and i want to thank those of you who are not asian on the outside but our asian on the inside. [applause] thank you for being part of the richness of who we are common here in san francisco. and i want to thank all of you who are the community leaders of this wonderful city that was founded as col down. we know we have had struggles over the decades and have accomplished many things. but i want to take a moment to say a quick thanks to those of you who are working to make sure that our asian american brothers and sisters, and grandparents who are still living in sro's, i want to thank you for the work you are doing for them. the work we are doing for asian- american brothers and sisters who still today may not have health insurance or child care. for young people who may not have access to the youth services they need. or to our grandparents who may not have access to the prescription drugs or senior services that they need. we have come a long way but we have a long way to go. i just want to thank you in this year of 2011 are coming together as a community for the work we have

as asian-americans in this country. as we look toward the new year, i think we can say that the asian-american community has come far in san francisco since we first started immigrating here in the 1950's, and there were many challenges for our community, beginning with the first exclusion act, immigration and for men and women that came for san francisco, to labor issues, and also segregation that we faced. and that was then brought forward as a court case to look at what it means to be equal but separate in our public schools. there is much work we have done here, and now we see we have our first asian-american mayor, the first time we have seen four asian american sitting on the board of supervisors. it is certainly an honor and privilege for me to be here today. i want to recognize the history not only of our communities, but of many communities that have fought for us to be here today. again, happy new year. thank you for being here and joining in on the celebration. [applause] >> thank you, supervisors. assessor p

asian-american communities as well. we were joined a few minutes ago by several of our school board members. i know as a former member of the school board -- jane kim as well -- they serve our communities well. one thing that mayor ed lee brought up, for me, personally, lunar new year was a time to get together with family. i remember my grandmother cooking all of the great new year food. it brought us together but it was also an opportunity to share our culture with others, bring more unity among all of our communities. half the lunar new year to everyone and let's unite our communities together. thank you. [applause] >> good evening, my name is carmen chu. i will keep my message brief. i want to wish everyone a happy lunar new year. again, this is a time that is important to many of merit -- asian-american families because of the importance of bringing together family. i think we can all replicate this, the matter what community we live in. so i want to say happy new year. [speaking chinese] [applause] >> good evening

mayor of oakland, the first asian mayor of oakland, and the first asian- american woman elected as mayor of any major city in the united states. she and ed lee, the first asian american mayor of san francisco, make a rare and great hair. their selection indicates progress. slow progress, but progress nonetheless. our mayor is a woman of many firsts. she was the first asian-american woman elected to the open school board and the first to the oakland city council. but always first are the people that she serves. a 32-year oakland resident, she has dedicated her life to making government work for people. her experience and inspiration came from the civil and human rights struggles of the 1960's, as did ed lee's, my own, and their number of people in this room. personal history is important. her history, determination to deal with the complex histories in the world give us a lot of hope for the struggles facing our city. her soft-spoken manner, her campaign style, her work ethic, her focus and ability to connect with everyday citizens, plus, her truly amazing energy. she is everywhere and al

i am a staff attorney at the asian law caucus. he must be familiar with the asian law caucus. our mayor was an alum. since 9/11, we have seen a rise in hate crimes against muslim americans and those perceived to be muslim but what receives less attention is the fact these acts of violence find their support in institutionalized discrimination. discrimination that is a direct result of misdirected government policy. i am not a criminal defense attorney, i'm a civil rights attorney. i represent dozens of people in the law enforcement context, people who have not committed any crime, but people have been discriminated by law enforcement. i want to contextualize some of the recommendations in the report so you can understand where this is coming from. in the airport context, i have dozens upon dozens of clients to face discrimination at the airport. these are innocent americans who repeatedly are pulled aside when re-entering the country after visiting their families or doing business abroad. in addition to being asked personal questions about their religious identities, their pol

he is the first asian-american mayor in san francisco history and i would like to congratulate asian-american deal of -- du 0o that we have -- i would like to congratulate the asian-american duo that we have. ed lee was confirmed by the board of supervisors. in that role, he has spearheaded government efficiency measures and reforms that reduce the size and cost of government. he has supported the infrastructure for green city government. the first began working for the city and county of san francisco in 1989 as the investigator for the city's first whistle-blower ordinance. after that, he served in several positions including the executor of the director of human rights, the director of city purchasing, and director of the department of public works. prior to being appointed to the city administrator in 2005. at this time, we will show a short video clips and then we will introduce the mayor. >> it is my pleasure to introduce the mayor of san francisco, ed lee. [applause] >> good morning. thank-you for that introduction. i would like to welcome i very good friend to san francisco. i want to

this is also an historic day for the asian-american community. for a community that has been here in san francisco for over 160 years, i am a product of that community. i know that ed and all of us who are of asian-american descent feel the legacy. and i want to thank all of you who have been part of this historic moment to make this happen. and say that this is obviously not just about a chinese american community or an asian-american community. this is about the american dream. the idea that anyone from any background of any color from any part of the globe can come here and someday be at the very top of what our community is about. [applause] in closing, i also want to just say that this is an historic moment because we have overseen the orderly transition of leadership. what we have done at the board here at city hall is what separates a democratic society from less democratic ones. free communities from less free ones. we have overseen a truly orderly and wonderful transition of leadership from our lieutenant governor, gavin newsom, to our n

the speaker. >> i am the executive director of asian neighborhood designs.anted to speak in support of this measure. we are a soma-based nonprofit provide architectural planning and green contruction trading services throughout 7 cisco. this initiative would really help us as an organization set up of market by providing greater strategic planning and resources. -- throughout san francisco. given all of the cuts, we need as much support as we can get. my comment -- asian neighborhood designs have been working with the stabilization fund and the union for a number of months to try to bring this great opportunity to fruition. we have a contract with the stabilization fund right now. we are providing soma-target residents with our construction training programs. we have a 40% higher rate right now, folks graduating out of it. it is difficult with the economy. the real point of this, moving forward, is that the opportunity for union work, a career in union, we have to make sure that as we move forward measures are in place that ensure residents from soma are rec

lum is the president of the asian american community center. in our community, we have lots of new immigrants. we have to help them to establish. >> for the last 11 years, lots of new immigrants, especially the chinese, teams do the valley -- came to the belly. and they do have a dream. our community -- the new immigrants will realize the american dream of having a good job, owning a home, and paying taxes. our organization consists of president, vice president, and 13 board of directors. they are non-paid. they are just serving the community. supervisor cohen: commissioner, is there a question? but right now, these city being subsidizing this organization -- >> right now, the city being subsidizing this organization. ed but this year, $7,000 was cut off. the appropriation was $50,000. we have to conserve more and more new immigrants. supervisor cohen: ok. >> every day, there are about 20 people asking for translation, looking for a job. supervisor cohen: thank you very much. >> thank you very much. supervisor cohen: you are welcome. i have an

republics and it certainly has more resources are the central asian states only maybe turkmenistan can have a comparable is not going to get as many suggest a. relatively sparsely populated country whose biggest down to the south off kazakhstan has a bigger push a population of biggest one is the heart of central asia afghanistan is the biggest territory and it's the buffer zone between russia and the slimy quarter you know the central asian or the heart of central asia in the for the now waiting so it's a very important country what is life like for cousins what is the standard of living like and the economy for their well. it's still want very different from russia. obviously i cannot say there. was not successful that he was a freeway economically they tried to develop their own industry they tried to operate it with foreign oil company yes so it's very much. recently where for example. the neighboring care to start a project and i didn't find myself really only people will tell you different but now in moscow we have more and more people with the same faces so i didn't feel what th

and sunny, you're a first generation asian american. and i wanted to ask in terms of this tremendous mix that we've been talking about this morning and family issues, what it's like to be in that first generation, because one of the things that the demographers increasingly talk about is not the melting pot anymore, they talk with the -- about the american mosaic, different pieces, different parts, people coming here as part of a global social structure were a global economic structure. they talk about america as a salad bowl, all having distinct identities, the lettuce, the tomatoes, the carrots, retaining distinct identity but working together. what's it like to come into this mosaic or salad bowl? >> well, first of all, let me say, lillian, your comments reminded me a great quote from rita rudner, i date a man and i ask myself, is this the man i want my kids to spend their weekends with? [laughter] >> anyway, i think it's an interesting question, and i'll go back to kind of a simplistic model charlie laid out in terms of the differen

that is the only asian-american that they have heard up as a newscaster. i am glad i can be out there and say she is not the only one. there was a local anger for the 5:00 and 11:00 news on abc -- a local anchor, and for me she was the first chinese-american i had ever seen on tv. i wrote her letter when i was 11 and told her i was a big fan and that i wanted to become a newscaster when i grew up. she invited me and my mom to the set and we met everybody. i have a picture of me sitting there with her on the set. years later i was on bloomberg and we used to do that cut-ins' for channel 11 here in new york. we had a moment where she tossed it to me. i cannot believe it was happening. >> have you talked to her since all this? >> i have not, directly. >> issue still active? >> yes, she is still out there. >> when you got out of harvard, where did you go? >> i was a management consultant at mercer management consulting in boston. >> consulting about what? >> restructured businesses. i did a lot of case work in financial services. i graduated in 1995 and there

for alternatives to the make up of the existing financial world at an economic summit known as the asian davos that's kicked off in china plus. even if he has fifteen free minutes he says the boy and i come and we chill. the russian bombshell who claims to have it year of the timeframe year after catching his eye silvio berlusconi special friend votes all the rumors that in her explosive charge . it is ten am in the russian capital you're watching r t with me marina joshua welcome to the program in finland the editor of the house and he based website that supports russia's most wanted terrorist is going on trial is accused of illegally smuggling chechens into the country a charge he admits however many believe he causes far greater harm with spreading extremism on his side that he average by helping his so-called freedom fighters reason our way reports. he may not look like a supporter of terrorism but the stores are founded and this website center a propaganda mouthpiece for one of the world's most wanted terrorist and declared by the un to have links with al qaida local morra is respon

i have gone to many remote locations, places that asian americans do not go or live. i did a coal mining story in west virginia. you are talking to the camera, and somebody comes by and shouts "connie chung." that is the only asian-american that they have heard of as a newscaster. to me that is shocking. it is a sad state. but i am glad i can be out there and say she is not the only one. there was a local anchor for the 5:00 and 11:00 news on wabc, and for me she was the first chinese-american i had ever seen on tv. i wrote her letter when i was 11 and told her i was a big fan and that i wanted to become a newscaster when i grew up. she invited me and my mom to the set and we met everybody. i have a picture of me sitting there with her on the set. years later i was on bloomberg and we used to do the cut-ins for channel 11 here in new york. we had a moment where she tossed it to me. "let's get the latest business headlines." i cannot believe it was happening. >> have you talked to her since all this? >> i have not, directly. >> is she still active? >> yes, she is still

indonesia's economy is part of the growing asian economic power. the country plays an active role in the g-20. it's a heavyweight in asean, the association of southeast asian nations. the country is an archipelago of 237 million people. there are hundreds of ethnic groups and as many different dialects. it has the world's largest muslim population and is the world's third-largest democracy. today indonesia is widely considered a model for secular pleural muslim democracy. this country seems to have a special place for president obama who lived in jakarta for four years as a child during a visit to indonesia, the president talked of the country's importance and what it meant to his mother. >> because indonesia is made up of thousands of languages and people from scores of regions and ethnic groups. my time here helped me appreciate the common humanity of all people. and while my stepfather, like most indonesians was raised a muslim, he firmly believed that all religions were worthy of respect. and in this way... (applause) in this way, he reflected

what we do have in common is that we both work for one of the great agencies in san francisco, the asian law caucus. [applause] i know that having spent many years there, when phil started heading it up, we were both trained for solid community work, working on behalf of diverse communities on diverse issues, helping those who needed help, those who were powerless. as phil, who has been our current assessor-recorder is being sworn in today, he is much more than the appraisal function that this office has. in fact, he has utilized this position effectively to introduce some other creative programs, such as coastal are, one of the first in the country to do this -- go solar, one of the first in the country to do this. they got a well-deserved award for recognizing that very thing. he knows how to use innovation. his spearheading efforts in the don't borrow trouble program, where people who are facing foreclosure get caught up in that, that has been extremely innovative. his real estate watchdog, when people make transactions on property and do not wish to report it -- that watchdog program