12-05-2011, issue
DESCRIPTION
12-05-2011, issueTRANSCRIPT
Tel: 905-670-1522, Fax: 416-661-7273 Vol.8 , No. 1075 Thursday, May 12, 2011 29 Vaisakh, Nanaksahi Calendar 543
Balance budget by 2014...FlahertyFinance Minister Jim
Flaherty said Wednesday
he has "some certainty"
that the federal budget
will pass when it is voted
on in the House of
Commons next month.
Flaherty, speaking
to the Council of the
Americas in Washington,
said he plans to re-intro-
duce the budget in June.
"This time I can
say with some certainty it
will be passed and it is a
budget that leads us back
to a balanced budget in
the medium term, in three
to four years,"
Flaherty said.
The budget was rejected by
all three opposition parties when it
was introduced in March. If the doc-
ument had gone to a vote it likely
would have resulted in the govern-
ment's fall and triggered the election.
Instead, the government was
found to be in contempt of Parlia-
ment over its failure to release infor-
mation on its spending plans, a vote
that collapsed the government before
the budget vote took place.
Flaherty has said the budget
will be updated before it is re-intro-
duced. With their new majority sta-
tus, the Conservatives don't need the
support of any of the other parties to
win the vote. The finance minister
also said the government will now be
able to make longer-term plans than
it could in the past.
He said the Conservatives
worked well as a minority govern-
ment, but constantly had the threat of
an election hanging over
their heads, making it dif-
ficult to plan for the fu-
ture. "It's a challenge in a
minority system because
you have to run two
tracks all the time. You
run a longer term track --
a medium to long term
track -- and then you're
running a 45-day track all
the time because you
don't know when you're
going to be defeated,"
Flaherty said.
"So this will make it
easier to plan in a con-
crete way for the medium
and the long term."
Flaherty said the
main issues during the election were
the economy, jobs and economic
growth, and said the majority Con-
servatives will be able to address
those concerns and "make sure we
stay the course and have at least
modest economic growth," going
forward.
Courageous Journalism02 May 12, 2011
Fundraising Dinner Raises $15,000 For Seva Food BankMississauga, ON – More than300 people filled the BombayPalace on Friday night toshow their support for theSeva Food Bank in its fightagainst hunger and poverty.The food bank hosted its firstfundraising dinner, The SevaSpark, and raised more than$15,000 to support their ongo-ing operations.
“In each of the sevenmonths that we’ve been open,the Seva Food Bank has seena steady increase in the num-ber of client families that weserve,” commented dinner or-ganizer Gurmeet SinghAhluwalia. “We’re delightedto see such an outpouring ofsupport from the community.The money raised tonight al-lows us to really focus our ef-forts on taking care of thesefamilies.”
Since opening itsdoors in September 2010, theSeva Food Bank has distrib-uted over 100,000 pounds offood to over 400 families inneed from the L5B and L5Cpostal codes of Mississauga.
Mr. Ahluwalia andNavtej Kaur Mudhar were themasters of ceremonies for theevent. The evening featured amaculele Afro-Braziliandance by Axe Capoeira and aperformance by the I RockWith The One dance group.Chris Hatch, the ExecutiveDirector of the MississaugaFood Bank, also spoke to theaudience remarking on thetremendous partnership thatthey have established with theSeva Food Bank.
Dignitaries attendingthe event included Missis-sauga City Councillor GeorgeCarlson, former councillorCarolyn Parish, MPP VicDhillon and new MP ParmGill.
The Seva Food Bankis an initiative of Sikhs Serv-ing Canada, a registered not-for-profit organization whosemission is to positively impactlocal communities by actingon the basic Sikh tenets of sar-bat da bhalla (the well beingof all) and seva (selfless service).
May 12, 2011 03 Courageous Journalism
City of Brampton CSP Web Maps Wins 2011 GITA International Innovator AwardBRAMPTON: The City of Bramp-
ton has won the 2011 Geospatial In-
formation & Technology Association
(GITA) International Innovator
Award for its Citizen Service Plat-
form Web Interactive Maps. The
Award was presented at the annual
GITA Conference that took place in
Dallas, Texas April 10–13, 2011.
GITA is a professional inter-
national association that promotes
mapping infrastructure, services, ac-
tivities and operations that sustain
our communities and way of life.
The Innovator Award recognizes or-
ganizations that go above and be-
yond to deliver unique mapping
technology or service through inno-
vation to benefit users and commu-
nities. Launched in March 2010,
Brampton’s Interactive Maps have
transformed the experience of users
interacting with map-oriented infor-
mation and industry perception of
municipal geospatial services. This
award-winning solution and positive
recognition of the City of Brampton
on the world stage is a testimony of
Brampton as a leader in the delivery
of innovative solutions.
“In today’s modern world,
residents and businesses depend on
having quick and
convenient access
to important infor-
mation,” said
Mayor Susan Fen-
nell. “This service
is another exam-
ple of our com-
mitment to engage
the citizens of
Brampton, and to
make accessing
key information
easy and available
24 hours per day.”
With more
than 225,000 on-
line visits
monthly, resi-
dents, businesses,
and staff are using
this tool to find
out what is hap-
pening in their
neighbourhood. Visitors can access
information about road closures,
schools, libraries, bus stops, snow re-
moval routes, ward demographics,
zoning, planning information, histor-
ical traffic count analysis and more.
To access the tool, visit www.
brampton.ca
Detained Canadian reporternow in Iranian custody
Al-Jazeera television is demanding the immediate re-
lease of Canadian reporter Dorothy Parvaz, after learn-
ing that she is now in Iranian custody. Parvaz travelled
to Syria last month to cover ongoing anti-government
protests, but was detained by authorities upon her ar-
rival in Damascus nearly
two weeks ago.
Al-Jazeera says it has
since learned from Syrian
authorities that Parvaz "is
being held in Tehran."
The television network is
still trying to get informa-
tion from Iranian authori-
ties about her
whereabouts. Al-Jazeera
also published a statement from Parvaz's family, which
also pleaded for her release.
"Dorothy is a dearly loved daughter, sister and
fiancée, and a committed journalist. It is now nearly
two weeks since she was detained. We appeal once
again for Dorothy to be released immediately and re-
turned to us," the statement said.
Fred Parvaz, the father of the detained journal-
ist, told CTV News Channel on Wednesday morning
that his daughter was born in Iran, but grew up in
Canada. He said he had not heard from Syrian or Iran-
ian authorities about his daughter, though he has been
in touch with the Canadian government about her case.
"I am very worried, I am very concerned and I
just have to wait and see the new developments," he
said by telephone from North Vancouver, B.C.
Courageous Journalism
I have sometimes been a critic of
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff,
yet I take no pleasure in his recent,
and very personal, defeat. Whatever
my concerns with his tenure as Lib-
eral leader, Ignatieff remains an in-
tellectual force to be respected. A
gifted writer and serious scholar, he
has many contributions to his credit,
and, one hopes, many more to come.
I am looking forward to reading his
reflections in the years ahead. How-
ever, because I also believe in chal-
lenging incorrect assumptions and
learning from the mistakes of the
past, I hope there is value in reflect-
ing on what I see as two strategic er-
rors that Ignatieff made – one early
in 2009, and the other during the
2011 campaign.
As some readers may know,
I have spent the better part of the last
two years studying the 2008 proro-
gation. There is a reasonable fear
that, with Prime Minister Stephen
Harper’s majority win, the 2008
prorogation – and the numerous
other violations against Parliament
– will now be seen as acceptable in
Canadian politics. This represents a
serious challenge for constitutional
scholars and those who tried to stand
up for Canada’s principal demo-
cratic institution. It seems clear that
many Canadians today prefer low
taxes to political accountability.
The failure to see the Con-
servative party’s actions against Par-
liament as more than mere political
manoeuvring may have been
brought about by Ignatieff’s failure
to challenge the 2008 prorogation
once he was installed as Liberal
leader. As you may recall, in early
2009, Ignatieff ruled out a coalition
and supported the Conservatives’
budget. He pursued a strategy that
allowed him to bide his time, intro-
duce himself to Canadians, and wait
for the right circumstances in which
he could defeat the existing govern-
ment. In retrospect, by waiting for
future – and inevitable – examples
of parliamentary disregard, the Lib-
erals conceded the idea that the con-
fidence of the House matters. Based
on their unrealistic hope that their
decline could be magically reversed,
many Liberals were too proud to ac-
cept what I, and many others, have
argued – that for progressives in
Canada, the choice is between coali-
tions and Conservatives.
Of course, defeating Harper
and reviving the Dion coalition early
in 2009 would not have assured a
Liberal victory in 2011. However, it
would have allowed Ignatieff to en-
gage Canadians on the merits of
coalitions, and on our democratic
right (allotted even to the “evil Sep-
aratists”) to govern ourselves
through co-operative political
arrangements. It could also have
challenged and reversed the consti-
tutional subversion that occurred in
2008 when prorogation was used to
avoid a confidence vote in the
House. This event will now likely
fade from the public’s conscious-
ness, and the broader lessons of this
event will go unlearned.
Had a coalition been formed
in 2009, with the support of the ma-
jority of MPs and representing a ma-
jority of Canadians, Ignatieff could
have demonstrated that a co-opera-
tive approach to Canadian gover-
nance could work. Again, while
Harper might have still won in 2011,
at least the Liberal campaign could
have been based on the difference in
governing styles between a Conser-
vative minority and a Liberal-led
coalition. Nothing succeeds like the
appearance of success: Because Ig-
natieff allowed Harper to continue
as prime minister, it became too
easy for some to choose the devil
they knew over a political outcome
with which they had no direct expe-
rience.
Ignatieff made his second
error, which compounded his first,
on the first day of the 2011 cam-
paign, when he explicitly and inex-
plicably ruled out any Liberal-led
coalition or formal accord. By argu-
ing that the election was a choice be-
tween Harper and himself, Ignatieff
fully embraced the arrogance and
sense of entitlement that many de-
test about the Liberal party. Ignati-
eff’s statement also left an opening
for NDP Leader Jack Layton, who
was the only federal leader to un-
apologetically argue that Quebecers
have the same political rights as
everyone else to participate in the
national affairs of the country. Not-
ing that Quebecers could certainly
choose to vote Bloc Québécois,
Layton nevertheless asked them to
look at the NDP program. This open
approach respected the political ma-
turity of Quebecers, and has had
profound implications for the under-
discussed issues of national unity
that pull at many Canadians and
continue to confound one and all.
Once Quebecers began to
trend NDP, the considerable anti-
Harper vote jubilantly joined Lay-
ton, and the movement began to
look quite large indeed. Mixed
polling data was enough to scare
right-leaning Liberals, who appear
to have decided to jump ship at the
last minute. Vote splitting – chiefly
in Ontario – did the rest, and the
great Conservative ground game did
its job. Canadians would do well to
remember that elections are largely
decided by those on the ground in
local ridings who work to get folks
out and voting.
Of course, there is no guar-
antee that Ignatieff could have made
the same sort of overture to Quebe-
cers that Layton did. But, once
again, Ignatieff’s failure appears to
be associated with a strategy of try-
ing to play it safe, looking to the
programs of the past, and failing to
recognize the political realities of
today. If nothing else, Ignatieff
could have built on his strengths as
a political philosopher by reminding
Canadians that when we demonize
those with whom we disagree, we
turn our backs on the basic principle
of responsible democratic citizen-
ship. Instead of losing on the learn-
ing passport or the proposed baby
steps to reinvigorate Canadian
democracy, Ignatieff could have
fought with the inspiring message
that we can disagree without being
disagreeable. He could have run on
the idea that, in a country as large
and diverse as Canada, co-operation,
dialogue, and transparency can de-
liver a better government than divi-
sion, demonization, and secrecy.
Unfortunately, those behind
the abuses of power that we saw in
Harper's minority government will
now turn their dedicated and dutiful
heads to the pesky problem of the
welfare state. Look for Orwellian
announcements to come out of Ot-
tawa as Canada downsizes, becomes
more religious, and gives social
services what may become known
as the “Full Rove” treatment. In
2011, many Canadian voters ap-
proved the politics of character as-
sassination as legitimate, as did the
traditional media, which endorsed
candidates who refused to take ques-
tions from the press. Every elec-
torate gets the government it
deserves.
Liberals must recognize that
it is their party’s arrogance that has
lost them their place in Canadian
politics for the next four years. Po-
litical success is earned – it is not a
birthright or legacy admission.
Everyone who embraces progres-
sive politics in Canada must ac-
knowledge and learn from past
mistakes. Future campaigns must be
based on political realities “on the
ground” and not on fond remem-
brances of the past.
Johannes Wheeldon
The Mark.
Michael Ignatieff's Greatest Mistakes
04 May 12, 2011
Osama bin Laden's adult sons have
attacked the legitimacy of the US
assault that killed their father, calling
for a UN inquiry to determine why
he was not arrested and prosecuted.
In a joint letter the family said it
Laden`s death a big question for US
wanted to know "why an unarmed
man was not arrested and tried in a
court of law so that truth is revealed
to the people of the world".
"Arbitrary killing is not a
solution to political problems," they
said. Drawing comparisons with Sad-
dam Hussein and the former Serb
leader Slobodan Milosevic, the state-
ment said "international law has been
blatantly violated" and, in a reference
to the shooting of other people in the
compound, said President Obama
had ordered "the execution of
unarmed men and women". Also
condemning Osama bin Laden's sea
burial as a deprivation of the family's
religious rights.
Laden said he was assembling
a "panel of eminent British and inter-
national lawyers" to help obtain
answers. If the Obama administration
did not respond within 30 days it
would take "necessary action"
including lodging cases with the
international criminal court and the
international court of justice. This
could cause US a big embarrassment.
05 May 12, 2011 Courageous Journalism
by Dr. Amarjeet Singh
Washington D.C. Wednesday 4 May,2011: Five years ago, the ManmohanSingh government launched, withgreat fanfare, a massive jobs programfor hundreds of millions of India’spoorest citizens (numbering littleover 700 million suicide-prone ‘un-washed’ Indians at that time living onU.S. $. 1 per day) in a copy cat Indian version, of America’s very successfulWorks Progress Administrationwhich lifted millions of Americansfrom poverty and hunger – by givingthem jobs - under President FranklinDelano Roosevelt’s ‘New-Deal’ pro-gram during the Great Depression ofthe 1930’s. But unlike its successfulAmerican counterpart, eight decadesago, the ineffective nine billion dol-lars (Rs. 405, 900 Crores) Indian pro-gram, (named ‘The Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guaran-tee Scheme’, a gigantic program, de-signed to create jobs throughbuilding infrastructure in India’smost-backward rural areas) is nowriddled with corruption, which haskept the poor down, rather than up-lifting them, and the number of ‘un-washed’ Indians have now rocketedupwards to over 75% of India’s pop-ulation, 800 million hungry un-washed souls living a miserable lifeof squalor – two hundred millionmore than African continents sixhundred million ‘unwashed’ (a littleless than 60 % of the population ofthe continent) which group nownumbers two hundred million soulsless then the 800 million ‘unwashed’Africans five years ago. The aboveIndian con-game, scandal and tale ofcorruption is the subject of a frontpage report in the Wall Street Jour-nal, published last Saturday, jointlywritten by Tom Wright and HarshGupta, headlined, “India’s Flawed‘New Deal’ Program - India’s BoomBypasses Rural Poor” which exposesand highlights the squalor and cor-ruption that is INDIA. The abovementioned Wall Street Journal report,quoting senior government officials,says that, ‘The Mahatma Gandhi Na-tional Rural Employment GuaranteeScheme’, as the U.S. $. 9 billion pro-gram is known, is riddled with cor-ruption. Less than half of the projects
begun since 2006—including newroads and irrigation systems—havebeen completed. Workers say they’refrequently not paid in full or forcedto pay bribes to get jobs, and aren’tlearning any new skills that could im-prove their long-term prospects andbreak the cycle of poverty. InNakrasar, a collection of villages inthe dusty western state of Rajasthan,19 unfinished projects for catchingrain and raising the water table are allthere is to show for a year’s worth ofwork and $77,000 in program funds.No major roads have been built, nonew homes, schools or hospitals orany infrastructure to speak of. At onesite on a recent afternoon, around200 workers sat idly around a bone-dry pit. ‘What’s the big benefit?’ saidGopal Ram Jat, a 40-year-old farmerin a white cotton head scarf. He sayshe has earned enough money throughthe program - about $200 in a year orabout $. 17 or Rs. 765 a month - tobuy some extra food for his family,but not much else. ‘No public assetswere made of any significance’.
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi’s late hus-band Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi(who is infamous for ordering themass murder of thousands of Sikhmen women and children in Novem-ber 1984) had correctly estimated inthe 1990’s, during a moment of truth-fulness, that only 15% of governmentmoney spent historically on India’spoor had made it to the intended re-cipients. On the basis of the aboveobservation only one billion threehundred and fifty million US. Dollars(15%) of the allotted US. $. 9 billionwill reach India’s needy – the un-washed rural population covered bythe rural employment program.
According to the Wall StreetJournal’s report Workers in the ruralemployment program aren’t allowedto use machines, for example, andhave to dig instead with pick axesand shovels. The idea is to create asmany jobs as possible for unskilledworkers. But in practice, say critics,it means no one learns new skills,only basic projects get completed andthe poor stay poor - dependent ongovernment checks. In a village inthe state of Rajasthan, workers say
they’ve seen little benefit from thejobs program, with no major infra-structure built and only a few hun-dred extra rupees a year in theirpockets. Indian officials acknowl-edge that the program is flawed,though they say it has provided animportant safety net for the 50 mil-lion households, comprising morethan 200 million people, that haveparticipated in the past year alone.Proponents of the plan say that be-cause the pay is often better thanother rural jobs, it has given somerural workers a bargaining tool to de-mand higher wages. Echoing theGandhian ideals for which the pro-gram is named, they say workers arealso better off staying in their vil-lages, close to their families, insteadof moving to the cities in search ofwork and winding up in slums. Offi-cials at the federal rural affairs min-istry, say the aim was never to buildmajor highways or other large infra-structure, but to create work and raisewages. He says that state govern-ments, whose job it is to monitorprojects and ensure audits are carriedout, are at fault for failing in manycases to guard against corruption andunfinished work. Some villages haverun out of ideas for new projects. InChuru, the district capital a few milesfrom Nakrasar, senior officials sayvillagers simply dig new irrigationpits every time one is washed awayin the monsoons.
The Wall Street Journal re-port quotes Gurcharan Das, an authorwho has written about India’s eco-nomic development, as saying that itis a ‘Band-Aid’ solution which actu-ally works against the long-term fu-ture of the poor because it doesn’tgive them any long-term solutions topoverty. The repercussions go far be-yond irrigation projects. India’s fail-ure to uplift its poor and improve theeconomy in rural areas- where twothirds of the country’s 1.2 billionpeople live - over 800 million. Yetthe number of people relying on theprogram is expected to rise after thegovernment earlier this year decidedto tie wages to the cost of living, au-tomatically increasing the 100-rupeemaximum for a day’s work to about
125 rupees in many states. That’shigher in some places than the dailywage for farm labor. The result is thatmany more millions will likely be-come dependent on the governmentfor income despite a two-decade-oldpush to reduce the state’s role in theeconomy. It is obvious the rulingcongress party and its president Mrs.Sonia Gandhi, who came to power inthe year 2004, (in which election, thecreation of the rural employment actwas among Mrs. Gandhi’s foremostcampaign promises). wants to woothe rural poor because she sees themas a potent voting bloc which ‘hun-gry rural mob’ can be easily manipu-lated to help her to ensure that herdim witted effeminate son, RahulGandhi, the pretender to the Indianprime minister’s ‘throne’, is electedin the next Prime minister of India.These are the very problems the cre-ators of the program sought to avoid.In the past, anti-poverty funds wereroutinely stolen by the bureaucrats incharge. Rajiv Gandhi, a former In-dian prime minister and Mrs.Gandhi’s late husband, who was as-sassinated in 1991, had estimatedonly 15% of money spent historicallyon India’s poor had made it to the in-tended recipients. 85 % of the fundsare pocketed by the corrupt officials,politicians and their ‘other-in-laws’.When Congress party was re-electedin 2009, its central platform was thelifting of the ‘aam aadmi,’ or com-mon man, out of their poverty with‘The Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment GuaranteeScheme’. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, thepresident of the ruling Congressparty, told officials who administerthe program in a meeting in Februarythat ‘The scheme has been a big suc-cess in creating employment for ruralpeople,’ For sure it is a big successfor her ambitions at the expense ofthe Indian state which spent nine bil-lion dollars (Rs. 405, 900 Crores) onthis phony devilish scheme. Thiskind of electoral corruption stands instark contrast to the image, beingprojected of India as a global capital-ist powerhouse with surging growthand a liberalized economy. When it
(Cont.. to page no 8)
The gigantic nine billion dollars (Rs. 405, 900 crore) ‘Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme’, is the biggest fraud
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi has mounted on the people of India to facilitatedim-witted Rahul’s slow march to the Prime minister’s chair
06 May 12, 2011 Courageous Journalism
Roundtable conference with media at Brampton Civic HospitalChanges required in Emergency DepartmentMcGuinty government desisted to give $2 Million for
Angioplasty, Peel Memorial Health Centre open in 2015
Daily Bureau, (Special Report)
A roundtable conference was conducted today
with the Punjabi Media by Brampton Civic Hospi-
tal authorities and staff members. Prior to the
roundtable discussions, about a dozen journalists
were taken on a tour of the hospital. During this
tour they were shown the large screens in the hos-
pital that display information in various
languages.
The journalists also visited the Emergency
Department, where services are provided to
210,000 people every year, according to Kiki
Farari, head of the Department. Farari stated that
the number of people coming in to emergency
every year is increasing rapidly, up 24% in the last
two years.
As it was being stated that emergency room
wait times have been reduced by an hour and a
half, journalists noticed about 5-6 patients waiting
on stretchers in the hallways, that had been brought
in by ambulance.
Farari provided the group of journalists
with details about Emergency Room procedures,
which begins with an initial assessment for each
patient as they arrive. Patients with complicated
conditions have been given a scheduled time by the
Provincial Ministry of 8 hours, from beginning to
end, including all necessary tests. This target time
is easily achieved by the hospital. About 85% of
all patients are treated within this 8 hour time
frame, but the remaining patients often require ad-
ditional health services. The government has also
provided a target time frame of 4 hours for less se-
rious patients, in which the hospital has achieved
a 90% success rate.
Farari stated that there are always 4-5 doc-
tors in the Emergency Department available for pa-
tient care. In addition, some specialist doctors also
attend to patients in Emergency. However, it was
brought to attention that there was usually only one
doctor deployed during the night, which has now
since increased to two doctors.
During the tour, Dominic, the son of an eld-
erly patient lying (Cont.. to next page)
Courageous Journalism May 12, 2011 07
on a stretcher in the hallway, toldjournalists that he brought his motherto the hospital via ambulance, butnobody had taken care of her forthree hours. Dominic stated that hespent $50 for the ambulance becausehe didn’t want his mother to suffer,as she heard crying out due to sharppains. Afterwards, during an inter-view session, Farari stated that sheinvestigated further into this matterand discovered that a triage nursehad checked on the patient, but thewoman had misunderstood it to haveonly been the registration process.
There are two desks for reg-istration when a patient arrives inemergency. An initial assessment isalso done in the same location by atriage nurse, which normally consistsof blood pressure and temperaturebeing taken. The patient is then sentfor a long wait in the waiting room.It has been noted from past experi-ences that the behaviour of mostnurses in triage are more clerical andless suited for medical services. Theonly solution for this problem is thelaunch of Peel Memorial Hospital,which seems to have become a foot-ball field for local politicians andtheir provincial parties. The Presi-dent and CEO of the hospital, MattAnderson stated during the interviewsession that the Peel Memorial Hos-pital may open in 2015 as per infor-mation collected thus far, but hecannot say so with confidence.
The multi-religious depart-ment constructed in Brampton CivicHospital has been very effective. Lit-erature from five major religions,harmonium, percussion instrumentsand a place to worship are present ina room constructed inside the depart-ment. It is very important for thecommunity to know that required in-dividuals should be sent from our re-ligious institutions who are able torecite Sukhmani Sahib and/or otherprayers from our scriptures to fulfillthe spiritual needs of the patients.The hospital staff indicated that theyare facing problem for such servicesbeing provided by the Sikh commu-nity.
Upon evaluating the size of
Brampton Civic Hospital and its de-partments, it may not perhaps be ev-ident of how low the level oftreatment is that is provided for car-diovascular disease. Stress tests areconducted in the hospital and an-giograms aredone if required,which show a di-agram of any ob-struction of heartvessels. Thesepatients are how-ever then taken to the Trillium Hos-pital in Mississauga to be treated. Dr.Dominic Raco stated that $2 Millionis required for this pur-pose, which the provincialgovernment is refusing topay. As a result Ontariohealth care has to spendthree times the amount forthis service to be providedto patients at Trillium. An-derson stated that a pro-posal had been sent to theMcGuinty Governmentsince January 2010, butthere has been no re-sponse. This is a servicethat should be immedi-ately incorporated inBrampton Civic Hospital.
During Deb Math-ews, the Health Minister’svisit to the Brampton CivicHospital, this question wasalso asked by the PunjabiDaily journalist. Mathewsresponded by indicatingthat she would informabout this issue later on.The Ministry is beingasked this question againthis week by PunjabiDaily, regarding cardio-vascular treatment.
There is a fantasticrehab center constructed inthe hospital for patient use.Dr. Raco stated that dia-betes is a major problem inthe South Asian commu-nity. He further added thatthe size of heart vessels inSouth Asians is consider-able smaller and narrower.
Several key issues were dis-cussed during the roundtable discus-sion. Hospital authorities alsoappealed that they require the assis-tance of the community. Despite thesize of the hospital, staff members
try to give betterservices, butthey wanted toknow of anyshortcomings.A u t h o r i t i e sstated that they
are requesting for assistance in situ-ations being brought to their atten-tion in which patients may be facing
any problems. They stated that it hasbeen through media that they havecome to know of patients that faceddifficulties in the hospital.
Although in the past the gen-eral perception of the hospital in thecommunity has been poor, thisroundtable discussion was consid-ered to be beneficial by journalistswho collected an abundance of infor-mation during their visit to the hos-pital. Journalists saw first hand athow extensive the service is that isprovided in the various departmentsthroughout the hospital. However, itwas noted (Cont to Next page)
08 May 12, 2011 Courageous Journalism
Returning and outgoing Liberal MPs hold final meeting
that the Emergency Department is required to make
some changes to the services it provides. Hospital staff
is attempting to fix this problem by being accountable
and engaging, as well as maintain a close relationship
with the local community, as authorities are also con-
cerned of any harm that may be caused to the reputation
of the hospital.
With Provincial elections scheduled for October
6th, 2011, it is inevitable for the positive work and neg-
ative situations at the hospital to become part of the po-
litical discussions and debates to come. This will be an
opportunity to highlight achievements and the other
party candidates to draw attention to inadequacies at
the hospital.
Brampton Civic Hospital is a state of the art fa-
cility which is a health care wonder. There have been
many improvements over the past two years which can
clearly be seen, but much work is still needed for
Brampton Civic Hospital to satisfy its local community.
It will not be appropriate to see politicians turn this into
a match of inside baseball over the next few months.
Roundtable conference with media ...
comes to combating rural poverty, it looks more like a
throwback to the feudal India of old of the Maharajas or
a socialist-inspired Indian state founded on Gandhian
ideals of noble peasantry, self-sufficiency and a distaste
for free enterprise. India’s eight hundred million ‘un-
washed’ poor living, in the Indian demoNcracy, the
world’s largest, are DOOMED unless they take up arms
for their rights like the armed Naxalites who now control
one third of India, where the government writ just does
not exist, and the huge mercenary two million strong In-
dian Armed forces are chary of getting involved.
Khalistan Zindabad
It's a bittersweet day on Parliament
Hill as the remaining Liberal MPs, as
well as many outgoing Liberal mem-
bers who recently lost their seats,
met for the first time since last Mon-
day's election.
For many, including outgo-
ing leader Michael Ignatieff who re-
signed the day after the election, it
was their last meeting with the party
and one of their final opportunities to
bid farewell to colleagues.
The first session, which in-
cluded defeated MPs, began around
10 a.m. Wednesday morning and
ended a few hours later with little in-
formation about what took place be-
hind closed doors.
Ignatieff spoke briefly to re-
porters as he left the meeting, but
took no questions and gave no indi-
cation of what was discussed.
"It was a privilege to serve
the Canadian people and we leave
politics with a sense of what a privi-
lege it was and what an honour it
was," Ignatieff said.
Re-elected MPs, and sena-
tors, will meet on their own later in
the afternoon. One of the main tasks
the party faces in coming days is to
determine who will serve as interim
leader for the party until a new leader
can be chosen.
"That is likely what they are
doing this morning," said CTV par-
liamentary correspondent Richard
Madan, while the meeting was still
in session. "There are a bunch of
names floating around but with each
name comes its own individual story,
so this will be really fascinating to
watch." Of the 77 elected MPs the
Liberal Party had going into the fed-
eral election, only 34 remain. The
devastating loss saw the Liberals
hand over their status as Official Op-
position to the NDP, which won 102
seats in the election.
Madan said there is wide-
spread agreement among Liberals
that there is a lot of work ahead for
the party. "Every defeated Liberal
you talk to, they say the same thing:
'We need to rebuild, we need to re-
connect with our base, and we need
to redefine ourselves and who we
are.'" On Tuesday, the national
board of the federal Liberal Party re-
jigged party rules to put off finding
Ignatieff's permanent successor.
The board said there will be
a virtual convention in June to
amend the constitution, so the party
can wait beyond the mandated six
months to find a new leader. Many
Liberals are calling for a period of
one to two years with an interim
leader, so the party can make the
right choice on who will lead them
into the next election.
In the meantime, there's no
clear indication who will take on the
role of interim leader until a perma-
nent leader can be chosen.
Ralph Goodale would be up
for consideration, Madan said, but he
is considered ineligible since party
rules state the interim leader must be
bilingual.
The gigantic nine billiondollars (Rs. 405, 900 crore)
‘Mahatma Gandhi ....
May 12, 2011 09Courageous Journalism
New York, New York: India is
placed on the Watch List of U.S.
Commission on International Re-
ligious Freedom (USCIRF) for
continuous incidents of religious
violence and impunity from such
violence. The USCIRF Report for
2011 places India on Watch List
“because justice for past commu-
nal violence continues to be slow
and ineffective and because of
concerns about the state “Freedom
of Religion Act(s).” U S -
CIRF is an independent, bipartisan
U.S. federal government commis-
sion. USCIRF Commissioners are
appointed by the President and the
leadership of both political parties
in the Senate and the House of
Representatives. USCIRF’s princi-
pal responsibilities are to review
the facts and circumstances of vi-
olations of religious freedom inter-
nationally and to make policy
recommendations to the President,
the Secretary of State and Con-
gress. According to Leonard
Leo, Chairman of the USCIRF,
India has been put on the watch list
because “incidents of religious vi-
olence are greater and the problem
of impunity from such violence is
heightened”. The report specifi-
cally refers to lack of justice for
the victims of large-scale commu-
nal violence. Referring to the
2007-08 anti Christian violence in
Orissa, 2002 violence against
Muslims in Gujarat and 1984 vio-
lence against Sikhs, the USCIRF
report noted that the justice for
victims remain slow and often in-
effective. As per USCIRF report
“in some regions of India, law en-
forcement and judicial officials
have proven unwilling or unable to
seek redress consistently for vic-
tims of religiously-motivated vio-
lence or to challenge cultures of
impunity in areas with a history of
communal tensions, which in
some cases has fostered a climate
of impunity”. In 2009, members of
USCIRF who wanted to visit India
to discuss religious freedom con-
ditions with officials, religious
leaders, civil society activists and
others in the world’s largest
democracy, were denied visa by
Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh’s government. According to
attorney Gurpatwant S. Pannun,
legal advisor to Sikh For Justice
(SFJ) who practices human rights
law in the United States, putting
India on the watch list by USCIRF
is a step which will spread interna-
tional awareness regarding the
plight of religious minorities and
continuous denial of justice to
members of religious minorities
who suffered violence in India. In
November 1984 Sikhs were at-
tacked and killed with the com-
plicity of senior members of the
Congress Party. Although there are
witnesses and evidence that at-
tacks were orchestrated by senior
political figures, none have yet
been convicted for the 1984
killings added attorney Pannun.
Attorney Pannun further stated
that in the light of USCIRF’s plac-
ing India on watch list, SFJ has ap-
proached US Department of State
with the names of Congress lead-
ers and police officials who partic-
ipated in violence against Sikhs in
November 1984 demanding ban
on their entry into United States.
TORONTO — Today, in a
speech to the Ontario Power
Summit, Ontario PC Leader Tim
Hudak said a PC government
will provide relief for families on
their hydro bills and restore
transparency and competition to
Ontario’s energy sector by end-
ing Dalton McGuinty’s expen-
sive and unsustainable Feed-in
Tariff (FIT) program and his
sweetheart Samsung deal.
Ontario families’ hydro
bills are forecast to skyrocket by
$732 a year within the next four
years. Even Dalton McGuinty
admits the majority of the sky-
rocketing costs will come from
his FIT and Samsung projects.
His flawed approaches to renew-
able energy have lacked trans-
parency from the start and, unless
stopped, will lock Ontario fami-
lies into paying unsustainable
subsidies on their bills for the
next 20 years. An Ontario PC
government will integrate renew-
able energy into Ontario’s energy
supply mix by ensuring the
process is competitive and trans-
parent and, above all, affordable
to Ontario families. While Dalton
McGuinty believes Ontario fam-
ilies can pay more for his expen-
sive energy experiments, only
Tim Hudak and the Ontario PCs
will provide the relief Ontario
families need..
Welcoming apology from Aus-
tralian swimwear label Lisa Blue
Swimwear, upset Hindus have
repeated their appeal of apology
from Rosemount Australian
Fashion Week (RAFW) organiz-
ers also, which was held in Syd-
ney (Australia) from May 2-6
and showed the model with God-
dess Lakshmi image on
swimwear. Hindu statesman
Rajan Zed, in a statement in Ne-
vada (USA) today, said that
RAFW organizers should show
responsibility and consideration
toward the hurt worldwide Hindu
community and come out with a
public apology. In future, they
should be more careful about
what went on in the fashion
show. Inappropriate usage of
Hindu deities and concepts for
commercial or other agenda was
not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Symbols of any faith, larger or
smaller, should not be mishan-
dled, Zed, who is President of
Universal Society of Hinduism,
added. Rajan Zed pointed out
that Australian Government,
New South Wales Government,
Hewlett-Packard, Intel, etc., who
were said to be some of the
RAFW partners this year, should
reconsider the partnership in the
future in view of its inability to
halt the trivialization of highly
revered Goddess Lakshmi.
India-placed-on-us-watch-list-on-religious-freedom-warranted
Tim Hudak will Give Ontario Fam-ilies Relief on Their Hydro Bills
Upset Hindus ask apology from Australian FashionWeek organizers also over Lakshmi trivialization
10 May 12, 2011 Courageous Journalism
(Toronto, Ontario - Monday, May
9, 2011) – The Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) has offi-
cially appointed a new Command-
ing Officer for its Ontario
Division. Stephen White becomes
the 35th Commanding Officer of
“O” Division since 1920. He will
replace the former Commanding
Officer, Assistant Commissioner
Mike McDonell, who retired from
the RCMP in July 2010.
The official Change of
Command ceremony, a time-hon-
oured tradition of the RCMP, took
place this afternoon at the Toronto
Police College, before RCMP
Commissioner William J.S. El-
liott, as well as several colleagues,
friends and family of
Stephen White.
Assistant Commissioner
White formerly held the position
of Director General Financial
Crime at the RCMP headquarters
in Ottawa is proud to have been
selected as the new Commanding
Officer of the RCMP in Ontario.
“It is a genuine pleasure for me to
return here to “O” Division and
assume the duties as your Com-
manding Officer. This day marks
the official start of a new chapter
in my career and I have been very
honored by the warm welcome
and support that I have received.”
RCMP Commissioner William
J.S. Elliott, stated “we are fortu-
nate to have such a leader in As-
sistant Commissioner Stephen
White. “He is known as an ex-
emplary mountie and an opera-
tionally driven and visionary
police professional. He is strategic
enough to recognize and commu-
nicate the big-picture context of
our work, but meticulous enough
to allow few details to escape him.
Moreover, Steve is an inspirational
and people-oriented leader. Skilled
at balancing the operational duties
and responsibilities we must de-
liver with the needs and concerns
of his people.”
A diversified career path
Assistant Commissioner
Stephen White joined the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police in 1986
and has many years of investiga-
tional experience in federal polic-
ing and financial crime. In 1999,
Stephen White was selected to a
five year assignment as the RCMP
Liaison Officer in Venezuela.
In this position he was re-
sponsible for coordinating
and facilitating law enforce-
ment activity between
Canada and 10 different
countries throughout the
southern Caribbean and
South America.
In 2004, he became Director
of Interpol Ottawa, responsi-
ble for the overall operation
of the Interpol National Cen-
tral Bureau in Canada. In
2005 he was appointed Direc-
tor of the RCMP’s International
Operations Branch, responsible
for overseeing the operation of the
RCMP’s Liaison Offices located
in 25 countries across North and
South America, Caribbean, Eu-
rope, Africa, Middle East
and Asia.
Between January 2007
and May 2008, Stephen White was
the Director of several of the
RCMP’s Financial Crime Pro-
grams. As the Director of the Inte-
grated Proceeds of Crime and
Money Laundering Programs, he
was responsible for leading the
RCMP component of two Govern-
ment of Canada initiatives,
namely, the Integrated Proceeds of
Crime Initiative and the National
Initiative to Combat Money Laun-
dering. As the Director of the In-
tegrated Market Enforcement
Program, he was responsible for
overseeing the RCMP’s activities
related to capital markets criminal
enforcement.
In May 2008, he was ap-
pointed Director General of Finan-
cial Crime for the RCMP. In this
capacity he was responsible for
overseeing and providing national
leadership to all of the RCMP’s Fi-
nancial Crime Programs. He was
appointed Assistant Commissioner
in 2009.
---------
RCMP Appoints New Commanding Officer in Ontario
May 12, 2011 11Courageous Journalism
Ontario is committed to
eliminating the deficit,
while protecting the key
public services in education
and health care that [Bramp-
ton] relies on.
The Better Tomorrow for
Ontario Act (Budget Meas-
ures), which includes meas-
ures announced in the 2011
Budget – Turning the Cor-
ner, today passed third read-
ing. As part of the Budget,
the province will create and
retain about 10,000 jobs
through new partnerships
with the private sector in
Ontario. The Act also sets
out the gov-
e r n m e n t ’s
commitment
to reduce the
number of
government
a g e n c i e s ,
provide bet-
ter value for taxpayer dol-
lars, and make strategic
investments for a brighter
future. It also lays out On-
tario’s plan for managing re-
sponsibly by finding
savings of nearly $1.5 bil-
lion across government over
the next three years.
The budget measures
build on the McGuinty
government’s Open
Ontario Plan to
strengthen the econ-
omy, promote job cre-
ation and protect the
public services that Ontario
families count on. In addi-
tion, Ontario's Tax Plan for
Jobs and Growth will pro-
vide $12 billion in relief for
families over three years
MONTREAL — A new survey suggests the
average NDP voter in Quebec is not neces-
sarily left wing, feels some attachment to
Canada, and is convinced the province does-
n't get much respect in Confederation.
All of which would place New Democrat
supporters right in the centre of the Quebec
electorate, suggests the survey conducted for
the Association for Canadian Studies.
A complex portrait is emerging
from last week's surprise election result,
where the NDP swept the province and nearly
wiped the sovereigntist Bloc Quebecois off
the map. But the Leger Marketing poll clearly
suggests Jack Layton's party managed to tap
into the political centre in the province -- both
on Canada-Quebec issues and in left-right
ideological matters.
Among the key findings of the In-
ternet survey: 67 per cent of self-declared
NDP voters said they were very (35 per cent)
or somewhat (32 per cent) attached to
Canada. That was right between the two ex-
tremes -- the 95 per cent of Liberal voters and
94 per cent of Conservatives who proclaimed
an attachment to Canada, and a mere 28 per
cent of Bloc Quebecois voters who did."This
wasn't an ideological vote," Jack Jedwab, ex-
ecutive director of the association, said Tues-
day. He called it the first time since the
Trudeau years that Quebec's francophones
and anglophones had voted for the same
party. NDP voters also found themselves be-
tween the two sides on political ideology:
only 29 per cent of them called themselves
left wing or centre-left. That compared with
21 per cent who said they were centrist, while
11 per cent identified themselves as centre-
right and three per cent as right wing.
Thirty-five per cent did not respond
or said they did not know. That placed NDP
supporters right between Conservatives, only
two per cent of whom declared themselves
on the left or centre-left, and Bloquistes -- 48
per cent of whom called themselves left or
centre-left. On that score, the NDPers were
most similar to Liberals -- who had the high-
est margin of centrist voters.
NDP supporters were also at the
centre when asked how Quebec was faring in
Canada. The findings suggest many Quebe-
cers see advantages in Confederation, but
don't feel very respected. When asked
whether federalism was advantageous to
Quebec, NDP supporters were right in the
middle -- at 50 per cent agreement. Only
eight per cent of Bloc supporters agreed,
while three-quarters of Liberals and Conser-
vatives agreed. Thirty-nine per cent of New
Democrats disagreed.
Only 32 per cent of NDP voters said
Quebec was treated with respect within
Canada. That was right between Bloc voters
(four per cent), and Liberal (61 per cent) and
Conservative (69 per cent) voters. The online
survey of 976 self-declared voters was con-
ducted May 5-6 by Leger Marketing and is
considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage
points, 19 times out of 20.
The poll also suggests little change
on Canada-Quebec sentiments, despite the
election result. Sixty per cent of francophone
respondents declared they were slightly or
very attached to Canada. A similar Leger sur-
vey five months ago placed that number at 59
per cent. That compares with non-francoph-
ones in the province -- 95 per cent of whom
professed an attachment to Canada.
--------------------
Chandigarh: The RCMP
(Royal Canadian Mounted
Police) were reluctant to
share evidence. At that
point of time I wanted to
shut the inquiry... Then it
started coming. It was not
easy to get information,”
recalled Justice John C
Major, who was Chairman
of Commission of Inquiry
into the Investigation of the
Bombing of Air India
Flight 182 (Kanishka). It
was the largest mass mur-
der in the history of
Canada.
“The bombing
was clearly preventable. It
could have stopped at the
desk of CSIS (Canadian Se-
curity Intelligence Service)
desk. There was an input
that terrorists would seek
revenge in June, 1985. Air
India had also sent a mes-
sage to all airports on June
1, where they were operat-
ing flights,” said Major.
“At the time of
blast, Canadian ambassador
was recently replaced and
there was no one at that
time. Canada’s response
was slow at that time, but
the Irish people did an ex-
cellent job,” said Major. In
his report, he had com-
mented on racism angle,
“While the Commission
does not feel that the term
“racism” is helpful, it is
also understandable that the
callous attitude by the Gov-
ernment of Canada to the
families of the victims
might lead them to wonder
whether a similar response
would have been forthcom-
ing had the overwhelming
majority of the victims of
the bombing been Canadi-
ans who were white. The
Commission concludes that
both the Government and
the Canadian public were
slow to recognize the
bombing of Flight 182 as a
Canadian issue.”
According to
Major, the plane was two-
and-a-half hours late. The
manager (of Air India) was
anxious to get off the
ground. The X-ray screen-
ing machine broke down
after checking part of the
luggage and PD-4 sniffer
device had to be used, but
Air India security staff were
not trained to use it.
He said, “It was
around 3 o’ clock in the af-
ternoon. M Singh got off
the plane unobserved. He
could go off so easily.”
He added that ter-
rorists wanted to take re-
venge for “invasion of
Golden Temple” as “assas-
sination of Indira Gandhi
was not enough”. It had
come out that they had
warned Sikhs not to fly
Air India.
In reply to a ques-
tion, he said, “Canada was
little soft on expressions on
Sikh terrorism. They were
very vocal and threatening.
Local politicians were more
concerned to get their
votes.” He added, “We have
heard that radical Sikhs are
more active in Canada than
here (in Punjab).”
On Ripudaman
Singh Malik, he said, “The
case concerning him is
about fraud. He applied for
legal aid saying he had no
money. But when investi-
gated, it was found that he
had assets. He has lot of
businesses. He runs a
school; 200 graduates from
the school have criminal
record.
Poll: Quebec NDP votersslightly attached to Canada
‘Evasive Canada cops almostderailed Kanishka probe’
Ontario’s Budget Is Helping Families in Brampton
12 May 12, 2011 Courageous Journalism
Aloo Paneer Chaat
2 cups paneer (cottagte cheese)
cubes
10 to 12 baby potatoes , boiled
1 cup boiled green peas
25 of ginger (adrak)
2 to 3 green chillies , finely chopped
2 tsp dried mango powder
(amchur)
1/2 tsp freshly crushed freshly
ground black pepper powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil, salt to taste, For The Garnish, 2 tbsp chopped coriander
(dhania)
Snack on this lip-smacking, easy to cook chaat, which serves as
a protein and calcium booster for your eyes.
Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the green chilles and
ginger and sauté for 1 minute. Add the paneer, potatoes and
green peas and cook for another minute.Add the amchur,
crushed pepper, lemon juice and salt and mix well.Serve hot
garnished with the chopped coriander.
Ingredients
Method
If you get a really good facial, the
aesthetician will more than likely
spend some time directing a stream
of cool "steam" at your face. It feels
like a soft ocean breeze, and it does
the nearly impossible; opening pores
while moisturizing skin. It's usually
followed up by a pore treatment and
toner and moisturizer. In fact, when
you pay for a professional facial,
you're really paying for the cooled
steam: the other parts of the
process—the wrapping, mask, mois-
turizers and pore treatments can all
be had at home.
Now you can have the
whole thing, and save scads of
money while beautifying your skin.
With a humidifier, you can perfect
the at-home facial, but you can also
do so much more. Humidifiers add
moisture to any room so that in the
dry room heat of winter, or dusty, hot
summers, your skin is soft, smooth
and comfortable. Add a drop of es-
sential oil for aromatherapy.
See our favorite cool stream
humidifier that will be great for your
face and your home.
But with the tip, that
facial cost me $75, and the thing
I liked most and wanted to take
home with me was the steam. I
started thinking about ways I
could get more steam into my
life without forking out so much
money at the salon. Hot water
makes hot steam, which is unac-
ceptable, so the bowl and towel-
over-the-head routine wouldn’t work.
I didn’t want one of those personal
steamers because you have to set
your face into them and do nothing:
I wanted something that would work
while I did other things.
I pondered, then I remem-
bered the vaporizer that my friend
Judy bought for her baby Emily
when Ems got croupy. I called Judy,
and she turned me on to the fact that
vaporizers make warm steam from
boiling water, and humidifiers push
cool water vapor into the room.
I read a little about humidi-
fiers and finally chose the Vicks Ul-
trasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. I
chose it because it has a built-in
water filter, you can control the mist
speed, and it’s possible to direct the
mist too. Even though this humidifier
has a water filter, you should use fil-
tered water in your vaporizer because
the hard minerals in most tap water
can clog it up after you’ve used it
awhile, seriously shortening the lifes-
pan of the appliance. If you already
have a water filter on your tap, great!
If not, just get down to the grocery
store and buy a few gallons of the
cheapo drinking water, then keep the
jugs so you can refill them at one of
the water machines most supermar-
kets have parked outside.
A Cool Steam Facial Has BeneficialBeauty and Health Benefits
May 12, 2011 13 Courageous Journalism
Manmohan Waris is one
of the top Punjabi singers in the
world. He has been around for al-
most 13 years now. Since he re-
leased his first album “Gairan
Naal Peenghan Jhootdeye’ in
1993, he has never looked back.
Punjabis around the world love
him and he feels the pressure of
not letting them down. His hum-
bleness and sincerity has won
many hearts. His voice is consid-
ered one of the sweetest around
and his songs attest to his passion
for clean and literary lyrics
Background He was
born into a farming family in the
Village of Halluwal, Punjab. He
had a great interest in music
since an early age. He started his
formal music training at the age
of 11. Every-
thing he
learned from
his Guru, he
taught his
younger broth-
ers. So all
three brothers got seriously in-
volved in music at a very early
age. He got his music degree
from Punjab University. But the
most influential music Guru he
had was Shree Jaswant Singh
Bhanwra. Unlike many other
Punjabi singers who also learned
music from Shree Jaswant Singh
Bhanwra, the Guru did not teach
him so called “Lok-Gaayiki”, he
insisted on teaching him the real
music he knew himself. He saw
a great singer in Manmohan and
he wanted him to shine. In 1990,
Manmohan Waris’s family
moved to Canada. Here he made
his first album ‘Gairan Naal
Peenghan Jhootdeye.’ The album
was a great success and when
Waris returned to Punjab, Pun-
jabi’s everywhere just couldn’t
get enough of him. So he decided
to move back to India. His career
has never seen a foggy day since
that time. Waris’ philosophy
about his name and fame may
have something to do with that.
In his opinion “keeping your
name on the top is not an easy
thing, you have to work hard to
get here, and you have to work
harder to stay here”
Manmohan’s last reli-
gious release, named “Ghar Hun
Kitni Ku Doore…�? contained 8
very touching and thoughtful
songs. The title song of this
album, that gives us a peak into
the psyche of the young
Sahibzadas’ minds after they got
separated from the family, brings
tears into eyes. Another song
form this album ‘Dukh Vichhade
Nankane da’ is a passive chal-
lenge to the active Sikh commu-
nity and reminds us of our lost
treasures in the political games of
history. Latest Manmohan
Waris’s latest release was the live
show audio video ‘Punjabi
Virsa.’ This show set many new
records and precedents. The
quality and the perfection of the
recording and the performance of
this release challenged
the Punjabi music
lovers to expect more
from an artist. There is
no Punjabi music lover
around the world who
has not have a copy of
this performance.
Manmohan spends
most of the year in Punjab and he
tours the west in the summer.
Manmohan’s songs are evergreen
songs. People remember his ear-
liest work same way as they do
his latest. Manmohan’s latest
Punjabi Album is tited “Nachiye
Majajne”. The album got a great
response from Punjabis every-
where. The title song “Aja Appan
Nachiye Majajne” with its Desi
music and Dhole rhythms is a
milestone on the future path of
Punjabi music.
Dedication The success
of ‘Punjabi Virsa.’ proves that
there is still room for literary and
meaningful poetry in the fast
paced, single based commercial
Punjabi music world. Waris has
always worked hard to put his ef-
forts where his heart is. He is al-
ways eager to point out anything
that gets his attention. He has
never sung a song to gain mere a
commercial success. But this is
not his greatness, his greatness is
that he doesn’t do it to serve his
language or his native land; he
just does it because he is that
kind of person and it is his
nature.
14 May 12, 2011 Courageous Journalism
Discography Gairan Naal Peenghan Jhootdeye
Sohnian De Laaray
Husdi De Ful Kirde
Sajjre Challe Muklavay
Gali Gali Vich Hokay
Chardi Kala ‘ch Panth Khalsa
Mitran Da Sah Rukda
Husn Da Jadu
Gajray Gori De
Dil Vatte Dil
Ghar Hun Kitni ku Doore
Nachiye Majajne
Punjabi Virsa
his passion for clean and literary lyricsManmohan Waris
May 12, 2011 15 Courageous Journalism
This year is particularly
important for all of us be-
cause Bollywood will be
present in full force at
Cannes and I must say that
I am proud to be a part of
the fraternity that has now
evolved as one of the
strongest industries in the
world. People from Bolly-
wood (like Anil Kapoor,
Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan)
who are walking the red
carpet have made a great
mark at the international
level. In my opinion, the
ideal reason for going to
Cannes would be to show-
case a movie, but you can
rent space also. The best
way to be here is to have a
film competing in the fes-
tival. According to me
these international film fes-
tivals are about different
members and stars from
various countries getting
together. I am told that
only one Indian film by a
Bangladeshi filmmaker, is
in the competitive category
and that Mr Rakeysh Om-
Prakash Mehra's documen-
tary will be in the
sponsored showcase. I
have been asked whether I
find this as a contrast
where five Indian celebri-
ties will be walking the red
carpet. I feel that, generally
speaking, we make differ-
ent kinds of films, there are
commercial movies and
there are also a lot of film-
makers who make arty
movies and they should be
competing here.
Coming back to the red
carpet, I know that there's
a lot of excitement. I will
be there as a brand ambas-
sador for Chivas Regal and
I must say that I am ec-
static to walk the red carpet
for them. I know that red
carpet looks of stars are
discussed by fashion critics
around the world, but if
you ask me how I am
styling myself for my
maiden appearance at
Cannes, then I must point
out that I don't take the red
carpet fashion seriously at
all. On one hand, it's an ho-
nour to be there and I'm
very respectful of the
event, I'm also clear these
are part of my duties as a
brand ambassador. Never-
theless, I have decided to
wear a Tom Ford dinner
jacket when I walk down
the carpet. As a part of my
duties of being brand am-
bassador, I would be host-
ing a couple of parties with
them for various guests and
stars there.
My mother has
been on the Cannes jury
once and when I told her
that I am going there, she
asked me to have fun and
enjoy myself. Kareena,
however, won't be there
with me as she is shooting
in Mumbai.
'I don't take red carpetfashion seriously'
The Cannes Film Fes-
tival begins today.
Actor Saif Ali Khan re-
ports exclusively for
After Hrs from the red
carpet. Presenting the
first of his accounts as
he leaves for the
Croisette
Actor Sonu Sood, who was last seen
fighting it out with Salman Khan in
Dabangg, is busy seen making an ap-
peal to his near and dear ones.
No, it's not work that is causing him
to do so, but the actor is apparently
working towards actively promoting
vegetarianism. A source says that
only recently Sonu was approached
by the PETA team to be a part of their
vegan family and he was only happy
to do so. "Sonu is a vegetarian and
his veggie lunch dabba is everyone's
envy on the sets. Though Sonu spoke
about the benefits of a veg diet, he
didn't do it so actively before. Now
that he's part of the PETA family, he
taking his role very seriously!" says
a source in the know. Talking on the
development, Sonu said, "Yes, I think
we should bring that kind of aware-
ness to everyone — that we have to
do something for animals — become
vegetarians and do good to this
Earth." In fact, while Sonu was
shooting for Dabangg, even actor
Salman Khan had tried to make him
taste some of his ghar ka chicken
biryani. But Sonu was adamant and
had refused to take the bait. So, how
does Sonu manage to maintain those
six pack abs, minus any non-vegetar-
ian food? Sonu says that if one fol-
lows the right diet, veggies can help
one get their dream body.
Sonu's frantic appeal…
May 12, 2011 16