Interview on US-China relations, Professors Thomas Plate questioned by Michael Genovese EVENT — This interview is part of an ongoing Institute for Leadership Studies series, “Top Scholars/Hot Topics”, in which leading LMU professors are interviewed on current topics of great importance. Professor Plate is founder and president of Asia Media…
Full Article INTERVIEW: WAR AND PEACE BETWEEN CHINA AND AMERICA
TOM PLATE WRITES — Power is not always angelic. When the power to do something exists, it often gathers like a storm, ready to be unleashed. Power is also agnostic; it can be used for evil as well as for good. One thing is for certain. Without concentrations of power, not…
Full Article POWER GAME: UKRAINE’S FATE WILL BE SHAPED BY DECISIONS FROM RUSSIA, CHINA AND AMERICA
TOM PLATE WRITES — Can it be that fresh air is being permitted to enter the closed casket of American foreign affairs thinking? The other day, a critique of U.S. policy toward China flat-lined on my computer screen that raised my hopes: it amounted to a reasoned plea for exactly…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: ALL HOPE IS NOT LOST DESPITE THE TENSIONS AND TEPID VIRTUAL SUMMIT
CADY ABE WRITES — In preparation of the Holiday season, Netflix released the new Christmas movie, Love Hard, on November 5th, 2021. The movie premiered with an all-star cast, most notably comedian Jimmy Yang and The Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev as the two romantic leads. Amid all the large steps…
Full Article MOVIE REVIEW: “LOVE HARD” BREAKING THROUGH ORIENTALIST VIEW
TOM PLATE WRITES — International peace and stability, more vital to survival than ever before in our enervating epoch of pandemic-proliferation and climate-deterioration, requires a collaborative community of responsibility. What is needed – urgently, obviously — is a global ethic of helping-out and digging-in for the common long haul rather…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: START BY RECOGNIZING ITS ANIMAL NATURE
JARED SIVILA WRITES — After such a long break from large crowds, the record label 88rising and its many talented artists took to the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA from November 6-7 for the annual Head in the Clouds festival. Having had to move online last year by streaming…
Full Article LOS ANGELES: “HEAD IN THE CLOUDS” FESTIVAL FELT LIKE HEAVEN ON EARTH
ANDREA PLATE WRITES — American women know well the indignity of being defined, and best-known, by the men they marry. But Huma Abedin, author of the utterly readable, just published memoir And/Both: A Life in Many Worlds (Scribner), is no ordinary woman; nor did she marry a nice ordinary man,…
Full Article AND/OR: A MEMOIR AB0UT SEX(T), LIES AND VIDEO POLITICS
ISABELLA LEE WRITES –The 2022 mid-term elections are fast approaching, as political polarization is at an all-time high and the Democrats’ narrow majority in the House and Senate are hanging on by what seems like a singular thread. Candidates and party leaders are looking toward an emerging voter group that…
Full Article UNITED STATES: WILL ASIAN AMERICANS DETERMINE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS? IN SHORT — YES
CLAIRE GUTE WRITES — The ongoing opioid crisis continues to plague much of America. Many have been affected by the opioid crisis in some form, whether knowing someone who has become addicted, overdosed, or lost her or his livelihood. What’s new is that it may be getting worse due to…
Full Article THE CHINA-MEXICO CONNECTION: FENTANYL TRAFFICKING IS DEVASTATING
DEREK GARCIA WRITES — Star Wars’ ‘Visions’ was a great TV series that pushed the boundaries of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and animation, but why didn’t it get more buzz? Well, Disney severely hurt and possibly killed its potential due to its method of release management. Let’s begin with what,…
Full Article ANIME: DISNEY’S NEW ‘STAR WARS’ SERIES HAS CRASHED ON EARTH
AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES — After 20 years of war, the Biden administration finally ended the US presence in Afghanistan. And by the end of this year, the US role in Iraq – the second of the America’s 9/11 wars- will be reduced as well. Last July, President Biden announced that…
Full Article UNITED STATES: AS AMERICA ENDS COMBAT OPERATIONS IN IRAQ, WILL BIDEN MOVE TO A FULL MIDDLE EAST WITHDRAWAL?
NATALIA FALCHI WRITES — Months of energy shortages and power cuts to households in northeastern China have caused outages in factories across the nation. With this, while energy demand is soaring, so is the demand for Chinese exports, all of which affect the supply chain. The situation is expected to…
Full Article CHINA: WILL AMERICA’S ‘BEAT BACK’ ACT PUSH FORWARD OUR SUPPLY CHAIN?
BENJAMIN BARRETT WRITES — While United States immigration stories are frequent, it is rare that we are able to read about them in a fictional, entertaining, and emotionally evocative way. However, in his book Afterparties (2021), Anthony Veasna So does just that. Before his book was even released, So’s life was…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: AFTERPARTIES (2021) BY ANTHONY VEASNA SO
AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES – As I walked out of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I couldn’t help but note a few of the similarities it has with 2018’s Black Panther: a Marvel hero breaking ground for a historically underrepresented minority, a fictional secret paradise, and a…
Full Article SHANG-CHI REVIEW: CRAZY QUICK ACTION
Disclaimer: To protect the privacy of the subjects of this article, the names of the interviewees have been changed. AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES — “It was a very atypical afternoon soccer game.” Will remembers the hushed tones in the voices of parents on the sidelines. It was unusually quiet and “parents…
Full Article AFGHANISTAN: THE STORY OF THE FOREVER WAR, TOLD BY MEN WHO SERVED THERE
TOM PLATE WRITES — According to newspaper reports, on arrival in Washington Mr Qin Gang’s public tone seemed sort of chipper; and further, in the wake of his initial greet-and-meet with US officials, there surfaced simmering new communications between the US and China. Given the alarm with which many westerners…
Full Article SINO-US RELATIONS: IS THE EUPHORIA OVER CHINA’S NEW WASHINGTON AMBASSADOR JUSTIFIED AMID THE DREARY DIPLOMATIC REALITIES?