry…and it turns out the new guy’s Filipino!
Forty-year-old Arnel Pineda was discovered on YouTube of all places by Journey guitarist Neal Schon, who stumbled upon a clip of the Philippines native and his former band, The Zoo, performing the Journey power ballad “Faithfully” (I’m guessing The Zoo’s sound isn’t as wild and primal as their moniker implies). Impressed by Pineda’s voice (which somewhat resembles Perry’s — and that’s a compliment by the way), Schon contacted the singer via email and the rest is history. Pineda and Journey are now apparently recording a new CD which will drop next summer — something tells me it may be one of those “Wal-Mart exclusives”.
Alright, I’ll admit that I enjoy a handful of Journey songs. How can anyone not? However, what made those songs memorable and distinguished them from those other vomit-inducing “soft rock” tunes of that era was Steve Perry’s inimitable voice. (And just for the record, my musical tastes lean heavily towards electronic and darkwave — hopefully that somewhat redeems me.)
I’m sorry, but for me, Journey ended when Perry quit the band in 1997. This outfit that calls itself “Journey” and continues to sell out county fairs across the country is essentially its own tribute band. While I wish Pineda the best, I hope his obvious talent isn’t buried under an avalanche of cover songs. Ideally, this gig will lead to bigger, better –and original– projects for the man.
But what I’m really, really curious to see is how Pineda will be received by them die-hard Journey fans in the Heartland — namely those sporting monster mullets and whose wardrobes comprise largely of those free t-shirts you get when you buy a carton of cigarettes.
Then again, maybe this is the start of something. Exactly what, I don’t know.
–Telly Wong
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Posted in Politics, Culture, Racism at 6:13 am by telly_wong
Why can’t race relations in America be hip and
harmonious like those on 21 Jump Street?
Blacks, Hispanics and Asians have little trust for each other and hold prejudiced views towards other ethnicities, according to a new poll by New American Media which surveyed 1,105 adults from the three groups.
Some key findings include:
– 44% of Hispanics and 47% of Asians are “afraid of African-Americans because they are responsible for most of the crime”
– More than 50% of Blacks and 46% of Hispanics said Asian business owners do not treat them with respect
– 50% of African Americans said Latin American immigrants “are taking jobs, housing and political power away from the black community”
– 61% of Hispanics, 54% of Asians and 47% of African Americans said they would rather do business with whites than members of the other two groups.
In regards to the American Dream, Hispanics and Asians believed that hard work will lead to prosperity while more than 60% of African Americans dismissed the American dream as not working for them.
However, the three minority groups did manage to agree on a few things:
They all believed that the United States would be a better place if Blacks, Asians and Hispanics held more authoritative positions at universities, in business, media and government. They also said they believe racial tensions in the United States will ease over the next 10 years. Well, that’s great. Too bad the world’s supposed to end before that!
People, let’s try to achieve some respectable level of racial harmony before we all go supernova. How’s that?
– Telly Wong
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12.13.07
Posted in World News at 1:45 pm by william_lee
According to this article:
(CNN) — A Texas couple charged with killing the little girl known as “Baby Grace” now face capital murder charges, after a Texas grand jury upgraded the charges on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty against the girl’s mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, and Trenor’s husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II.
Two-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers was beaten to death and her body was disposed of in Galveston Bay.
Riley’s body was found October 29 by a fisherman on an uninhabited island in the bay. It was wrapped in black plastic bags and stuffed in a blue, plastic bin.
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12.12.07
Posted in Activism and Empowerment, Community Offenders, Media and Entertainment, World News at 7:23 am by george_lou
Just weeks ago, China launched into outerspace the Chang’e 1 orbiter. Its mission is to study the moon’s chemical, mineral and dust composition, as well as take pictures.
It’s a big step forward in the exploration of space.
But the joy would be short-lived. I knew some journalist would find something negative to write about. Or worse, make up a story.
Let’s take a look at this news article, “China says lunar image authentic,” written by an unnamed AP writer. Why the absence of a name?
The article goes into how Chinese-language Internet sites have questioned the authenticity of the Chang’e 1’s first picture of the moon. They claim that it’s identical to that of a U.S. lunar orbiter taken two years ago. In other words, that China copied the picture.
Apparently the writer felt compelled enough to concoct this story based on ramblings he/she heard about on Internet sites. Of course the dumbass adds that these sites are “Chinese-language” sites. In other words, that 1) even Chinese people are questioning their government’s credibility, which would 2) make this story true 3) simply because it came from their own people.
This is a classic example of how any writer can devise a negative story using information that is nothing more than hearsay. Why does he/she leave out the names of the sites? Site URLs are always written using the Latin alphabet. There is no excuse for an English language writer to leave them out. Unless, of course, it’s all bullshit.
Shame on whoever wrote the article. Anita are you responsible for this again?
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12.11.07
Posted in Sports, Chinatown, Interviews, Activism and Empowerment, Community Offenders, Media and Entertainment, Racism at 3:14 pm by mark_chang
In the lead up to a potential bout, in is the norm for boxers not only travel to watch their potential future opponents but also to engage in some trash talk as well when interviewed.
Recently Edison Miranda traveled to Canada to watch Jean Pascal in a bout, after which he provided the usual interview filled with bravado (published on www.fightnews.com/). Only this time I was shocked to hear his racially disrespectful closing statement, which was the aforementioned: “You are nothing more than a Chinatown boxer.” (translation: “You are a pussy”) which read less as an insult to Pascal and more as an insult to us.
The only thing Miranda did was exercise his right to freedom of speech. Maybe we should do the same (freedom of speech works both ways) and contact any stations televising his upcoming bouts (or any Warrior’s boxing events for that matter) indicating that we intend to boycott the sponsors.
The next Miranda bout is on January 11, 2008 and ESPN2 (contact page: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=contact/espntv) intends to televise both Pascal and Miranda the same night. Maybe a nice note (or nastygram, your choice) to boycott the sponsors of the program would be worthwhile.
Miranda is promoted by Warriors Boxing, the Executive Director of which is Leon Margules (leon@warriorsboxing.com), may want to send him a nice note as well.
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