Osaka mayor defends Japan’s wartime sex crimes

Posted on May 15, 2013 by bigWOWO
Photo of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Photo of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

It’s really gotten out of hand. In the latest flap over Japanese war crimes during WWII, Osaka mayor and co-leader of the conservative Japan Restoration party (not just some dude off the street) Toru Hashimoto defended Japan’s sexual enslavement of 200,000 Asian women: Japanese mayor: Wartime sex slaves were necessary.

Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also said that U.S. troops currently based in southern Japan should patronize the local sex industry more to help reduce rapes and other assaults.

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Posted in News, Politics | Tagged | 31 Comments

Chinese elites sending their kids to NYC prep schools

Posted on May 13, 2013 by bigWOWO
Photo credit: Ángel Franco/The New York Times

Photo credit: Ángel Franco/The New York Times

According to the NY Times, more and more wealthy Chinese are sending their kids to expensive New York City prep schools.

Yijia Shi, a freshman, wanted to increase her chances of an acceptance letter from Brown University. And Meng Yuan, a junior, was seeking Western-style independence, not to mention better shopping. When she is not heading to track practice or doing her homework, she is combing Bergdorf Goodman for Louis Vuitton limited edition handbags and relishing in the $295 tasting menu at the celebrated Columbus Circle restaurant Per Se.

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Posted in Asian American, Education | Tagged , | 14 Comments

New study says tiger parenting doesn’t work

Posted on May 10, 2013 by bigWOWO
Amy Chua (from Forbes article)

Amy Chua (from Forbes article)

There was an article in Forbes by a white woman named Susan Adams whose son goes to Stuy, where most of the kids are Asian: Tiger Moms Don’t Raise Superior Kids, Says New Study. She wrote the article and read Amy Chua’s Tiger Mom book because she questioned whether her kid would lose out to the Asian students. Now, according to the article, there is evidence that ought to allay her fear. Su Yeong Kim, a professor at the University of Texas, had been working on the same topic before Amy Chua’s book came out, and she has just published her results. According to her, Tiger parenting doesn’t work. The Forbes article says:

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Posted in Asian American, Education, parenting | Tagged , | 15 Comments

29-year-old novelist transcends race and culture

Posted on May 9, 2013 by bigWOWO
Bill Cheng. Credit: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Bill Cheng. Credit: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

I’ve always thought it cool when writers can go beyond their own personal experience. This NY Times article is about Bill Cheng, “a 29-year-old Chinese-American from Queens who has never set foot in Mississippi,” who has just written a book about life in Mississippi. The book is called Southern Cross the Dog. It’s about an African American man in the early twentieth century living in the Deep South. It has received high praise from Southerners and African Americans. Bill Cheng has never even been to Mississippi, but it seems people are saying he portrayed the experience perfectly.

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Posted in Asian American, books, Writing | Tagged | 5 Comments

Amazing rescue in Cleveland

Posted on May 7, 2013 by bigWOWO

Not Asian related, but tangentially race-related, so let’s jump in!

Check out the story of the rescue in Cleveland. Three women were locked up and kept in captivity for about ten years by three brothers. That’s some mighty scary stuff. One of them was kidnapped when she was just 14. They’ve arrested the three men allegedly responsible. One of the women, Amanda Berry, who was kidnapped when she was 17, caught the attention of two men who rescued them (see one of the men in his own words in the video above) and was finally freed. After ten years! In addition to the heroism of Charles Ramsey, the gentleman above, I’m amazed at Amanda Berry’s resilience–she still knew who she was and that she had to get out after ten years.

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Posted in News | 8 Comments

The Association of Asian American Studies and the boycott of Israeli institutions

Posted on May 6, 2013 by bigWOWO
Photo credit: Reuters

Photo credit: Reuters

I recently received an e-mail from Dr. Jonathan Marks, who wrote an article in Commentary Magazine about the Association of Asian American Studies and its boycott of Israeli academic institutions. I became aware of this boycott through FB since I’m FB friends with lots of Asian Americans in academia. Dr. Marks mentioned in his e-mail that he was surprised that there seemed to be a complete lack of discussion regarding the resolution by the AAAS. If you read his Commentary article, he is also (rightfully) surprised by that they would even have a resolution on the Israel/Palestine conflict:

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Posted in Arts and music, Asian American, Education | Tagged | 9 Comments

Vote in Malaysia

Posted on May 5, 2013 by bigWOWO

Will Malaysia finally succeed in tossing aside its racist affirmative action policies and corruption? Or it will they continue to decline, as talented non-Malays and business leaders leave the country for better opportunities?

The votes are in, and they’re being counted. See this Op-Ed in today’s NY Times.

Posted in News | Tagged , | 9 Comments

“Brofiling”

Posted on May 3, 2013 by bigWOWO

original

From brofiling and Gawker. What do you think about the front cover of The Week? Do the Tsarnaev brothers look a bit more Caucasian in their photos and a bit more…swarthy… in their cover art? Did they get a “radical change” through the wonders of artistic rendition?

Posted in media | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Asian guys arrested in Boston marathon bombing

Posted on May 2, 2013 by bigWOWO
Photo from CNN.com

Photo from CNN.com: “From left, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev went with Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to Times Square in this photo taken from the social media site VK.com. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were arrested on Wednesday, May 1, on charges they tried to throw investigators off Tsarnaev’s trail.”

See story here. According to authorities, the two Asian guys from Kazakhstan, above, along with an American citizen, were arrested for helping the Tsarnaev brothers get rid of evidence.

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Posted in News | Tagged | 4 Comments

5-year-old shoots 2-year-old sister

Posted on May 1, 2013 by bigWOWO

From CNN today, a 5-year-old shot and killed his 2-year-old sister. The older brother killed Caroline Starks with a .22 caliber rifle that he received for his birthday. The gun was a Crickett, which is a gun made for kids. The shooting was ruled accidental, so no one will be charged with murder, child negligence, or any other inconvenient crime. I guess people can go back to business as usual.

Starks’ autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, but the shooting has been ruled accidental, according to Kentucky State Police Public Affairs officer Billy Gregory.

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Posted in News | Tagged | 2 Comments