Natalie is 8yrs old and was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. (AML) After 5 rounds of chemo, Natalie was in remission, but as of 1/19/10 her cancer is back. Her only chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant. Please register to donate. You could be the one to save her life. Go to www.dkmsamericas.org or www.hopefornatalie.com

The current odds for an ethnic minority patient, like Natalie to find a matching unrelated donor may be close to 1 in a million. This is the reason they are trying so hard to reach as many people in the Asian population as possible. The more Asians we get swabbed, the more likely Natalie will find her "Needle In A Hay-Stack" match. Please spread the word to get people interested in the fight to SAVE Natalie's life.

Hope For Natalie Nakatani from Patrick Biesemans on Vimeo.

For more information to help Natalie please visit here.

Michelle Kwan, the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, is joining ABC's "Good Morning America" as a special correspondent covering the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Kwan, who participated in two Winter Olympics and won two medals there, will provide commentary and analysis on figure skating, as well as coverage of other news stories at the games. Her first report for "Good Morning America" will air on Friday, February 12.

ABC's "Good Morning America," the Emmy Award-winning morning news program featuring Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Sam Champion and Juju Chang, airs live Monday through Friday from 7:00-9:00 a.m., ET on the ABC Television Network. Jim Murphy is the senior executive producer and Tom Cibrowski is the executive producer of ABC's "Good Morning America."

Lots of Asian America girls to watch in Vancouver. Besides Mirai and Julie Chu, we have Kristi Yamaguchi (who's already in Vancouver and covering the Olympics for NBC) and now, Michelle Kwan.

Great! Let's keep Asian actors employed!

Lost's" Daniel Dae Kim is staying in Hawaii with a lead role on CBS' "Hawaii Five-0" remake.

In CBS' updated take on the classic cop series, from CBS Studios, Kim will play Detective Chin Ho Kelly, a role played in the original series by Kam Fong.

The part of Detective Steve McGarrett has not yet been cast, though "Moonlight" star Alex O'Loughlin continues to be in talks for it.

The new "Hawaii Five-0" hails from hot feature writers and "Fringe" co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and "CSI: NY" executive producer/co-showrunner Peter Lenkov.

Kim, who played Jin Kwon on "Lost" for its six-season run, is the first actor from the show's core cast to book a new series project this pilot season as the ABC mystery drama heads to its May finale.

Getting key "Lost" players to do pilots this season is proving tricky as ABC's drama doesn't wrap its final season until April. In Kim's case, it helped that both "Lost" and "Hawaii Five-O" are filming in Hawaii.

Photo by PRPP_Pacific Rim Photo Press.

Would it behoove you to think that at an Asian American could be a judge? haha!

History was made last week with the confirmation of Austin’s first Asian-American judge.

At a swearing in ceremony on Feb. 5 at City Hall, Ramey Ko was one of four new municipal court judges to be selected to serve. A total of 24 municipal judges were appointed or reappointed by the city.

Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez praised the qualifications of all the judges, but also highlighted the special significance of appointing Austin’s first Asian-American judge.

“It is my belief that our court system must reflect our community, and today we are taking another step in making sure our court system mirrors our community,” Martinez said.

Ko will serve in a part-time, four-year term position as a substitute municipal judge.

A municipal judge presides over a municipal court, which handles cases concerning Class C misdemeanor criminal charges, including traffic tickets and public intoxication. Municipal judges may issue search or arrest warrants and also may issue Emergency Protective Orders, which are orders for a person to keep away from someone.

Each of the four new judges were given the opportunity to select someone special to present their judicial robes to them. Ko acknowledged his parents Eric and Eileen Ko and had his mother present his robe.

“Without their support, I couldn’t have had this opportunity today,” Ko said. “They took the difficult risk of coming to this country and now I have the chance to give back to everything they have done and everything this country has given me.”

Ko is a local attorney, political activist and graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School. He cofounded the Capital Area Asian-American Democrats, founded Asian-Americans for Obama and is active among other state and national political organizations.

Ko received national attention when he testified against the so-called Voter ID bill (SB 362) at the Texas State Capitol last year. During his testimony, State Rep. Betty Brown (R-Terrell) suggested that Asian-Americans adopt names that are "easier for Americans to deal with" when they vote since Chinese is a "rather difficult language" to learn. Ko, who is an American citizen, was explaining the confusion that may arise when various spellings are used in translating foreign names into English and did not suggest that anyone would need to learn Chinese.

www.impactnews.com

The New York Times has an article on China's large ownership of American corporations. China's sovereign wealth fund quietly snapped up more than $9 billion worth of shares last year in some of the biggest American corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup.

Although most of the stakes were small, China Investment Corp., the government's $300 billion investment fund, now owns stock in some of the best-known American brands, including Apple, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola and Visa.

The detailed list, which contained holdings totaling $9.6 billion as of Dec. 31, was disclosed Friday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; it lists stakes only in companies traded in the United States.

What's important to note is:

"This is still a relatively small amount compared to the total size of the fund," said Chang Chun, a professor of finance at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.

Some U.S. politicians in both parties have been nervous about China's growing financial reach, and particularly wary that China might seek political influence in the West commensurate with its corporate stakes.

You think?

It's scary to think one day our currency could be the renminbi.

BUY American! Hire Americans!

The Chinese community in Fairfield County will welcome Lunar New Year 4708, the Year of the Tiger on Saturday February 20 at the Stamford Plaza Hotel and Conference Center from 6-11 pm. Entertainment for the evening will include a Kunqu classical Chinese Theatre performance, “A Stroll in the Garden” by Ms. Shirley Tou, and Ms. Anna Chen Wu.

Organization of Chinese Americans, Fairfield County chapter is sponsoring the evening. President Jason Liu of Greenwich explained, “Kunqu (pronounced kwin chu) is one of the oldest and most refined styles of traditional Chinese theatre performed today.” “It is a synthesis of drama, opera, ballet, poetry recital, and musical recital, which also draws on earlier forms of Chinese theatrical performances such as mime, farce, acrobatics, ballad recital, and medley, some of which go back to the third century B.C. or even earlier” adds Pauline Ning Brody of New Canaan who is VP of Public Relations. Mr. Yuqing Wang will perform “Dance of the Money God”. Ms. Shirley Tou is VP of Finance-Sales and Marketing at Pitney Bowes in Stamford and a resident of Norwalk. She has been a long-time student of various classical Chinese art forms.

Friends and neighbors will greet each other with Gung Shi Fa Chai, Happy New Year as they gather to celebrate the most important Chinese holiday. The children of the Chinese Language School of Fairfield County will kick off with a Dragon Dance. A traditional 10-course Chinese New Year banquet will be catered by Jasmine Restaurant of Westport. Raffles and dancing round out the evening of fun and fellowship.

The public is cordially invited to join in the celebrations. In February, adult tickets are $70 each; children 3-13 at $25 each and infants under 2 are free. Tickets can be purchased on-line at OCAFCChineseNewYear.eventbrite.com or sending a check with names, to OCA-FC,
PO Box 223,
New Canaan, CT, 06840
or call 203-972-3406.

According to JYP Entertainment, on February 8th, this afternoon, the 5 original members of the Wonder Girls, together with newly joined member Hye Rim will meet about 10 fans at the JYP Entertainment company building.

They just returned from their 5 day-4night promotion tour in China. They'll talk candidly about Sun Mi’s departure and their future plans. They also plan to express their gratitude and apologize to their fans who have been showing them love and support for the past 3 years.

On January 28th, fans requested answers from the band but JYP Entertainment refused...until now. The meeting will be done with fans and their representatives and will not be open to news media.

Discussions are in the process for Sun Mi to return from the States so that the girls can give fans an official greeting on February 10th, which is their 3rd year anniversary.

Meanwhile, Sun Mi will be leaving the group officially at the end of this month to pursue her college studies.

S:StarNews

A broad alliance of Asian Pacific American (APA) grassroots organizations will host the sixth annual Asian Pacific American Policy and Resource Forum in Richmond on Feb. 11. Later during the same day, the alliance also will honor Virginia's new governor (Bob McDonnell) and attorney general (Ken Cuccinelli), as well as second-term lieutenant governor Bill Bolling.

The APA Policy Forum is the premier annual policy event that brings Asian Pacific American organizations to Richmond to meet with the commonwealth's elected legislative and executive officials.

"We are excited about this year's Policy Forum because 30 APA groups will convene a 'listening' session to shape policy strategies for the future of Asian Pacific Americans in Virginia" said Eric Liang Jensen, Chairman of the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans of Virginia (CAPAVA). "Not only will we hear from communities, and what barriers confront them, but we will be working to find a unified way to solve these problems."

"The Asian Pacific American population in Virginia has doubled since 1990" said Tinh Phan, Chairman of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce. "APA businesses produce nearly $8 billion of revenues, creating 70,000 jobs in the Commonwealth."

The policy forum will be held at the Bank of America Building, 1111 East Main Street in Richmond, on the 18th floor from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Asian Pacific American groups are invited to participate by bringing their communities views and issues to the "Policy Listening Session" that will be conducted in front of elected and appointed state officials. The evening "APA Inaugural Reception" will be held in the Crowne Plaza Ballroom, 555 East Canal Street in Richmond, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. All APA communities are invited to attend the APA Inaugural reception.

For details about the APA Policy Forum and the APA Inaugural Reception, contact Malik Khan at ibnmajeed@hotmail.com or 216-7860.

Figure skater Mirai Nagasu of Arcadia, who was named to the Olympic team a few weeks ago, will be sent off to Vancouver in style.

Her home club, the Pasadena Figure Skating Club, will throw a party in her honor Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m., and it's open to the public. The bash will be held at the Arcadia Presbyterian Church, at 121 Alice Street, Arcadia.

Hot Hot Hot!!! Bellydance Party was originated in TOKYO via four its favorite fabulous Dancers. This Valentine's Day it's bursting its bubble in NY hosted by Romanchica NY.

Hot Hot Hot!!!NY vol.1
Very Belly Viva Valentine's!!!

When: February 11th Thursday @ 9pm - 11pm
Where: DROM
85 Avenue A (b/w 5th & 6th), New York, NY - (212) 777-1157 for table reservation www.dromnyc.com
RSVP: hakan@dromnyc.com
Entrance：$18
Who: This valentine's affair is accompanied by four incredible internationally known dance artists. Dalia Carella world renown Middle Eastern dancer and global fusion artist. A Creator of Bellyqueen, Kaeshi Chai Just kicked off spectacular its "Bellydance Evolution" and NY based dancer versatile and dynamic, Darshan. Hosted By Lale Sayoko, international outstanding dance artist just topped off her UK tour with Mugenkyo. Together with open dance floor with hot saharan world mix by Dj Derajja.

Headliners:
Dalia Carella (www.daliacarella.com)
Kaeshi Chai (www.bellyqueen.com)
Darshan (www.darshandances.com)
Lale Sayoko (www.lalesayoko.com)
Dj Derajja (www.derajja.com)
& more dancer: Long time Bellyqueen Kaesh's fellow colleague/instructor
- Trisha McBride (www.trishamcbridedance.com)

Host: Romanchica NY ( Lale & Ayano Ganaha)
More Info: www.lalesayoko.com/news

A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) is part of the remake of “We are the World” charity anthem recorded in Los Angeles (USA), which reportedly included over 75 world-class stars.

It was recorded in the same Henson Recording studio where the original was done about 25 years back. Besides Rahman, musical luminaries like Celine Dion, Kanye West, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Jonas Brothers, Pink, Barbra Streisand, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Jamie Foxx, Lil Wayne, Wyclef Jean, Josh Groban, Snoop Dogg, Carlos Santana, Gladys Knight, etc., sang to help earthquake affected Haiti. Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie oversaw the production.

It will make its world premiere during Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 12. Its accompanying video has been shot by Oscar winning Paul Haggis (Crash). Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson recorded the original, which featured 45 American music megastars and it reportedly raised over $30 million for African hunger relief. It was the first ever single to be certified multi-platinum.

The actor was approached by Brit director Danny Boyle to reprise his role as host of India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire on the big screen.

But Shahrukh refused and the role eventually went to fellow actor Anil Kapoor. According to Danny Boyle, Shahrukh's schedule was just too booked.

Appearing on popular BBC chatshow Friday Night with Jonathan Ross tonight, Shahrukh revealed: "I was very keen for that film to be made. I didn’t do it because the host was a bit of a cheat, and I thought people might think I’d do the same thing".

It's called acting. Isn't that why you win Academy Awards?

He might be kicking himself now, but Shahrukh is not bowing out yet. He's hoping his latest film, My Name is Khan, becomes bigger than Slumdog Millionaire..Heres to hoping!

Source: The Asian Today Online – Asian News