Daily Dose: 11/10/08
November 10, 2008
»Asian Market Report
»Asian Ams are Top Leaders in Obama’s Transition Team
»Cover-Up Alleged in D.C. Killing Of Lawyer
»Asian Researcher’s Study Points to Migraines Cutting Breast Cancer Risk
»19-year-old Asian Student Wins City Council Seat
»SFPD Chief Partners with Corporate Leaders to Advocate for Holiday Safety
»Jeff Chang Named 2008 USA Ford Fellow in Literature
»Doctors ‘Optimistic’ Deftones’ Bassist Chi Cheng Will Recover
»Spielberg, Smith in Talks for Remake of Korean Hit ‘Oldboy’
»Chan Claims Third Place in Amsterdam
»Korean Basketball Players Stay on Top
»Gov. Schwarzenegger Appoints Takasugi to LA County Superior Court
»Twenty-One Missing After Taiwanese Fishing Boat Capsizes
»Moonsoon Link to Fall of Dynasties
Compiled by Josh Laddin & Sye-Ok Sato
AsianWeek Market Report
| AsianWeek Market Report | ||||
| Asian Stock Indexes | ||||
| NIKKEI 225 | Tokyo | 9,081.43 | 498.43 | 5.81% |
| HANG SENG | Hong Kong | 14,744.63 | 501.20 | 3.52% |
| KRX | Busan | 2,457.85 | 38.09 | 1.57% |
| SSE IX | Shanghai | 6,127.12 | 374.03 | 6.50% |
| BSE | Bombay | 10,536.16 | 571.87 | 5.74% |
| HOSE | Ho Chi Minh | 366.00 | 0.03 | 0.01% |
| SET | Bangkok | 321.25 | -6.33 | -1.93% |
| Asian American Market Report | ||||
| Yahoo! | YHOO | 11.86 | -0.26 | (-2.13%) |
| Citigroup | C | 11.35 | -0.47 | (-3.98%) |
| Amkor Technology, Inc | AMKR | 3.88 | -0.28 | (-6.73%) |
| Sybase | SY | 25.15 | -0.70 | (-2.71%) |
| East West Bank corp,Inc | EWBC | 15.68 | -0.11 | (-0.70%) |
NATION
Asian Ams are Top Leaders in Obama’s Transition Team
Two Asian Americans were appointed to top leadership positions in President-elect Barack Obama’s 16-member presidential transition team. Another Asian American will serve in the 12-member advisory board to the transition team.
Pete Rouse, whose mother is a Japanese American, will be one of the 3 co-chairs of the transition team. Chris Lu, a Chinese American, will be the team’s executive director. Sonal Shah, an Indian American, is a member of the advisory board.
Lu worked with S. B. Woo, former lieutenant governor of Delaware and president of the 80-20 Educational Foundation, to firm up the reply to 80-20’s questionnaire from presidential candidate Obama. On Oct. 28, in a debate with McCain campaign volunteers in Annandala, Va., Chris was quoted as saying that Obama supports increasing the number of Asian American federal judges and executives to a level consistent with America’s core value of equal opportunity.
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Cover-Up Alleged in D.C. Killing Of Lawyer
WASHINGTON — A police affidavit made public recently provided a wealth of new details about one of the district’s most mysterious homicide cases, yet it failed to answer the central questions of who killed prominent lawyer Robert Wone in an elegant Dupont Circle townhouse—and why.
The people who probably could help provide that information—three male housemates who lived in the $1.2 million residence—covered up evidence in a bid to mask what actually happened, the affidavit alleges. One has now been charged with obstructing justice as authorities step up pressure to solve the case.
Authorities said from the start that Wone, 32, general counsel for Radio Free Asia, was fatally stabbed late Aug. 2, 2006, while staying overnight at the Swann Street NW townhouse. Yesterday, they revealed that he was probably drugged into a paralytic-like state and sexually assaulted. The three stab wounds were neat and nearly identical, suggesting that Wone was incapacitated and unable to fend off his attacker, the affidavit says.
— Washington Post
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Asian Researcher’s Study Points to Migraines Cutting Breast Cancer Risk
CHICAGO — In a puzzling twist, women who have a history of migraine headaches are far less likely to develop breast cancer than other women, U.S. researchers said recently.
The study is the first to look at the relationship between breast cancer and migraines, and its findings may point to new ways of reducing a woman’s breast cancer risk, they said.
“We found that, overall, women who had a history of migraines had a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who did not have a history of such headaches,” said Dr. Christopher Li of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, whose findings appear in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
Li said the reduction in risk was for the most common types of breast cancers—those driven by hormones, such as estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, which is fueled by estrogen, and progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer, which is fueled by progesterone.
— Reuters
BAY/CALIFORNIA
19-year-old Asian Student Wins City Council Seat
PLACENTIA, Calif. — 19-year-old Jeremy Yamaguchi will become one of the youngest elected officials in Orange County’s history. He was also the top vote-getter in the Placentia City Council race.
Yamaguchi said he was “truly humbled” by his election. He is the son of a Placentia police officer and a political science major at Cal State Fullerton. He said he was excited to be a full-time student and part-time politician: “Education will be taking a back-burner. With college, you have the ability to make your own schedule.”
Yamaguchi was named Placentia’s youngest Citizen of the Year last year. He has also volunteered with a number of city organizations and committees. He is also a trombone player and an Eagle Scout.
— OC Register
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SFPD Chief Partners with Corporate Leaders to Advocate for Holiday Safety
SAN FRANCISCO — As the holiday season approaches, the San Francisco Police Department encourages consumers to become advocates for public safety. In a press conference held at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco, Police Chief Heather Fong was joined by corporate leaders from Farmers Insurance, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Walmart to highlight ways in which consumers can play a more proactive role in protecting themselves and their loved ones during this season.
“The San Francisco Police Department and our corporate partners are committed to encouraging all residents to become consumer advocates for safety,” said Chief Fong.
The suggestions include:
1. Always remember to lock all doors and windows when leaving your home.
2. Inform a family member, trusted friend or neighbor that you will be away for a period of time so that they can drop by to pick up your mail and check on your home.
3. Keep your business well lit, inside and out. Employees should take caution when taking out garbage or cleaning the parking lot at night. A colleague needs to be aware of your whereabouts and be within eye contact.
4. Routinely check your credit card transactions for any fraudulent activity.
5. When holiday shopping, remember to park your car in a well-lit area and keep valuables stored away.
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
Jeff Chang Named 2008 USA Ford Fellow in Literature
United States Artists, a national arts advocacy organization that invests in America’s artists and illuminates the value of artists to society, named Jeff Chang a 2008 USA Ford Fellow in Literature.
He was among 51 recipients of United States Artists’ prestigious 2008 Fellows program, including other APAs Tehching Hsieh, Lê Thi Diem Thúy, Wu Man and J. Meejin Yoon.
Jeff is the author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation and the editor of Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop. He most recently covered the 2008 presidential election for Vibe and Vibe.com.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Jeff now resides in Berkeley, Calif. He has begun writing his third book, Who We Be: The Colorization of America (St. Martin’s Press), on the cultural transformation of the U.S. over the past three decades.
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Doctors ‘Optimistic’ Deftones’ Bassist Chi Cheng Will Recover
Doctors are “optimistic” that Deftones’ bassist Chi Cheng will make a full recovery following a car crash in California. Cheng suffered severe injuries after the vehicle he was in came off the road in the Santa Clara area of San Jose. A message on the band’s website said the bassist, who was in a coma when taken to hospital, had passed the crucial 72-hour mark.
“Chi was able to hear and respond to his father’s request to move his lower lip,” the band wrote. “His father also administered a tendon reflex test, of which both legs responded with movement. “Doctors continue to remain optimistic, and the energy at the hospital remains very positive.” The band also said that Chi’s family would like to thank fans for their “love and support.”
The Grammy Award winning band, who formed 20 years ago, have been recording their sixth studio album, Eros, which is due out next April.
— Gigwise.com
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Spielberg, Smith in Talks for Remake of Korean Hit ‘Oldboy’
Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-park’s Oldboy. DreamWorks is in the process of securing the remake rights, and the new picture will be distributed by Universal.
In the 2003 Korean original, a man gets kidnapped and held in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. Suddenly, he’s released and given money, a cell phone and clothes and is set on a path to discover who destroyed his life so he can take revenge.
Spielberg had been looking for an opportunity to make a film with Smith, who would play the kidnapped man if all the pieces fall into place. Spielberg is looking for a writer to begin the development process.
— Variety
SPORTS
Chan Claims Third Place in Amsterdam
Karate expert Darren Chan produced a superb performance to claim third place at the Dutch Karate Open in Amsterdam. The owner of the popular Fight Factory in Purley, who trains in the Kyokushin style of karate, won all three of his fights with spectacular knockouts, one after just 17 seconds, and also took home the trophy for best technician.
He said: “With the disappointment of not fighting in the British Open in early October due to my father being taken ill on the eve of the tournament, it was great to get back out there and finally put all my training in to practice.”
“I saw this as my only option to not let all my training go to waste, and I hope to fight again in Spain in December.” Darren started karate aged just four when his dad took him to a club in Caterham and since then he has picked up regional and European titles and even came third in the world.
— Yourlocalguardian.co.uk
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Korean Basketball Players Stay on Top
As many experts had predicted, the Dongbu Promy and the KCC Egis have claimed the ascendancy, leading the Korea Basketball League (KBL) with a 4-1.
After losing the opening game of the season, Egis, the tallest team and boasting two Korean giants in Seo Jang-hoon and Ha Seung-jin, has turned the corner and is now dominating on court, winning four games straight.
Ha Seung-jin, the only Korean National Basketball Association (NBA) player, has quickly proved his talent after adapting to the KBL. The 222-centimeter player recorded a double-double by scoring 21 points with 18 rebounds. Ha also kept the rim with three block shots against the Etland BlackSlammer in Jeonju Sunday.
The most steady player in the KBL, Choo Seung-gyun, also aided his team’s 78-72 victory over BlackSlammer, adding 16 points with eight assists. Defending champion Dongbu Promy has established a similarly impressive winning run over the last three games.
— Korea Times
COMMERCE
Gov. Schwarzenegger Appoints Takasugi to LA County Superior Court
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced 17 new judgeships to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Among them is Asian American Jon R. Takasugi.
Takasugi, 45, of South Pasadena, has been a deputy alternate public defender for the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office since 1994. From 1990 to 1994, he was a deputy public defender with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office.
Takasugi earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Southern California School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael T. Sauer. Takasugi is a Democrat.
GLOBAL
Twenty-One Missing After Taiwanese Fishing Boat Capsizes
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Twenty-one sailors were reported missing in shark-infested waters off the south coast of Taiwan after their fishing boat overturned and sank in heavy seas, officials said.
The coastguard managed to rescue seven of the 28-strong crew after the “Fu Chi Hsiang No. 767” sank off Taiwan’s southern-most tip late, transport ministry official Cheng Chien-chung reports.
“A survivor told us that he saw one of the crew drifting away after being attacked by sharks,” Cheng said. Taiwanese authorities sent two helicopters and eight boats to the area where the trawler sank after sending out a distress signal. Those missing included sailors from Taiwan, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
— AFP
Moonsoon Link to Fall of Dynasties
The demise of some of China’s ruling dynasties may have been linked to changes in the strength of monsoon rains, a new study suggests. The findings come from 1,800-year record of the Asian monsoon preserved in a stalagmite from a Chinese cave. Weak—and therefore dry—monsoon periods coincided with the demise of the Tang, Yuan and Ming imperial dynasties, the scientists said. A U.S.-Chinese team report their work in the journal Science.
Chemical analysis of a 118mm-long stalagmite from Wangxiang Cave, in Gansu province, north-west China, told the history of strong and weak cycles in the monsoon—the rains that water crops to feed millions of people in Asia.
By comparing the rain record with Chinese historical records, Pingzhong Zhang of Lanzhou University in China, and colleagues, found three out of five “multi-century” dynasties—the Tang, the Yuan and the Ming—ended after several decades of weaker summer monsoons with drier conditions. “Summer monsoon winds originate in the Indian Ocean and sweep into China,” said Hai Cheng, co-author from the University of Minnesota.
“When the summer monsoon is stronger, it pushes farther northwest into China.”
These moisture-laden winds bring rain necessary for cultivating rice. But when the monsoon is weak, the rains stall farther south and east, depriving northern and western parts of China of summer rains.
This could have led to poor rice harvests and civil unrest, the researchers speculate.
“Whereas other factors would certainly have affected these chapters of Chinese cultural history, our correlations suggest that climate played a key role,” the researchers write in Science.
— BBC
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