Luo Cultural Rights – Foreskin Protection

I was astounded to see an article last month about Prime Minister Odinga and other Lou government ministers promoting circumcision in their community and admitting that they had the surgery done recently. Odinga and others said they got circumcised because they believe it reduces the chance of contracting HIV. Researchers have said that circumcision may reduce contracting HIV by 40-60%, but condoms have a 90% protection rate. When I first heard of Odinga’s plea to his own Luo community about encouraging everyone to get circumcised, I wondered why does Odinga have to worry about getting HIV anyways? Is he not faithful to his wife? He is trying to set a good example for his people and admitted to this very personal medical choice to the world, but is he really admitting to something much more unethical? If you read my other article on Kenya, I’m sure you can tell that I’m not a huge fan of Odinga, but my respect for him has diminished even more after learning this news.

Women Warriors

There were many impressive, moving moments at this year’s Democratic National Convention. I only remember the last few conventions but the speeches this time were better than ever. My favorite speeches of the convention were by Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Hillary appeared stronger and more powerful then ever as she proceeded to yell into the mic throughout her speech. Her voice was even getting raspy at the end as if her small body couldn’t contain her passion. I was pleased to see that she swallowed her ego and endorsed Obama uniting the party. The next morning on my way to work, I listened to National Public Radio in the car and I was shocked to hear all the political pundits saying that Hillary didn’t go far enough to endorse Obama. I, along with the rest of the Democrats, were looking for any sense of insincerity in her support for Obama and I couldn’t find any facial expression, gesture, or word that cast a doubt. Just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, I read over the transcript of her speech. Below are several exerts where she clearly states her support for Obama:

“I am honored to be here tonight. A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama.”

“Whether you voted for me, or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team, and none of us can sit on the sidelines.”

“Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President.”

After listing reasons why she ran for president, she says, “Those are the reasons I ran for President. Those are the reasons I support Barack Obama. And those are the reasons you should too.”

“We need to elect Barack Obama because we need a President who understands that America can’t compete in a global economy by padding the pockets of energy speculators…”

“Barack Obama began his career fighting for workers displaced by the global economy.”

“And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he’ll revitalize our economy…”

“Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq responsibly and bring our troops home – a first step to repairing our alliances around the world.”

Most importantly, there is a section of her speech where she says, “Were you in this campaign for me?” or was it for the Democratic cause.

As I remembered that she talked about Obama throughout her entire speech, the reality check set in that no matter what she says the media will always criticize her. Is it discrimination or do they just hate her?

What is hip hop?

I had very little exposure to hip hop growing up behind the orange curtain of the OC until I moved to east Africa in college. Kids in Nairobi were listening to commercial hip hop in bars and clubs and I frequently heard Tupac in villages in Uganda (I heard a lot of Britney Spears too). A few years later when I moved to DC, I was fairly familiar with the west coast classics but didn’t really know what hip hop was all about until I met my husband in 2003. He listened to hip hop 24/7 and I became a huge fan of Gang Starr, Outkast, Eminem, Biggy, Missy Elliot, Atmosphere, The Coup and others. I understood that it was poetry but the good stuff sounds good too, like the 2nd track on Deltron 3030. While in DC, crunk dominated hip hop and I had a blast bumping and grinding in dark basement clubs, sweaty southern style.

As the years went on, I began to think more deeply about hip hop and what it means for the African American community and the rest of us.

Danica Patrick Rules!

A few weeks ago, I discovered an aspect of American culture I had never experienced before- car racing. I never realized how popular car racing is nationally and on the grassroots level. My uncle races a classic corvette, which goes at least 140 mph. He goes to tracks throughout the southwest and races a few times a year against other people in his class. The event is not open to the public and made up of the drivers that belong to local clubs with their friends and families. I went one weekend and it way much more exciting than I expected. They also had IndyCars and other stock cars. According to NASCAR’s website, NASCAR is the most spectated sport in America. (If is isn’t, it is the fastest growing spectated sport.) More Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport and NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries in more than 30 languages.

Interestingly, car racing first sparked my interested when Kornheiser and Wilbon on PTI were debating over the infamous Danica shove of Dan Wheldon last year. She is feisty, super sexy, and a damn good at driving cars fast!

Laguna Love

If anyone in the world asked me where I’m from, I would say California before America or Orange County. California was named by the Spanish after a novel about a wild island ruled by half naked Amazonian women. It must have been the first thing that the horny sailors could think of when they first saw California’s breath taking shoreline. I remember in California history class, that 80% of native California tribes were peaceful hunter gatherers. It made me wonder if people who live in paradise develop slower than people in cold societies who have to struggle over scarce resources. Regardless, I’m proud to be Californian and would support succession if anyone was courageous to spearhead such a revolution. I love California not only because our economy kicks ass (we are the 7th largest economy in the world that produces more products than any other state including many agriculture and dairy products). But the best part of California is our diverse environment and people. California supposedly has more Native Americans than any other state and prior to the Gold Rush we had more Native Americans than all other states combined (damn…we were even highly populated back then). We also have the highest Armenian population outside of Armenia, Los Angeles has the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico, and San Francisco has the largest Chinese population outside of Asia.

Anyways…the California coastline is still amazing and my favorite area is Laguna Beach. The rolling hills and deep canyon is a majestic green in spring with houses built in the sides of mountains that seem like works of art.

Heart of Darkness

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been cursed with natural disasters, poverty, exploitation, conflict, and all sorts of suffering for endless decades. I cannot begin to skim the surface of the complex issues of the Congo here, but I was shocked to see an article on the BBC a few weeks ago that said people are still “discovering” villages in Congo. When imagining remote villages described in the Poisonwood Bible, it was hard to believe that some villages were so isolated from the outside world, dominated by superstition, and existing in the same way they did hundreds of years ago. But after reading statements from the Rainforest Foundation, I’m starting to wonder. It appears that 190 villages have been found in one area of Bandundu province where the government had originally thought 30 villages had existed. The government is surveying the area as they hand out permits to logging companies in the area. The government has already allocated parts of the territory to 11 logging concessions and the lives of these villagers will be greatly affected as a result with little consideration from the government. Instantly after reading the news, I wondered: Do these people receive no protection or social services from the government? What if there is an outbreak of a serious disease (like Ebola) in one of the villages? Being oppressed is one thing, but not existing at all…that seems insulting on another level.

Sweet Justice

There is nothing better than sweet justice. As African governments slowly democratize, I have always argued that the development of independent, efficient, effective judiciaries is the most important aspect of democratic progress. The courts in various countries on the continent pose the only significant balance of power to Prime Ministers and Presidents dominating political systems. There are several important trails that either are currently taking place or will take place that could change Africa forever. Charles Taylor is currently on trial in the Hague and Hissene Habre will likely be going to trail soon. They are two of Africa’s worse dictators still alive. Habre is dubbed Africa’s Pinochet and Charles Taylor is famous for hacking off the limbs of innocent civilians in western Africa. Even Uganda’s Joseph Kony is scared of the International Criminal Court’s indictments (he is East Africa’s most ruthless rebel leaders in recent history known for abducting more than 20,000 children that were forced to mutilate and kill northern Ugandans.) Leaders of governments and rebel movements will now have to think twice before killings, mutilating, and torturing people in large numbers.

JabbaWockeeZ

I witness the hottest thing I have seen on TV in years the other night – finale for American’s Best Dance Crew. If you want to instill nationalism in today’s youth and fight their disenchantment, just promote shows like American’s Best Dance Crew. America is a mix of many cultures and the people from each geographical region have various characteristics. I have been exposed to people from each area. I lived in DC, which is a mix of north and south. My husband is from the mid-west and I’m from the West – WESTSIDE!!! The final episode was a battle between all crews from each region of the country.

Journey to 10,000 BC

I was watching Journey to 10,000 BC on the History Channel last night and discovered that camels are from North America and migrated cross Alaska to Asia. According to Wikipedia, “fossil evidence indicates that the ancestors of modern camels evolved in North America during the Palaeogene period.” The Palaeogene period was 42 million years when “mammals evolved from relatively small, simple forms into a plethora of diverse animals in the wake of the mass extinction that ended the preceding Cretaceous Period”. Apparently in North America, the hunter gatherers at the time had the same cognitive abilities that we do today and lived among giant sloths the size of cars, mammoths (the largest mammals since dinosaurs), saber tooth lions, and bears that were twice as big as grizzles. More importantly, they were able to survive a mini-ice age in which 80% of animals went extinct. In the most populous area around Chesapeake Bay (DC area), there was an extremely windy sand storm for about a 1000 years as a result of a melting ice cap. I’m thankful for shows like Journey to 10,000 BC because they remind us the challenges our ancestors overcame to make us who we are today and note interesting facts like the beloved camel being from North America. Some cultures place great importance on learning about their ancestors and Americans have a lot to learn from them. The American educational system teaches children very little about North American ancient history if they cover it at all. Our perception of life would be different if we were continually reminded what our planet and ancestors have been through.

Did Hilary get screwed by the media or is the U.S. just that sexist?

There has been a lot of discussion in the media and the general public about how for the first time in decades the democratic electorate is energized. People are coming out to vote for the Democrats in record numbers. This could be because we have two excellent, well-qualified candidates or the thought of another Republican like Bush in the white house is terrifying. I, on the other hand, have been feeling more disenfranchised than ever. It is all about the polls, momentum, and who the media says is winning. What happened to the idea of letting the voters be heard based on each candidate’s platform. Each vote counts and should be seen as separate from the media empire controlled by a handful of individuals. The media seemed excited when Obama won Iowa (he is very charismatic) and even gave New Hampshire to Obama when Hilary won it. Of course, they had to retract that when all the votes were counted and revealed that polls are not all that reliable. Beth Fouhy from the Associated Press this week wrote that Hillary is trying to save her “moribund candidacy” in the Texas and Ohio primary, and it seems for the most part that the media believes she has already lost. She may not win, but the media is making an effort to influence voters as hundreds of delegates are still at stake. The article, “Clinton: Running again the wind”, describes how luck has been on Obama’s side. Howard Fineman says, “He made it to the Senate after not one but TWO sex scandals leveled his potential rivals. He got to run against Alan Keyes, an often bizarre-acting politician who didn’t even live in the state of Illinois. And as for his war vote, well, he didn’t have to make the same choice Clinton did. That’s because Obama wasn’t elected until two years after the first tanks rolled into Iraq.”

In fall of 2006, I read Obama’s Audacity of Hope and dreamed of the first brilliant, articulate, African American becoming president some day. I was an avid Obama supporter until heavy campaigning started after the Iowa Caucuses and I switched my vote to Hillary. Since the beginning of the year, I have become increasingly annoyed by Obama faking a southern accent (typical of most politicians, but he is supposed to be different) when he gives speeches in the south and his non-specific rhetoric of hope and unity. We all want to hear about hope and unity to save our divided nation, but we also want to know what the less experienced senator plans to do when he is in office. I became increasingly frustrated with Obama’s lack of substance at the beginning of his campaign and then I realized that Clinton and Obama simply have different communication styles. Obama is more eloquent and philosophical while Hillary is a “keep it real” type of lady.