The Airtights x D-City x Paul Skratch - Soulful/The Remedy

Live footage of D-City with The Airtights and Paul Scratch performing Soulful and The Remedy

Jin - The A List

Jin gives his shoutouts to a whole bunch of Asian American and Asian Canadian rappers doing their thing!!

FUNNY VIDEO!!! Welcome to the Jungle (Time Chasers Cover)

WELCOME TO DA JUNGOOO!! hahaha!

YK - 夜上海 (Ye Shanghai) feat. Young Cee

This is a Beijing-to-Shanghai collaboration between Beijing rapper YK (aka Young Kin) and Shanghai rapper Young Cee. Young Kin is a very well known Beijing rapper, probably one of the best in Beijing and all of China. I'm not too sure about Young Cee, but he sounds pretty dope as well.

This song, 夜上海 is about Shanghai nightlife. The funky beat was sampled from the original 夜上海 by Zhou Xuan which is considered a Chinese classic. The original song has a similar feel to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York. That song was made during the time when jazz music from America was THE SHIT in Shanghai.

And just in case if you aren't aware, Shanghai is busily preparing for the 2010 World Expo, which is probably why Young Kin and Young Cee remade the song to give their big ups to Shanghai. The music video was directed by Stanley Yang who grew up in Vancouver but is now based in Shanghai.

Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 15 dead

Thai soldiers firing rubber bullets at the red shirt protesters
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

The Thai army is cracking down on red shirt protesters. 15 are dead, 650 are injured!

via The Associated Press

Thai army pulls back from protest clashes; 15 dead

By GRANT PECK (AP) – 3 hours ago

BANGKOK — A crackdown on anti-government protesters in Thailand's capital Saturday left at least 15 people dead and more than 650 injured, with no progress toward ending a month long standoff with demonstrators demanding new elections.

It was the worst violence in Bangkok since more than four dozen people were killed in an antimilitary protest in 1992. Bullet casings, rocks and pools of blood littered the streets where pitched battles raged for hours.

Army troops later retreated and asked protesters to do the same, resulting in an unofficial truce.

Four soldiers and 11 civilians, including a Japanese cameraman, were killed, according to the government's Erawan emergency center.

The savage fighting erupted after security forces tried to push out demonstrators who have been staging a month of disruptive protests demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajva dissolve Parliament and call new elections.

The demonstrations are part of a long-running battle between the mostly poor and rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the ruling elite they say orchestrated the 2006 military coup that removed him from power on corruption allegations.

The protesters, called "Red Shirts" for their garb, see the Oxford-educated Abhisit as a symbol of an elite impervious to the plight of Thailand's poor and claim he took office illegitimately in December 2008 after the military pressured Parliament to vote for him.

Saturday's violence and failure to dislodge the protesters are likely to make it harder to end the political deadlock. Previously, both sides had exercised considerable restraint.

Abhisit "failed miserably," said Michael Nelson, a German scholar of Southeast Asian studies working in Bangkok.

Tanet Charoengmuang, a political scientist at Chiang Mai University sympathetic to the Red Shirt's cause, said he expects the fighting will resume because the protesters are unafraid and the government refused to listen to them.

Abhisit went on national television shortly before midnight to pay condolences to the families of victims and indirectly assert that he would not bow to the protesters' demands.

"The government and I are still responsible for easing the situation and trying to bring peace and order to the country," Abhisit said.

Nelson said he had been hopeful the situation would calm down after the troops pulled back but that Abhisit's TV appearance raised doubts because he seemed "totally defiant."

The army had vowed to clear the protesters out of one of their two bases in Bangkok by nightfall, but the push instead set off street fighting. There was a continuous sound of gunfire and explosions, mostly from Molotov cocktails. After more than two hours of fierce clashes, the soldiers pulled back.

Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd went on television to ask the protesters to retreat as well. He also accused them of firing live rounds and throwing grenades. An APTN cameraman saw two Red Shirt security guards carrying assault rifles.

At least 678 people were injured, according to the Erawan emergency center. The deaths included Japanese cameraman Hiro Muramoto, who worked for Thomson Reuters news agency. In a statement, Reuters said he was shot in the chest.

Most of the fighting took place around Democracy Monument, but spread to the Khao San Road area, a favorite of foreign backpackers.

Soldiers made repeated charges to clear the Red Shirts, while some tourists stood by watching. Two protesters and a Buddhist monk with them were badly beaten by soldiers and taken away by ambulance.

A Japanese tourist who was wearing a red shirt was also clubbed by soldiers until bystanders rescued him.

Thai media reported that several soldiers were captured by the protesters. Red Shirts also staged protests in several other provinces, seizing the provincial hall in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin's hometown.

On Friday, the police and army failed to prevent demonstrators from breaking into the compound of a satellite transmission station and briefly restarting a pro-Red Shirt television station that had been shut down by the government under a state of emergency. The humiliating rout raised questions about how much control Abhisit has over the police and army.

Thailand's military has traditionally played a major role in politics, staging almost a score of coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

The Red Shirts have a second rally site in the heart of Bangkok's upscale shopping district, and more troops were sent there Saturday as well. The city's elevated mass transit system known as the Skytrain, which runs past that site, stopped running and closed all its stations.

Merchants say the demonstrations have cost them hundreds of millions of baht (tens of millions of dollars), and luxury hotels near the site have been under virtual siege.

Arrest warrants have been issued for 27 Red Shirt leaders, but none is known to have been taken into custody.

Associated Press writers Denis D. Gray, Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.

Jin performs "Beautiful Story" on webcam

I'm a little late (okay, very late) on posting this video as it was released on March 11th, 2010. This is Jin doing a live performance of Beautiful Story, a biographical song about him and trying to make it with his hip hop craft (using the the instumental of Eminem's Beautiful). This is a really heartfelt song. The theme of this song is definitely perseverance. I like it. Beautiful Story will be on Jin's upcoming ENGLISH MIXTAPE, Say Something.

Singapore Is #1 City For Expats And Asians To Live

via ECA International

Singapore retains pole position as No.1 place for Asians to live for 11th consecutive year

24 Mar 2010

• Australian and Japanese locations offer some of the best quality of life for Asians
• European locations dominate the top 30
• Air quality and health facilities remain an issue in many Asian locations.
  

Singapore continues to offer the best living environment for Asian assignees, according to the latest Location Ratings for expatriate living conditions published by ECA International, the world’s leader in the development and provision of solutions for the management and assignment of employees around the world. This is the 11th year in a row that Singapore has held pole position.

Published annually, ECA International’s Location Ratings system is used to assist International HR departments to establish expatriate allowances which compensate staff for the difficulties of adapting to living in their assignment location. The ratings are based on an analysis of living standards for more than 400 locations globally based on categories including climate, health services, housing and utilities, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, personal safety, political tensions and air quality.

"Singapore’s high quality infrastructure and health facilities, combined with low health risks, air pollution, crime rates and a cosmopolitan population help make the city an easy place for Asian assignees to live in,"explains Lee Quane, Regional Director, Asia, ECA International.

The Japanese cities of Kobe, Yokohama and Tokyo along with Hong Kong are the other Asian locations in the top 15.

The Australian cities of Canberra and Melbourne also feature in the top 15 for Asian expatriates as well as New Zealand’s Wellington. These are joined by the European locations of Copenhagen, Dublin, Antwerp, Brussels and Bern along with the Canadian city of Vancouver.

Baghdad (254) remains the least favourable location to live in, followed by Kabul (253) and Karachi (252).

"According to our latest Expatriate Salary Management Survey, over 70% of companies will pay a location allowance when there is a need to compensate for the difficulties associated with adapting to a new living environment," says Quane.

"When we analyse quality of living we take into account the home and destination country," continues Quane. "The impact of a number of factors, including distance from home and differences in culture, language and climate, will vary according to where someone comes from. This helps to explain why although Singapore ranks at the top for Asians, it ranks 55th for someone coming from Western Europe. However, these particular factors cannot be considered in isolation. Scores given for better air quality and health facilities in a number of the top ranking non-Asian locations, for example, can counterbalance the scores awarded for distance from home. Location ratings are about looking at the new environment in its totality and its merits relative to home."

Asia

Joining the top five Asian locations are Taipei (55), Macau (57), Kuala Lumpur (62), Bangkok (62) and Georgetown (62).

Shanghai (77) tops the list of mainland Chinese locations in the survey, followed by Nanjing (97) and Beijing (100). While China has generally seen improvements over the past few years, the country’s air quality and health facilities remain an issue. The level of personal security, recreation and education facilities remain mixed throughout the country with cities such as Wuhan (142) and Chongqing (154) scoring less favourably in these areas compared with Shanghai and Beijing.

"Improvements in the quality of living in China have been significant in recent years," notes Quane. "We now find that in terms of the availability of decent housing, access to recreation and low crime rates, Beijing and Shanghai are on a par with Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. However, the persistence of issues such as poor air quality, as well as less advanced medical and transportation facilities, contribute to these locations ranking lower within the region and globally."

Taipei which ranks 6th of the 49 Asian locations studied and 55th globally is among the locations whose score has improved the most this year. The city generally scores better in terms of air quality than most Asian locations. It also does better regarding the availability of goods and services, recreation and socio-political tensions than mainland China locations.

Hong Kong’s long-standing air pollution problems contribute to its position behind Singapore and the Japanese locations. Air pollution in the SAR is worse than most of the other Asian cities analysed and it remains in 5th position within the region. However, in other areas, including housing and schooling, it offers good quality facilities for the international community. Slight improvement in an already good transportation and communications infrastructure has contributed to a rise in the ranking since last year from 11th to 8th position.

In India, Bangalore (145) scores the most favourably ahead of Chennai (149), Mumbai (156) and New Delhi (185). Compared with these locations, Kolkata (206) does less well in terms of availability of schools, housing and goods for expatriates. Health facilities remain an issue in all the Indian locations.

Air pollution remains a significant problem in a number of Asian locations. New Delhi, Beijing and Hong Kong are amongst the worst locations studied in terms of air quality. Health facility provision is also a problem for many parts of the region.

Globally

For Asians coming to live and work in Europe, Copenhagen, ranked 5th globally, offers the best quality of living followed by Dublin (10) and the Belgian cities of Antwerp (13) and Brussels jointly with the Swiss capital, Bern. London, Barcelona and Stockholm share 37th position ahead of Paris and Rome which share 46th place.

Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana (48) tops the Central and Eastern European locations followed by Croatia’s Zagreb (60). Prague (61) and Warsaw (84) are among those locations to improve the most over the year, mainly as a result of improvements in personal safety there.

For Asians going to North America, Vancouver, ranked 10th, is the most favourable destination. The Canadian city is followed by San Francisco (16) and Miami (30). Within South America, Puerto Rico, in 62nd position, offers Asians the best quality of living.

Security and pollution are major issues in a number of South American locations. Santiago (91) in Chile along with Mexico City (149) receive some of the worst scores for air quality. A number of the continent’s locations are among the worst in the survey for personal security including Sao Paolo (127), Rio do Janeiro (127), Mexico City and Caracas (181).

Africa is also home to some of the most difficult places for Asian assignees to adapt to living in. Socio-political tensions as well as personal security issues can be particularly problematic. Gaborone in Botswana ranked 84th offers the best quality of life for Asians coming to the African continent. South African locations including football World Cup destinations, Cape Town (103) Johannesburg (117) are among the top ten most liveable of the African locations analysed. However, personal safety is still a major issue.

In the Middle East, Manama (68) offers the best quality of life followed by Dubai (71) and Abu Dhabi (74).

The top 15 best locations in the world for Asians to live

Rank 2010	Location	World Rank 2009
1	Singapore	1
2	Sydney	2
3	Kobe	3
4	Yokohama	4
5	Tokyo	6
5	Copenhagen	6
7	Canberra	8
8	Hong Kong	11
8	Melbourne	4
10	Dublin	11
10	Vancouver	9
10	Wellington	9
13	Antwerp	11
13	Brussels	11
13	Bern	11

Asia ranking

Asia 2010	Location	Global Rank 2010
1	Singapore	1
2	Kobe	3
3	Yokohoma	4
4	Tokyo	5
5	Hong Kong	8
6	Taipei	55
7	Macau	57
8	Kuala Lumpur	62
8	Bangkok	62
8	Georgetown	62
11	Seoul	71
12	Shanghai	77
13	Bandar Seri Begawan	94
14	Nanjing	97
15	Beijing	100
16	Xiamen	105
17	Senzhen	115
18	Guangzhou	117
19	Tianjin	121
20	Hanoi	123
21	Dalian	124
22	Ho Chi Minh City	126
23	Chengdu	138
23	Depensar	138
25	Metro Manila	142
25	Wuhan	142
27	Bangalore	145
28	Ventiane	147
29	Chennai	149
30	Chongqing	154
31	Shenyang	156
31	Mumbai	156
33	Ulaanbaatar	162
34	Xi'an	164
34	Colombo	164
36	Phnom Penh	171
37	New Delhi	185
38	Jakarta	191
39	Yangon	198
40	Kolkata	206
41	Kathmandu	210
41	Surabaya	210
43	Tashkent	216
44	Dhaka	229
45	Ashgabat	232
46	Islamabad	243
47	Pyongyang	246
48	Karachi	252
49	Kabul	253