On the flight from Delhi to Leh. Above the Himalayas.
5/29/12
AHHHHAHAHAHAHHA
A Tribe Called Kitten - Midnight Meowrauders. (The 100th Kitten Cover!)
(via waxandmilk)
The UK agreed to give India £166m to fund the programme, despite allegations that the money would be used to sterilise the poor in an attempt to curb the country’s burgeoning population of 1.2 billion people.
Sterilisation has been mired in controversy for years. With officials and doctors paid a bonus for every operation, poor and little-educated men and women in rural areas are routinely rounded up and sterilised without having a chance to object. Activists say some are told they are going to health camps for operations that will improve their general wellbeing and only discover the truth after going under the knife.
This is stuff that’s happening within your lifetime. This is not something from the past, something that happened a while ago. Population control is something that still exists.
And if you ever try saying that we need to save women in foreign countries, well maybe you should step back and consider how Western countries are aiding in (and have encouraged) creating these issues.
UGH. where to start…
Sterilization campaigns are the legacy of institutional eugenics programs that have spanned multiple continents starting in the early 1900s. In fact, Hitler modeled his program off of American legislation in the 1930s (See “Better for All the World” by Harry Bruinius, 2006, for more on this and the history of Eugenics in America).
The US also engaged in institutional sterilization campaigns up until the late 1960s. These campaigns specifically targeted Native American women, Puerto Rican women, and Black women, planted the roots of distrust within communities of color for the medical establishment far before Tuskegee took place.
It is also important to note that family-cap policies and sterilization campaigns are explicitly outlawed in the UN issued Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Then again, I’m not sure any nation really respects these documents or interprets them in the interest of the vulnerable peoples they seek to protect.
That being said…there is never any real justification for sterilization campaigns and / or family cap policies (prevalent in the US and much of the developed world), but to use ‘population control’ for justification?!….let me explain:
In case you weren’t aware, it is people in DEVELOPED countries that UTILIZE THE MAJORITY OF RESOURCES in nearly every conceivable category (from electricity/energy, to petroleum, food resources, etc.) so it is not only deplorable and unjust of us to make these demands of people in the developing world, it is incredibly hypocritical!!
Rife with issues of social justice and consent, sterilization programs are modern day manifestations of the Eugenics movement, which sought to rid society of undesirable individuals who often happened to be poor, people of color, mentally disabled, or a combination of these and more. In the past, ambiguous terms like feeble-minded were used to condemn people to non-consensual sterilization campaigns. Nearly anyone who strayed from the norms and behaviors of mainstream society could be considered ‘feeble-minded’. A modern day example might be the relation between the label ‘terrorist’ and immediate detainment without trial. Staycation in Cuba, anyone? We’ve seen happen time and time again - socially constructed dichotomies are used to enforce draconian legislation.
Getting back to the point:
While there are legitimate family planning programs in the developing world helping to address issues of child mortality, sexual and reproductive health, economic independence and female empowerment, we ought to be cautious of such campaigns unless proven otherwise. However, we must actively oppose family planning initiatives THAT OUTRIGHT ADMIT THAT THEY ARE ENGAGING IN NONCONSENSUAL STERILIZATION both at home (family-cap policies embedded into TANF/Welfare legislation) and abroad.
#DoneVenting
DJ ALYKHAN OUTTTTTT.
conversation/feedback/discussion welcome!
(via dumbthingswhitepplsay)
TUMBLR! Start your morning off right by listening to this ATCQ x Amy Winehouse Remix!
A Tribe Called Quest x Amy Winehouse: Can I Hold Her - by DJ ALYKHAN
I helped plan this, and it went swimmingly.
As soon as finals are over I’m going to do a megapost all about the rally with photos.
This Flyer was hand-drawn by my neighbor and good friend from Chicago, Caitlyn Childress. Love ya’ dude!!
Read the Press Release here: http://tinyurl.com/PressReleaseStudentPowerDec10
www.facebook.com/RocSSJ => ROCHESTER STUDENTS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE. Join the movement.
You give me hope, Tumblr friends….I’m glad someone out there cares.
Goodnight Internet.
New Moombahton track from DJ ALYKHAN x DJ APT ONE- “Rump Shaker So Saxy”
Whoah!! thanks for the blog love my dude!! hit me up via twitter or my ask box w/ your email for the mp3 :)
Rump Shaker So Saxy (DJ ALYKHAN x DJ APT ONE x Wreckx N Effect) (ACA & INSTR Out) by djalykhan
DOPE!
TODAY (Tuesday November 8) is our Peaceful & Socially Responsible Investing Teach In at 6:30 in Goergen 101, Sloan Auditorium.
Join SDS for an informative session on how we can utilize the University of Rochester’s 1.7 billion dollar endowment to make our world “ever better” by matching our investment objectives with commitments to human rights, social and community concerns, environmental sustainability, and economic development.
Speakers include:
Professor Randall Curren, Chair of the UR Philosophy Dept.
Dan Apfel, Executive Director of the Endowment Coalition
Maynor Gonzalez, Ph.D candidate at the Warner School
If you’re interested in learning about academic ethics and the university’s investing strategy, come on out! Hope to see you there.
Sponsored by:
Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence / Art and Art History Department Undergraduate Anthropology Council / Students for a Democratic Society/Responsible Endowments Coalition
FACEBOOK EVENT LINK: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=141438195957873
Come learn about creating structural change both on campus and in the global community!
I’ve blogged quotes from this track, and appreciate the fact that rappers like Jay and Kanye can still preach while showcasing their wealth….
Victoria Coats analyzes one of the better tracks on Watch the Throne, and reaches some thought provoking conclusions about mainstream rappers selling portraying the conscious image. Give it a read, lemme know what you think!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victoria-coats/watch-the-throne-black-excellence_b_957245.html
With the talk of tuxes and sheepskin coats that plagues the supposedly “excellent” half of “Murder to Excellence,” the track morphs into a claim on black excellence that is decidedly elitist, and frankly, incongruous with the philosophies of the movements and the thinkers that are celebrated elsewhere on the song and album. Whereas the track begins as a memorandum of black struggle, it ends in a conundrum. “Murder to Excellence” may sound like a tribute to black struggle, power, and excellence, but it is a departure from the true meaning of the rhetorical symbols it’s couched in. By resting on the lavishness of their lifestyles to define their excellence, Kanye West and Jay-Z make it clear that it will depend on “the people,” the over 94% of us who can’t gloat over multimillion dollar assets, to “redefine black power” and name the future of black excellence.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
I got to open & close for these guys when they came to Rochester earlier this year…such an amazing show!!! Check out this dope remix of their single, City Boy - off of CELESTIAL ELECTRIC - one of my favorite albums to date!! (click to check out their bandcamp page)
Give the album a listen - if you don’t like it I’ll personally refund you!! (not even kidding)
In the meantime, enjoy this remix by Captain Planet and peep some of their stuff via YouTube:
Captain Planet remix— check it
Weekend Update Regarding My Life Later Tonight
I don’t write much about my personal life here, but I suppose now’s better than never!
photos!
stories!
etc!
The motivation behind doing weekly life updates is so I can look back on this in 20 years and laugh (hopefully)
enjoy this horribly cropped photo of me from a couple weeks ago
The Flaming Lips & Chemical Brothers - The Golden Path
“FOR IF I WAS DEAD - HOW AND WHY DID I DIE?”
The Chemical Brothers-The Golden Path (Ewan Pearson Extended Vocal Mix) FREE DOWNLOAD #MP3 #MPFR33
http://www.4shared.com/audio/zvQyYJ23/ch_b-gp.html
“Please forgive me, I never meant to hurt you”
I played an all-vinyl set for the Gandhi Institute’s moving/housewarming party a couple weeks ago.
photo: Meridel Phillips
“I am glad that the Institute is moving because this will encourage students who rarely venture off-campus to explore the PLEX neighborhood and others that border our campus,” Alani said. “The Gandhi Institute is an integral component of our vibrant campus, but it is also a community institution. No other institution on-campus offers such genuine and intimate experiences with the surrounding community based on applied and theoretical principles of nonviolence, sustainability and compassion.”
(VIA http://www.campustimes.org/2011/09/29/gandhi-institute-moves-to-strengthen-community-ties/ )
Gandhi Institute moves to strengthen community ties
The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, an internationally recognized institution, will soon move its headquarters from UR’s River Campus to the Plymouth-Exchange (PLEX) neighborhood to expand and deepen its connections with the Rochester community.
Once the house is renovated, the Institute will move from the offices at the Interfaith Chapel to a century-old, two-story house on 929 S. Plymouth Ave. The renovation, which will be completed in a few months, will delay the official move-in, according to Kit Miller, who is the director of the Institute.
“There is just no physical space for people to sit in our offices anymore,” Miller said. “I don’t really have a way for volunteers to come to UR.”
The Institute’s expansion of its outreach programs has led to limited space and offices for workshops, classes and seminars. This has propelled the institute to find another location in closer proximity to campus, and also closer to the community. The renovated house will offer more office and community-oriented space for visitors and students.
“The University is a stakeholder in this community, and the fact that the Gandhi Institute has made an effort to expand the University’s role in the community serves to strengthen this relationship,” senior Alykhan Alani, student representative of the Institute’s board of directors, said. “It also makes the resources available through the institute more accessible to the community and in turn brings concerned students and community members together.”
“For whatever reasons, some people are intimidated and uncomfortable about attending events on campus,” Institute George Payne program coordinator said. “So we want to break down the barriers and make people feel welcomed at the Gandhi Institute and make it as easy as possible for everyone — not just the students — to get involved.”
The PLEX neighborhood is about 10 minutes walking distance from the Riverview Apartments, so the move is not expected to be a hindrance to UR students. “It really doesn’t feel like a move away,” Miller said.
The Institute’s house will be a new gathering place for students and international interns who wish to stay for some time. Likewise, Joseph Gardella, Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year student and one of the Institute’s non-violence education for at-risk youth project service fellows, views the move as an essential and vital extension of community outreach. “Now that we’re in the community, there’s going to be more effective community outreach, non-violent communication and effective change of culture,” Gardella said.
The M.K. Gandhi Institute was founded by the grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi and established its headquarters at UR in 2007 to promote humanitarian ideas of nonviolence through education.
One of the Institute’s main goals is to restore justice in schools and courts. Instead of imposing punitive justice, the Institute tries to help people understand the consequences of their actions and embody nonviolence.
“Nonviolence is the human face of sustainability,” Miller said. “We need to figure out new ways to resolve conflict and teaching nonviolence is a practical strategy for sustainable governance to go forward.”
The Institute faces the challenge of reaching out to city youths to get them to understand the meaning of nonviolence. They believe that moving into the PLEX will help to combat this conundrum.
“I am glad that the Institute is moving because this will encourage students who rarely venture off-campus to explore the PLEX neighborhood and others that border our campus,” Alani said. “The Gandhi Institute is an integral component of our vibrant campus, but it is also a community institution. No other institution on-campus offers such genuine and intimate experiences with the surrounding community based on applied and theoretical principles of nonviolence, sustainability and compassion.”
The Institute will celebrate its new headquarters and Gandhi’s birthday on Sunday, Oct. 2, from 2-5 p.m. at 929 S. Plymouth Ave. The party will be a zero-waste event featuring live music and is open to both the UR and Rochester communities.
Kim is a member of the class of 2013.
DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE, SWAG. hollatchaboy!
I AM NOT A ROBOT ( DJ Alykhan ‘s Timbre ReDrum ) - Marina and the Diamonds by djalykhan
