Among aid workers in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the rush to build shelters after the December 2004 tsunami came to be known as the Pongal hurry.

By Ken Moritsugu

32nd Annual Lunar New Year Gala honoring Katrina vanden Heuvel, Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., and Ivan K. Fong, 2006 AALDEF Justice in Action Award recipients.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) honors Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor of The Nation magazine, Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law School Professor, and Ivan K. Fong, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Cardinal Health, with AALDEF Justice in Action Awards at its annual Lunar New Year Gala on Thursday, February 2, 2006 at PIER SIXTY in New York City.

The Justice in Action Award is AALDEFs highest recognition of individuals who have paved the way for racial justice and equality for Asian Americans. Past recipients have included the late civil rights hero Fred Korematsu, filmmaker Mira Nair, attorney Alice Young, and playwright David Henry Hwang.

Proceeds from the gala benefit AALDEF's legal and educational programs in the areas of immigrant rights, economic justice for workers, voting rights and civic participation, affirmative action, language access to services, youth rights and educational equality, and the elimination of hate violence and police misconduct.

For ticket and RSVP info contact Lillian Ling, (212) 966-5932 ext. 202 or

Congressman Mike Honda, Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus Mourns Death of Journalism Pioneer and Friend, Sam Chu Lin

From U.S. Rep. Mike Honda

A Tribute to Sam Chu Lin
Pioneer Asian American Broadcaster

He should have lived much longer because his will and intellect were so young and energetic. Judy must be devastated to have such a life and partner taken away from her -- really just reaching the prime of his mission. His mission was to spread the news, the word, about recognizing the contributions and achievements of Asian Americans to the world at large. This was his way of fighting for truth, justice and the American way. He really believed in that Superman hero credo. Not for the idea of a superman. But for people being champions of justice, and with truth you can have justice. And that was the American way. Honesty, integrity, fairness. That's what he lived and died for. That's what he wanted for Chinese and Asian Americans. He graduated from high school in the mid-fifties. From a town in Mississippi which was a cradle of the blues. Greenville, Mississippi. In an era when Elvis became King. He was there for all of us. Feeding us the news, the views, the feelings, the insights, yea, the wisdom of what he had gathered, found or deduced. When we were down he lifted us up. When we were angry he brought us down to earth, with soothing words of comfort, commiseration, or understanding while bringing other angles into our sights we hadn't seen quite seen in our turbulence. He did this by sharing his stories of the stories he covered.