10_vol4_epaper

US Affairs 10

Subcontinent 14

Op Ed 22

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Community Spiritual Awareness15 30 May 14-20, 2011

PSG College of Technology, The South AsianCoimbatore Times Excellence In Journalism celebrates diamond jubilee in New Jersey

NEW YORK EDITION

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PSG College of Technology and its growth into an University accrediCollege of Technology, Managing Trustee, Mr. C.R. tation which will be honored upon Vivek Indian grocer Swaminathan - the Chief PSGorigin next year.

It emphasized the Coimbatore, India was Kundra held at leaving House for Cambridge importance of PSG Tech Corpus Chutney Mary White restaurant in forExecutive, Dr. R. Rudramoorthyin – fray Harvard fellowship Monmouth Junction, New Jersey Principal PSGCT, Dr U P. Chancellor Fund, which will help in education on Saturday May 7, 2011. The Radhakrishnan - Director, of 200 deserving students every National Community, – year. The PSG Trust already helps gathering was attended by 50 PSGIAS, Dr. R. Nandagopal Diaspora, Page 7 of PSG Director, PGSIM, Dr. G. alumni from various fields Page 250 9 students each year for their College of Technology. The alumni Ranganathan - President, Alumni education.

Some of the alumni honored by came from Boston, Virginia, Association, Dr R. Nadarajan, Pennsylvania, New York and New Head/Maths & Computer Mr. Rangaswamy were - Mr. Jack Jersey. Included were, the oldest Applications, PSGCT, Dr A. Poola for his donations to PSG graduate Mr. Shanmugam from Kandaswamy, Head/Biomedical Tech, Mr. SampathKumar, Mr. Marthuchala Moorthy, Mr. Selvam 1959 batch and the youngest grad- Engineering, PSGCT. uate from 2010 batch.

The slide show presentation and Mr. Vijay for planning the The meeting was presided by highlighted various departments in meeting in New Jersey. he

Diamond

Jubilee

visiting dignitaries of PSG

Vol. 4Celebrations | No.10 | June 25 - July 1, 2011 | 60 Cents of PSG Management Mr. G. Rangaswamy-

India unhappy with US response to troubles of Indian diplomats

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

IIFA Awards: Bollywood takes over Toronto

AoL’s World Culture Festival in Berlin on July 2-3

IIFA Toronto, page 15

Culture, Page 18

India-Pak talks begin: Focus on Kashmir CBMs, terror

The college's Managing Trustee Mr Rangswamy presenting a plaque to Jack Poola (left) in recognition of his donation to PSG Tech.

work like a slave, the forIslamabad: With “optimism” and eign ministry said, “We are disappointed and “an open mind,” the Indian and Pakideeply concerned that In- stani foreign secretaries Thursday dian diplomats and their began two-day talks here to bridge family members should the trust deficit, which touched a new be targeted in such a man- low after the 26/11 Mumbai attack, ner in a friendly country by focusing on peace and security and confidence-building measures like the US.” It added, “Such actions (CBMs) on Kashmir.

The talks between Indian Foreign impede the ability of the Indian Consul General in New York, Secretary Nirupama Rao and her PakAmb. Prabhu Dayal individuals in question to istani counterpart Salman Bashir have discharge their official been divided into three segments.

New Delhi: Reacting to the forced responsibilities as well as cause The two top diplomats Thursday untold mental harassment and anlabor suit brought against Indian Both Rao and Bashir struck notes the talks with a “great sense of conficonsul general in New York, Amb. guish. These incidents cannot be held discussions on peace and security and CBMs across the Line of cautious optimism as they first dence, optimism and determination.”

Prabhu Dayal, the Indian govern- dismissed lightly.”

Sounding a subtle note of cau- of Control in Kashmir. The second held restricted talks before they “We wish to engage with you in not ment here protested against what it only walking the trajectory but also excalled the targeting of the country’s tion, the ministry said, “The treat- and third round of talks on Kashmir were joined by their delegations. and promotion of friendly exchangWelcoming the Indian side, Bashir ploring new avenues further,” he said. diplomats in the US, subtly caution- ment being meted out to Indian es will take place here Friday. stressed that they were approaching India-Pak continues on page 4 ing that it could sour public opinion diplomats or their family members has resulted in negative puband have repercussions for ties.

Mg Trustee Mr Rangaswamy presenting a plaque to Sampath Kumar, Mr C R Swaminathan Chief Executieve (in white) and Dr Radhakrishnan Trashing as “motivated and lic perceptions in India with attenorganizer of the event Past Principal (in blue) with students Obama for ‘good’ baseless” the charge that Dayal dant implications.” forced his Indian domestic help to Prabhu Dayal continued on page 4 Taliban, no to

Nirupama Rao to be next envoy to US

safe havens in Pakistan

Harry Anand re-elected Mayor of Laurel Hollow

Hicksville, NY: Mayor Harry on expenses and passing balanced Anand was re-elected for a third budgets,” Mayor Anand stated. term as the Mayor of Laurel Hollow Mayor Anand also wishes for more Washington: The US will join on June 21. Mayor Anand thanked and more South Asians to get inNew Delhi: Foreign Secretary efforts to reconcile with the Tali- his board members and residents of volved in the political process.

Nirupama Rao is set to be the next ban, President Barack Obama has Laurel Hollow for the support and Mayor Anand continued on page 4 Indian ambassador to the US, offi- said, as he announced a pullout of appreciation they have shown for cial sources said here Wednesday.

American forces from Afghanistan. his performance as the Mayor.

Rao, 60, will be demitting office But he warned that terrorist havens “In the last four years, I along July 31 at the end of her two-year term. in Pakistan won’t be tolerated. with my board have worked diliThe government has decided to “We will work with the Pakistani gently to provide good municipal appoint Rao as the next envoy in government to root out the cancer services, and maintain high stanWashington, replacing Meera Shan- of violent extremism, and we will dards of quality of life in Laurel kar, who has held the post since 2009. insist that it keep its commitments,” Hollow; which is recognized as An announcement of her new Obama said in a nationally tele- one of the premier waterfront composting from the gov- vised address Wednesday from the munities on Long Island. We have Foreign SecretaryMr. Nirupama Rao presentingisa expected Mg. Trustee Rangaswamy plaque towith thatDr Principal, speaking. Mg Trustee ernment soon, along of Rudramurthy, the White House. run and our village in a fiscally responwill replace Meera Shankar as The alumni at the event (Harry) Anand Mayor Harvinder Selvam, master of ceremony Selvam are also seen in the picture.

Obama continued on page 4 sible way by keeping a tight control India’s ambassador in Washington. next foreign secretary.

Tristate Community TheSouthAsianTimes.info

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June 25-July 1, 2011

Amb. Dayal dismisses slavery charges after domestic help files suit New York/Washington: The Indian Consul General in New York, Prabhu Dayal, has dismissed as “mischievous” and “complete nonsense” charges by a former housekeeper that she was treated like a slave while working for him and his family at the consulate in Manhattan.

“These are mischievous and malicious lies. Complete nonsense,” Dayal said reacting to a forced-labor suit filed against him by Santosh Bhardwaj, 45, in a Manhattan federal court Monday.

The housekeeper has alleged that Dayal promised her $10 an hour, plus overtime, to cook and clean for him and his wife after he was appointed to his post in 2008, according to the New York Post. But after arriving in the US Dayal confiscated her passport and paid her only

Ambassador Prabhu Dayal, India’s Consul General in New York $300 a month to sleep in a storage closet and toil 15-plus hours a day, seven days a week, she alleged in the lawsuit. She is seeking unspecified damages and the return of her passport. She said she escaped last year by slipping out of the Indian

Question of Diplomatic Immunity fter the Krittika Biswas arrest case, the suit against the CG is likely to spark debate about diplomatic immunity. Vishnu Prakash, a spokesman for the external affairs ministry in Delhi, believes Amb. Dayal is covered by immunity under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963. That means that he should be protected from such suits as his maid filed.

But, a spokesman for the US embassy in New Delhi, Unni

A

Menon, has argued that immunity for consular employees does not “apply in respect of a civil action either: a) arising out of a contract concluded by a consular officer or a consular employee in which he did not contract expressly or impliedly as an agent of the sending State; or b) by a third party for damage arising from an accident in the receiving State caused by a vehicle, vessel or aircraft.”

consulate building on East 64th Street while Dayal was out at a meeting and his wife was in her room with the door closed.

The newspaper said the Indian consulate didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Rejecting her charges, Dayal said: “The allegations made by Santosh Bhardwaj against me are totally baseless. She was in my employment in Delhi for one year, in Morocco for four years and in New York for 11 months from February 2009 to Jan 28, 2010.

“She wanted to work part time outside to earn more money but I refused permission as she was on an official passport and her visa did not allow her to work anywhere expect in my home,” Dayal said.

“Thereafter, she absconded on 28th Jan, 2010, and it is surprising that she has filed this case one and a half years after leaving my employment.” “She was paid her full emoluments as per my obligation, and she had saved a lot of money. Without these savings she would not have been able to meet her living costs in New York from January 2010 when she left me till June 2011,” Dayal said.

“She left my employment as she wanted to do moon-lighting by earning more money by working outside. She was refused this permission and decided to leave my employment. The matter was reported straightaway to the local authorities as well as to the Ministry of External Affairs. The charges leveled by her are totally false and

baseless.”

Dayal claims that she violated the terms of her visa by quitting her post to work for someone else.

Dayal's lawyer, Ravi Batra said, "She has betrayed the trust of the Dayal family, India and the US with her illegal abandonment of employment in favor of illegal higher pay from illegal employers." Batra added she was given a contract in 2009 that guaranteed her $10 per

hour for 40 hours of service per week. "This fraudster of a woman, seeing dollar signs, has hit on a 'get rich quick' scheme after a year and a half of illegally staying and working in New York," Batra said.

Dayal also rejected as an “insinuation” charges that he had asked the housekeeper “for a massage, which she interpreted as a sexual advance”, saying he never asked for a massage.

CG Dayal’s Rebuttal of accusations by Santosh Bhardwaj I have seen media could come and go as reports about a she pleased. suit filed by Mrs. “She has alleged Santosh Bhardwaj, my that she was forced to former domestic assiswork for 15 hours a tant. Let me categoriday, 7 times a week. cally state that all the This again is comcharges made by her pletely false.

She are completely baseworked 8 hours a day, less and false.

5 times a week.

“She has alleged that Whenever she was reshe was made to sleep quired to cook for my Santosh Bhardwaj in a storage closet. former domestic help parties, extra money This is completely unwas given to her. with the CG. true as she was occu“She has alleged pying a one-room apartment on that I asked her to give me a masthe 5th floor of our Consulate sage, and that this was a sexual adbuilding (in Manhattan). The vance. This allegation is preposroom has an attached bathroom terous for I never asked her to give and it was equipped with central me a massage. heating, an air conditioner, a tele“She has alleged that she was vision, a telephone and all the fur- not paid her full salary. This is niture that she needed. The room completely false as she was paid had a separate entrance so she her full salary as per agreement.”

“

In a first, Xavier medical school offers scholarships New York: The Xavier University School of Medicine (XUSOM), Aruba, has announced new scholarships for the basic sciences to reward the hard work and achievements of eligible candidates.

Those students with MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) score of 35 or more are eligible for $3,250 per semester scholarship;

those in the 30-34 score range can get $2,000 per semester, and the ones in the 25-39 range $1,500 per

semester. Even students with GPA of 3.5 and up qualify for $1500 per semester.

XUSOM is the only medical school of its kind offering such scholarships.

Renewal of the scholarship is on a semester by semester basis for which the candidates must maintain Honors status. Scholarships are available starting September 2011. Eligibility ends upon completion of the Basic Science semesters MD1, MD2, MD3 and

MD4.

MCAT, however, is not required for admission to the school which has campus on Aruba island, in the Caribbean, and admissions office in Westbury, NY. XUSOM is currently accepting applications for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters.

For more details www.XUSOM.com

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Community 4

June 18-24, 2011

June 25 - July 1, 2010 India - Pak continued from page 1 Rao agreed, saying this was an “apt” statement.

Bashir added that this was an important point in the relationship and will also help the two sides prepare the agenda for the meeting of the two foreign ministers in the near future.

Rao, on her part, said that “we have a clear agenda in front of us for discussions” and noted that there have been good meetings in the past few months. “We are approaching these talks with an open and constructive mind,” she said.

The talks took place on a day US President Barack Obama announced an initial withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan, the violence-torn country that has emerged as an arena of rivalry between India and Pakistan.

During her three-day stay to Islamabad, Rao will call on Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Rao is expected to convey India’s disappointment with the slow progress in the trial in Pakistan of those suspected to be behind the Nov 26-29, 2008 Mumbai attacks that claimed the lives of 166 people, including some foreigners. Latest intelligence inputs suggest that the infrastructure of anti-India terrorist groups still operates on Pakistani soil.

The two sides are also expected to discuss nuclear CBMs, an issue that has gained greater salience in view of reports about the danger of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons falling into the hand of terrorists.

This is the first high-level engagement between the two estranged neighbours since Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted his counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at the World Cup semifinal in Mohali March 30.

Parbhul Dayal continued from page 1 While the suit against Dayal, described by the ministry as “a senior diplomat of impeccable personal and professional integrity”, has been filed in a Manhattan federal court, the strong statement is seen as reflecting the assessment of the government that US authorities have not been helpful to the diplomats facing harassment. In an earlier instance, Krittika Biswas, daughter of the Indian vice consul in New York, was imprisoned for a day on a charge which was found to be baseless. The government is appreciative of the fact that US

judiciary is fiercely independent and brooks little interference from the executive, but its grouse is that US government’s approach on such issues has been excessively legalistic and does not take into account the needs and privileges diplomats have.

Krishna Bharadwaj, Dayal’s domestic assistant, has accused the diplomat of treating her like a slave and harassing her sexually.

Refuting the charge in his communication to the government here, Dayal pointed out that Bharadwaj had worked for him in Morocco when he was posted as India’s ambassador. She “willingly and voluntarily” accompanied the diplomat when he moved to New York in February 2009 to take up his current assignment.

Dayal also pointed out that Bharadwaj was paid as per the arrangement with her – Rs 14,000 per month was credited into her bank account in India while the rest of the amount was paid to her in US dollars in cash.

Dayal said Bharadwaj disappeared in the US when he wanted to relieve her, and concocted the charge when he moved for the revocation of her official passport.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao has ordered a review of the policy of sending domestic helps abroad, it was reported. The government will look at the policies other countries have in this regard.

The president admitted that peace cannot come to Afghanistan without a political settlement.

“So as we strengthen the Afghan government and security forces, America will join initiatives that reconcile the Afghan people, including the Taliban.

The Taliban has repeatedly refused to make up with the Karzai regime in Kabul and the US. Mayor Anand continued from page 1 “When I was first elected as Mayor in 2007, I expected that it would inspire other members

IIFA story Continued from page 1 of our community and we will see South Asians getting elected to other positions on who is also a Canadian citizen and runs Long Island. Unfortunately we are still lacking a dance school here, will be the official participation in the political process in spite of choreographer of the IIFA Awards. growth in numbers and prosperity among our According to organizers, more than community on Long Island.”

22,000 people are expected to attend Laurel Hollow is one of the premier comthe IIFA Awards which will be beamed munities on the North Shore of Long Island. internationally to over 700 million Mayor Anand has a Chemical Engineering people. degree from Panjab University, India. He is Twenty Bollywood films are being the President of Royce International, involved screened in Toronto and its sister cities in manufacture and distribution of industrial. of Brampton, Mississauga and Markham as part of the IIFA Awards.

These include Chak De India, Hera Pheri, Dabangg and Dil To Pagal Hai. Interestingly, the Indian-dominated city of Brampton on the outskirts of Toronto will name a street Raj Kapoor Crescent after the legendary Raj with a child by sexual contact. He skipped Kapoor during the IIFA Awards. court on the day of his sentencing. Subsequently, the District Judge issued an arrest The South Asian Times team will be warrant against him and revoked his $ 1 there to cover Toronto IIFA. million bond.

Fugitive Barsana Dham guru ‘fled to Mexico’

New York: Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, who led one of the top Hindu temples in the US until a jury convicted him of molesting children, has fled to Mexico to avoid jail term, reports The Daily Beast.

The site said the Indian origin founder of Barsana Dham in Texas slipped across the border near Nuevo Laredo on March 6 night.

The local police have said they would prosecute anyone in the ashram who helped the swami flee the country.

Auspicious start to Saraswati was accused in 2008 by three Obama continued from page 1 women of molesting them as children. In “For there should be no doubt that so long as early March 2011, a Hays County jury conI am president, the US will never tolerate a safe victed him of all 20 counts of indecency haven for those who aim to kill us: they cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve.

“No country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists, which is why we will continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region,” he said.

Announcing that all the 33,000 US forces he ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 would be home in the next 15 months, Obama said 10,000 of the so-called “surge” forces would withdraw by the end of this year.

The other 23,000 would leave Afghanistan

by September 2012.

Obama said the military campaign was “meeting our goals” in Afghanistan and thedrawdown Swami Prakashanand Saraswati would begin “from a position of strength”.

Maha Kumbhabhishekam

Salm

G in Ho

828 K

New Y ed by Lady Islande House Show ence a known in the S Her with G kicked 1st, 20 was in serves Comm Islande Singh comm

Tristate Community TheSouthAsianTimes.info

June 25-July 1, 2011

Mangano announces lease agreement for a new sports entertainment arena Uniondale, NY: Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced an important step in creating a state-of-the-art sports-entertainment destination center at the Hub in Nassau County. Joined by New York Islanders owner Charles Wang, Mangano announced that the County has reached a lease agreement that retains Long Island’s only major professional sports team in Nassau County through 2045 should residents approve building a new arena at the site of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. According to an independent economic impact analysis conducted by Camoin Associates, a nationally recognized firm in public and private sector economic development, the agreement will generate $1.2 billion. This revenue will be used to pay off the $350 million in construction costs associated with the new arena, $433 million in debt service payments and provide an additional $403 million for the County to hold the line on property taxes. Furthermore, Camoin Associates estimates the creation of 1,515 new jobs during the arena construction phase and the creation of 3,040 permanent jobs beginning in the first year the arena is operational.

“This historic agreement retains our New York Islanders while ensuring that residents earn dividends

5

Independent Economist Projects Deal will generate $1.2 billion for county; $350 million to build a New Arena, $433 million in debt service payments & $403 million to hold the line on property taxes, 3,040 permanent jobs & 1,515 new construction jobs projected Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano should they vote to invest in Nassau County’s future,” said County Executive Mangano. “From Islander tickets to concert tickets, pretzels to hotdogs, Nassau County will share in a portion of dollars spent at the new arena that residents will own.

The construction of a new arena will retain and create thousands of jobs and be a catalyst to generate the revenue needed to hold the line on property taxes. Today’s agreement is a giant step forward for Nassau’s economy. Sadly, in past years Nassau took too many steps backward with the loss of Canon USA, Grumman, Avis, OSI Pharmaceuticals, the Nets and the Jets. This agreement reverses that trend.” NY Islanders owner Charles Wang stated, “With this unprecedented agreement, we are paying for

this state-of-the-art sports-entertainment destination while creating thousands of jobs and new revenues streams that benefit Nassau County homeowners and businesses.

The Islanders were born on Long Island, won four Stanley Cups for Long Island and want to call Long Island home for decades to come.”

The construction of a new arena will retain and create significant employment opportunities for the residents of Nassau County.

According to the independent report issued by Camoin Associates, the project will create a total of 1,515 construction jobs and generate $121 million in wage earnings during the construction phase.

After the construction phase, it is estimated that 3,040 permanent jobs will be created with $138.8 million in new wage earnings.

Protests planned against police action on Ramdev supporters Houston: Indian American organizations across North America are mobilizing for a day of silent protest at the Indian Embassy and Consulates on June 25, 2011. Thousands have signed a petition to the President of India against police brutality and beating of sleeping, fasting protesters on midnight of June 4 in New Delhi. Online forums, social networking sites and emails of Indian Americans have been abuzz with pictures of sleeping protestors against corruption Satyagraha led by Swami Ramdev who were roused with kicking, baton beating and tear gas on June 4.There is widespread consternation and anger among Indian Americans who have taken

pride among American migrants as representatives of a peaceful and democratic country in a time of violent uprising, dictatorships and extremism. Support for Swami Ramdev cuts across religious and regional lines of Indian Americans as hundreds of community centers, temples, Gurudwaras from Texas to Michigan and California to New York held vigils during his fast. “It will be a silent protest, like the silent protest of hunger of thousands of old people, women and children who were attacked by Indian police,” says organizer Shekhar Agrawal, General Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Overseas.

Education seminars at JAINA Convention in Texas on July 3 Houston: At the forthcoming JAINA convention in Houston on July 1-4, 2011, the JAINA”s Academic Liaison Committee (ALC) will be holding a 2 hour long informational seminar on “Jain Academic Studies; Strategies for Growth”. This seminar is multidisciplinary and several eminent academics and community activist will share latest information about the need, status and future steps to promote Jain Academic education in the universities of the world. Following academicians and community leaders will make their presentations which will be followed by panel discussions: Prof. Gary Francione (Rutgers University) will Chair the seminar. He will make introductory remarks about Jain Academic Education and will then introduce the next speaker. After each speaker, Prof. Francione will present in brief written

suggestions/feedbacks received from Prof. John Cort (Ohio), Prof. Peter Flugel (London) and Dr. Nathan Loewen (Montreal, Canada), Dr. Sulekh Jain, Houston; Current status of Jain Academic Education, Dr. Bipin Doshi, Bombay, Roadblocks to Jain Academic Education, Dilip Shah, Philadelphia , ISJS (International school for Jain Studies), Prof.

Nathan Katz, Miami, FL, Jain Studies at Florida International University, Dr. Geeta Mehta; Bombay, Jain Studies at Somaiya Vidyavihar, Dr. Natubhai Shah, London, Jain studies in Europe, Ms. Kathleen Awahoshi Kavan, Honolulu, My experiences and impressions about ISJS as an alumnus Dr. Neeta Jain, New York, Opportunities for teaching Jainism in Unites Nations School systems, Dr. Subhash Jain, Iowa City, Iowa.

Indian music band “Charanams” wins the Battle of the Boroughs!

New York: Charanams, Queensbased carnatic jazz band, won the Ultimate Battle of the Boroughs contest on June 17, 2011 to become the best music band of New York City.

Charanams was the one and only Indian band featured in this fierce New York music contest that started off with 524 submissions from bands of all genres.

About 8 to 10 bands from each borough, selected by a panel of judges, performed live at The Jerome L. Greene Performing Space in New York in five borough-wide contests in various dates.

Charanams, which was among 9 bands selected from Queens, won the boroughround of the contest

Charnams group posing in March this year and represented Queens in the final round of contest on June 17.

The Ultimate Battle of the Boroughs featured the top 5 bands of New York City – Charanams (Queens), The Soulfolk E x p e r i e n c e (Brooklyn),Finotee (Bronx), Joan Caddell & the Midnight Choir (Staten Island) and Andy Suzuki & the Method (Manhattan).

The bands performed

for in-house audience of over 300 music lovers and a panel of 5 musician-judges.

The live webcast of the event was also watched by thousands of fans world over.

As the winner of the Battle of the Boroughs, Charanams will perform an exclusive concert at the Summerstage concert series this year and will also perform a concert at The Greene Space Theater.

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Tristate Community

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Indian-American's tipster convicted Indian-American couple of insider trading scammed $460M from NY project New York: An IndianAmerican couple owning a New Jersey company have been charged with raking in more than $460 million in crooked cash through New York’s scandal-scarred CityTime payroll project.

The New York Post citing court papers said Reddy and Dr. Padma Allen secured a lucrative, no-bid subcontract that made it look like their firm, TechnoDyne, was “a successful and fastgrowing company.”

But the “engine of its growth” was actually an over-billing scam in which the Reddys paid millions in kickbacks and hired a bevy of crooked sub-subcontractors, the daily said citing an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors said brazen corruption was part of a “massive and elaborate scheme” involving highranking execs at prime contractor Science Applications International Corp.(SAIC) that drove up the enormous bills for CityTime, which was initially budgeted at $63 million but has cost more than $720 million to date.

“As a result, virtually the entirety of the well over $600 million that the city paid to SAIC on the CityTime project was tainted, directly or indirectly, by fraud,” the indictment said.

Manhattan’s Indian American US Attorney Preet Bharara called the scam “truly jaw-dropping” and “epic in duration, mag-

nitude and scope.”

Bharara was quoted as saying an ongoing investigation showed that CityTime was “corrupted to to core” through contract changes engineered by supervising consultant Mark Mazer-who was busted last year-after which the fraud “metastasized over time,” The Reddys, who face charges including conspiracy to defraud New York City, remain at large, having fled to India in February after getting slapped with grand-jury subpoenas, the indictment says.

The Post cited Bharara as saying his office was seeking to have the couple extradited to face prosecution.

HASC meet on interfaith partnerships through seva centers Takes off with a briefing at the White House New York, NY: Hindu American Seva (service) Charities (HASC), a non-profit organization based on the Dharmic philosophy of “service” to fellow mankind, is sponsoring a two-day event, with a briefing at the White House, focused on enhancing seva through sustainable community based seva centers to address domestic concerns and encouraging interfaith partnerships. The theme of the event is “Energizing Dharmic Seva: Impacting Change in America and Abroad,” and the conference is designed to inspire all towards community service.

The event opens with a briefing at the White House on July 29, 2011 and the conference continues at Georgetown University on July 30th and 31st as Festivals of Service.

In addition, HASC is partnering with the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, to launch a National Yoga Challenge to motivate individuals across the country to participate in yoga and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Starting August 1st, 2011, the program will encourage participants to record the number of hours they devote to the practice of yoga for a six-week period. This initiative will be launched during the conference.

To impact change and encourage new service ideas, HASC

sponsored a civic and service participation essay contest, aimed primarily at the youth.

Winners will be felicitated at the conference. “With your Seva Plan you can become change makers,” says Anju Bhargava, Founder of Hindu American Seva Charities. “You can be part of the ongoing seva movement. You can play a role in America valuing the talents of its diverse faiths, its pluralistic multicultural communities, the New Americans. Interfaith cooperation and community service is an important way to build understanding between different communities and contribute to the common good.”

To support the organization and the cause, celebrity chef and philanthropist Vikas Khanna, Executive Chef at Junoon Restaurant is hosting a lunch fundraiser on Monday, June 20 from noon to 2 p.m. at Junoon Restaurant (27 W. 24 thSt.).

Tickets are $25 for a threecourse meal prepared by Chef Khanna himself, and they can be purchased at the event itself.

“It’s so important for all of us to do our part to make this world a better place,” says Khanna.

“My documentary series, Holy Kitchens, thoroughly explores this concept of ‘seva’ and how it manifests itself through the service of food in various religions.”

New York: A former expert-network consultant, who allegedly leaked information to an Indian-American hedge fund manager, has been found guilty of insider trading.

The conviction of Winfred Jiau Monday is the latest development in an ongoing investigation into insider trading by the US Attorney's office in Manhattan, which has resulted in over 40 convictions of hedge fund managers and others since August 2009.

According to the prosecution, Jiau had conversations with Indian-American Samir Barai and Noah Freeman, two hedge fund managers who pleaded guilty to insider trading in February, in which she leaked information on a quarterly statement from Marvel Technology Group in 2008.

Barai then used that information, which Jiau allegedly obtained from an employee at the media firm, to make $820,000 in illicit gains by trading the company's stock, CNN reported. During the two-week trial, prosecutors played recordings of phone calls between Jiau and her co-conspirators in which she discussed inside information on companies using

code words such as 'recipes,' 'cooks' and 'sugar.' Prosecutors said Jiau, 43, obtained inside information on publicly traded companies from 2006 to 2008 as an employee of an expert networking firm, which is a business that helps connect investors with consultants who have knowledge of specific companies.

She then shared that information with hedge fund traders who used it to make trades in the stock market. In exchange, Jiau was paid more than $200,000 over the two-year period, according to prosecutors.'Wini Jiau gave new meaning to the concept of social networking,' said Preet Bharara, the Manhattan US Attorney, in a statement. 'She used and exploited friends at public companies for the purpose of obtaining, and then selling, inside information.'

Jiau's attorney, Joanna Hendon, was quoted as saying she plans to appeal the conviction.

'We're disappointed in the verdict and look forward to appealing it after sentencing,' said Hendon.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in September and remains in custody.

Ekal Vidyalaya NJ chapter raises $320,000 for schools in India’s tribal areas New Jersey: Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation's (E.V.F.) benefit concert on Saturday, June 4 by Bollywood singer and SA RE GA MA PA sensation ‘Manoj Mishra & Nirupama Dey Group’ at "Vrundavan Temple Auditorium" in Edison, N.J., was a smashing success. The enchanting musical duo not only took the audience down the memory lane by singing nostalgic melodies of ‘Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, MannaDey, Lata, Asha, and legendary 'Saigal', but also kept the listeners spellbound by their rendering. Prajna Khisti, President of NJ-Ekal Chapter, set the tone for the evening by quantifying illiteracy in modern India and the efforts needed to eradicate it, during her flawless PowerPoint presentation about "Ekal Vidyalaya Project" (one-teacher school). Explaining the vicious cycle of illiteracy, poverty and exploitation, Dr. Yogendra Patel, demonstrated to the capacity crowd, how education could lead to empowerment and better quality life. By evening's conclusion, approx $150,000 were raised for "E.V.F." bringing New Jersey's total fundraising efforts for the week to over $320,000. For $365/yr (dollar-a-day), an "Ekal Vidyalaya School" provides non-formal basic education and hygiene training to a group of 30 to 40 underprivileged children in tribal, remote-area villages of India, where many times there are no approachable roads or basic facilities.

Dr Umesh Shukla, Regional V.P. for "Ekal" informed the gathering that, " 'Ekal Vidyalaya' is not only the LARGEST literacy

‘Manoj Mishra & Nirupama Dey group’ entertained crowd at benefit concert movement undertaken by the Indians and NRIs, but also a recipient of the 'Best NGO Organization' Award' recently for its transparency and administration". He further elaborated that," there are over 34,000 "Ekal Schools" in operation in tribalremote areas throughout India, including Jammu-Kashmir & Himachal Pradesh, where educa-

tion is being rendered without consideration to caste, creed, language etc". Brahm Sharma, in an emotional appeal said,"Our success in this country is due to our education back home which was heavily subsidized. In other words, unknown to us, someone else paid for it. Now, by reciprocating the same gesture to the needy children of India, we are only seeking our own salvation in small way."

During the program, as a small departure from previous years, instead of honoring only generous donors, the committee this year chose to felicitate three 'volunteer-families' with a 'Plaque', for being role models for selfless service to the society and their dedication to Ekal's literacy cause.

The recipients of this honor were Arvind & Pratibha Sant, Prakash & Neela Waghmare and Makarand & Suniti Abhyankar.

Several hundred yoga enthusiasts from all walks of life gathered at the Times Square Tuesday morning to celebrate the first day of summer.

The free early morning session was organized by the Times Square Alliance. Instructor Nicole Nichols, who goes by the name “Narayani” led the crowds which packed the plazas between West 45th and West 47th streets. The yoga event seems to have become an annual feature.

National Community TheSouthAsianTimes.info

7

June 25-July 1, 2011

Kaavya Vishwanathan’s parents killed in Ohio plane crash Kaavya’sNYT bestseller was pulled from stores after it got mired in plagiarism controversy Washington, DC: An Indian-American doctor couple from New Jersey were killed when their single-engine plane crashed into an Ohio cornfield and burst into flames shortly after takeoff on Sunday.

Viswanathan Rajaraman , the 54-year-old pilot, and Mary J Sundaram, his 50-year-old wife and the only passenger, were attempting to take off from Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus when the incident happened just before 9 am, n.j.com reported citing Ohio State Highway Patrol.

They were parents of Kaavya Viswanathan

made news in 2006 as a Harvard undergraduate when she published the novel "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life," a story she wrote in high school. The book made the New York Times bestsellers list. But she was accused of plagiarism shortly after publication and copies of her book were pulled from stores and destroyed by her publisher.

Rajaraman, a leading New Jersey neurosurgeon and his wife were returning to Essex County Airport in Fairfield, which they flew out of on Friday afternoon, according to the

Vivek Kundra to leave White House for Harvard fellowship Washington, DC: President Barack Obama's tech guru Vivek Kundra, who spearheaded his administration's effort to streamline the federal government's massive IT infrastructure is leaving in August for a fellowship at Harvard.

New Delhi born Kundra, 36, who has worked for two and a half years as the first federal chief information officer, oversees $80 billion in federal information technology projects and led a push for more cloud computing.

In his new endeavour, Kundra will split his time in a joint fellowship between the Shorenstein Centre on the press, politics and public policy and the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society, Center executive director Urs Gasser said in a news release on Thursday.

"We look forward to working closely with him on cutting-edge issues where the complexities of cloud computing intersect with law, institutions and data," Berkman said.

Kundra occupied one of three tech-focused posts that the Obama White House created to overhaul the government's use of technology. Another Indian-American Aneesh Chopra is the chief technology officer, while Jeffrey Zients serves as chief performance officer.

"The work that I dedicated myself to while serving as the federal CIO - in cutting waste, strengthening cybersecurity and building an open and transparent

Vivek Kundra was appointed as first federal chief information officer government through technology will also drive my research interests on both the national and international levels" at his new job, Kundra said in the release.

Kundra spearheaded a number of initiatives to try to make the government's complex technology systems more efficient and less costly.

Democratic senator. Tom Carper, who heads the subcommittee that oversees federal IT issues, credited Kundra with saving the government $3 billion in efficiencies.

One of his primary accomplishments was introducing "cloud computing" into the government IT lexicon. Kundra has also pushed consumer-focused companies such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon to get into the government game.

aviation website Flight Aware. It was not clear why they were in Ohio for the weekend. The cause of Sunday's plane crash is still under investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration sent investigators to the scene, but the National Transportation Safety Board will be heading up the probe, nj.com said citing said Tony Molinaro, an FAA spokesman.

Rajaraman, one of the top doctors in New Jersey, specialising in brain and spine cancer, was co-chief of neuro-oncology at Hackensack University Medical Centre's

Kavya’s father, Dr. Vishwanathan Rajaraman was a leading neurosurgeon cancer centre. Sundaram was reportedly also a physician, but stopped practicing to raise the couple's daughter, Kaavya Viswanathan, now 24.

Originally from Chennai, the family moved around the world. They spent some time in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States in the mid-1990s.

Upma dish wins Dr.Gautam Gupta on Indian-American FBI's list of most-wanted Medicaid for servicFBI has chef $100,000 Chicago: launched a nationes that were not wide manhunt and medically necessary top prize or, in some cases, alerted Interpol to

Washington, DC: Indian-American chef Floyd Cardoz, the man behind New York's now-closed Danny Meyer Indian restaurant Tabla, has taken home the $100,000 top prize in the third season of Top Chef Masters with a simple upma dish.

Mumbai-born Cardoz, who beat out California luminaries Traci Des Jardins and Mary Sue Milliken for first place, is donating his winnings to the Young Scientists Cancer Research Fund at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in memory of his father, who died of cancer.

Cardoz divided the judges with his inclusion of the popular Indian breakfast dish Upma in his meal, but "in the end, (he) impressed because of the spice and passion that infused his final meal of the season," said The Wall Street Journal.

"The three-course feast also featured a ricecrusted snapper in a fennel-laced broth and a reinterpreted version of a Malaysian beef stew. Our guess is that Cardoz won by doing exactly what he does at Tabla-that is, honouring his Indian gastronomic roots and finding a way to reinvent his native cuisine at the same time," it said.

By winning, Cardoz joins the ranks of better-known chefs Rick Bayless, of Frontera Grill in Chicago, and Marcus Samuelsson, of Red Rooster and formerly Aquavit, both in New York, who won second and third season respectively, the Huffington Post reported Next, Cardoz will head another Danny Meyer production, North End American Grill in Battery Park City, New York, it said.

The restaurant, which is calling its cuisine "roof-to-table," marks a departure for the chef, who focused on high-end Indian cuisine throughout his tenure at Tabla, the Post said.

were never perlocate one of its formed, according to most-wanted fugitives, Indian-origin the Chicago Tribune. doctor Gautam Medicaid is a US health programme Gupta whose ads Weight loss for citizens from low promising weight specialist Dr family incomes and loss are well-known, for allegedly Gautam Gupta has resources, funded by defrauding US insur- allegedly committed the federal and state ance companies of $25million fraud governments and is $25 million over the last managed by the state.

According to the complaint, decade. An FBI complaint alleges that Gupta received FBI agents and Illinois State almost $25 million over the last Police used interviews with curdecade when he submitted rent and former employees and claims to Blue Cross/Blue patients of 57-year-old Gupta to Shield of Illinois and Illinois build the case against him.

8

National Community

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Hinduism Summit highlights issues and unique solutions Virginia: A Hinduism Summit h e l d o n J u n e 1 8 , 2 0 11 b y Forum for Hindu Awakening (FHA) and Durga Mandir of Virginia brought to attention the issues faced by Hindus in America and provided unique, practical solutions to the Hindu community.

Maya Jairam, a native of Fort Collins, Colorado, opened the presentations with a firsthand account of growing up in America and embracing Hindu s p i r i t u a l i t y. C o m i n g f r o m a non-religious childhood and being used to a nonvegetarian diet, she found the answers to her spiritual quest in Hinduism’s spiritual science and the vegetarian, Hindu way of life.

Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, a Hindu activist who had come from Chennai, India, brought to light the inaccurate and negative depiction of Hinduism in school textbooks and higher academia. He also proposed erecting a museum as a reminder of the contributions of the Hindu community in America, to gain a voice for

(L to R) Speakers Maya Jairam, Shilpa Kudtarkar, S Kalyanraman and Bhavana Shinde Hurley Hindus in America.

Mrs. Shilpa Kudtarkar of Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) shared the importance of spiritual practice and healing measures to successfully overcome the issues faced by the Hindu community, as she explained how these issues have an underlying spiritual component.

B h a v n a S h i n d e H u r l e y, Hinduism Education Coordinator of Durga Mandir and Spokesperson of FHA, drew attention to various issues facing Hindus that are not com-

monly known, such as Hindu youth increasingly converting out of Hinduism, and trivialization of Hindu Deities in American entertainment, art and advertizing industries.

The speakers and Mr. Sant Gupta, former President of Durga Mandir, were honored for their selfless service to the c a u s e o f H i n d u i s m . D r. S .

Kalyanaraman was awarded the Vishwa Hindu Ratna for his research on the roots of Hindu (Sarasvati) civilization and efforts to stop the destruction of Rama Sethu.

The other Bharara brother has also risen California: It all runs in the family. Following the footsteps of legal eagle Preet S Bharara, the US attorney in Manhattan, his younger brother Vinnie Bharara has created waves in his chosen field of profession. He is cofounder of a company recently sold to Amazon.com for more than half a billion dollars.

Preet and Vinnie grew up in Eatontown, N.J. While Preet, 42, graduated from Harvard College; Vinnie, 39, from the University of Pennsylvania.They both received a law degree from Columbia. The brothers have worked with big law firms: Preet with Gibson Dunn, while Vinnie worked at Cahill Gordon. They have also worked at smaller firms.

Later with a shift in the career, Preet became a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and later served as chief counsel to Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. Vinnie left law for more entrepreneurial pursuits.

He started with an internet business with a childhood friend called the Pit, which concentrated on an online sports card exchange.

Vinnie Bharara sold parent company of diapers.com and soap.com to Amazon.com for $540 million Preet Bharara was selected by the White House as the United States attorney in Manhattan, among the highest-profile prosecutor posts in the country. Vinnie, who had indulged into a new business of selling diapers on internet, sold the parent company of diapers.com and soap.com to Amazon.com for $ 540 million.

Congresswoman Bean supports Raja's candidacy Chicago: For much of the last decade, Congresswoman Melissa Bean represented the 8th Congressional District with distinction in Washington DC, and she was known for her candor, hard work, intelligence, and common-sense approach to the issues.

Supporting Indian American candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi for the 8th Congressional District of Illinois, she issued the following statement: "Raja's priorities are well aligned with the families and businesses of Illinois' 8th

Congressional District. He and his wife have been raising their two sons in Hoffman Estates, so they know the challenges that families here are facing and are invested personally in the success of suburban public schools. As president of a small business, he also recognizes that greater innovation is critical to our economic strength. His candidacy brings extensive public sector experience, an impressive academic background, and a Midwest work ethic to the race."

The Chicago Sun-Times

wrote on June 8, 2011 that Krishnamoorthi, 37, president of a successful suburban hightech business,“has been busy locking up endorsements from the lion’s share of local Democrats. Five of the six Cook County Democratic committeemen in the district are on board. The DuPage County Democratic township leaders and the Democratic chairs of DuPage and Kane County have endorsed him.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is a supporter.”

Harish Jajoo wins city council seat in Texas Houston: An Indian-American has edged past a candidate of Pakistani origin to win a city council seat in Sugar Land, Texas.In unofficial results, Harish Jajoo edged Pakistani-American attorney and investment manager Farha Ahmed on June 11 in the runoff election for the city council seat in District 4 in Sugar Land. Jajoo secured 1,473 or 52.38 per cent of the total votes, while 1,340 or 47.62 per cent polled for Ahmed. Jajoo had a 915-724 advantage in preelection day balloting, while Ahmed polled better on voting day, getting 616 votes to 559 for her opponent The tight contest was marred by a flier, circulated before the election and quoting a Pakistani newspaper, erroneously insinuated that Ahmed would represent Afia Sidique, a woman dubbed as "Lady al-Qaida," in a criminal case. Siddiqui is a US-educated Pakistani neuroscientist who was sentenced to 86 years

in prison in a New York District Court in 2010 for trying to shoot US soldiers at a police station in Afghanistan in 2008. She was shown on the flier in two grainy mug shots along with Ahmed's photo. Ahmed issued a statement saying she is a civil litigation attorney and could not represent Siddiqui in a criminal case.

Ahmed did say, however, that she was approached a few years ago "by attorneys and human rights groups to help gather information to find two missing American children who were believed to have been kidnapped overseas." Ahmed did not issue any further clarification to indicate if this work involved Siddiqui or her children. Jajoo, through a statement said that, "I want to assure you that my campaign had nothing to do with this mailer, and I do not condone this type of tactic. I also believe that the voters deserve to hear from my opponent on this issue as well."

Diaspora TheSouthAsianTimes.info

June 25-July 1, 2011

Indian origin grocer in fray for Cambridge top job London: Abdul Arain, a Nairobi born owner of a local convenience store is running for the post of chancellor of the prestigious Cambridge university. The 46-yearold, whose father was born in Jalandhar, is bitterly opposed to one of the four contenders for the post Lord Sainsbury's plans to open a superstore close to his Al-Amin food store in a multicultural part of the university town.

Arain has sparked off an unusual contest for a very English job.

Sainsbury is in pole position but there are two other famous contenders — maverick actor Brian Blessed and radical barrister Michael Mansfield. The winner will succeed British monarch Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip, who retires at the end of June after holding the job for 35 years.

Arain, who has been the toast of the British media, threw his hat in the ring on Friday, having secured the 50 nominations needed to become chancellor of the 802year-old university. The shopkeeper's main motive is to save Cambridge from becoming a "clone town" like the hundreds of

Nairobi-born Abdul Arain’s father hails from Jalandhar English urban centres dominated by supermarket chains.

And he doesn't mind whom he takes on.

“When you look at Prince Philip, he is removed from the reality of local life.I believe that bringing that touch back with, what I would call, a normal individual, would make Cambridge more accessible.”

Voting by an electorate consisting of Senate members holding a MA or PhD higher degree from Cambridge will take place on October 14 and 15. Is he daunted by his famous rivals? "Not really," said Arain. "Barack Obama was also an outsider and he is President today."

Child abduction by parents among Indian diaspora raises concern New Delhi: Increasing number of child abductions by parents among the Indian diaspora has become a cause of concern as India is yet to join the international convention on the issue, a British minister has said.

"The cases where a parent abducts their child and takes it away to India are problematic because India does not have laws to deal with parental child abduction," British Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone said here.

The minister urged the Indian government to accede to the UN Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The British minister was here on a threeday visit to India June 15-17 to seek greater collaboration between the two countries on the issue of violence against women and gender equality issues.

According to Featherstone, the UK government receives at least one complaint per month of alleged abduction of a child by a parent of Indian origin. There are about eight such cases currently being investigated, the minister said.

The children were abducted by one of the parents and brought to India in order to gain

Two-day global meet of Non-Resident Biharis next year Patna: Hundreds of NonResident Biharis (NRBs) from across the world will gather here early next year to share their views on the state and its development, officials said Sunday.

The Bihar Foundation is organizing the two-day global meet of NRBs Feb 18-19, 2012.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who is the chairman of the foundation, said they

have started disseminating information about the meeting in advance to ensure that a large number of NRBs participate in the event.

'NRBs from across the world who have excelled in their fields and made a difference towards development would be invited to share their views regarding the state and its development,' Modi said.

Indian Administrative Service officer K.P. Ramaiah, who is the CEO of Bihar Foundation, said it was a 'single window system of the state government to interact with NRBs around the world'.

He also said that all the Bihar Foundation chapters in the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, South Korea and Qatar have began preparations to invite NRBs for the meet.

Indian engineer turns big farmer in Ghana Accra: Perhaps India's agricultural prowess inspired him.

Prabhpreet Khinda, an engineer by training, arrived in Ghana in 2009 after he was devastated by the effects of the 2008 global financial meltdown. Twists and turns later, the 38-year-old from Punjab is today one of the big farmers in the West African country. His original plan was to use the country as a base in order to be close to Liberia, where he had a mining project but that has changed as he now tends land to produce food in anticipation of a global food shortage.

His company, Resources Africa, has a 2,200- hectare farm at Dzigbe, near Kpandu in the Volta region and is planning to acquire 2,000 hectares more for an integrated farming project.

The company has become a major food producer, exporting about one and a half tonnes of vegetables every week. Ghana, a country of 24 million people, is known for cocoa exports.

The man who describes himself as an investment entrepreneur is

9

Truck-load of water melons produced on Resource Africa's farm for sale on the the Ghanaian market clearly preparing himself for the future. 'It is projected that the world is heading towards a food shortage and some of us are just getting ready to cater to that,' Khinda said.

Apart from making money on his investments, he said, Resources Africa is contributing

to Ghana's development in its own small way.

'Our exports alone are a major source of earning foreign exchange for the country,' he said.

'I was inspired by the work of some other Indians who were already engaged in farming in Ghana and this urged me on.'

the advantage in matrimonial and child custody disputes.

Child abduction cases by parents are high in countries which have a large population of people of Indian origin such as the UK, the US and Canada.

About 70 children were abducted by parents of Indian origin in the UK in the past eight years, according to a report.

The US State Department's Office of Child Issues, which helps in child abduction cases, is currently working on more than 100 cases of children taken to India without the consent of the parent left behind. The State Department has said that there are few remedies if a child is abducted to India.

There are more unresolved cases of parental child abduction from the US to India than any other country with the exception of Mexico.

About 85 countries have ratified the 1980 Hague Convention on Parental Child Abduction. Under the convention, member countries undertake to return children abducted by a parent to their homes under the jurisdiction of the courts in the home country.

Yet another Indian techie donates $1.5 million to Canadian varsity Ottawa: Hyderabad-born IndianCanadian techie Sreedhar Natarajan has announced to donate $1.5 million to the Canada-India Center for Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy at Carleton University based in Ottawa.

He has become the second Indian techie within two weeks to make a huge donation to a Canadian university. Just last week, another Indian techie, Vasudev Chanchalani, had donated $1 million to Canada's University of Waterloo to launch the Chanchlani India Policy Center exclusively devoted to 'the CanadaIndia corridor' Carleton is the only university in the world to have a full-fledged India-centric Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy. Set up last year with Indian assistance, the Center of Excellence aims to raise awareness about bilateral studies and public diplomacy, and develop initiatives to build a better understanding of both countries.

As this world-famous Canadian university hosts two India-centric Education and Innovation Summits from this week, Ottawa-based Natarajan has announced to give $1.5 million to its Center of Excellence focused on India.

The donation will permanently endow the research and policy activities of the center.

The 41-year-old India techie, who came to Ottawa in 2002 after the dotcom bust, said Thursday, 'I do a lot of work in Asia and can see a great need for a Canada-India Center which holistically looks at

Shreedhar Natarajan, 41 donated to Canada-India Center for Excellence technology and policy issues. I made this donation because I want future generations of students to learn more about today's global business realities.''

To thank the multi-millionaire Indian techie, Carleton University has announced to name the threestorey glass atrium of the CanadaIndia Center after him.

Natarajan came to the US as a student to get his masters degree in computer engineering from the University of Louisiana. He worked with companies like Texas Instruments before moving to Canada in 2002 to join Ottawabased Atmos Semiconductor.

After losing a couple of jobs, he started his own Emerging Memory Technologies Inc. in 2004. He sold it in 2007 to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. - which is the global leader in made-to-order computer chips needed in computers, smart phones and other telecom equipment.

10

US Affairs

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Backlog of cases gives a reprieve on foreclosures New York: In New York State, it would take lenders 62 years at their current pace, the longest time frame in the nation, to repossess the 213,000 houses now in severe default or foreclosure, according to calculations by LPS Applied Analytics, a prominent real estate data firm. Clearing the pipeline in New Jersey, which like New York handles foreclosures through the courts, would take 49 years. In Florida, Massachusetts and Illinois, it would take a decade, reports New York Times.

In the 27 states where the courts play no role in foreclosures, the pace is much more brisk — three

years in California, two years in Nevada and Colorado — but the dynamic is the same: the foreclosure system is bogged down by the volume of cases, borrowers are fighting to keep their houses and many lenders seem to be in no hurry to add repossessed houses to their books.

“If you were in foreclosure four years ago, you were biting your nails, asking yourself, ‘When is the sheriff going to show up and put me on the street?’ ” said Herb Blecher, an LPS senior vice president. “Now you’re probably not losing any sleep.”

When major banks acknowl-

FDA unveils horrific cigarette warning labels Washington: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday unveiled nine graphic cigarette warning labels that highlight the dangers of smoking, in an effort to help prevent children from smoking, encourage adults who do to quit.

The warnings represent the most significant changes to cigarette labels in more than 25 years and will affect everything from packaging to advertisements and are required to be placed on all cigarette packs, cartons and ads no later than September 2012.

"These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement. "President Obama wants to make tobaccorelated death and disease part of the nation's past, and not our future."

Tobacco use is the leading cause of premature and preventable death in the United States, responsible for 443,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and costs the economy nearly 200 billion U.S. dollars every year in medical costs and lost productivity.

edged last fall that they had been illegally processing foreclosures by filing false court documents, they said that any pause in repossessions and evictions would be brief.

All of the major servicers agreed to institute reforms in their foreclosure procedures. In April, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other regulators gave the banks 60 days to draw up a plan to do so.

But nothing is happening quickly. When the comptroller’s deadline was reached last week, it was extended another month.

New foreclosure cases and repossessions are down nationally by

about a third since last fall, LPS said. In New York, foreclosure filings are down 85 percent since September, according to the New York State Unified Court System.

Mark Stopa, a St. Petersburg, Fla., specialist in foreclosure defense, has 1,275 clients, up from 350 a year ago. About 75 clients have won modifications, dismissals or sold their properties for less than they owed. All the other cases are pending.

“Banks aren’t even trying to win,” said Mr. Stopa, who charges his clients an annual fee of $1,500.

J. Thomas McGrady, the chief judge of Florida’s Sixth Circuit,

which includes St. Petersburg, agreed. “We’re here to do what we’re asked to do. But you’ve got to ask. And the banks aren’t asking,” he said.

A spokesman for Bank of America said, “Any suggestion that we have a strategy to delay foreclosures is baseless.” A Wells Fargo spokeswoman blamed changes in state laws governing foreclosure for any slowdown. A GMAC spokeswoman said it was following “regulatory and investor expectations.” JPMorgan Chase declined to comment. Servicers said some of the decline in foreclosures could be traced to an improved economy.

Palin shoots down reports she's canceling bus tour Juneau, Alaska: Sarah Palin is disputing online reports that she has canceled her bus tour of historic American sites, saying in a Facebook posting that her schedule will be tight the next few weeks because she's been called for jury duty. Palin said Wednesday that her "One Nation" bus tour would resume "when the time comes."

She added that she's looking forward "to hitting the open road again."

The 2008 vice presidential candidate traveled from Washington, D.C. to New England by bus in May in a trip that generated intense interest and fueled speculation about her national ambitions.

Palin is among the top tier of

Sarah Palin launched the "One Nation" bus tour on May 29, fueling speculation of a possible presidential bid. potential 2012 presidential candidates in polls of Republican voters.

She has said she plans to visit

Iowa, where the state's caucuses begin the nominating season next year.

Obama has failed to lead on climate: Al Gore These warnings, which were proposed in November 2010, were required under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which was passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress and signed into law by Obama on June 22, 2009.

The FDA selected nine images from the originally proposed 36 after reviewing the relevant scientific literature, analyzing the results from an 18,000 person study and considering more than 1, 700 comments from a variety of groups.

Washington: Former US vice president and environmental activist Al Gore has accused President Barack Obama of failing to lead on climate change, warning that the very survival of civilization was at stake.

In an impassioned essay in Rolling Stone magazine, Gore sympathized with the challenges facing his fellow Democrat and lambasted big business, political donors, the media and Congress for their role on climate change.

Gore credited the administration with moving the United States "slightly" forward on the issue but said Obama "has thus far failed to use the bully pulpit to make the case

Former US vice president and environmental activist Al Gore for bold action on climate change."

"President Obama has never presented to the American people the magnitude of the climate crisis," wrote Gore, who narrowly lost the 2000 presidential election and won

the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy on climate change.

"Here is the core of it: we are destroying the climate balance that is essential to the survival of our civilization. This is not a distant or abstract threat; it is happening now," Gore wrote.

"The United States is the only nation that can rally a global effort to save our future. And the president is the only person who can rally the United States," he said.

Gore lashed out at those who ask if human-made climate change is real, noting that nine of the hottest years in recorded history were in the last 13 years.

Dozens sue US over visa lottery glitch About 22,000 people were mistakenly told they'd won spot to apply Miami: Dozens of people who were mistakenly told they had won a spot to apply for a US visa through the annual visa lottery system are suing the US government.

French native Armande Gil is a psychologist in Miami who is among those seeking class action status for a federal lawsuit filed last week in Washington. Gil said

Tuesday she spent time and money preparing for her new life and was devastated to learn it was just a bureaucratic snafu.

She and others want to be reinstated as lottery winners.

Roughly 22,000 individuals were told in May they had been selected though they would still have to pass background checks. Then

immigration officials discovered the supposedly random selection was skewed due to a computer glitch. A new lottery is set for July 15.

The drawing, which the State Department calls the Diversity Visa Lottery, is an annual free-forall established by Congress in 1994 to increase the number of

immigrants from the developing world and from countries with traditionally low rates of immigration to the U.S. Applicants do not have to have the usual family or employer sponsor.

The lottery selects 90,000 names from a pool of online entrants.

That number is winnowed to 50,000 winners through attrition,

interviews and educational and occupational rules.

For visas to be awarded in 2012, applicants had to submit entries between Oct. 5 and Nov. 3, 2010.

The glitch meant that among 14.7 million entries, about 90 percent of the people picked to move on to the next step came from applications submitted the first two days.

India Newswire TheSouthAsianTimes.info

11

June 25-July 1, 2011

Lokpal: Hazare-govt meet hits logjam New Delhi: The government will convene an all-party meet on July 3 to discuss the two versions of the Lokpal bill, even as Gandhian Anna Hazare slammed the UPA government for not being serious about tackling corruption and reiterated he would go on another hunger strike from August 16 over the issue.

Undeterred by Hazare's call, the Congress warned him not to fast again else he may get the "same treatment" as yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who along with his supporters had to face a police crackdown in New Delhi.

But Hazare hit back, saying that he was "ready" for "everything" even batons.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had on Tuesday decided to hold discussions with all political parties on the draft of the bill - a move taken after civil society members, headed by Hazare, and government met for the last time.

The two sides submitted their versions of the draft, which are to be given to the cabinet which will approve a final version. The two sides failed to arrive at a consensus over the draft bill provisions.

Hazare said it was also important to bring the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Lokpal to uproot corruption in the country.

However, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh warned Hazare not to fast again else he

may get the "same treatment" as yoga guru Baba Ramdev got recently.

"Anna saheb says he will again sit on fast. If he does so, he may get the same treatment as the other (Baba Ramdev) got recently."

Lokpal: A turbulent journey

Anna Hazare, lawyer Shanti Bhushan and activist Arvind Kejriwal on their way to attend a meeting at the North Block in New Delhi.

"We have an Election Commission and the government can't interfere in its function. We have the Supreme Court and the Right to Information (RTI) Act which they cannot interfere in," Hazare said here.

"Just like them, the Lokpal should also be beyond government's interference," he said, adding the government's claims were an attempt to "mislead the people".

After Tuesday's last meeting between them, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had said that while the government wanted a strong Lokpal, "we cannot have a parallel government".

"The government is trying to create misunderstanding in the minds of the people before our fast", Hazare said, and likened it to a "second struggle for freedom".

April 9: Joint drafting committee is formed following the hunger strike by Gandhian Anna Hazare that attracted country-wide support.

April 16: The first meeting of the joint committee was cordial, with both sides exchanging drafts. The civil society members had even modified their version, the Janlokpal Bill.

May 2: Second meeting was announced to be "very good" and with "no difference of opinion" by Kapil Sibal. Civil society members said the meeting discussed the basic principles of the act and it was "conducive".

June 6 : Scheduled a day after the crackdown against yoga guru Baba Ramdev's fast in Ramlila ground of Delhi, civil

society members boycotted the meeting. Government representatives attended the meeting.

June 15: Meeting saw major differences. While the civilsociety members said that the government was trying to kill the bill before it was even formed, government members alleged that the civil society's version will create a structure superseding parliament.

Consensus could not be reached on inclusion of prime minister and Supreme and high court judges.

June 21: The last meeting of the committee ended with the two sides exchanging drafts while agreeing that "differences exist". Sibal said six points of differences existed between the groups.

12

India Newswire

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India-US economic dialogue next week Washington: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will lead a high-level economic dialogue here next week aimed at seeking to tap vast opportunities offered by one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

The second annual meeting of the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership will focus on infrastructure development, capital markets reforms, cooperation on the Group of 20 efforts to reduce trade imbalances, and efforts to combat money laundering, a senior US Treasury official said.

The US official said removal of trade barriers to investment in India, closer economic cooperation and greater market access

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. would help make it one of top-10 ship seeks to unlock an enormous US trading partners. "Our partner- untapped potential in our relation-

Consensus eludes women's reservation bill New Delhi: The women's reservation bill that seeks to reserve 33 percent seats for women in parliament and state legislatures hit another roadblock with an allparty meeting convened by Speaker Meira Kumar, failing to break the deadlock over its provisions.

One of the bill's major opponent, the Samajwadi Party (SP), stayed away as did the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) while its other opponents stuck to their stand.

However, the speaker, talking to reporters later, said, "We will

keep the effort going on".

"I will call the SP and the BSP separately to discuss the issue...

Efforts will continue till consensus is achieved," she said, adding that another meeting would be convened before the monsoon session of parliament that begins Aug 1.

The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha March 9 last year.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) are the other main opponents of the bill.

They are demanding a quota

within a quota for women from the other backward classes (OBCs) to be included in the bill.

"Our stand has been the same since day one, we want reservation for OBC women, and we will stand by it," a RJD leader said.

Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad, who represented the party at the meeting, demanded a "quota within quota" for OBC women.

The bill has been pending for last 16 years with political parties failing to agree on its provisions.

'Munde move not to affect saffron alliance in Maharashtra' Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Gopinath Munde's plan to leave his party would not affect the alliance of Shiv Sena-BJP-Republican Party of India in Maharashtra, Sena chief Bal Thackeray said here, ahead of Munde's announcement to remain in his party.

"All rumors that I am leaving the BJP to join the Congress are only false...I have always been with the BJP and will remain with the party," Munde said in New Delhi after meeting party leader Sushma Swaraj.

Reacting to reports in the past few weeks that Munde was planning to quit the BJP as he was feeling sidelined, Thackeray sought to know how come Munde realised this so late.

"How come he realized so late that he was being humiliated in the BJP?" Thackeray asked, talking to reporters at his residence.

Thackeray said this was the "internal" matter of the BJP and he would not like to interfere in it in any manner.

He brushed aside a question whether he would speak to BJP leaders, including party chief Nitin Gadkari and L.K. Advani, about Munde's grievances.

"Where is the need? I do not feel the need to speak to any leader on this issue," he said.

Thackeray expressed his readiness to entertain

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Gopinath Munde.

Munde if he wanted to speak to the Sena supremo about his grievances.

"The doors of 'Matoshri' (Thackeray family's residence in north Mumbai's Bandra) are always open for him. When he had differences in the past with the BJP leadership, I had spoken to him and stopped him. But now I will not stop him (from leaving the BJP)," the Sena chief said.

ship," he said.

"Given the relative size of our two economies, we still have major opportunities to expand our trade and investment linkages to the benefit of both countries," said the official in a background briefing.

Besides rampant corruption, which was "an impediment to investors looking to commit substantial sums of money", one of the key challenges is encouraging India to foster a more certain and established regulatory and legal structure that won't leave investors guessing, the official said.

Also on the agenda would be terror-financing and trying to better align economic policies in the context of the Group of 20 nations talks, he said.

One area for discussion will be ways to open India's "relatively closed" capital markets and banking sector to foreign investment, the Treasury official said.

"It's an issue for India as it seeks to maximise its growth potential.

It's clearly important for India to develop long-term capital markets to provide adequate financing for infrastructure, which is a major constraint to India's growth," he said.

The biggest opportunity for US companies is India's massive need for infrastructure development, where firms can provide expertise in engineering, financing and the capital equipment needed for the ports, expressways, airports, railways and power grid that India needs to improve the efficiency of its economy, the official said.

Pranab's office bugged?

New Delhi: Despite the dismissal by Finance Minister P r a n a b Mukherjee of charges that his office had been bugged, rumors continued to swirl in the capital's political corridors of a major security breach, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continuing to insist it Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in office. had the making She was referring to the of "India's Watergate" and needed a Watergate scandal, which unravthorough probe.

"It's bogus. Don't waste your eled in early 1970 following a time on this," a visibly irritated break-in to plant bugs at the headMukherjee told reporters outside quarters of the Democratic his North Block office, a day after National Committee, which govthe Indian Express reported that the erns the day-to-day working of the minister told Prime Minister Democratic party. The headquarManmohan Singh about a "serious ters were located in Watergate breach of security" in his office last building in the US capital Washington. The Watergate scanyear.

Mukherjee had reportedly dal ultimately led to the resignation demanded a secret inquiry into the of president Richard Nixon.

"Is it that the government was alleged planting of "adhesives" at 16 key locations in his office, sug- spying on its own finance minister? gesting that there was a possible Or is it a corporate house? The surveillance attempt. On Tuesday, finance minister may have his own Mukherjee, the number two in the compulsions of playing it down," government, had said that the Sushma Swaraj said. "The chewing Intelligence Bureau had investigat- gum theory is hard to digest."

The discovery of the adhesives ed the matter and "they found there and grooves was first made by priis nothing".

But the opposition was not satis- vate detectives summoned by the fied. Calling it "India's Watergate", Central Board of Direct Taxes, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said the which reports to the finance minisIntelligence Bureau's reported ter. According to the Indian argument that the adhesives found Express, Mukherjee wrote to the in Mukherjee's office were chew- prime minister in September last ing gums was a joke and shocking. year after the discoveries in his In her tweet Tuesday night, she office and in the adjoining offices said: "In either case it is a matter of and conference rooms.

The Communist Party of India grave concern. It is India's Watergate and needs to be thor- (CPI) said the story read like "an American thriller". oughly investigated."

14

Subcontinent

June 25-July1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Obama announces Afghan troop pullout Washington: US President Barack Obama has announced plans to withdraw 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year.

The first US soldiers will begin returning home next month, in line with the deadline set by Obama in December 2009, when he authorized a surge of 33,000 US troops to break the Taliban's control in Afghanistan.

All the troops sent in the surge will be pulled out by next summer, Obama said in a televised speech.

"After this initial reduction, our

troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead," he said.

"Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security," he said.

The US had made significant progress on meeting its three goals for the surge - denying Al Qaeda a safe-haven, reversing the Taliban's momentum and training the Afghan security forces, the presi-

India, Pak for patience ahead of talks New Delhi: India and Pakistan underlined the need for patience and sincerity ahead of talks between their foreign secretaries in Islamabad starting June 23.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao left for Islamabad for two days of talks with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.

This will be followed by a meeting of their foreign ministers next month.

Aware of the many hiccups in their relationship, New Delhi and Islamabad are not trying to raise hopes from the meeting, which takes place soon after a row involving an Indian and a Pakistani warship.

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has said

that in "the kind of talks we are going to be involved with, patience is something to be called for".

Indian officials have said they have "realistic expectations" from the meeting, given the complexities of the bilateral relationship.

While India was expected to raise the role of anti-India terrorist groups based in Pakistan, Islamabad said the Kashmir dispute would be a core issue on the agenda.

India has said it will raise the revelations of PakistaniAmerican terrorist operative David Headley, who has alleged a close nexus between the Pakistan spy agency ISI and the Laskar-e-Toiba terrorist group.

dent said.

According to US officials, up to 5,000 troops would leave the country next month, and another 5,000 soldiers would return home by the end of the year.

Some 70,000 US servicemen will stay in Afghanistan till the summer of 2012.

The US has been the largest contributor to the 48-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which currently has more than 130,000 troops in Afghanistan.

India bigger threat than Qaeda: Pakistanis Washington: Most Pakistanis see India as a bigger threat than the Taliban and the Al Qaeda and disapprove of the US military operation that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new poll.

Although Al Qaeda leader bin Laden has not been well-liked in recent years, a majority of Pakistanis describe his death as a bad thing. Only 14 percent say it is a good thing, according to a latest poll by the Pew Research Centre.

Moreover, many Pakistanis believe the US raid on bin Laden's hideout, which was located about 35 miles from Islamabad, will have a negative impact on the already strained relations between the US and their country.

The poll also indicates that concerns among Pakistanis about an extremist takeover and support for using military force against extremist groups are slipping, but the groups themselves remain widely unpopular.

Just 12 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of Al Qaeda, down from 18 percent in 2010. Only 12 percent give the Taliban a favourable rating with both Pakistan based Tehrik-i-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban getting similarly low levels of support.

There is somewhat more support for Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba group held responsible for the 2008

Krishna wraps up first-ever Myanmar trip Yangon: India wrapped up its first high-level engagement with Myanmar's new civilian government after signing a slew of bilateral agreements focusing on capacity building, even as a top official met the country's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who was in Myanmar on a three-day visit from Monday, met top figures in the three-month-old civilian government to explore possibilities of enhanced business and security ties between the two countries.

China, which has well-entrenched economic and bilateral ties with Myanmar, had taken the lead in engaging the civilian government when President Thein Sein went to Beijing on his first state visit in May. Utilizing well the opportunity provided by Krishna's visit, India signed agreements to build an 80-km road between Mizoram and Chin states for $60-million, set up a vocational skills centre for Myanmar's youth, provide $10 million aid for buying agricultural implements and to set up a research centre in the sector, apart from a promise to deploy the Archaeological Survey of India to renovate a

According to US officials, up to 5,000 troops would leave the country next month, and another 5,000 soldiers would return home by the end of the year.

A majority of Pakistanis describe Osama’s death a bad thing.

Mumbai terror attacks. Currently, 27 percent have a positive opinion of the terror outfit. When asked which is the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or Al Qaeda, a majority of Pakistanis (57 percent) say India, the poll noted. Similarly, Indians express negative opinions of Pakistan; 65 percent have an unfavorable view of their traditional rival and more name Pakistan as India's biggest threat (45 percent) than name Lashkar-eTaiba (19 percent) or Naxalites (16 percent).

Jaya seeks PM's help to free fishermen Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to secure the early release of the 23 fishermen from Tamil Nadu taken into custody by the Sri Lankan Navy.

The fishermen, from Rameswaram and

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna along with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao during bilateral talks with Myanmar counterparts.

12th century Hindu temple in Bagan division of Mandalay.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who accompanied Krishna, took time off the busy bilateral meetings with the political leaders to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate and leader of the new disbanded National League for Democracy, when they discussed India's aid to Myanmar's development.

Suu Kyi had been freed from 18-month house arrest by the erstwhile military junta soon after the first general elections in 20 years.

Mandapam, had set out in five boats and were taken into custody for allegedly intruding into Sri Lankan waters, according to police.

The incident came to light when a fisherman escaped with his boat and informed the authorities.

$99 mn WB aid for Indo-Nepal energy pact Kathmandu: The World Bank has approved a $99 million package for an IndoNepal cross-border energy cooperation to mitigate a national energy crisis in the Himalayan republic.

The funding is meant for the landmark Nepal-

India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (NIETTP) that will provide Nepal with at least 100 MW of additional electricity, to supplement its current electricity generation capacity of 698 MW and help minimize power blackouts.

The project will see the establishment of cross-border transmission capacity of about 1,000 MW. It will also develop key segments of the backbone high voltage system to help expand access to electricity across Nepal.

IIFA Toronto TheSouthAsianTimes.info

15

June 25-July 1, 2011

Bollywood takes over Toronto

Toronto: Bollywood takes over Toronto this weekend with music, fashion, film and dance, culminating in a star-studded awards bash Saturday. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) celebrations are an annual touring event meant to promote South Asian cinema and stars.

The IIFA weekend is described as India's biggest media event with the marquee awards show considered one of world's most-watched televised spectacles. Produced by the Mumbai-based Wizcraft International Entertainment, the three-day party features a film festival, business forum, fashion show and awards gala.

The IIFA weekend honors Indian

Shah Rukh Khan has confirmed he will perform at IIFA

King Khan to perform hah Rukh Khan cleared the air about his performance at IIFA 2011, which will be held this weekend in Toronto, Canada. SRK, who is

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suffering from a knee injury, will be performing at the award ceremony.

The dance steps have been made easier for him.

pop culture, promotes Bollywood stars abroad and gives fans a chance to get close to the mostly Mumbaibased celebs. The host city gets an international spotlight to promote tourism and trade.

Festivities include Thursday's world premiere of the Bollywood comedy "Double Dhamaal".

Friday's IIFA Rocks bash features musicians and models in a couture fashion show and concert; a music workshop on Saturday is led by Bollywood composers; while Saturday's Floriana IIFA Awards celebrates the Indian film industry’s achievements with a performanceladen show.

More than 200 filmmakers and stars are expected from India and overseas. They include famed Kapoor family members Neetu, Raj, Randhir and Rishi; brothers Bobby and Sunny Deol and their legendary father Dharmendra; as well as Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Karan Johar, Madhavan and Mallika Sherawat. Others include Anil

Tickets $1,000 apiece calpers are taking advantage of the high demand for tickets to the star-stud-

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Kapoor, best known for roles in America for his "24" and "Slumdog Millionaire," and Shilpa Shetty, the actress and model who was embroiled in a controversy on Britain's "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2007. The first IIFA Awards were

ded IIFA awards ceremony, pushing resale prices upwards of $1,000. held at the Millennium Dome in London in 2000. Since then, celebrations have been held in Sun City, Malaysia; Dubai; Amsterdam; Singapore; Yorkshire, England; Bangkok; Macau; Johannesburg; and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The nominees

Best film Band Baaja Baaraat Dabaang My Name is Khan Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Raajneeti Best Lead (Male) Salman Khan - Dabaang Hrithik Roshan - Guzaarish Shah Rukh Khan - My Name is Khan

Ajay Devgn - Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Ranbir Kapoor - Raajneeti Best Lead (Female) Anuksha Sharma - Band Baaja Baaraat Kareena Kapoor - Golmaal 3 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Guzaarish Vidya Balan - Ishqiya Katrina Kaif - Raajneeti

IIFA ’11 to commemorate Jackson bro to perform at ‘IIFA Rocks’ Raj Kapoor with Sonu Nigam n an international first, legendary Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam will team with Grammy Award nominee and iconic American popstar Jermaine Jackson in a dazzling performance at IIFA Rocks presented by The Bay in tribute to his brother, the late ‘King of Pop,’ Michael Jackson.

IIFA Rocks is a dazzling event that shines a spotlight on the world of fashion, with live musical performances from popular internationals artists in support of the IIFA Foundation. The IIFA Foundation supports families of film industry workers who have been adversely affected during the production of films. This year, IIFA Rocks will also announce the 12th Floriana IIFA Technical Award winners and feature musical performances by top stars and

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The Indian Charlie Chaplin Toronto: The legendary Raj Kapoor is looming large over Toronto in the Year of India in Canada.

As the IIFA Weekend and Awards come here next week, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has joined hands with IIFA to commemorate the first superstar of Indian cinema.

The main members of the Kapoor clan - Karisma Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rajiv Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor - will be present as special guests at the June 26 event to pay tributes to Raj Kapoor, TIFF said.

Other Bollywood stars attending the IIFA Awards will also attend the tribute to the 'Charlie Chaplin of Indian cinema', TIFF said.

Beginning next month, TIFF will also present 'Raj Kapoor and The Golden Age of Indian Cinema Retrospective' running here from July 1 to August 7.

In a statement Friday, TIFF said, "One of the giants of Indian cinema, actor, director, mogul and legend Raj Kapoor is synonymous with the rise of Bollywood.

"The highly influential Kapoor is revered throughout India, the former Soviet world, the Middle East and beyond for the films he made during the Golden Age of Indian cinema. Running from July 1 to August 7, TIFF presents the first major Kapoor retrospective in North America in nearly three decades - featuring a number of newly struck 35mm prints - and an exciting new installation from acclaimed filmmaker Srinivas Krishna.''

It said Raj Kapoor's directorial debut, "Aag" (1949), his first mega-hit "Barsaat" (1949), "Awaara" (1961); record breaking "Sangam" (1964) and major-hit "Bobby" (1973) will be among the films to be shown during the Toronto retrospective.

Jermaine Jackson

international music artists, including Neha Dupia, Dia Mirza, Mallika Sherawat, the cast of Double Dhamaal, Shankar-EshaanLoy and is co-hosted by Anushka Sharma and Karan Johar.

Jackson, the older brother of the late Michael Jackson was a member of one of the world’s most beloved R&B groups – The Jackson 5. Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his 1980 album Let’s Get Serious, Jackson has had numerous Billboard Top 30 hits including

Daddy’s Home, That’s How Love Goes and Let’s Get Serious. A duet with his brother Michael, Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin’ (Too Good to Be True), hit #1 on the dance chart in 1984. Don’t Take It Personal, hit #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

The event will feature fashion from collections available at The Bay, as well as renowned Indian designers, Sabyasachi, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Vikram Phadnis.

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is set to walk the ramp for designer Rajesh Pratap Singh.

Bipasha Basu, Nindy Kaur kick off fest une 17-19 was the official kick-off for IIFA in Toronto.

Bollywood's smash-hit sensation Nindy Kaur and internationally applauded musical group RDB were named as the Brand Ambassadors for IIFA Buzz Brampton. To make the event more of a hit, the group personally invited Bollywood bombshell Bipasha Basu to attend, turning the weekend’s festivities into a star-studded gala.

Brampton's Mayor, Susan Fennell, awarded Nindy Kaur with a Walk Of Fame and a plaque for the amazing job she did to bring more awareness towards IIFA

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Brampton Buzz. Brampton's mainstream TV stations such as CBC, City TV and ET Canada all captured Nindy Kaur on interview, alongside RDB. During Saturday's parade, Nindy Kaur, RDB & Bipasha Basu all traveled on a floating stage through the city of Brampton. Fans were so excited to see Kaur and Basu that the two had to be escorted by police to a safer area. On June 24th and 25th, Nindy Kaur will be walking down the green carpet for IIFA Rocks at Rico Coliseum and the IIFA Awards at the Rogers Centre.

Bipasha Basu and Nindy Kaur in Toronto

16

Ultimate Bollywood

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Youth to drive content in cinema: Big B e has devoted over four decades to the film industry, witnessing major changes in content along the years, but megastar Amitabh Bachchan has always made it a point to keep in sync with the tastes of youth, who constitute the bulk of the audience as, he stresses, "you have to listen to them".

The 68-year-old icon, whose latest "Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap" releases July 1, says while he is happy with most of the changes, he still has reservations over the use of expletives and doing explicit scenes in films.

He says youth will continue steering changes in content from candyfloss romance dramas to dark comedies, hardcore action fights, and hard-hitting reality films.

"Indian cinema will change with every generation! When we came in the 1970s and 1980s, people, the old timers, didn't necessarily agree with what we did.

They said, 'What is this man like?

In every film he has a frown on his face, bashing up people!' The old timers didn't like it.

But youth seemed to like it, and so we went ahead," Amitabh was quoted as saying. "The modern

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I'm going to be a grandfather: Big B very time Ash has put on weight, speculation has been rife over whether she is going the family way. Finally, the rumors have been put to rest

by Amitabh Bachchan.

On June 21, Amitabh Bachchan wrote on his microblogging site: "@SrBachchan: T 410 NEWS NEWS NEWS !! I AM GOING TO BECOME A GRANDFATHER ..

AISHWARYA EXPECTING .. SO HAPPY AND THRILLED!!!"

Bollywood too is equally excited about the news. On hearing the news, composer Vishal Dadlani wrote: "Thrilled for @juniorbachchan, Ash, @SrBachchan and Mrs B. Some of the most wonderful people I know! God bless you ..."

Sophie Chowdhury wrote:

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Amitabh Bachchan in a scene from Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap. generation now likes romantic and young films and films that show more stuff that is very prevalent in youth today. I'm happy that changes are taking place in the industry," he added.

Amitabh, who still manages to give stiff competition to younger stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and even his son Abhishek, has begun to feel a generation gap.

Nevertheless, he finds it pertinent to keep a tab on the pulse of youth to make films that are in keeping with the audience's tastes.

"I'd like to know what youth is seeing, what is happening, how are tastes changing.

I see many films, and when I don't like certain films and hear that it worked, I question 'Why the hell did it work... because I didn't find anything attractive?

And then when I like a film, I ask myself... 'Hey this film didn't work?

This is such a fantastic film!' So there's obviously something wrong with me!Amitabh's "Bbuddah...Hoga Tera Baap" releases July 1 and "Aarakshan" will hit theaters on Aug 12.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

"Congrats to soon to be dadaji @SrBachchan.

Thrilled for @juniorbachchan and Ash. Much love and happiness to u all!!"

Koel Puri, on her part, has wished the Bachchan parivar and also said that Abhishek and Ash will no doubt have beautiful children.

Saif denies Kareena I strive to bring understanding, not change: Jha break-up rumor t's his belief in 'cinema with power' that drives Prakash Jha to bring political and sociopolitical issues to celluloid. But Jha, whose next "Aarakshan" is on the reservation policy, doesn't believe in igniting debate and maintains that his cinema tries to spread awareness in society.

"I only strive to bring about understanding. If changes happen thanks to my films...it's fantastic!

But all I would like to tell is a good story and give some understanding to the viewers (about a subject)," Jha said.

Be it bonded labor in "Damul", gender injustice in "Mrityudand", Bihar's kidnapping industry in "Apaharan", India's corrupt police force in "Gangaajal", political scenario in "Raajneeti" and now castebased reservation in "Aarakshan", Jha says he picked each subject to analyze the impact of the country's social, economic and governmental policies.

"More than issues, I focus on the changes caused by new policies. It is my keenness that I understand those changes in Indian society, observe them, and when I feel that I have understood the issues well, I tell a story," said Jha who doesn't believe in "igniting a debate because the truth about society will

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Actors Saif Ali Khan with Kareena Kapoor. ctor Saif Ali Khan has denied reports that he and his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor are going through a rough patch, saying they are happy together.

"I would like to reassure our fans and well-wishers that all is well with Kareena and I...we are working hard but we always make time for each other. All these rumors are disturbing and untrue...especially when families are brought into it in such bad taste. I wouldn't like to say anymore except we are very happy

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together," Saif, 40, said in a press statement.

Saif and Kareena, 30, who are considered one of the hottest couples in Bollywood, are seeing each other for the past four years.

And they even featured together in films like "Tashan" and "Kurbaan".

"The news has deeply disturbed both the couple and their respective families. They have always been open about their relationship and are alarmed with these rumors planted by people with vested interests," said a source.

A scene from director Prakash Jha’s next film Aarakshan. remain the truth - we can't change it." "But we should try and understand the in-depth impacts these issues cause in society, the disparity they cause among people and how it can be reduced... my cinema is just an attempt to understand that," he added.

In "Aarakshan", viewers must not seek to find a solution to the disparity caused by the reservation issue, warned the critically acclaimed and National awardwinning filmmaker.

"I'm just telling a story. I'm not giving a solution. 'Aarakshan' is an

emotional story of a family that is caught in the aftermath of the reservation issue. It is a story of a principal who is forced to take sides or the stand of a society that wakes up to a situation caused by the reservation quota," he said.

The movie, which features Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Manoj Bajpayee and Prateik, will release on Aug 12. Jha, who shot the film in Bhopal in a 55-day schedule, feels it's important for youth to understand the subject for the betterment of their future.

Ultimate Bollywood Thesouthasiantimes.info

17

June 25-July 1, 2011

Sanjay, Arshad back in 'Double Dhamaal' fter having the audience in splits with his 2007 hit film "Dhamaal", the comical fivesome of Riteish Deshmukh, Jaaved Jaffery, Arshad Warsi, Ashish Chaudhary and Sanjay Dutt are returning with a double dose of entertainment in the sequel "Double Dhamaal.”

Directed by Indra Kumar, the movie, coproduced by Reliance Entertainment and Maruti International, has new additions to the cast - Kangana Ranaut and Mallika Sherawat.

The story of "Double Dhamaal" starts where it ended in "Dhamaal", when they donate all the money that they had acquired. The four good for nothing jokers - Roy (Riteish ), Manav (Jaaved), Adi (Arshad) and Boman (Aashish Chowdhary) -- still dream of a good life where they would get everything without doing anything.

Enter their old arch-nemesis and corrupt inspector Kabir (Sanjay), who is no longer a cop and is now leading a luxurious life.

He drives a Mercedes, has a posh office and

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The cast of 'Double Dhamaal'. lives in a villa. After seeing all the comfort and luxury in Kabir's life, Roy, Manav, Adi

Why no takers for Katrina’s sister? t’s almost a year since she showed a keen interest in doing a Bollywood film, but actor Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabellahas not been able to finalize her debut film yet.Interestingly, Katrina too confirmed sometime back that she will not be producing the movie that launches her sister.

“We are looking for a suitable project to launch my sister. There’s nothing to announce as of now. I am not going to produce any film for sure. She is going to do the usual Bollywood rounds (meeting filmmakers with her portfolio like any newcomer),” Katrina said at an event recently.

Sources say quite a few filmmakers have sought meetings with Isabella to launch her in their films, but Katrina, who’s ambitious for her sister, apparently does not want to settle for anything less than a big

I

and Boman feel jealous and decide come what may, they will share his fortune.

James Bond back in India after 28 years ndian Bond fans might get a chance to catch a glimpse of Daniel Craig who will shoot in the outskirts of Mumbai for his next 007 movie soon. 1983 film Octopussy was the only James Bond film shot in India.

The action movie will be shot in Big ND Studio located in Karjat in a three-week spell, reportedly.

Oscar Award winning director Sam Mendes and production designer Terry Bamber had visited India some time this April for a recce, reported Mid Day. "The Hollywood movie would s t a r t o ff w i t h a n e x p l o s i v e chase scene set in South Mumbai.

I n t h e N D St u d i o , S o u t h Mumbai setting of the main road with shops, bylanes and the main traffic signal will be

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Katrina Kaif with her sister Isabellahas. project.

So, what is delaying her Bollywood debut? The same reason that dogged Katrina for years — her lack of command over Hindi. Sources say that Isabella has already got two Hindi diction teachers and speech coaches to learn the language.

Om Puri to divorce wife Nandita m Puri's marriage with Nandita has already hit a dead end and the only reason that kept the duo connected was their 13-year-old son Ishaan.

But after Nandita created a drama at Seema Kapoor's residence, Puri decided to break the silence on their present state of relationship.

"We signed an MOU on August 10, 2010, with mutual consent. In this, she wanted two years before we get divorced.

There were certain other conditions in the MOU, which were related to property etc. I have a son and it is my duty to secure his future and that's why I did the needful.

However, they are unaware that their quest to turn their dreams into a reality would become a nightmare as Kabir has his own agenda, only shared by his wife Kamini (Mallika Sherawat) and his sister Kiya (Kangana Ranaut).

Made at a budget of Rs.35 crore, the film has been shot in Mauritius, Hong Kong and Mumbai and promises to be a rib-tickling comedy. Another highlight of the movie is that after "Munni" and "Sheila", sultry Mallika will be seen giving competition to Malaika Arora Khan and Katrina Kaif as Jalebi Bai with her item song.

The other highlight of the film is said to be Ashish, who dons the garb of a woman and even learnt how to behave like one for the role. And it was Riteish, who demonstrated catwalk skills to Ashish and gave him a lot of tips which helped in his performance. Riteish had played a woman in "Apna Sapna Money Money".

Ashish will show his 'adaas' and 'nakhras' as a girl while seducing Sanjay in the movie.

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Om Puri with his wife Nandita Puri.

There were a couple of other conditions, which state that Nandita will accompany us on the outstation trips that I go on with my son. I agreed to it all," Puri told Mumbai Mirror.

"The major reason is that our lawyer suggested that the divorce proceedings will be smooth, if we have these two years of separation.

According to the MOU, I can stay wherever I want and I am not answerable to Nandita, so I fail to understand the reason for creating the ruckus that she did outside Seema's building. We have already crossed ten months, since we signed the MOU," he added.

Daniel Craig as James Bond. expanded to include the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Te r m i n u s and Crawford

Market, too," a source told the tabloid. This is Daniel Craig's third outing as James Bond.

18

Culture

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info 70,000 people will come together to spread the message of peace and intercultural harmony under the aegis of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

World Culture Festival on July 2-3 in Berlin Berlin’s Olympic Stadium is the venue of the festival.

Berlin: On July 2-3, Berlin’s Olympiastadion will be transformed into a melting pot of nations when 70,000 people from 151 countries come together to sing, dance, laugh, celebrate, enjoy culinary specialties and meditate at The World Culture Festival.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, world renowned spiritual guru and peace ambassador, launched the

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, The Art of Living program and movement

international festival to the press last week at the Indian Embassy in Berlin, which also holds patronage for the event. Speakers at the press conference included members of the World Culture Festival reception committee: Mrs Monika Griefahn, board member, Right Livelihood Award, Prof. Peter Eigen, Founder of Transparency International, Prof. Dr. Gesine Schwan, founder of the HumboldtViadrina School of Governance and Sudhir Vyas, Ambassador of India to Germany.

“The Festival offers a platform for people to get to know different cultures and celebrate together in a joyful context,” said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, several times Nobel Peace Prize nominee, “so that intercultural dialogue and peace is supported in a non-bureaucratic way”.

Four pavilions are planned, one for each continent, where countries can display their various cultures. The stadium green will be transformed into Europe’s biggest participative Yoga Park.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “the Olympiastadion Berlin was selected as the

Members of the World Culture Festival reception committee including India’s ambassador to Germany, Sudhir Vyas, with Sri Sri. venue for the festival due to the extraordinary with a unique peace meditation and a peace historical meaning of the city of Berlin, which prayer, bringing together representatives from is located in the heart of Europe and the link different traditions to spread the message of between East and West”. peace and intercultural harmony.

Organized by the international Art of Living Besides a unique programme with music, dance, dialogue and encounters, senior gov- Foundation, a UN accredited humanitarian ernmental representatives, business leaders, NGO promoting peace and human values academia, NGOs leaders, religious and spiri- through social and educational programmes. tual leaders, peacemakers and renowned per- The Art of Living Foundation was founded in sonalities from across the globe will exchange 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and is active in their views and spread the message of peace, 151 countries. unity and harmony in diversity in a bid to proTickets are available on www.worldculmote peace and cultural togetherness.

The World Culture Festival will conclude turefestival.org.

Numerous dance performances by groups from across the globe will be seen at the Festival.

Hundreds of veena players gave a concert at Art of Living’s 25th anniversary in Bangalore.

This time a Grand Guitar Ensemble for Peace will see 2,000 guitarists, 30 pianos, and a choir performance with 3,000 singers.

International TheSouthAsianTimes.info

June 25-July 1, 2011

Ban Ki-moon re-elected to top UN post United Nations: The UN Security Council "adopted by acclamation" a resolution to nominate incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon for a second five-year term, the Council president told reporters here.

Noel Nelson Messone, Gabon's UN ambassador whose country holds the rotating Council presidency for June, made the announcement to the press here after the 15nation Security Council met behind closed doors to consider the recommendation for the appointment of the UN secretary-general.

He said the Security Council recommended to the General Assembly that Ban Ki-moon be appointed UN secretary-general for

19

Ban Ki-moon's current term expires on December 31, and he has no declared rival for the post. a second term from Jan 1, 2012 to Dec 31, 2016.

Under the UN Charter, the secretary-general is appointed by the UN General Assembly upon the recom-

mendation of the Security Council.

The full UN General Assembly is expected to hold a formal vote next week, Xinhua reported quoting UN officials.

Last week, Ban, a South Korean national, put himself forward for re-election as the secretary-general.

Ban's current term expires on December 31, and he has no declared rival for the post. The 67year-old former South Korean foreign minister succeeded Kofi Annan in January 2007.

His re-election bid won support from the five permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, who have the veto power on the UN body.

US, Japan for trilateral dialogue with India Washington: Welcoming India "as a strong and enduring AsiaPacific partner", the US and Japan have said they would promote a trilateral dialogue among the three nations.

The two sides "welcome India as a strong and enduring AsiaPacific partner and encourage India's growing engagement with the region and participation in regional architectures", said a joint statement issued Tuesday after the first US-Japan Security Consultative Committee Meeting held since 2007. They would also "promote trilateral dialogue

among the United States, Japan, and India", it said.

The statement was issued after a meeting among US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.

Earlier, at a State Department press conference, Clinton also noted "we talked about our efforts to improve regional cooperation in a variety of multilateral forums and through a trilateral dialogue with India".

Russia opposes Libya-style UN action on Syria Moscow: Moscow will veto any UN Security Council that will seek to slap Libya-type sanctions against Syria, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said, reports RIA Novosti.

The US, France and Germany have called on Russia to cooperate in preparing a resolution on Syria for a vote at the UN Security Council. "Russia will use its rights as a permanent member of the Security Council," Medvedev told the Financial Times newspaper. But he indicated that Russia was amenable to other ideas from the West.

"What I will not support is a resolution similar to 1973 on Libya, because I am con-

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. vinced that a good resolution has been turned into a piece of paper to cover a senseless military operation," the president said. "If my colleagues asked me to abstain

44 die in Russian plane crash The RusAir jet was due to arrive in Petrozavodsk but crash landed on a highway.

Moscow: Forty-four people, including eight foreigners, were killed when a Tu-134 passenger aircraft crashed in Russia's republic of Karelia, an Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman said.

The RusAir jet was due to arrive in Petrozavodsk but crash landed on a highway one kilometer from Petrozavodsk airport, which was shrouded in fog. The aircraft broke up and burst into flames on impact.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said that among those killed in the crash were four foreigners - one Swedish and one Dutch citizen and two Ukrainians - and a family of four with dual Russian-US citizenship.

Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said various possible causes for the accident are being studied, including human error.

from voting so that they could bomb targets (in Libya), I would have certainly instructed (Russian) officials at the UN differently," Medvedev said.

Syrian rights groups have estimated that some 1,300 people have been killed and more than 10,000 arrested in Syria since protests demanding the end of President Bashar al-Assad's rule broke out in midMarch.

Some 10,000 people have fled to Turkey as Syrian security forces have cracked down on towns and villages at the TurkishSyrian border.

Moscow, which enjoys close ties with Damascus, has called for a diplomatic solu-

tion to the Syrian crisis.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has insisted that international forces will continue to intensify military pressure on the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, despite a call from Italy for a ceasefire.

The Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini, urged the "immediate suspension" of hostilities in Libya to allow humanitarian supplies to reach areas around the rebelheld city of Misrata and Gaddafi's capital, Tripoli.

Frattini told a parliamentary commission in Rome that "the humanitarian end of military operations is essential to allow for immediate aid".

Internet to be thrown open to new names Washington: The body that controls internet domain names agreed to open up the naming system so that any organization with enough cash can apply to create own version of .com, .org or .gov.

The Los Angeles-based Internet Corporation for Names and Numbers (ICANN) has been planning the naming expansion for sometime and approved it at a board meeting in Singapore Monday morning, the Los Angeles Times reported.

This means that instead of going to coke.com or nike.com, you might be able to go to drink.coke or justdoit.nike. Nonprofit groups could reserve the .school domain and cities could consolidate their online presence at .nyc or .losangeles, the report said.

But this won't come cheap. The price tag to get a new domain is $185,000. Only "established public or private organizations" can apply, and all applications must prove they have the technical capability necessary to keep a

domain running, the report said.

Internet experts believe the initial expansion might bring 500 new options for site suffixes.

There are only 22 now, including the original eight, .com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, .org and .arpa.

20

Business

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India-Mauritius resumes tax treaty talks New Delhi: India has resumed talks with Mauritius to revise the existing tax treaty and have a double taxation avoidance agreement that will help track black money, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

"For some time the talks were suspended, now it has resumed," Mukherjee told reporters when asked about the developments on tax treaty with Mauritius that battered stocks.

The minister tried to downplay the issue saying the two countries had been negotiating the agreement for the last few years but the talks were suspended for some time. "So far as the Mauritius double taxation avoidance agreement negotiations are concerned, it is an old one," Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Indian equities markets slumped on speculations that the two countries would soon have a new tax treaty that might affect invest-

India receives over 40 percent of its foreign direct investment through companies and funds registered in Mauritius. ments by foreign institutions in India. The benchmark Sensex had slumped 2 percent.

Market analysts fear that foreign institutional investors would offload even more from Indian markets once the treaty becomes operational.

India receives over 40 percent of its foreign direct investment through companies and funds registered in Mauritius. The tax department is seeking to tax gains made by companies registered in Mauritius and operating in India.

Aditya Birla Group completes Columbian buy Mumbai: The Aditya Birla Group has completed the acquisition of the Atlanta-based Columbian Chemicals Company, after obtaining all regulatory approvals in seven different jurisdictions .

The acquisition of Columbian Chemicals , which was made at a price of $875 million ,catapults the Aditya Birla Group to the world's No. 1 carbon black producer.

The newly constituted board of directors for Columbian Chemicals is chaired by Kumar Mangalam Birla, the Aditya Birla Group chairman, while other directors include Rajashree Birla ,Rajiv Dube, Santrupt Misra , D.D. Rathi and Kevin Boyle , CEO, Columbian Chemicals .

"We view the carbon black business as a significant global businessin our portfolio .

There is a lot to be derived from this coming

Kolkata: Tata Motors were likely to move court against the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, which cancels the 997.17-acre land lease given by the erstwhile Left Front government to Tata Motors, sources said.

Barrister

Samaraditya Pal would represent the automobile giant in court, the sources said.

Amid a walkout by the opposition Left Front lawmakers, the West Bengal assembly June 14 passed the Bill that was designed to keep the Trinamool Congress

regime's pre-poll promise of returning 400 acres to the farmers from whom land had been allegedly taken by the Left Front government against their will for setting up the now abandoned Tata Motors small car factory in Singur.

BlackBerry continues to bleed

crisis would help in tackling the present crisis.

"I am hopeful that the coordinated efforts by the European Economic Forum and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) to address the debtridden crisis would get a right response as they did two years ago," Gopalakrishnan said on the margins of an ICT function.

Admitting that the present crisis was a matter of concern for everybody, including the Indian IT industry, Gopalakrishnan said though economists projected that the post-2008 recovery would be a long drawn out downturn, the situation changed in a short time for better, especially for the developing countries.

India brings home Gold from Cannes Lions Cannes: After some bronze and silver Lions, India has struck Gold at Cannes Lions. In the Media Lions category, Lodestar UM won a Gold Lion for Garnier. Maxus India won a Silver Lion for Tata Sky in the same category.

In the Outdoor Lions category, India picked up 3 metals—one silver and 2 bronze. Taproot India picked up the Silver for Audio Book India and the Bronze Lions were picked by Sorento Healthcare for its work on osteoporosis for Wockhardt and BBDO India for the travel company White Collar Hippies.

The grand prix in the media lions category was won by Cheil worldwide, Seoul for their work done for Tesco retail chain (called Homeplus in Korean market ).

"The Homeplus campaign worked on some very interesting insights and succeeded in changing the

together of the two entities," Kumar Mangalam Birla said .

Tatas to move court against Singur Act

Indian IT industry worried over global economic crisis Bangalore: The resurgent Indian IT industry has expressed concern over the fragile global economy plunging into crisis again due to sovereign debt defaults in Europe, sluggish growth in the US and emerging economies overheating.

"The economic crisis is not just in India, but the world over. This is a period of concern. If the situation becomes worse, I don't think anybody can predict what will happen," a top industry executive said here.

Though the Indian IT industry had not seen any impact of the crisis brewing, especially in Europe, Infosys chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan hoped that the lessons learnt from the 2008 global financial

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.

waiting time to shopping time, increasing the online sales by 130%," says Media Lions jury president Francoli Plaza, Global CEO, MPG. This year there were 2,895 entries submitted from over 67 countries—a northward trend of nearly 35% and in all 84 medals given out. India had sent in 103 entries, as against 98 last

year.

There were 1,363 entries in all, from 53 countries, an increase of 10% over the last year, for the category that was launched in 2005.

Interestingly South Africa had sent in 133 entries this year, an indication of the sheer muscle and the evolution of the medium, in the country.

At less than $14 billion today, the BlackBerry company is not even one-fifth of its market value of $80 billion in 2008.

Toronto: After its 21 percent plunge ment efforts on our most popular last week, BlackBerry maker mobile platforms: Android, iOS and Research In Motion (RIM) contin- Windows Phone." ued to bleed this week, with its With its two co-CEOs Jim stock further diving almost seven Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis - who percent. At $25.41 now, RIM stock own 10 percent stake in the compais at its lowest since 2006. ny - under increasing pressure for Even as its fortunes plunged on changes in management, RIM sharethe market, the top Canadian com- holders are voting next month on the pany suffered another major setback shared role of the two bosses. as its digital marketing head Brian Scaling back the outlook for the Wallace left for Samsung. This is iconic company, RBC Dominion the third high-level exit from RIM Securities of the top Royal Bank of since February, making its loyal Canada (RBC) described the investors even more jittery.

BlackBerry maker as "bloody, but In yet another major blow to RIM, not broken" yet. third-party Twitter client Seesmic At less than $14 billion today, the which builds applications to help BlackBerry company is not even users build and manage their brands one-fifth of its market value of $80 online - abandoned the BlackBerry billion in 2008. maker in order to focus on Apple's RIM is fast losing smart phone iOS, Google Android system and market share to Apple's iPhone and Microsoft Windows Phone 7.

Google Android devices. Poor Discontinuing its support for future prospects and its failure to BlackBerry smart phones, Seesmic replace aging handsets have cast said it only wants to "focus develop- doubts about its future.

Sports TheSouthAsianTimes.info

21

June 25-July 1, 2011

India sets West Indies 326 to win first test Kingston (Jamaica): Rahul Dravid compiled an assured 112 to help India set the West Indies a target of 326 to win in the first test at Sabina Park.

India was bowled out on the stroke of tea for 252 and the West Indies closed day three at 131-3, still needing 195 for victory.

Adrian Barath (38) and Lendl Simmons (27) launched the chase in positive fashion by adding 62 for the first wicket in 11 overs before India struck back strongly.

Ishant Sharma (2-41) and Praveen Kumar (1-27) started the wobble before an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 51 between Darren Bravo (30 not out) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (24 not out) boosted the West Indies chances.

Earlier, the 38-year-old Dravid anchored the visitors, his innings spanning 403 minutes and supplying a crucial lead. The former captain was delighted that his century set up the chance of a victory.

"It was a satisfying one. Obviously, satisfying in the context of the game,"

Rahul Dravid hits a six off West Indies' Devendra Bishoo in India’s second innings in the first Test against West Indies.

Dravid said of his fourth century against the West Indies. "We needed to get a decent score to put them under some pressure."

I play for India, not for captains: Yuvraj K o l k a t a : Rubbishing rumors that he refused to play under the leadership of co-player Suresh Raina, Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh said he plays for India and not for captains of the cricket team.

"The question is totally baseless. I was badly ill. I have started training. It is totally baseless that I have denied playing under Suresh Raina. I play for India and my team, and not for any captain," said said Yuvraj while addressing a program of 'Emotional Atyachaar - Season 3' here.

After he was dropped from the West Indies tour on medical grounds, there has been a buzz that Yuvraj has refused to play under the leadership of Raina who is junior to him in terms of experience and years of international cricket.

"I have played under Sourav, M.S.Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir. I have played under so many captains. And Gautam and MS came to the team five years after I got included in the team. There has been no such thing. I play for my

Dravid, dropped on six the previous evening at second slip by West Indies captain Darren Sammy, cracked 10 fours off 274 deliveries before he was last man

out. Sammy ended with the best figures in the West Indies attack, claiming 4-52.

Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo took 4-65.

Dravid got good support from Amit Mishra, whose adventurous 28 was the next best score in India's innings. The pair added 56 for the ninth wicket to lift the visitors from the uncertainty of 183-8 just after lunch.

"Amit, I thought, showed a lot of character, a lot of guts today and really stuck it out there with me," Dravid said, "That was great."

And Dravid remained confident India could secure victory on the fourth day. "I think it's a good score.

Obviously this partnership is going to be the one that we need to break early in the morning. Chanderpaul is obviously a good player, Darren Bravo can play," he said. "There is still something in the wicket."

The West Indies struck early on day three when Dravid lost his overnight partner Virat Kohli for 15 in the fourth over to make the total 100-4.

Lankan cricket officials rush to meet BCCI quoted as saying by The Daily Colombo: Sri Lankan cricket officials met Board of Control for Mirror.

Cricket in India (BCCI) bosses in Last week, the BCCI declined to give No-Objection Certificates Mumbai to convince them to allow (NOC) to 12 Indian cricketers to Indian players to participate in the participate in the SLPL, pointing out forthcoming Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). that the tournament is run by a private body. SLC, however, said that Sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said he has asked Sri they own the tournament and the Singapore-based Somerset Lanka Cricket (SLC) chairman Entertainment Venture (SEV) only D.S. de Silva and secretary Nishantha Ranatunga to sort out has the logistical and the marketing rights. with the BCCI the issue of particiBACK IN GAME: Lalit Modi. pation of Indian players.

The BCCI reportedly fears that "I have instructed the chairman and the secretary to suspended Indian Premier League (IPL) supremo rush to India and convince the Indian board officials Lalit Modi, also a former Indian cricket board viceto allow their players to play in our tournament. The president, has close links with SEV. Aluthgamage denied Modi's links with the SLPL. chairman will be directly arriving from London, where he has been with the Sri Lanka team and "I can say with 100 percent assertion there is no role Ranatunga will join him from Sri Lanka. We have of Lalit Modi in SLPL. I am unaware about his trip good rapport with the Indian board and I am sure the to this country, if he had made some two months issue will be sorted out amicably," Aluthgamage was ago," he said.

Wimbledon: Somdev in round two

Yuvraj Singh. country and not for captains," said Yuvraj.

Yuvraj also expressed his disappointment over being all alone during the tough times of his international career.

"In these ten years of international cricket, I have learnt many things that when you are successful and you are in limelight there are many people beside you. But when there are tough times, only near and dear ones stand beside you, otherwise you are all alone," said Yuvraj.

London: India's Somdev Devvarman entered the Wimbledon men's singles second round after Germany's Denis Gremelmayr retired hurt. Somdev was leading 6-4, 4-2 when the German decided to concede the match.

Sania Mirza, who made a first round exit in women's singles Tuesday, is doubtful for the doubles owing to a painful left knee injury. She will decide on her participation after an ultrasound scan.

Somdev, ranked 68th, next plays 18th seed and World No.17 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia who was stretched to five sets by Juan Monaco of Argentina before winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Younzy beat Somdev in straight sets in their only meeting in the Davis Cup World Group tie last

Somdev Devvarman. year at Moscow.

This is Somdev's maiden singles

appearance here. The only time the 26-year-old got past the first round of a Grand Slam was when he reached the US Open second round in 2009.

Sania, who was already carrying a niggling left knee problem, "tweaked" it early in the first set of her 6-7(4), 6-2, 3-6 loss to France's Virginie Razzano.

"I've had the same injury since just before the French Open. I've been playing a lot on it," Sania said.

Sania along with Russia's Elena Vesnina is seeded fourth in the women's doubles and the two are rated serious trophy contenders after their final appearance in the French Open earlier this month.

The Indian was also to play in the mixed doubles.

22

Op Ed

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

‘Gender bias: Wal-Mart can’t be blamed’ A 5-4 majority of the US Supreme Court decided to shut the door on a class-action sex discrimination suit on behalf of 1.5 million women workers at Wal-Mart who claimed that sex discrimination pervaded the company's culture from unfair pay to sexist comments by male supervisors about the "Janie Q's" working for them.

By Rinku Sen he Supreme Court issued its decision in the Dukes v.

Wal-Mart sex discrimination case, a frustrating ruling that doesn’t challenge the existence of bias, but that exempts the company from accountability.

The case highlights the difficulty of addressing discrimination at a time when intentional bias is both illegal and socially unacceptable, and yet obvious gender and racial gaps remain. If much, perhaps even most, discrimination is unintentional on a personal level, what responsibility do employers (or our government, or each of us as individuals) have for addressing its institutional consequences?

The court decided 5-4 that up to 1.5 million female employees cannot file suit together as a class. The court’s conservative majority raised questions not just about whether the women were discriminated against through the same mechanisms, but also about the validity of the plaintiffs’ central argument—that the combination of a highly centralized corporate culture and excessive discretion among managers systematically disadvantaged women.

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Wal-Mart’s numbers are not in question. Women comprise more than 65 percent of hourly employees, but only 34.5 percent of managers. This is significantly different from similar retail chains, in which women hold 56.5 percent of management jobs. It takes women on average 4.38 years to rise to a management post at Wal-Mart, but takes men only 2.86 years. Of 41 Wal-Mart regional vice presidents, only five are women, and only 9.8 percent of Wal-Mart’s district managers are women. Wal-Mart’s internal documents acknowledge that they are far behind the rest of their field.

The plaintiffs in the case argued that Wal-Mart’s corporate culture invited managers to act on their own worst instincts. They cited the research of William Bielby, a sociologist who posits that people naturally hold stereotypes and biases, often unconsciously, and we act on them when we have the power to do so and nothing stops us.

At Wal-Mart, male managers acted on their bias against equitable promotions and pay because the company’s centralized practices and policies give them huge amounts of discretion in personnel decisions. The discretion itself is

the policy, and it stands out in a company whose corporate headquarters micromanages nearly everything, down to choosing the temperature and music in every store. Sophisticated computer systems and dozens of daily reports let headquarters know exactly what is happening on an hourly basis. But Wal-Mart’s top management chose to let store-level managers keep on discriminating…

Certainly, there has been some blatantly sexist behavior among Wal-Mart managers, such as management meetings in which men called their female colleagues “little Janie Qs.” But mostly, WalMart’s system runs on silence. Silence about what exactly are the criteria for management positions; silence about the additional subjective criteria that individual managers apply for promotion; silence about the actual availability of management positions; silence about how you decide whether to give an employee a raise of 10 or 25 cents per hour. Male managers fill all that silence, the plaintiffs’ lawyers and expert witnesses said, with subjective decisions that are often influenced by stereotypes.

Our laws do not require discrimination to be deliberate or even

The decade-old lawsuit against the United States' largest employer was the largest class-action lawsuit ever filed in an employment discrimination case. conscious before they require a remedy. So-called “disparate impact” is supposed to be enough for the law to step in. In this case, not only was there obvious disparate impact, but Wal-Mart’s knowledge of the gap supports the charge of knowing disparate treatment as well. Unfortunately, conservative members of the court ruled against the notion that the company is responsible, saying that different plaintiffs were discriminated against in too many different ways for the company to be systematically responsible. In the majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia writes that common elements tying all these employment decisions together were “entirely absent” in this case.

Americans will be tempted to take this decision as proof that WalMart is not guilty of gender discrimination, and employers will

take heart from the Supreme Court turning a blind eye. If some bad managers make sexist decisions, companies will say, that can’t be helped; gender stereotyping is an intractable problem.

But the real lesson is that Americans can’t rely on the courts alone to check all forms of bias, especially the kinds that don’t require explicit direction. Wal-Mart and other corporations need to hear from everyone—consumers, workers, and other employers who are building equitable workplaces. The message we send has to go beyond following the letter of the law to challenge the social norms that keep qualified people from getting the jobs they deserve.

(The author is a longtime community organizer, feminist activist, and president of the racial justice think tank Applied Research Center.)

Time for Pak to try India as a friend? s Pakistan set to implode in its exasperating persistence to define itself in only security terms vis-à-vis India as did the Soviet Union with the US in a nuclearshadowed Cold War that lasted 40 years, a numbing fear that consumed three generations, but ended in a barren inevitability 20 years ago of the former collapsing into 13 new countries?

Adnan Rehmat, a journalist, analyst and media development specialist who heads Intermedia, a Pakistani media support NGO, says, “It seems more likely than not, given the few signs that a fundamental rethink is underway in Pakistan in determining what it stands for rather than what it doesn’t stand for, which passes for its schizophrenic identity.”

Two specific WikiLeaks cables published in Dawn in recent weeks reveal more than just what is already known about Pakistan’s paranoid obsession with India and the authorship and control of the policy of paranoia by the military establishment. In the first, President Asif Zardari, the commander-in-chief of Pakistan’s armed forces, counters the suggestion of Sen. John Kerry that New Delhi is interested in pursuing peace with Islamabad by arguing that India

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A cricket fan has his face painted with the colors of the Pakistan and Indian national flags ahead of the ICC World Cup semifinal India and Pakistan. has five times more tanks than Pakistan and that these are Pakistan-specific because the Sino-India border terrain cannot support a tank battle.

In the second cable, severe civil-military tensions are revealed over access to and control of American aid flows to Pakistan with the army insisting for, and getting, direct aid and refusing to share details with

the elected government even during drafting of the annual budgets. Rehmat argues, “If Pakistan has to match India tank to tank, plane to plane, soldier to soldier, frigate to frigate and missile to missile before making peace, then it’s a lost battle in perpetuity. If matching military might was the precondition to peace then the world would have been blown up 200 times over because the

unending Indo-Pak tensions and Indo-Pak like wars would have been replicated on every shared national border on the planet.

What use was there to acquire super-expensive nuclear capability if it didn’t solve the problem of imbalance in conventional military capability”.

Dawn.com also contends that, “the farcical civil-military equation in Pakistan that has kept political forces emaciated and socio-cultural progress stunted is insulting enough it itself but for the military to have its cake (of American aid) all these decades and eat it too is going too far for even weak states. The military is twice richer and the elected governments twice the poorer when it comes to foreign aid.”

Pakistan’s security obsession with India and the skewed civil-military equation are at the root of Pakistan’s sorry state. The trust deficit between Washington and Islamabad is so wide that despite being allies the US had to invade Pakistan militarily to eliminate bin Laden. This has thrown up for public debate – and pressure on the military – the need to define “sovereignty”, the concept that the military has traditionally used to reinforce its stranglehold over the national polity.

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

24

Op Ed

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

USIBC Leadership Summit

US-India business ties and future prospects

By Robert O. Blake, Jr.

have been privileged to help advance the US-India partnership since I first started working in India in 2003. I have seen firsthand how committed government leaders working hand-in-hand with the business community and buttressed by strong people-to-people ties can transform a bilateral relationship. Broad, bipartisan political support in both countries has driven our countries closer together over the last decade, and ensures that this relationship will continue to be a mainstay of American and Indian foreign policy, regardless of who is in power.

The Indian economy of today is the second fastest-growing in the world – expanding at a rate of over 8 percent annually. The Indian economy has produced some of the world’s leading multinational corporations, which create innovative goods and services, and present novel business models for the other countries.

The future of India’s economy looks very bright—and very young. For example, India will likely have the world’s third largest economy in the year 2030 and the largest by 2050. India’s population will become the largest by 2030 as well. At a time when much of the industrialized world is shrinking as well as aging, half of India’s population is under age 25. That large and youthful work force is a growing strategic advantage, provided these young people can get the 21st

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American businesses see in India a vibrant laboratory for research and innovation that will produce tomorrow’s goods and services, says Robert O. Blake, Jr century education they will need to compete. According to one study, India will have 25 percent of the world’s workforce by 2025.

The incredible growth of India’s economy has resulted in positive spillover effects for the United States. A quick look at the data reveals a trade relationship that is accelerating, mutually beneficial, and relatively balanced. Between 2002 and 2009, U.S. goods exports to India quadrupled, growing from $4.1 billion in 2002 to more than $16.4 billion in 2009, and U.S. services exports to India more than tripled, increasing from $3.2 billion in 2002 to more than $9.9 billion in 2009. U.S. exports to India have grown faster than exports to practically all other countries in the world.

2010 broke records for U.S.-India trade in goods with U.S. exports to India up 17% and U.S. imports from India up 40%. This surge of nearly 30% to a high of $48.8 bil-

lion in goods trade moved India up two notches to become our 12th largest goods trading partner. This positive trend continues, with twoway goods trade up 19% in the first quarter of 2011 over the same time period last year. Our trade with India is also very much a two-way exchange with mutual benefits to both our countries.

India is also a growing source of foreign direct investment into the United States. The total stock of FDI from India to the United States stood at almost $5.5 billion at the end of 2009. It has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent during the 2004 to 2009 time period, making India the 7th fastest-growing source of investment in the United States. Indian companies invest heavily in many U.S. industries such as energy and information technology, and we expect their investments to increase.

The character of our trade with India is also relatively balanced. In

a global economy where America’s trade relations in some cases have a balance favoring the other nation, the fact that India’s exports to the U.S. are relatively equal to its imports is important to note. Our trade with India also encompasses a broad range of sectors. U.S. exports to India include aircraft, electrical machinery, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, railway equipment, and steel.

Services trade is also significant.

In addition to the dynamic IT trade investment, tourism is a little known but growing service. Last year 650,000 Indians visited the U.S., an increase of 18%, making India the 10th ranking source of tourism to the U.S. So I urge you to do your part and visit the U.S.—all of our 50 states will be happy to welcome you!

We in government are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to open new opportunities for trade and investment. We have a variety of mechanisms for doing so. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will visit Washington at the end of June to hold a round of the U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership with his counterpart Treasury Secretary Geithner.

The High Technology Cooperation Group, which has enabled both governments to significantly reduce barriers to trade in sensitive, cutting-edge high technology, will meet in mid-July in New Delhi.

Other ongoing forums include the U.S. Trade Representative’s Trade

Policy Forum, which encompasses a number of sector-specific dialogues; and the Department of Commerce’s Commercial Dialogue, which facilitates an open dialogue about trade.

India’s market offers tremendous opportunity to U.S. exporters of goods and services. India has a market of 1.2 billion of the world’s consumers. These consumers have growing aspirations, and the disposable income to act on their aspirations. This is a powerful combination.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the current internet penetration in India is in the range of only 80-100 million, less than 10 percent of the population. With the advent of 3G and the ability of more Indians to go online with their mobile phones, the world of internet access will be completely transformed. Imagine more than half a billion—and growing—people chatting, Tweeting, connecting and innovating from their phones!

American businesses see in India a vibrant laboratory for research and innovation that will produce tomorrow’s goods and services.

The complex, multifaceted environment in India allows companies and entrepreneurs to test and validate multiple strategies and solutions. Increasingly, these solutions will be applicable not just to India or the U.S., but to the world at large.

(Blake is Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs)

Time to learn from Hazare-Ramdev episode

By Heera Lal ith yoga guru Baba Ramdev ending his seven-day fast over corruption and black money and Team Anna Hazare and the UPA government sitting together to settle disputes in the Lokpal (anti-corruption) bill, there is a sense of relief in the Congress camp, though only for the time being.

It is a general perception that corruption and black money are byproducts of Congress’ bad governance, a party that has been at the helm of affairs since independence, except a full Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) term under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a few intermittent prime ministers in between.

Today, every Indian is asking one question: How corruption and black money flourished after 1947 and who is responsible for it.

Corruption seeped slowly in our day-to-day life. With the passage of time, it took a mammoth size and has now become unbearable for a common man on the street. Indians, simmering with anger, are forced to take the routes like Satyagraha once used against the British by Mahatma Gandhi. The UPA government handled Anna episode tactfully but failed as far as

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Hazare-Ramdev combination has brought government to the table over an issue that the previous regimes have being evading for one reason or the other.

Ramdev’s case is concerned. The forceful eviction of Ramdev and his supporters in midnight hours from Ramlila Ground in New Delhi left the UPA government on the back foot and pushed them in the corner.

Phase-1 of Team Anna and Team Ramdev’s struggle has succeeded in making corruption a focal issue in the Indian politics, which may continue to haunt the government in coming elections. Anna-Ramdev combination has brought government to the table over an issue that the previous regimes have being evading for one reason or the other.

In the hindsight, UPA government can reap the benefit of this corruption debate by adopting strong measures against the corrupted and clean the rot.

Transparency is getting grip worldwide. It's time for our politicians to see the big picture.

The author is an administrative officer (in the rank of Additional District Magistrate) in the provincial civil services cadre of Uttar Pradesh, India. He is currently in the USA, doing his Executive Master of Public Administration degree (Government-2) from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

Features TheSouthAsianTimes.info

25

June 25-July 1, 2011

Fashion collection inspired by Lord Krishna New Delhi: Delhi-based designer Sunil Mehra’s latest collection is inspired from Lord Krishna’s life and mythology and features contemporary ethnic chic embellished with motifs of Krishna, the peacock feather and flute, associated with the popular god.

“The collection will be a journey of Lord Krishna’s Madhuryarasa and imparts the same feel, the way Krishna used to stand and play the flute. The garments present a range of contemporary ethnic separates with a relaxed feel,” said Mehra.

The line is divided into three segments - formal, fusion and traditional wears. The entire collection will illustrate an array of men’s wear like kurta with polo trousers, short kurtas with cigarette pants teamed with waist coats, white tuxedos in linen silk fabric, and summer suits with special four pockets, both for formal and casual look.

“The motifs of Krishna, Mor Pankh and Bansuri will be the high point of the collection and will attract those fashion-forward males who want to mix style and

Designer Sunil's Mehra of Sunil's Study ethnicity in the look,” Mehra said.

A special collection of short sherwanis has also been introduced by the designer for summer. The fabric used is a blend of both linen and silk on the color palette, which varies from cream, white and beige, with hints of gold.

Whether it be special jacquard

weaves with the peacock feather motif, Sanskrit lettering in miniature embroideries, the colors turmeric and saffron, or hand painted scenes in linings - all the garments bear a direct or an indirect relevance to Lord Krishna or Vrindavan.

The collection is available at the designer’s store in the capital.

Sunil Mehra - Spring / Autumn 2011 collection.

Witch hunt made punishable crime in Rajasthan

By Prakash Bhandari/SATimes Jaipur: Witch hunt, one of the most brutal deeds ever committed by humans since the dawn of civilization, is to become punishable in Rajasthan.

In the newly proposed Rajasthan Women (Prevention and Protection from Atrocities) Bill, 2011, a major thrust has been given to protecting women who are tortured and even killed after being branded witches, an evil tradition prevalent in rural areas of Rajasthan.

According to the Bill, anyone accused or defaming a woman by calling her "Dayan" or "Dakan" or "Dakin", "Chudail" or "Bhootni" or "Bhootdi" or "Chilavan" or "Opri" or "Ranndkadi" (all local dialects) will attract punishment.

The Bill provides that any other name or symbol suggesting that a woman uses witchcraft to harm others will be punishable. The punishment could be imprisonment up to a term of three years with a minimum fine of Rs1,000 and up to Rs 5,000.

“This Bill once becomes an Act would also give big relief to such women who are punished illegally by the khap panchayat for marrying outside the caste or within the gotra. Under this Act action would be taken against the khap Panchayat or by any other organization which is not empowered to do so. The authority concerned shall take cognizance of the matter and shall immediately take measures to prevent such occurrence, and in case any illegal order has been passed or executed by the organization, shall take action as per the law for the time being in force.” said Sudhir Kumar, a consultant to the Rajasthan government.

Kumar said its an Act which provides for the relief to the aggrieved women.

However, there are still various situations encountered by women wherein they are subjected to torture and atrocities. Many girls face acid attacks which result into disfigurement of their face and thebody. In certain areas women are accused of performing witchcraft and unnecessarily being harassed. Sometimes women are also forced to parade naked in the village and are subjected to derogatory situation and words. by the people of the backward communities. For some time, the need was felt to introduce a legislation wherein the situations not already covered under various legislations could be addressed and suitable compensation provided to the victims.

‘The Rajasthan Women (Prevention & Protection from Atrocities) Bill, 2011’ would broadly benefit the women from various atrocities, hoped Kumar.

Any person in the name of performing witchcraft or her being ‘possessed one’, uses criminal force against a woman or instigates others in doing so with intent to harm or to displace her from the house, place or the property of which she is a rightful resident or a visitor, shall be pun-

ishable with imprisonment of a term which may extend to seven years and with fine which may extend to Rs. 20,000.

Besides, whoever intimidates a woman, calling her a witch and accusing her of practising witchcraft, to the extent the woman is forced to commit suicide shall be punishable with imprisonment or a term of five years which may extend to 10 years with minimum fine of Rs 25,000 which may extend to Rs 50,000.

The Bill makes the provision of prosecuting those who assault or uses criminal force or causes assault or to use criminal force against a woman, accusing her to be a witch, resulting in her death, under Section 302 of IPC (Central Act 45 of 1860). The bill proposes if quacks known as ‘ojha’ or ‘tantrik’ or ‘baba’ declare any woman as a ‘possessed’ and perform any ritual to free the woman from the evil spirit or entices a woman or any person on her behalf with a promise to bless the woman with a child or performs any ritual on behalf of any person with intention to harm the woman, and whoever promotes, helps organize and performing such rituals or associates oneself with such rituals shall be punishable with imprisonment of a term of one year which may extend to five years with a fine of Rs 10,000. Whoever, assaults or uses criminal force against a woman to remove or cause to remove clothes from her body and parades her naked shall be punished with imprisonment of five years which may extend to 10 years with minimum fine of Rs 10,000 which may extend to Rs 50,000.

For 50-year-old Jadau Devi life has become hell ever since the villagers of Rampura under Masuda tehsil in Ajmer district started branding her as witch and was

accused of performing witchcraft. She was tortured all these years and was even forced to leave her village after she was branded a witch (dayan) and an evil spirit that haunted the villagers. Her own relations wanted to grab her property, but Jadau Devi stood like a rock and refused to be identified as a witch.

The Rampura police arrested five persons Kalu Singh, Rang Lal, Sanwat Singh, Bhanwar Singh and Kailash who forced Jadau Devi to perform the witch craft to cure Seema, 20 the ailing daughter of Kalu Singh. Kalu Singh and Jadau Devi belong to the same Rawat community and Kalu Singh and his accomplice thought that Jadau Devi wields enormous power as a witch and she only could cure his daughter who has not been keeping good health.

They asked her to do the “tona-tokna” and drive away the evil spirit from Seema’s person and make her normal.

The police chief of Ajmer district, Vipin Pandey said in her complaint to the police, Jadau Devi had said that she was forced to perform witchcraft, but she refused to do it as she was a normal woman and knew nothing about witchcraft. She said she leads a normal life and harmed none, but still people who wanted to grab her property dubbed her as a witch and forced her to act as a witch. She was made an outcaste and was not allowed to fetch water from the village water pump. “We have arrested five persons and booked them under section 191 of Cr PC as the Rajasthan Women (Prevention & Protection From Atrocities) Act is yet to comeme into being. But once such Act is enforced it would be easier to punish such people who commit atrocities on women,” said Pandey.

26

Lifestyle

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Tips to protect eyes he human eye is one of our most valuable instruments, but also one of the most vulnerable. We often place our eyes under unnecessary stress, and eye injuries occur every day at work and home. We cannot prepare for and avoid every incident, but we can make adjustments to how we perform some daily activities in order to reduce the strain on our eyes and the risk of injury.

T

Screens at Work and Home Although certainly not dangerous, excessive television viewing does put a great strain on our eyes.

The eyes are forced to constantly adjust to different colors and sizes of objects at a close distance.

While you need not sit a mile away, you should avoid sitting too close to the television. Forcing yourself to try to blink naturally and taking occasional breaks are good ways to help to relieve the

strain on your eyes.

Between work and home, we are increasing the hours we spend in front of computer screens. This can lead to dry eyes since we blink less while looking at the screen. To relieve your eyes, you can occasionally close them for a few seconds and open them slowly.

Other ways to reduce the strain on your eyes while working on the computer include: having antiglare screens put in and ensuring that images are clear and do not flicker, increasing the font size on your screen, making sure the screen is at eye level. and using a larger monitor.

Lighting should also be adjusted so that it is neither too bright nor too dim. A soft desk light on the side may help reduce stress on the eyes. In some cases, people need different glasses for computer work, so ask your eye care professional if you experience any diffi-

culty or discomfort when looking at the computer screen.

D-I-Y and Sports Do-It-Yourself projects at home can lead to a great sense of accomplishment, but also to eye injuries if you are not properly equipped.

Before mowing your lawn, inspect it for any debris. You may even want to wear goggles to be on the safe side.

Eye protection should also be worn when sawing, sanding, drilling etc. Fine particles can cause irritation, while large particles may cause serious damage. If an object does become embedded in your eye, do not rub your eye as this may cause further damage. If you cannot wash it out, seek professional assistance.

When handling paints and chemicals, make sure you read the instructions beforehand to know if you need eye protection. In addi-

Choosing the right lip color hoosing lipstick color is an important step.

You must always select right lip color as it may affect your overall appearance. There are a few basic points to keep in mind in choosing a lip color.

Women must be mindful of their skin's natural undertones.

What's the difference between: Matte Lipsticks: These lipsticks usually contain kaolin as a primary ingredient for staying power and give lipsticks a no shine, no grease texture.

These lipsticks tend to be drying, but if you're looking for staying power, matte is a good option.

Long-wearing Lipsticks: These are the lipsticks that claim to stay all day through the kisses and everyday wear.

If you've used one of these you know that's not the case. Don't waste your money. See below for tips on making lipstick last.

Sheer/Stain Lipsticks: The pigmentation of sheers and stains is not very high. They tend to be more moisturizing then other types of lipsticks.They also tend to wear easy but leave a nice hint of color.

C

tion, always make sure aerosols are pointing away from your face before spraying. In the case of eye contact, flush your eyes out immediately for 15 minutes and consult a medical professional if irritation persists.

Wearing the appropriate eye protection is advisable when participating in many sports. Swimming

and skiing both require specific goggles. Any racquet sport where a small ball is used also poses a particular danger of eye injury and eye protection should be used. If you have had any eye problems in the past, in particular one requiring surgery, you should consult an eye professional before participating in any contact sport.

Stable marriage is linked with better sleep in women eing stably married or gaining a partner is associated with better sleep in women than being unmarried or losing a partner, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Wednesday, June 10, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Results show that women who were stably married or who had gained a partner during the eight years of the study had better sleep than women who were unmarried or who had lost a partner over the course of the study follow-up.

According to the study's lead author, Wendy Troxel, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, women who were stably married had the highest quality sleep measured objectively and subjectively, and these results persisted even after controlling for other known risk factors for sleep, including age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and depressive symptoms.

"Women who had 'gained' a partner over the eight years of the study had similar subjective sleep quality as compared to the stably married women; however, after looking at specific objective sleep measurements we discovered that these women had more restless sleep than the always married women," said Troxel. "We speculate that these findings may reflect a 'newlywed effect' or simply the fact that these women may be less adjusted to sleeping with their partner than

B

Moisturizing Lipsticks: These contain lots of conditioning ingredients such as shea butter. These lipsticks tend to wear off easy due to the moisturizing ingredients in them but if you have dry lips, then go for these.

Choosing the shade of lipstick for your skin tone: When choosing the correct shade of lipstick you must look at your complexion: If you have fair skin deep, plum reds, berry, wine reds with a blue undertone look best. Browns -light medium browns or beige's with pink undertones flatter fair skins.

Pink undertone lipsticks compliment fair skin very nicely.

However, stay away from those bright, loud pink lipsticks. Olive/Yellow skin

should choose rich, deep brown reds and deep, dark berry shades. Stay away from orange/reds and pink/reds, they can bring out the yellow undertones in your skin. Try to avoid pink lipstick at all costs.

Medium skin should use rich, deep pinks, deep reds, rich caramel shades, medium brown with yellow or pink undertones, and creamy coffee colored brown lipsticks. Stay away from browns that are very pale. They can make medium skins look ashy and washed out.

Dark skin should try reds with blue undertones. Also, mahogany, deep plums, wine reds, almost any shade of brown, rich, dark, coffee browns flatter the skin. Avoid orange undertones in lipsticks.

the 'stably married' women."

The study gathered data from 360 middleaged African American, Caucasian, and Chinese women drawn from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, with a mean age of 51 years.

Participants reported their current relationship status at annual visits. In-home polysomnographic (PSG) sleep studies were conducted over three successive nights 6 to 8 years after baseline. Subjects also wore wrist activity monitors, which provide a behavioral measure of sleep-wake patterns, for approximately one month. Researchers examined the association between women's relationship histories and their sleep by analyzing the sleep differences between women who were stably married, stably unmarried, or those who experienced a relationship transition (gaining or losing a partner) over the study follow-up period.

Personal Growth TheSouthAsianTimes.info anna Lal and Mishri Devi work together in a software company.

Seemingly, they are friends, but in reality they hardly know each other. Based on their perceptions, they have formed images of each other in their minds.

Panna Lal relates to his image of Mishri Devi and she relates to her image of Panna Lal. Panna Lal has no inkling of who the real Mishri Devi is. Mishri Devi has no inkling of who the real Panna Lal is.

They also constantly try to embellish their images in each other’s mind through wearing masks, as they are afraid of showing their true faces.

The two of them go on a work trip together. On their way back their flight is delayed by several hours and they have to wait at the airport.

They sit in the waiting area sipping cups of tea. They have never had so much time at hand, not to speak of being with each other for so long. To while away time, Mishri Devi starts telling Panna Lal all about herself.

Generally Panna Lal’s attention span is very short and he is a bad listener. But since he has nothing else to do today, he listens to Mishri Devi to understand her.

There is something about the quality of his listening that makes Mishri Devi go on and on, sharing everything about her life.

As he peeps into her world, his perception of Mishri Devi changes completely.

He comes to know about her grit, her determination and her sense of caring – qualities that were totally opaque to him until now.

It is a whole new Mishri Devi he has come to know today. Why, she almost comes across as some kind of a superwoman to him. He is able to look at Mishri Devi from her point of view, recognizing her for who she is. He is mesmerized by her inner beauty and positivity!

At some point, Panna Lal finds himself telling his life story to her. Mishri Devi listens to Panna Lal as attentively as he listened to her a while ago, without making any comment.

In the process, her perception of Panna Lal changes too, as she is now able to look at him from his point of view. Now he almost comes across as some kind of a superman to her.

P

*** Until now, Panna Lal had never listened to anyone so attentively. Nor did he ever bother to express his innermost thoughts to anyone. When Mishri Devi spoke, he listened. When he spoke, she listened.

He has realized that he has never been able to connect with another person because he hardly listens to her. He just goes through the motions of listening while his mind is elsewhere. He is so sure in advance what the other person is going to say that he only listens to what he has decided she is going to say. He twists the message to make her mean what he wants her to mean.

Secondly, he is habitually judgmental.

As he does not give another person any space, she has her guard up. Another reason he can’t connect with others is his tendency to prove himself right and justify his actions.

It was probably due to tiredness or maybe it was just a happy accident that he not only turned non-judgmental but also

27

June 25-July 1, 2011 came out of the I-am-right mode when he happened to have a forced date with Mishri Devi.

For the first time in his life he listened to the person and not just to the words. As a result, Mishri Devi too opened up and felt no need to wear a mask.

Having come to know what it is to be Mishri Devi, Panna Lal can almost see himself in her. Having come to know what it is to be Panna Lal, Mishri Devi can almost see herself in him.

Both of them feel some kind of inner warmth as they touch each other in a special way. The other person is simply ‘unothered’, so to speak. In the process, they build an empathic relationship.

While reaching out and being receptive facilitate the process of building an

own lapse, it was a reflection of his selfserving bias. Such biases and being judgmental are so deeply ingrained that they show up almost unconsciously in our behavior. That is all the more reason for Panna Lal to guard against them.

The Mirror Effect Panna Lal considered his name to be a little un-smart. Whenever he had to introduce himself he used to tell his name in a low voice. Nobody seemed to like his name.

One day his mother told him the significance of his name. When he learnt that he was given this name because he was the most precious thing for his parents, he felt

Connecting with people

An excerpt from ‘The Fine Print of Life’

by PS Wasu, a motivational guru and author based in Mumbai.

at heart level empathic relationship, being judgmental and having a self-serving bias act as barriers to empathy.

In varying degrees, we are all judgmental. Habitually, we give names and labels to people. We form images of people and then relate to their images and not to the real people.

In varying degrees, we all have selfserving biases, considering ourselves right and letting all communication be guided by this assumption.

Panna Lal recollects that once he was late for a meeting with his boss by 15 minutes. The boss commented later that a few things could not be discussed because the meeting started half hour late. The same day Panna Lal mentioned to someone that he was able to cover all the points in the meeting even though he was late by five minutes.

When the boss exaggerated Panna Lal’s lapse, it was a reflection of his self-serving bias. When Panna Lal played down his

very proud. Then onwards he started telling his name to others in a firm, confident voice. Now everyone seemed to like his name.

When we are not okay with some aspect of ours, it seems that others are not okay with it too. Probably we telegraph our thoughts to others and they seem to think the same way. They simply respond to the stimulus we give out.

The vibes that we receive from others are a reflection of the vibes that we send.

That is the mirror effect in action.

No wonder, our impatience about people not being the way we want them to be triggers defensive behavior and hidden agendas in them, making us even more impatient. If others are not open and positive, it is probably because we have a grudge against them that they are not open and positive. If our boss doesn’t like us, it is probably a reflection of the fact that we don’t like the boss.

The other person seems to have a self-

serving bias exactly to the degree we have and she is critical of us exactly to the extent we are critical of her. When we blame others, we in effect invite blame.

Reacting to each other, we get into the infinitely regressive loop of reacting to each other’s reaction.

When we speak from the heart, the other person listens with the heart. When we listen with the heart, the other person speaks from the heart.

When we understand others, we are understood. When we are loving, we become lovable. When we are perceived as persuadable, we acquire the magical power of persuading others.

Whenever we hurt others, we are likely to get hurt as a natural consequence of our action. So not hurting others is one safeguard against getting hurt by them.

Our expectations, negative or positive, affect other people’s behavior.

Interestingly, whether we have positive expectations from others or negative ones has a lot to do with our self-image.

With a positive self-image, we have positive expectations from others. With a negative self-image, we have negative expectations from others.

Breakthroughs in relationships happen when we examine the stimuli we give out to others instead of complaining about their responses.

The awareness of the mirror effect and the reflection that is created is the ultimate secret of building empathic relationships. *** Having connected with Mishri Devi at a deeper level, Panna Lal has now developed the knack of connecting with everyone.

He no longer forms quick opinions about others and is able to see everyone’s inherent positivity. People, in turn, consider him to be the most positive person they know, holding him in high esteem.

The other day his assistant, Moti Lal, did a shoddy job of a report that he was assigned. Instead of criticizing him, Panna Lal said, “Moti Lal, I am sure you are capable of doing much better.”

The fellow was energized because he was appreciated as a person. He went back to his work station and redid the job to perfection. To his pleasant surprise, Panna Lal no longer dislikes his boss as much as he used to. For no reason at all he finds himself bubbling over with good feelings for everyone. Panna Lal is now able to connect with everyone because he has come to know in his bones that everyone is essentially the same.

The best of leaders, counsellors and debate moderators are good at what they do because they are able to connect with people at the level of the heart.

With empathic relationships, we experience joy, personal growth and a sense of fulfillment.

“The Fine Print of Life: How Panna Lal Found Happiness, Wisdom and Mishri Devi” by P.S. Wasu; 177 pages, Rs. 195; HarperCollins Publishers India.

To buy the book, go to http://www.amazon.com/gp/ product/8172237510?ie=UTF8&tag= w w w t i c k l e d b y l 2 0 & l i n k _ c o d e = a s 3 & c a m p = 2 111 8 9 &creative=373489&creativeASIN= 8172237510 or to www.pswasu.com.

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Humor

June 25-July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Humor with Melvin Durai

Too many idiots on the highway ave you ever noticed there are more idiots on the highway than anywhere else?

I don't mean this in a bad way. I've just heard many motorists refer to other drivers as "idiots."

"Look at that idiot," they say. "His turn signal has been on for 20 minutes."

Someone who runs a red light is almost certainly an idiot. Perhaps even a stupid idiot (as opposed to a smart idiot). Someone who drives faster than about 85 miles per hour is also an idiot. So is someone who drives under the speed limit.

Somehow, no matter how hard you look on the highway, you'll never find a genius. With so many idiots out there, you'd expect to find at least one genius. But I have yet to see a cop pulling over a perfect driver to shake her hand. I have yet to hear a motorist say, "Did you see that guy? He just made a perfect turn. He's a genius."

Even if a woman drives her entire life without a single traffic violation, no one will bring it up at her funeral.

No one will say, "Helga was such a good driver. The highway will never be the same."

Unfortunately, the highway has only two types of drivers: normal drivers and idiots. Once you're an idiot, it's tough to become a normal driver.

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Especially if your insurance company has moved you to the idiot class.

You make one mistake, cause one accident, and suddenly you're paying much more for car insurance than rent.

To save you some trouble, the insurance company asks you to mail your paycheck directly to them. "We can spend it more wisely," they say.

"You're an idiot."

Realizing you can't afford to have another accident,you decide to be extra-cautious on the road. You hesitate when merging with traffic. You resist passing an Amish buggy. You even stop at a yellow light.

Guess what? You're an idiot again.

The driver behind you is certain of this. He honks and yells, "Go, you idiot.

What are you stopping for?"

Before long, you forget all about your accident -- you're only human -and you turn into Mario Andretti

again.

You drive so fast, you even manage to pass a tractor-trailer. But your luck runs out again and a cop pulls you over. He listens to your excuse: "I'm sorry, officer. I'm an idiot."

The cop has no sympathy. He has already ticketed 89 other idiots. Some thought the speed limit was only for people with cheap cars. Others were trying to save gas.

A few were certifiable idiots: They were in a hurry to get to their in-laws.

Your insurance company gets word of your ticket and cancels your policy.

They'd rather insure Mike Tyson.

Now you're stuck being an idiot.

Everyone sees you thumbing a ride.

And drivers like me just smile.

I know what it's like to be an idiot. I once ran a red light by accident. My Mazda was struck by a mini-van and spun into another car. A cop arrived at the scene in an instant, popping out of the car I had just dented.

This accident almost put me in the Idiot Hall of Shame. But the selection committee decided to save room for Halle Berry.

Considering how many idiots are on the highway, it's a wonder normal people drive with them. It's almost like handing out guns at the post office.

It would make more sense to erect new signs on the highway: "Left lane

reserved for idiots."

The left lane would be packed, leaving the right lane safe for your greatgrandmother.

Of course, some people shouldn't be allowed to drive -- the ones who drink and drive. These people are guilty of driving while D.U.I. (Definitely Ultimate Idiots).

They get an automatic entry into the Hall of Shame. For at least five years, these people should be forced to hitchhike and drink nothing but prune juice. Some might consider this cruel and unusual punishment.

As for me, I'd rather keep the roads safe. Besides, the prune industry could use a boost.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

by Mahendra Shah Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.

Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Tech Life

'Virtual money is not safe' WASHINGTON: Hackers are targeting virtual currency Bitcoin, penetrating computers and swiping their digital wallets, according to computer security firm Symantec.

"Malware authors move fast," Symantec's Stephen Doherty said in a blog post about digital pickpockets targeting Bitcoin, which was created two years ago.

"We have seen a recent Trojan in the wild targeting Bitcoin wallets" in computers running various versions of Windows, Doherty said.

"It has one motive: to locate your Bitcoin wallet.dat file and email it to the attacker," Doherty said. "This is not surprising considering the potential values in a Bitcoin wallet."

Bitcoins are digital currency that

are accepted by a few online merchants. They can be traded at online currency exchanges such as Mtgox.com for real dollars.

Doherty said Bitcoin users should consider encrypting their wallet files.

"If you use Bitcoins, you have the option to encrypt your wallet and we recommend that you choose a strong password for this in the event that an attacker is attempting to brute-force your wallet open," he said.

Earlier this week, a Bitcoin user going by the handle of "allinvain" claimed on a public Bitcoin forum that his computer had been hacked and 25,000 Bitcoins worth $500,000 stolen.

Bitcoins have drawn the atten-

tion of members of the US Senate recently following a report that they have been used to purchase prescription drugs, cocaine, LSD and heroin at an online network called Silk Road.

Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, wrote a letter to the US Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Agency asking for the immediate shutdown of Silk Road.

"After purchasing Bitcoins through an exchange, a user can create an account on Silk Road and start purchasing illegal drugs from individuals around the world and have them delivered to their homes within days," they said.

Now, T-shirts to charge your cellphones LONDON: Imagine plugging your mobile into your T-shirt to charge its battery. It may sound a bit utopian but it's now a reality, thanks to scientists who've developed such a garment which uses loud music to power up a cell phone.

A team at telecoms giant Orange has unveiled the new T-shirt that charges mobiles while one watches musical bands in action; users just have to plug their phones into the T- shirt for a quick top-up charge whenever they need it.

The futuristic garment works by using noise-responsive technology -simply, the louder the music, then the quicker the phone charges, say its developers.

It uses an A4-size piece of piezoelectric film in a T-shirt to absorb pressure

from sound waves. It converts these into an electrical charge, which it then transfers from its battery into a lead that fits most phones.

Orange will be conducting live testing of the gadget on site at the Glastonbury musical festival in Britain to see which acts are the "best to charge to" around the Spirit Of 71 stage, the 'Daily Mail' reported. Tony Andrews, co-producer of the Spirit Of 71, said: "Sound vibrations, particularly bass frequencies, will create enough shaking to produce electricity from a material as simple as piezoelectric film.

"It looks like it could provide a real solution to mobile charging and I'm interested to see how the Orange Sound Charge performs in live testing environment like Glastonbury."

Astrology TheSouthAsianTimes.info

June 25-July 1, 2011

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: June 25-July 1, 2011 Aries: Interference in others work will not help in any way, it will only bring you criticism. You need to check your financial position and control your excessive spending.

Although you have a good chance to bring your creative ideas to use, your colleagues and coworkers are not likely to extend much support.

You could have a hard time convincing people who will be slow to catch on your plans.

Contribute generously to social organizations.

Taurus: This week spend time with family members and friends. It promises to be a special week, when loved ones bring you gifts and presents. You will find yourself bubbling with loads of energy and your intuition will be helpful in making crucial decisions.

You will definitely pick up valuable suggestion if you listen properly. Love and romance will dominate your week as you go out of the way to please your beloved.

Gemini: This week you will feel somewhat let down by people you trust. Don’t allow people to take undue advantage of you. Be patient, not stubborn and control your emotions.

Take time to think before you speak. Meditation and yoga will bring you spiritual as well physical benefits. A small pleasure jaunt towards the weekend will be good for lifting your spirits.

Financial gains will be slow but certain.

Cancer: This week your profile will be positive and you will work on projects, which would have tremendous effect on your life. Your artistic abilities and hard work will bring you recognition and fame, but make sure that you don't compromise on your principles in the process of glamour and finances that seem to come your way. Attending social functions will ensure you meet someone who will help you come closer to your goals.

Leo: This week you will benefit from your leadership strength. You would take charge of important work and gain additional respect from people in your group. Your ability to negotiate important deals, make plans, and carry them to perfection will help you stay ahead of others. Elders and family members provide you with necessary love and care. You will also find sufficient time with the one you love, so don’t shy away from expressing your true feelings.

Virgo:This week be extra cautious how you deal with your colleagues and employers. Although you will be in a special position to express your ideas, too much interference in the affairs of others will only bring unnecessary tensions. Relatives and friends will make demand, which you will find difficult to keep. Real estate investment will pay off well in the long run. Spiritual gains likely for some.

Libra: If you have a new idea, which you feel could bring you major recognition and monetary gains, then you should put your sincere efforts to convert it into concrete form. You will win support from family members and friends on your new project. If you are planning to travel abroad during this week, then this trip will be a major success. You will find members of the opposite sex very appealing, but try not to annoy someone you really care.

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Scorpio: New projects will be alluring and hard hour will ensure outstanding gains in the long run. You'll attract more respect and honor from people young as well as old.

Financial gains are also certain, but if you have been ignoring your health lately, then you will feel tired, weak and might require some medication. Extra rest, proper diet and little exercise will be important to regain your strength and spirits. Although a favorable period but don’t be afraid to speak in your defense if you feel others are trying to suppress you or ignore your opinion.

Sagittarius: This week some memories or unresolved issues come to the surface, bringing you lot of tension and stress. If you thought you had these problems resolved for good, then you will be surprised that they appear once again. Frustration will engulf you. Unless you deal with these problems with proper advice and some help, you will find it extremely difficult to resolve this issue and concentrate on other work. Message from overseas will bring happiness.

Capricorn: There will be many social activities this week, including few family gathering where you will get to spend some special moments with people you haven’t seen for a long time. You will be the center of attention, and you should not waste these opportunities to revive lost contacts. At office your efforts will bring desired results. You will accomplish jobs at a speed that usually seems impossible. New job opportunities for some seem later in the week.

Aquarius: This week you should set new goals for yourself. You will have a vision and determination, which will bring you, gains much beyond your expectations. Elders will join you in your efforts and provide support whenever needed. Sudden romantic encounter with someone you have secretly admired will make your head spin. A wonderful week to spend with children, friends and relatives. Look for something to do together towards the weekend.

Pisces: This week it doesn’t matter if you are the guest or the host because you will be at the center of attention.

Your observation and creativity will help you meet new and fascinating people, bringing you new opportunities. Unusual circumstances will involve legal matters and prove financially expensive. You might also need to seek favours from an influential person to sort the issue. Later in the week, a spiritual person gives blessings and good wishes.

Before you consult... i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date, Time and Place of birth is accurate. ii) Careful: Did you check background of the astrologer before disclosing your secrets. iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, don’t feel shy. It’s his business. iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the outcome is not as desired, never give up. v) Consult: Take second opinion before spending thousands on cure/remedies.

Annual Predictions: For those born in this week June 25: Dominated by number 7 and the planet Neptune, you are responsible, affectionate, creative, simple and a research oriented person. You possess many talents, which make you popular amongst your friends, but you need to check your tendency to behave jealous, introvert and hypocrite at times. The year is perfect to undertake important changes and make strong decisions. Matters related to property, partnerships and new ventures will get resolved. Concentrate on your efforts and growth and prosperity will follow by themselves. The latter half of the year will bring in opportunities to travel overseas for business as well as pleasure. Selective speculation will bring gains.

Some good news can be expected from children towards the last quarter of the year. Renovation, construction and socializing will be major highlight of this year. The months of September, November, January and May will prove to be highly significant.

June 26: Influenced by number 8 and the planet Saturn. You are ambitious, energetic, authoritative, systematic, and a sober person. You possess remarkable talent and conviction to fight against any adverse conditions with courage, but you need to check your tendency to behave highly stubborn and jealous at times. Your coming year promises financial prosperity and good health. Businessmen will invest in more profitable ventures. Promising contacts will build through social get-togethers and traveling. Unexpected help from a distant relative will give a major boost to your career. Your spouse will be quite cooperative and shower her full love and affection upon you despite your erratic behavior towards her. An infatuation within the group will keep you in high spirits for some time but it will not be long lasting. The months of August, December, March and April will prove to be highly significant.

June 27: Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are intelligent, dashing, courageous, enthusiastic and a brilliant individual. In any crowd, you can easily draw attention because of your humble outlook and intellectual talks, but you need to check your tendencies towards aggressiveness and short-temper at times. The coming year sees new ideas and plans materializing.

Perfect year that will improve your earning power and let you establish important relationships. Support from your seniors and colleagues, will boost your morale and generate new confidence. Overseas assignments for some will be lucrative. Spouse will provide love and care, but behave highly possessive and unpredictable. A journey preferably to a distant location towards the yearend cannot be ruled out. The month of September, November, January and May will prove to be highly result oriented.

June 28: Dominated by number 1 and the Sun. You are smart, intelligent, energetic, friendly and highly dignified person. You are a great admirer of art and literature, but you need to control your tendency to behave stubborn, timid and careless at times. This year you will make good financial gains, provided you take advantage of the opportunities being provided to you. Your charisma and outgoing personality will bring you popularity and win you favors. Home front will be peaceful with family members extending all possible help and cooperation. Spouse and children will look after you well, but be highly demanding at times. Wedding bells for some in the last quarter of the year while others will find romance to keep them in the right spirit and good mood. The months of Oc-

tober, February and June will prove to be important and eventful.

June 29: Governed by number 2 and the Moon. You are imaginative, honest, sensitive, emotional and a simple individual. You willingly help those in distress with cash and kind, but your tendency to behave introvert and shy needs to be checked at times. This year you should complete pending jobs before starting anything new. Promotions and transfers for some govt. employees cannot be ruled out. Distant travel for business as well as pleasure seems almost certain during middle of the year. Health of your parents will cause stress and anxiety. Rise in medical expenses will definitely bother your mind. Avoid any financial dealing/ partnerships with casual friends or relatives to avoid future complications. Dabbling in speculation and transaction in property during this period will bring financial gains. The months of August, October, March and April will prove to be eventful.

June 30: Dominated by number 3 and the planet Jupiter. You are ambitious, courageous, dignified, aggressive and friendly. You are independent by nature and thought and you avoid any interference in your work, but you also become a subject of immense criticism because of your tendency to behave stubborn and hot-tempered at times. This year gains from past investments will see your financial position improve. New alliances and projects would lift your confidence.

Bold decisions would be essential at workplace. Despite minor disagreements at times with your seniors and colleagues your professional graph would grow with success and achievements. Expenditure on the renovation or beautification of the house or on purchase of luxuries seems high later in the year. Property related matters need to be dealt with extreme caution. Your spouse would be supportive to your concerns and provide you with love and affection.

Health definitely would require more attention, especially for those suffering from chronic ailments.

Some auspicious ceremonies and functions are likely to be performed in the family. The months of August, November and March seem to be significant.

July 01: Governed by number 1, and the Sun, you are original, active, responsible and a talented person. You are highly skillful and fond of accepting challenges, but you need to control your tendency to dominate, overspend and behave destructive at times. You need to take stronger decisions to reap benefits. Challenges that you accept during this phase would bring overwhelming results in the long run. Your financial condition would improve later in the year, as you would pickup jobs involving higher responsibility and position. A sudden influence of a spiritual person would have a remarkable influence on your personality and thoughts. Students would excel in their academic performance. Some exhilarating news from your overseas relations will boost up the spirits of the entire family. Travel and journey will be pleasurable.

The months of January, April, May and July will be significant for you.

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Spiritual Awareness

June 25 - July 1, 2011

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Unlock the Mystery

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj rue peace lies in uncovering the mysteries of life and death. At some point in our life we become restless to know the answers to questions such as: Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? Where did I come from?

Where will I go when I die? Is there God? Is there soul? Once these questions stir within us, we cannot rest until we find the answers.

There is an anecdote from the life of the Arabian king, Abou ben Adham (known as Ebrahim ibn Adham), who ruled the Balkh.

While sitting on his throne with his ministers on either side, he gave audience to the masses. Suddenly, a

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man approached him. He had such a terrifying expression that even the king’s ministers did not want to look at this stranger.

“What do you want?” asked Abou.

“I am only stopping off at this inn,” replied the stranger.

“This is not an inn. This is a palace. You must be a madman,” replied the king.

“Who owned this palace before you?” asked the man.

“My father,” said Abou.

“And who owned it before him?” asked the man.

“My grandfather,” responded Abou. The dialogue proceeded further with the stranger continuing to ask who owned the palace prior to the last one mentioned.

Finally, the stranger said, “To where have all these owners departed?”

“They are all dead,” said Abou.

“Then,” concluded the stranger, “is this not an inn in which one person enters and another leaves?”

With this statement, the stranger disappeared. This exchange started Abou ben Adham on his search for God. The saints tell us that what dies is the physical body, which is made of matter. Being made of matter, it deteriorates, it decays, and is finally destroyed. But our true self, which is our spirit or soul,

is eternal. It lives on and on and on.

What we call death in this world of ours is only a physical death. For the soul, it is just the changing of a vesture. Therefore, the first thing to understand is that our soul is everlasting. It existed in the beginning, it exists now, and it will always exist. There is no question of the destruction of the soul; it is eternal.

If we can realize this for ourselves, one of the greatest fears of our life, the unknown nature of death, will be eliminated.

Saints, who have seen past this physical world, have uttered statements about their views on death. It is not something to fear, they say, but something to embrace. Kabir Sahib has said, “The death of which other people are afraid is a source of happiness for me. It is only with death that I attain everlasting bliss.”

Science, in its attempt to explore the farthest reaches of space, is looking for answers to the origin of creation. In their quest, scientists inevitably have had to cross the barriers of science and enter a realm previously reserved for only mystics, philosophers, and saints.

Many physicists have turned to the East to explore the possibilities of realms of existence beyond the physical universe. A look at physics reveals a generation of scientists who are exploring the possibility

that there really are universes existing concurrently with ours.

While these ideas may seem farfetched to hard-core skeptics, increasing numbers of people have opened their minds to the possibility that there is more going on in creation than what meets the physical eye.

While science is delving into what happens after this life there is another field of science also being researched which is investigating whether higher regions of existence can be tapped during this current lifetime. Through the science of spirituality people are actively engaged in exploring other realms of existence. Spiritual teachers, saints, and mystics have developed a meditation technique by which one can transcend the physical limitations of this universe to discover higher realms of consciousness.

When they refer to higher realms of consciousness they are not referring to brain wave states of alpha, beta, or theta; they are not referring to altered states of consciousness which can be induced by mindaltering drugs; they are referring to actual places and regions to which we can travel by transcending this restricted physical plane through a process known as Shabd meditation. Through this meditation, one can explore higher planes and veri-

There is no question of the destruction of the soul; it is eternal. If we can realize this for ourselves, one of the greatest fears of our life, the unknown nature of death, will be eliminated. fy the truth of their existence for ourselves.

Through meditation we can go beyond the door of death to meet the bliss and beauty that awaits us beyond. Death no longer holds a sword of fear over us, for in our very lifetime we can see the place where we will go after our body breathes its last. We can finally understand the true meaning of Psalm 23: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.” We, too, can exclaim, as did St. Paul in these timeless words, Oh death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is the head of Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission / Science of Spirituality with international headquarters in Delhi, India.

Spirituality and education

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj

n the East, people believe that we have three aspects to be developed: intellectual, physical, and spiritual. Although we have developed our intellect and physical bodies, we have forgotten our spiritual side.

Ethical values were once a part of the educational system in ancient cultures. Students were given a well-rounded training to develop physically, intellectually, and spiritually— which included ethical and moral instruction.

In the last century, however, we have witnessed a decline in the teaching of ethical virtues in our schools throughout the world.

The emphasis has been on academic development. As a result, we have been witnessing a generation of people who are growing up with a lack of moral and ethical values. Crime in the streets, violence among children and teens, reliance on drugs and alcohol for pleasure, and senseless crimes all point to a lack of ethical training in the moral fiber of our young people. The only way to bring about peace—at the individual and global levels—is to start with educating students from an early age. By helping them discriminate right from wrong, they may grow up to be individuals who make better and safer choices for themselves and for society.

In this regard we need to provide students with a balanced education. Many of the educational systems around the world spend time developing the students’ physical and mental attributes. Physical education includes fitness programs and classes about health, safety, and nutrition. Academic education comprises a

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The only way to bring about peace—at the individual and global levels—is to start with educating students from an early age. By helping them discriminate right from wrong, they may grow up to be individuals who make better and safer choices for themselves and for society. large part of the educational programs by training students in science, math, reading, writing, social sciences, language and literature. Students are also enriched aesthetically by learning the arts and music. On the other hand, in many schools throughout the world, spiritual and ethical instruction are missing, and yet it is imperative for the future of our children that we balance our educational programs by providing training in spiritual and ethical values.

Ethical development means learning about being loving, kind, truthful, helpful, caring and humble human beings. Students need exposure to adults who are examples of these traits so that they can imbibe these qualities.

For this reason, I have established fifteen schools called “Darshan Academies” –with grades ranging from pre-K through high school—which provide a period each day for spiritual and ethical training. Students also learn about people of various countries and study comparative religions so that they can learn to appreciate the unity in diversity. They also are given time to sit in silent meditation

within the stillness of their own selves.

Meditation is a nonsectarian process wherein students learn that no matter to what country or to what religion they belong, they can meditate together. In this silent meditation period, the goal is for students to discover the spiritual wealth they have within themselves.

They already are fully aware of their body and mind.

However, meditation helps them become aware of their true self within. They also learn the values of nonviolence, truthfulness, humility, purity, compassion for all and performing selfless service. By coming in contact with their own spiritual nature, students find that all people are made of the same Light and love of God. This realization leads to tolerance and love for all people, a recognition that within our diverse outer forms we are all made of the same Light. This understanding helps to develop love for all people. When we have love and respect for others, we will naturally be peaceful and nonviolent. When we consider all people as part of one human family, we will naturally be kind and caring to them. We would never dream of hurting a member of our own family. Thus, students brought up with ethical values would no longer wish to harm a member of the human family.

For anyone practicing meditation—whether students, teachers or anyone else—besides realizing oneself and connecting with the creative power within, meditation provides many other benefits. During meditation, when closing our eyes and gazing within, we are concentrating our attention. If we can learn to still our mind through concentration, we can use

that technique in day-to-day life. The result is that we understand more of what we read and we complete our work faster. Besides improving our intellectual abilities through meditation, we feel better physically because we are relaxed; we do not become overly agitated and are more able to cope with the difficulties and tensions that arise in life. Therefore, if the techniques for meditation and concentration are taught to students at an early age, they will grow up to be fully developed physically, intellectually, and spiritually. They will see the Light of God in every human being and form of creation. They will have love and compassion for humanity.

If we include meditation and a nonsectarian spiritual curriculum in our educational systems throughout the world, then fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years from now, we would turn out human beings who have love and compassion.

This would bring about an era in which people help each other rather than spending their time accumulating as much as they can for themselves.

We would enter a golden age of concern about the welfare of our neighbors, our society, and all life on a global level. If, along with intellectual and physical qualities, spiritual values are taught to children, this world would become a haven of joy and peace.