Posts Tagged ‘poverty’

Day 2: Why I May Break this Fast

// October 17th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // Human Rights, Immigration

Today is Karvachauth — a day on which married (presumably straight) Hindu women pray and fast for the long lives of their (presumably straight) husbands.

BARF. BARF. BARF.

You can read about the origin of this religious festivity? and what it constitutes here. In recent years, the sentiment has been popularized by god-awful, cringe-worthy family dramas of Bollywood and Tellywood alike.

Obviously, my intolerance for such regressive traditions is no surprise. I just have to look past the coincidence and tolerate my mom for making any obscene jokes about this.

BARF. BARF. BARF.

Somewhere between Day 2 and Day 3 — Let me just say that this is difficult with a screaming Tiny Tot in the house and completely ignorant family members.

A slight headache and fever is not enough to unhinge me; I am stubborn and relentless. I am the idiot who didn’t go to the emergency room with a broken ulna (that is still healing 7 months later btw).

But I am more sensitive to advertisements about food. Greasy pizza from PizzaHut, Oreo Sundae Shakes at Burger King, McDonald’s french fries, and my favorite Chalupas from Taco Bell (no, don’t laugh) … Yep, food I haven’t eaten in months, MONTHS, have all crossed my mind in the past 36 hours.

This is not what I eat on a normal day. My meals usually look like this, in order from breakfast to dinner:

  • Cereal, Orange Juice, Fruit with Multi-Vitamins/Fish Oil / Calcium supplements
  • Chicken Taquitos
  • Noodles
  • Jamba Juice / Protein Shake with more Fish Oil supplements
  • Cereal / Fruit

And I tend to get more carbs in if I have some rigorous activity planned for the next day.

Fasting is probably good for people with bad diet habits just once for a 3-day period after which they can try to adapt to a light-moderate diet with exercise. It is a huge no-no for me.

Did I mention I have a tennis class early on Saturday morning? Someone wish for a downpour for me; a downpour in sunny California, UGH, I would win the lottery sooner.
(more…)

Widening demographic divide between rich and poor countries

// August 20th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Immigration, Political Theory

The Population Reference Bureau just released the annual World Population Data Sheet. The report claims that the inequality in population and health profiles between rich and poor countries is widening.

Population Growth Chart Highlights Demographic Divides

While I find macro and meta-narrative style studies overly generalizing and notwithstanding unforeseen phenomenons, there is some truth to the claim that in the coming future, wealthier nations will experience population growth mostly through immigration while population growth would be centered largely in countries that are poor. The demographers and world-ranking scientists in population studies won’t admit this, but Karl Marx developed a theory that correlates to these findings.

In his debate with Thomas Malthus, Marx argued that for the bourgeoisie, the number of children reproduced depended on the optimal number required to carry on the capital accumulation process, whereas the proletariat would reproduce in large numbers to gain more control over the only means of production that they owned: labor. You can read more on the Marx-Malthus debate here.

Obviously, capital is not the only driving force of history and the bourgeoisie/proletariat dichotomy is not as clear-cut across countries. However, richer countries, on average, tend to be consumer societies especially as production is increasingly deterritorialized and dematerialized, requiring them to reproduce less for survival.
(more…)

Unreported World – India – The Broken people

// November 22nd, 2007 // No Comments » // Videos

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3