vol 6 issue 42 -february 15-21, 2014

8/13/2019 Vol 6 Issue 42 -February 15-21, 2014

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New Delhi: The BJP could reach

its highest tally ever and the

Congress its lowest point, giving

the NDA the best chance of form-

ing the government after the Lok

Sabha polls, though well short of a

majority. That's the big picture

emerging from the Times Now-

CVoter national projection poll

released on Thursday.

The poll projected that the BJP

would win 202 seats if the elec-

tions were held now and its allies

another 25, giving the NDA 227

seats in the 543-member lower

house. The Congress, in sharp con-

trast, would sink to just 89 and

even with 12 seats from its allies

the UPA would barely cross the

100 mark, it predicted.

With "others" likely to win 215

seats and many of them having

joined hands with the BJP in the

past, that would be very good news

for those rooting for Narendra

Modi as prime minister. In terms of

vote shares, the NDA is estimated

to win 36%, the UPA 22% and oth-

ers 42%. AAP, whose performance

The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m

excellence in journalismTravel 18Food 15

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Comcast takeover of Time Warner to reshape pay TV

BJP inching towards the 272 seats mark

New York: Comcast Corp's proposed $45.2

billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc

could face close scrutiny from US antitrust

regulators because of the deal's potential to

reshape the country's pay TV and broadband

markets, Reuters reports.

The company resulting from the merger of

the top two US cable service providers

would boast a footprint spanning from New

York to Los Angeles, with a near 30 percent

share of the pay TV market as well as a

strong position in providing broadbandInternet services.

The all-stock deal, announced on

Thursday, would put Comcast in 19 of the 20

largest US TV markets, and could give it

unprecedented leverage in negotiations with

content providers and advertisers.

The friendly takeover came as a surprise

after months of public pursuit of Time

Warner Cable by smaller rival Charter

Communications Inc, and immediately

raised questions as to whether it would be

blocked by the Department of Justice or the

Continued on page 4

President Barack Obama and the First Lady flank President Franois Hollandeof France before a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday.

The discussions between the two leaders underlined that US and France areon the same page on global issues such as the crisis in Syria, terrorism

and Irans nuclear program. More on page 22.

The $45.2 billion deal would putComcast in 19 of the 20 largest TV

markets in America, giving it unprece-dented leverage in negotiations with

content providers and advertisers.

Continued on page 4

Two long-standing allies renew ties

Gandhinagar: In a clear indica-

tion that the US may be changing

its stance towards Narendra Modi,

whom it was treating as a political

par iah , US Ambas sad or Nancy

Powell Thursday met the Gujarat

chief minister, who is seen as a

strong contender for the prime

minister's post after the upcoming

general elections.

The meeting in the capital of

Gujarat marks a significant change

in the US stance as the BJP leader

was denied a visa in 2005 in the

wake of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

During the meeting, the visa

issue was not discussed, however.

Powell "held comprehensive and

wide-ranging discussions with

Modi covering all facets of the

Indo-US relationship and coopera-

tion, in the wider global context",

said a Gujarat government release.

Modi raised the issue of the

recent diplomatic row over the

arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani

Khobragade and Powell "reassured

that the US government was fully

committed to resolving this issue

at the earliest possible".

Modi also emphasized that the

perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai

With BJP bagging 202 seats alone, NDA led by the party is projected to get 227 seats in the Lok Sabha polls,tantalizingly close to be able to form the next government in India, finds Times Now poll.

US bends, envoy meets Modi in Gujarat

Continued on page 4

Narendra Modi presented a bouquet to US AmbassadorNancy Powell who visited him.


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February 15-21, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info


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3February 15-21, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

New Delhi: A multi-disciplinary

brains trust is being co-created for

India by noted Harvard professorMichael E. Porter with a mission

to replicate the US structure and

enhance India's prosperity, accord-

ing to sources privy to the devel-

opment.

The Indian Council on

Competitiveness will be co-

anchored by Harvard Business

Schools Institute for Strategy and

Competitiveness, chaired by Prof

Porter, and the US Council on

Competitiveness and the Institute

for Competitiveness.

We will reincarnate this bold

structure consistent with Indias

unique requirements, Prof. Amit

Kapoor, president and chief exec-utive-designate of the Indian

Council on Competitiveness, said.

Prof Kapoor is also Edtior in chief

of Thinkers and

In recent months, Prof Porter has

led a high-visibility campaign in

the US for mending that countrys

fault lines. These, the Bishop

William Lawrence University

Professor has argued, cant be

attributed merely to economic

downturn.

The points flagged by him and

co-author Jan Rivkin include:

- Ease the immigration of highly

skilled individuals, starting with

(but not restricted to) international

graduates of US universities.

- Rewrite the corporate tax code

with lower statutory rates and no

loopholes.

- Aggressively use established

international institutions to

address distortions and abuses in

the international trading system

that disadvantage the US.

- Streamline regulations affect-

ing business by focusing on out-

comes while simplifying reporting

and compliance, reducing delays,

and minimizing the need for litiga-

tion.

On his part, Harvard Business

School (HBS) dean of Indian ori-

gin Nitin Nohria has pitched inwith a "US Competitiveness

Project". The work included two

surveys titled "Competitiveness at

a Crossroads" with the latest ver-

sion involving nearly 7,000 alum-

ni and over 1,000 members of the

general public, illuminating

actions that business leaders and

policymakers can take to improve

US competitiveness.

The US Council on

Competitiveness is a non-partisan,

non-governmental organization,

comprising peer corporate CEOs,

university presidents, labor leaders

and national laboratory directors.

It works to set an action agenda

to drive US competitiveness,

while striving to offer innovative

public pol icy soluti ons such as

ensuring lower cost, easy access to

high quality education and train-

ing for all Americans. It also aims

at maintaining long-term federal

investments in science and tech-

nology leadership, as also refor-

mation and simplification of the

tax code to stimulate investment

and attract global capital to the

US.

The council's target over the

next 10 years is to help create at

least 21 million jobs, cut unem-

pl oy me nt to un de r 5 pe rc en t,

prune government debt by $4 tril-

lion to ensure Americas long term

solvency, invest $2.2 trillion in

infrastructure to maintain compet-

itive advantage, and double

exports.

Charles O. Holliday, Jr, the

chairman of Bank of America, isits chairman emeritus.

Deborah L. Wince-Smith, presi-

dent and chief executive of the US

Council said: The Indian body

will be committed to addressing

the issues pertaining to Indias

competitiveness in a multidiscipli-

nary manner.

New York: Sharif El-Gamal, the developer whose plans

for a $100 million Islamic prayer and community center

near the World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan

collapsed amid a national controversy three years ago, is

back. This time, he and a partner are planning to build a

new home for an 83-year-old synagogue in the garment

district in Midtown, while creating a sleek, 23-story

retail center and hotel. This being Manhattan, it is mainly

a real estate deal, despite the religious trappings.

El-Gamal and his partner, Murray Hill Properties, have

a contract to buy the three-story building at the northwest

corner of Seventh Avenue and 40th Street from Parsons

the New School for Design for about $61.5 million. The

developers hope to demolish the building, which

includes the Garment Center Synagogue on the ground

floor, and erect a tower that could capitalize on the surg-

ing hustle and bustle of Times Square, whose central

location and popularity with tourists has made it an

attractive neighborhood for new hotels.

Were in the process of buying one of the last

untouched corners of Times Square, Mr. El-Gamal,

chief executive of Soho Properties, said Monday, with

an opportunity to secure the future of a synagogue that

will serve the Jewish community for decades to come.El-Gamal has been largely quiet since 2011, when his

proposal for a 15-st ory Islamic cente r at 45-51 Park

Place, about three blocks from the World Trade Center

site, generated a torrent of protests. Some politicians and

relatives of Sept. 11 victims said at the time that it would

be disrespectful to build a Muslim institution so close to

the spot where Islamic radicals destroyed the trade

center.

Harvard to co-create US-likecompetitive body in India

New Plan by Islamic Center

developer: Rebuild a synagogue Albany, NY: On eday after Mayor deBlasio suggested

Ne w York Ci ty be

allowed to set its own

minimum wage, Gov.

Andrew Cuomo shot

down the idea as eco-

nomically damaging

to the entire state.Cuomo told a radio

interviewer that hav-

ing municipalities set

their own, competing wage rates would create a chaot-

ic situation and negatively cannibalize New York.

The mayor needs Albanys approval to increase the

minimum wage, now set at $8 an hour.

We are also one state and we dont want to cannibal-

ize ourselves. We dont want to have different cities

with different tax rates competing amongst them-

selves, the governor said on the Capitol Pressroomradio program in Albany.

Albany has one tax rate and then Schenectady has a

different tax rate because Schenectady is trying to steal

business from Albany. Or they have differ ent wage

requirements or different labor laws, he said of the

potential jockeying.Cuomo and the Legislature approved a law last year

that hiked the minimum wage statewide from $7.25 to

$8 per hour on Jan. 1. It is scheduled to jump to $8.75 at

years end and to $9 by the end of 2015.

In his State of the City address Monday, de Blasio

didnt put a figure on what the city minimum wageshould be. But city Comptroller Scott Stringer has pro-

posed an $11 an hour rate.

Mayor proposes, Governor disposes

De Blasios proposal toraise minimum wage inNYC has been shot down

by Governor Cuomo.

The Institute forCompetitiveness, India, has

established the Indian Councilon Competitiveness, under

Prof Amit Kapoor, in collabo-ration with the U.S. Council on

Competitiveness.

2 Indian-Americans invited to ObamasState Dinner for Hollande

Washington: President Barack

Obama invited two of his topIndian-American fundraisers to a

select group of guests for a State

Dinner hosted in honor of his

French counterpart Francois

Hollande.

Shefali Razdan Duggal and

Azita Raji, both from California,

were invited Feb 11 to the first

State Dinner of Obama's second

presidential term.

While Duggal is a member of

the Democratic National

Committee's Finance Committee

and is a Co-Chair for the DNC

Women's Leadership Forum, Raji

is a member of President's

Commission on White HouseFellowships.

Duggal is on the White House

Council of Women & Girls

(chaired by Obama's Senior

Advisor Valerie Jarrett) and is

currently a Co-Chair for the

Ready for Hillary PAC (Political

Action Committee).

At the State Dinner, KarenNarasaki, an American civil rights

leader and human rights activist,

was accompanied by Indian-

American Vivek Malhotra, direc-

tor, Civil and Human Rights, Ford

Foundation, as per the list of

guests released by the White

House. The dinner was attended

by who's who of America alongwith members of the Obama's

Cabinet, top officials, lawmakers

and members of the French dele-

gation led by Hollande.

Shefali Razdan Duggal and (right) Azita Rajiattended the State Dinner Feb 11.


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4 February 15-21, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE

BJP-led front inching towards ...

Continued from page 1

in its first Lok Sabha polls will be

closely watched, is projected to win

seven seats, four of them from outside

Delhi.

Its vote share, the poll suggests

would be about 8%, which would be

larger than the vote share of any party

other than the Congress or BJP in any

recent general election.Among the parties currently not

aligned to either the Congress or the

BJP parties, the AIADMK and the Left

- which are in an alliance are pro-

je ct ed to wi n 27 se at s ea ch , th e

Trinamool Congress 24, the BSP 21

and SP 20.

The BJP's tally is seen to be rising in

virtually all the states where it is a

serious contender. Its biggest gains are

projected to come from Uttar Pradesh,

where it will net 34 and Bihar and

Rajasthan, where it is projected to net

21 seats each.

US bends, envoy meets Modi in :...

Continued from page 1attack must be quickly brought to jus-

tice. LeT operative and Mumbai terror

attack planner David Headley is in a

Chicago prison and India has sought his

extradition.

The US embassy in New Delhi said in

a statement that the meeting "was part

of the US Mission's outreach to senior

leaders of India's major political parties

in advance of the upcoming national

elections".

Powell "has shared and listened to

views on the US-India relationship" and

she "continues to emphasize that the

partnership is important and strategic,

and that the United States looks forward

to working closely with the government

that the Indian people choose in the

upcoming elections", the statement

added.

The meeting was facilitated by Indias

external affairs ministry, which had

received a request some time ago to

arrange it.

Commenting on the meeting, External

Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said

Modi owes an explanation over the

riots, while JD-U leader Shivanand

Tiwari said that Modi will never be able

to wash his hands of the violence.

The US revoked Modi's visa in 2005

under a law barring entry of foreign

officials seen as responsible for "severe

violations of religious freedom". He has

not applied for a US visa since then.

Since Modi's emergence as a national

leader, the US business lobby hasreached out to him. Three Republican

lawmakers accompanied a US business

delegation that met him in Ahmedabad

last year.

Comcast takeover of Time Warner...

Continued from page 1

Federal Communications Commission.

Time Warner Cable shares jumped 6.8

percent to $144.50, s till substantially

short of the $158.82 per share value

that Comcast put on its offer, indicat-

ing investors' worries about regulatory

clearance. Comcast shares fell 3.5 per-

cent, cutting the per-share offer value

to $154.

"I don't know if the deal is too big tofail to be approved but it is definitely

too big to sail through either the

Department of Justice or the FCC

without serious, serious examination,"

said former FCC Chairman Reed

Hundt.

"Only Comcast could have paid this

price and the combined company, if

approved, would tilt the balance of

power at every nego tia ting tabl e in

media and content and broadband and

equipment industries."

Comcast Chief Executive Brian

Roberts said he was confident about

getting the green light from regulators

as the two companies plan to divest 3

million subscribers, so that their com-

bin ed cus tom er bas e of 30 mil lio n

would represent just under 30 percent

of the U.S. pay television video mar-

ket. He said no decisions have been

made on which markets to sell.

The new cable giant would still

tower over U.S. satellite competitor

DirecTV, which has about 20 million

video customers.

Neal Kwatra in New Yorks Most Powerful 100 listNew York: An online news out-

let in New York that has gained

increasing popularity, has

included two Indian Americans

among the citys Most

Powerful 100.

City&StateNY, which focuseson politics and government,

lists US Attorney for the

Southern District of New York

Preet Bharara as the 7th most

powerful man in the city. It also

ranks Neal Kwatra, head of the

consulting firm Metropolitan

Public Strategies, as the 90th

most powerful.

There is no man more

feared in New York, and his

reputation is well deserved,

says City&State about Bharara.

Bharara keeps indicting cor-

rupt elected officials, crooked

Wall Street kingpins and any

other lawbreakers who have themisfortune of falling in his

jurisdiction, the news site adds

saying that he would easily

qualify as a Hall of Famer.

Kwatra, 40, who set up

Metropolitan Public Strategies

firm in 2013, was the chief

strategist for newly elected

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken

Thompson. Thompson defeated

the 23-year incumbent Charles

Hynes.

Ciy&State calls Kwatras firm

the citys hottest new political

consulting firm. Among his

important clients are theWorking Families Party and the

Hotel Trades Council.

Kwatra is credited with turn-

ing the Hotel Trades Councils

30,000 members into prized

campaigners, who were key to

the 2009 re-election campaign

of former Mayor Michael

Bloomberg as well as several

Council elections, according to

Crains New York Business

which listed him in its 2012 top

40 Under 40.

The top leaders of the city and

the state are also the highest in

the Most Powerful 100 lead-ing with Mayor Bill de Blasio

at 1st, followed by New York

Governor Andrew Cuomo; US

Senator Charles Schumer; City

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-

Viverito; State Assembly

Speaker Sheldon Silver; State

Attorney Gen. Schneiderman,

before Bharara.

Neal Kwatra is founder and head of the consulting firmMetropolitan Public Strategies.

NJ man convicted for sexually assaulting womenNew York: An Indian American man in New

Jersey has been convicted of sexually assaulting

or attempting to assault five women. Hiten Patel,

35, was arrested Aug 2, 2012, after investigatorslinked him to at least 10 sexual assaults. Patel

was acquitted Wednesday of sexually assaulting

two of the victims, though he was found guilty

of pulling an imitation firearm on one and

attempting to rob the other, philly.com reported.

This guilty verdict should serve as a reminder

and deterrent of the grave consequences in store

for individuals who seek to take advantage of

vulnerable victims, especially women, assistant

prosecutor John Flammer was quoted as saying

in a statement.Due to the brave women who

came forward and faced their attacker, thisdefendant will now be unable to harm anyone

else, Flammer said. Seven women testified dur-

ing the two-week trial and many of them gave

similar accounts of how Patel threatened them

and sexually assaulted them at gunpoint. Some

of the women said Patel choked them during the

attacks. After his arrest, police seized from his

van the firearm allegedly used in the crimes.


5/32

5February 15-21, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: US President

Barack Obama has spent a whopping

$ 1.55 million on five of his state din-

ners since 2009, with the most ex-

pensive of them being the first one

hosted in honor of Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh.Records from the State Department

Office of Protocol, whose budget

covers state dinners, show they can

cost taxpayers in excess of half a mil-

lion dollars per event, CBS News re-

ported. In response to a Freedom of

Information request to which it took

the State Department 13 months to

respond, CBS News has obtained the

Office of Protocol's expense calcula-

tions for the first five state dinners of

the Obama presidency.

The Obama administration spent $

572,187.36 for the State Dinner for

Dr Singh at the White House on No-

vember 24, 2009.

US president hosted Mexican pres-

ident Felipe Calderon on May 19,2010 at a cost of $ 563,479.92. He

held his third state dinner on January

19, 2011 for Chinese president Hu

Jintao at a cost of $ 412,329.73.

He held the fourth state dinner on

June 7, 2011 for German Chancellor

Angela Merkel and the cost was $

215,883.36.The fifth State Dinner

was held on October 13, 2011 for

South Korean President Lee Myung-

bak at a cost of $ 203,053.34, the

CBS report said.

It said the State Department has not

yet responded to another Freedom of

Information request filed seven

months ago for its rundown of the

expenses for the sixth state dinner

honoring British prime minister

David Cameron on March 14, 2012.Obama hosted French President

Francois Hollande during his seventh

state dinner last night.

The US Congress has been waiting

for similar information from the

State Department even longer, it

said. In a letter to then-Secretary of

State Hillary Clinton dated Novem-

ber 1, 2012, Darrell Issa, a Republi-

can lawmaker from California,

Chairman of the House Committee

on Oversight and Government Re-

form, had expressed concern about

the costs of state dinners and asked

for an accounting.

"Please provide," wrote Issa, "an

itemized list of costs and expenses

for each of the last six state dinners,

including, but not limited to,amounts paid, including reimburse-

ments, for non-government event

planners, entertainers and chefs."

Issa gave Clinton two weeks, until

November 15, 2012, to respond to

his request. The CBS, quoting a

staffer says the Committee never re-

ceived a response from Clinton or

the State Department, the report said.

Obama's state dinner for Manmohan Singh was most expensive

The Obamas receive the guests of honor Dr Manmohan Singhand wife Gursharan Kaur for the state dinner on Nov 24, 2009

Columbia University students launchwebsite on Lok Sabha elections

New York: A group of Indian

students at Columbia Universi-

ty here launched a website fo-

cused exclusively on India's

upcoming general elections,

promising to provide a com-

prehensive and "no high-brow

and jargon-led" reportage of

the event.

The 'FiveFortyFive.com' is a

"single-subject website" focus-

ing on the Indian general elec-

tions founded by six Columbia

journalism school students.

It is being described as a

platform for a "variety of voic-

es" including students, aca-

demics, professionals, bureau-

crats, journalists and even the

"discerning politician" talking

about what the "election means

to them" since elections are

"not just about political leaders

and political parties."

The students behind the day-

old website - Devjyot Ghoshal,

Anand Katakam, Iva Dixit, In-

drani Basu, Rishi Iyengar and

Aparna Alluri - chose the num-

ber 545 because that is the

number of seats in the India's

Lok Sabha.

The site hit 1000+ likes on

Facebook in just about 72

hours and has over 400 follow-

ers on the microblogging site

Twitter. The website will offer

election trivia and news with-

out any "high-brow, jargon-

led, politically-driven journal-

ism" and "will break through

the clutter, delivering pieces

that'll interest even the most

non-political of readers." It

will make use of charts, graph-

ics and visuals to "tell interest-

ing stories" tailored for online

consumption."This, after all, is

the world's biggest exercise in

democracy. TheFiveFortyFive.

com will try and reinvent

how it's reported, online," the

description of the website said.

The website already has

posts about India's first experi-

ment with democracy, Con-

gress vice-president Rahul

Gandhi's recent first ever inter-

view to a TV news channel as

well as about the dressing

styles of some of India's most

popular political leaders like

BJP prime ministerial candi-

date Narendra Modi.

A post titled 'The Rahul

Gandhi Interview In Numbers'

breaks down the number of

times the Congress scion men-

tioned words like 'system', 'e-

conomy' and 'riots' in his inter-

view to the TV channel.

Another post "Dressing for

Democracy" talks about In-

dia's "most dapper politicians."

"Be it bandhgala, handloom

saree or Modi Kurta, dressing

for politics doesn't come easy,"

it said.

New York: Goldman Sachs

Group has named Indian-

American executive AshokVaradhan as a third co-head for

its securities division, the

largest and most profitable of

the global investment bank's

four units.

Varadhan would co-head the

division, which comprises the

fixed income, currency and

commodities business as well

as the equities business, ac-

cording to an internal memo

sent to employees Monday.

Varadhan joins existing co-

heads Isabelle Ealet and Pablo

Salame in his new role, accord-

ing to the memo, cited by The

Wall Street Journal.Varadhan, 41, will be based in

New York City. He was most

recently head of macro trading

in the securities division. A

Duke University graduate,

Varadhan joined Goldman in

1998 in swaps trading and has

served in other FICC roles

since then.

He became a managing direc-

tor in 2000 and a partner in

2002, according to the memo."As a long-tenured leader in

the Securities Division, Ashok

has demonstrated dedication to

our clients and a deep under-

standing of our business,"

Chief Executive Lloyd Blank-

fein and President Gary Cohn

wrote in the memo.

As head of macro trading,

Varadhan had overseen inter-

est-rate products, currencies

and emerging markets.

Varadhan is the son of emi-

nent Indian-American acade-

mician Srinivasa Varadhan, a

Chennai native who is profes-

sor of mathematics in theCourant Institute of Mathemat-

ical Sciences at New York Uni-

versity.

The senior Varadhan was

awarded the Abel Prize, consid-

ered equivalent to the Nobel

Prize and awarded for out-

standing scientific work in the

field of mathematics.

Goldman promotes AshokVaradhan to co-head securities

Dr Lodha takes over as AAPI-QLI PresidentGarden City, NY: At

the inauguration cere-

mony for the new exec-utive committee of

AAPI-QLI (Queens-

Long Island chapter of

the American Associa-

tion of Physicians of

Indian Origin) at the

Akbar restaurant here

on Feb 5, Dr Ajay Lod-

ha took over as the Presi-

dent from Dr Tarun Wasil.

Others in the new slate of

executive committee are:

President elect Dr Madhu

Korrapati; Vice President -

Dr Vaijinath Chakote; Sec-

retary Dr Rakesh Dua;

and Treasurer Dr JagdishGupta.

The outgoing president

Dr Wasil welcomed the

new president and the new

executive committee. Dr

Lodha, who is also the Re-

gional Director (New York

division) of National AAPI,

complimented Dr Wasil for

his successful year and ap-

preciated his achievements

during his term. Dr Lodhapresented his agenda as fol-

lows:

* Increasing AAPI-QLI

membership

* Promoting the younger

generation, developing the

youth wing, and to bring

them into leadership roles.

Also helping young doctors

get jobs, develop their prac-

tice, as well as in matrimo-

nial matters.* To make AAPI-QLI

stronger in legislative mat-

ters.

* To hold educational

seminars in the changes in

healthcare laws/Obamacare

as well as in the new billing

codes, and so on.

Dr Vic Polati (holding mike), Acting PoliceCommissioner & newly appointed CEO of Nassau

University Medical Center, presented Nassau CountyCitation to incoming President Dr Ajay Lodha.


6/32

6 February 15-21, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF

FIA-Chicago celebrates R-Day despite inclement weather

In spite of the stubbornly freezing bliz-

zard conditions marred by prolonged

power outage, the spirited celebrations

to honor the Indias Republic Day hosted

by Federation of Indian Associations-

Chicago [FIA] by no means diminished as

more than two hundred guests converged

at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows,

Illinois on Sunday January 26th, 2014.The celebrations were enthused by infu-

sion of spontaneous Antaskhari singing

led by a group of ladies who further excit-

ed the guests with impromptu dancing to

the drum beats.

After the restoration of the power, the

celebrations took a more formal shape

with outgoing FIA president Hina Trivedi

thanking the guests for gathering in the

spirit of celebration to honor Indias Re-

public Day.

Later, President Hina Trivedi invited two

long-standing illustrious community lead-

ers Dr. Bharat Barai and Dr. Ram Gajjela

and a community worker Mrs.Yasmin

Khan and presented them with FIA Com-

munity Service award for their outstand-ing yeoman services rendered to the com-

munity and for their ardent support to FIA.

The awards were jointly presented by

Rishikant Singh Naren Patel, Iftekhar Sha-

reef, Ajai Agnihotri and Gulzar Singh.

Iftekhar Shareef, Trustee Chair thanked

the devoted Trustees and FIAs core lead-

ership team for their commendable effort

in hosting the event in such a short notice.

Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, the new FIA

President thanked the FIA Trustees, lead-

ers and the member-organizations for be-

stowing their faith in electing him to theoffice of the FIA presidency and pledged

that he will strive hard to take up the

reigns of FIA leadership to showcase the

finest of Chicagos vibrant community

through forums and events.

First NaMo tea stall set up in Silicon Valley

Avantika Bawa named to Oregon Arts Commission

Over 60 professionals working in

various IT majors like Microsoft,

Cisco, Apple, eBay and Oracle

joined hands at the first NaMo tea stall set

up in Silicon Valley US, as part of extend-

ing their support to BJP's prime ministerial

candidate Narendra Modi for the Lok Sab-

ha polls.

The Indian American professionals met ata Indian tea-stall in Ortega Park in Sunny-

vale as part of the volunteer group --"I Care

for India", a press statement said here.

"The meet-up was set up at a traditional

village-side tea-stall where people attended

discussion on the role of technology in

solving Governance issues in India," it said.

Participants, who came from engineering

background, came up with suggestions

such as making use of latest technology to

cut power transmission losses in India, ful-

ly computerizing the process of Govern-

ment tenders and providing technologicalaids to Indian farmers. The organizers plan

to compile all the suggestions discussed

and send them to a team formed by BJP in

India, the statement added.

Cornell adds licensing Accord toprotect Bangladeshi workers

Ithaca, NY: Cornell University has announced

it is requiring its apparel licensees who have

garments manufactured in factories in

Bangladesh to sign and abide by the Accord on

Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

The Accord is a legally binding, five-year

agreement between apparel manufacturers and

global and Bangladeshi trade unions. It was

created in the wake of the collapse of an eight-

story commercial building outside Dhaka, the

capital of Bangladesh, on April 24, 2013 that

killed 1,129 workers and left 2,500 injured.

The collapse followed the deaths of approxi-

mately 300 workers in factory fires in

Bangladesh and other countries. Most died due

to the absence of properly constructed fire ex-

its or from being trapped behind locked doors

and windows.

Cornell is taking this step to ensure thatworkers who make Cornell logo apparel do not

have to work in buildings that are structurally

unsound, lack proper fire safety measures, or

both, said Cornell president David Skorton.

We believe the Accord is a fair, transparent,

and unbiased approach to factory inspection

and remediation. It is clear that the inspection

practices that have been in place for years have

not been effective in preventing these types of

tragedies.

The Accord calls for independent inspections

by trained fire and building safety inspectors at

factories used by members of the Accord.

When problems are found in a factory, the

companies using the factory will share the

costs of retrofitting the structure. To date, more

than 130 companies have signed the Accord.

Collectively, they do business with more than

1,600 Bangladeshi factories employing more

than 2 million workers. Cornell is the sixth uni-

versity to add the Accord to their licensing re-quirements. The others are Duke, NYU, Penn,

Temple, and Penn State.

Well-known community leader

Dr. Shakir Mukhi passes away

Prominent community leader and phi-

lanthropist Dr.Shakir Mukhi, Ameri-

can Federation of Muslims of IndianOrigin (AFMI) trustee and former president

is no more.

It is with profound sadness that we an-

nounce the passing away of Dr.Shakir

Mukhi. He was an important member of

our organization who was always con-

cerned with the plight of underprivileged

masses in India. His contributions are many

and he will be sorely missed by one and all.

May Allah grant him maghfirah and give

perseverance to his family," said Dr.

A.R.Nakadar, AFMI's founding trustee.

Born in Gujarat, a philanthropist to the

core Dr. Mukhi was an active participant in

AFMI's educational mission in addition to

various other charitable and community ac-

tivities. He served as the executive VP ofNargis Dutt Memorial Foundation, VP of

Indian National Overseas Congress, and

board member of AAPI for Asian commu-

nities. He was a Human Rights Commis-

sioner for Nassau County Long Island since

2001. A graduate of M.P. Shah Medical

College, Jamnagar, he had been serving the

Long Island and Queens communities for

the past several years as a Family Physi-

cian. He completed his residency trainingfrom Catholic Medical Center Hospital in

Family Medicine, Queens NY. He was

popular among his patients for his compas-

sion and kindness.

Avantika Bawa, an Indian American

Portland artist and the 2014 recipi-

ent of the Oregon Arts Commis-

sions honorary Joan Shipley Award, was

recently appointed to the Arts Commission

board by Governor John Kitzhaber, accord-

ing to the Lebanon Express.

Bawa is an assistant professor of fine arts

at Washington State University in Vancou-ver, Wash., and received her masters in

fine arts from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Born and raised in India, Bawa was living

in Georgia in 2009 when she visited Ore-

gon for a residency.

The Oregon Arts Commission provides

leadership, funding and arts programs

through its grants, special initiatives and

services. Avantika Bawa

Dr. Bharat Barai seen receiving anaward joined by [L to R] Dr. Ram

Gajjela, Iftekhar Shareef, RishikantSingh,Naren Patel, Hina Trivedi

Dr.Shakir Mukhi

Washington, DC: Plastic shopping bags -

an abundant source of litter on land and at

sea - can be converted into diesel, naturalgas and other useful petroleum products,

shows a promising research led by an Indi-

an-origin researcher.

The conversion produces significantly

more energy than it requires and results in

transportation fuels - diesel, for example -

that can be blended with existing ultra-low-

sulphur diesels and biodiesels.

Other products, such as natural gas, naph-

tha (a solvent), gasoline, waxes and lubri-

cating oils such as engine oil and hydraulic

oil also can be obtained from shopping bags.

There are other advantages to the ap-

proach, which involves heating the bags in

an oxygen-free chamber, a process called

pyrolysis, said research leader Brajendra

Kumar Sharma, a senior research scientist atthe Illinois Sustainable Technology Centre

at University of Illinois.

According to Sharma, one can get only 50

to 55 percent fuel from the distillation of pe-

troleum crude oil. But since this plastic ismade from petroleum in the first place, we

can recover almost 80 percent fuel from it

through distillation.

Plastic bags make up a sizeable portion of

the plastic debris in giant ocean garbage

patches that are killing wildlife and littering

beaches.Plastic bags have been detected as

far north and south as the poles, the re-

searchers wrote. Over a period of time, this

material starts breaking into tiny pieces, and

is ingested along with plankton by aquatic

animals, Sharma said.

Fish, birds, ocean mammals and other

creatures have been found with a lot of plas-

tic particles in their guts. Turtles, for ex-

ample, think that the plastic grocery bags are

jellyfish and they try to eat them, he said.Other creatures become entangled in

the bags.

Shopping bags make fine fuel:Indian-origin scientist

The move is to ensure safety of garment workers who make Cornell logo apparel


7/32

7February 15-21, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

New Delhi: Penguin India

has withdrawn copies of In-

dologist and University of

Chicago professor Wendy

Doniger's book The Hindus:

An Alternative History, after

an out-of-court settlement

was reached between it and

plaintiffs Shiksha Bachao

Andolan which objected tosections of Doniger's book.

The details of the settle-

ment include withdrawal of

the books from dealers and

pulping copies.

Penguin maintained a stud-

ied silence on the matter and

refused to comment, though

author Doniger replied by

email to some news outlets

that she was upset that the

book was being withdrawn.

The book released in 2009,

has been eliciting controver-

sy especially in the United

States, where a group called

American Hindus engaged ina long polemic on a Wash-

ington Post-sponsored web-

site on the claims in the book.

In 2010, a petition was

signed online and submitted

to Penguin USA. The peti-

tion was signed online and

submitted to Penguin USA.

The petition was backed by

the Sarasvati Research Trust

and demanded that the book

be withdrawn. It was ad-

dressed to the Penguin USA

president Susan Peterson

Kennedy and Mike Bryan,

CEO and President of Pen-

guin India. The group which

filed a suit in India is calledShiksha Bachao Andolan

with an office in New Delhi.

In addition to a civil suit,

filed in 2011, there were two

criminal complaints filed on

the matter.

Responding to the deci-

sion, Wendy Doniger issued

a statement saying she was

deeply angered and con-

cerned for freedom of speech

in India.

"The true villain of this

piece," she said, is "the Indi-

an law that makes it a crimi-

nal rather than civil offence

to publish a book that offends

any Hindu, a law that jeop-ardizes the physical safety of

any publisher, no matter how

ludicrous the accusation

brought against a book."

US takes India to WTO oversolar energy projects

Indian-Americans should be politically

more active: Neel KashkariWashington, DC: Running for California

governor election with the promise of creat-

ing jobs and providing good education, NeelTushar Kashkari feels it is time that Indian

Americans, who have made their presence

felt in almost every sphere, should be more

active politically as well.

The 40-year-old Republican, son of Indian

immigrants from Jammu & Kashmir, is like-

ly to face incumbent Jerry Brown, who is yet

to declare his candidature for re-election

scheduled to be held later this year.

"We all feel a sense of gratitude as America

has been very good to our families, given us

wonderful opportunities and we feel our duty

to help others have the same opportunities

that we had. And given the success that Indi-

ans in America have had, it is high time that

the Indians have more influence politically as

well," said Kashkari, the architect of the US'sbank bailout at the height of the 2008 reces-

sion.

Kashkari, who has raised over $900,000 in

the two weeks after announcing his decision

to enter the governor's race, said his family

members, including his parents, are very ex-

cited that he is in a position to run for the post.

Before entering into direct contest with

governor Brown, Kashkari would have to win

the primary, where Tim Donnelly is the other

Republican in the race in the resource-rich

state. "We are establishing ourselves as the

premier Republican ticket to challenge Gov-

ernor Brown. And so far the feedback has

been excellent," said Kashkari.

He said his Indian-American heritage will

be advantageous for him during the election

for the highest political post in the state,

which is highly diverse ethnically."I think it is helpful because California is a

state of immigrants so many people have

come to California from around the US and

from around the world and one of my goals is

to bring many different ethnicities in the Re-

publican Party," he said.

"So I am reaching out not only to Indians,

but also to Asians, to African-Americans, to

Latinos and saying that come into our party,

we welcome you here. We want you to be suc-

cessful. We want your kids to get good edu-

cation. I feel that my Indian background is go-

ing to be a big education but would also help

me reach out to other ethnicity bring them

with me," he said when asked about his Indi-

an heritage.

Neel Kashkari is running forCalifornia governor

Washington, DC: The US has challenged

in the World Trade Organization (WTO) In-

dia's domestic content requirements in the

second phase of the National Solar Mission

(NSM), adding another irritant to bilateral

ties already strained over the Khobragade

affair.

Terming India's domestic content re-

quirements as "discriminatory", US Trade

Representative (USTR) Michael Froman

told reporters Monday the US has sought

WTO dispute settlement consultations with

India on the issue for the second time in a

year.

"These domestic content requirements

discriminate against US exports by requir-

ing solar power developers to use Indian-manufactured equipment instead of US

equipment," he said.

"These unfair requirements are against

WTO rules, and we are standing up today

for the rights of American workers and

businesses ," Froman said, suggesting the

US action was also "in support of the rapid

global deployment of renewable energy."

"These types of 'localization' measures

not only are an unfair barrier to US exports,

but also ra ise the cost of solar energy, hin-

dering deployment of solar energy around

the world, including in India," he said.

Under WTO rules, if the matter is not re-

solved through consultations within 60

days of the request, the US may ask the

WTO to establish a dispute settlement pan-

el, the USTR said.

In February 2013 too, the US requested

WTO consultations with India on these do-

mestic content requirements, but these

failed to resolve US concerns.

In October 2013, India's cabinet ap-

proved measures governing the implemen-

tation of Phase II of its NSM.

For solar projects under Phase II, India is

again imposing domestic content require-

ments, under which solar power developers

must use Indian-manufactured solar cellsand modules instead of US or other import-

ed equipment, the USTR said.

Moreover, the Phase II domestic content

requirements have been expanded to cover

thin film technology, which was exempt

from such requirements under Phase I, it

said. As thin film currently comprises the

majority of US solar product exports to In-

dia, these domestic content requirements

are likely to cause even greater harm to US

producers than under Phase I, the

USTR said.

Penguin India withdraws copies ofWendy Donigers book The Hindus

Wendy Doniger (right) and cover of the book

Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com


8/32

8 February 15-21, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: Citing immi-

grants' absolute faith in the American

dream, Rajiv Shah, the Indian-Amer-

ican administrator of the US Agency

for International Development (US-

AID), has given a call to "end ex-treme poverty in our lifetime."

"This is now achievable, but only

if all of us-from science, business,

government, and faith-come togeth-

er for the poor," he said delivering

the keynote at the 62nd National

Prayer Breakfast.

"We can end extreme poverty for

the 1.1 billion people who live on a

dollar-and-a- quarter a day," said the

highest ranking Indian-American in

the Obama administration.

Such prayer groups are helping

leaders worldwide to serve with

greater moral courage, Shah said.

President Barack Obama attending

his sixth prayer breakfast, bringingtogether legislators, officials, and

clergy from all faiths and political

ideologies, focused on the impor-

tance of freedom of religion - not

only in America, but also around the

world. "History shows that nations

that uphold the rights of their people,

including the freedom of religion, are

ultimately more just and more peace-

ful and more successful.

"Nations that do not uphold these

rights sow the bitter seeds of insta-bility and violence and extremism.

So freedom of religion matters to our

national security," Obama said.

Shah recalled his childhood "in

suburban Detroit, where every fami-

ly in our Indian-American communi-

ty had an immigrant story to share-of

hard work, sacrifice, and absolute

faith in the American dream,"

"When my grandfather gave his

life-savings to send my dad to Amer-

ica, I think he hoped-but never could

have imagined-how this nation and

its values would lift our family,"

Shah said.

"That my mom would run an

award-winning Montessori school ormy dad would one day work as an

engineer on the Apollo mission and

at Ford Motor Company."

"As a child, my Hindu heritage

was an extension of my community-

a place to fit in and feel loved," he

said. "The desire to connect to my

family's history drew me to southern

India the summer after college to

help fight disease in a remote com-

munity," Shah recalled.

Obama lavished high praise onShah, "who is just such an incredible

young leader and is out there every

single day, I could not be more proud

of his outstanding leadership at US-

AID."

"And it's a good reminder of the

dedicated public servants that I have

the chance to interact with every sin-

gle day," he said amidst applause.

"And they do great work, don't al-

ways get a lot of credit, sometimes

get subject to the sort of criticism

that you do when you're in public

life."

"But Raj is single-minded in terms

of trying to help as many people as

possible all around the world and isan extraordinary representative for

our country.

"So I'm very, very proud of him --

although he does always make me

feel like an underachiever whenever

I listen to him," Obama said.

Obama all praise for USAID's Rajiv Shah

USAID administrator Rajiv Shah

By Prakash Bhandari

Jaipur: Two Harvardians, who ob-

tained their PhDs in the 50's and who

contributed immensely in making

the Chicago University a well known

institution for the Indian study werehonored with Padma Bhushan,the

third highest civil award in India af-

ter Bharat Ratna and Padma Vib-

hushan by the President of India

Pranab Mukherjee this Republic

Day.

Lloyd Rudolph and his academic

wife Sussane who are in their eight-

ies now were rewarded for their con-

tribution to India.

The extra ordinary couple has lived

and worked together and have au-

thored a number of books as political

scientists. The news came in Kens-

ington,California where we have our

home. We are grateful to our friends

who recognized our work. We are

particularly thankful to Nirupama

rao, who was till recently Indias

Ambassador in US.She worked to

see that we are rewarded.We first

reached India in 1956 under foreign

area training grant as Ford Founda-

tion scholars and we traveled in a

Land Rover jeep.It was a memorable

experience and now we have found

time to write about this experience of

our travel. We are finishing up a

book to be published by the OxfordUniversity Press on our journey by

road from London to Jaipur entitled

Destination India: Overland from

London to India and what we learned

there, said Lloyd Rudolp from

Kensington,Calif.

They first stayed in Jaipur for six

months and then moved to Chen-

nai.But it was Jaipur that fascinated

them.

The Rudolphs have great appetite

for writing and they have written on

variety of subjects -the themes are

wide-ranging: caste and democracy;

the politics of education and curricu-

la; the impact of modernity on Indi-

an religions and the evolving rela-

tionship between religion and poli-

tics; the interaction between princely

and British India; federalism; Indo-

US relations; and Mahatma Gandhi.

The Rudolphs in their book, The

Modernity of Tradition (1967) had

warned that democracy or moderni-

ty would not eliminate traditional so-

cial structures like caste, as the stan-

dard modernization theories. Way

back in the eighties the Rudolphs

knew India so intimately that theyhad written caste groups would use

democracy to achieve their political

and economic goals, as well as fight

centuries-old caste prejudices. This

idea has become conventional wis-

dom in recent times and shows the

insight of the couple.

They have written on Mahatma

Gandhi profusely.Over the course

of the years, I co-authored eight

books with Susanne.The Modernity

of Tradition: Political Development

in India; Education and Politics in

India;The Regional Imperative: The

Administration of US Foreign Policy

Towards South Asian States Gandhi:

The Traditional Roots of Charisma;

Essays on Rajputana; In Pursuit of

Lakshmi: The Political Economy of

the Indian State; Reversing the Gaze:

The Amar Singh Diary, a Colonial

Subject s Narrative of Imperial India

and, most recently, Postmodern

Gandhi and Other Essays: Gandhi in

the World and at Home said

Rudoph.

In analyzing the relationship be-

tween India's politics and its econo-

my, the Rudolphs maintain that In-dia's economic performance has

been only marginally affected by the

type of regime in powerauthoritar-

ian or democratic. More important,

they show that rising levels of social

mobilization and personalistic rule

have contributed to declining state

capacity and autonomy. At the same

time, social mobilization has led to a

more equitable distribution of eco-

nomic benefits and political power,

which has enhanced the state's legit-

imacy among its citizens.

The Rudolphs time in Jaipur even

now is spent on research and writing

and meeting a former noble.

Late Thakur Mohan Singh Kanota

made their stay in India notable and

meaningful. The meeting with Mo-

han Singh was most productive as

they jointly wrote the book Revers-

ing The Gaze [Oxford University

Press] based on the 89 volumes of

the Amar Singh diary now exhibited

in the Amar Singh Library and Mu-

seum in Kanota, Castle,near Jaipur.

The Rudolphs first book on Ra-

jasthan, Essays on Rajputana is

about the history, culture and charac-

ter and administration of India

princely states in the 19th and 20th

centuries. They bring to bear the per-

spective and concerns of several so-

cial sciences on the princely and feu-

dal orders under paramountcy in the

19th century and on their demise af-

ter independence. The nature of their

evidence ranges from the material

they gathered as participant ob-

servers in the midst of the political

struggle over jagir abolition in the

1950s.

Rudolphs: First couple to receive Padma Bhushan

Raghuveer Nayak sentencedto two years for fraud

New York: An Indian-American

pharmacist has been sentenced totwo years in prison for paying

bribes and kickbacks to physi-

cians for patient referrals.

Raghuveer Nayak, a former

fundraiser and key figure in the

senate seat scandal of now jailed

Chicago governor Rod Blagoje-

vich, was sentenced on Tuesday

with a fine of $500,000 by US

district court judge Robert Get-

tleman, who said the 59-year-old

pharmacist had seriously "cor-

rupted the doctor-patient rela-

tionship."

He had pleaded guilty last year

to federal fraud and tax charges.

Nayak, who owns several sur-gery centers in Illinois and Indi-

ana, turned tearful as he apolo-

gized in the court for letting

down his family and community.

"These mistakes are mine and

mine only," he said. "I stand be-

fore you asking for forgiveness."

Nayak's alleged role in Blago-

jevich's attempted sale of a US

Senate seat nearly five years ago,

however, was not taken into ac-

count by the judge while sen-

tencing him.

"When it comes to the doctor-

patient relationship, we all rely

on our physicians to make the

best recommendation possible,"

said Gettleman who also ordered

Nayak to pay $23,000 in restitu-

tion to the Internal Revenue

Service.

Nayak had been approached by

federal agents on the day Blago-

jevich was arrested and decidedto cooperate with authorities in

return for leniency.

He had allegedly spoken to

then US Representative Jesse

Jackson at an October 2008

meeting about raising campaign

cash for Blagojevich in return for

Jackson's appointment to suc-

ceed newly elected President

Barack Obama in the Senate.

While Blagojevich was con-

victed and sentenced to 14 years

in prison Nayak was never

charged in the scandal.

Prosecutors said in court filings

last month that the scandal

should be kept in mind as it

showed his "willingness to cor-

rupt."

"In both contexts, he has

proved that he believes money

buys influence," prosecutors

said.

So I'm very,very proudof him --although hedoes alwaysmake mefeel like anunder-achieverwhenever Ilisten tohim,Obamasaid.

Raghuveer Nayak was alsoChicago governor Rod

Blagojevichs fundraiser

Lloyd and Sussane Rudolph


9/32

NATIONAL COMMUNITY 9February 15-21, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Robert Golomb

The President and many na-tional Democrats have

dubbed the Republican Party

as the party of No because of

their opposition to a long list of do-

mestic and foreign policy bills pro-

posed by Democrats in the House

and Senate. Republicans refute such

a label, arguing that whenever they

have opposed legislation initiated

by Democrats, they have offered

their own bills, only to have them

readily dismissed by the President

and his party.

It seems to me that on a national

level each party has a point. But if

Democrats are looking for a Repub-

lican to be their poster child of the No vote, all they need do is leave

Washington and come to the NYS

Assembly in Albany, where they can

meet and study the voting record of

the Assemblyman for the 8th AD,

Republican Michael Fitzpatrick.

Having voted No on every state

budget with the exception of the

2011-2012 and 2012- 2013 budgets

since his election in 2002, Fitz-

patrick, the married father of two

adult children, could immediately

become the No vote poster child

for these Democrats - who would

also learn that Fitzpatrick over that

same time voted against any bill that

contained an increase in business,

property or personal taxes and, or,

contained any hikes in fees paid to

governmental agencies. Based upon

this record, these Democrats would

come to understand why Fitzpatrick

is often referred to as Doctor No

by legislators on both sides of the

aisle in the State Assembly Building

in Albany.

When I interviewed Fitzpatrick -

whose Suffolk County District cov-

ers the entire town of Smithtown,

and northern parts of the town of Is-

lip - in his Smithtown communityoffice last week, he explained why

he is proud of his many No votes.

I wear my no votes as a badge of

honor, he said, with just a glimmer

of a smile on his face. The bills that

I opposed, which unfortunately

were passed, were filled with waste-

ful spending, adding up to more

than six billion dollars. The citizens

of my district, which is composed

primarily of middle and upper mid-

dle class families, are the good,

hardworking, family oriented peo-

ple who pay a disproportionate

amount of the tax burden in our

state, which, as Im sure you know,

is the highest taxed state in the na-tion. So, of course, I will vote no on

any legislation that will drive our

taxes even higher.

Fitzpatrick, who has a BA in Busi-

ness Administration and has worked

for 14 years in the financial services

industry, however, was quick to add

that he has accomplished far more in

the Assembly than simply voting

No on budgetary measures that he

believed contained excessive spend-

ing. Noting that he has sponsored or

co-sponsored 36 bills during his

eleven years in the Assembly, Fitz-

patrick stated, To change the cul-

ture in Albany it is not enough to

simply be reactive and vote no. It is

equally important to be proactive

and introduce bills- economic and

otherwise- that will actually benefit

the citizens of NYS.

Asked to cite the three bills he has

sponsored of which he is most

proud and explain the importance of

each, Fitzpatrick unhesitatingly of-

fered the first two, which unsurpris-

ingly to me, concerned issues relat-

ing to the budget: I was proud to

have introduced a bill that capped

the property tax levy at a level that

cannot exceed the rate of inflation.This establishes a built in check on

government spending which pro-

vides an essential safeguard for our

taxpayers.

And, I am also proud, Fitz-

patrick continued, of the legislation

I have introduced to reform our pen-

sion system. Pension costs for the

state and local governments are the

elephant in the fiscal room. The

high and ever escalating costs {of

the state pension} will be very diffi-

cult to sustain even into the near fu-

ture. My legislation would pro-

vide tax relief for our overburdened

citizens, and at the same time, the

bill would provide new state andmunicipal employees with a pension

plan that will be fiscally stable both

in the short and long term.

Because it had nothing to do with

the state budget, the third legislative

proposal he cited came, at first, as a

surprise to me. I sponsored a bill

that would prohibit the New York

State Employees Retirement System

from investing in companies that do

business with nations that sponsor

terrorism such as Iran. I am particu-

larly proud of this law. It allows

New York State to do something to

thwart this awful regime from pos-

sessing nuclear weapons, he said.

Fitzpatrick then paused shortly

before adding, Such nuclear

weapons in the hands of these

Christian and Jewish hating Iranian

mullahs could result in enormous

numbers of death and incalculable

destruction to America and to our al-

lies, including our closest ally, Is-

rael, whose very existence would be

threatened if Iran, God forbid, pos-

sessed a nuclear weapon. As a de-

vout Catholic and as an ordinary

American citizen I marched in the

1980s with my Jewish brothers andsisters on behalf of Soviet Jewry.

And today as an Assemblyman I

will continue to work together with

all good people of all faiths to try to

prevent a monstrous anti-Christian,

anti-Semitic regime from possess-

ing monstrous weapons.

Fitzpatrick told me that when he

returns to Albany next week, he will

try to convince his colleagues to

take a close look at a bill he intro-

duced in the Assembly just last

week. The bill contains controver-

sial budgetary reforms which in-

clude - ending the practice of grant-

ing municipal government employ-

ees automatic salary increases when

their contracts have expired, requir-

ing that all new state and local gov-

ernment workers make payments

into a 401 k style defined contribu-

tion to their pension plans, and plac-

ing a 2 percent cap on pay raises

won by municipal workers in bind-

ing arbitration.

While there is virtually no Albany

Republican or Democrat who gives

this bill, which has drawn harsh crit-

icism from public employee unions

throughout the state, any chance ofbecoming law, Fitzpatrick remains

convinced that, whatever the even-

tual outcome of the bill, he did not

waste his time in authoring it.

Every thousand mile journey, it has

been written, begins with a first

step, he said. Introducing this bill

is an important first step. Many of

my Democratic and Republican col-

leagues, while probably not plan-

ning to vote for the bill now, are at

least beginning to acknowledge the

credibility of my proposals. These

proposals have also gained a great

deal of attention from both the print

and broadcast media throughout the

state. Regardless of the outcome

of the bill, it has begun to drive the

conversation in Albany into not if,

but rather when and how, we must

reform the budget and change the

entire budgetary process into one

which places the taxpayer first.

Most Yorkers, I suspect, would

probably say yes to that.

Robert Golomb is a nationally

published columnist. Mr-

[email protected]

New York State Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick

Not afraid to say NoI wear my no votesas a badge of honor.

The bills that Iopposed were filled

with wastefulspending, addingup to more than six

billion dollars,says the

Republicanassemblymanrepresenting aSuffolk county

district.

India-US partnership would keep growing after poll: USWashington: An Obama administrationofficial has expressed confidence that

despite recent setbacks India-US strategic

partnership will continue to grow whatever

the outcome of India's upcoming national

elections.

"For almost two decades, in both India

and the US, Presidents and Prime Ministers

and political parties have come together and

worked to overcome old schisms," US

National Secur ity Adviso r Susan E. Rice

said Friday.

"Piece by piece, we're establishing a last-

ing partnership that's equipped to tackle

today's global challenges," she said address-

ing delegates attending the Aspen Institute

US-India Dialogue at the Indian ambassa-

dor S. Jaishankar's residence."And, the United States is confident that,

whatever the outcome of India's upcoming

national elections, the cooperation and

strategic partnership between our nations

will continue to grow," Rice said.The dialogue has been convened by the

Aspen Strategy Group, a bipartisan US poli-

cy forum, in conjunction with the CII and

the Aspen Ananta Centre to take a broad

look at the Indo-US relationship.

President Obama's key adviser said she

was not suggesting "that our relationship

doesn't require work, or that there aren't real

challenges to overcome."

"Every meaningful partnership between

powerful nations encounters setbacks. And,

obviously, recent events have drawn more

attention to our disagreements than to our

cooperative efforts," Rice said without

referring to the Khobragade affair or any

other particular incident.

"But, those difficulties should be minorcompared to the breadth of our relationship

and the magnitude of what we can accom-

plish together," she said apparently alluding

to the diplomatic spat over the December

arrest of Indian diplomat DevyaniKhobragade.

"We must also deal with our differences in

a constructive manner, commensurate with

a relationship of this importance," Rice

said.

Stressing the "need to expand opportuni-

ties for trade and investment," she

expressed "particular concern" over India's

"local content policies" that "end up dis-

couraging investment" and protection of

intellectual property rights.

"Concluding a bilateral investment treaty

would be a strong step forward, helping to

attract more capital to India and benefiting

Indians investing in industries across the

United States," Rice said.

India and US "must also keep workingtogether on major global challenges, such as

addressing the drivers of climate change

that have critical implications for every

nation," Rice said.

"Piece by piece we'reestablishing a lasting

partnership that'sequipped to tackle

today's global chal-

lenges," US NationalSecurity AdvisorSusan E. Rice said.


10/32

US AFFAIRS

Washington: Attorney

General Eric Holder called on

a group of states Tuesday to

restore voting rights to ex-felons, part of a push to fix

what he sees as flaws in the

criminal justice system that

have a disparate impact on

racial minorities.

"It is time to fundamentally

rethink laws that permanently

disenfranchise people who are

no longer under federal or

state supervision," Holder

said, targeting 11 states that he

said continue to restrict voting

rights for former inmates,

even after they've finished

their prison terms.

"Across this country today,

an estimated 5.8 millionAmericans are prohibited

from voting because of current

or previous felony convic-

tions," Holder told a sympo-

sium on criminal justice at

Georgetown University.

Now into his fif th year as

attorney general and hinting

that this year might be his last,

Holder survived political con-

troversies that, early on,placed him on the defensive.

Now he is doubling down on

the kinds of issues that have

long held his interest during a

career in law enforcement

prison overc rowding, overl y

harsh mandatory drug sen-

tences and school disciplinary

policies that he says push kids

into street crime.

On a topic with racial over-

tones, Holder said 2.2 million

black citizens, or nearly one in

13 African-American adults,are banned from voting

because of these laws, and he

said the ratio climbs to one in

five in Florida, Kentucky and

Virginia. "Although well over

a century has passed since

post -R econ st ru ct io n st at es

used these measures to strip

African-Americans of their

most fundamental rights, the

impact of felony disenfran-

chisement on modern commu-

nities of color remains both

disproportionate and unac-

ceptable."

In Iowa, action by the gov-

ernor caused the state to movefrom automatic restoration of

rights following completion of

a criminal sentence to an ardu-

ous process requiring direct

intervention by the governor

in every individual case, he

said. "It's no surprise that, two

years after this change of

the 8,000 people who had

completed their

New York: Shirley Temple, who

lifted America's spirits as a bright-

eyed child film star during the

Great Depression years andforged a second career as a US

diplomat, has died at the age of

85.

Shirley Temple Black died late

Monday night of natural causes in

her home at Woodside, California,

CNN reported citing a statement

issued by the actress's publicist

Cheryl Kagan.

She was surrounded by family

and friends.Born Shirley Jane Temple in

1928, she began acting at the age

of three. She was first noticed in

the 1932 film 'War Babies', and

also performed in the Baby

Burlesks series of short films.

Her singing, dancing and acting

over 18 years had drawn the

hearts of millions. She starred in

about 40 films and retired from

the silver screen at age 21 butlater hosted TV shows.

She became a Republican Party

supporter and later US ambassa-

dor posted to Ghana and

Czechoslovakia. She also served

as Chief of Protocol of the United

States from 1976-1977.

Attorney General urges states to restorevoting rights to ex-felons

Washington: The US will ban

interstate sales of elephant ivory, a

move aimed at cracking down onglobal wildlife trafficking that puts

endangered species at risk, the

Obama administration said today.Imports of ivory to the U.S. were

outlawed more than 20 years ago,

and the new rules allow only limit-

ed exceptions for sales of antiques

brought into the U.S. befo re the

prohibition, according to a White

House statement. Obama adminis-

tration officials cited increased

worldwide trade in elephant tusks

and rhinoceros horns as they

announced the ban.

Record high demand forwildlife products, coupled with

inadequate preventative measuresand weak institutions, has resulted

in an explosion of illicit trade in

wildlife in recent years, with the

increasing involvement of organ-

ized transnational criminal syndi-

cates, Associate Attorney General

Tony West said today in an e-mailed statement.

President Barack Obamas

administration acted in advance ofthe London Conference on the

Illegal Wildlife Trade, which starts

tomorrow. Poaching claims about

35,000 elephants per year world-

wide and took the lives of 1,000

rhinoceroses in South Africa last

year alone.

At $45,000 per pound, rhino

horn is worth $2,812 per ounce.

Thats more than the $1,290 per

ounce price for gold futures for

April delivery at 3:39 p.m. on theComex in New York.

This trade undermines security,fuels corruption and contributes to

the spread of disease, and it is dec-

imating iconic animal popula-

tions, West said.

Ivory sales banned in US as35,000 elephants die each year

Toronto: One of the largest and most

meticulous studies of mammography

ever done, involving 90,000 women

and lasting a quarter-century, has

added powerful new doubts about the

value of the screening test forwomen of any age.

It found that the death rates from

brea st cancer and from all causes

were the same in women who got

mammograms and those who did

not. And the screening had harms:

One in five cancers found with mam-

mography and treated was not a

threat to the womans health and did

not need treatment such as

chemotherapy, surgery or radiation.

The study, published Tuesday in

The British Medical Journal, is one

of the few rigorous evaluations of

mammograms conducted in the mod-

ern era of more effective breast can-

cer treatments. It randomly assigned

Canadian women to have regular

mammograms and breast exams by

trained nurses or to have breast

exams alone.

Researchers sought to determine

whether there was any advantage to

finding breast cancers when they

were too small to feel. The answer is

no, the researchers report.

The study seems likely to lead to

an even deeper polarization between

those who believe that regular mam-

mography saves lives, including

many breast cancer patients and

advocates for them, and a growingnumber of researchers who say the

evidence is lacking or, at the very

least, murky.

It will make women uncomfort-

able, and they should be uncomfort-

able, said Dr. Russell P. Harris, a

screening expert and professor of

medicine at the University of North

Carolina, Chapel Hill, who was not

involved in the study. The decision

to have a mammogram should not be

a slam dunk.

The findings will not lead to any

immediate change in guidelines formammography, and many advocates

and experts will almost certainly dis-

pute the idea that mammograms are

on balance useless, or even harmful.

'Long-term study casts doubts on value of mammograms

Iconic Hollywood child star Shirley Temple dead at 85

Washington: The US House of

Representatives Tuesday approved a bill

to extend the limit on the federal govern-

ment's borrowing authority with no

string attached.

The legislation, approved in a 221-

201 vote, would suspend the debt

ceiling until March 15, 2015,

allowing the Treasury

Department to issue new debt

above the current $17.2 tril-

lion cap, Xinhua reported.

The bill eliminates the

threat of default and puts

off debate on the issuetill after the 2014

midterm elections.

It signifies a retreat

from a long-held

Republican strategy of seeking conces-

sions in exchange for a debt-limit

increase, delivering victory to President

Barack Obama who has demanded a debt

limit hike without conditions.

House Speaker John Boehner told

reporters Tuesday morning that he

would advance a "clean" debt-limit

bill to the House floor, abandoning

a proposal circulated Monday

which would have linked the debt

limit increase with a reversal of

military benefits cuts.

Without an increase in the

statutory borrowing limit,

the U.S. government

would face the threat of

a historic default that

could wreak havoc in

global financial mar-kets and hurt eco-

nomic recovery.

The Democratic-

controlled Senate

was scheduled to hold a vote on the bill

Wednesday, where it will be a shoo-in.

Congressional Democrats have long

insisted the debt limit be raised with no

strings attached.

House Republicans let debt-limitbill pass without conditions

Attorney General EricHolder said 5.8 million

Americans are prohibitedfrom voting because of

current or previouscriminal convictions.

Shirley Temple as a child starand (above) receiving the

Screen Actors Guild LifetimeAchievement award in 2006.

10 February 15-21, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Days of brinksmanship over budgetaryissues seem to be over.


11/32

11February 15-21, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA

Congress, BJP join hands to pin down AAPNew Delhi: In a clear

sign that the AAP gov-

ernment was on its last

legs, the Congress and

the BJP joined hands to

pa ra ly se th e De lh i

assembly Thursday,

forcing Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal to say

he will quit if his

attempts to pass the Jan

Lokpal bill failed

Friday.

In a dramatic U-turn

from the time the

Congress mocked at the

Bharatiya Janata Party

when it extended critical support to

Kejriwal Dec 28, the two parties

came together to taunt the chief

minister and his party, targeting

Law Minister Somnath Bharti in

particular.

Kejriwal, 45, bore through 70

minutes of heckling and ugly slo-

ganeering, only to declare later:

"This is the first time in India both

the Congress and the BJP had such

a synchronized setting.

It was very well coordinated...

This is what we wanted," he said,

speaking partly in Hindi and partly

in English.

Unable to speak in the house,

Kejriwal -- who had wanted to dis-

tribute copies of the Jan Lokpal bill

to all legislators -- told the media

later that he would resign if the bill

wasnt passed Friday in the assem-

bly.

"We will try to introduce the bill

tomorrow. If it gets beaten and

defeated by the Congress and BJP,

I will resign.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is

desperate to pass the bill, which

aims to check corruption in high

places, during the four-day session

which started Thursday.

But this is impossible with the

31-member BJP, the biggest group

in the assembly, the eight-member

Congress, the lone Janata Dal-

United legislator and an independ-

ent virtually banding together.

The AAP won 28 seats in the

December election. But one mem-

be r ha s re be ll ed an d ha s be en

expelled.

Nehru Place tops US list of six 'notorious markets' in IndiaWashington: The US has listed six markets in India,

including Nehru Place and Gaffar Market in New Delhi,

as "notorious markets" in global piracy and counterfeit-

ing of American products in violation of intellectual

property rights (IPR). Manish Market and Lamington

Road in Mumbai, and Chenoy Trade Centre and the

Hong Kong Bazar in Hyderabad were also listed among

the "notorious" in a report released Wednesday by theUS Trade Representative's office (USTR). "Nehru Place

continues to be a prominent example of the numerous

markets in major cities throughout India that are known

for dealing in large volumes of pirated software, pirated

optical media containing movies and music, and coun-

terfeit goods," the report said.

"Gaffar Market is rife with counterfeit clothing, shoes,

cosmetics, electronics, and other products, most of

which are imported into India," it said.

Hyderabad's Chenoy Trade Centre and Hong Kong

Bazar house a large number of shops that sell computer

hardware and software.

Hazare to meet Mamata, to campaign for partyKolkata: Praising TrinamoolCongress chief Mamata Banerjee,

social activist Anna Hazare said he

will meet her in Delhi Feb 18 to

decide how they can cooperate

while the party claimed he has

decided to campaign for them in the

coming Lok Sabha polls.

"I will meet Mamata. We will

have detailed talks. We will decide

the road we will take," Hazare told

media persons at his village Ralegan

Siddhi in Maharashtra after meeting

Trinamool general secretary Mukul

Roy. A post on the Trinamool web-

site said the two would hold talksFeb 18 to "discuss the modalities of

the election campaign". Hazare said

he had sent a

vol 6 issue 42 -february 15-21, 2014

Documents