From mobile ultrasound units that determine if a baby needs to be extinguished to bribery for keeping them, India now offers it all;

Families having a single girl child in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh will be given 100,000 rupees ($2,300) in an attempt to boost the female population…

…The state government says it is concerned at the falling female-to-male ratio – in 2001 it was 943 to 1,000.

The only-child receives the money as soon as she turns 20. In addition to that payola, from ages 14-17 (9th through 12th grade), a yearly grant of Rs. 1,250 will be available for the girl’s educational expenses. If either parent passes away, Rs. 50,000 is provided immediately. See? Attractive!

To ensure that the girl is a couple’s ONLY child, both parents must be sterilised;

…both parents would have to undergo operations certified and verified by government hospitals to qualify for the scheme.

Oh, and what’s a scheme without some PR?

The Andhra Pradesh government says it is also planning a major publicity campaign to promote female children.

It has named the rising Indian tennis star and local girl, Sania Mirza, as the “ambassador of the girl child of Andhra Pradesh”.

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So. J.Lo does German TV wearing a very unique outfit; embroidered on the cuff of her white dead-animal-skin with more dead-animal fur-hooded jacket, there is a logo that includes an Iron Cross, a lightning bolt and skulls.

I don’t expect any of you to connect the dots THIS late in the day, so I’ll just TELL you what’s up– the design resembles patches that were once worn by SS troops during WWII. Thanks to Adolf Hitler, the Iron Cross transitioned from a “proud symbol of courage among German soldiers” to something that represented the Third Reich.

Many of you are aware of another symbol that was tragically misappropriated by Hitler– the swastika. Well, the way that Hitler ruined the Iron Cross was by–you guessed it (assuming you intellectuals are still reading about our gen’s liz taylor)–slamming a swastika on it. Heil Assh@le.

J.Lo’s taste in clothing always gets attention, but this time Drudge and the pajamahadeen are on her like a potential husband.

From Drudge’s site:

The designer of the one-of-a-kind, $2,300 jacket, Jeff Sebilia, says his imagery not only doesn’t endorse Nazism, but is meant “to make people aware of just how powerful imagery can be. We all know the swastika was a peaceful Hindu image, and we know what the Nazis did to that. I think we can use imagery that has stark emotion and make it our own.”

Suuuuuure. Hide behind the “Hindu” explanation. I have no doubt that when people see this swastika-less coat of his, they are thinking, “oh, isn’t it sad that something good from Hinduism was so misused?” :p

I’m positive that’s what J.Lo had in mind, too; she was obviously reclaiming symbols– for all of us. Continue reading →

The article itself isn’t as “directly” brown as everything else we dissect or publish here, but the subject matter is familiar enough– even if it doesn’t explicitly mention south asians:

…parents, relatives or a designated member of the community took on the sacred task of arranging for a young person to create a new household, thus ensuring the continuity and stability of society. Although in much of the world that tradition continues, in our mainstream culture of individual choice and romantic self-determination, finding your own mate is a rite of passage, an exercise in autogenesis.

Among certain immigrant groups in this country, like those from Southeast Asia and Africa, ancient traditions of arranging marriages continue. In the Jewish tradition, arranging three marriages secures you a place in heaven. Ultra-Orthodox marriages are routinely arranged, and conservative communities often have informal matchmakers.

I am so curious about the “Southeast” reference…does she mean to include us within that inaccurate phrasing? Or is she the last human alive to know that we’re all about the auntie-facilitated set-up?

No matter what the author meant, it’s a fascinating piece from the NYT magazine. I’ll totally vouch for it. Oh, and if you’re going to take my word for it and try to read the rest, but you don’t have a username/pw for the site, there are ways around that.

:+:

The Grey Lady: “The New Arranged Marriage”

*Shadchen: yiddish word for “matchmaker” Continue reading →