Photo from LA Times

I know this is somewhat old news, but I just read this article written by Euna Lee and Laura Ling about their experience in North Korea and China. They recall the moments/research they gathered right before they got captured, their detention, and eventual release. The article goes into detail about what they discovered about the North Korean human rights travesties, specifically online sex trafficking. If you don’t know anything about North Korea besides ridiculous missile threats and the crazy dictator “Kim-something something” then you really need to read this article.

The line that stood out to me was this: Our motivations for covering this story were many. First and foremost, we believe that journalists have a responsibility to shine light in dark places, to give voice to those who are too often silenced and ignored.

This really humbled me and reminded me what a journalist’s purposes is. It’s not just to write snarky articles and have your name bolded in a byline. As an Asian American alternative newsmagazine, hardboiled can also contain articles and support writers that want to shed light in the dark places and give voices to the voiceless. Instead of just being a compilation listing off news that has Asian Americans in it, hardboiled should be that publication which showcases the news that doesn’t get covered and gets pushed aside.

What do you think?

Here’s a quote from the article from our man (hah hah), UC Regents President Mark Yudof:
“This action is long overdue and addresses an historical tragedy,” Yudof said. “To the surviving students themselves, and to their families, I want to say, ‘This is one way to apologize to you. It will never be possible to erase what happened, but we hope we can provide you a small measure of justice.’ ”

But if anything, I’m glad that this step was taken — it once again brings to light the civil liberties that were harshly snatched away from legitimate American citizens, serving as a reminder for years to come…

Read the press release here.

She’ll have to face a runoff, though, but it seems like she’s got a pretty strong base of supporters to push her towards victory. We’ll see how it turns out in July. If you guys are registered to vote in this area, don’t forget to vote in the general election!

Anyway, hopefully in like two weeks or so I can give more coherent and fun blog posts. In the meantime, I wanted to forward you guys to more professional bloggers over at Hyphen magazine. For the past month, they’ve been compiling immigrant stories to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Amy Tan’s Asian American novel The Joy Luck Club. Whereas that book totally speaks to only one time of immigrant experience specific to that time period, how much has immigrant stories changed? Lots of people contributed, so you should definitely CHECK IT.

Alright, back to research and immense paper writing. Woe.

Here are some follow-up links to this article. It’s reassuring to know that Asian Americans aren’t going to take this sitting down. Hell yes!

“New UC admissions policy gives white students a better chance, angers Asian-American community” By Lisa M. Krieger, Mercury News

“Asian-American education group seeks delay in UC admissions reform” By Matt Krupnick, Contra Costa Times

Some good quotes:

“How can we not be concerned?” said Patrick Hayashi, a retired UC Berkeley and systemwide leader. “The projections show our community will be decimated. We have to keep in mind that these numbers represent real people.”

“The changes over the last two years took place inside the ivory tower and closed the door, without the public’s knowledge,” he said.

Added Hayashi: “A public university should be more responsive. Private schools can do anything they want. But public schools have a different set of objectives. “It will have a devastating impact on our community. It is a fatal mistake to think it will blow over.”

“It’s affirmative action for whites,” said UC-Berkeley professor Ling-chi Wang. “I’m really outraged “… and profoundly disappointed with the institution.”

Now let me know. How pissed are YOU?

Guest Starring… Activists Yuri Kochiyama and Helen Zia and Members of the original twLF / AAPA (Asian American Political Association).

W-W-Whaaaat??

That’s right. You did not hear wrong.

This will be a kick-ass, cuh-ray-zee, mind-blowing event. If you aren’t registered, and if you hadn’t prepared yourself for this weekend yet, what the heck are you doing?? CLICK HERE.

hardboiled will be making a strong showing there: you better too!

“Locke’s China work complicates bid.”

What the freak, so it’s an “ethics issue” if Locke is elected as Secretary because of his ties to China?? It seems like the wounds of the 1996 Clinton finance scandal have not healed completely. This pisses me off:

“Yet if he’s confirmed as commerce secretary, Chinese trade issues – including some with direct impact on the companies he went to bat for – are likely to be high on the agenda for Locke, who is the first Chinese-American governor.”

I can understand why there’s this heightened sensitivity to potential corruption for Secretary nominations due to the huge blundering of the former cabinet appointees and their ridiculous tax mishaps, but I’m fed up with the idea that Asian Americans can’t be trusted into political positions merely because we’re perceived as foreigners.

Would such suspicion of loyalty to America occur if the person nominated were not Asian American? That’s messed up.

NOT DEAD!

As painful as it is to listen to him yell in Korean and speak with a fake Asian accent to fulfill the stereotype of an angry hypermasculine Korean man, perhaps 80% of the reason why I keep watching this show is because of him and Sun.

I’m psyched to see how his revival will play out, especially now that Sun’s coming back. Alright, hidden LOST fans. Come out of the shadows and tell me that I’m not alone.