vol 7 issue 14 -august 01 august 07, 2014
TRANSCRIPT
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Freetown: Sierra Leone declared a
health emergency and called in
troops to quarantine Ebola victims,
jo in in g ne ighb or ing Li be ri a in
imposing tough controls as the
death toll from the worst-ever out-
break of the virus hit 729 in West
Africa.
The World Health Organization
said it was in talks with donors and
international agencies to deploy
more medical staff and resources to
one of the world's poorest regions.
The WHO reported 57 new deaths
between Ju ly 24-27 in Guinea,
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.Authorities in Nigeria, which
recorded its first Ebola case last
week when a US citizen died after
arriving on a flight from Liberia,
said all passengers travelling from
areas at risk would be temperature-
screened for the virus. In a measure
of rising international concern,
New Delhi: India has raised the
issue of America's cyber snooping
on the country, saying it was "unac-ceptable" as visiting US Secretary
of State John Kerry in a conciliatory
note said the US would continue to
work with India wherever they saw
a "threat to shared interests".
External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj, addressing a joint press
briefing with Kerry after the Fifth
India-US Strategic Dialogue, said
that she conveyed to Kerry that the
people of India were very agitated
over US surveillance activities. "I
also said if we consider each other
friends then a friendly country spy-
ing on another is unacceptable."
Kerry, in reply, said that the US
"fully respects and understands the
feelings expressed" by the minister.
He said the US values its relation-
ship with India and "we also value
the sharing of information regarding
counter-terrorism, and we had con-
versations with government officials
and we try to with intelligence com-
munities".
He said President Barack Obama
has undertaken a "unique andunprecedented review" of the US
intelligence and intelligence gather-
ing and gave a speech articulating
American approach to the standards
that will apply to it.
Sushma Swaraj's raising the issue
of US internet snooping by its intel-
ligence agency, the National
Security Agency, comes days after
Communications Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad said in parliament
that the government would not
accept breach of any Indian law
relating to privacy of people by
American intelligence agencies.
The US has been facing flak from
numerous countries, including
Germany and Brazil, following rev-
elations that the NSA snooped on
phone conversations and the internet
mail of the leaders of those coun-
tries. Aiming for a re-energised
India-US bilateral relationship,
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 journalismFESTIVALS 27US AFFAIRS 9 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Washington: One day after House
Republicans voted to sue him for
allegedly exceeding his executive
authority, President Barack Obama
signed yet another executive order,
saying the suit is not going to stop
me from doing what I think needs to
be done in order to help fami lies
across the country.
The president signed an order,titled Fair Pay and Safe
Workplace, requiring prospective
federal contractors to disclose labor
law violations.
Any time Congress wants to do
work with me to help working fami-
lies, Im right there. The door is
Vol.7 No. 14 August 2-8, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
World on alert as Ebola outbreak kills 729
WHO is not recommending any travel restrictions
or border closures yet.
OP ED 13
Continued on page 4
New York State Senator Toby
Stavisky (D-Flushing) honored the
leadership of Gujarati Samaj of New
York with 'New York State Senate
Proclamation' on their 40th
anniversary for their service to the
community. Seen in the photo are,
from left, Vice Chair Khandu Patel,Program Manager Bharati Desai,
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Raman Patel, Senator Stavisky,
President Harshad Patel,
Chairperson Dilip Chauhan and
President of the SIAEA Mihir Patel.
US House has approved a lawsuit against President BarackObama over alleged abuse of executive power.Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Snooping, terrordominate Kerry& Swaraj meet
Undeterred, Obama signs another executive order
Stalwarts of Gujarati Samaj honored by NY State Senator
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with US Secretaryof State John Kerry during the Fifth India-US
Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi.
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August 2-8, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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3August 2-8, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
New Delhi: Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modis proposed address to a
joint sitting of the US Congress in
September is unlikely to happen be-
cause the Republican Party is push-
ing for a shorter session to enable
early elections to the law-makingbody.
South Block sources told Hindus-
tan Times that Modis much-await-
ed address will fall victim to the US
opposition partys push to end the
session by the third week of Sep-
tember so that it can capitalize on a
perceived electoral advantage over
the Democrats.
The Indian PM will be in the US
to address the UN General Assem-
bly and then meet US President
Obama in the last week of Septem-
ber. The address to Senators and
Congressmen was due to happen
around the time of the Obama meet-
ing.
Modi has received no less thaneight separate invitations or letters
of support from US Senators and
Congressmen to address the joint
session.
This includes a letter under circu-
lation from Californian Democrat
Congressman Brad Sherman and
more than 80 colleagues to House
and Senate leaders.
Signatories to the letter include
five Congressmen who had earliersupported the visa ban on Modi as a
fallout of the 2002 Gujarat riots.
There is a huge interest in the US
about rising economic opportunity
in India, politics under the leader-
ship of Modi, who has a single par-
ty majority government after 30
years, as also the pressure of the in-
fluential Indian community on their
representatives, said a senior
South Block official.According to US diplomatic
sources, five of the invitations are
from the US house, two from the
Senate including a floor statement
by Senator John McCain on the US-
India Strategic Partnership and a
separate letter by House and Senate
India Caucus Co-Chairs to the
Speaker of the House in support of
a Modi joint address.
Washington: More than 35 per-
cent of Americans have debts and
unpaid bills that have been report-
ed to collection agencies, accord-
ing to a study released Tuesday by
the Urban Institute.
These consumers fall behind on
credit cards or hospital bills. Their
mortgages, auto loans or student
debt pile up, unpaid. Even past-
due gym membership fees or cell-
phone contracts can end up with a
collection agency, potentially
hurting credit scores and job
prospects, said Caroline Ratcliffe,
a senior fellow at the Washington-
based think tank. Debt in collec-
tions can tip employers' hiring de-
cisions, and landlords renting
decisions.
The study found that the debts
reported averaged $5,178, based
on September 2013 records. Thestudy points to a disturbing trend:
The share of Americans in collec-
tions has remained relatively con-
stant, even as the country as a
whole has whittled down the size
of its credit card debt since the of-
ficial end of the Great Recession
in the middle of 2009. As a share
of people's income, credit card
debt has reached its lowest level
in more than a decade, according
to the American Bankers Associa-
tion. People increasingly pay off
balances each month. Just 2.44
percent of card accounts are over-
due by 30 days or more, versus
the 15-year average of 3.82 per-
cent. Yet roughly the same per-
centage of people are still getting
reported for unpaid bills, accord-
ing to the Urban Institute study
performed in conjunction with re-
searchers from the Consumer
Credit Research Institute. Their
figures nearly match the 36.5 per-
cent of people in collections re-
ported by a 2004 Federal Reserve
analysis. All of this has reshaped
the economy. The collections in-
dustry employs 140,000 workers
who recover around $50 billion
each year, according to a separatestudy published this year by the
Federal Reserve's Philadelphia
bank branch.
Health care-related bills ac-
count for 37.9 percent of the debts
collected, according to a new re-
port commissioned by the Associ-
ation of Credit and Collection
Professionals.
Washington: It is a tribute to Americas ac-
ceptance and embracing of diversity that anIndian American is among the handful of
people assigned to carry out nuclear attacks
when authorized by the President.
Lt. Raj Bansal of the US Air Force's 90th
Missile Wing is one of the last men standing
by ten Minuteman III nuclear missiles andthe US President's order to launch them. Bur-
rowed in an underground bunker in a flat, un-
marked terrain between Cheyenne,
Wyoming, and Lincoln, Nebraska, he and his
partner Capt. Joseph Shannon are among the
nuclear launch frontiersmen who do 24-hourshifts, reports The Times of India.
Lt. Bansal's story emerged when the US Air
Force allowed the media a rare glimpse of
how America's nuclear arsenal operates fol-
lowing a scandal in which personnel in
charge of US nuclear weapons were found
cheating much like how school stu-
dents cheat in exams to meet the grades
required to display their knowledge of
launch codes etc. Nine officers were fired
for cheating and dozens were reprimand-
ed.
Evidently, Lt Bansal was not among
them because NPR described his routine
on the nuke watch, rather sketchily be-
cause much of the drill is still classified.
Controls to the missiles themselves are
buried 60 feet underground in a room
called "the capsule." Protected by an enor-
mous, 2-foot-thick blast door made of 8
tons of solid steel, it said the room is hol-
lowed out like an egg shell, and in the mid-
dle, suspended on shock absorbers, hangs
the launch control center, a room within a
room.
It is here that Bansal and Shannon work
on 24-hour shifts. Will they ever get a coded
message from the President ordering them tounleash their weapons? Bansal was asked.
"I think it's something everybody thinks
about when they get the job," Bansal replied.
"I mean you're basically eating most of your
meals when you're on alert next to the keys
and switches that would cause that act."
Modi may not get to address US Congress joint session
The Indian-American finger on US nuclear button
One-third of Americans reported tocollection agencies for unpaid bills & debts
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Washington DC inSeptember, and has received no less than eight separate invita-tions or letters of support from US Senators and Congressmen
to address the joint session.
Capt. Joseph Shannon and Lt. Raj Bansal are a two-man crewoverseeing 10 nuclear weapons.
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4 August 2-8, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE
Snooping, terror dominate Kerry.
Continued from page 1
Swaraj and Kerry explored fron-
tiers vis-a-vis security and clean
energy.
"The two sides recognised that
the decisive mandate provided by
the Indian people to their new
government provided a unique
opportunity to re-energise this
relationship," said a joint state-ment on the strategic dialogue.
Sushma Swaraj and Kerry hoped
that the Summit Meeting between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and US President Barack Obama
in Washington in September
would generate new dynamism in
the relationship.
The two leaders said they were
committed to intensify efforts to
combat terrorism.
"Sushma Swaraj and Kerry com-
mitted to intensify efforts to com-
ba t te rror ism, prol iferat io n of
WMDs (weapons of mass destruc-
tion), nuclear terrorism, cross-bor-
der crime, and address the misuseof the internet for terrorist purpos-
es, in compliance with respective
laws," the statement said.
Sushma Swaraj and Kerry wel-
comed the continuation of the
Counter-Terrorism Joint Working
Group process, sustained
exchanges of senior experts, and
the upcoming meeting of the
Working Group in 2014.
They also welcomed plans to
hold the next Ministerial
Homeland Security Dialogue.
The two leaders also agreed to
work towards greater cooperation
in cyber security and reducing
cyber crime.
In the area of energy, Sushma
Swaraj and Kerry welcomed work
under the Partnership to Advance
Clean Energy (PACE) in its
Research and Deployment compo-
nents.
They reviewed the new initiative
on Promoting Energy Access
through Clean Energy (PEACE) in
giving Indian citizens in rural
areas access to off-grid sources of
clean energy.
The two leaders reaffirmed their
commitment to the full implemen-
tation of the India-US civil nuclear
agreement.
"They looked forward to
advancing the government-to-gov-
ernment dialogue and facilitating
the establishment of US-builtnuclear power plants in India," the
statement said.
The two sides also identified
education and skill development
as important areas of future coop-
eration.
"They called for partnerships
betwee n Indian and US tes ting
services institutions to improve
nationwide student assessments in
India," the statement added.
On the issue of stability in
Afghanistan, Sushma Swaraj and
Kerry reaffirmed their support for
a unified, independent and sover-
eign Afghanistan.
"They expressed admiration forthe determination of the Afghan
people to exercise their democrat-
ic right to vote despite the signifi-
cant threat from terrorist ele-
ments," the statement said.
They welcomed the efforts of
Afghan institutions involved in the
current electoral process to work
together with the UN to ensure the
timely completion of the ongoing
process, so that the elections are a
source of unity and strength for
the country and a source of stabili-
ty for the region.
The leaders reiterated their deep
concern over the current situation
in Iraq, which posed a direct threat
to the security of the people and
the territorial integrity of the coun-
try.
"They affirmed that they
attached the highest priority to the
security and safety of their respec-
tive nationals in Iraq. They stood
by the people of Iraq in their fight
against international terrorism and
their efforts to preserve Iraq's
unity and territorial integrity,
recognising that a stable, peaceful,
united and democratic Iraq is in
the interest of regional and global
peace and security," the statement
said.
World on alert as Ebola...
Continued from page 1
Britain held a government meetingon Ebola and called it a threat
requiring a response.
The White House also said
President Obama was being
briefed on the situation.
But international airlines associ-
ation IATA said the WHO was not
recommending any travel restric-
tions or border closures, and there
would be a low risk to other pas-
sengers if an Ebola patient flew.
The outbreak of the haemorrhagic
fever, for which there is no known
cure, began in the forests of
remote eastern Guinea in
February, but Sierra Leone now
has the highest number of cases.Sierra Leone President Ernest
Bai Koroma said he would meet
leaders of Liberia and Guinea in
Conakry on Friday to discuss
ways to combat the epidemic.
Undeterred, Obama signs...
Continued from page 1
always open. More than that, Ill
go to them; Ill wash their car,
walk their dog, the president
joked at a White House ceremony.
Earlier, US House approved a
lawsuit against President Barack
Obama over alleged abuse of
executive power.
The 225-201 vote fell along
party lines, with five Republicans
voting against the measure while
no Democrats supported it.
Last week, the House Rules
Committee approved at 7-4 vote a
resolution allowing the full House
to vote on authorizing the lawsuit
against Obama, accusing him of
abusing executive authority.
Washington: The CIA's insistence
that it did not spy on its US Senate
overseers collapsed with the release
of a stark report by the agency'sinternal watchdog documenting
improper computer surveillance and
obstructionist behavior by CIA offi-
cers.
Five agency employees two
lawyers and three computer special-
ists improperly accessed Senate
intelligence committee computers
earlier this year in a dispute over
interrogation documents, according
to a summary of a CIA inspector
general report describing the results
of an internal investigation. Then,
despite CIA Director John Brennan
ordering a halt to that operation, the
CIA's office of security began an
unauthorized investigation that led it
to review the emails of Senate
staffers and search them for key
words.
After Senate leaders learned about
the intrusion in January and object-ed, the CIA made a criminal referral
to the Justice Department, alleging
improper behavior by Senate
staffers when they took the internal
CIA review documents. That refer-
ral, CIA watchdog David Buckley
found, was based on inaccurate
information and was not justified.
Brennan also asked his agency's
inspector general to examine
whether the CIA committed wrong-
doing. When internal investigators
interviewed the three CIA computer
specialists who helped access the
Senate machines, they exhibited "a
lack of candor," the report said, sug-
gesting an attempt to cover up their
actions.
Jerusalem: Israel and Hamas have
agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian
ceasefire beginning Friday, during
which time there will be negotia-
tions on a more durable truce in the
24-day-old Gaza war, the United
States and United Nations
announced.
The announcement came hours
after Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to
destroy Hamas' tunnel network with
or without a ceasefire as the
Palestinian death toll soared past
1,400. There was no immediate
Israeli comment on the announce-
ment. In a statement released in
New Delhi where secretary of state
John Kerry is traveling, the US and
UN said they had gotten assurances
that all parties to the conflict had
agreed to an unconditional ceasefire.
"This humanitarian ceasefire will
commence at 8am local time on
Friday, August 1, 2014. It will last
for a period of 72 hours unless
extended. During this time the
forces on the ground will remain in
place," the statement said. "We urge
all parties to act with restraint until
this humanitarian ceasefire begins,
and to fully abide by their commit-
ments during the ceasefire." The
statement said the ceasefire was crit-
ical to give civilians a much-needed
reprieve from violence.
CIA spied on US Senate,internal review finds
US, UN announce deal on 72-hourGaza ceasefire
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5August 2-8, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
New York: On July 6, Delaware
teen Ishaan Jagiasi was crowned
the National U.S. Champion in
the senior division at Pokemon
Card Tournament in Indianapo-
lis.
Pokmon cards is part of the
franchise well-known for best-
selling games, television shows,
movies and the trading card
game itself. The trading card
game has its own set of elite tournaments,
awards, and championships.
Last year Ishaan won four state champi-
ons last year is among the Top 16 card
traders among the world. He will now
compete in the Pokmon World Champi-
onships at the Walter E Washington Cen-
ter in Washington, D.C., Aug. 15 to 17.
Among prizes he received at the July 6
event were the Pokmon TCG National
Championship First Place Trophy, a schol-
arship award worth $5,000, 500 champi-
onship points, a Travel Award to
the 2014 World Championship and
a combination of 72 booster packs
from the current Pokmon TCG
expansion.
In this game, players take on the
role of a Pokmon trainer, using
their creatures to battle. Players
play Pokmon to the field and use
their attacks to reduce the oppo-
nents hidden power (HP). When a
Pokmons HP is reduced to 0 it is
knocked out and the player who knocked
it out takes a Prize card into their hand. A
player may win the game in three ways
by collecting all of their prize cards (ini-
tially six, some cards can increase this), if
their opponent runs out of Pokmon on the
field or if at the beginning of their oppo-
nents turn there are no cards left to draw
in the opponents deck.
The Pokmon World Championships, an
annual event which began in 2004.
Chicago: Federation of Indian Associations-
Chicago [FIA] has moved into high gear to unveilits dazzling Grand Parade & Music/Dance Mela
to set the countdown for one of the most color-
fully ostentatious events in celebration of India
Independence Day with its flagship event Grand
Parade taking the center stage on Saturday Au-
gust 16 at 11:30 am from Devon Ave & Western
Ave in Chicago, Illinois. This colorful Grand Pa-
rade and Mela is unrivaled in its makeup, scope,
creativity and composition as it features for the
first-time a huge ornated replica of Elephant aug-
mented by breath-taking pageantry with the daz-
zling display of decorated floats, marching bands,
drum beats, colorful costumes inundated with
music, dances and revelry to celebrate the India
Independence Day enhanced by the presence of
popular Zee TV actors adding to its fervency,
gusto and gleeful anticipation.This Grand Parade and Mela will be preceded
by Gala Banquet & Flag-Hoisting ceremony. The
India Independence Day Gala Banquet will serve
as a dazzling precursor featuring stunning dance
presentations eclipsed by delectable dinner selec-
tion at the Meadows Club on Sunday August 10,
2014 5:30 pm.
The remarkable dance sequence presentations
are being artistically choreographed & directed
by danseur Falguni Rana along with a team of 50talented young dancers.
The pivotal event surrounding the celebrations
is the India Independence Day Flag-Hoisting cer-
emony that will be held on Friday, August 15,
2014 at 11:30 am on the Daley Plaza near Dear-
born St. & Washington St. in downtown Chicago.
Event Chairman Iftekhar Shareef is roping in
young talent who will present patriotic-based In-
dian traditional dances mobilized under the lead-
ership of Harish Kolasani & Hina Trivedi. The
flag will be hoisted by a host of elected officials
led by Consul General of India Dr. Ausaf Sayeed.
Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, FIA President in a
statement - said that the FIAs leadership team is
sparing no effort whatsoever to meticulously ex-
ecute the Grand India Independence Day four
major festivities events to ensure it unveils theessence of majestic India featuring spectacular
display of Indias rich cultural heritage showcas-
ing the colorful mosaic of Indias multi-ethnic
traditions, costumes, language, music and dances
thus illustrating the profound distinctiveness of
India. Ajai Agnihotri will serve as an overall Fes-
tivities Convener handling the enormous logistics
and events management.
Robbinsville, NJ: The BAPS
Swaminarayan Sanstha is set to in-
augurate its sixth traditional stone
mandir in North America located inRobbinsville, New Jersey. The
mandir has been built according to
the Hindu Shilpa Shastras or an-
cient architectural texts following a
tradition of temple building through
the millennia. Inspired by His Holi-
ness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the
intricately hand-carved mandir is
built to last thousands of years. It
stands as a testament to the dedica-
tion, service and devotion of the or-
ganizations many volunteers and
well-wishers. The inauguration of
this traditional stone mandir marks
the completion of the second phase
of the Swaminarayan Akshardham
complex that is currently plannedfor the site.
The mandir is 134 feet long and
87 feet wide, comprising of 108 pil-
lars and three garbha gruhs or inner
sanctums. The entire mandir has
been covered by a permanent struc-
ture to increase the structures life
and accommodate darshan and wor-
ship during the regions harsh win-
ter. The Mandir is made entirely of
Italian marble and was completed in
three years at a cost of $18 million.
This was made possible by the ded-
ication and selfless service of pro-
fessional volunteers, including en-
gineers and architects, who helpedto minimize the cost of the mandir.
The inauguration ceremonies will
begin with a Vedic Yagna or sacrifi-
cial ritual for world peace and will
be followed by a Shobha Yatra or
celebratory procession of the
deities. The inauguration itself will
take place according to traditional
Vedic rituals in the Murti Pratishta
ceremony on August 9 and 10. Fi-
nally, the Mandir complex will be
opened to the community and pub-
lic on August 16 at a special dedica-
tion ceremony hosting community
leaders from within the Indian-
American community and fromaround the region. His Holiness
Pramukh Swami Maharaj will be
traveling to New Jersey to be a part
of the inauguration ceremonies and
festivities. He will be joined by a
delegation of 40 sadhus and priests
from India to officiate the rituals of
the installation.
After its opening, the BAPS Shri
Swaminarayan Mandir in Rob-
binsville, NJ, like other BAPS
mandirs, will not only be a center of
Hindu liturgy, but will also provide
a spiritual haven for aspirants and
devotees in their local community.
The murtis of the chief deities of the
mandir, Bhagwan Swaminarayan
along with his ideal devotee, Gu-
natitanand Swami, will be installed
in the mandirs central shrine. The
murtis of other Hindu deities, in-
cluding Radha Krishna Dev, Sita-
Ram Dev, Shiv-Parvati Dev, Hanu-
manji and Ganeshji, too will be in-
stalled within the mandirs shrines.
The mandir will help preserve Hin-
du ritual, beliefs, and Indian tradi-
tions for generations to come.
Built by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, it is located in Robbinsville
Teen Ishaan Jagiasi is National
Champion at Pokmon Card Tournament
FIA-Chicago gears up for a Grand I-Day Parade & Mela
Made entirely of Italian marble the mandir was completed inthree years at a cost of $18 million.
Central NJ to get North Americas sixth traditional mandir
The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha inaugurated
its first traditional stone temple (and the firsttraditional stone Hindu Mandir in NorthAmerica) in Stafford, Texas, a suburb ofHouston, on July 25, 2004. This milestone wasfollowed one month later by the opening of thesecond such temple in Bartlett, Illinois outsideof Chicago. In the summer of 2007, traditionalstone temples were inaugurated in Lilburn,Georgia near Atlanta and in Toronto, Canadafollowed by Chino Hills, California in Decemberof 2012. Today, the organization has over 90mandirs in North America, of which six are
traditional stone-carved, and over 1100mandirs worldwide.
Ishaan Jagiasi
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8/12/2019 Vol 7 Issue 14 -August 01 August 07, 2014
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6 August 2-8, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY
By Jinal Shah
New York: In an effort to reach out
to the families of the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)
people of Asian American, SouthAsian, Southeast Asian and Pacific
Island descent, the National Queer
Asian Pacific Islander Alliance and
the Asian Pride Project released a se-
ries of multilingual Public Service
Announcements (PSA).
We saw that many of the parents
who come out publicly and an-
nounce their love for their LGBT
children tend to be white, or these
announcements are only seen in
English, so we felt it was very im-
portant to show such examples in our
own communities, and in our own
languages, said Suma Reddy, direc-
tor, Asian Pride Project.
The PSAs of Asian Americans
coming out began airing early July
in Mandarin, Korean, Hindi, Japan-
ese, Tagalog, Laotian and English on
local California stations serving
large Asian American communities
in California and will soon be aired
on Asian and South Asian channels
in New York metro, Atlanta, Hous-
ton, Chicago, Virginia and DC Metro
area.
The 30-second long Hindi PSA
features a Sikh couple Harcharan and
Kamlesh Bagga along with their son
Amit- speaking directly to the cam-
era. Amits coming out story is no
different than a lot of LGBT individ-
uals in the South Asian community.
At the root of his story was the fearof rejection, disappointing his par-
ents. My family is just like any oth-
er South Asian family rooted deeply
in traditional values, family rela-
tions, education and success, shared
Amit adding, My mother who is a
psychologist was able to understand
me but it took a while for my father
to process, resulting to a serious
strain in our relationship.
But as they say 'every cloud has a
silver lining', both father and son
came out strong and the video is just
one testimony of their love and ac-
ceptance. I am proud of my son. I
have always been proud of my son,"
says Harcharan in the film. "It is time
to stand and support your children,
my children, our children," adds
Kamlesh. The entire family says the
final line together: "After all, family
is still family and love is still love.
The PSAs were a great way forfamilies of gay sons and daughters to
show their love for their children, in
a very public and visible way. We
don't feel that we or our families
should hide who we are, whether as
a gay or lesbian son or daughter, or
as a father and mother (or grand-
mother or uncle) of a gay daughter or
son, adds Reddy.
We were thrilled to have the op-
portunity to share our message with
the community. As important as the
message is, it is the visual of a
woman in saree and an elderly man
in a turban speaking in Hindi and
Punjabi that will resonate with many
South Asian families, said Amit.
Rising baseball star seeksyour vote on his video
US-based Indian company BandarFoods gets first round of funding
A still from the public service announcementaimed at Indian American families
Hindi PSA features Sikh couple supporting gay son
New York: Kumar Nambiar,
16 yr. old from Mamaroneck,
NY has been chosen as one of
four finalists in the USA "New
Balance Game Changer" con-
test. Each finalist submitted a 3
min video on how they impact-
ed and improved their commu-
nity through baseball. Kumar's
theme is that sports are an im-
portant part of growing up, andhe is trying to bring awareness
to Indian youth and parents that
not only can one excel at both
sports and academics but that
both pursuits enhance each oth-
er. Kumar has not only been
named one of New York states
top-ranking teen baseball play-
ers and a member of the Na-
tional Honor Society, but has
also been accepted to Yale,
where he will commit to play-
ing baseball for the school in
2015.
In September 2013, Perfect
Game ranked him as a number
one pitcher in New York,twelfth player overall in the
state, and 54th left-handed
pitcher in the U.S. for the high
school class of 2015.
Kumar's dream is to one day
play pro-baseball for an MLB
team and believes that if kids
like him strive in competitive
sports as we are conditioned
and expected to do in academ-
ics we would have a greater
presence in major league
sports. Kumar is well on his
way to achieving his dream.
By watching his 3 min. video
and voting for him, your sup-port will not only help Kumar,
but would also be helping our
community in a positive step
forward. You can vote once
every 24 hours and can vote
from different computers,
phones, iPads, etc.
California: San Francisco-based
Bandar Foods has secured its first
external funding led by August Cap-
ital Partners, a Singapore-based in-
stitutional investment firm, and an
individual investor Karl Ulrich, vicedean of Innovation at Wharton
Business School, VCCircle report-
ed.
The capital raised by the company
is believed to be under $1 million,
but the exact amount could not be
ascertained. The capital raised
through convertible debt investment
will be used to continue the compa-
ny's meteoric progress in retail and
foodservice sales, said the firm.
Bandar (which means monkey inHindi) Foods offers Indian flavors
for everyday American use. The
company launched its first two
condiments in May 2013 and, with-
in the first year on shelves, has
grown its reach to over 1,000 stores
across the US, Canada and UAE.
The companys products are now
sold in chains such as Whole Foods,
Safeway and Fresh Market in the
US. Bandar recently expanded itscondiment line and launched its firstflavors of poppadum lentil crisps.
Its other products include Spicy
Mango Chilli sauce and Tango
Tamarind Dipping sauce.
The idea to create a crossover In-
dian-American food brand was in-
cubated while the founders, Lalit
Kalani and Dan Garblik, were MBA
students at Wharton Business
School.
This is a unique investment by us
and we got to know of the BandarFoods two years back. We have
maintained a relationship with the
company since then and invested re-
cently. Going forward, the company
will also be expanding into Asia, in-
cluding Japan, Sameer Narula,
managing director, August Capital
Partners told VCCircle.
He added, "We believe that Daniel
and Lalit are building a global food
business with an Indian soul and a
Silicon Valley DNA.Garblik said, "Sameer (Narula)
immediately saw what we were try-
ing to do. Many food products
around India and Asia are not pack-
aged or marketed in a way that
makes their use-case obvious to
American eaters. Bandar can be a
vehicle to bring the world's food
cultures together on the same table."
Kalani stated, "We met with
Sameer and Professor Ulrich multi-ple times over the past two years aswe refined our ideas. They were our
first calls when we decided to raise
money. We have huge things
planned and will use this investment
to help us scale and penetrate new
sectors."
LI doctor Akshat Jain
named editor ofAAPI medical journalNew York: Akshat Jain MD, fellow in
pediatric hematology oncology and stem
cell transplantation at the Steven and
Alexandra Cohens Childrens medical
center has been selected as the editor for
the prestigious publication of the Ameri-
can Association of physicians of Indian
Origin (AAPI). He joins the following
expert panel of editors for this publica-
tion that features scholarly and commu-
nity work of the Indian American Med-
ical Fraternity in the United States M. P.
Ravindra Nathan MD Cardiology;
Shivprasad Madduri MD Urology; He-
mant Dhingra MD - Nephrology/ Fresno;Vibhuti Singh MD Cardiology; Udita
Jahagirdar MD OB & GYN; Sandeep
Jauhar, MD, PhD- Cardiology; Kusum
Punjabi MD Emergency Medicine; Anil
Yallapragada MD Neurology/ Stroke;
and Nirupama Madduri MD, Adolescent
Psychiatry.
Dr Akshat Jain with CongressmanSteny Hoyer
Kumar Nambiar
Vote Appeal
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7August 2-8, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: In an extremely awkward
incident, a newly elected member of the US
House of Representatives mistook two senior
Indian American officials of the Barack Obama
administration to be from India and asked them
questions about "your country" and "your gov-
ernment."
"I'm familiar with your country; I love your
country," freshman Republican Curt Clawson
told Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar at a House
Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last Thurs-
day, Foreign Policy online reported.
"Anything I can do to make the relationship
with India better, I'm willing and enthusiastic
about doing so," he continued amid looks of
confusion among State Department and Con-
gressional staff attending the hearing.Biswal is the Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asian Affairs and Arun Ku-
mar is the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Global Markets and Director General of the US
and Foreign Commercial Service.
Clawson, apparently confused by their Indi-
an surnames and skin tone also asked Biswal
and Arun Kumar if the Indian government
could loosen restrictions on US capital invest-
ments in the country.
"Just as your capital is welcome here to pro-
duce good-paying jobs in the US, I'd like our
capital to be welcome there," he said."I ask cooperation and commitment and pri-
ority from your government in so doing. Can I
have that?" "I think your question is to the In-
dian government," Biswal responded.
"We certainly share your sentiment and we
certainly will advocate that on behalf of the
US." According to the report, it is extremely
uncommon for foreign officials to testify be-
fore Congress under oath.
"Even so, it's unclear if at any point Clawson
realized his mistake, despite the existence of a
witness list distributed Continued on page 8
Tampa, FL: The feud dividing one of the bay
area's most prominent Indian families, born
from their eventually successful quest to lurethe "Bollywood Oscars" to Tampa has gone
legal, Tampa Bay Times reported.
According to its July 26th report, Chetan
"Jason" Shah, 48, filed a fresh set of allega-
tions in Hillsborough Circuit Court this month
about his wealthy health care entrepreneur and
philanthropist brother-in-law, Dr. Kiran Patel,
and demanded a jury trial in the lawsuit Patel
had filed against him in May.
Patel, 65, asserts that Shah fraudulently
added Patel's name to documents creating a
host committee for the 2014 International
Indian Film Academy awards gala, which
came to Tampa in April.
Patel discovered this late last year, he said,
when event organizers complained that Shah
was running out of money and they threatenedto take the event elsewhere. The four-day
event was a major one for the region a
study later found visitors spent $19.9 million,
and the economic impact reached $26.4 mil-
lion as businesses stocked up and visitors'
money was respent.
According to a July 3 court filing, Shah
asserts that Patel, a cardiologist, coerced Shah
into signing a document as Shah was being
rushed to the hospital late last year for heart
surgery. The document allowed Patel to nego-
tiate a new deal with IIFA organizers that cut
Shah out of any profits, Shah said.
Shah's wife, who had worked for one of
Patel's companies, was fired this month
because of the ongoing feud, Shah said in an
interview last week.
Patel declined to comment.
"Dr. Patel does not enjoy or get any great
thrill out of getting into litigation with his
brother-in-law, but he has to draw the line, as
any of us would have done if someone
usurped our name and used it fraudulently,"
said Lenny Englander, Patel's attorney.
The rift between Patel married to Shah's
sister, Pallavi dates to late last year and a
series of events that almost caused the cancel-
lation of the awards show in Tampa.
In interviews earlier this year, Patel and
Shah explained their differing sides.
According to Shah, he is the rightful
"founder" of the awards show in Tampa he
says that he persuaded event organizers to
bring IIFA's first-ever show in America here.
Late last year, Shah says, officials with IIFA
and Patel conspired to cut Shah out of event
organizing and profits.
But according to Patel, he wanted nothing to
do with bringing IIFA to Tampa at first. Patel
didn't find out until months later that Shah had
listed him in incorporating documents for Go
Bollywood Tampa Bay Florida Convention
LLC, a host committee for the show, and had
told people Patel was involved.
Local tourism officials and executives withWizcraft, the company that puts on the show,
largely support Patel's version.
Shah ran out of money to bring the event
here, they said,and Continued on page 8
Sampat Shivangi appointed chair ofMississippi Mental Health Board
Washington, DC: Indian-
American Sampat Shivangi has
been appointed as the chairman
of the Mississippi Board of
Mental Health, making him the
first Asian to occupy the top
health post in the southern
American state.
Shivangi last week assumed
the office of chair of the Board
of Mental Health which is the
second largest state agency with
a budget close to billion dollars
with the staff of 8,500.
The office of chair is of one
year duration and is elected by a nine-member
board . "We are in process of having the
patients who are capable to move in the com-
munities are being moved in the communities
with the help of federal and state funds to
assimilate them in the communities rather
than keep them in the institutions. The state ismoving successfully in this direction,"
Shivangi said in a statement.
He was first appointed to the board as a
member by the then Mississippi governor
Haley Barbour for seven year
term.
Prior to this, he served one
term at Mississippi State
Board of Health.
"This term I served along
with as an adviser at US
health and human services in
Washington DC an appoint-
ment by President George
Bush," Shivangi said.
"We are very excited to
have Dr Shivangi serve as
chairman of the board of
mental health," said Diana
Mikula, Mississippi department of mental
health executive director.
From 2005 - 2008, Shivangi served as the
advisor to the US secretary of health and
human services.
He is the founding president of the
American Association of Physicians ofIndian-origin in Mississippi and is the past
president and chair of the India Association of
Mississippi. Shivangi is the president and
CEO of US Info Systems of Mississippi.
Split wide open: Family feudover Bollywood Oscars
Nisha Biswal, left, and Arun Kumar,right, gently explain they are part ofthe U.S. subcommittee (Photo source:
Foreign Policy online)
Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel at the15thInternational Indian Film Academy
Awards in Tampa, FL
Dr Sampat Shivangi
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
In a major faux pas asks Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar
about 'your country', 'your government'
US House Rep Clawson mistakes govt.staffers for Indian delegates
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8/12/2019 Vol 7 Issue 14 -August 01 August 07, 2014
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8 August 2-8, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington, DC: President
Barack Obama has nominated
Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri for
the post of Chairman, National
Indian Gaming Commission
(NIGC), Department of the In-
terior.
Chaudhuri is currently Vice
Chairman and Associate Com-
missioner of the NIGC, posi-
tions he has held since 2013. He
has also served as Acting Chair-
man of the NIGC from October2013 to April 2014.
In announcing the appoint-
ment of Chaudhuri and other in-
dividuals for various other posts
in the administration, Obama
said in a statement: I am grate-
ful that these impressive indi-
viduals have chosen to dedicate
their talents to serving the
American people at this impor-
tant time for our country.
I look forward to working
with them in the months and
years ahead.
Prior to joining the NIGC,
Chaudhuri was Senior Coun-
selor to the Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs at the Depart-ment of the Interior from 2012
to 2013.
Chaudhuri received a B.A.
from Dartmouth College and a
J.D. from Cornell Law School.
Chicago, IL: Sriram Hathwar.
Arvind Mahankali. Snigdha Nandi-
pati. Sukanya Roy. Anamika Veera-mani. Kavya Shivashankar. Sameer
Mishra.
They are by no means household
names, yet theyve graced Ameri-
can television screens. And they
will forever be linked, as winners of
the past seven National Spelling
Bees.
But they have something else in
common: all became champions af-
ter ascending through academic
tournaments sponsored by the
North South Foundation. A non-
profit organization that fosters edu-
cation among Indian-American
pupils and provides scholarships for
high school graduates in India,North South Foundation is on a tear.
It has groomed national winners
(including Sriram Hathwar, one of
this years co-winners) in the
Scripps contest every year since
2008, and routinely sends pupils to
other major academic tournaments
and bowls.
We only provide the platform
and the opportunity for success.
The kids are the ones who work so
hard to make it happen, said Dr.
Ratnam Chitturi, founder of the
North South Foundation.
Celebrating its 25th year, the
North South Foundation runs local
and national tournaments encom-
passing six academic areas besides
spelling: vocabulary, geography,
math, science, essay writing, and
public speaking. Theres also an all-
encompassing Brain Bee. All
told, 85 chapters across the United
States host competitions during
March, April and May, with nation-
al finals held each August. More
than 17,000 contestants typically
compete. These contests help chil-
dren improve their communication
skills and self-confidence and em-
power them to become better citi-
zens for tomorrow, Chitturi said.
To that end, North South Founda-
tion in 2013 introduced Universal
Values, a 30-week program consist-
ing of a one-hour-per-week online
workshop to hone values in daily
life, not just for the children, but for
their parents and NSFs legion of
volunteers.
The foundation has given out
more than $2.5 million in scholar-
ships in India since 1989, at the rate
of $250 per student for each of four
years. Thats not much by U.S. tu-
ition standards, but in India $250
pays for a years tuition at most
government colleges. NSF has also
opened three contest centers in Hy-
derabad since 2001 and offersspelling, vocabulary, math, and sci-
ence bee competitions to 1,700 par-
ticipants. So far the experience has
been quite positive, and we hope to
expand to more centers as we get
more volunteers, said Chitturi.
This is a direct example of Indian-
Americans serving as a bridge be-
tween American learning platforms
and India.
NSF pupils made 2014 a signa-
ture year, garnering championships
in five major national competitions:
Spelling Bee, MATHCOUNTS,
Geography Bee, Science Bowl and
National History Bee.
To what does Chitturi attribute theNSF kids as tounding track record
of success?Immigrants from India
tend to be highly educated. As first
generation immigrants, they are
ambitious and hardworking. In turn,
they place a very high priority on
their childrens education. With par-
ents support and drive, children
tend to focus more on academics,
he said, adding that Indian-Ameri-
can youths tend to be more aware of
the need to effectively compete
with other countries in a highly
globalized world.
US House Rep Clawson mistakes govt. staffers for Indian...
Contd. from page 7to the various members detailing Biswal and Kumar's positions,"
the Foreign Policy report said.
Clawson, who won a special election last month to fill the seat
of Trey Radel, who had resigned after being convicted for cocaine
possession, repeatedly touted his deep knowledge of the Indian
subcontinent and his favorite Bollywood movies.
It was Clawson's first day sitting on the subcommittee on Asia
and the Pacific.
He was named to the full committee July 9 and Steve Chabot,
subcommittee Chairman and Republican member from Ohio,
spoke about Clawson's deep international business acumen and
knowledge of four languages in welcoming him. "Our newest
member of this committee, Curt Clawson speaks four languages
and all kinds of other great stuff," Chabot said.
Following Clawson's opening statement, Eliot Engel, the full
panel's ranking Democrat, pointed out that Biswal and Arun Ku-
mar work for the US government. "Thank you both for your serv-
ice to our country, it's very much appreciated," New York's Engel
said.
An update in the Foreign Policy report said: "While Clawson's
office did not respond to a request for comment, the Congressman
apologized in a statement to USA Today later Friday.
"I made a mistake in speaking before being fully briefed and I
apologize. I'm a quick study, but in this case I shot an air ball," he
said.
Split wide open: Family feud over Bollywood Oscars
Contd. from page 7
Patel stepped in late last year by writing a large check an
undisclosed amount, but less than the $15 million Shah had
agreed to pay to ensure the Bollywood Oscars came to Tampa.
Because of his involvement with Go Bollywood, Patel found
himself being sued along with Shah in Florida and New York by
people who said they had been promised business by the host
committee. The Florida suit was dismissed; the New York casecontinues. In June, Shah, who owns a small motel in Tarpon
Springs and several dry cleaning locations, said a settlement was
in the works between him and Patel. That settlement is
apparently out
In addition to Hathwar, the Spelling Bee co-winner,
8th grader Swapnil Garg from Sunnivale, CA emergedas the victor in the 2014 Raytheon MATHCOUNTSNational Competition in early May. NSF participantsAkhil Rekulapelli, an 8th grader from Dulles, Va., andAmeya Mujumdar, a 5th grader from Tampa, Fl.,captured 1st and 2nd places, respectively in the 2014National Geographic Bee. Snigdha Allaparthi fromWestborough, Mass., and Abhijeet Sampangi fromAndover, Mass., captained their team to 1st place inthe 2014 Middle School National Science Bowlconducted by the U.S. Department of Energy.Siddharth Kamannavar, a 3rd grader from SantaClara, Calif., in 2014 became the youngest championon record in the National History Bee, in the
Elementary School Division.
Naperville, IL: The IIT BHU Global Alumni
Association (IBGAA) is hosting its 4th IIT BHU Global
Alumni Meet on Saturday, September 13 at the Sheraton
Lisle Hotel, 3000 Warrenville Road, Lisle, Illinois. The
Theme for the meet is "The IIT BHU Journey of
Excellence Continues". Further details about the
Meet are on the website at http://chicago2014.iitb-huglobal.org/. The meet will include keynote address by
noted alumni and panel discussions on relevant topics.
Prof. Rajeev Sangal, IIT BHU Director (B. Tech.
Electrical Engineering, 1975, IIT Kanpur) is confirmed
to attend. Prof. Panjab Singh (Former VC-BHU) and
Prof. S. N. Upadhyay (Former Director IT-BHU, M.
Tech. Chemical Engineering 1966, Ph.D. 1969) are con-
firmed as Special Guests. Additionally, Dr. Sarvajna
Dwivedi, Co-Founder, Pearl Therapeutics, Inc., (B.
Pharm 1984, M. Pharm 1986) is a confirmed Guest
Speaker. Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways,Government of India (Civil Engineering 1979, M. Tech.
1982) is the keynote speaker.
This event is also open to other 15 IIT alumni and all
IIT students in graduate schools.
At 25, nonprofit academic group spells success for Indian-American students
North South Foundation: National Bee champions start here
Sriram Hathwar, co-winner ofthe 2014 National Spelling
Bee. Hathwar marked theseventh consecutive year thata Spelling Bee winner wasgroomed through North
South Foundation spellingtournaments.
Obama nominates Chaudhuri to chairNational Indian Gaming Commission
Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri
4th Annual IIT BHU Global Alumni Meet in Illinois on Sept 13
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US AFFAIRS 9August 2-8, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Washington: He may be the
most powerful man in the
world, but when it comes to
sending his daughter away to
college in some distant uni-versity town, President Oba-
ma is like any other parent:
worried and weepy.
The eventuality of his old-
er daughter Malia going to
college is still some months
away she's still in 11th
grade but Obama says he
has been preparing for that
bittersweet moment for al-
most two years now. So is
she. The 16-year-old Malia,
who at 6 feet is almost as tall
as her father, has been seen
touring Stanford University,
where President Clinton's
daughter Chelsea studied,
and University of California,
Berkeley, UCLA; both on
the west coast and far from
the White House where her
parents will be till January
2017.
Obama reflected on the
upcoming fatherly feelings
and frustrations at a com-
mencement address to high
school graduates in Massa-
chusetts earlier this week,saying, "I'm trying to get
used to not choking up and
crying and embarrassing her.
So this is my trial run here."
In a separate commencement
address recently, Michelle
Obama too referred to her
daughter's collegiate excur-
sions, saying, "Days like this
make me think of my own
daughters, so forgive me if Iget a little teary".
The Obamas have been
priming her for the great col-
lege hunt, a rite of passage
for most US high school
graduates that includes tour-
ing college campuses, usual-
ly with their parents, after
prospecting them online. In aquestion-answer session on
the social media site Tumblr,
Obama advised young peo-
ple like his daughter to "shop
around" for colleges instead
of getting fixated on a few
and experiencing heartbreak
if they did not make the cut
to those. "We tell her, 'Don't
assume there are 10 schools
that you have to go to, and if
you didn't go to those 10,
that somehow things are go-
ing to be terrible'," he said.
For kids, college hunt is a
time of excitement, their
chance to break free from
strict parental supervision
and do things on their own,
to spread their wings; often,
to drive their first car and
have their first drink. "
New York: Congress passed a
bill last week that makes it le-
gal to "unlock" cellphones so
the devices can at least in
some instances be used on
other carriers.
The law, which President
Obama said he looks forward
to signing, undoes a move by
the Librarian of Congress in
2012. That made it a copyright
violation to unlock a phone
without the carrier's permis-
sion.
The law passed Friday by the
House of Representatives
makes it legal to unlock
phones for personal use, at
least until the Librarian's next
round of rulemaking, nextyear. The measure was passed
earlier by the Senate.
Unlocking typically involves
entering codes on the phone.
In more difficult cases, the
phone needs to be hooked up
to a computer to have new
software installed.
Carriers have, in some in-
stances, sued people who
made a business out of unlock-
ing phones and reselling them,
but individuals unlocking for
personal use have never been
pursued.
Carriers have become more
lenient in their unlocking poli-
cies in recent years. Verizon,
for instance, ships most of its
phones unlocked. However,
technical differences mean that
it's often difficult to move a
phone from one network to an-
other, and if you can make themove, phone functions are im-
paired. The easiest move is be-
tween AT&T and T-Mobile
US.
Washington: One-third of Ameri-
cans believe President Obama ought
to be impeached, according to a new
poll conducted by CNN and ORC In-ternational.
Exactly 33 percent of the 1,012
people polled believe Obama should
be impeached, 65 believe he should
not, and the rest had no opinion.
Fifty-seven percent of all Republi-
cans believed Obama should be im-
peached, but only 13 percent of all
Democrats and 35 percent of all In-
dependents. The poll had also distin-
guished other demographics, such as
male and female, but no other demo-
graphic categories were as divided as
the partisan demographic.
The poll also asked whether the
Republicans in the U.S. House of
Representatives should file a lawsuitagainst the President, a lawsuit
which only last Thursday was ap-
proved to be voted on. Forty-one per-
cent of people agreed, with 75 per-
cent of all Republicans agreeing, 12
percent of Democrats, and 43 percent
of Independents.
Asked on what grounds Congress
ought to impeach a president, given
only the following options, 79 per-cent of people polled said only for
serious crimes like treason, 18 to ex-
press dissatisfaction with his job or
policies.
A similar poll conducted by Fox
News between the 20 and the 22 of
last month said 36 percent of people
support impeaching Obama with 61
percent opposed.
DNC national press secretary
Michael Czin said in an email to
news source Politico, As the CNN
poll finds, the majority of Americans
support the President taking action if
Congress will not and they oppose
the GOPs sham lawsuit and talk of
impeachment.Of the 1,012-person poll sample
conducted July 18-20, 32 percent
were Democrats, 24 Republican, and
44 were members of another party.
The margin of error was plus or mi-
nus 3 percentage points.
Washington: Even as PresidentObama grapples with the crisis of
immigrant children arriving at the
Southwest border, White House
officials are laying the ground-
work for a large-scale expansion
of immigrant rights that would
come by executive action within
weeks.
Officials signaled strongly Fri-
day that Obama's move would
shield from deportation large num-
bers of immigrants living in the
country illegally, as advocacy
groups have demanded.
Roughly 5 million of the esti-
mated 11 million people who en-
tered the country without legal au-
thorization or overstayed their
visas could be protected under a
leading option the White House is
considering, according to officials
who discussed the proposals on
condition of anonymity.
Obama said last month that be-
cause Congress had failed to act on
comprehensive immigration re-
form, he would take executive ac-
tion to "fix as much of our immi-
gration system as I can on my
own."
That move will come by the end
of the summer, White House sen-
ior advisor Dan Pfeiffer told re-
porters Friday. Some officials had
advocated waiting until after theNovember midterm election.
Any such move would prompt a
major clash with congressional
Republicans, and at least some
White House officials appeared to
relish the prospect that the GOP
might overreach in its response
and act in a politically self-de-
structive manner.
When the decision is announced,
it will "increase the angry reac-
tions from Republicans," Pfeiffer
said.
"I would not discount the possi-
bility" that Republicans would
seek to impeach Obama over his
next immigration moves, he said,
adding that House Speaker John A.
Boehner (R-Ohio) had "opened the
door to impeachment" by his plans
to sue Obama for allegedly ex-
ceeding his executive authority.
The White House is entertaining
a range of possibilities that would
speed up deportations in some cas-
es but forestall them in many oth-
ers.
Obama could use his executivepowers to expedite deportations in
response to the current border cri-
sis, in an effort to clear the large
numbers of unaccompanied mi-
nors gathering daily in the Rio
Grande Valley in south Texas.
At the same time, he seems like-
ly to act to prevent deportations of
many of the immigrants already
living, working and raising chil-
dren in the U.S.
One option would allow immi-
grants who are parents of U.S. cit-
izens to apply for temporary legal
status which would let them work
legally in the U.S. Because chil-
dren born in the country automati-
cally receive U.S. citizenship, that
option could affect about 5 million
people, researchers estimate.
A second option would be to al-
low temporary legal status for the
parents of young people already
granted deportation deferrals by
the Obama administration. That
would affect a smaller, but still siz-
able, number of people.
So far, more than 520,000 peoplehave received permits to stay and
work in the U.S. under the admin-
istration's Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals program,
which was created in 2012 for
young people who were brought to
the U.S. as children.
One-third of Americans believeObama should be impeached
Obamas get emotional at the thought of Malia leaving for college
White House pursuing planto expand immigrant rights
The First Family
Medicare fund will be exhausted
by 2030, Social Security by 2011Washington:Medicares hospital insurance trust fund will be exhaust-
ed in 2030, four years later than the administration projected in May
2013. The Social Security trust fund, they said, will be depleted in
2033, the same as expected last year.
Medicares financial condition improved significantly in the last
year, thanks in part to Obamacare, but the outlook for Social Securityis basically unchanged, the Obama administration said Monday.
The forecasts were included in the governments annual report on
the two programs, which together account for about 40 percent of fed-
eral spending. Medicare spending on hospital care was lower than
expected last year, the administration said, and officials have lowered
their assumptions about the use of inpatient hospital services in the
future.
Cellphone unlocking set tobecome legal again
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10 August 2-8, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA
New Delhi: US Secretary of State
John Kerry met Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley ahead of his meeting
with External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj for the 5th India-
US Strategic Dialogue as the US
struck up its first high-levelengagement with the Narendra
Modi government.
Kerry, who arrived here on a
three-day visit, visited the Indian
Institute of Technology in south
Delhi.
Kerry also met National Security
Advisor Ajit Doval. The US dele-
gation comprises Commerce
Secretary Penny Pritzker as well
as State Department spokesperson
Jen Psaki. Kerry will meet Prime
Minister Modi Friday.
He met Indian business leaders
ahead of his meeting with the top
Indian officials. According to a
background briefing by a seniorUS State Department official
ahead of Kerry's visit, the India-
US Strategic Dialogue is to "focus
on some of the big priorities that
the Modi government have put
forward on economic revitaliza-
tion, on energy security, on home-
land security, as well as the robust
cooperation between our two
countries in science and technolo-
gy, in space, in skills and educa-
tion, and in health".
"We see a new government com-ing in that has an ambitious agen-
da, what we can do to help that
government realize its agenda,
because we see India's economic
rise as something that is deeply in
the US interest. And we believe
that American companies have a
role to play in that rise, and so part
of the discussion over the next two
days is really going to be focusing
in on what are the shared priorities
and shared goals that we want to
focus on," the official said.Kerry and Pritzker will partici-
pa te in a ro un dt ab le wi th
Brookings India that will focus on
climate and energy issues.
New Delhi: The Indian Army
gave "a befitting reply" to
Pakistan after an Indian soldier
was beheaded along the LoC in
Jammu and Kashmir, outgoing
army chief General Bikram Singh
said. "The Indian Army gave a
befitting reply to Pakistan" afterthe Pakistanis carried out the
beheading, he said here, referring
to the gory incident of January
2013. "We are carrying out tacti-
cal operations at the LoC (Line of
Control). It is an ongoing process
and our soldiers are doing their
job," General Bikram Singh said.
He described the Indian Army
as "a robust organisation, very
very accountable, very respon-sive, very potent and a very rele-
vant instrument of national power
with the capability to take up any
challenges".
On Jan 8, 2013, Pakistani sol-
diers sneaked into Indian territory
in Krishna Ghati sector of the
bo rder an d ki ll ed two In di an
soldiers.
Indian officials said both bodies
were mutilated, and one decapi-tated. Two other soldiers were
injured in the incident which trig-
gered nationwide fury.
New Delhi: "Very exciting" and
"excellent" were the words used
by US secre tar y of state JohnKerry as he visited two laborato-
ries at the prestigious Indian
Institute of Technology here and
interacted with the students.
Kerry took time out of his
schedule and visited the Applied
Microbiology Laboratory and
Bio-process lab.
Professor R K Shevgaonkar,
Director of the IIT, Delhi said
that the American embassy had
specifically mentioned the labo-
ratories that Kerry wanted to
visit.
Dressed in a blue suit, Kerry
interacted with the students there
and asked a number of questionsabout the processes involved, the
education fees, patent system and
also if they would get a job in
India or would they have to go
out.
Kerry was very pleased to see aresearch project on bio-degrad-
able plastic.
As a student explained the proj-
ect to him, Kerry said, "Very
exciting. It would be a huge con-
tribution to the world. Very excit-
ing. Fantastic".
Kunal Gupta, who is part of the
project, said he was proud that
Kerry visited his institute.
"I am very proud to be part of a
institute which is recognised in
the US as well. They (US) have
done a lot of research which is
much ahead of us and Kerry's
visit to the institute makes us feel
very good," said Gupta.Kerry also visited the lab which
was using algae to clean water
and to produce biomass.
New Delhi: The Delhi High
Court will hear on August 1 a
PIL seeking a CBI probe into
Press Council of India
Chairman Markandey Katju
accusing three former chief jus-
tices of India of making
"improper compromises" to
save a tainted judge of the
Madras High Court.A division bench of Chief
Justice G. Rohini and Justice
R.S. Endlaw will hear the plea
that seeks registration of a case
and a CBI probe into the matter,
saying that even after Justice
Katju's revealation on his blog
and its subsequent discussion in
parl iament, the auth orit ies are
yet to initiate any legal action.
Filing the plea, advocate R.P.
Luthra said: "The information
disclosed by Justice Katju, a
former SC judge, clearly dis-
closes the commission of vari-
ous cognizable offences includ-
ing the offences covered underprevention of corruption act."
Former Supreme Court judge
Katju has alleged that three for-
mer chief justices of India -
Justice R.C. Lahoti, Justice Y.K.
Sabharwal and Justice K.G.
Balakrishnan - made "improper
compromises" and succumbed
to political pressure during the
UPA rule from one of its allies,
apparently the DMK, in allow-
ing the judge to continue despite
an "adverse" Intelligence
Bureau (IB) report on allega-tions of corruption against him.
The PIL said: "Admittedly, as
per the information available in
the public domain, the offenders
belong to the class that enjoys
almost the highest positions in
the judiciary."
It added that the incident has
"lowered-down the dignity of
our judicial system in the eyes
of general public."
"To avoid further damage also
to ensure that no such incident
shall happen in the future, the
authorities concern ought to
have initiated a legal action as
required under section 154 /157of the Code of Criminal
Procedure 1973 for commission
of such cognizable offenses,"
the plea said.
New Delhi: Congress President
Sonia Gandhi has refuted the
allegations made by former
Congress leader Natwar Singh's
in a book and said she would
write her own book to tell the
truth.
"I will write my own book and
then everyone will know the
truth," Sonia Gandhi told TV
news channel NDTV.
"The only way the truth will
come out is if I write. I am seri-
ous about this," she said.
Natwar Singh, a former minis-
ter in the UPA government,
alleged in an interview that
Sonia Gandhi's decision not to
take up the post of prime minis-
ter in 2004 was not because of an
"inner voice" as she had famous-
ly said.
The former Congress leader
said it was because of opposition
from her son Rahul Gandhi, who
was reportedly worried that she
would be assassinated like hisfather Rajiv Gandhi and grand-
mother, Indira Gandhi, both for-
mer prime ministers.
The Congress president also
said she is "used to such attacks".
"I can't be hurt I have seen my
mother in law riddled by bullets,my husband dead...I am far from
getting hurt with these
things...Let them continue to do
this it will not affect me...They
can continue to do this if they so
please," she said.
Na tw ar Si ng h, 83 , ha d toresign from the Congress-led
coalition government in 2005
after allegations of corruption.
US Secretary of State John Kerry with Indian Joint Secretary(Americas) Vikram Kumar Doraiswami on his arrival in Delhi.
Kerry visits IIT, walks out'impressed' with students
Union Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley with USSecretary of State John Kerry and other officials
during a meeting in New Delhi.
In happier times:Sonia Gandhi with Natwar Singh
Kerry meets Jaitley ahead of strategic dialogue
I will write my own book: Sonia tells Natwar
India gave 'befitting reply' to beheading of soldiers
Tainted judge row: HC to hear plea
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INDIA
Amritsar: Amid the controversy
over the creation of the HaryanaSikh Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (HSGPC) and the stand-
off between Sikh leaders in Punjab
and those in Haryana, the Jathedar
(chief) of the Akal Takht,
Gurbachan Singh, says that Sikhs
should not take these matters to
court. Instead, these should be
"resolved within the religion".
"I appeal to all Sikhs across the
world not to take the religious issues
to any court of law. These should be
resolved within the religion,"
Gurbachan Singh told IANS in an
interview.
Under fire from sections of Sikh
and political leaders, who have
accused him of being a puppet in the
hands of Punjab Chief Minister
Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani
Akali Dal president and deputy
Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh
Badal, the Akal Takht chief denied
that he was taking decision under
influence from anyone.
"The Akal Takht is an institution
of the Sikhs. It is not linked to any
part icul ar part y. It is complet ely
independent and takes all decisions
without any bias. In the past, there
have been instances when pressure
was mounted on the Akal Takht," he
said.
The Akal Takht ordered that no
Sikh should have any association
with the excommunicated leaders.
The excommunicated leaders were
directed to appear before the Akal
Takht and seek penance under reli-
gious conventions.
"This is a very unfortunate situa-
tion. Sikhs, as it is, have a small
population. There are many Sikh
groups now but majority of the
Sikhs are with the Shiromani Akal
Dal (led by the Badals). Since the
SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee) is dominat-
ed by the Akali Dal, the party repre-sents most Sikhs," he said.
The Akal Takht chief, who recent-
ly ordered that status quo be main-
tained on the control of Haryana
gurdwaras (Sikh shrines), said that
the matter can only be resolved
between the SGPC leadership and
Haryana Sikh leaders. But he made
it clear that no talks could be held
with the Sikh leaders excommuni-
cated from the community.
"The move (creation of HSGPC)
is to weaken the SGPC and divide
the Sikh community."
Jhinda and Nalvi were physically
prevented from entering the Akal
Takht inside the Golden Temple
complex here Monday when they
went to offer prayers.
Gurbachan Singh justified the
action. "They were stopped as an
excommunicated Sikh cannot enter
the Takht..."
The Akali Dal and the SGPC are
locked in a bitter controversy with
Haryana's Bhupinder Singh Hooda
government over the creation of the
HSGPC. They have both strongly
opposed the creation of the new
HSGPC for Haryana Sikh shrines.
New Delhi: Lt Gen Dalbir Singh
Suhag has taken over as the headof the 1.3 million strong Indian
Army, succeeding General
Bikram Singh.
Suhag, whose appointment had
kicked up a row, was designated
as Army chief in May by the out-
going UPA government ignoring
prote sts from his pre dec essor
Gen VK Singh and BJP.
59-year-old Lt Gen Suhag, a
Gurkha officer who had partici-
pated in the 1987 Indian Peace
Keeping Force (IPKF) operation
in Sri Lanka, is currently the
Vice Chief of Army Staff.
He will have a tenure of 30
months as the 26th Chief of thearmed forces.
Suhag was made the Vice
Chief of Army Staff in
December last year. Earlier, he
had taken over as the Eastern
Army Commander on June 16,
2012.
He was at the centre of a con-
troversy triggered by 'Discipline
and Vigilance' ban imposed on
him by the then army chief Gen
VK Singh in connection with
an intelligence operation in
Assam earlier.
The ban on Suhag, the then 2
Corps Commander, was liftedsoon after Gen Bikram Singh
took over in May, 2012.
BJP had questioned the "hurry"
in making the appointment and
insisted that the matter be left to
the next government.
However, soon after the NDA
government took over, defence
minister Arun Jaitley said the
new dispensation will continue
with the appointment made dur-
ing UPA rule.
The Jathedar (chief) of theAkal Takht Gurbachan Singh
11August 2-8, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Dalbir Singh Suhag
Don't take Sikh religious mattersto court: Akal Takht chief
Dalbir Singh Suhag takesover as new Army chief
SEP.
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12 August 2-8, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA
Beijing: New vigor is sweeping
through Indian government offices
after Narendra Modi became the
prime minister with ministers con-
ducting surprise checks to see if
bur eaucra ts are in the ir sea ts in
time and offices being kept clean
and tidy to give an air of efficiency,
a Chinese daily said Tuesday.
Ministers are conducting sur-
prise checks in the morning to see
if bureaucrats are in their seats,offices are being thoroughly
cleaned and all old furniture
thrown away, senior officials are
under orders not to keep files pend-
ing, and ministers are clearing
files, including many left over from
the previous government, in a
ji ffy, the New Del hi -da te lined
article, headlined Indian bureau-
cracy shaken up, more transparent
after election win in the Global
Times stated.
It noted how Modi was putting in
an 18-hour work day from 5.30
a.m. till after 1 a.m.
Government officials have been
ordered to clock in at 9 a.m. every-
day, and are expected to sit beyond
6 p.m. - when the day is supposed
to end - to clear any extra work.
Saturdays are no longer holidays
and the officials frequently take
work back home. Senior bureau-
crats, like the secretary of any
department, have to ensure that the
precincts of the office are spic and
span - no dust, no old furniture
lying around, no paper files piled
up on desks, no betel leaf-stained
corners, said the newspaper, anEnglish-language publication from
the People's Daily, the official
organ of the Chinese Communist
Party.
Chinese media has been paying a
lot of attention to the new Indian
government and chronicling its
various moves and policies.
The prime minister has also
directed that officials should take
to the electronic way to clear files.
Tech savvy Modi, 63, has directedthat officials should not have piles
of files littering their desks and
everything should be comput-
erised.
The longish article particularly
highlighted Modi's fetish for clean-
liness. All offices were sent a let-
ter via Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth
asking officials to keep their
offices clean, papers neat, and cor-
ridors unblocked, it said.
Modi himself has been keeping
tabs on office cleanliness, it said,
adding: During his (Modi's) initial
days in office he took rounds of the
Prime Minister's Office, walkingthe corridors and looking into
every room - something that his
predecessors are not known to have
done.
Modi reportedly frowned at the
unkempt corners, the piles of dirty
tea cups and plates, and loitering
officials. The Chinese themselves
have a fetish for cleanlineness and
Chinese visitors to India are struck
by the squalor and litter of public
spaces in Indian cities.
It pointed out how lower-level
bureaucrats and their aides under
the previous regimes were notori-
ous for their long br