Daily Dose: 08/19/08
August 19, 2008
» AsianWeek Market Report
» Students Offered Chinese Language Program
» Asian Sisters Participating in Reaching Excellence Announces New Executive Director
» API LGBT Dance Party to Raise Funds for Sichuan Earthquake Relief
» Mayor Newsom City Commissions Appointments
» Sine! Sine! Filipino American Film Festival Promotes Impressive Talent
» Ex-Bear Stearns Banker Bets on Beijing Rock as CD Sales Jump
» Filipina Boxer Ana Julaton to Fight for WBC Title
» Park and Kuroda Help in Wins Against Brewers, Phillies
» AT&T Expands Korean Language Customer Service
» SBA Welcomes Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah
» Bra Factory Bust-up as Thai Stands Up for Sitting
» Vietnam, Cambodia Brace for Mekong Floods, Crops Safe
Compiled by Leila Kang and Ivan Natividad
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEL_225 | Tokyo | 12,865.05 | -300.40 | -2.28% |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 20,484.37 | -446.30 | -2.13% |
| KRX | Busan | 3,194.94 | -56.02 | -1.72% |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 7.963.57 | 130.48 | 1.67% |
| BSE | Bombay | 14,543.73 | -101.93 | -0.70% |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 511.53 | 3.48 | 0.68% |
| SET | Bangkok | 691.33 | -5.90 | -0.85% |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 19.60 | -0.13 | (-0.66%) |
| Citigroup | C | 17.20 | -0.42 | (-2.38%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 8.36 | -0.18 | (-2.11%) |
| Sybase | SY | 35.61 | -0.37 | (-1.03%) |
| UnionBancal Corp | UB | 73.34 | 0.16 | (0.22%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 12.16 | -0.78 | (-6.03%) |
NATION
Students Offered Chinese Language Program
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — The Lee’s Summit middle schools will add a new foreign language — Chinese. For the past two years, teachers have been teaching Chinese in Lee’s Summit high schools. Starting this year, Chinese will be available for middle school students as well.
Two new teachers are starting in the district, part of a cultural exchange program designed to prepare the next generation for a rapidly changing world.
Over the next year, teachers Carol and Lee will learn more about America while they teach middle schoolers and high schoolers about their country and how to speak their language.
Lee’s Summit R-7 was the first Missouri school district to offer a Chinese language program.
— kctv5.com
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Asian Sisters Participating in Reaching Excellence Announces New Executive Director
BOSTON — The Board of Directors of Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE) announced the appointment of Leslie S. Wang as its new executive director.
Wang will be responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the organization, specifically the two largest programs that include the annual Asian American Women in Leadership Conference.
She will also be responsible for leading and managing the Program Committee — a team of approximately 20 women volunteers in charge of creating and producing various ASPIRE programs for high school, college and professional women.
Wang comes to ASPIRE from Landor Associates, a leading strategic branding and design firm in San Francisco. During her four years at Landor, Wang served as a brand consultant to world-class corporations ranging from Citigroup to Neiman Marcus to SKYY Vodka by managing and crafting evocative brand strategies.
BAY/CALIFORNIA
API LGBT Dance Party to Raise Funds for Sichuan Earthquake Relief
SAN FRANCISCO — On August 30, premier dance venue Shangri La will hold will hold a dance charity at The Endup, mobilizing the Asian & Pacific Islander LGBT communities of the Bay Area to raise funds for the Sichuan Earthquake Relief .
The earthquake has left over 5,000 primary schools in need of repair and or strenghtening, according to one of the local newspapers. “This is an opportunity for the LGBT community to band together and to give for a great cause,” said Sydney Leung, event organizer and owner of the Endup Club.
The evening will feature spinmaster DJ ZAX, who will take the crowd into an unforgettable 5-hour dance explosion.
Door charge is free from 9:00—11:00 p.m. and $15.00 after 11 p.m. The Endup is located at 401 6th Street at Harrison , San Francisco. For more information, contact Sydney Leung at sydney@theendup.com.
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Mayor Newsom City Commissions Appointments
SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor Gavin Newsom released his appointments and reappointments to city offices. Karen Chung and Huichao (Helena) Yang are the new appointees to the Southeast Facilities Commission.
Karen Chung is a Certified Public Account (CPA) and has worked with a variety of public and governmental agencies throughout the Bay Area as a Staff Auditor with the Williams & Adley CPA Firm. Chung currently serves as the Secretary General for the Global Children’s Foundation, a worldwide nonprofit organization. The President of Korea honored her for outstanding contributions to the National Unification Advisory Committee.
Huichao (Helena) Yang is currently an Accounts Payable Specialist for Byer California in San Francisco where her duties include high volume full cycle accounts payable and accounting. Yang’s past career experience includes Office Assistant Manager for Ardebichi Enterprises, San Francisco; Bank Teller, Bank of the West, San Francisco and High School Teacher, GuangZhou High School.
— San Francisco Sentinel
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
Sine! Sine! Filipino American Film Festival Promotes Impressive Talent
SAN FRANCISCO — The Filipino American Arts Exposition will hold a Filipino Film Festival that will display a diverse group of films from the Bay Area’s Filipino community.
The event kicks off with a press conference on August 22 at 12 noon at the Metreon Action Theatre to introduce the Filipino American artists who have written, produced, directed and starred in the films that will be featured in the two-day film festival.
“The festival is an eclectic view of the film-making through the eyes of Filipino Americans,” says resident Bindlestiff artist John Raposas, Sine! Sine! executive producer
Films will be screened at the Metreon Action Theater on the second floor of the Sony Metreon Center, located on Mission at Fourth Streets in San Francisco starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday August 22 through 9:00 p.m. Saturday August 23. Ticket information is available at 2008pistahansinesine.eventbrite.com.
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Ex-Bear Stearns Banker Bets on Beijing Rock as CD Sales Jump
Michael Pettis, a 50-year-old American, has helped spur the revival of Beijing Rock in China and is better known by music enthusiasts as the “Godfather of Beijing Rock.” He is nurturing the genre, led by youths in their teens and 20s, which he predicts will soon take the world by storm.
He is the founder of Maybe Mars Records, a record label that helps export Chinese rock bands. D-22, a rock club modeled from New York’s S.I.N. club, has played host to Carsick Cars, giving one of its earliest performances there. Budding musicians, like Rustic’s Li Yan, also congregate at the bar.
Beijing’s rock music scene has largely stayed dormant since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on student protesters. The leading rocker at that time Cui Jian, whose hits such as “The Last Gunshot” and “I Have Nothing” became rallying themes at the demonstration, went into hiding after he performed at the landmark during the protest.
— Bloomberg.com
SPORTS
Filipina Boxer Ana Julaton to Fight for WBC Title
LOS ANGELES — Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton, the female pride of Philippine boxing, is on a fast track. Julaton returns to the ring at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore on Thursday August 21.
Julaton will battle for the WBC International Super Bantamweight title. She will trade leathers with the #6 WBC Super featherweight contender, Dominga Olivio of the Dominican Republic.
Olivio will gravely test the grit of Julaton. In her 11 pro fights, she has only lost 3 bouts.
Trainer Freddie Roach and team Julaton feel that the Hurricane can give Olivio a run for her money and win the WBC title.
— Philippineboxing.com
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Park and Kuroda Help in Wins Against Brewers, Phillies
Milwaukee tied the game with four unearned runs in the top of the ninth, the result of two errors by Dodgers first baseman James Loney on one play. Ryan Braun knotted the score at 5-5 with a two-run, two-out homer off Chan Ho Park.
Los Angeles countered with Hiroki Kuroda, who’s on an excellent three-start roll that continued with Thursdays victory over Philadelphia. The first-year major leaguer limited the Phillies to a run on just two hits and fanned seven without issuing a walk over seven innings to improve to 7-8 on the season.
Over his last three outings, Kuroda is 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA and has worked at least seven innings each time. He’s also excelled on the Dodger stadium mound this year, bringing a 5-1 record with a 3.10 ERA in home games into tonight’s tilt against the Colorado Rockies.
COMMERCE
AT&T Expands Korean Language Customer Service
SAN ANTONIO — AT&T Inc. announced that it will expand its Korean-language customer support to the Southwest, a region that contains a growing number of Korean-speaking consumers.
This initiative provides ease of access for Korean-speaking customers, who wish to purchase advanced telecommunications products and services, and builds on the company’s commitment to serve customers in their native languages.
Korean customers can now call AT&T’s Korean customer service center and get in-language assistance for AT&T residential services such as high speed Internet, advanced TV, national and international long distance calls and more. The service is also launching in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri.
AT&T also provides customer support in Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Tagalog. For contact phone numbers in other Asian languages, please visit AT&T’s Asian-language Website, att.com/world. The Korean-language call center number is 877-377-3650.
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SBA Welcomes Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to President George W. Bush naming Sandy K. Baruah to be the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Acting Administrator, the agency welcomed Baruah and prepared for his arrival.
Baruah, who is Indian American, presided as assistant secretary for economic development at the Department of Commerce and comes to SBA with deep experience in promoting local business growth, managing organizational change and responding to federal disasters.
He helped lead significant accomplishments for the Economic Development Administration, including the agency’s induction into the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame and achieved the second-highest effectiveness ranking from the White House’s Office Management and Budget.
GLOBAL
Bra Factory Bust-up as Thai Stands Up for Sitting
BANGKOK, Thailand — Nearly 1,000 Thai bra makers protested outside the German embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday in a labor dispute stemming from the vexed issue of whether Thais have the right to not stand up in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Workers chanted slogans accusing the bosses of Body Fashion, part of German lingerie firm Triumph International, of unfairly sacking union leader Jitra Kotchadej after she wore a T-shirt questioning the convention of rising for the royal anthem before movies.
Chotisak said he was only exercising his constitutional right to freedom of expression but risks up to 15 years in jail under the southeast Asian nation’s draconian lese majeste laws.
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Vietnam, Cambodia Brace for Mekong Floods, Crops Safe
HANOI, Vietnam — Rising Mekong floods upstream may cause landslides and deep inundation in Cambodia and southern Vietnam, but the seasonal floodwater would also bring farmers good crops of rice and fish, officials said on Tuesday.
The Mekong River Commission said the river from northern Thailand to central Cambodia was higher than it was in 2000, when the worst floods in four decades struck southern Vietnam. About 20 percent of Vietnam’s 86.5 million people live in the Cuu Long River Delta, the Vietnamese name for the Mekong river. It produces more than half the paddy output and more than 90 percent of its commercial rice.
The winter-spring crop, the Delta’s top yielding, produced 10 million tons of paddy in April with a yield of 6.2 tons per hectare, prompting the government to raise Vietnam’s annual rice exports by 13 percent from earlier targets
Seasonal floods appeared slowly in the Delta in July, a month earlier than usual. Fishing will earn rice farmers extra income with the flood waters.
Waters are expected to rise to 3.5 meters (12 feet) above sea level at Tan Chau gauging station on Friday, or 0.1 meter below the Alarm Level Two.
— Reuters
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