June 27, 2011

The former Bond girl takes on the role of the Myanmar pro-democracy leader in Luc Besson’s film ‘The Lady.’

source: Associated Press (AP)


HONG KONG — Michelle Yeoh says she hopes her portrayal of Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie will raise awareness about the Myanmar pro-democracy leader’s story.

The former Bond girl recently wrapped up shooting for the Luc Besson biopic, The Lady, in Thailand.

Suu Kyi spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention. She was released in November following elections that replaced the ruling military junta with a nominally civilian government. Critics called the elections, which were boycotted by Suu Kyi’s party, a charade. Her party won the last elections in 1990 but was prevented from taking power.

June 6, 2011

Kayan Beauties (Kayan Ahla) by director Aung Ko Latt

“KAYAN Beauties” will soon be coming to a movie screen near you in the United States, and then to screens across the Myanmar (Burma), courtesy of veteran movie director Aung Ko Latt. For him, completing this film will mean a 20-year-old dream has come true.

His feature film Kayan Ahla (Kayan Beauties) features the Kayan people of Kayah State. This national race is also called “Padaung”, whose women wear ornamental neck rings of brass. This has the effect of stretching the neck, a rare and strange expression of feminine beauty.

May 4, 2011

Special Sunday Asian Cultures Family Festival, June 5, 12noon-4pm

Happy Birthday!

It’s the museum’s 40th anniversary, and we will be celebrating with a pan-cultural birthday party. Come enjoy fun crafts, performances, demonstrations, hands-on activities and of course free admission to the galleries.

 

April 12, 2011

Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego!

Presented by the National Asian American Coalition

Join us in observing Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego. This community celebration will focus on Asian and Pacific Islander cultures as well as our contemporary Asian American culture!

The Asian Cultural Festival of San Diego will be held on Sunday, May 1st, 2011, from 10am to 6pm, at the NTC Park at Liberty Station, at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Cushing Road, 92106.

During this free, fun, family friendly, festive event, there will be martial arts, cultural dances and exhibitions, cooking demos, entertainment, games, and of course, food!

The Asian Cultural Festival is a pet friendly and smoking-free environment.

March 24, 2011

7.0 Earthquake hits Myanmar near China and Thai borders; no tsunami

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) — A powerful earthquake hit Myanmar Thursday near its borders with China, Thailand and Laos, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake hit in eastern Myanmar, about 70 miles (110 km) from Chiang Rai, Thailand, the survey reported.

It had a magnitude of 6.8, the survey said, revising the estimate down from an initial reading of 7.0.

It was a relatively shallow quake, which can be very destructive. The Geological Survey initially said the quake had a depth of 142 miles (230km), but it later revised its estimate to say the quake was 6 miles (10 km) deep, putting it fairly close to the surface.

March 9, 2011

U.S. Census Bureau Delivers California’s 2010 Census Population Totals

The U.S. Census Bureau today released more detailed 2010 Census population totals and demographic characteristics to the governor and leadership of the state legislature in California. These data provide the first look at population counts for small areas and race, Hispanic origin, voting age and housing unit data released from the 2010 Census.

The official 2010 Census Redistricting Data Summary File can be used to redraw federal, state and local legislative districts under Public Law 94-171. The census data are used by state officials to realign congressional and state legislative districts in their states, taking into account population shifts since the 2000 Census.

February 14, 2011

In Myanmar, colonial-era buildings risk demolition

The British colonial-era buildings in Yangon are in dire need of repair after years of neglect. Activists seek to preserve the structures, which they fear will be leveled by Chinese property developers.

source: Los Angeles Times, Reporting from Yangon, Myanmar —

(Los Angeles Times / February 10, 2011) One of hundreds of colonial buildings in Myanmar’s major city, this one was built in 1909 as a Christian institution; now it’s a Buddhist monastery. They stand like ghosts from a bygone era, struggling to maintain a shabby dignity in the face of creeping foliage and years of neglect, all the while fueling a debate: Should they be protected as rare treasures or leveled as worthless junk?

Preservationists fear that Yangon’s several hundred colonial-era buildings, a legacy of the British Empire at its height, will succumb to voracious Chinese property developers with a history of building tacky shopping malls for a quick buck.

Several low- and mid-market malls have sprouted up in recent years, most a few miles from the run-down, old downtown area where the vintage buildings are concentrated, raising concern that Yangon will become just another noisy, ugly Asian city of mini-malls and sprawl.

 

January 26, 2011

Diversity Lottery (Green Card Lottery) Fraud

 

If you have received an Email notifying you that your application for the Diversity Visa (DV) Program has been successful and that in order to proceed with your application you are required to send money to a named individual at the U.S. Embassy, you are a victim of a scam.

Successful DV applicants are notified by the Department of State, Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) by letter, NOT Email and are provided instructions on how to proceed to the next step in the process. The KCC will not ask you to send money to them or to this Embassy or any other U.S. Embassy by mail or by services such as Western Union.

January 20, 2011

FREE U.S. Immigration Clinic to Myanmar Community April 3, 2011

Need help with an immigration problem? We can help?

 

Network of Myanmar American Association (NetMAA), Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) annd American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Southern California Chapter present a FREE Immigration Clinic where you can get answers to your questions about green cards, visas, citizenship, and other immigration matters. This clinic serves members of the Myanmar community.

 

WHERE: MONTEREY PARK CITY LIBRARY,

318 S. Ramona Avenue, Monterey Park, CA

ROOM INFO.: Friends Room , 2nd Floor

TIME: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

DATE: Sunday, April 3, 2011

January 18, 2011

Salone: Sea Gypsies of Myanmar

By: Harry Hpone Thant

The blue waters off the Tanintharyi coast of Southern Myanmar are home to a race of people called Salone in the Myanmar language. Also known as Moken, they are a nomadic people. They roam the seas in their fragile canoes looking for sea cucumbers, pearls and otherwise searching the sea bed for their livelihood. Even the deadly sea urchins with their prickly and poisonous spikes are handled with ease by them. The Salone families hop from island to island, making their canoes their home, never touching land except when the seas get rough during monsoon time. All their worldly possessions are piled in their small boats, not excluding the household dogs even, as they wander from one deserted island to another as their forefathers had done thousands of times in as much years. And this had earned them an epitaph as Sea Gypsies.

1 13 14 15 16 17