Daily Dose: 10/15/08
October 15, 2008
» Gecko-like Glue is Said to be Stickiest Yet
» Doctors Often Skip Key Test Before Surgery
» Man Shot to Death in Sunset District Identified
» David Chiu Files Formal Ethics Complaint
» Angel Island’s 740 Acres Hold a Lot of History
» USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association Debate Viewing and Discussion
» Margaret Cho Extends Relationship with Zazzle for “Beautiful” Tour
» Transgender Entertainer is Latest in Korean String of Suicides
» Grace Na Leads Alameda Toward Top of the Heap
» Park Wins Fourth Gold at National Sports Festival
» Merger Creates Nation’s Second Largest Immigration Law Firm
» Verizon Gives Grants to Asian American Groups
» Suicide Rates May Rise in Japan, Korea Amid Financial Turmoil
» Racy Manga Comics Scare Parents
» Holy Row Over India’s First Woman Saint
Compiled by Sye-Ok Sato, Josh Laddin, and April Choi
AsianWeek Market Report
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEI 225 | Tokyo | 9,547.47 | 99.90 | 1.06% |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 15,998.30 | -834.58 | -4.96% |
| KRX | Busan | 2,817.13 | -64.59 | -2.24% |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 6,406.35 | -66.77 | -1.03% |
| BSE | Bombay | 10,809.12 | -674.28 | -5.87% |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 397.15 | 7.82 | 2.01% |
| SET | Bangkok | 335.08 | -16.85 | -4.79% |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 11.94 | -0.71 | (-5.61%) |
| Citigroup | C | 16.61 | -1.98 | (-10.63%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 4.25 | -0.28 | (-6.17%) |
| Sybase | SY | 25.16 | 1.56 | (5.87%) |
| UnionBancal Corp | UB | 73.29 | -0.11 | (-0.15%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 14.23 | -0.35 | (-2.40%) |
NATION
Gecko-like Glue is Said to be Stickiest Yet
CHICAGO — A new type of dry glue designed to mimic gecko feet is 10 times stickier than the gravity-defying lizards, and three times stickier than other gecko-inspired glues, U.S. researchers recently.
“It’s the stickiest dry glue yet,” said Liming Dai of the University of Dayton, who reported on the glue in the journal Science.
A 1-inch (2.5-cm) square of the adhesive can support the weight of a 220-pound (100-kg) man climbing up a vertical surface, but it can be easily lifted and reapplied, an ideal material for, say, a Spider-Man suit.
“That is not real. What we do is real,” said Zhong Lin Wang of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, referring to the comic book superhero’s wall-climbing prowess.
Aside from helping people walk up walls, the glue could be used in electrical components without the need for soldering, Wang and Dai said in a telephone interview.
— Reuters
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Doctors Often Skip Key Test Before Surgery
CHICAGO — People on Medicare who get elective surgery to open blocked heart arteries often do not get the recommended stress tests to confirm the surgery is warranted, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The surgery, known as PCI or percutaneous coronary intervention, involves threading a balloon-tipped catheter through the arteries and opening up a clog. A tiny wire-mesh coil called a stent is often inserted to prop open the artery.
“It’s important to document that patients are receiving PCI for appropriate indications to ensure the optimal use of Medicare resources,” said Dr. Grace Lin of the University of California, San Francisco, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Lin and colleagues wanted to see if doctors who are performing PCI surgeries were following widely accepted practice guidelines that call for people to undergo a stress test to determine whether the procedure is needed. They found that fewer than half of the patients took a stress test on a treadmill within 90 days of their elective surgery.
— Reuters
BAY/CALIFORNIA
Man Shot to Death in Sunset District Identified
SAN FRANCISCO — A man who was shot and killed in a car in San Francisco’s Sunset District has been identified tonight as Hung Pham of Daly City, authorities said.
The 46-year-old man was found with numerous gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a black Mercedes SUV parked at the southeast corner of 17th Avenue and Noriega Street at about 11 p.m. Monday, police said. He appeared to have been shot through the car window and was pronounced dead at the scene.
No arrests have been reported in the killing, the 88th homicide in San Francisco this year. The circumstances that led to the shooting are under investigation, sergeant Neville Gittens said.
The block where the killing happened is a typical Sunset District neighborhood—mainly two-story, single-family homes that are attached. None of the residents interviewed today said they knew who the shooting victim was.
— SF Chronicle
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David Chiu Files Formal Ethics Complaint
SAN FRANCISCO — District Three Board of Supervisors candidate David Chiu will personally file a formal complaint at the San Francisco Ethics Commission against Comcast and the San Francisco Association of Realtors for cable television ads that began broadcasting yesterday that claim that Chiu supports the decriminalization of prostitution.
“These false ads are particularly outrageous because I am a former prosecutor, neighborhood leader and community court Judge-Arbitrator who has fought for years to reduce the crime in our neighborhoods,” said Chiu. “COMCAST and the Realtors are not above the law and must be held fully accountable for violating ethics laws designed to stop exactly these kinds of false ads.”
David Chiu is a former criminal prosecutor who publicly announced his opposition to the measure on San Francisco’s November 2008 ballot that would decriminalize prostitution, Proposition K, at a public meeting of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee on August 13 that was widely reported in the media.
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Angel Island’s 740 Acres Hold a Lot of History
SAN FRANCISCO — The fire that burned earlier this week on Angel Island endangered many major historical sites, including the newly refurbished immigration station that was part of what some called “the Ellis Island of the West,” but firefighters saved them all.
“[The island] is a national treasure,” said Eddie Wong, executive director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.
Starting in 1910, the Angel Island Station processed more than a million immigrants to the United States, most of them from Asia. Unlike European immigrants on the East Coast, Asian immigrants of the laboring classes were not welcomed.
Most Chinese were forbidden to enter the United States under terms of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was the law of the land from 1882 until 1943. However, many immigrants declared they were citizens, claiming they were sons and daughters of American citizens who had arrived before them.
The immigration station has been refurbished at a cost of $65 million and will be opened to the public in February.
—SF Chronicle
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USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association Debate Viewing and Discussion
The USC Asian Pacific Alumni Association is hosting a 2008 Presidential Debate and Discussion. USC alumni and students are invited to come watch the live broadcast of Wednesday’s debate and participate in an open “Town Hall” style discussion following the telecast.
One surrogate representing each campaign will be in attendance to field questions from the audience.
The viewing and discussion will be held at the Davidson Conference Center Club Room, USC University Park Campus, 3145 South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles starting at 5:30. Admission is free, but space is very limited. Registration is done online at alumniconnections.com.
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
Margaret Cho Extends Relationship with Zazzle for “Beautiful” Tour
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.— Margaret Cho, one of the hottest comics in the business, announced a special custom t-shirt promotion with strategic partner Zazzle for her “Beautiful” tour. Through the promotion, Cho fans are able to customize their own official “Beautiful” tour t-shirt from Cho’s Zazzle store (zazzle.com/margaretcho) and take part in a group photo with the comedian after her performance in each remaining city.
Fans of the innovative and avant-garde Cho can get creative by adding photos, text or another design to any of the official “Beautiful” tour t-shirts on her Zazzle store. There is a variety of pre-designed “Beautiful” tour t-shirt styles to choose from, and fans can customize them to their liking.
Cho’s “Beautiful” tour opened to sold-out crowds in the spring and because of its huge success was extended through the fall. The one-woman stand-up show takes on the meaning of beauty as only Cho can with her own brand of comedic flair.
— Businesswire.com
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Transgender Entertainer is Latest in Korean String of Suicides
Jang Chae-won, 26, was found hanged in the bathroom of her home in Seoul on Friday.
A transgender woman who found fame through appearing on a Korean game show after gender realignment has committed suicide in what experts are calling a ‘copycat suicide.’
She was found by a friend, who said that they had become worried when Ms Cheo-won did not answer phone calls from her boyfriend.
Ms. Chae-won’s death came a day after the suicide of Korean actress Choi Jin-sil. Police believe that Ms Chae-won committed suicide, inspired by the actress’ death, and upset by a breakup with her boyfriend. Messages on her personal homepage have suggested to some that Ms Chae-won was unhappy.
She wrote comments such as: “Will the end of my life be a comedy or a tragedy?” “Life is really tiresome” and “I wish everything would go the way I wanted.”
Korean experts say that the country is seeing an example of the ‘Werther Effect’; a wave of suicides inspired by high-profile deaths.
— Pinknews.co.uk
SPORTS
Grace Na Leads Alameda Toward Top of the Heap
ALAMEDA — How serious are Grace Na and her family about her golf game? When the Alameda High sophomore was 10 years old, she moved with her parents and younger brother from Pinole to Alameda for a simple reason: The city’s Chuck Corica Golf Complex had one of the most successful junior golf programs in California.
Na has become a fixture on the Northern California golf scene. As a freshman last year, she helped lead Alameda to a North Coast Section team title in the program’s first year of existence. The Hornets didn’t have a superb showing at the NorCal championship, finishing fourth, but Na qualified for the CIF state tournament as an individual and finished third with a 1-over-par 73 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
Na, 15, is the 30th-ranked junior golfer in the country, according to the American Junior Golf Association. She spent this past weekend in Oklahoma competing in the Ping Invitational at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater. She shot a final-round 75 Monday to finish tied for 10th place.
— SF Chronicle
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Park Wins Fourth Gold at National Sports Festival
Swimmer Park Tae-hwan earned his fourth gold medal at the National Sports Festival by winning the men’s 100-meter freestyle recently in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province. Park, dubbed “Marine Boy,” set a Korean record with a time of 48.94 seconds, improving his old mark set at last year’s competition by 0.38 seconds.
Park, the first South Korean gold medalist in Olympic swimming, is one gold medal from winning five golds for the third straight year at the National Sports Festival. The 19-year-old, who is representing the Seoul team at the festival, will race in the men’s 4×100 medley relay Thursday.
— Korea Daily
COMMERCE
Merger Creates Nation’s Second Largest Immigration Law Firm
HOUSTON — The two largest immigration law firms in Texas announced Wednesday that they will merge, creating the nation’s second-largest law firm devoted exclusively to immigration law. Tindall & Foster, PC and Quan, Burdette & Perez, PC, both based in Houston, are combining to form Foster Quan LLP in a strategic move that prominently positions the new firm to capitalize on expanding corporate demand for comprehensive immigration services. The merger is effective January 1, 2009.
The newly formed Foster Quan will have 56 attorneys, 165 staff members and combine the strengths of two prestigious, well-established immigration firms.
“Foster Quan LLP brings together the talent, experience and resources of two firms who are nationally known for leadership in immigration law. Our clients, attorneys and staff will all benefit from our expanded capabilities,” said Gordon Quan, founder of Quan, Burdette & Perez and co-chairman of the new firm.
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Verizon Gives Grants to Asian American Groups
SAN FRANCISCO — Verizon Wireless awarded $60,000 in grants today through its HopeLine® Program to five San Francisco Bay Area community-based organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness in the Asian American community.
Police Chief Heather Fong assisted in presenting the HopeLine awards to the five recipients—Asian Americans for Community Involvement, Asian Women’s Shelter, Chinese Community Health Resource Center, Korean Community Center of the East Bay and Maitri. The ceremony was held at the Empress of China restaurant in Chinatown.
“We are very fortunate to receive strong support from the community and Verizon Wireless,” said Michele Lew, president and CEO, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI). “While domestic violence is a tragedy for all those affected, the Asian American community faces unique challenges and risks because of language and cultural barriers. We count on support from corporate donors like Verizon to reach at-risk communities to directly benefit domestic violence survivors and their families.”
— Inquirer.net
GLOBAL
Suicide Rates May Rise in Japan, Korea Amid Financial Turmoil
Job losses caused by global credit crunch may prompt people to kill themselves in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, according to a researcher who studied suicide rates during Asia’s currency crisis a decade ago.
Suicides climbed about 40 percent among men in all three locations in 1998, compared with a year earlier, and rose about 20 percent among women, said Shu-sen Chang, a psychiatrist with the U.K.’s University of Bristol. The increases correlated with a surge in
unemployment and an economic slump triggered by currency devaluations in Asia in mid-1997, he said.
The current turmoil in financial markets risks creating a new wave of suicides in the region, particularly among working-age men, Chang said. Asia accounts for 60 percent of the world’s suicides, according to the World Health Organizations. Hong Kong opened 24-hour hotlines this week to provide counseling to people with “emotional and family problems” arising from personal financial crises.
— Businessmirror.com
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Racy Manga Comics Scare Parents
HANOI, Vietnam — There are growing concerns among some Vietnamese parents that violent and salacious comic books are having a negative impact on local children, even though there is no scientific research to prove such a connection.
The increasingly demonized comics are known as manga, a style of comic from Japan that has become popular around the world. It is worth noting that while manga has a reputation for being very violent and erotic, many of the comic books are no more violent than some of the action and horror movies that come out of Hollywood each year and make it to Vietnamese cinemas.
Late last month, The Ministry of Information and Communications withdrew the comic Three Fighting Girls (Tam Nu Hiep) by Thanh Hoa Publishing House. According to the Ca Mau Province’s Cultural Police Unit, the comic can lead to men raping women while also having bad effects on children. No evidence for this was provided.
— Vietnamnews.com
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Holy Row Over India’s First Woman Saint
KOTTAYAM, India — Christians, who form 20 percent of the 32 million people living in the southern Indian state of Kerala, are celebrating the canonization of their beloved Sister Alphonsa, unaware of the controversies that surround the life of the first Indian woman to be elevated to sainthood.
Alphonsa lived in Bharananganam, a remote village 33 kilometers from Kottayam district, and worked most of her miracles after her death in 1946. She cured the ailments of hundreds who had prayed for intercession and newspapers in Kottayam city, famed for its publishing industry and its Christian traditions, regularly carry her wimpled portrait acknowledging “favors received.”
What moved Pope Benedict XVI to confer sainthood on Alphonsa, officially, was the miraculous cure that her spirit is believed to have affected, in 1999, on Genil Joseph, a congenitally deformed child, yet observers have said there were more pressing political and financial reasons.
— Asia Times
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