For those of you who know me well, you know that I have a firm testimony in dental hygiene. I absolutely LOVE to go to the dentist. It is like going to the spa. I love being told how clean my teeth are, how I should should work there, how amazing I am . . . :). I even having my own set of dental instruments at home so I can clean my own teeth. This obsession stemmed from an incident in early college where I had a cavity (GASP) in between my teeth. Ever since then I have been diligent about brushing after every meal and flossing twice daily. I was shocked to hear that some people don't floss . . . and even more shocked when my dentist told me that many people don't brush.
This got me thinking about dental vanity in America. Dental hygiene seems to be very much an American tradition, and the industry is suffering in the current economic depression according to my dentist friends. When I was in China last month, our host told me there are only a handful of dentists in major cities. Oral health is not the priority it is here.
What do you think? Is oral health vanity?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
F*** You Citigroup.
I got a letter from my credit card company saying it was increasing my interest rate from 8% to 29.99%. What really pisses me off is that I have always payed off my bill every month and never payed late. Additionally, my taxpayer dollars bailed out this company along with several others.
Obviously I called and gave Citigroup the proverbial middle finger via telephone.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
"He has bells on his feet but they might as well be chains."
My distaste for humanity began at a young age. Stories like these do not help restore my faith in mankind. As those of you close to me know, issues regarding the basic human rights of women and children in the developing world are important to me. In the last couple of days I ran across this story by Atia Abawi of CNN about the "bacha bazi" or "boy play" in Afghanistan.
Bacha Bazi is a practice in "which young boys are taken from their families, made to dance and used as sex slaves by powerful men. The number of boys involved is unknown -- the practice has been going on for centuries, in a country where such practices are overshadowed by conflict and war." (Abawi, 2009). "It's pretty much unappreciated by [the] society, unaccepted and illegal," said Mohammad Musa Mahmodi of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, one of the few organizations in the country working to end "bacha bazi."
In the video embedded at the bottom of this post, two young men are interviewed, both of whom were forced into this practice as teenagers. One describes how he was kidnapped by his neighbor, raped, and then sold to various "parties" as a dancer. Following each dance, the young men are often gang-raped.
There is not much legal recourse for these young men. "In Afghan society the victims of rape and assault --- both male and female --- are often persecuted and punished rather than the perpetrator. The shame forces boys like Farhad to continue in leading such lifestyles, even when they have the chance to break away." (Abawi, 2009).
So I am wondering if any of you feel that this kind of thing ever okay given the historical context of this practice in Afghanistan. Or are such arguments simply justifications for the perpetual abuse of children?
Bacha Bazi is a practice in "which young boys are taken from their families, made to dance and used as sex slaves by powerful men. The number of boys involved is unknown -- the practice has been going on for centuries, in a country where such practices are overshadowed by conflict and war." (Abawi, 2009). "It's pretty much unappreciated by [the] society, unaccepted and illegal," said Mohammad Musa Mahmodi of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, one of the few organizations in the country working to end "bacha bazi."
In the video embedded at the bottom of this post, two young men are interviewed, both of whom were forced into this practice as teenagers. One describes how he was kidnapped by his neighbor, raped, and then sold to various "parties" as a dancer. Following each dance, the young men are often gang-raped.
There is not much legal recourse for these young men. "In Afghan society the victims of rape and assault --- both male and female --- are often persecuted and punished rather than the perpetrator. The shame forces boys like Farhad to continue in leading such lifestyles, even when they have the chance to break away." (Abawi, 2009).
So I am wondering if any of you feel that this kind of thing ever okay given the historical context of this practice in Afghanistan. Or are such arguments simply justifications for the perpetual abuse of children?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wal-Creatures: People of Walmart
A friend told me about the site peopleofwalmart.com. "Let’s face it; we all have seen the people who obviously don’t have mirrors and/or family and friends to lock them in a basement, and they all seem to congregate at Walmart."
Ick.
Ick.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
China Loot!
I had a great time in China. The problem with China is, besides the fact that there is no toilet paper and you have to pee in a trough, is that there is too much crap to buy. I bought the following during my two week trip:
12 Tablecloths
9 Handbags
14 Wallets
2 fake watches
102 strands of beads and pearls
1 jade dog
8 Chairman Mao quotebooks
40 postcards
5 silk wall hangings
3 jewelry boxes
12 ties
5 scarves
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