Some links and news from stories around the web and beyond:
Battered Asian women find help Downtown (Downtown Express)
The New York Asian Women’s Center, based in Lower Manhattan, was founded in 1982 to help Asian and Asian American women who were victims of domestic violence. Today, its counselors and caseworkers support and guide women through the tumult of leaving their abusive partners in 15 different languages, including several dialects of Chinese, Hindi, Bengali and Vietnamese.Best API Films of '07 (Nichi Bei Times Weekly)
I have numerous beefs with film criticism, and "best film" rankings embody several of them. The idea that art can be ranked by number is kind of absurd and perhaps even insulting to the work it is supposedly lauding. Giving a personal opinion on what was good or bad about a film is one thing, but assigning it a number is sort of like saying "apples are my number three fruit, oranges are number 5, and bananas came in at 2." It's completely ridiculous and it's no way to examine art. That said, here is my list [...]The full, unadulterated Q&A with Paula Kamden on Iris Chang (NAM)
Editor’s note: The night before Iris Chang, best selling author of “The Rape of Nanking,” committed suicide using an antique gun, she contacted Paula Kamen, one of her closest friends. Chang was 36 and had much to live for – fame, fortune, beauty, a loving husband and caring parents, a beautiful new baby. Seeking to reconcile Chang’s “perfect” life and her mysterious suicide, Kamen scoured correspondents, diaries, archival material as well as her own memories.10 Most Bigoted Remarks of 2007 (Right Celebrity)
It’s time once again for a top ten list. This time we’re going to look at the 10 Most Bigoted Remaks of 2007 (and part of 2006). It’s hard to believe that these things still happen, but unfortunately they do.Amul Thapar, First South Asian Federal Judge in U.S. (Indiawest)
More than 84 years after Bhagat Thind, a Punjab-born immigrant and World War I veteran, was stripped of American citizenship by the U.S. Supreme Court because the color of his skin was not white, Amul R. Thapar, the 38-year-old son of India-born immigrants, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the first federal judge of South Asian descent in U.S. history.The Many Shades of Chaka Khan, Now in ‘Purple’ (NY Times)
The Broadway stage has seen celebrities come, and it has seen them go, but it may just have to get up off its doubts for Chaka Khan. This R&B and funk star begins performing as the sassy, fearless Sofia in “The Color Purple” on Jan. 9.Racism allegations prompt diversity training (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Albion Public Schools personnel will undergo diversity training as part of a settlement reached with the state Department of Civil Rights concerning complaints filed by parents last spring alleging racial discrimination. Similar complaints were lodged against the city's Public Safety Department, which arrested four black students after a March 2007 fight at the high school. Those are still pending, said Harold Core, state Civil Rights Department spokesman.Suspect surrenders in string of burglaries at Asian diners (East Bay Daily News)
A man suspected in a rash of takeover robberies at East Bay Asian restaurants surrendered to police Friday afternoon, two days after another suspect in the hold-ups was charged with 57 felonies connected to the heists. Mandi Coleman, 19, of Oakland, turned himself in to San Leandro police about 4 p.m. Friday. Another suspect, Lance Lindquist, 19, was charged Wednesday with 57 felonies in connection with a string of 11 robberies at Asian restaurants in Oakland and other nearby cities, according to police.
