November 09, 2009

In Utah, a 12 year old girl had pierced her nose as a way to connect with her roots in India. She was then suspended from her school because they said it violates the school's body piercing ban. School officials said that nose piercing is an Indian cultural choice and not a religious requirement. Though they did eventually compromise and said she could come back to school, and that she can wear a clear, unobtrusive stud in her nose. "To other Indians, the incident was emblematic of how it can still be difficult for the American melting pot to absorb certain aspects of their cultural and religious traditions."

Some interesting quotes from those in the Indian community:

"It's true that the nose ring is mainly a cultural thing for most Indians. Even if it is just culture, culture matters. And her right to express or explore it seems to me at least as important as her right to express her religious identity."

"Religion and culture in India are tightly intertwined, but their expression varies widely in different regions of the country, so you can't make a blanket statement about what Indian culture is, or religion or tradition."

The article talks about how other Indian-Americans have dealt with people not understanding their dress or traditions -- like wearing a turban or a "vibhuti" (a Hindu ash mark on the forehead which signifies the "third eye") (Full Story)

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The United Nations says that political corruption costs governments about $1.6 trillion every year. The money is often lost in public assets moved across borders via money laundering or undeclared holdings. The UN, the World Bank, and other watchdog groups are meeting to figure out a way to expand the powers of the UN's anti-corruption agreement. However, there are hurdles to international government accountability and oversight. For one, countries can be hesitant to agree to independent reviews of their finances to look for missing money (especially countries like China, Russia, and Iran). In addition, it could also be difficult to implement the tracking of money due to countries' tax havens and secretive banking codes. (Full Story)

It still blows my mind when countries "misplace" and cannot account for millions, billions, or trillions of dollars.

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China executed 9 Uighurs for taking part in an ethnic riot in July that left nearly 200 people dead. In July minority Uighurs attacked Han, which is China's dominant ethnic group, and two days later they faced retaliatory attacks. The Uighurs resent the way they are discriminated against and they feel Beijing rules their traditional homeland (Xinjiang) with a heavy-hand. They still face heavy security -- internet access and international direct dialing calls are blocked. China blames the riot on overseas-based groups that push for broader rights for Uighurs. China thinks this can be very agitating. Those damn agitators, pushing for human rights and equal treatment. How dare they!......

Here's an unsettling part from the article: "The timing of the executions was not especially fast for China, which puts more people to death than any other country. Politically sensitive cases are often decided in weeks, especially when they involve major unrest." Wow, this is seen as slow-paced sentencing? The riots happened in July and they're executed in November. And that's so considerate of China to wait weeks before they decide politically sensitive cases. (Full Story)