Daily Dose: 06/30/08
June 30, 2008
»AsianWeek Market Report
»Mike Steps Up to the Mic
»Pacquiao’s Historic Victory Came through Training
»Bridging the Language Divide: Electoral Glossary Available in Asian Languages
»Jindal Wants New Law to Execute Child Rapists
»Lawyers Deny Key Role in U.S. Interrogation Policy
»Yankees Put Matsui on DL with Sore Left Knee
»Revitalized Chan Ho Park Back to His Best with Dodgers
»Wie on the Road Back to A Cloudy Future
»D.A. Refuses to Charge Officers in Cho Case
»UCLA School of Dentistry Names Mo Kwan Kang First Professor to Hold Dr. Jack A. Weichman Chair in Endodontics
»Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Asian Employees Association Raises Over $13, 500 for China Earthquake Victims
»Bush Administration Lifts North Korea Sanctions
»China’s Fireworks Makers Struggle
»Rice Praises China’s Post-Quake Recovery Efforts
»Gay Activists March in India’s Gay Pride Parade
»Daihachi Oguchi, Master in Traditional Japanese Drumming, Dies After Being Struck By Car
»Hundreds Injured as 15,000 South Koreans Protest U.S. Beef After Rice Visits Seoul
»China and Hong Kong Battle Over Top Students
»Taiwan Hopes to Become A Player in Medical Tourism
Compiled by Beleza Chan, Steffi Lau, and Miriam Ling
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEL_225 | Tokyo | 13,481.38 | -62.98 | (-0.46%) |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 22,102.01 | 59.66 | (0.27%) |
| KRX | Busan | 3,453.81 | -15.24 | (-0.44%) |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 9,370.78 | -65.43 | (-0.69%) |
| BSE | Bombay | 13,461.60 | -340.62 | (-2.47%) |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 399.40 | 6.79 | (1.73%) |
| SET | Bangkok | 774.39 | -4.03 | (-0.52%) |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 20.66 | -0.67 | (-3.14%) |
| Citigroup | C | 16.73 | -0.52 | (-3.01%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 10.41 | -0.45 | (-4.14%) |
| Sybase | SY | 29.58 | -0.54 | (-1.79%) |
| UnionBancal Corp | UB | 40.51 | -1.33 | (-3.18%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 7.06 | -0.15 | (-2.08%) |
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NATION
Rep. Mike Honda held court Tuesday night at Cafe Japone, a Dupont Circle restaurant and karaoke bar.
The evening was a celebration of his 67th birthday.
Honda’s first turn at the mic was a somber moment. He chose “Moon River.” It was a song his wife, Jeanne, who passed away in 2004, once requested.
Honda’s love of karaoke is well known. He has performed in his home state, in Sacramento, San Jose and Los Angeles, as well as in Chicago. He even snuck in some karaoke during a trip to South Korea last year.
He first tried it out in 2001, in an effort to overcome his fear of public speaking during his first days as a congressman.
He quickly developed a passion for performance. Mexican love songs are the former Spanish teacher’s go-to favorites. Toward the end of the evening Tuesday, Honda sang “En Mi Viejo San Juan” (”In My Old San Juan”).
- Politico.com
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Pacquiao’s Historic Victory Came through Training
The Manny Pacquiao who defeated Mexican American David Diaz in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sunday was the “most complete Pacquiao” ever seen, boxing analysts said Monday.
They said future Hall of Famer coach Freddie Roach has succeeded in transforming Pacquiao from a one-dimensional slugger into a complete fighter.
Pacquiao’s Sunday performance erased all doubts about the ill effects of his climb in weight. Analysts were earlier worried that the Filipino bomber’s speed and power might suffer with his climb from super featherweight to lightweight.
Pacquiao’s fresh perspective on life was also critical to his improvement.
Some even say that Pacquiao is the successor of Pinoy boxing all-time best, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde.
- New America Media
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Bridging the Language Divide: Electoral Glossary Available in Asian Languages
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In order to fulfill their duty under the Help America Vote Act, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has issued glossaries of election terms in five Asian languages: Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Japanese - the most widely spoken Asian languages in the United States.
According to the 2006 Census, 26 percent of Asian Americans and 14.2 percent of Pacific Islanders speak English less than “very well.” While the percentage of those with Limited English Proficiency varies for each ethnic group, from 9.8 percent of Native Hawaiians to 52.8 percent of Vietnamese speakers, a significant portion of the Asian American and Pacific Islander population are in need of language aides.
Many persons with LEP experience difficulty understanding the terminology used by media sources or election officials when registering to vote.
The EAC has made electronic copies available through a free download at www.eac.gov, or a toll-free call to Edgardo Cortes or Laiza Ortero at (866) 747-1471 for a physical copy.
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Jindal Wants New Law to Execute Child Rapists
BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal wants to find a way to execute defendants convicted of raping children, despite a Supreme Court ruling overturning the Louisiana law that called for the death penalty in child rape cases.
Jindal says he has asked attorneys to evaluate ways they can amend the law to continue to maintain death as a penalty for raping children.
The author of the original law says it will also take different justices on the high court.
Former state Representative Pete Schneider says nothing will change until the Supreme Court justices change.
- Newsroom Solutions
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Lawyers Deny Key Role in U.S. Interrogation Policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On June 26, two of the Bush administration’s most influential lawyers played down their roles in crafting controversial legal policies in the war on terrorism. Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, David Addington, and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo said they had sought after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to protect what they described as the president’s inherent wartime powers and to offer interrogators clear guidance on what was permitted under what they described as vague U.S. and international laws.
Under questioning by members of a House Judiciary subcommittee, Addington and Yoo acknowledged that they had advised President Bush and Cheney on key questions about the president’s wartime powers but said that they had played less-central roles in detainee interrogation policies than widely thought. Both men defended the administration’s legal reasoning, including harsh interrogation of detainees overseas, as outlined in now widely repudiated secret memos.
Yoo declined several times to answer questions, invoking executive privilege and the Justice Department’s need to protect national security secrets.
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Yankees Put Matsui on DL with Sore Left Knee
NEW YORK - Hideki Matsui was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a sore left knee, leaving the New York Yankees without one of their key sluggers.
The team also optioned reliever Ross Ohlendorf to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalled left-hander Kei Igawa from its top farm club.
Matsui missed the Yankees’ 15-6 loss to the New York Mets in the opener of a rare two-stadium Subway Series doubleheader. He hit in the batting cage and ran in the outfield before the game, but the Yankees opted to place him on the DL, retroactive to Monday, after the loss.
Manager Joe Girardi said he hopes Matsui’s balky knee won’t keep him out longer than a couple of weeks.
Matsui had right knee surgery during the offseason, but it’s his left knee that is hurting. He is batting .323 with seven homers and 34 RBIs in 69 games.
- Associated Press
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Revitalized Chan Ho Park Back to His Best with Dodgers
LOS ANGELES - Chan Ho Park, back where he had the best years of his career, has been revitalized by his return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 33-year-old Korean struck out seven and scattered four hits over six innings in the Dodgers’ 6-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Crisp from the beginning of his third start after appearing in relief this year, he didn’t walk a batter.
Park, who is 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 22 appearances, said it had been “maybe five or six years” since he has pitched as well as he has this season.
After struggling during stints with Texas, San Diego and the New York Mets, what caused the turnaround?
“A little bit of everything,” said Park, who had a 75-49 record for the Dodgers from 1997-2001. “A little bit mechanics, a better mentality. Better family support.”
- Associated Press
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Wie on the Road Back to A Cloudy Future
EDINA, Minn. - Even in some of her lowest moments in golf, Michelle Wie never had so little to gain.
She had to return to Interlachen at dawn Saturday to play one hole of the rain-delayed second round at the U.S. Women’s Open, no chance of making the cut or even breaking par.
From an elevated tee, she gazed down at a gorgeous view of the sun casting its morning light on the ninth fairway. But when play resumed, her tee shot strayed some 30 yards to the right into the shadows of the trees.
Such is the plight of someone who once brought so much sizzle to her sport.
Wie went from finishing second in a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Open to opening with an 81 and making the news that night only because of a quintuple-bogey 9 that all but ended her chances.
- Associated Press
BAY
D.A. Refuses to Charge Officers in Cho Case
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Orange County District Attorney’s Office concluded that the fatal shooting of Michael Cho, a 26-year-old Korean American, by two La Habra police officers on the last year’s New Year’s Eve, moments after the officers confronted him, was justified.
The fatal shooting stirred the local Korean American community to demand a transparent investigation.
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and two senior prosecutors who reviewed the evidence revealed that the officers fired on Michael Cho because he was armed with a tire iron and was attacking one of the officers. Cho ignored repeated orders from the officers who had their guns drawn to drop it. Instead, he tried to attack one of the officers with it, according to the DA’s Office.
Cho’s family attorney, Shelly Lynn Kaufman said the Cho’s family is filing a lawsuit against the La Habra City in a week.
- New America Media
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UCLA School of Dentistry Names Mo Kwan Kang First Professor to Hold Dr. Jack A. Weichman Chair in Endodontics
The UCLA School of Dentistry has named associate professor Mo Kwan Kang as the first person to hold the Dr. Jack A. Weichman Chair in Endodontics. The chair was created by a gift from Jack Weichman and his wife, Geraldine, to support the teaching and research activities of an “academic endodontist,” of which there is a severe national shortage.
The UCLA School of Dentistry teaches endodontics - also known as root canal therapy - to students in its four-year doctor of dental surgery degree program as well as to graduate dentists enrolled in a two-year residency-training program.
Kang has spent the full course of his educational and professional career at UCLA. He graduated from UCLA for the first time in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry, then completed a master of science degree in the same subject the following year. Next, he became the first person to graduate from UCLA’s combined D.D.S.-Ph.D. program, receiving his doctorate in oral biology in 2000 and the doctor of dental surgery degree in 2001. In 2003, Kang completed the postgraduate/residency training program in endodontics. Kang’s research interest lies in the mechanisms of oral mucosal diseases, including oral cancer and the mouth ulcers resulting from chemo- or radiation therapy.
COMMERCE
Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Asian Employees Association Raises Over $13, 500 for China Earthquake Victims
When employees of Pacific Gas and Electric Company heard of the tragic news of a massive earthquake in China’s southeastern Sichuan Province May 12, they responded with sympathy and relief efforts. PG&E’s Asian Employees Association (AEA) raised more than $8,500 to send overseas for the thousands injured, homeless and searching for loved ones. To bolster their effort, AEA has promised to match up to $5,000 of contributions to World Vision China Disaster Relief Fund.
“The heart-rending stories from Sichuan, along with the stories of bravery and courage, have reached into PG&E and evoked a hugely sympathetic response in our community,” said Fong Wan, AEA’s sponsoring officer and vice president of energy procurement for PG&E. “This fund will help the purchase and distribution of basic survival goods such as food, tents and medicines to the victims and their families.”
GLOBAL
Bush Administration Lifts North Korea Sanctions
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday lifted trade sanctions against North Korea and moved to remove it from the U.S. terrorism blacklist, a remarkable turnaround in policy toward the communist regime he once branded as part of an “axis of evil.”
The announcement at the White House came after North Korea handed over a long-awaited accounting of its nuclear work to Chinese officials on Thursday, fulfilling a key step in the denuclearization process.
Bush called the declaration a positive step along a long road to get the nation to give up its nuclear weapons. Yet, he remained wary of the regime, which has lied about its nuclear work before. And North Korea’s declaration, received six months late, falls short of what the administration once sought, leaving it open to criticism from those who want the U.S. to take an even tougher stance against the regime.
- Associated Press
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China’s Fireworks Makers Struggle
LIUYANG, China - Chen Tiezhong will likely spend the Fourth of July worrying about the future of his sprawling fireworks factory. China, where fireworks were invented, is running short of ports from which to ship the dangerous cargoes abroad.
The day is a great occasion for fireworks across the U.S., and China’s fireworks industry meets 98 percent of America’s overall needs, and 80 percent of the pyrotechnics needed for professional displays. But the U.S. fireworks business stands to lose US$25 million to US$30 million this year because of lost orders, says Julie Heckman, executive director for the American Pyrotechnics Association.
A Missouri firm says it backed out of some shows because of the shortage. Meanwhile, some Chinese factories are being pushed close to bankruptcy.
“Our factory will be forced to close, whether we want it or not,” said Chen Tiezhong at his sprawling 500-employee operation in Liuyang in central Hunan province.
- Associated Press
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Rice Praises China’s Post-Quake Recovery Efforts
DUJIANGYAN, China - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised China’s earthquake recovery efforts during a visit to the disaster zone Sunday, contrasting Beijing’s “attentive” response with Myanmar’s reluctance to accept outside aid after a devastating cyclone.
Rice was the highest-ranking American to inspect damage from the May 12 quake that destroyed a wide swath of southwest China’s mountainous Sichuan province. The magnitude-7.9 quake killed almost 70,000 people, including thousands of schoolchildren who died when their classrooms crumbled.
She stopped in Dujiangyan, a badly hit city of 250,000, where officials said 3,000 people died and 90 percent of the buildings are now uninhabitable.
“I can see that the Chinese government and officials have been attentive,” Rice told reporters after the tour. “I can see how much effort has gone into the recovery. But with a disaster of this magnitude, no one can do it alone.”
- Associated Press
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Gay Activists March in India’s Gay Pride Parade
NEW DELHI - Men wore sparkling saris, women wore rainbow boas and hundreds of people chanted for gay rights in three Indian cities Sunday in the largest display of gay pride in the deeply conservative country where homosexual acts are illegal.
Gay rights supporters took to the streets of Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi to call for an end to discrimination and push for acceptance in a society where intolerance is widespread.
“This is a national coming-out party,” said Alok Gupta, a lawyer from Mumbai, as he stood among several hundred activists in New Delhi. “This is a simple thing: We are seeking the right to love.”
While small groups have marched in the eastern city of Calcutta in recent years, Sunday’s events were the first gay pride parades in Bangalore and New Delhi. Several hundred people turned out at each of the three events.
- Associated Press
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Daihachi Oguchi, Master in Traditional Japanese Drumming, Dies After Being Struck By Car
TOKYO - Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi, who led the spread of the art of “taiko” drumming to the U.S. and throughout Japan, has died after being hit by a car, an official at his ensemble said. He was 84.
Oguchi was crossing the street when he was struck by a car Thursday. He was rushed to a hospital but died of excessive bleeding early Friday, said Yuken Yagasaki of Osuwa Daiko, the group in Nagano prefecture (state) in northern Japan that Oguchi had led.
Oguchi helped to found top U.S. taiko groups, including San Francisco Taiko Dojo, which has performed in Hollywood movies and on international tours since its founding 40 years ago.
A former jazz musician, Oguchi was one of the first to elevate the traditional folk sounds of taiko to modern music played in concert halls, not just festivals and shrines.
- Associated Press
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Hundreds Injured as 15,000 South Koreans Protest U.S. Beef After Rice Visits Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean protesters battled riot police early Sunday at a rally opposing the resumption of American beef imports, hours after the U.S. secretary of state vouched for the health of U.S. cattle.
About 15,000 people - some wielding steel pipes and hurling stones at police - staged a street demonstration in Seoul on Saturday night, demanding the government withdraw its decision to lift a ban on imports of U.S. beef.
The rally turned violent after some protesters used ropes to try to drag away police buses used as barricades to prevent them from marching into the presidential Blue House.
Riot police immediately fired water cannons and sprayed fire extinguishers to repel them.
Angry protesters attacked police with steel pipes and stones, while police used clubs and shields against the crowd.
- Associated Press
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China and Hong Kong Battle Over Top Students
HONG KONG - This June, a record 10.5 million young Chinese participated in the national College Entrance Examination (CEE). The CEE is the largest test of its kind in the world.
Whether these students succeed or fail the exam determines their competitiveness for future jobs and changes the course of their lives in this demanding society. At the same time, the top universities in China and Hong Kong are competing for zhuangyuan - a Chinese term for exam champions from each city and province, numbering around 70 each year nationally.
Universities in China attract zhuangyuan through providing individualized attention to those students, such as providing students with their cell phone numbers and 24-hour consultants.
On the other hand, universities in Hong Kong showcase their achievements. Many of their students pursue prestigious programs overseas and none of their graduates have been unemployed after college.
- New America Media
Taiwan Hopes to Become A Player in Medical Tourism
LUKANG, Taiwan - Last year, the Taiwan Department of Health formed an initiative to facilitate medical travel. The program includes 20 hospitals that work with airlines, hotels and travel agencies, as well as the government, to attract medical visitors. If they are successful, Taiwan is poised to become a destination for medical tourism.
Since 1995, Taiwanese citizens have enjoyed universal health care, which allowed them to see any doctor at any hospital without referral. With a Smart Card that keeps their health records, Taiwanese citizens can receive dental, prenatal care, vision and major surgeries.
Taiwan must cross several hurdles before medical tourism can be successful. One of the most significant barriers is language. Another one is the fear of international patients of treating a serious medical condition in an unfamiliar country.
Comments
4 Responses to “Daily Dose: 06/30/08”
Got something to say?
Condeleeza Rice’s compliments to the Chinese government for its rapid response to the recent earthquake drips with the most disgusting hypocrisy. You’ll remember that while the large African-American population of New Orleans dealt with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the U.S. government’s racist indifference to the their suffering, Rice was shopping for shoes a Ferragamo. A mouthpiece for the most reactionary president ever to rule this nation, and a complete fascist herself, Rice is a disgrace to our nation and the world.
Christian:
I would be among the very last to “disagree” here, but . . .
i am inclined to cut the slack that differentiates the message from the messenger.
The way things are going, have gone, and likely will continue to go with our “Department of State,’ the message will doubtlessly stay the same, as in dubyous indeed, check today’s Cockburn “counterpunch,” the while the messenger will change come “Inauguration” day.
The fact Condi is “black” neither convicts nor exonerates her, albeit I wish she had chosen alternate paths by way of her Stanford doctorate.
Still, Colin Powell has been similarly “used”? He, however, seems to have recanted at least in part and in public.
As for New Orleans and black AND white in that region, note well the stalled “recall” on Bobby Jindal.
And forgive ALL of us for inaction, or inertia, in the matter of the still-worrisome, AND dangerous, “administration” still waddling around in its gone-goose glories.
Frank Eng
P.S.: D’ya think AsianWeek is rethinking its “open debate” 2.0 Beta venue with this new “format”?
Frank, I too wish that Rice would have used the degrees she earned at Stanford differently. But instead she’s become one of the most dangerous human beings on this planet. She never fails to prop up the monstrous George Bush, gracing his ignorant utterances with a patina of doublespeak. She’s not window-dressing for him - she’s -part of his imperialist clique bent on world domination.
But she’s constantly demonstrated that there’s very little substance behind her plastic veneer. For example, even though she prided herself on being a Soviet “expert,” she was caught completely offguard by the events in the USSR during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and even blocked the path of alcoholic boob/Russian national disgrace/embezzler/liberator pretend Boris Yeltsin to Bush Sr.’s office. Insofar as her ethnicity is concerned, the likes of Albert Gonzalez, Colin Powell and Rice herself confirm that despite some white liberal’s contentions (i.e., that “minorities” are invariably progressive or even revolutionary due to the racism they confront in this country), there are reactionaries of color who have aligned themselves with this, the most disgraceful administration in U.S. history.
Christian:
I am “speechless.”
Not even a quibble.
BUT . . .
I rather doubt Condi is a functioning “gear” in the theoneocon Trojan Horse.
Even as I doubt the Establishment truly “honors” Colin Powell.
On the other hand, it would appear that one “John Yoo,” may his tribe decrease, may well be a tiny gizmo in the gratuitous and graceless machinery behind the dubyous ones.
As witness his “testimony” alongside the Cheney chutzpa that “testified” before a “committee” today? Or was that yesterday?
These “thugs” are a species unto themselves, whatever their “race,” “creed,” or “color.”
They know only their paymasters AND their specific, individual, homegrown bigotries.
And, yes, Christian, “minorities” are rarely “progressive,” insofar as they are constrained to “play” the “game” according to the “rules” preset.
And that’s why I, sheepishly, would cut Condi enough slack to continue shopping at Ferragamo’s or wherever.
Worse, still, as you note, that species of mangy curs who happily yelp at the rearguard of their hyena packs — the John Yoos and their sycophantic sorry likes.
Frank
P.S.: Why is McCain “campaigning” in Colombia and Mexico? For the “Latino” vote? Not likely. Uribe and that Mexican zillionaire are the likely sponsors. But dimiishing-value dollars, pesos?, won’t count Nov. 4. What WILL count is the unemployment registers.