The views and opinions expressed on this site and blog posts (excluding comments on blog posts left by others) are entirely my own and do not represent those of any employer or organization with whom I am currently or previously have been associated.
Academic Version: Applying my personal experiences and academic research as a professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies to provide a more complete understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues and current events related to American race relations, and Asia/Asian America in particular.
Plain English: Trying to put my Ph.D. to good use.
It takes a lot to wow film critics and audiences at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. But apparently, a new independent film about Vietnamese American refugees is doing just that, recently receiving rave reviews among the film festival attendees::
Director Hà m Tran’s “Journey from the Fall†got it first test before a non-Vietnamese audience at the Sundance Film Festival, passing with Read More →
Is it hypocritical that American companies that supposedly champion freedom of speech and exchange of information also aid in censorship overseas? In the context of recent criticisms against American Internet powerhouses such as Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. helping the Chinese government censor information, the company that is apparently at the forefront of the censorship, somewhat surprisingly, is Google:
As news organizations like CNN are reporting, there is another allegation of domestic spying for China:
The man, identified as Ko-Suen Moo of Taipei, is charged with being a covert Chinese agent, and working with a Frenchman to try to ship sophisticated high-tech military equipment from the United States to China.
Moo and Serge Voros of Paris have been indicted in Miami, Florida Read More →
A recent article from the Christian Science Monitor describes bilateral efforts between the U.S. and Viet Nam to strengthen not only economic, but also military ties between the two former enemies, mostly in an effort to offset the rise of China as a global superpower:
Vietnam has agreed to send Army officers on a US training program, and has hosted US warships Read More →
Inside Higher Education has an article that describes an increasingly common trend among colleges and universities these days: looking to India to attract students, form distance learning ventures, and to tap other education-related resources:
India has long been a place of study for scholars of the region’s history, religions and cultures. And India has long been a major supplier of foreign Read More →
The Washington Post has an article that describes different ways in which immigrant residents of the U.S. are increasingly becoming a potentially powerful and sought-after constituent group for many politicians around the country. The article focuses specifically on the situation in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area:
Pollsters and political consultants say it will probably be a few years before foreign-born residents are Read More →
A recent article from the Pacific News Service describes a practice that apparently is increasingly common in Korea: parents paying American (almost always White) couples to adopt their children so that their kids can enjoy a better educational opportunities and supposedly a better life in the U.S.:
One out of three Korean parents are willing to send their children abroad for Read More →
The Associated Press/Yahoo News describes an increasingly common phenomenon occurring in Japan: Americans adopting the traditional Japanese custom of publicly apologizing for its misdeeds and mistakes:
Taking a cue from Japanese culture, in the past few weeks a raft of U.S. officials — from the U.S. military, the U.S. Embassy, and the departments of State, Agriculture and Defense — Read More →
The Christian Science Monitor has a very interesting story about about an emerging academic and cultural controversy regarding Asian Indian history — nationalist (some would even call right wing) Hindu groups are trying to literally rewrite textbooks books to more positively reflect on Indian history and cultural achievements:
The foes – who include established historians and Hindu nationalist revisionists – are familiar Read More →
The New York Times has an article about the emergence of entrepreneurship among Vietnamese Americans, perhaps best symbolized by the opening of the first two banks owned by Vietnamese Americans in the U.S., both of which are located in Little Saigon, Orange County, CA:
[Until recently] the banking needs of the immigrant companies were served by major institutions, like the Bank of Read More →
As part of their feature on emerging trends in corporate outsourcing, BusinessWeek Magazine has one particular article entitled “Angling to be the Next Bangalore” that summarizes how rising wages, a growing shortage of skilled workers, and desires by companies to diversify their outsourcing options are all likely to lead to a decline in India’s share of the total outsourcing pie. Read More →
The New York Times has an article that describes an emerging phenomenon in many Asian countries, but particularly prominent in Japan — hikikomori — or withdrawaling oneself from any social interaction and shutting oneself in one’s house for months or even years on end:
Some hikikomori do occasionally emerge from their rooms for meals with their parents, late-night runs to convenience stores Read More →
