Writing by admin on Tuesday, 22 of July , 2008 at 11:21 am
(Anyone recognize the familiar subject line–LOL?)
I realized I haven’t blogged in a while and am missed by some. I don’t know where to begin–each time I turn around something idiotic is happening. I am tired of documenting stories about government authorities going after our fellow students and migrant workers. Men, women and children, who are simply trying to make a living, are being used as a distraction to the very real problems plaguing this country. I cannot believe how many times we look for convenient scapegoats instead of trying to understand the deeper, more complex intricacies of a problem.
It is unbelievable how so many Americans continue to fall for wanton distractions created by the mechanisms and technologies of power over and over again, ignoring the very real problems plaguing us–neo-liberalism, war, hunger and poverty, global warming, all of which are much more pressing and problematic than a librarian in Massachusetts working with a fake social security number and paying taxes.
Then on my Indian Television satellite, people are clamoring and raising havoc about a seduction theme on some dance show so I tuned in to watch and YAWN. I swear, when are people going to stop repressing expressions of sexuality (and it was really nothing compared to what we usually watch)! It is no wonder that I feel so excluded and marginalized from the Indian community at times–why is the culture that gave the world the Kama Sutra complaining about seduction scenes?!!!
My schedule is getting rather taxing with LSAT review classes and football practice, not to mention the extra hours I spend at the gym. I do plan to make loads of updates very soon though. To sign off on a positive note, today was the first time I could finally turn my palm up without much pain — my hand is actually close to healing, about time–and I cried with joy and relief for a while! It has been a majorly depressing 4 months as I struggled with this injury, having to travel with a broken bone to Boston for a conference, and struggle to do basic things like write or hold a toothbrush.
Writing by admin on Thursday, 17 of July , 2008 at 5:20 pm
Youtube has a strict policy of banning boobs or nipple show (unless we are talking educational material like self-examination - Actually on that note I am even going to defend the educational value of love scenes but not here). Getting to the point, someone please explain to me why showing L-O-V-E scenes with boobs (or even just sex for the sake of sex) is censored on the most popular video site but watching and listening to ignorance, bigotry, violence and hate speech online is not? What is ultimately more harmful to society? Kids seeing natural things like mammary glands or a twisted view of the world through this, this and this? I am just tired of the amount of times the L word community has had to remove or edit out certain portions of sex scenes to upload them — mind you, the scenes are done in good taste and I don’t remember anything vulgar about them. I simply don’t understand why it is acceptable to show your midriff or thighs but not other parts of your body. And then we have the double standard in society that men can walk around topless while women cannot. Explain.
On a good note, while prostitution is not legal, sites like Craigslist are not liable for postings that offer prostitution services. Heck, even child prostitutes are selling themselves on Craigslist but the Courts have ruled (and RIGHTLY in the case of file-swapping especially) that a medium of exchange is not liable for the views or materials exchanged on that medium.
Maybe I stand on an extremely liberal position on issues when it comes to sexuality — I cannot stand any sort of repression of human sexuality (unless we are talking about some issues involving minors). But I really do believe that our priorities are screwed up.
On a final note, here, here and here are some videos that show nipples during sex scenes that Youtube has not taken down YET, so enjoy while you can.
Writing by admin on Wednesday, 16 of July , 2008 at 4:07 am
The Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space Research Network invites you to:
Ontology, Space & Radical Politics, 4-5 August 2008
August 4th: Radical Politics Today, Community Forum
Long Beach Public Library, 101 Pacific Avenue, Civic Center Plaza, Long
Beach, 90822, 6-8pm
Panelists: Gilda Haas | Strategic Action for a Just Economy, Los Angeles; Laura Pulido | American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California; Goetz Wolff | Harry Bridges Institute, San Pedro & University of California, Los Angeles
Moderator: Jon Pugh| Director, The Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space Network & Geography, Politics and Sociology, University of Newcastle
August 5th: Ontology, Space & Radical Politics, Workshop
Karl Anatol Center, California State University, Long Beach, 9am-430pm
Speakers: Nigel Thrift | Vice-Chancellor, Warwick University; Edward Soja | Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles; Lawrence Berg | Geography,
University of British Columbia; John Paul Jones III | Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona; Sallie Marston | Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona; Keith Woodward | Geography, University of Exeter; Liz Philipose | Women’s Studies, California State University, Long Beach; Mary Thomas | Women’s Studies & Geography, Ohio State University
Moderator: Deborah Thien| Node Director, The Spaces of Democracy and the Democracy of Space Network & Geography, California State University, Long Beach
For further information about these events, or to reserve workshop space, please contact Deborah Thien at dthien@csulb.edu.
Writing by admin on Monday, 14 of July , 2008 at 7:30 am
Alright, so I am trying to understand this song called “Mann Tu Talbat” which is in Hindi, English and Arabic. I am having trouble with the Arabic part. Some say “Mann tu Talbat” means “I want you” whereas others say it denotes a double meaning or confusion like “I want you but I don’t want you too” ?? I usually detest translating language to understand it because you really cannot outside the cultural context in which is exists. Anyone who speaks Hindi (or a non-Latin language) knows what that means — there are some words and meanings that just do not translate over into English.
Writing by admin on Monday, 7 of July , 2008 at 1:41 am
Can I say, Finally? It is too that most of Hollywood does not portray women in a positive light. I can already hear protests all the way from the regressive people of India who cannot even take the new modernized version of the Mahabharata without thinking of the “good ole days.” Psssssssssssst.
Oh, “exotic nurses?” Please. What on earth is that supposed to mean?
The series’ being produced by a California-based production company named ‘Big Fantastic’ is a prequel to best-selling author Robin Cook’s latest medical thriller, Foreign Body, which is centres n medical tourism in India.
Its producers have revealed that the novel’s storyline will pick up from where the web series ends on August 4.
As regards its plot, the producers have revealed that the women are taken in by a group of “young, cut throat medical entrepreneurs who hope to train them and cultivate their nursing skills for their own mysterious ends.”
Cook has himself supplied the outline for the prequel, the episodes of which have been filmed in Los Angeles and Delhi.
Cast member Rachna Khatau has revealed that she is playing a free-spirited Indian woman named Samira Patel, who grabs an opportunity to chase the American dream.
She admits that her character “gets a little wild” when she tastes the freedom offered in America.
Shamita Dasgupta, who heads the New Jersey-based South Asian women’s rights group, Manavi, says that the series promises a “parade of scantily clad brown bodies of Indian women”.
“As an immigrant from India and a feminist activist in the South Asian American community, my first reaction is to say, hurray, at least I will get to see some faces that look like me. Also, I rejoice that a few Indian actors are getting visible jobs,” the BBC quoted her as saying.
Her second reaction was, however, more guarded.
“Here we go again, I say. Historically, Hollywood portrayed Asian women as mysterious, bizarre and strange and contributed a lot to their being perceived as such. Now, Indian women are being exoticised and presented as sneaky murderous intrigue-mongers,” she said.
“The ‘Indian’ characters in Foreign Body are nurses, who are as far away from any care-giving mission or characteristics as possible. These women will be unleashed in the US to wreak havoc in the health care community and perhaps even in the system. Could this be a sign of the dominant community’s palpable alarm at the increasing health care tourism to India? Most likely,” she added.
Another actress Pranidhi Varshney, who portrays a girl born and raised in India in the series, said that she did not have any qualms about playing a “sexy Indian nurse”.
Both Khatau and Varshney said that their families had been supportive of their new roles.
Khatau, who claims that her parents have not missed a single episode of the show, said that the producers had the option of converting the project into a film.
Though Varshney and Khatau have not read any of Robin Cook’s books, they are eagerly awaiting his latest thriller.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Asian News International.
Writing by admin on Saturday, 5 of July , 2008 at 8:16 pm
This is the PITS. It is a gross violation of human rights, a misguided and miscalculated effort at WHO-KNOWS-WHAT?!
Published in the June 17 - Globe and Mail, Canada
On my way home to Canada from a family vacation in September of 2002, I was stopped and interrogated at JFK Airport in New York. Within two weeks, against my will, the U.S. government sent me to Syria, where I was tortured and detained for a year before being released back to Canada without any charge being filed against me.
Following a request by a U.S. congressman shortly after my release, the inspector-general of the Homeland Security Department launched an investigation. Early this month, Richard Skinner released a much-anticipated report on the actions of U.S. immigration officials surrounding the decision to send me to Syria.
Despite the limited scope of the investigation and the refusal by key decision-makers to be interviewed, the heavily redacted public version of the report points to the important fact that the decision to send me to Syria was made at the highest levels of President George W. Bush’s administration. The report found that the decision to send me to Syria was made before, and without regard for, the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s assessment that I would likely be tortured there.
Mr. Skinner’s report clearly establishes that what happened to me was a rendition in disguise. Mr. Skinner found that on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2002, the government prepared the “operations order” to remove me and sent flight clearances to Rome and Amman, so the United States could fly me on a private jet. These actions were taken before my six-hour interview with the INS concerning my fears of being tortured in Syria, before the INS concluded it was likely I would be tortured there and before the INS received supposed ambiguous “assurances” that I would be protected.
In other words, my fate had already been decided - the “immigration process” meant to safeguard me from torture was a sham.
So far, these high-level officials have evaded accountability and public scrutiny of their own wrongdoing by keeping me on their watch list, thereby attempting to keep the focus on me. The U.S. government claims to rely on classified information to keep me on the watch list - information that New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler has seen and called “nonsense,” and that Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has seen and confirmed that it does not justify keeping me on a watch list.
The Canadian government has already apologized and launched a full public inquiry. It is only my hope that the U.S. government follows Ottawa’s example and rights its wrongs by at least conducting an independent investigation examining the actions of all officials who shipped me off to Syria like a parcel without regard for my basic human rights, international law or the U.S. Constitution.
I would like to commend the efforts of the U.S. House of Representatives foreign affairs and judiciary subcommittees trying to get to the bottom of what happened to me. I appreciate their courage in standing up for justice and reminding Mr. Bush’s administration that America is a country of the rule of law. It is my hope that through their persistence and good work, the full truth will eventually come out.
Writing by admin on Thursday, 3 of July , 2008 at 7:11 pm
In the study, researchers examined information on more than 13,000 New Yorkers from all five of the city’s boroughs, who voluntarily had their height and weight measured. The data, collected at community-based health centers and hospitals between January 2000 and December 2002, was used to calculate each person’s BMI.
For Hispanics, whether the neighborhood is largely English speaking or not is an important predictor of body size. The less English spoken in a neighborhood, the less weight gain occurs, according to researchers, whose findings appear in a recent issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
“Simply put: the longer an immigrant lives in the U.S., the heavier that immigrant becomes. Scholars theorize this weight gain as due, in part, to acculturation  the adoption of U.S. diet and physical activity habits,” said Park. “Although in the popular imagination, acculturation is thought to be a positive factor for immigrants, in many arenas of health, acculturation has been shown to have a negative effect.”
The new study supports earlier research that found that weight gain is most consistent and significant among Hispanic immigrants to the U.S., who face a particularly high risk of obesity and attendant health problems even when socioeconomic status is taken into consideration.
The link to the study can be found here. I wish journalists would clearly cite the actual source of study because oftentimes it takes a while to search and find it and only the most interested users bother to go to the source of information.
I can actually attest to this sparingly, since the study only seems to hold true among Hispanic immigrants and I am not. I gained about 40 pounds since I started residing in the United States without any changes to my height or level of physical activity. I have shed about 15 of those down to 115 in the past year after getting more health conscious, but the point is that Americans do consume foods with higher calories. And the more we “assimilate,” the more we tend to consume “American foods” on the go instead of ethnic, home-cooked meals which are generally and broadly-speaking, healthier. I don’t think the morale of the story is that we should hide out in our own ethnic enclaves–but that mirroring American consumerism and diet is the wrong way to go.
Supporters of cultural assimilation beware–Encouraging and pushing for assimilation i.e. “English-only” can be contradictory. According to the research of Tomás Jiménez, an assistant professor of sociology at UC San Diego:
That efforts by opponents of illegal immigration to stamp out the ethnic identity of immigrants and their descendents, and to emphasize assimilation, backfire… Nonimmigrant Mexican-Americans who were already largely assimilated feel a closer connection to their Mexican identity when they see it as under attack.
“People who feel the country is fractured by ethnicity may be doing more than anyone to harden ethnic identity,” he said.
The study holds up when compared to conflict theory. When a minority culture faces attack from the dominant culture, it resists or pushes back.
While we are on the topic of assimilation and “illegal immigration,” is it not strange that the biggest proponents of assimilation are also the ones that prevent avenues for immigrant assimilation–Studies show that being undocumented is a barrier to assimilating.
As Duke University economist Jacob Vigdor explained in The Washington Post: “If you’re in the country illegally, a lot of the avenues of assimilation are cut off to you. There are a lot of jobs you can’t get, and you can’t become a citizen.”
Therefore, if we want our immigrants to assimilate, should we not ensure that they have the necessary institutional support to do so? Otherwise, it is ridiculous to expect migrant workers to speak American-English.
One last note. Americans DO NOT speak English but a bastardized version of it. Over the past decade, my English has actually deteriorated. I used to be a spelling bee champion and nowadays I let the Firefox browser correct my spelling. Same goes for my grammar. It is not correct to say “Who are you going to the movies with?” but rather “With whom are you going to the cinema?” Besides the error of ending in prepositions, I use way more passive language than I used to — we used to be graded down for “passive usage.” Most Americans have no idea as to what that means! Anyway, I am no fan or supporter of any “pure language” theories so the deterioration of English does not bother me. What does bother me is this:
Writing by admin on Wednesday, 2 of July , 2008 at 10:20 pm
+++++I hail from the Fiji Islands; My favorite food is Chinese; I root for Italy and Juventus when it comes to football; I am disappointed when India loses a major cricket tournament; I love Pakistani music with Jal as my most favorite band; L-word star Jennifer Beals is my idol while I think Indian soapstar Anita Hassanandani is the most beautiful woman in the world; my best friend lives in Australia; ‘God Bless Fiji’ is the only national anthem I can recite, barely; the Bay Area is my home and Chicago is my favorite city. My likes and dislikes know neither borders nor boundaries+++++
During my incredibly short time as a pro-migrant blogger, I have seen many articles on calls for new immigrants to assimilate, deriding the more recent wave of transnational identities, and studies that show immigrant assimilation rates, just to name a few.
From a personal perspective, as someone who was born and brought up in the Fiji Islands, I was taught that we must not expect or encourage “assimilation.” In fact, the word has negative connotations in my country of origin, helped by a social studies curriculum that puts plularism over assimilationist integration from an early age. So it is baffling to me, when “assimilation” is seen in a positive light in the United States, almost uncomfortable in fact. Assimilation is synonymous to losing cultural identity, which I find completely unacceptable, especially when it is touted as a prerequisite for U.S. citizenship.
Sociologist Robert Parks maintained that assimilation was inevitable in a democratic and industrial society after undergoing the “race relations cycle” (contact, conquest…assimilation, fusion). Park has been criticized for not giving a timeline as to when assimilation is complete. We have absolutely no way of ascertaining when assimilation has occurred if we go by Park’s theories.
On the other hand, Milton Gordon has a seven-part subprocesses of assimilation theory, going from cultural acculturation to structural assimilation (integration) to marital assimilation. By no means is this theory solid–individuals and groups can jump around the subprocesses and not follow it in any certain order.
Sociologists think that contemporary immigrants would undergo segmented assimilation. See this for more.
Unlike what Parks or Gordon let on, the process of assimilation in itself, is not LINEAR, which is a very important point to take into account. When different cultures inter-mingle, they borrow characteristics from one another–If the United States was a case of an “assimilationist society,” we would all have the traditional English breakfast of bacon and eggs and scones for snacks. But we enjoy our various ethnic foods, different dressing styles, and the ability to curse in several different languages.
On this $2 note from Fiji that I carry around in my wallet, we can see from left to right: a young Muslim boy, an older Chinese man, an indigenous Fijian, a Rotuman woman–probably representative of other Pacific Islands as well, and an Indian woman.
Writing by admin on Wednesday, 2 of July , 2008 at 5:50 pm
There is no doubt that women bear the brunt of the toughest and lowest-paying jobs (not to mention UNPAID housework). From sewing garments in sweltering factories to changing dirty diapers to wiping counters to doing the dishes to serving as “sex slaves” — the overwhelming majority of workers in these occupations are women.
Take a look at the recent ICE raid at the Houston Action Rags USA plant–in effect a sweatshop rag factory where migrant workers–mostly women–would sort through used clothes that would later by exported to “Third World” countries. ICE officials said of the 166 workers they detained, 130 were females, including 10 who were pregnant.
The Houston Chronicle picked up on the gender disparity here:
Juana Maria Olvera, 35, was one of those detained at Action Rags USA and released because she is expecting a child.
”There are a lot of undocumented women working here, and a lot are single women who are working to support their families,” said Olvera. ”What is happening is a lot of the men come here and don’t go back to Mexico. They either bring their women, or find someone here.”
When ICE cracks down on migrant women workers, they devastate the mainstay of the family unit. But we need to situate the random detention of migrant women workers by the ICE in a more global context, as a global oppression of women. It is ironic that these migrant women were working in a “First World” rag-factory to produce clothes for “Third World” countries–countries that they have fled due to “First World” (neo-liberal) policies. For the most part, they would probably do the same jobs at home if the multi-national corporations came to them. Capital will go where it can seek the most profits–and what is more profitable than earning millions on the backs of women who have very little institutional support? Multi-national corporations like DKNY, Levi Strauss, Jessica McClintock to name just a few, have a mutable gendered labor workforce.
In coming to the United States, there is no hunt for the ‘American dream’ but sheer desperation for dollars. As Cynthia Enloe eloquently states in her seminal work Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, women who travel are not creatures of comfort or privileged. These migrant female underclass of workers do not get institutional support, work in increasingly deplorable conditions and are more susceptible to sexual harassment and abuse. Just take a look at this story about an Ecuadorean family suing a bakery over working conditions–
Antonio DiBenedetto [the employer] groped the female immigrants and pushed one woman into an office where he tried to take off her clothes and sexually assault her, but the woman escaped by calling for the help of a co-worker, the lawsuit alleges.
DiBenedetto also forced female employees to watch him undress and walked around naked in front of them, the lawsuit alleges. He was also accused of telling the female employees that he would loan them money or not charge them rent if they engaged in sex.
This is a rare example of an undocumented immigrant family coming out of the shadows to jot down abuses in the workplace. For the most part, women who are sexually abused, harassed or treated inhumanely, simply stay quiet and stay in the shadows. Sometimes they are compelled to do so in order to protect their families and keep nurturing their young, no matter what the costs. And with the ICE, IMF, World Bank, workforce and exportation laws, it is harder for female workers to unite and unionize.
What is the main point of this blog post? Any movement for the advancement of women’s rights or gender equality, MUST address the needs of women who are victims of neo-liberal globalization.
This site is belongs to a post-graduate student now headed for law school. It is part of a growing network of pro-migrant voices online that seek to counter the hatred and ignorance spewed by hate groups and promote meaningful immigration reform. Beyond that, you will also find discussions about political economy, post-colonialism, neo-liberalism, subaltern studies, queer theory topped by an occasional rant about the order of things. My political and intellectual leanings fall along the lines of neo-Marxist economics and Foucauldian theory.
Latest Message1 day, 11 hours ago
PL : Oh crap, I need to stop being up till 5am and screwing with my schedule. Pfft.
PL : I still need sleep... Maybe I will bunk soccer practice today
PL : Not to mention that there are 18 bruises on my arm alone from soccer practice on Tuesday (should I add the arm that has the broken hand...) ?
PL : Those who want to kick me or hurt me due to the latest tease on "Till We Meet Again" have some patience. I am recovering from food poisoning and studying for LSAT Diagnostics this weekend
PL : Off to LSAT classes tonight, UFF, 5-mile run around the lake at 6am on Friday. But hey, I made two "decent" posts!!
PL : Alright, I am settling into my new schedule (soccer workouts, LSAT classes every other day throughout the week) and my computer seems to be working for now. I'll start with small updates.
PL : Sorry for not updating - Entire weekend was taken over by a virus attack, just got done fixing the computer. From this week - also have LSAT classes, finally.
