Though many of us might think of the Lunar New Year as being a Chinese celebration, in fact many Asian countries - and U.S. immigrants from those countries - celebrate the new year.

The following articles were produced by Channel A - an Asian American web magazine that no longer is publishing.

These articles were written between 1996 and 1998 for the Lunar New Year celebration.

We think you will find them very entertaining and helpful as you work with limited English proficient customers and employees from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, India, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand and other fascinating places and cultures.

These three American Community reports present a portrait of racial and ethnic population groups in the United States based on data from the 2004 American Community Survey.

Each report provides information on a number of characteristics (e.g., education, household type, income, commuting, etc.). Data are presented in tables, figures, and maps.

In addition, the Asian and Hispanic reports present data for selected detailed groups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese for Asians; Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians for Hispanics).

Two additional reports on the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population and the American Indian and Alaska Native population will be released later this year.

See the reports here:

The American Community ? Hispanics: 2004

The American Community ? Blacks: 2004

The American Community ? Asians: 2004

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Contributed by the Kansas Rural Health Information Service (KRHIS).

You probably already heard about of The Language LineŽ Phone.

Thousands of our clients swear by this dual handset, pre-programmed with your account info telephone.

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• Better hygiene - Both parties have a personal handset, safeguarding against contagions that can be spread through a single handset.
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• Simplicity - Your access number to Language Line Services is already programmed into the phone, making it easier than ever to reach your interpreter. No special user training is needed.
• Speed - Without having to pass a phone back and forth between patient and healthcare professional, efficiency and patient care improves!
• Convenience - Direct dial buttons provide a quick and easy connection to a professional interpreter.

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The phones themselves are free of charge to you. A modest, $3.00 per phone, per month maintenance fee ensures each one is preprogrammed with our toll- free number and your unique client identification.

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As a current Language Line Services customer, just call your representative to learn more about our face-to- face interpretation solutions.

If you're not already a customer, contact us at newsletter@languageline.com or complete the brief form here and we'll get right back to you.

And, by the way, if defeating breast cancer is one of your passions, see our ?Speak Pink? phone (pictured). With all the features of our traditional phones, and a distinctive pink color and pink ribbon logo. Monthly fee is just $0.25 more than our regular phones. Proceeds support the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

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