Cultural diversity

Tinku, in Bolivia’s high plains, pits two tribes in Sacaca each February in daylong drinking and all-out fist-fighting. Despite the bloodshed, Tinku survives, helped by President Evo Morales’ support for indigenous cultures. The mayor of Sacaca called Tinku “a sublime, beautiful act,” in a February New York Times dispatch. And at the Historic Carnival of Ivrea, Italy, in February, nine “teams” battled in commemoration of the centuries-old rebellion against noblemen, who enjoyed deflowering commoners’ brides on their wedding eves. Today, that battle is waged by people pelting one another with oranges (New York Times, Feb. 19).

Religious messages

The University of Texas-Arlington fired two employees last year after they had prayed at the cubicle of a co-worker and anointed it with prayer oil, and in December the two filed a lawsuit over the termination. The school said that “praying, shouting and/or chanting over a co-worker’s … belongings without her knowledge and consent constitutes harassment.”

Evelyne Shatkin and Linda Shifflett said that the co-worker was on vacation at the time, but they declined to say why they thought she needed the benefit of prayer (Austin American-Statesman, Dec. 20, 2006).