By Jeff Yang, Special to SF Gate
Thursday, February 25, 2010

The notion that Asians and Jews are two shoots from the same cultural rootstock is an old but evergreen meme.

You see it in fringe theories about the Lost Tribes of Israel -- there's an entire body of cryptoarchaeological canon that uses similarities between customs, language and naming convention to "prove" that the ancient vanished Jewish clans ended up in China, India or Japan. (Japan's 50,000-member Makuya sect, which has as its central dogma that the Japanese are descendants of a lost Jewish tribe, keep kosher, speak Hebrew and use the seven-armed menorah as their symbol.)

Passing as an Asian - an article written by an asian adoptee raised by two Russian Jewish caucasian parents, sharing her experiences while growing up in self hatred but surprisingly finds an awakening that puts her back on the road, acknowledging her asian side and forever searching for the missing pieces.

Passing as an Asian Written by Maya Fleischmann (11 January 2009)

I spent the first fifteen years of my life trying to ignore the fact that I am Asian.  Ironic, considering I was born and raised on the small island of Hong Kong and its population of 6 million other Asians.

Ever felt a little uncomfortable or weird when you see these types of pictures circulating in Hollywood? it seems rather too frequent that these western  celebrities have sudden decided to show off their new Asian babies.

Although we could never quite put the finger on it but if you were suspicious enough then perhaps your instincts could be enough to show that you care. The answer is YES it;s likely something is 'fishy' going on.

There is a possibility that these kids should not have been placed in their hands to begin with.

From a westerners perspective they are starting the "Happy Family with the odd Asian baby trend" or the stereotypical " I-Know-whats-good-for -Asian-people". While they parade around showing of their Asian babies these celebrities could just as well be quite ignorant. Sure at a glance some would say 'Oh they look so nice together' but in reality these kids were probably possessed through adoption exploits and scandals.

The Washington Post is running a series called “Voices of Power” wherein top White House staffers are interviewed about their positions in the Obama administration. Today, the Post published video and a transcript of their conversation with Chris Lu, who, as Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary, is one of the most prominent Asian Americans in the White House.

The full transcript is five pages long, but I found Lu’s comments about his identity as an Asian American in the White House intriguing:

You are among the most senior Asian-Americans in the administration and in the White House. What does that mean to you?

Mr. Lu: It means a lot to me. My parents were both born in China. They moved to Taiwan for grade school and high school. They both emigrated here in the late ’50s for college.

Transcript - REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT AAPI INITIATIVE EXECUTIVE ORDER SIGNING

East Room

3:46 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Well, good afternoon, everybody. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. I'm glad you could join us today as I proudly sign this executive order reestablishing the President's Advisory Commission and White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

Now, when we talk about America's AAPI communities, we're talking about the industry and entrepreneurship of people who've helped build this nation for centuries: from the early days, as laborers on our railroads and farmers tilling our land, to today, as leaders in every sector of American life, from business to science to academia, law and more.

SAN FRANCISCO - A diverse array of elected officials, community organizations and leaders raised several thousand dollars at a benefit Friday night in San Francisco for the victims in the Philippines of Typhoon Ketsana, known in that country as Ondoy.

The massive flooding in metropolitan Manila in the Philippines has claimed hundreds of lives and affected more than 2.5 million people in what is considered the worst such calamity in the region’s history. The impact of this unfortunate event will be felt for many months ahead and the country will need a lot of help from the global community in rehabilitation efforts as well as in dealing with resulting food and basic supply shortages and the spread of disease.

“I grew up in Manila in a home by the river and this effort was prompted by that one Saturday in the wake of the killer typhoon when I couldn’t get a hold of my family,” said event chair Keesa Ocampo. “I didn’t know if they were safe or even alive.”

When Indian students arrive in Australia, probably the last thing they think they will end up doing is taking to the streets in a series of boisterous protests.

First, they were voicing anger over a spate of muggings and attacks in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Police confirm there have been 97 attacks since late-May, although the true figure is probably much higher since many assaults go unreported.

Examiner - Armed with Jet Blue's "All You Can" Jet pass, filmmaker James Chen plans on traveling to 30 cities in 30 days and try to go on 30 dates as he attempts to find his "soulmate" in a new "sousveillance documentary" project.
"I believe in soulmates," James states on his website. "But I also believe that finding them is one of life's journeys. I've always wondered, "What if your soulmate wasn't in your home town?" How would you ever find them?
James recently answered a few questions about his new project for Examiner.com:
What inspired you to create this project?

NICHIBEI - The Nichi Bei Times’ board of directors has decided to close Northern California’s oldest 

Japanese American newspaper on Sept. 30 of this year after 63 years of business. In its place, a group of Nichi Bei Times staff and community members plan to start the Nichi Bei Foundation, a separate nonprofit reincarnation of the paper.

Kenji G. Taguma, the Nichi Bei Times’ vice president and English edition editor, has pioneered plans for the new Foundation because he believes the paper is an essential voice for Japanese Americans.

“Today, I see the paper as the glue that holds the community together,” Taguma said.

Decline in circulation and advertisements were chief reasons for the decision to close the Nichi Bei Times, said Ken Abiko, board chair of the paper, whose circulation base of around 8,000 includes primarily Northern California readers.