News Bits | | Page 28

Auto no-turban zone

November 8, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

National auto parts distributor AutoZone, Inc. is in hot water: “I spent more time with AutoZone staff than with my own family and friends,” said MahoneyBurroughs. “It was very painful to be humiliated and insulted by them. They made me feel as though I had no right to practice my faith. When I complained, I was discarded like a piece of trash. I don’t want AutoZone to do this to anyone else.” The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: AutoZone, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

It rained, but it was still a parade

November 8, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“The best part of the Sikh Parade is that even though it’s raining, whether there’s sun or there’s rain, we’re always here to support our religion,” said Daman Dhillon, a Yuba City woman among the paradegoers. “Rain or shine, Sikhs are proud.” The Yuba City Sikh Parade went on as scheduled yesterday despite the soggy weather. While the turnout wasn’t as big as last year (45,000 this year vs. 75,000 last year), it was still a solid showing considering the rain.

Categories: News Bits • Tags: Sikh Parade, Yuba City

Where the TSA and the Golden Temple intersect

November 7, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

During Obama’s visit to India, Indian Member of Parliament Harsimrat Badal (of the opposition Akali Party) directly conveyed to the US President her concerns about Obama’s avoidance of Amritsar: According to Harsimrat, the US president was gracious enough to acknowledge the sentiment and replying that his present visit was a “rushed affair” and that he would try to come for a longer visit next time, during which he would like to visit Punjab. “The pleasure would be all mine,” is what he […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Politics • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, Amritsar, Barack Obama, Manmohan Singh, TSA

The relevance of Bandi Chhorh Divas today

November 5, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For Sikhs, the celebration of Diwali has a different meaning than for Hindus. It is on this day that we celebrate the release of Guru Hargobind (Sikhism’s sixth Guru) and 52 Indian princes from prison in India in 1619. We refer to this day as Bandi Chhorh Divas, or Day of Release of Prisoners. Valarie Kaur, on her blog, relates its commemoration of liberation to the events to current times: But there is no Guru’s cloak big enough for the […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Bandi Chhorh Divas, Diwali, Guru Hargobind, Valarie Kaur

Yuba City Weather Forecast on weather.com

Let’s hope it doesn’t rain on this parade

November 5, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Parade in Yuba City, California, kicks off this weekend: As festival tents go up this week outside the Sikh Temple Gurdwara in Tierra Buena, tens of thousands of Sikhs prepared to converge on the home of the nation’s prime celebration of their faith. Visitors looked ahead to riding flower-decked parade floats, lining the four-mile procession route, taking in dance and song — and showing pride in their numbers. The Sikh Parade weekend attracted an estimated 75,000 people to […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: California, Sikh Parade, Yuba City

TSA, USA

November 5, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The revolution will not be televised x-rayed. Kimberly Wilder of The Wilder Side has an issue with the TSA’s screening procedures in American airports: This is a humiliation happening to all of the American people. This is an affront to our civil liberties. It is an attempt to control our movements and air travel much like happened in the Soviet Union. Although, at least I don’t think that the Soviets tried to irradiate the citizenry. This is serious. What can […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, TSA

Have you hugged a Sikh today?

November 4, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In California, November is “Sikh Awareness Month“: Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the month of November 2010 to be California Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes and acknowledges the significant contributions made by Californians of Sikh heritage to our state, and by adoption of this resolution, seeks to afford all Californians the opportunity to better understand, […]

Categories: News Bits

Cultural competence is ethical

November 3, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A new paper to be published in the Journal of Medical Ethics takes on cultural competence where it relates to the practice of medicine: Increasing cultural competence is often cited as a way to reduce healthcare disparities arising from value and cultural differences between patients and providers. Cultural competence entails not only a knowledge base of cultural practices of disparate patient populations, but also an attitude of adapting one’s practice style to meet patient needs and values. In order to […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: Cultural Competence, Health care, Muslim

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: News Bits

Auto no-turban zone

It rained, but it was still a parade

Where the TSA and the Golden Temple intersect

The relevance of Bandi Chhorh Divas today

Let’s hope it doesn’t rain on this parade

TSA, USA

Have you hugged a Sikh today?

Cultural competence is ethical