The rumored death of Kim Jong Un is taking China’s biggest microblogging service Weibo– and now Twitter– by storm. With headlines and captions asking questions like “Did Twitter Assassinate Kim Jong-Un?” by Gawker, everyone wants to know if there is any truth behind the purported North Korean Leader’s Assassination.

Unfortunately, North Korea is not known for being forthcoming with news. So, just two months after becoming the country’s supreme leader after the death of his father, the rumor mill is on overload about Kim Jong Un’s reported demise at 28. Between speculation that he was assassinated in Beijing or that he’s on the run (but not dead), most of the claims imply that some sort of coup is taking place. Reports about the rumors are being picked up by various mainstream news sources such as Forbes, Gawker, National Post, and more. Everyone is trying to figure out if anything actually happened or if this is the biggest social media death hoax since Jon Bon Jovi’s.

If you live in China, Gawker is asking for help to confirm this story. And if you can confirm if Kim Jong Un is dead, let us know, too.

Photo credit: Gawker screenshot

It seems like the new Super Bowl tradition of late is airing commercials which are racist, offensive, or at least racially insensitive toward Asians. In 2008, it was a set of offensive SalesGenie.com ads (written by an Asian, no less). 2010 gave us the Doritos Samurai Guy (who didn’t know the ways of the Samurai). Last year, Timothy Hutton using the plight of Tibet as a punchline for Groupon’s deals on fish curry, not even a dish that Tibetans are known for.

So what fun anti-Asian ads aired during the 2012 Super Bowl? Seeing as it’s an election year, a political ad is making waves: Michigan Republican Pete Hoekstra aired an ad accusing the policies of incumbent Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow (or Debbie “SpendItNow” as seen in the ad) as being helpful to China, to the detriment of the United States.

From 8Asians reader Peter L:

If you haven’t seen it already, this advertisement went up during the super bowl in place of a local ad spot. It accuses a political opponent of giving political power to Asian countries in a way that marginalizes Asians as a whole… I’m sort of wondering what that chick was thinking when she signed-up to be in this ad. Her way of speaking sounds like she’s a fluent American English speaker, but mid-way through her schtick it looks like she remembers she’s supposed to sound like a stereotypical fob with missing prepositions. Maybe she liked the size of the cheque.

Luckily, this spot did not air nationwide. But thanks to the power of social media, it is being widely shared and condemned– including by a coalition of black ministers, civil rights folks, and even GOP advisers.

Hoekstra’s campaign says that the ad is “satirical,” but I’d argue that there needs to be a bit of wit behind it if you call it satire.

A TMZ cameraman stalked Apolo Ohno while he was leaving the gym and asked, “Who is the best Asian-American[sic] athlete?” The TMZ staff tries to answer this question, as well. Not surprisingly, the TMZ staff was stumped by the question, but who did Apolo give as his answer?

What are your thoughts on the question or this video?

The Partners Project is a talk show about what’s happening on YouTube. Every week a new episode features behind the scenes and intimate looks at top YouTube stars. For a special episode in honor of the upcoming Oscars, Partners Project released their Top 5 List of Filmmakers on YouTube to Look For in 2012. Most of the list features VFX folks, so it’s no surprise that Freddie Wong makes the list at #3. But, as many of the commenters are asking, why no Wong Fu Productions?

UPDATE 1/20/2012: Congratulations to the lucky winners: Douglas Chau, Lily, Michael W, Flo, and Geek in Heels! Have a wonderful Year of the Dragon!

The Year of the Dragon is less than a week away (on January 23, 2012 for those of you keeping track) and everyone knows that red envelopes are one of the best parts of Lunar New Year. So we don’t have actual red envelopes for you, but courtesy of American Express, we do have $50 Lunar New Year Gift cards!

In celebration of the 2012 Lunar New Year, American Express announced a new Gift Card design for the Year of the Dragon. The limited edition Lunar New Year Gift Card, exclusively from American Express, is available for purchase online with a free-shipping offer until January 31, 2012, at americanexpress.com/gift.

“For the third year in a row we have collaborated with the internal Asian Network at American Express to bring to life a unique gift card that celebrates the rich culture of several segments of the Asian community,” said Simran Kalra, Vice President and General Manager, E-Commerce with American Express’ Global Payment Options business. “American Express is excited for what the New Year will bring and we are proud to recognize Asian tradition through the release of this Gift Card.”

The Lunar New Year Gift Card features an intricate dragon image and traditional flower pattern background. The Lunar New Year Gift Card offers the perfect gift option which can serve as an exciting and special alternative to cash. The Gift Card offers the following benefits including:

• Available in denominations of $25, $50, $100, and $200
• Accepted wherever American Express® Cards are accepted in the United States*
• Funds on the card do not expire and there are no monthly fees
• Gift Card is replaceable at no fee if lost or stolen

Unlike some other gift cards, American Express® Gift Cards have no fees after purchase for activation, checking a balance, maintenance, or card replacement. The online purchase price is $3.95 for all available denominations of this Gift Card.

What you could win from American Express and 8Asians:
A $50 Lunar New Year Gift Card from American Express

How do you enter?
All you have to do is to fill out the form below and FIVE lucky winners will be randomly selected this week!

Hurry, the deadline to enter is: Thursday, January 19 at 3:00pm (Pacific Time)
FIVE lucky winners will be randomly selected!

Sorry, this giveaway is closed! Keep reading 8Asians for more giveaway opportunities!

Prizes courtesy of: American Express and 8Asians.

On behalf of myself, Susan, and all the folks at 8Asians and GASP!, congratulations to all the winners of the 2011 edition of 8Asians’ 8Days of Giveaways Celebration:

Michael, Jolleen Filio, Theo Feng, A. Wan, Howard Der, Corinne Smith, Wee, Lucy, Ed Penano, Amber Ying, Joshus Tadayoshi Kimura, Sand, Pedro Gamuzza, Ariel, Anna T., cellia saragih, Tia K, Zareen, Mina Itabashi, nikki, Frank Huynh, Jackie, Stiricide, Danyal Kim, Keis, karin wang, Ninjaboi Banzai, Anthony

Thanks again to our generous friends:

• Asian Crew Clothing courtesy of Asian Crew Inc.
• Custom @ Symbol Twitter Necklace from Blend Creations courtesy of Blend Creations
• 5-Pack of Assorted Greeting Cards from OfftheBoatGreetings.com courtesy of Off the Boat Greetings
• Pequitobun Jewelry courtesy of Pequitobun
• ‘How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe’ by Charles Yu courtesy of Charles Yu
• Autographed copy of Mree “Grow” CD courtesy of Mree
• Akufuncture Gear courtesy of Akufuncture
• Pair of Snakebyte Controllers courtesy of Snakebyte USA
• Good Asian Driver T-shirt by Blacklava courtesy of Blacklava.net
• Aziatix “Nocturnal” CD courtesy of ECHOforward
• TC Charton Asian Fit Eyewear Sunglasses courtesy of TC Charton Asian Fit Eyewear
• 8Asians’ NINJA WINS T-shirt by Blacklava courtesy of 8Asians.com

Click through to each individual post to see who won what!

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2012!

That’s it for the 2011 edition of 8Asians’ 8Days of Giveaways Celebration!

Thanks to our generous friends:

• Asian Crew Clothing courtesy of Asian Crew Inc.
• Custom @ Symbol Twitter Necklace from Blend Creations courtesy of Blend Creations
• 5-Pack of Assorted Greeting Cards from OfftheBoatGreetings.com courtesy of Off the Boat Greetings
• Pequitobun Jewelry courtesy of Pequitobun
• ‘How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe’ by Charles Yu courtesy of Charles Yu
• Autographed copy of Mree “Grow” CD courtesy of Mree
• Akufuncture Gear courtesy of Akufuncture
• Pair of Snakebyte Controllers courtesy of Snakebyte USA
• Good Asian Driver T-shirt by Blacklava courtesy of Blacklava.net
• Aziatix “Nocturnal” CD courtesy of ECHOforward
• TC Charton Asian Fit Eyewear Sunglasses courtesy of TC Charton Asian Fit Eyewear
• 8Asians’ NINJA WINS T-shirt by Blacklava courtesy of 8Asians.com

Though some of the winners have been announced, some of these giveaways are still open, so click through and enter while you can!

Final winners list to be posted before 2012!

(Special thanks to Susan of GASP! for her help in putting this together with me!)