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.
Interesting article from the New California Media about recent events surrounding a sex trafficking bust in California, in which about a 100 women from Korea were working as prostitutes, many of them forced into it after being deceived with promises of legal jobs in the U.S. The article focuses on how the Korean American community is reacting to it and how Read More →
From Angry Asian Man (one of my favorite sites), here’s a news release from the Asian Pacific American Legal Center about new hate crimes legislation in California, inspired by recent crimes committed against Asian Americans in the state:
Hate Crimes Civil Remedies Act to Provide Justice for Hate Crime Victims Passes Senate Floor
LOS ANGELES – On Monday, July 11, 2005, AB 378, Read More →
The New York Times reports that there’s currently a bill in Congress that would recognize the sovereignty of hundreds of thousands of Native Hawaiians, and would them the same kinds of rights as Native Alaskans and Native Americans:
112 years after United States troops helped overthrow the independent Kingdom of Hawaii and 12 years after Congress apologized for it, that Hawaiian distinctiveness Read More →
The San Jose Mercury News reports that the latest outsourcing pattern in the information technology sector involves shifting the development and programming of video games to computer programmers in India. This follows on the heels of software, technical, and customer support jobs already being outsourced to India.
Jason Robar, an Issaquah, Wash., consultant who brokers overseas deals between game Read More →
It’s a pretty sad statement that racist comments and jokes against Asian Americans (and people of color in general) on the radio are becoming more and more commonplace in American society, and the latest example comes from Albany, NY (where I lived for six years during graduate school). Asian Media Watch reports that on June 21 and 22, DJs at Read More →
Salon.com has an article that describes how policemen in Thailand who have waists larger than 40 inches are being told that they need to lose weight and to slim down:
Recent medical examinations of 4,150 police officers in Bangkok found that 49 percent have high cholesterol and are overweight, which is “an obstacle” in directing traffic, said a statement from the Metropolitan Read More →
A reader just alerted me that as reported by the San Jose Mercury News, Rick Delgado, the guy behind the infamous Tsunami Song that ridiculed victims of the Asian tsunami tragedy and which contained racial epitaths against Asians, has just been hired to go a new morning show on “Wild 94.5” in the San Francisco Bay Area:
Devotees of TV reality shows may have heard about the ABC show Welcome to the Neighborhood that was to be aired this month. The premise was that seven families would have the chance to win a house located in an affluent suburb of Austin, TX, with three of the families already living in the neighborhood given the power to Read More →
CNN has an article that describes how many young college graduates who had planned on getting computer programming and other high tech jobs in the Information Technology industry have had second thoughts. Instead, many are now entering marketing, finance, sales, business consulting and other fields that are seen as more insulated from the threat of outsourcing to Asian countries:
Several news agencies such as Salon.com report that China is seeking to purchase Unocal Corp., one of the largest oil companies in the world. You’ve probably heard that supposedly, one of the reasons why the price of oil (and as a result, of gasoline) is China’s increasing appetite for oil (nevermind that the U.S.’s demand for oil still far outweighs Read More →
Salon.com has an interesting article about the recent rash of incidents involving South Korean soldiers along the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. Apparently, a soldier recently killed eight other military personnel and two others committed suicide while stationed at the DMZ. The articles speculates that two factors may be at the heart of these incidents — Read More →
As another indication of America’s obsession with lists and rankings, Forbes Magazine has released its list of the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities (presumably from around the world, since several international sports stars are on the list). The list is based on combined rankings for pay, web hits in search engines, press coverage, and TV appearances. For your convenience, the Read More →
