The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) will honor Parkin Lee of The Rockefeller Group, Yale Law professor Jean Koh Peters, and Fareed Zakaria, CNN host and Time editor-at-large with the 2012 Justice in Action Awards, at its Annual Lunar New Year Gala on Wednesday, February 8, 2011 at PIER SIXTY, Chelsea Piers, in New York City.

2012 Justice in Action Award Honorees Fareed Zakaria, Jean Koh Peters and Parkin Lee

The co-emcees for the evening are Juju Chang, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News Nightline, and Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs and digital media professor at Columbia Journalism School.

Juju Chang, Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News Nightline, and Sree Sreenivasan, dean of student affairs and digital media professor at Columbia School of Journalism will co-emcee. Photo by Lia Chang

The AALDEF Justice in Action Awards recognize exceptional individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions in advancing justice and equality. Past recipients include the late civil rights icons Fred Korematsu and Gordon Hirabayashi, David Henry Hwang, Harold Koh, Mira Nair, Deval Patrick, Salman Rushdie, BD Wong, Seymour Hersh, Charles Ogletree, Jr., Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn, Harry Belafonte, Margaret Cho, and Yoko Ono.

Over 600 leaders of the civil rights, legal, business, and arts communities are expected to attend AALDEF’s 2012 Lunar New Year Gala celebrating the Year of the...

What would you do differently this year? To know the answer to that question, we need a perspective on what happened in the previous year. What did we do that we are happy and satisfied with? What did we do that we are less than proud of? What would we do differently if we had the chance?

Another new year. 2006 is here, and the Chinese year of the Fire Dog, 4703 is about to start. This time of the year, numerous well meaning resolutions are being made, and almost as many are rapidly being forgotten.

A nagging question lingers in the mind for many whether you celebrate the New Year or not: What would you do differently this year? To know the answer to that question, we need a perspective on what happened in the previous year. What did we do that we are happy and satisfied with? What did we do that we are less than proud of? What would we do differently if we had the chance?

An acquaintance of mine, John was diagnosed with a terminal illness; he was given six months to live. He grieved and anguished with his family and loved ones and then went about getting his affairs in order and to say his goodbyes. On a last ditch effort with one more month to live, he saw another specialist. It turned out it was a misdiagnosis and he wasnt going to die after all!

Not surprising Johns whole attitude towards life changed. He reflected on his life as he has lived it so far and reevaluated his priorities. He decided to reduce his hours spent on his business and took that time to spend with...

New America Media, the nation's first and largest collaboration and advocate of ethnic news media has issued the following statement on immigration reform.

AsianConnections.com, and more than 230 other ethnic media outlets have joined forces in supporting New America Media's call for reform.

With the massive audience reach and power of more than 230 media outlet partners, NAM is sending this message to Congress and the White House.

Released by New America Media

Time for immigration Reform is Now

The White House and members of Congress must move quickly on enacting a just and humane immigration reform package that will reunite families, reinvigorate the economy, and remove the term illegal or undocumented immigrants from the dialogue in this country.

Ethnic media, which reaches over 60 million adults in the United States, calls on Congress to move decisively on immigration reform because there are few issues as important to the nation's well-being as an overhaul of the inefficient, inhumane and economically debilitating immigration system.

More importantly, we are also urging our readers and viewers to contact their Senators and Congressmen and let them know that immigration reform must be a national priority.

The immigration system is broken not just for 12 million undocumented immigrants, but also for specialized workers blocked from joining the American economy because of narrow quotas, and mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who must wait for...

The South Asian Journalists Association Convention runs from July 12-July 15, 2007 in New York.

Registration is now open for SAJA's annual Convention and Job Fair which will take place July 12-15, 2007 at CUNY & Columbia in New York. Join 1,000 attendees from around the country and abroad for four days of learning and networking. All the panels, workshops, keynotes + job fair + three receptions + gala dinner for just $110(!).

This year the schedule includes hands-on workshops and salons to pick up useful skills and engage in substantive conversations about journalism. Presenters include Rena Golden, head of CNN International, author Amitava Kumar, IRE executive director Brant Houston, and NYT economics columnist David Leonhardt. There is also a slate of panels on topics that include how the press is (or isn't) setting the agenda for the 2008 presidential elections, the state of the media in South Asia, and the coverage of desi arts and culture.

Steve Shepard of CUNY and Nicholas Lemann of Columbia kick off the convention Thursday evening. Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, will take questions during the Friday morning keynote.

Sign up before the end of May to take advantage of lower advance rates.

The updated schedule is available at http://www.sajaconvention.org

CONVENTION PRICING
Early (April-May)
Students $100
Members $110
Non-members $140
Recruiters $140
Thursday superworkshops: $10, if you buy a convention pass
Gala ticket for a guest: $50, if...

Free Laura Ling and Euna Lee Vigils held in Sacramento, San Francisco, Phoenix, Paris and Washington D.C. on July 9. 2009

Today marks the 114th day since American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained in North Korea.

On March 17, 2009, Laura Ling and and Euna Lee, two employees of San Francisco-based Current TV a media venture founded by former Vice President Al Gore, were shooting video along the China/North Korea border for a story they were working on about the trafficking of women in the region. They were stopped by North Korean border guards and arrested immediately thereafter. Both women were transported to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, where they remained under arrest until their trial.

A verdict in their closed trial was reached on June 8, and both Laura and Euna were sentenced to 12 years of reform through labor for illegal entry and grave crimes against the North Korean state.

Since the sentencing, the families have received calls on a few occasions. During the second call received on the evening of July 7, Laura and Euna reported that they are being treated fairly and are being seen by physicians. In their most recent call, they asked for continued support from our country and its citizens for their amnesty.

Both Laura and Euna communicated to their families that they did violate North Korean law and confessed to all of the charges levied against them. They, along with their families, have expressed deep regret for their actions.

Laura,...