Posts with the tag India

Peace and Freedom to Tibet

"Voice for Humanity" — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:20:35 EDT

From: PADMINI ARHANT
WWW.PADMINIARHANT.COM

Attention: Mr. Richard Gere
Chairman of the Board of Directors
International Campaign for Tibet

Dear Mr. Richard Gere,

I acknowledge your kind invitation to join you and millions of voices around the world in the Freedom Campaign for Tibet. I admire the passion, determination and zeal exhibited by the supporters towards the noble cause.

I share your concerns and views regarding the human rights abuse, violation and suppression of democracy in Tibet. Having been a resident of New Delhi, India, I’m all too familiar with the plight of the Tibetan population fleeing their homeland from persecution and unspeakable crime against humanity.

Please refer to http://www.padminiarhant.com for the remaining content.

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

The 64th Session of the UN General Assembly and G-20 Summit

"Voice for Humanity" — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:47:09 EDT

By Padmini Arhant

Welcome to the forum on the important global gathering of nations to discuss the issues confronting the international community at large.

A humble request to all visitors to the website http://www.padminiarhant.com to take a moment and view the featured videos that speaks volume of the serious humanitarian crisis in hand. As we all know that pictures are worth thousand words and a confirmation of the reality.

Again, the visuals may not be appropriate for all, given the graphic content. The dire situations in these parts of the world beckon the worldwide condemnation and put an end to these atrocities against humanity and bring the perpetrators irrespective of stature to justice as an evidence there is still hope for goodness to prevail in the ever deteriorating immoral world.

Please remember silence is the worst act of crime.

The general debate by the United Nations began early this week with President Barack Obama addressing the General Assembly for the first time since elected to the office of Presidency. The debate continued then onwards with the address by the undemocratically nominated authorities like the Islamic Republic of Iran and The Great Socialist People’s Libya…

The UN Security Council Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was the highlight of the UN session. The objective of this particular conference was aimed at bringing the States that have not yet agreed to or ratified the treaty for the Non-Proliferation Treaty to come into effect.

For the remaining content please refer to http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

Reconfiguration of the U.N. Security Council

"Voice for Humanity" — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:16:26 EDT

By Padmini Arhant

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” – simple yet meaningful creation by the renowned American Poet – Robert Lee Frost.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Only if the authorities in power – the corporations and the governments alike, in the contemporary world honor the commitment to their people and prioritize the promise to the general population over personal quest for profit, privilege, prestige and politics,

Perhaps, it might be possible to wipe out the global problems such as poverty, disease and war polluting the planet and restore the deep, dark and lovely woods that once used to be the nature’s paradise.

The past week event involving the release of two American journalists – Laura Ling and Euna Lee through high profile diplomacy aided with the former President Bill Clinton’s visit is a confirmation that communication and dialogue can be effective in resolving international crisis.

For the remaining content, please visit http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

U.S. Relations with India

"Voice for Humanity" — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:52:43 EDT

By Padmini Arhant

The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s visit to the Indian sub-continent is a topic to discuss in different context. It’s obvious that the United States engagement in Afghanistan tied with the success of the Zardari-Gilani government presumably involved in eliminating the mayhem in the northwestern region by the Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces after substantial autonomy from the less credible previous military rule of the President Pervez Musharraf.

Despite the severe domestic economic crisis, the continuation of U.S. financial and military aid to Pakistan is an enormous investment of U.S. trust and resources in the nuclear Pakistan.

More information @http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

International Event - Education under Attack in Australia

"Voice for Humanity" — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:35:40 EDT

By Padmini Arhant

In continuation of the topic on racial attacks against Indian students (from India) in Melbourne, Australia, the incident in the new millennium strikes resemblance to apartheid in South Africa until it became free in 1994.

Australia designated as the industrialized nation, multicultural yet homogenous society…devoid of major ethnic representation in politics, democratic with mandatory voting (the only democratic nation to impose penalty for not voting) and,

A willful participant in all U.S. led major conflicts from Vietnam to Iraq - is a commonwealth nation sworn allegiance to Great Britain’s monarch as the head of the Republic.

The nation from “down under” celebrated bicentennial in 1970 and 1988 to commemorate the permanent white settlement is not a young republic and not new to controversies either.

More @ http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

International News and Developments - Education under Attack in Australia

"Voice for Humanity" — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:08:33 EDT

By Padmini Arhant

Prelude: The topic will touch base on the human rights violation and much more about the nation from “Down Under” – Australia.

The United States preoccupied in numerous important events unfolding by the hour, international community set their eyes on the much-anticipated speech from the U.S. President Barack Obama in Cairo, Egypt and,

Other industrialized nations engaged in criticizing China on the eve of Tiananmen Square; similar events involving the brutal racist attacks on Indian students lured to the Australian educational institutions could not compete effectively in the press and media coverage.

As a website committed towards issues generally isolated by the large focus groups in the media and press, a detailed analysis on the appalling incidents concerning Indian students systematically targeted for their ’skin color’ in the new millennium, twenty first century is attention worthy.

Please stand by for the in-depth coverage on the topic presented shortly.

Meanwhile, please take a moment to review the You-Tube images of the incidents and the victims’ plight in the “socially-advanced” nation in southern hemisphere - @ http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

World’s Biggest Polluters Can’t Hide from Space imaging

Peter from Carrollton, TX — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:36:25 EDT

World’s Biggest Polluters Can’t Hide from Space imaging

The map, based on 18 months’ worth of satellite data, shows very high levels of NO2 above major European and North American cities and across much of north-east China. South-east Asia and Africa also have raised concentrations of the gas due to their burning of vegetation. “Ship tracks are visible in some locations,” says Steffen Beirle, one of the research team at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. “Look at the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean between the southern tip of India and Indonesia.” Although NO2 is formed naturally by lightning and by microbes in the ground, it is also released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels by power plants, heavy industry and vehicles. Large quantities of the gas can cause respiratory problems and lung damage, and can also contribute to harmful ozone forming near ground level.

Obama has commented on helping poor nations to develop clean technologies but as you can see, it is not the poor countries that harm the planet the most. It is the rich large countries doing all of the damage. We first need to look at home and prevent the devastation that has been ongoing. United States, China, and Europe need to change the way they live first before they can start criticizing other poorer nations that only amount to about 11% of emissions around the world. Our polar ice caps have lost nearly a third of its size from 1981 to 2003(NASA Data). Your plan is to reduce amounts of emissions by the year 2050. By your logic, we won’t have a polar ice cap left. There won’t be anything to save. The climates around the world are already beginning to shift. Melting glacial water changes the composition of the ocean and changes the weather patterns around the world. Yearly Warming Temperatures from NASA

http://politicalpete.com/

‘Talibanization’ of Afghanistan and Pakistan

"Voice for Humanity" — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:26:18 EDT

By Padmini Arhant

The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of Pakistan, particularly the swat valley have proven deadlier for the ruling powers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United Sates due to the inevitable civilian casualties and displacement arising from the incessant shelling supposedly targeting the Taliban militants.

According to the Pakistani government,

Further info @ http://www.padminiarhant.com

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

Message for President Barack Obama reagarding Sikh People In Pakistan.

Jagjit from San Francisco, CA — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:15:43 EDT

Through this blog, I would like to make a request to Mr. President Barack Obama to help the Sikh people in Pakistan. I belong to Sikh communtiy from Punjab (India). Recently, I saw the news that Taliban forces behaving very badly with Non-Muslim communities in Pakistan. I watched a report on an Indian news channel that almost 150 sikh families lost their homes in Pakistan, because they were unable to pay the huge amount of some million rupees to Taliban. Report also ahowed that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan singh has talked to Pakistan officials to give some helps to Sikh communities suffered by Taliban. But Pakistan government refused their request by saying that Indian government has no need to worry about Pakistan Civilians. Whole Sikh Community is very disappointed on this and praying for Sikh families in Pakistan. I hope President will read my post and try to help the minorities in Pakistan. Also, for other readers, please feel free to ask questions and comments on this request.

Resources:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Demolition-of-Sikh-homes-India-takes-up-matter-with-Pakistan/articleshow/4471938.cms

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=fffea9ee-2bc5-4017-a48d-69888e4d6cd3

Deadly attacks mar opening of Indian election

Unknown user — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:50:28 EDT

The elections, covering more than 3 million square kilometers of the planet, will run until next month in several stages of scattered polling. Then elections officials will count the vote electronically in a single day -- on May 16, three days after the last round of polling.

It is an exercise India undertakes every five years for its 1 billion-plus population. This year the country is voting in 543 boroughs of the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of the Indian parliament.

By Thursday afternoon, Maoists had launched at least four attacks. The rebels have been battling the government in several states in an insurgency that has resulted in thousands of casualties since the late 1960s. They claim to be fighting for the poor and the dispossessed.

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We Talked Globalization when we should have Talked Hometown

Tom Awtry — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:45:37 EST

In an article authored by Hari Sud for UPI Asia, I found out what has happened to my country of America the past thirty years and especially the last ten years.

I have reprinted the article in its entirety, since I strongly belief it should be read and considered by all; the article is entitled: “What’s next for globalization?” I have taken the liberty of high-lighting sections and phrases, which I deem most important to our current financial burden.

What’s next for globalization?

By Hari Sud
Column: Abroad View
Published: February 20, 2009

Toronto, ON, Canada, — As the U.S. financial meltdown continues in 2009, attention is now directed toward the wider and long-range impact of globalization. In theory, globalization is increasing the mobility of goods, services and capital throughout the world by removing the barriers to free trade and increasing closer integration and the inter-connectedness of national economies.

For the West, that has translated into relocating labor-intensive and smokestack industries to countries where costs are lower. Europe and the United States have envisioned themselves as the world’s bankers, financial masters and influence peddlers – which was great in theory, if only the crooks in the U.S. financial sector had been kept away from the proceeds of globalization.

Since 2001, the United States has been awash with cash. It came from oil-producing Arabs and from the export proceeds of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and India. That cash found a home in the subprime mortgages that have started the financial meltdown that is pulling the world down.

Europe and the United States were winning the globalization race until 2008, as master bankers handling the export earnings of other states. On the sidelines, China, Asia’s Tiger economies, Brazil and India began generating some cash and technology and building their own economies, leading to rapid increases in their gross national products. However, the benefits did not extend to the rest of Asia, Africa and other less-developed countries.

The "other" India

R.Alamsha — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:52:22 EST

We are good at winning the battle and losing the war. We forget that with 1.2 billion people to feed, whatever we are deabating is simply irrelevant for 70% of the population who have no access even to the very basics like toilet and water supply system. We all know deep inside our heart that this is a nightmare and a silent volcano and tsunami is brewing right under our arse. Even there is a silent consensus among all of us that this is the law of nature and if some has to stay, some has to go. But, we forget that the “other India” also is arriving at the same consensus as we are.

Look at our matrimonial ads. Parents from the 30% are every day seeking alliance from well settled brides / grooms in UK, US, Canada, Australia and Europe. Every one of our ruling elites, including the PM, President, nationalist party leaders and policy makers have their sons and daughters settled in these nations.

Let us look around our neighbours. While bollywood movies and Indian people are loved by everyone around the world, we pretend ignorant to the fact that there is a growing aversion towards India in the SAARC region. While the traditional hatred between India and Pakistan is well known, why India could not build a cordial relationship with any of it’s neighbours Bangladesh, Srilanka, Nepal and China?. We can not close our eyes to the fact that the entire subcontinent is gravitating towards China and very soon India may be left all alone.

The “holier than thou” attitude and unreasonable boasting of intellectual prowess by repeatedly quoting certain phrases like Einstein’s “We owe a lot to Indians who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made”, “worlds largest democracy” etc while the genocides, corrupt judiciary, quality of life, deteriorating infrastrature and weeping poverty speaks otherwise, generates a sense of hypocrisy and disillusion about India in the minds of weaker neighbours.

Dr.Manmohan Singh knows these geopolitical dynamics very well and realised that he can't have an Indo-US nuclear deal under his arms and extend the hand of friendship to China as well. Simply put, China did not buy his bluff. In this context, China is emerging as a defacto leader of the subcontinent and all our "weaker neighbours" have started signing "deals and pacts" with China. Obviously, one can not have his cake and eat it too.

Hope, we are not moving towards taking pride in glorified tragedies like “slumdog millionaire”.

Should India teach or learn a "lesson" from Pakistan ?.

R.Alamsha — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:26:21 EST

We all know very well that 150 years of Hindu-Muslim hatred has culminated into the birth of Pakistan. After partition, the Hindu and Muslim population in either countries have become easy target for the majority to vent their anger and frustration against the minority.

After 60 years, the 10% Hindu population of Pakistan has dwindled down to less than 2% while 10% of Muslim population of India has almost doubled to 20% , in proportion with the national average. Most of the Pakistani Hindus have migrated to India, while almost all the Indian Muslims who were not cut by the geographical division have remained intact as Indians, despite descrimination and alienation.

The abscence of a moderating force has pushed Pakistan into the grip of Islamists while Hinduism in India has done the remarkable job of severing the umbilical cord between the Muslims and the Mullahs. An Indian Muslim might be economically and politically weaker than his Pakistani counter part but definitely commands more respect in the world arena and knows how to play by the rules of the game.

The Mumbai terror attack is a crucial milestone in the Indo-Pak rivalry. It has proved beyond doubt that it is impossible for India to teach any kind of lesson to Pakistan by any war. Whatever "other options open" is irrelevant for Pakistan because it is seen as a hero in the eyes of "Muslim world", for the very resons that India can NOT bully Pakistan any more.

Today, the people of Pakistan have got fedup of "Allah + Army" combo and they are eagerly looking out for an opportunity to get out of this mess. In fact, most of the Pakistani intellectuals have started enjoying the vulgar assault of Indian media on Pakistani establishments and they welcome it as a necessary anti-dose for their illness. But, it should NOT be misinterpreted as a disillusion against their state of Pakistan. The desire to see their nation strong and prosperous is "deep rooted" in the heart of every Pakistani as much as that of an Indian for India.

India can not continue with it's "outdated" mindset against Pakistan. We don't have an answer for the "roti, kapda, makaan" dream of 1.2 billion population. It is a silent volcano and tsunami brewing right under our arse. Jingoistic slogans of "Bharat mata ki, jay" is pushing all the neighbours towards China and creating an aversion for India in the SAARC region.

India should gracefully accept the bitter reality that Pakistan is a strong and sovereign nation and will NEVER get cowed down by India.

Pakistan is ready for a "real" dialogue. It is anxiously waiting. India should accept to "live and sleep" with the enemy. India should break the barriers. Pakistan is waiting.

How does Obama's Plan stop the ship from sinking?

LOL — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:32:05 EST

What Obama and this country’s financial leaders of this country don’t seem to understand is that simply bailing it out doesn’t fix the hole. How does giving a few people temporary jobs help solve the problem? By temporary I mean that hopefully it will not require 30 years to fix and build all of the infrastructure we need.

But let us say that some how, I don’t know where, the government comes up with money to pay for all of these projects. The money is sent to the state. The states allot the required amounts to the contractors. This goes into the payroll of the various businesses. The question they have to ask is, “then where does it go?” A good guess would be to look at who make up the top retailers in the country. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, CVS, Kroger, Costco, Target, Walgreen, Sears/ K-mart, Lowe’s, and Super Value make up the top 10. Next quantify what percentage of their gross income ends up being sent outside of the economy. How much of that local income is spent on paying low wages to people that are forced to shop at these chains and deliver even more money outside of the economy. What you see is that in very few turns of the original capital, almost all of the invested money is no longer circulating through the US economy. That leads us right back to where we are today.

How are any of these suggestions going to stop capital from going outside the economy. We are drowning in debt. That is a fact that is true from the individual family, through all branches of business and government, and ends on the capital steps. Is there anybody in Washington that really understands how we ended up here?

Hazarat Bilal and Obama

R.Alamsha — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:58:32 EST

Dear President Obama

Today, America has elected the son of an African black slave as it's President. Mr.President, you will be surprised to know that Prophet Mohammed had appointed, 1400 years ago, an African black slave, Hazarat Bilal as the first moezzin (prayer caller) and the treasurer of the state. Also, for your kind information, Hazarat Bilal is the first person who embraced Islam when Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) brought the peaceful message of Islam for the mankind.

Everyone should practice their faith fearlessly and live true to themselves. Hypocricy wouldn’t work because when i die, God will not ask me what’s my nationality, which religion i followed and how much patriotic was I ?. Rather, i will be judged by my actions as a good human.

I am an Indian Muslim and i follow all good things in my religion but i will NOT accept that one has to be a Muslim in order to enter “jannah”. I can’t imagine a jannah without my good Non Muslim friends.

Our Prophet(PBUH) brought Islam for humanity and he preached universal brotherhood. His own uncle, Abu Talib, who protected him from non believers of Islam never embraced Islam till his last breath. Prophet respected his decision and left it to God. What other example is required for secularism, tolerance and equality in Islam?.

Islam is a revolutionary concept which shattered all the social inequalities and removed the very concept of appointing a religious high priest as a guardian of social values. It brought freedom, equality, and justice for the mankind. Prophet(PBUH) appointed Hazarat Bilal, the black African slave, as the first moezzin (Prayer caller) and treasurer of the state. How many so called Islamic countries practice these great values, is a question they love to avoid. Whereas, Europe, Australia, France, US and UK have all opened their borders for everyone and have allowed them to settle and live a better life.

In fact, if one has to embrace these values of universal brotherhood and humanity, patriotism and motherland becomes antithesis to Islam. Let us be honest. Patriotism has brought wars, hatred and has divided the humanity. One can easily get away wih murders, genocides and massacres in the name of patriotism. It is a lie and evil against mankind and every human being will ultimately move on and settle in any country which provides better life & oppportunities, including we Indians.

Historic moment in America

Antics — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:42:54 EST

I am a proud US naturalized citizen born and raised in India. I am glad to be born in the largest democracy and settled in the second largest democracy in the world. In the last five years I voted in national/state/local elections and I am proud of that.

Now I am looking forward to Obama's oath ceremony! It is indeed a historic moment!! I wish Obama good luck and extend my full support. He has a huge task in front of him and I hope he lives to the expectations of the millions who supported him for "change"

So far Obama has shown that he is a shrewd politician with his cabinet selection, not a real change! However, it is too early to judege his decisions.

I hope he brings in long lasting peace in Middle east, do damage control with Europe and extend a friendly hand to India.

Good Luck Mr. Obama!

Drawing a parallel between Israel and India

Piyush Dhawan — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:50:40 EST

US President elect Obama, during a visit to Israel, said:

"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."

Drawing a parallel between this and what happened in Mumbai on 26/11, don't you think we Indians also have a right to bring to justice the people who carried on the attacks.

Indians have been the victims of terror for over 5 decades now and we have been considered as a soft state because our government has not taken any concrete action all these years... and in most probability we wont act even now...

We would expect the new president to instil the same confidence trust in India as you have in your mid-east ally, Israel, so that the root of terrorism in the world, the state of Pakistan is made to act against its state/non-state actors...

Hope this post meets the eye of the people that matter.

-In anticipation...

Piyush

Kashmir: A bone of contention between India, China and Pakistan

Dr Savio Pereira — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:19:47 EST

At the time of partition of India in 1947, Kashmir was acceded to the Republic of India by the Princely ruler by signing the 'Instrument of Accession' despite aggression from Pakistan. Following that territorial land from India has been taken by China and Pakistan. The present Indian-administered democratically elected State Governments have consistently won fair elections since 1951 and have consistently supported being part of the Indian Republic.

Kashmir is a strategic place of interest for US in its focus on Tibet and Afghanisthan.

I am posting selected extracts about Kashmir from Wikipedia.

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh; the Pakistani-administered provinces of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir, and the Chinese-administered region of Aksai Chin.

In 1846, upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Dogras—under Gulab Singh—became the new rulers. Dogra Rule, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.

Ranbir Singh's grandson Hari Singh, who had ascended the throne of Kashmir in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent partition of the British Indian Empire into the newly independent Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. As parties to the partition process, both countries had agreed that the rulers of princely states would be given the right to opt for either Pakistan or India or—in special cases—to remain independent. When he hesitated to take a decision, Pakistan launched a guerilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to Mountbatten for assistance.

The Maharaja signed the Instrument of Accession, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state.

The Government of India holds that the Maharaja signed a document of accession to India October 26, 1947. India has produced the instrument of accession with an original copy image on its website. Alan Campbell-Johnson, the press attaché to the Viceroy of India states that "The legality of the accession is beyond doubt."

China has occupied Aksai Chin since the early 1950s and, in addition, an adjoining region almost 8% of the territory, the Trans-Karakoram Tract was ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963.

Meanwhile, elections were held in Indian Jammu & Kashmir, which brought up the popular Muslim leader Sheikh Abdullah, who with his party National Conference, by and large supported India. The elected Constituent Assembly met for the first time in Srinagar on October 31, 1951. Then The State Constituent Assembly ratified the accession of the State to the Union of India on February 6, 1954 and the President of India subsequently issued the Constitution (Application to J&K) Order under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution extending the Union Constitution to the State with some exceptions and modifications.

In december 2008 Pro-India parties won elections in Kashmir. The National Conference party and the Congress party together won enough seats in the state assembly to form a ruling alliance.

Terrorism is being used by external forces to prolong the agony for India, and Kashmiris for what remaining territory is being left in Indian administration. No international voices are being raised to recover the land from China and Pakistan.

References:
Wikipedia. Available from the URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir

Peace in Palestine and Kashmir

Yahya Malik — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:47:42 EST

President-Elect Obama is inheriting so many problems that no other President had. He is among the most intelligent and highly educated President we ever had so I think he must have thought about the same what I am going to write here in brief for your feedback. The difference is, it is based on my observation and experience gained from working and living in Middle East, Africa, Asia and of course US.

Major Hot Points in the World:

There are two major areas that could blow up the big part of the world if President-elect Obama, like his predecessors, does not take a positive and unbiased action; Palestine and Kashmir. Before him, every one also wanted Peace but no one was bold enough to spell out the root cause of the issues and try to bring the warring nations to the table. It is time that we put our foot down and call a Spade a Spade.

The issues are highly complex. No one is willing to compromise. There are many things common among the parties Pakistan/India & Palestine/Israel. Will the history hold America responsible for what is going on in that part of the world? Will the history call us a silent observer or silent party to the problems in those countries? To mention few common areas;

· We as Americans always used UN/Security council to take any action. On the other hand, our biggest allies, India and Israel both occupy land of Kashmir and Palestine and refuse to implement the UN resolutions but we never raised our voice about their inaction.

· We pay each year almost four billions of dollars to Israel from our own Tax money, but we never question, where they are spending, on weapons or infrastructure.

· We gave nuclear technology to Israel and India to build their nuclear reactors and we never ask any question about their piles of nuclear weapons.

President-elect Obama needs to take the Lead and BRING LOVE, PEACE AND JUSTICE to that part of the world. If he succeeds, there will be peace in the world and history will remember him with the best words.

What Needs To Be Done?

Without going into details here is what I think he needs to do as the next President of United States.

1- Tell all the four warring countries, India & Pakistan, and Israel & Palestine to sit at the table to discuss their issues and come up with their solution, within a given time period. We should be represented in those meetings.

2- If they do not reach a decision,

a. US will recall its diplomatic staff

b. US will stop sending financial aid

c. US will get a Resolution passed by the UN to impose strict air, land and sea blockade, as we did against Iraq, Libya and Iran.

d. US will not allow any funds transfer to the country by a business or an individual

e. US will use armed forces of Muslim countries, if necessary, to bring peace and order in those countries.

3- Do not pay any Financial aid to any country in cash. Approve the amount for their specific projects that must be completed by American companies. It will generate more jobs and more business for Americans. The local population of the recipient country will see the result of the aid and will appreciate it. Our money will not go into the pockets of their politicians. Otherwise, we will continue losing money.

India: History and Culture

Dr Savio Pereira — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:23:01 EST

India is the world's largest democracy, and has a consistent state policy of secularism. India has a large and educated work-force in USA who are contributing to the wealth,and economy of US. Many of Indians have contributed to the knowledge system in computing, healthcare and other fields in the USA.

History

India is a country in South Asia. It is the second-most populous country, and the largest democracy in the world.

Home to the Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history.

Religious plurality and Secularism

Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated there, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture.

Democracy and Secularism

India is a republic consisting of 28 states and seven union territories with a parliamentary system of democracy. Economic reforms have transformed it into the second fastest growing large economy;however, it still suffers from high levels of poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition.

A pluralistic, multilingual, and multiethnic society, India is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The Constitution of India, the longest and the most exhaustive constitution of any independent nation in the world, came into force on January 26, 1950. The preamble of the constitution defines India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India's culture is marked by a high degree of syncretism and cultural pluralism.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

USA needs to improve strategic relations with India

Dr Savio Pereira — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 01:56:04 EST

It pains me to see USA spending a big fat budget on relations with failed democracies/states like Pakistan. There is a lot of grey areas which need proper understanding like Kashmir. I will post articles related to Public Policy in India.

In 1999, Dennis Blair, as PACOM head disobeyed an order from the Clinton administration to tell Indonesia's military commander to shut down pro-Indonesian militias that were killing civilians in East Timor.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:04:34 EST

December 18, 2008 -- Obama selects Dennis Blair as DNI

by Wayne Madsen @ waynemadsenreport.com

In a further slap in the face of progressives and human rights advocates, President-elect Barack Obama has selected retired Admiral Dennis Blair as the Director of National Intelligence, replacing retired Admiral Mike McConnell.

On December 1, 2008, WMR wrote the following about Blair in the DNI position:

"President-elect Barack Obama's reported choice to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI), retired Admiral Dennis Blair, a former Pacific Command chief and Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support, will ensure that the United States continues its neocon rhetorical babble on key foreign policy issues, especially those that relate to the Muslim world, including India and Indonesia.

SOURCE - http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/

Islamists define "Zionism" anyone standing up against terror-massacres and for security and survival

Natalia from Acampo, CA — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:34:06 EST

Islamic Pakistani TV channel blames the Islamic massacre on “Indian (hindu) zionists”

Pak TV channel says 26/11 hatched by Hindu Zionists - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Pak_TV_channel_says_2611_hatched_by_Hindu_Zionists/articles%20how/3785654.cms

—

There you go, the usual Islamic follow-up crime, after committing the massacre - (on top of everything) blaming the victims!

What the heck is an “hindu zionist” anyway??? then again, Who said Islamofascism makes sense?

The truth — however — is that the Islamists consider ANY anti terrorists pro-security, pro-survival, pro-life acting “entity” as “zionists”, that’s IslamiPedia for “Zionism”.

What's going on in that WSJ Article? India??? Discucssion Thread.

EMK — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:24:19 EST

Take a look at these articles and enjoy the disucssion!

WSJ: Some U.S. Troops May Stay in Iraqi Cities Beyond Deadline (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122917052669504345.html) (link discovered@ Campaign for Liberty)

BBC News: Officials Quit Over India Attacks -- "Pale-Faced...Fair-Skinned" -- (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7752625.stm) (See Also: Atheo News: Is Pakistan to Blame? http://atheonews.blogspot.com/2008/12/is-pakistan-to-blame.html; and the 12/2 & 12/7 Infowars articles.) Thanks Kestrel!

"The society's degradation relies/ not on our differences/ but the separation within."

--Linkin Park, "Frgt/10"

EMK

A consensus is emerging among intelligence analysts and pundits that Pakistan may be President-elect Barack Obama's greatest policy challenge.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:32:44 EST

Does Obama Understand His Biggest Foreign-Policy Challenge?

The president-elect wants to work with the Pakistani government to "stamp out" terror. It's not nearly that simple.

by Juan Cole @ salon.com - Published on Saturday, December 13, 2008 by Salon.com

A consensus is emerging among intelligence analysts and pundits that Pakistan may be President-elect Barack Obama's greatest policy challenge. A base for terrorist groups, the country has a fragile new civilian government and a long history of military coups. The dramatic attack on Mumbai by members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e Tayiba, the continued Taliban insurgency on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the frailty of the new civilian government, and the country's status as a nuclear-armed state have all put Islamabad on the incoming administration's front burner.

But does Obama understand what he's getting into? In his "Meet the Press" interview with Tom Brokaw on Sunday, Obama said, "We need a strategic partnership with all the parties in the region -- Pakistan and India and the Afghan government -- to stamp out the kind of militant, violent, terrorist extremists that have set up base camps and that are operating in ways that threaten the security of everybody in the international community." Obama's scenario assumes that the Pakistani government is a single, undifferentiated thing, and that all parts of the government would be willing to "stamp out" terrorists. Both of those assumptions are incorrect............

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/12/12/pakistan/index.html

The United States, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan are sending a terrible message to the rest of the world by refusing to take part in the historic signing of a treaty that bans the production and use of cluster bombs.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:14:43 EST

Cluster Bomb Treaty and The World's Unfinished Business

by Ramzy Baroud @ commondreams.org

The United States, Russia and China are sending a terrible message to the rest of the world by refusing to take part in the historic signing of a treaty that bans the production and use of cluster bombs. In a world that is plagued by war, military occupation and terrorism, the involvement of the great military powers in signing and ratifying the agreement would have signaled - if even symbolically - the willingness of these countries to spare civilians' unjustifiable deaths and the lasting scars of war.

Nonetheless, the incessant activism of many conscientious individuals and organizations came to fruition on December 3-4 when ninety-three countries signed a treaty in Oslo, Norway that bans the weapon, which has killed and maimed many thousands of civilians.

The accord was negotiated in May, and should go into effect in six months, once it is ratified by 30 countries. There is little doubt that the treaty will be ratified; in fact, many are eager to be a member of the elite group of 30. Unfortunately, albeit unsurprisingly, the US, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan - a group that includes the biggest makers and users of the weapon - neither attended the Ireland negotiations, nor did they show any interest in signing the agreement.......

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/13-3

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, someone "close" to President-elect Obama told them that the Obama-Biden-Hillary administration intends to offer Israel a "nuclear umbrella."

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:09:49 EST

Nuke Umbrellas
by Gordon Prather @ antiwar.com

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, someone "close" to President-elect Obama told them that the Obama-Biden-Hillary administration intends to offer Israel a "nuclear umbrella."

Now, you know what an ordinary umbrella is. And if you can find it and unfurl it in time, if the rain is coming straight down out of the sky, and if you are standing directly under it, it can protect you from getting soaking wet.

Okay, what if it’s extremely windy and the rain is coming at you almost horizontal? Well, don’t bother unfurling your umbrella.

So, what’s a "nuclear umbrella"?

Presumably, it’s something that, if you can find it and unfurl it in time, and if the nukes are coming straight down out of the sky, it can protect you and yours from getting nuked in your jammies.........

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.antiwar.com/prather/?articleid=13900

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

WEBMASTER — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:26:14 EST

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Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.

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when people see the economic benefits of using alternative energy technologies

Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.

Alternative Energy
Source: David Apperson

url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy

Mumbai attacks more complicated than corporate press reports

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:08:00 EST

December 1, 2008 -- Mumbai attacks more complicated than corporate press reports

by Wayne Madsen @ waynemasdenreport.com

As first reported by WMR while the corporate press was uttering the "Al Qaeda" bogeyman as likely behind the terror attacks on Mumbai, the Press Trust of India (PTI) is now confirming WMR's initial report that Pakistan- and Dubai-based criminal syndicate boss Dawood Ibrahim's gangsters handed over the weapons and explosive material to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) terrorists to carry out the assault on targets in Mumbai.

According to PTI, one LET terrorist captured by India, Ajmal Qasab, said he and his fellow terrorists sailed from Karachi and entered Mumbai's port area with the help of Ibrahim's agents who run several customs facilities in Mumbai. However, there are some questions being raised about Qasab and his claims. The so-called security camera shot of Qasab, who is being billed by the media as the "lone surviving gunman," at Chatrapathi Sivaji train terminal in Mumbai, appears fake. The angle is too narrow for a train station which would have a wider angle and be shot from higher up than the photo being shopped by the Indian police. However, according to Asian intelligence sources, Qasab may have been trained by Hindu militants and was rushed to the scene of the attack for a photo opportunity hastily arranged by the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) propaganda team. One Asian intelligence source who has spent a great deal of time in Pakistan reports that he has "never seen a haircut like his [Qasab's] in Pakistan or on either side of Line of Control in Kashmir." He also pointed out that Qasab is a bit overweight for an average "mujad" who slim down in training by exercising and eating a sparse diet of lentils and flat bread.......

SOURCE - http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/

South Asia now a crisis zone: Further attacks could provoke enraged India

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:29:02 EST

South Asia now a crisis zone: Further attacks could provoke enraged India

by Eric Margolis @ smirkingchimp.com

Last week's bloody attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) that left more than 150 dead and 300 wounded are the latest sign the once distinct conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and western India are beginning to overlap, creating a new, increasingly dangerous zone of crisis in South Asia.

India immediately blamed Pakistan for the attacks.

The Mumbai attacks appeared designed to punish and humiliate India over the Kashmir conflict. Kashmir is India's only Muslim majority state. India has 500,000 troops and paramilitary units fighting Muslim Kashmiri independence seekers. The 19-year-old struggle has left some 40,000 dead, mostly Muslims..........

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post_edit/_new/nNSDQ

Bound by Sorrows

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:00:35 EST

Bound by Sorrows: India and Pakistan Are in this Together

by Mohsin Hamid @ guardian.co.uk

In the rush to blame Pakistan for the terrorist atrocity in Mumbai, a dangerous mistake is being made. The impulse to implicate Pakistan is of course understandable: the past is replete with examples of Pakistani and Indian intelligence agencies working to destabilize the historical enemy across the border.

But it is too soon to know who is behind the current attacks. Some or all of the attackers may indeed come from or have supporters in Pakistan. Equally, some or all may be Indian. The desire of some in India to ascribe guilt to Pakistan before the evidence is in is, therefore, an attempt to avoid introspection.

India and Pakistan are more alike than politicians of either country tend to acknowledge. The triumphal narrative of India as an incredible success, and the defeatist narrative of Pakistan as an impending disaster are both only half true. For much of this young century, Pakistan has enjoyed economic growth rates not far behind those of India, and this year Pakistan has emulated its neighbor by returning to democracy..........

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/29/india-pakistan-terrorism

MUMBAI: India’s intelligence services had delivered at least three precise warnings that a major terrorist attack on Mumbai was imminent

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:46:43 EST

Pointed intelligence warnings preceded attacks

Praveen Swami @ "The Hindu" (India)

Weaknesses in police infrastructure facilitated the attack, government sources say

MUMBAI: India’s intelligence services had delivered at least three precise warnings that a major terrorist attack on Mumbai was imminent, highly-placed government sources have told The Hindu.

However, weaknesses in police manpower and training allowed the attacks to proceed, the sources said.

On November 18, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intercepted a satellite phone conversation, in which a so-far unidentified caller notified his handlers that he was heading for Mumbai along with a certain cargo.

RAW analysts, however, rapidly determined that the apparently innocuous call was made to a Lahore phone number known to be used by the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s main military commander for operations targeting India, who is known only by the code-names ‘Muzammil’ and ‘Abu Hurrera.’

Mumbai Police investigators have determined that the call was made from a satellite phone that was eventually found abandoned on the Porbandar-based fishing boat Kuber, hijacked by the terrorists mid-ocean, most likely on November 19. The satellite phone also contains records of several other calls to Lashkar handlers in Pakistan..........

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/30/stories/2008113055981500.htm

Why Mumbai? Terrorism Has Many Causes. Here's One Of Them

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:34:50 EST

Why Mumbai? Terrorism Has Many Causes. Here's One Of Them

by: Paul Rosenberg @ openleft.com

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Gallup International did a poll in 37 countries--including the US--asking how America should respond to the attacks. Should they/we respond with a military attack, or should they/we take a criminal justice approach--tracking down those responsible, extradicting them, and putting them on trial. Of the 35 nations, landslide majorities in 32 of them said that a criminal justice approach was best. The three others? Israel, the US, and... India.

This alone should have warned us not to take the path of war. Israel and India have both spent decades responding to Islamic terrorist threats with war. Hasn't worked. But the more it doesn't work, the more determined their people have become. Of course, they've also employed a criminal justice approach as well. But they've had their own Guantanamos come out of that, as well.......

ARTICLE-http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=544C07024EECDA61671C6E611E402ECE?diaryId=10192

It looks like whoever planned and executed this terror attack aimed it at America -- specifically, at Western media feeding Americans on a holiday.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:02:23 EST

Also Aimed at America

By: Teddy Partridge @ firedoglake.com

While I agree with Digby that early coverage by our media of the American-centric aspect of the Mumbai terror attacks was rather shameful, by now it looks like whoever planned and executed this terror attack aimed it at America -- specifically, at Western media feeding Americans on holiday around our televisions on a long weekend with less shopping planned.

That's fairly sophisticated and fairly scary too.

The hotels that were attacked were central to the American expat/tourism experience in Mumbai; most Western companies that are now firmly ensconced in that south Asian financial capital began their Indian incarnation in a small hotel suite in the Taj or the Oreboi. Some that haven't yet built or leased their own office towers now occupy entire floors. And the Taj Palace and Towers was readying for an influx of Westerners, especially Americans, for Thanksgiving celebrations......

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/28/also-aimed-at-america/

Mumbai: Institutional Paranoia And Obama's Foreign Policy

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:47:45 EST

Mumbai: Institutional Paranoia And Obama's Foreign PolicyBy

Cernig @ crooksandliars.com

There are a lot of conflicting reports coming out of the Indian subcontinent right now, and no-one seems to have told their right hand what their left hand is doing. For instance, The UK's Telegraphreports Vilasrao Deshmukh, the chief minister of Mumbai, saying that two British citizens were among the terrorists who first attacked Mumbai two days ago and who are still being winkled out of their positions by Indian special forces- while elsewhere the Mumbai Police Commissioner Hassan Gafoor is being quoted as saying "We have found nothing to indicate they were British."

That confusion extends to speculation about who is to blame, although India seems to be prematurely certain. Pranab Mukherjee, India's Foreign Minister, has said: "Preliminary evidence, prima facie evidence, indicates elements with links to Pakistan are involved." India is stopping and searching Pakistan-flagged merchant vessels, yet the best indications are that the terrorists came ashore from Indian fishing vessels. Rather than admit it might have an indigenous terrorism problem, which would open an unhappy can of worms about tensions between militant Muslim extremists and equally militant Hindu supremacists, the Indian government is stretching as hard as it can to implicate Pakistan. Their working theory is that these Indian boats were hijacked off Pakistani shores - yet they've no evidence for that at all......

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://crooksandliars.com/cernig/mumbai-institutional-paranoia-and-obamas-fo

Forgotten Lessons From 9/11

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:19:06 EST

Forgotten Lessons From 9/11

By Anne Applebaum @ washingtonpost.com

Saturday, November 29, 2008; Page A15

As I write, the world's security experts still have no idea which organization carried out this week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and I have no idea myself. The Indian government suspects Pakistani groups, but some eyewitnesses have said the gunmen spoke Hindi, which could mean that they were of Indian origin. The attacks, carried out on several targets simultaneously, reminded some of al-Qaeda, but the gunmen were not suicide bombers and they did not use standard al-Qaeda technology. A group calling itself the "Deccan Mujaheddin" has claimed responsibility, but no one has heard this name before. One anonymous "U.S. counterterrorism official" mentioned a few other groups -- Lashkar-i-Taiba, which means "Army of the Pious," and Jaish-i-Muhammad, or "Soldiers of Muhammad" -- but even off the record he refused to be drawn further. "It's still too early for hard and fast conclusions."

Other experts, both named and anonymous, used phrases such as "premature" and "I'm pretty sure" and "caution." Without much to go on, analysts have been speculating about the consequences of a political rupture between India and Pakistan or the long and somewhat neglected history of domestic terrorism in India. Some think the apparent targeting of American, British and Jewish tourists is significant. Others reckon that the real target must have been the financial district of Mumbai, India's commercial capital. All in all, it is a very unsatisfactory picture.......

ARTICLE - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/28/AR2008112802039.html

The Mumbai Attacks - Al Qaeda, Pakistani Proxies or Hindutva Backlash?

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:49:42 EST

The Mumbai Attacks - Al Qaeda, Pakistani Proxies or Hindutva Backlash?

By Cernig @ crooksandliars.org

C-Span coverage of the attacks - and Deepak Chopra points out that the War on Terror turns moderates into extremists.

With more than 100 dead and reports of up to 900 injured, the horrific events in Mumbai have now moved into a second day. Attacks by well-armed and organised Moslem terrorists, who targeted UK, US and Israeli nationals in particular and took hostages at top hotels in India's financial capital, have catapulted India's boiling sectarian feuds and regional tensions into the news this Thanksgiving. Some of the most up-to-date reporting can be found at India's NDTV.com.

Given the nature of the attacks - coordinated across several targets simultaneously and using grenades and heavy machine guns as well as assault rifiles, the finger of suspicion was naturally first pointed at Al Qaeda by Western media. More serious conservative analysts are following Indian officials and are blaming Kashmir-related groups like the Lashkar e-Taiba, who were instrumental in carrying out bomb attacks in Mumbai in July 2006 and, very unlike the US right's response in 2006 when protecting Musharraf was high on the neocon agenda, this time even the Weekly Standard is making the connection between the LeK and Pakistan's ISI.

ARTICLE/VIDEO - http://crooksandliars.com/cernig/mumbai-attacks-al-qaeda-pakistani-proxies-o

Mumbai attacks part of "Blowback" for CIA double cross

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:36:59 EST

November 27-28, 2008 -- Mumbai attacks part of "Blowback" for CIA double cross

by Wayne Madsen @ waynemadsenreport.com

The violence that is sweeping Mumbai's tourist and business areas is the work of rival Hindu nationalist terrorists and Muslim gangs, according to WMR's Asian intelligence sources. Scores have been killed and hundreds injured in the violence sweeping India's financial capital. Although the "Indian Mujaheddin" and "Al Qaeda in India" are the corporate media's suspects in the violence, the attacks have more to do with score settling and a warning by a CIA asset and Muslim-Hindu gang violence.

The violence began with some crude "dud" bombs being planted around the city. However, these are seen as "false flag" attacks carried out by HIndu nationalist terrorists who support the Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which hopes to beat the ruling Congress Party in forthcoming elections. The Hindu nationalists often wave the "Muslim terrorist" shirt to win popular support.

SOURCE - http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/

Opponents of cluster bombs say a treaty expected to be finalized by more than 100 countries next week in Norway's capital could shame non-signers like the U.S., Russia, China, Israel, Pakistan and India into also shelving the weapons.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:22:48 EST

Opponents of cluster bombs speak out in Norway

Cluster bomb opponents say treaty to be finalized in Norway next week to shame non-signers

Nov 26, 2008 09:54 EST

Opponents of cluster bombs say a treaty expected to be finalized by more than 100 countries next week in Norway's capital could shame non-signers like the U.S., Russia and China into also shelving the weapons.

Cluster Munitions Coalition umbrella group coordinator Tom Nash says the treaty "will stigmatize the weapons," making them "morally unacceptable." Nash was speaking Wednesday before the Dec. 3-4 signing ceremony in Oslo.

Cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles that scatter them over vast areas. Some fail to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years until they are disturbed, often by children attracted by their small size and bright colors.

___

On the Net - http://www.stopclustermunitions.org

SOURCE - http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=467455

INSPIRED BY OBAMA

MEDISEN — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:20:11 EST

FROM ASTROLOGY EVOLVED ASTRONOMY

FROM ALCHEMY EVOLVED CHEMISTRY

FROM RELIGION EVOLVED PHILOSOPHY

FROM POLITICS EVOLVED MIRACLE

Perhaps the world would not have witnessed the woes of social illness and sickness of poverty.

Eear of unacceptance is the greatest fear.

Barack Obama spells hope not only to AMERICA but for the multitude of millions of human beings allover the world who believe in themselves , trust others and hope for betterment of world.

I AM INSPRIED BY YOU MR OBAMA.

AND I AM PROUD TO BE YOUR CONTEMPORARY INHABITING THIS PLANET IN YOUR TIME.

DO NOT GIVE UP , BE VALUE BASED, CHERISH, HUMANITY, GOVERN WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

THE IMMINENT THREAT OF THIE ECONOMIC CRISIS MIGHT LOOM LARGE BUT YOU CAN

YES YOU CAN

for now it is not JUST AMERICA BUT THE WHOLE WORLD THAT YOU HAVE WON OVER WITH GOOD WILL AND CHARM

YOU CAN

YOU WILL

YOU MUST

STRIVE NOT TO BE THE THE BEST BUT BE JUST

WITH LOVE AND GOODWILL ON BEHALF OF MORE THAN A BILLION INDIANS

DR SENTHIL KUMAR SANRAN

Issues affecting US citizen/resident people of Indian origin

Sahi from Somerset, NJ — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:51:37 EST

The United States should address the complex social issues faced by US citizen Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Non Resident Indians (NRIs) residing in the USA who have been taken advantage of when India needs their money and investment but let down by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs when it comes to seeking justice. Easy to misuse gender biased Indian laws (matrimonial law, dowry harassment law, domestic violence law, etc., where no evidence is required and simply the word of the vindictive wife/ex-wife or her lawyer is good enough) affect the daily life and livelihood of hundred of thousands of NRIs/PIOs in the USA. The Indian goverment has claimed that the US Courts are not good enough and only the Indian legal and political system has the right to decide on divorce and custody for all people of Indian origin wherever they may be on this earth, and that they will not honor any orders of the US Courts (civil or criminal). It is important to highlight that as an unintended consequence of the anti-dowry law 498a, innocent NRIs/PIOs are being tormented in India with false accusations of dowry harassment, torture, domestic violence, etc. that supposedly happened in the USA. Many a times, women of Indian origin (even those who are not domiciled in India and were US citizens prior to their marriage or were married abroad or were divorced by a US court near their place of habitual residence in the USA) run to India to file criminal cases like IPC-498a and DV against the extended family (in India) of NRI/PIO husband in an attempt to hide their own wrong doings (like adultry, credit card fraud, etc., or to obtain an unfair advantage during divorce and child custody proceedings in the USA), which results in complex visa, employment and passport issues in addition to causing US citizen or US resident PIOs to fight international case(s) in India for years in an attempt to prove their innocence (and in the process being subjected to blackmail and extortion by the estranged spouse/ex-spouse, legal machinery in India, etc.). As a consequence, the US Department of State's website (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1139.html) has the following travel advisory for India: The Indian police may arrest anyone who is accused of committing a crime (even if the allegation is frivolous in nature), the Indian criminal justice system is often used to escalate personal disagreements into criminal charges. This practice has been increasingly exploited by dissatisfied business partners, contractors, estranged spouses, or other persons with whom the U.S. citizen has a disagreement, occasionally resulting in the jailing of U.S. citizens pending resolution of their disputes. At the very least, such circumstances can delay the U.S. citizen's timely departure from India, and may result in an unintended long-term stay in the country. Corruption in India, especially at local levels, is a concern, as evidenced by Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index of 3.5, ranking India in 72nd place of the world’s countries.

The Change is here.....

Unknown user — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:21:40 EST

Mr Barack Obama ran his presidential campaign on the short and moving title of Change can happen. Well, the change is finall here and we all, including those who are not Americans and are living far far away in the east, are now waiting with bated breath as to how the future would unfold for all of us.

Mr Obama is yet to come clear on what his policy towards the subcontinent would be. However, there is just one thing i want to take up right now and that is his statement regarding shifting American troops from Iraq and bringing them in to Afghanistan.

I, as a citizen of India and having been lived in close proximity of militancy, as is prevalent in Kashmir, I would like to let you know that more troops are not going to be the solution to the crisis that has engulfed Afghanistan and its neighbours, including Pakistan and India.

We all need peace, i guess and we have long been forced into believing that peace would come through more soldiers walking on the roads. Well, that is not happening. we have been having troops for the past almost two decades in Kashmir and it is not close to peace yet.

So, please do not bring more troops to Afghanistan, bring development, employment and governance, if you must.

We are also told that troops are necessary in Afghanistan because Laden has to be found. but for the past seven years now, no amount of allied forces have been able to search him out.

I have a suggestion to make: If you bring real peace to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, you will not have to search for Laden, people will search for him themselves and bring him to justice, as they should.

Please give it a thought because we have had enough wars now.....

:: Congratulations for the Change Mr. Obama ::

Unknown user — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:36:27 EST

Dear Mr. Obama,

As an Indian i am happy to see that the masses in USA are strong enough to support a many of high dreams without considering the Race, Religion or Origin of their president.

India is a Secular country and we are a strong supporter of Secularism. Personally i have seen Americans suffer racism in their very own Country. In my recent visit to Europe i met a person from US. He told me how he is looked down by other Americans who are fair-complexioned

Its great to see this change among the Americans. Our ancient text, Gita mentions,' Change is the only constant truth in the World. '

I am glad see that the change is for the positive growth of USA and the entire world as a whole.

I would be very happy to have an opportunity tomeet you during your India visit. I wish you a very successful tenure as the President.

with best wishes,

Pt. Aaadietya Pandey

India is with you

As a confidante of Barack Obama — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:10:42 EST

Hello Obama. Great News for all of us in India. For the past few months we have toured across the country with the American Center in India to create an awareness of the American Elections .And history has been created.

" There are two primary choices in life- to accept conditions as they exist or accept the responsibility for changing them "

And you have taken up the second option. We are all with you. Go ahead.

Dr.Jawahar Surisetti

India

America's Place in the World

Derek — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:29:43 EDT

America's Place in the World

I travel internationally a great deal on business. Once, I went around the world visiting 7 countries in 14 days meeting with the financial firms leaders. I've flown 14 hours for a 12 hour meeting to immediately fly home in order to coach my sons basketball team's practice. I know what it is to be a road warrior.

Common Ground Found in India
On one trip to India, I took a weekend to travel to one of the 4 holy sights in Puri on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. There, I pursued information as to a legend told to e by Indian colleagues that Jesus spent his youth there at the temple. Many Indians there in Puri believed Christ was an incarnation of God on earth as was Krishna. I found that I had more in common with Hindu Indians than we had differences.

Additionally, the poverty I saw there was more than even that I've experienced in the back woods Louisiana where I spent my summers on my grandparent's farm. It broke my heart and forever changed my life to see a small child standing knee deep in mud naked and crying as people passed him by because he was from the untouchable cast. I grew to appreciate the upward mobility America provides its citizens. My great grandparents were born into effective slavery though the civil war had ended years prior. My great grandmother was an amazing woman stressed to my mother and myself the importance of education as the only path to freedom. I honor her in my striving for excellence and knowledge.

God has truly blessed America but do we really appreciate the gifts in this generation. I am reminded of the parable of the talents. Is the baby boomer and now GenX generation the servant given 1 talent that buried it in the ground.

The Gulf between America and Europe

As I travel throughout Europe, I am constantly facing and addressing the negative perceptions of Americans. Europeans tend to blame the average American for the policies of the Bush administration. There is a tangible contempt and loathing with an undercurrent of jealousy for the wealth and opportunity many see America squandering. In essence, we Americans must take responsibility for electing George Bush. It's not the Republican's fault. America stands and falls as a nation undivided.

Europeans also do not understand why Americans hold firm to the right to bear arms. They do not understand that Americans fear our own government more than our government fears to citizens. There is a fundamental distrust of authority. Assassinations of our best and brightest is our legacy. It is the evil that lurks in the shadows. The nail that sticks up gets hammered as they say in Japan.

At times, I wonder if Europeans consider themselves truly allies with the US. The threat of the USSR and facism have faded from the minds of most Europeans it seems as with the role America played in securing European freedom. In the end, once I show compassion for their views and explain the environment and challenges Americans face to safeguard democracy from big business and organized crime, a common ground can be found with those abroad. Once again, we have more in common than that which separates.

World Citizenship

It is clear that the efforts of the past to aid poor countries not with weapons but with education and human resources are far more effective than punitive military actions and a heavy handed foreign policy. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Teaching the world to fish will feed them for generations and build alliances into the future.

Why must America act unilaterally with military strikes? Why are we not providing greater support for regional policing of regional problems through UN sponsored commissions? Americans are citizens of the world and must use our God given gifts to lead by example rather than by dictate or mandate. Compassion and patience is the calling card of a mature state and leading nation.

Show how your plan for America on all fronts (education, military, healthcare, etc) is a template for the world. Can you UN adopt such a template to propagate to emerging nation states? If not, then there may be something lacking in the underlying principles that impairs the ability for a sustainable and repeatable solution to be adopted.

Regards,
Derek LaSalle

To Obama, McCain, Congress, and NASA: How should a space race be run?

Dr. Jeffrey Kargel — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:09:12 EDT

Today India launched its first mission beyond Earth orbit. After a 5-day elliptical semi-orbit of the Earth to place it on a lunar intercept, it will fire its rocket to enter lunar orbit. It will then train a huge array of sophisticated instruments, many with foreign (including American) participation, on the Moon's surface. It will map lunar topography, make precision images, and map uranium and helium-3, ice, and other potential natural resources. I write with excitement, as extraterrestrial resources is something I have written a fair amount about in the technical science and space development literature. Use of extraterrestrial resources is part of what I view as forming humanity's destiny.

China and Japan each launched their own lunar orbital missions recently, so a full-fledged Asian space race is on. The U.S. will also have an advanced lunar resource prospecting mission soon. Japan's media, and the media across Asia, is abuzz with talk about lunar exploration and the Asian space race. Everybody is interested in pushing toward human lunar exploration.

Not lost on anybody, the Moon is also viewed militarily as the ultimate high ground. In principle, ice mines at the lunar South Pole could supply ice from to low Earth orbit (LEO) far more efficiently than launches of water from Earth into LEO. Ice translates not just as water, but also oxygen and hydrogen-- rocket fuel. Ample rocket fuel in LEO means unlimited capability to maneuver around Earth, to shift the orbits of spy satellites when crises emerge, to shift the orbits of Earth resources satellites, to fuel rockets that will move astronauts to the Moon and Mars and beyond more efficiently than if all the rocket fuel had to be launched from Earth's surface. In short, the lunar South Pole is like Middle Eastern oil as far as space operations are concerned. There are more ominous possibilities related to the "high ground" aspect that need not even be mentioned, but there is no question that the Moon is a strategic place in many regards, and it could be used as a stepping stone to places farther afield, such as Mars.

The Moon is also supremely interesting scientifically, having merit in its own right as a unique planetary type object but also bearing clues to Earth's origin, as Apollo began to teach us. In terms of the 'gee-whiz' aspect of human exploration, the Moon represents an exciting target if you haven't already been there. If you have been there, as America has been, it is still a worthy place to explore by humans, but in pure scientific exploration terms, that can be done far more cost effectively by robotics. Yes, humans can do some things that robotics cannot, but robotics truly are up to the task of doing most of what humans can do, plus much more that we can't. Even mining of ice or helium-3 (if we ever get helium-3-based fusion electrical power generation mastered) would best be done robotically, if money is an issue. I would warrant that for America, money is an issue, and most voters and taxpayers probably would say so, too. We need to do things efficiently.

That said, if we do venture beyond LEO with humans, is the Moon the best place to go? To most planetary scientists, Mars is much more interesting place than the Moon and it is more apt to be a place that can be settled. There are severe challenges for sure, especially in getting there and returning; the transit is the biggest danger because of solar cosmic radiation storms. Some Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) have orbits close enough to Earth's that they can be reached in as little as a month or two instead of a year or more; thus, they are safer. NEAs represent a much more diverse and resource-rich set of objects, although I note that there are some peculiarities of the Moon (such as enrichment in He-3) that could drive particular, specific efforts at resource exploitation. None of this, not even the strategic aspects (for those military types pondering that), favors human-driven activity if getting the job done efficiently is what the goal is.

If having humans do something interesting in space is the goal, the Moon is interesting indeed; but in post-Apollo era, there are other places we should go. If there is a sense of a space race, I would urge America's leaders to consider a space race in a different context, more like the framing context that JFK used to send us to the Moon. We should do something spectacular, partly because it is hard. We can go to the Moon, but it will be hailed as a return to the past. If there is no pressing reason to have humans on the Moon, but instead can have robotics take care of our scientific and engineering/resource exploitation objectives there, then I'd say let's skip the Moon and go to Mars, but do so in a logical sequence. If we need a stepping stone, near Earth asteroids would provide a more interesting one that would not entail years and years of staying there (at a cost of maybe $100 billion beyond the cost to get to that first return to the Moon). We could go to 3 or 4 asteroids, learn a lot, and be done with that phase of the program, and then focus on Mars. In some regards asteroids would be safer than the Moon, if we can select some that would entail only a month or so of transit time each way. We could have small solar storm radiation shelters onboard the craft, and not worry about osteoporosis and other severe maladies that we will have to worry about when we finally go to Mars. We could conduct these missions and use manned maneuvering units to make the landings; no need for extremely complex lunar landing craft, no need for a lot of things that would cost us dearly to get to the Moon and which would not be directly applicable to Mars landings. We could get to the asteroids rapidly, I would guess before 2016. With 8 years of doing one mission every 2 years or so, we could learn a lot, and then by 2024, if we aimed for it now, we could be on Mars. Otherwise, we will be busy trying to pay off our Apollo-Plus bill and not have really made much progress toward getting to Mars. We'll have China and who knows who else as neighbors, and we will be seen as competing directly with them.

Why try to steal the Chinese (or Indian or Japanese or European) thunder? Let them do what will give them national pride and international prestige. Let's not race them at all. Let's dedicate a strong robotics effort at the Moon, especially one dedicated toward natural resource exploration. If the Chinese are willing, we could ride with them to the Moon; and they could ride with us to asteroids. This would create openness and confidence that the more threatening possible uses of the Moon (and asteroids) would not elapse. We certainly do not need a militarized space race and hostile land grabs and paranoid approach to space exploration.

We should not accede to any territorial claims by any nation, nor make any claims, as international law now warrants. We should create a legal framework for resource exploration and exploitation, but astronaut involvement should not come to be seen as the legal basis for staking claims. The asteroids will be able to provide water to LEO even more cheaply than the Moon can (it sounds counter-intuitive, but the Moon's gravity well makes this statement true). On asteroids there is abundant platinum, carbon compounds, semiconductors, and all sorts of things that the Moon doesn't have. We can exploit those materials robotically, and we can involve humans in their exploration much more quickly and less expensively than going to the Moon; and the asteroids certainly represent stepping stones to the greater beyond, for which the Moon does not serve so well.

The cost of this proposed revised goal of the coming decade would be far less than the cost of the human lunar program. The savings (probably several billion dollars per year) could be split in quarters between (1) developing advanced planetary robotics, (2) reducing the taxpayer's burden (or our debt to China), (3) rebuilding our Earth observation program, and (4) preparing for Mars settlement by humans. By 2020 we can start ramping down expenditures for this asteroid program and sharply ramping up Mars settlement preparations if that is our nation's aspiration. Nearly all the hardware developed for the asteroid effort would be directly transferrable to Mars exploration, and by 2020 hopefully we will have an economy that reflects a decade of efficient and wise federal expenditures.

In any case, resource exploration should be the focus of NASA's extraterrestrial robotic exploration program.

Registered Republicans voting for Obama!?

Saint — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:22:30 EDT

Yes, is it surprising or shocking to you hear that some of the registered Republicans are going to vote for Obama. No body knows how many of them or what percentage of hardcore republicans will vote for Obama.

My personal experience in talking and listening to some of the co-passengers. Unlike my previous flights or other times when I flew between CA and NV, I hardly heard loud and clear discussions amoung people about their views on election or any one person in this 2008 race. But, this time when I flew, it was a round trip, on both ways, I had the opportunity to hear some very exciting and greatly hopeful changes in people's mind. One thing was clear, people are thinking, talking and sharing their views about the condition of America and the leadership.

On my way to CA, I heard someone talking very loud behind me about he will move out of US if someone get elected as president, it was not clear to me about whom he was talking but some political discussion. I occupied my seat and the remaing two of the three seat in a row was yet to be filled by the oncoming passengers, one gentleman came and sat on the aile side, I was on the window side, so there still is a seat to be taken. After almost all the passengers are inside the flight, looking for their seats and setting bagges, one gentleman came and took over the empty seat next to me. I said hi, for a long time upto midway in the air, we did not talk at all. Reading books, magazines occassionally looking through the windows. But, during the drinks and snacks time, the airhostess brought drinks and snaks to us, this gentleman assisted in getting my stuff from the airhostess, thanked and we just begin to chat a few things, and then more discussion, politics was the full topic now. He was an American Citizen who works in Western States in marketing industry.

He is making enough money or morethan any average American salary in his job as a regional manager, and I could not believe about his current perception of American economy, health, education and spending for war, he was apalled and frustrated that America made such a huge blunder in putting GW for 8 years almost destroyed America's prosperity in here and it's name outside America....we talked about lots of issues in politics, he is an independent voter, and he is damn sure and clear that he supports Obama and has great hope that Obama is the one who can change the current conditions of America, though he is cautious that it is not going to be any easy task but he has hope....... I was so happy to hear from an Independent I never knew this person openly telling me he will voter for Obama.

On the way back on my return flight waiting to board at the Sacramento Airport, I heard a couple in 50s and a late 40s man talking about weather in CA, in NV and other things like their hobbies, hiking and all those things. I was standing in the row waiting for the boarding curiosly listening to their conversations, I was not part of it, neither I know them, Just hearing from distance about this conversation, when the education topic came, I heard all the three were vigorously talking how bad the education system of ours...no, how bad we made our education system because of the kind of leadership, ofcourse economy was in their chat too. But, I heard the 40s man saying I am hopeful that Obama is our hope and things will change. Just after he said that the couple were saying we realize that and we are going for him, we are going to vote for Obama.

quitely listening from behind, I could not control my enthusiasm and happiness, again these are all citizens, I do not know about the 40s man if he was a democrat or republican or independent (White Americans). The boarding began and we just walk passed the screening lady, and I ran behind the couple and asked, did I hear you saying you will vote Obama?. The Husband of the lady turned back while walking fast, and said yes you did hear correct. We are both registered republicans and we are going to vote for Obama.

What do you think after seeing all those things going on in this country, we are not insane to go vote for some lunatics, we are ready for Obama.

I said, it is just great to hear registered republicans saying this and I feel so good that change is already happening.

I boarded into my return flight kept thinking to myself............Change is happening....though I feel sorry for Obama that he has to face a huge challenges and himalayan tasks to fill the holes of previous govts, fix the cracks of republicans blunder and heal the damages caused by this war and bring some jobs and better economy to America is just not going to be that easy, while I feel sorry for Obama before hand, I feel happy and excited, we have no other choice than facing the challenges and make some progress.

Best Wishes dear Obama,

But, be mindful about the Racism and Casteism in India, I wish you will learn from the right sources how terrible the Indian practice of Caste System that is destryoing almost the major part of Indian society, culture and their well being, allmost all or most of the President's of America did not know an iota about what the damn Caste system is about, but I wish you will learn and war the Indian govt to get rid of this discrimination and racism/casteism in India.

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Should Barack meet Indian Prime Minister, visiting this week to US

Alok from Franklin Park, NJ — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:32:58 EDT

It is disappointing to see that Barack is not meeting Indian Prime Minister who is visiting here in US this coming week. This is an important visit by the premier here as he is looking forward to get Indo-US nuclear deal singed to get India out of the nuclear commerce isolation.

Foreign newspaper says...

Grateful for Barack — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:36:42 EDT

Amazingly, the foreign media draw a much clearer picture of what is happening in America. Or did I just not search in the right places? I see mainly what is on yahoo news. The following article was written in cooperation with the N.Y.Times, not sure whether it was published there too. I found it today in Deccan Chronicle India. There are more articles about the subject under www.deccan.com, columnsits.

I have also a HELP REQUEST: can someone tell me how to post articles to the campaign. I end always up with the noreply-thing, and I just can't find the correct webform to send important articles to the campaign.

Beware, America! Palin sounds a lot like BushBy Maureen Dowd

I’ve been in Alaska only a week, but I’m already feeling ever so much smarter about Russia.

I can’t quite see it from my hotel window, but, hey, I know it’s out there somewhere, beyond all the stuffed bears and cruise ships and glaciers and oil derricks.

The proximity of the country from which William Seward bartered to buy Alaska for $7 million — Seward’s icebox — is so illuminating that I suddenly realise that we would commit a grave error by overestimating Russia’s economic strength. After all, it represents only 2.8 per cent of the world’s GDP, even though its gross domestic product has ballooned from $200 billion in 1999 to $1.7 trillion this year.

But I overanalyse.

An Arctic blast of action has swept into the 2008 race, making thinking passé. We don’t really need to hurt our brains studying the world; we just need the world to know we’re capable of bringing a world of hurt to the world if the world continues to be hell-bent on misbehaving.

Two weeks after being thrown onto a national ticket, and moments after being speed-briefed by McCain foreign-policy advisers, our new Napoleon in bunny boots is ready to face down the Russkies and start a land war over Georgia, and, holy cow, what business is it of ours if Israel attacks Iran?

The trigger-happy John McCain has indeed found a soul mate. Trigger squared. In Fairbanks on Thursday, at a deployment ceremony for her son who is going to Iraq, governor Palin followed the lead of McCain and W. in fusing Osama bin Laden’s diabolical work on 9/11 and the mission in Iraq. She told the departing troops, "You’ll be there to defend the innocent from the enemies who planned and carried out and rejoiced in the deaths of thousands of Americans."

Asked by Charlie Gibson what insight into Russian actions her Alaskan proximity gave her, Sarah blithely replied: "They’re our next-door neighbours. And you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska."

Being a next-door neighbour is not quite enough, though. If Sarah had been reading about the world she feels so confident about leading rather than just parroting by rote what Randy Scheunemann and the neocons around McCain drilled into her last week — Drill, baby, drill! — she might have realised that as heinous as Russia’s behaviour toward Georgia was, it was not completely unprovoked. The state department has let it be known that it warned McCain’s friend, Misha, the hotheaded President of Georgia, not to send troops in to crush the rebellion in two breakaway states.

And she might not have had to clench her jaw and play for time when Gibson raised the Bush doctrine, the wacko preemption philosophy that so utterly changed the world.

The really scary part of the Palin interview was how much she seemed like W. in 2000, and not just the way she pronounced nu-cue-lar. She had the same flimsy but tenacious adeptness at saying nothing, the same generalities and platitudes, the same restrained resentment at being pressed to be specific, as though specific is the province of silly eggheads, not people who clear brush at the ranch or shoot moose on the tundra.

Just as W. once could not name the General-General running Pakistan, so Palin took a position on Pakistan that McCain had derided as naive when Obama took it.

"We must not, Charlie, blink, Charlie, because, Charlie, as I’ve said, Charlie, before, John McCain has said, Charlie, that — and remember here, Charlie, we’re talking about John McCain, Charlie, who, Charlie, is John McCain and I won’t be blinking, Charlie."

She tried to finesse her previous church comments about Iraq, asking worshippers to pray "that there is a plan, and that plan is God’s plan." Earnestly repeating after her tutors, she said she had meant to echo Abraham Lincoln, that in war we must pray that we are on God’s side rather than that he is on ours. But her original comments sounded more W. than Abe — taking your policy and ideology and giving it the hallowed mantle of a mission from God.

Sarah has single-handedly ushered out the Sex and the City era, and made the sexy new model for America a retro one — the glamorous Pioneer Woman, packing a gun, a baby and a Bible.

Her explosion onto the scene made Obama seem even more like a windy, wispy egghead. Like W., Sarah has the power of positive unthinking. But now we may want to think about where ignorance and pride and no self-doubt has gotten us. Being quick on the trigger might be good in moose hunting, but in dealing with Putin, a little knowledge might come in handy.

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Denver - Thursday: with Barack and 79,999 others

Carolyn Sauvage-Mar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:26:47 EDT

Thursday, Invesco Field, Denver

I am here early to get through security and take in this day of history. As I step down to the floor, rows and rows of empty chairs, framed by state signs, await delegates. A bluegrass band is warming up. Hundreds of journalists prepare for the story and I walk in the Denver sun past familiar and famous broadcasters – Wolf Blitzer, Katie Couric, Charles Gibson, chain-smoking Ted Koppel, Tom Brokaw…. The Democrats Abroad delegation’s seats are directly up against the booths of ABC, NBC, CNN, to the right side of the stage. We are across from Louisiana, next to Alabama, behind California. Very cool to watch the journalists work. CNN works the hardest; they hardly have time to look into the crowd as they are always facing the cameras. The other network staff seem to have a lot of time to snap personal photos, watch the crowd, pose for pictures and wave to the fans who inevitably shout “I watch you every night!”

All through the afternoon, people stream into the stadium. Delegates gather on the floor. The nosebleed seats fill steadily; Jerome, my husband, got a pass and is somewhere up there surrounded by the native Colorado-ans. Even after three nights of perfect political theatre, tonight people are telling each other they feel the call of history in this huge stadium.

Two things really stand out for me about this night.

Al Gore. The crowd loves him; the planet owes him. My gut reaction to his coming on stage was to feel the tragedy of the 2000 loss/stolen election. Gore’s message articulated this clearly: a lot of people didn’t think the election mattered all that much back then. The economy was okay. We were not at war. That luxury of nonchalance, if we ever had it, is gone. Politics matters. This election matters. Voting matters. Voting from abroad matters.

Barack Obama. As he comes onto stage, the crowd jumps on its feet, roaring welcome, 80,000 people believing together that we can elect a black man president. I am surrounded, crowded, by people standing and cheering. Waving flags. Crying, hugging. I can’t quite get out of my chair. Overwhelmed by the moment.

Barack says he accepts the nomination. In that moment, I feel disbelief giving way to something else, months of fight and anticipation fading into the terrain of a more familiar political moment. Here is Barack Obama, giving an amazing acceptance speech. But he is here, inside Invesco, inside the political system, leading the Democratic Party. Not an outsider, as Martin Luther King was. Not a long shot, not someone denying someone else a candidacy, not an up-and-coming, hugely talented political contender with potential. Instead: the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States.

I rise with the other thousands in the stadium, and look up behind me at Donna Brazile on the CNN stand. She is looking at the crowd, looking at the stage where Barack stands. She doesn’t give anything away. She is watching with a kind of discipline. I am surprised she does not even smile.

But then, I am not crying in the way I expected to.

I am thinking that we need to get this guy elected. Tonight is an amazing night. But we need to go the full mile. I’m thinking what we will need to do to bring this one home, truly make history, and take our country back.

Denver - Tuesday: Unity

Carolyn Sauvage-Mar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:16:31 EDT

Tuesday

Unity

By now it is clear that I am an occasional blogger-wanna-be. My credential for “occasional” is that I seem to be a day behind, irrelevant before I even post! Here goes anyway:

Of the thousands of things that are happening here in Denver, the press has focused on the Clinton-Obama rivalry and a messy Democratic Party that cannot work together to defeat McCain in November. They just love this storyline. Press interviews with journalists from around the world proved this to me – all of them asked about the state of the problematic relationship between Hillary and Barack, and their supporters.

Like there’s nothing else in the world to be concerned about. The real story is about the issues that are being talked about by thousands of citizens here, convened by the top advocacy organizations, thinkers and elected officials this country has to offer. Foreign policy. Health care. Choice. Getting out the vote. The environment. Jobs. Education. Treatment of veterans and their families. To name a few.

Tuesday was Hillary’s day and our delegation joined with the rest of this huge gathering to celebrate her candidacy and all that it has meant to her followers and our country. The Democrats Abroad Global Primary on Super Tuesday came out roughly two-thirds for Obama, one-third for Clinton. Our delegation represents that proportionality.

Margo Miller (UK) and Jo Ann White (Italy), Clinton delegates in our delegation, showed us the way to unity. Dressed in full Hillary regalia, Margo and Jo Ann worked the crowds and the press. Interviewers who clearly were hoping for/expecting a tirade, instead got Margo’s and Jo Ann’s sense of history and pride, their solidarity with the millions of women who have and will break barriers…. Along with their full commitment to Barack Obama as our nominee.

The morning’s Women’s Caucus was a huge event. A gigantic ballroom was filled with women of every age, stripe, color and geographic persuasion. We beat on our plastic tambourines to show our support for the many amazing women who spoke. This included Donna Brazile, Ellen Malcolm (the founder of Emily’s List, an early funder of women candidates), and many others. Each of them spoke of our commitment to each other and to our country to continue to fight for women to earn equal pay for equal work, to have access to health care, and maintain the right to choose. Great to witness how much progress we have made (dating myself with this remark….), to see young women identify as feminists, and to see so many women of color in that room. It’s been a journey to get this far. And everywhere was the influence and inspiration of Hillary Clinton.

The best moment of the day was Chelsea’s introduction of her mother, and Hillary’s speech, when the hall erupted in cheers and a sea of white Hillary signs. She gave a speech that was a tour de force. This night gave us a chance to celebrate and acknowledge her contributions.

And the quote of the day is from the Women’s Caucus:

“Women voting for John McCain is like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.”

-- Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood USA & daughter of Texan Ann Richards

Denver - Sunday, Gettin Ready

Carolyn Sauvage-Mar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:08:09 EDT

Sunday night – Preview Day

A whole lot of Americans are here in Colorado…..so much of my time is spent trying to find Americans in India, that it is actually weird to be back in a citizen-rich environment. All of them! Are! Voters!

Our hotel also houses the Florida delegation. There are a lot more of them than us, obviously. What we lack in numbers, we make up for as Most Jet Lagged Delegation Ever. The DA delegation -plus volunteers- has members from Japan, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Norway, Canada, Mexico, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Italy and of course, India.

It is beautiful out, sunny, clear and hot. The streets are not as fully loaded as in India, but there is an outdoor mela of inventive environmental products, protestors who are graphically anti-abortion, hawkers of Obamastuff, lots and lots of policemen who seem to like riding bicycles.

The first official event is the Interfaith Gathering. As we entered, kids pass out flyers advocating for the separation of church and state and against any future faith-based initiatives.

Being a Sunday, being a religious event, I was ready for something peaceful, perhaps contemplative…..but nah, immediately a shouting protestor about abortion had to be drowned out by putting the volume of the musical performers higher, and then hauled out of the convention center. Then another protestor started yelling, and the crowd started chanting O-BA-MA to drown it out….So much for contemplative.

The service included readings by an imam, priest, rabbi, pastor from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Islamic texts. There were drum-beating Native Americans and gospel-singing choirs. Not a cross, star, or HANUMAN idol, in evidence – instead, a vaguely Native American –looking symbol that might be used to sell, say, fair trade products. I figure that no one can take offense at a symbol that is so unfamiliar as to not look particularly religious. I seriously appreciated being in a place where faith could be acknowledged as the basis for the values and sense of justice that underpins one’s politics.

My husband, Jerome, and I met up with Stephanie Farqhuar , former DA India volunteer, and here as a delegate from Maryland. At a Maryland reception, we saw Elijah Cummings and the Gov or Maryland, and later had our picture taken with Phil Gramm.

On our way out of the hotel, we passed through the Massachusetts party, where John Kerry was speaking.

It’s amazing! All Democrats, all the time!

Crossing the Street in India and Barack's Economic Plan

dublinranch — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:29:34 EDT

I've had the opportunity to visit India several times for business (great experience - one place in the world that doesn't hate Americans... but that's another story). Anyone who has visited India will have stories about the crazy experience of crossing the street in India - the complete chaos and apparent lack of any enforcement of traffic laws.

One Indian colleague described the unwritten rule of the India roadway this way - the larger vehicle has the right of way. The lorry takes priority over the bus, the bus over the van, the van over the sedan, the sedan over the auto rickshaw, the auto rickshaw over the motorcycle, the motorcycle over the scooter, the scooter over the bicycle and the bicycle over the pedestrian. In India a pedestrian trying to cross the street blindly will be run over.

That's exactly what's happened in America under George W. Bush. The rules of the road have been reversed - where the pedestrian (individual consumer or middle class family) is at the bottom.

Human beings - completely unregulated - are in the aggregate irresponsible. The commons is not respected without regulation. Lending practices are not fair unregulated (the mortgage crisis). Energy market deregulation without controls is not beneficial to the consumer (Enron). Individuals and industry don't do what is best for the environment independently (global warming).

It is not about more government or big government or big brother - but it is about preventing individual selfishness and short sightedness from destroying out economy and our environment, and in doing so putting our national security at risk.

Take the time to listen and read about Barack Obama's economic plan. It is transparent, specific and consistent - not just rhetoric and high concept. Start here with an excellent speech that covers bankruptcy law reform particularly well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGi30GErEKI

And continue here for Barack's complete plan:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/

For an independent and objective analysis The Tax Policy Center is a good resource. Particularly useful is the lastest side-by-side analysis of Obama and McCain's economic plans. If this document doesn't convince you that the richest Americans (0.5% of the population) benefit the most under McCain's plan, nothing will. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411749_updated_candidates.pdf. This quote from that document summarizes the differences well: "The two candidates’ tax plans would have sharply different distributional effects. Senator McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households. Many fewer households at the bottom of the income distribution would get tax cuts and those tax cuts would be small as a share of after-tax income. In marked contrast, Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers. The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution, while taxpayers with the highest income would see their taxes rise significantly".

The alternative? John McCain said himself in December 2007: "Economics is not something I've understood as well as I should." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X9LypdiQFo) The Republicans decry tax and spend yet have spent 8 years destroying the budget surplus they inherited. We can't afford 4 more years.

Suicide of Nun in Kerala India Because of Sexual and Physical Abuse by Mother Superior; Father Cries Foul Play

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:35:19 EDT

(I'm sorry if you find this to be entirely off topic; it is far removed from our obligation to win this election for Obama; yet, I present it here because it is a ghastgly story from the real world and because this tragedy has only been published in 3 other places in the USA, all by me....

Times of India article August 12

THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The father of a nun who committed suicide at Kollam Tuesday alleged that his daughter was "mentally and physically tortured at the convent".Pappachan, a cook who works at the Bishop's house at Kollam, alleged that his daughter Anupa Mary, a nun at the St Mary's Convent at Kollam, committed suicide Monday after she was made to do all the chores in the convent and was sexually harassed by the head of the convent.

He was speaking to reporters Tuesday after coming here with the body of his daughter for a post-mortem examination. He lashed out at the Mother Superior of the convent for allegedly torturing his daughter.

"She was mentally and physically tortured by the head of the convent. She was made to do all the chores in the convent and in the night she was sexually harassed by the head of the convent. This was happening for the past two monthsand I came to know about it only after she committed suicide," said Pappachan.

Mary, 24, committed suicide Monday evening by hanging herself in the convent. She had come to the convent May 27 and was a member of the Vimala Hridya Franciscan congregation.

The police has recovered a suicide note from her room in which she had written that she is finding it difficult to adjust to the new surroundings and also expressed her difference of opinion with the head of the convent.

MR Ajithkumar, superintendent of police, Kollam said that investigations have commenced and all aspects would be probed.

"This allegation I have heard only today (Tuesday) and on television.
Yesterday (Monday) when we took the statement from Pappachan, he did not level this allegation. Anyway now that he has publicly aired this, we will take his statement again. I have asked the investigation officers to look into all aspects. Now we are waiting for the post-mortem report," said the police
official.

Pappachan said that his wife and another daughter of his were aware of Mary being tortured.

"I will go to any extent to see that the truth is revealed," said the dejected
father.State Women's Commission chairperson D Sreedevi reacted to the events bysaying that a detailed probe should be conducted.

"Our observation, which we had made sometime back, that in convents inmates are being ill-treated, appears to be correct," said the former judge.

more details are here:

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=56653&ret=AccountDtl.aspx

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20080813141701&Page=R&Title=Keral
a&Topic=0

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Thirupuram/Kerala_nuns_suicide_Detaile
d_probe_sought/articleshow/3360656.cms

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1182822&#comments

Obama: Beware of Mud Slung Comments by main stream media.

Omar Dyer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:03:08 EDT

I would like to say I found out where the Osama Obama comments have been coming from and we need a change.

This country is at the moment where they have ideology oth the real picture of race and ratings. We can't afford to be thinking with the big bucks any more. The Party Holder: "Republicans" want you to be imbroglio on the incognito messages that makes this election impresario on race. They're race baiting you on race and religion. The Republican brand name used a commerical ad called: "The One." John McCain's camped used this movement of change and compared it to Moses to attack the celebrity hood of Barack Obama.

America Yes We Can:

We can change dirty politics, race baiting, and sacrilegious ads were it can be a sacramental concern on baiting voters away from what concerns them. I now because McCain got me too! Yet, I woke up because this campaign is to important to be about the same old fear baiting politics.

I am concerned:

That we are not talking about what can benefit the country any more. We are blinded by the addiction to profits, and capitalism. In 2004 as a replica of the eradication on John Kerry the slandering Republican party, baited Kerry into a mid-summer fight over being a war hero and dirty politics. They said: "We are having Fun with politics and lets move on."

I'm concerned about how low can they go! This country is divided and when placed to the breaking point cynical ideology becomes racial satire.

I am: "The One," You are: "The One:"

To change the way this country will go in 2009 because we can't afford to be stubborn: when Pakistan, India, and China have a expired deadline on an energy treaty that will come to an end in 2010. They plan on using non-clean coal or renewable resources to create energy. That's a huge concern this country needs to address and face: "Right Know" -- and America can't be stuck in a 10 billion dollar war on oil; while the planet is imperial. The energy concerns in this country shouldn't be on oil and drilling: While the western world says; "Your greed will allow us to succeed." If they go with carbon releasing fossil fuels, and America continues with this addiction on oil. This planet will get hooter: it will be so hot that the polar caps will melt. The water levels will rise, and carbon soaking mammals will die. We will have terrible tornadoes, terrible hurricanes, terrible storms because of that infernal heat.

I am: "The One;" You're the One:

To change the way we treat this planet because it's important. We did this to our planet, we have been a rebel on how we used profits and greeed to consume destruction on the nature of this planet. America Yes We Can: stop the cries of race card playing, with race baiting tactics -- and move-on attitude. John McCain played this card when he attacked Obama on the military and not visting them back fired. John McCain played this card when: He need press.

Obama was duped by the main stream media, and print media -- which was for more rating and coverage that drove up their ratings, and used the celebrity hood as a status to attack him. He will get one ad for him while 25 other ads and small blogs will be made to attack him. So Obama is supplyin that pring and main stream media with the oil to burn him. Obama they're only about ratings and degrading. They will consume Obama for dirty hard copy stories and mud slung comments that will draw attention to their media station because they need ratings. Washington Post is Republican owned: They're behind the Osama Obama comments. To Obama and true supporters "Beware" of the cabinet you stock because they aren't apart of how this campaign got here. They didn't care about us then, and why should they care about us now. The Washington Post is about ratings and beating the online bloggers. The truth is they get paid to start mud slung fights and nasty comments, while we support Obama for free. So in my mind we can change the way we cover politics as well. To stop the up rising and then tearing down people in the name of ratings.

BECOME ONE BIG GAINT INTERNATIONAL OBAMA...! "I WANNA BE OBAMA" PLAY IT LOUD

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:03:56 EDT

UNITE TO BECOME "ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA"

YES YOU ARE OBAMA, MY FRIEND, EVEN IF YOU THINK OF HIM, ITS A GOOD CAUSE....AND YOU ARE An OBAMA...!

UNITE FOR CHANGE, AND TO BUILT BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD...!

EACH ONE OF YOU ACROSS THE WORLD BECOME OBAMA...! THE MESSIAH OF LOVE...! SENT FOR US TO BUILD HEAVEN ON THIS EARTH...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

YOU WANNA BE OBAMA? WE ALL WANNA BE OBAMA...! LETS WHOLE WORLD BECOME OBAMA..!

PLAY IT OUT LOUD, MUSIC EVERYWHERE AT WORK, HOME, GATHERINGS, DISCOS, DJ FLOORS, RADIO, TV, EVERYWHERE,,,,.......! PLAY IT IN OPEN WITH FULL VOLUME...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

MOST ELECTRIFYING HOT & INSPIRATIONAL OBAMA MUSIC VIDEO 2008 by aN INDO-Canadian IT & Telecom Engineer Artist Composer THE OBAMA FOR THE OBAMA Manish Shah

WORK HARDER AND HAVE FUN HARDER.....! BECOME OBAMA AND UNITE TO BECOME ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA...! TO BUILD BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD......!

PLAY the MUSIC video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

http://www.songcastmusic.com/profiles/mypoojan

add me on your facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=529062116

LETS TOGETHER BUILD A BETTER WORLD...! ME THE OBAMA, YOU THE OBAMA, WHOLE WORLD OBAMA............UNITE DEAR OBAMAS ALL OVER THE WORLD.........AND BUILD A NEW AMERICA, A BRAND NEW WORLD AND A HEAVEN ON EARTH.......BUILD ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA BY ALL OF YOU BECOMING OBAMAS ................CLINTON IS OBAMA NOW........LET US BRING THE ENERGY THAT WILL MOVE EVEN JOHN MC CAIN ALSO TO BECOME OBAMA......AND THERE MUST BE NO CONFLICTS NO OPPOSITION...ONLY ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA......JUST FRIENDSHIP NO WAR....JUST LOVE NO HATE.....JUST PROGRESS.....JUST POSITIVE AND NO NEGATIVE.......

DEAR OBAMAS...! ONE AGAIN.......BRING THE SPIRIT IN ALL OF YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE......!

WHEN AN NON-AMERICAN INDO-CANADIAN CAN BECOME OBAMA ....WHY NOT YOU....! THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ANYONE AND EVERYONE CAN BECOME OBAMA AND MUST BECOME OBAMA....! START YOUR JOURNEY RIGHT NOW....TIME IS NOW.....AND ENCOURAGE THE WAVE OF ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA FOR THE BETTER WORLD.........

FORWARD TO ALL PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND PLAY THE MUSIC LOUD.....!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA" download it now.....and play loud in public today....!

www.myspace.com/manishshah

Reach me at

poojanfilms@ymail.com

TEL: 001-416-312-3189

LOTS OF LUV TO YOU THE OBAMA, FROM ME THE OBAMA....!

MOBILIZING THE WORLD FOR OBAMA......! BRING THE SPIRIT IN YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE.....! WHEN AN INDO-CANADIAN CAN HAVE INCREDIBLE LOVE FOR OBAMA WHY NOT YOU...!

- MANISH SHAH THE OBAMA......FOR OBAMA......LOTS OF LOVE...!

BECOME ONE BIG GAINT INTERNATIONAL OBAMA...! "I WANNA BE OBAMA" PLAY IT LOUD

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:03:56 EDT

UNITE TO BECOME "ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA"

YES YOU ARE OBAMA, MY FRIEND, EVEN IF YOU THINK OF HIM, ITS A GOOD CAUSE....AND YOU ARE An OBAMA...!

UNITE FOR CHANGE, AND TO BUILT BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD...!

EACH ONE OF YOU ACROSS THE WORLD BECOME OBAMA...! THE MESSIAH OF LOVE...! SENT FOR US TO BUILD HEAVEN ON THIS EARTH...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

YOU WANNA BE OBAMA? WE ALL WANNA BE OBAMA...! LETS WHOLE WORLD BECOME OBAMA..!

PLAY IT OUT LOUD, MUSIC EVERYWHERE AT WORK, HOME, GATHERINGS, DISCOS, DJ FLOORS, RADIO, TV, EVERYWHERE,,,,.......! PLAY IT IN OPEN WITH FULL VOLUME...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

MOST ELECTRIFYING HOT & INSPIRATIONAL OBAMA MUSIC VIDEO 2008 by aN INDO-Canadian IT & Telecom Engineer Artist Composer THE OBAMA FOR THE OBAMA Manish Shah

WORK HARDER AND HAVE FUN HARDER.....! BECOME OBAMA AND UNITE TO BECOME ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA...! TO BUILD BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD......!

PLAY the MUSIC video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

http://www.songcastmusic.com/profiles/mypoojan

add me on your facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=529062116

DEAR OBAMAS...! ONE AGAIN.......BRING THE SPIRIT IN ALL OF YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE......!

FORWARD TO ALL PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND PLAY THE MUSIC LOUD.....!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA" download it now.....and play loud in public today....!

www.myspace.com/manishshah

Reach me at

poojanfilms@ymail.com

TEL: 001-416-312-3189

LOTS OF LUV TO YOU THE OBAMA, FROM ME THE OBAMA....!

MOBILIZING THE WORLD FOR OBAMA......! BRING THE SPIRIT IN YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE.....! WHEN AN INDO-CANADIAN CAN HAVE INCREDIBLE LOVE FOR OBAMA WHY NOT YOU...!

- MANISH SHAH THE OBAMA......FOR OBAMA......LOTS OF LOVE...!

O-Camp HQ: Please Target These Issues

ZapDuff — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:44:03 EDT

While the McDevious campaign ratchets up its Anti-Obama rhetoric, we have a couple signficant opportunities to tout Barack's positions AND record that validates who is better to lead our country. Assuming no one at the campaign HQ in Chicago has time to read these epistles, I hope fans of my scribbles with access to campaign decision makers can pass along my observations.

Public statements by the candidate and advertising messages should quickly give attention to falsehoods repeatedly turning up in McCaCa messages:

Counter McRanting claims that Obama is naive and does not understand international affairs...
Counter McLie2Vets&GIs bragging he supports both and Obama does not...

India Images

Carolyn Sauvage-Mar — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:48:14 EDT

Chennai's Bridge for Obama picture featured here, along with bridges from around the world. Our friends in Madras win award for "HOTTEST-EVER OBAMA PHOTO SHOOT @ 110 degrees!"

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/amyhamblin/gGxymS/commentary#comments

Delhi Dems on the campaign trail for Obama - quite the happy hour:

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/68979/obama-fans-woo-americans-in-india-to-vote-online.html

BECOME ONE BIG GAINT INTERNATIONAL OBAMA...! "I WANNA BE OBAMA" PLAY IT LOUD

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:51:53 EDT

UNITE TO BECOME "ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA"

YES YOU ARE OBAMA, MY FRIEND, EVEN IF YOU THINK OF HIM, ITS A GOOD CAUSE....AND YOU ARE An OBAMA...!

UNITE FOR CHANGE, AND TO BUILT BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD...!

EACH ONE OF YOU ACROSS THE WORLD BECOME OBAMA...! THE MESSIAH OF LOVE...! SENT FOR US TO BUILD HEAVEN ON THIS EARTH...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

YOU WANNA BE OBAMA? WE ALL WANNA BE OBAMA...! LETS WHOLE WORLD BECOME OBAMA..!

PLAY IT OUT LOUD, MUSIC EVERYWHERE AT WORK, HOME, GATHERINGS, DISCOS, DJ FLOORS, RADIO, TV, EVERYWHERE,,,,.......! PLAY IT IN OPEN WITH FULL VOLUME...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

MOST ELECTRIFYING HOT & INSPIRATIONAL OBAMA MUSIC VIDEO 2008 by aN INDO-Canadian IT & Telecom Engineer Artist Composer THE OBAMA FOR THE OBAMA Manish Shah

WORK HARDER AND HAVE FUN HARDER.....! BECOME OBAMA AND UNITE TO BECOME ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA...! TO BUILD BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD......!

PLAY the MUSIC video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

http://www.songcastmusic.com/profiles/mypoojan

www.myspace.com/manishshah

add me on your facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=529062116

DEAR OBAMAS...! ONE AGAIN.......BRING THE SPIRIT IN ALL OF YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE......!

FORWARD TO ALL PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND PLAY THE MUSIC LOUD.....!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA" download it now.....and play loud in public today....!

www.myspace.com/manishshah

Reach me at

mony_shah@hotmail.com

divyajag9@yahoo.com

TEL: 001-416-312-3189

LOTS OF LUV TO YOU THE OBAMA, FROM ME THE OBAMA....!

MOBILIZING THE WORLD FOR OBAMA......! BRING THE SPIRIT IN YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE.....! WHEN AN INDO-CANADIAN CAN HAVE INCREDIBLE LOVE FOR OBAMA WHY NOT YOU...!

- MANISH SHAH THE OBAMA......FOR OBAMA......LOTS OF LOVE...!

BECOME ONE BIG GAINT INTERNATIONAL OBAMA...! "I WANNA BE OBAMA" PLAY IT LOUD

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:47:33 EDT

UNITE TO BECOME "ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA"

YES YOU ARE OBAMA, MY FRIEND, EVEN IF YOU THINK OF HIM, ITS A GOOD CAUSE....AND YOU ARE An OBAMA...!

UNITE FOR CHANGE, AND TO BUILT BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD...!

EACH ONE OF YOU ACROSS THE WORLD BECOME OBAMA...! THE MESSIAH OF LOVE...! SENT FOR US TO BUILD HEAVEN ON THIS EARTH...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

YOU WANNA BE OBAMA? WE ALL WANNA BE OBAMA...! LETS WHOLE WORLD BECOME OBAMA..!

PLAY IT OUT LOUD, MUSIC EVERYWHERE AT WORK, HOME, GATHERINGS, DISCOS, DJ FLOORS, RADIO, TV, EVERYWHERE,,,,.......! PLAY IT IN OPEN WITH FULL VOLUME...!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA"

MOST ELECTRIFYING HOT & INSPIRATIONAL OBAMA MUSIC VIDEO 2008 by aN INDO-Canadian IT & Telecom Engineer Artist Composer THE OBAMA FOR THE OBAMA Manish Shah

WORK HARDER AND HAVE FUN HARDER.....! BECOME OBAMA AND UNITE TO BECOME ONE BIG GAINT OBAMA...! TO BUILD BETTER AMERICA AND BETTER WORLD......!

PLAY the MUSIC video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

http://www.songcastmusic.com/profiles/mypoojan

www.myspace.com/manishshah

add me on your facebook

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=529062116

DEAR OBAMAS...! ONE AGAIN.......BRING THE SPIRIT IN ALL OF YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE......!

FORWARD TO ALL PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND PLAY THE MUSIC LOUD.....!

"I WANNA BE OBAMA" download it now.....and play loud in public today....!

www.myspace.com/manishshah

Reach me at

mony_shah@hotmail.com

divyajag9@yahoo.com

TEL: 001-416-312-3189

LOTS OF LUV TO YOU THE OBAMA, FROM ME THE OBAMA....!

MOBILIZING THE WORLD FOR OBAMA......! BRING THE SPIRIT IN YOU "I WANNA BE OBAMA" AND TRULY BECOME ONE.....! WHEN AN INDO-CANADIAN CAN HAVE INCREDIBLE LOVE FOR OBAMA WHY NOT YOU...!

- MANISH SHAH THE OBAMA......FOR OBAMA......LOTS OF LOVE...!

An Outside view

Anupam Sinha — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:03:47 EDT

I am not an American and I am not a voter. I am just an oridiary citizen sitting in one corner of India, hoping Obama wins!

Why would someone i India be interested in what happens in US? My suggestion is to look back - Regan was the leader of the world. First US president to hold the post of president of the World! Then the next was George Bush Sr. - He made us believe that someone cared, by taking up Saddam Hussain.

Clinton was also a world leader and then was Bush Jr. Less said the better. Do you want another over the hill leader to rule US? maybe you do... but I do not want him to rule the world. Obama has the energy and the vision to make a difference. When he talks about Black parents getting involved with their children, he is not trying to please Blacks and get their votes. He is trying to do the right thing by giving them a suggestion that will improve their lives. This is what a leader is supposed to do... lead the people to a better life... not to lead the people to voting booths and get as many votes as he can.

I only wish Obama wins... it is in the best interest of my family in this far flung corner of the world. Please help me go to sleep a happier man... Vote for Obama!!

Change change change

India Rajendra Gupta — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:58:43 EDT

Barack is the harbinger of change and joy for America, a departure from the decades of politics from which the whole world is fed up. We want freshness , a departure from the past with courage to change the world order starting with Barack changing America.

It is not a question whether Barack will win or not. Question is, whether he will win with a echoing majority. I believe he will. My best wishes . Rajendra ( www.linkedin.com/in/rajendragupta )

The US position in the world

Ron Kaplan — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:04:42 EDT

This hegemon will not last. As my first blog entry, I will make a controversial statement that the US cannot remain the #1 economy in the world. We will go the way of the Dutch, Spanish, English, French and Germans who preceded us from centuries past. We will hand the reins over to someone else. In this case, the Chinese and Indians will surpass our GDP in the coming decades.

The 21st century will be remembered as the century that saw for the first time since the industrial revolution non-western countries as the hegemonic powers of the world. True: China and India must dedicate a disproportionate amount of their GDP to infrastructure and reducing poverty, but their productivity could be less than 50% of the US levels, and their economies will still EACH be bigger than our own.

The environmental impact and the shift in political power from the West to the East will be unprecedented from world history. However, we have an opportunity to cooperate and make a peaceful transition from our hegemony to theirs. Cooperate does not mean give up. Look at former super-powers, and you can see middle-class, modern nations at peace.

I do not fear being #3 in my lifetime. It might be nice to stop being the #1 target in the world. Plus, with threats from nihilists the world over, we might be able to enjoy greater stability with help from the future #1 and #2 (China and India).

What do you think?

Why Obama?

Scott from Tampa, FL — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 12:59:03 EDT

Why Obama?

My point of view is one of a much larger backdrop illustrating the dire need for a leader, not a contiual caretaker lacking the vision or character to fight off the internal power-structure. We need a steward with a long term vision that recognizes the importance of the new world order - not the typical "terrorist"sales presentation that worked before, but has since become more about us terrorizing others. Someone who speaks to our goodness, not our fear. Someone who inspires us to be all that we can be, not fear all that is (or what some think "is"...) or even what we have created.

John McCain is a war hero and a good man, but when did being "good" become the presidential criteria? My grandmother is very good, but not someone I want to lead the free world. Lots of people are good....what makes a leader? Strength, vision, character...but mostimportantly seeing a paradigm that others do not and being able to execute that paradigm.

McCain's paradigm is the current one, just tweaked (not even sure the result will be better or worse). We need a new paradigm. We need a new vision. We need someone who has the intelligence to articulate that vision and the strength to execute it.

Obama is showing the beginnings of the promise of a new paradigm. Obama has taken elements of the past, such as foreign service, and combined them with new ideas, such as free education, to create a new paradigm. There is a flat world waiting to compete with us. I have lived in India, hired bright people from top institutions. People who get up at 5am, take a bus 2 hours in 120 degree heat to work for Lehman Brothers until 10pm...before taking the 2 hour bus back...these people are hungry like you have never seen. Competing against them will take hardwork, dedication and embarcing of many new ideas. But competing WITH them will take a new mindset. It will be just as hard, but infintely more rewarding. These people are not to be viewed as our enemies, but to be engaged as our competitors. There is a new paradigm coming...are we ready for it?

Scott

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:26:08 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

http://www.songcastmusic.com/profiles/mypoojan

A very catchy Music Video, which makes the whole America rock. The beauty of the song is that it brings the fulfillment of every American to become Obama..............Obama's winning is also Clinton's winning...! America's winning and the World's winning...!

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:12:41 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:09:53 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:16:23 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 15:15:03 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:09:32 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:55:44 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:27:35 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:26:00 EDT

Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

EACH OF YOU BE A PROUD OBAMA...!

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!

Manish Jagdishchandra Shah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:24:00 EDT

Unite For Change - Become OBAMA - "I Wanna Be Obama" - Play this Music Everywhere....BECOME OBAMA...MAKE WORLD WAVE....!"I Wanna Be Obama" - Inspirational OBAMA 2008 MUSIC VIDEO
Watch the video on YOUTUBE - here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leu7GBt-8hs

DOWNLOAD THE MUSIC on iTUNES

Make this music video reach every corner of America and the world across by forwarding this youtube video. WE WANT A BETTER WORLD..!

EACH OF YOU BE A PROUD OBAMA...!

Indians Find U.S. at Fault in Food Cost

Chinni — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:04:27 EDT

When I heard from my dad back in India about the outrage Bush's statements on food prices have caused there, I wasn't sure exactly how to feel.. Yeah, US consumption trumps every other people in the world but, isn't increasing consumption in countries India and China a fact?.. Now I saw this piece in NY times..

Indians Find U.S. at Fault in Food Cost

Instead of blaming India and other developing nations for the rise in food prices, Americans should rethink their energy policy — and go on a diet.

That has been the response, basically, of a growing number of politicians, economists and academics in this country, who are angry at statements by top United States officials that India’s rising prosperity is to blame for food inflation.

The debate has sometimes devolved into what sounded like petty playground taunts over who are the real gluttons devouring the world’s resources...

Obama Writes His Own Article For India Abroad, Pledges to Build Close Strategic Ties with India.....

Laurie Singh — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:11:19 EST

In today's Hindustan Times, one of the leading newspapers of India, regarding an upcoming article in India Abroad, the oldest Indian Asian publication in North America:

Obama as president will build 'close strategic ties' with India

Hindustan Times, Saturday, February 23, 2008, Parveen Chopra, Indo-Asian News Service, New York

Senator Barack Obama, the frontrunner for the Democratic Party's nomination for presidential elections in November, has pledged to "build a close strategic partnership" between US and India if elected.

In an article he has written for India Abroad, the Illinois senator has also committed that he will encourage the active engagement and partnership of the Indian American community in "making the change we seek" in US.

"The world's oldest democracy (US) and the world's largest democracy (India) are natural partners, sharing important interests and fundamental democratic values," Obama said in the article for the next edition of the weekly newspaper headquartered in New York.

Obama, who has edged past rival Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, said it is his commitment to the critical relationship between the two countries that he voted for the US-India nuclear energy deal on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"And that is why I will move forward to build a close strategic partnership between the US and India when I am president of the United States," he added.

Obama said Washington and New Delhi must work together to combat the common threats of the 21st century because "both countries have been victims of catastrophic terrorist attacks and we have a shared interest in succeeding in the fight against Al Qaeda and its operational and ideological affiliates".

The presidential hopeful said he voted against the Iraq war because "we needed to finish the fight with Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan".

He also referred to his proposal long before the declaration of martial law in Pakistan that the US needed to "condition our assistance to the Pakistani government so that we encourage stronger action against Al Qaeda and a restoration of democracy".

In the article, Obama also spoke about his admiration for Mahatma Gandhi, whose portrait hangs prominently in his Senate office.

"In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things," he wrote.

In the article, Obama lauded the major contributions the Indian American community has.......

India Abroad Op-ed- "...A candidate of extraordinary character, leadership, judgment, integrity, and inspiration..."

Laurie Singh — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:11:41 EST

The Democrats' Choice: Barack Obama

By PREETA D. BANSAL
Preeta Bansal, former Solicitor General of the State of New York, is a partner at a leading Wall Street law firm in New York and a Commissioner and Past Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan federal agency. She previously served as a special counsel in the Clinton White House and Justice Department and was a law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

[The following op-ed will appear in the coming edition of India Abroad.]

This is a Presidential race like no other. On the Democratic side, we have the choice of exceptional candidates: intelligent public servants who are passionate in their commitments to a strong and inclusive America. But we have neither the luxury nor constraint of making our choice this time based purely on policy differences, because the Democratic candidates have laid out detailed plans and prescriptions that are largely similar. So instead, in this election, other qualities – especially a candidate’s character and ability to unite Americans of all persuasions around common policy goals – play a larger role than usual.

Indeed, we are offered, for the first time in many decades, the choice of a candidate of extraordinary character, leadership, judgment, integrity, and inspiration – a combination and range of qualities that is rare to find in someone operating at the highest political levels. And so we can make our choice in this election based on a rare convergence of both our minds and our hearts.

Barack Obama is the right man for the Presidency, and his time is now. He has been a phenomenon for more than 20 years, when I first encountered him at Harvard Law School. But he is not the kind of flash-in-the-pan phenomenon that some of his rivals had been hoping for and expecting. He is the real thing.

Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Ties to Monsanto?

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:27:57 EST

An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton from Another Wellesley College Alumna

Hillary, Will You Renounce Your Ties to Monsanto?

By LINN COHEN-COLE

Dear Hillary,

By polling logic, I should be your supporter -- Democrat, woman, white, liberal. But this past summer I saw a News Hour show on farmers committing suicide in Maharastra, India, which affected me deeply. I started learning what was happening to farmers and to food and how the Clintons are connected.........

ARTICLE- http://www.counterpunch.org/cole02082008.html

Little India endorses Obama

Laurie Singh — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:26:33 EST

Little India, the largest circulated Indian publication in the United States, as well as the largest circulated overseas Indian publication in the world, has endorsed Obama....

Thu Feb 07, 2008

Obama for President

There is something magical and transcendental in this moment about Sen. Barack Obama both for the country and the Indian American community.

Little India has decided to break from its tradition of staying out of the primary selections by endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic Party nomination for president. We take this unusual step as we have come to share his inspiring message and his call for the "fierce urgency of now."

From India

Unknown user — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:06:57 EST

When I set my eyes on Presidential elections in US, I trust the change is evident if people take voting seriously. From this long distance we just see the trust which a condidate is spreading in his supporters, wish for a change, the dream for the time which was long due and coming close. From this long distance, we feel in the new world things will be counted, how you guys voted, how you guys trusted and then .... what the real change is. The walls of color, origin sex are just false what is real is the ideology, the way you look into some thing the way you take some thing. Not every time in the history, some from so far, some one who has no direct relations with things going on in US, gets curious on who will be the condidate and who will be winning the election. This time it started because of the issues, it started because of the disappointment from the role, the US played in the world order last few years(say 7 years), it started from the hope that the change is possible, it started from the hope that the change possible may be good for the world order. I wish the election to take care of the concerns of humanity. Mr Obama! do you hear, my fellow humanitarians in US do you hear. I wish to write again very soon.

(who ever be the presidential condidate of the democratic party, can the other one may took onboard as the Vice prez condidate?)

From India, with Love

Ravi

Foreign jobs

SoCal Tiger — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:29:25 EST

One of my strongest passions is to one day see more American jobs return stateside. If Obama is elected I can honestly say this will happen. In order to make this happen, America needs to realize Obama has his sites set on helping the common American and not helping large conglomerates gain a quick buck. Helping to retain jobs within the U.S is a complex task that seem damaging toward these companies immediate finacial futures,but the long term effects will far outweigh the negative. No longer will Americans be forced to peel away the "Made in China" sticker off of every item they purchase at their local Mega-Ultra Mart, they can once again take pride in the fact that they have bought a product that was made in their own country with the pride of a hard working American. Once more and more companies decide to keep their jobs in the United States, other organizations will follow suite and what we will witness from there is a pattern of companies who realize that America needs American workers not Chinese or Indian's that are allowed to thrive in the hollowed out exoskeletons of once glorious American companies.

Challenger 03: India

Roberto David de Steele y Vivas — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:25:14 EST

Water crisis

Most complex unstable ethnic and religious mix

Information Technology rich, farm poor

Merits investments

Burmese-Chinese-U.S.-Israeli war time hypocracy

Russell Wyllie — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 08:02:02 EDT

Israel is America's biggest arms customer, with a collosal $18Billion spent by Israel on U.S. weapons, aircraft and vehicles from 1990-2000. In 2005, Israel were being condemned for selling weapons to China, who then sold weapons onto the military dictatorship of Burma. Burma's military dictatorship is now using those weapons against its own civilians.

The Burmese dictatorship gunned down 3000 Burmese civilians in 1988. It seems that the Chinese have passed onto Burma their weapons and blessings to use them indiscriminately, knowing the risk of furthur bloodshed.

After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, where Chinese civilians were gunned down by the Chinese military, the Chinese Government had a weapons sales embargo against them. In light of China's and Burma's history, why have the U.N. let China sell weapons? The situation in Burma is so fragile, that another massacre could happen, making it the third in that region, involving China and Burma.

China has now become powerful and economically strong.China is the biggest customer of Burmese oil. China in return, has sold weapons to Burma with the knowledge that the Burmese dictatorship might use them against Burmese civilians. Countries like the U.S. and others have been totally useless in stopping these sales of arms, and are partly accountable for the China-Burmese arms trade and violence in Burma today.

China now has the 2008 Olympics bringing them billions in revenue and tourism. People shouldn't forget that people in China are under a dictator-style scrutiny, where the internet is sensored and access of information is limited by Chinese Government. There have been many reports of buses in the streets of China which capture anti-Government protestors to be taken for interogation and torture. Other reports of atrocities in China recently are of a medical scandal, where healthy people are falsely told that their organs are diseased, and trick the patient into having them removed. These healthy organs are then sold on the black market. Many people in China live in poverty, or work for less than a pound per day.

Now Burma is suffering because of China's calous and calculated trading of arms. Hypocritical World Leaders sit on their hands and have turned a blind eye to the Burmese dictatorship, yet America sold arms to both Iran and Iraq to fight each other in the 70's and 80's, and now the USA wants to stop Iran from becoming a strong Military presence in the East, yet are doing nothing for the ongoing struggle for Democracy in Burma. People are publicly and loudly calling for democracy in Burma, but something is stopping international intervention.

The truth is, that China's economy is so strong that foreign investors do not want to upset relations and business, and would rather say nothing about the arms trade and China's appauling Human Rights record. While foreign business shakes hands with Chinese business, Burma is in crisis because of China providing Burma's dictatorship with military might.

So the next time you hear China and Burma being mentioned, remember the hypocracy that steers them into war and violence. Olympics, weapons , oil and blood makes the World go round...

For more on this subject , see the video ' Burma, Bolton, Iran and Bombs' at www.youtube.com/politicalvideos

Jimmy Carter's Commentary 'Mixed message on nuclear weapons'

Matthew Negrete — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:19:15 EDT

The following is former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's commentary, Mixed message on nuclear weapons, which was published in the Chicago Tribune. He explains his position and critique on the current policy. The commentary begins below:

He is not, what I thought he was

Asfeen from Milford, CT — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:39:41 EDT

Following words are express by one of the Doctors in CT. It's from a letter he wrote to Mr. Obama, as i feel hundred percent the way he feels, I am copying his letter over here. I am not using his full name since I did not ask to publich that over here. Please let me know how you guys feel about someone who starts his campaign with Anti-War Banner and once he gets support/money/popularity, he starts following the footsteps of his GWB. We were looking for change Mr. Obama, and we thought you can deliver something which Bush failed to deliver... Alas one more politicians ready to betray his people.

________________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Obama,As a Pakistani American, I watched in horror your comments about invading al-Qaeda targets inside Pakistan. I believe your lack of understanding of what the consequences may be is daunting. Such machoism is what has gotten Mr. Bush himself into the quagmire from where there is no return.Have you forgotten that Pakistan has dedicated more troops to anti-terror activities than ANY other country? Have you overlooked the fact that Pakistan has lost more troops than ANY other country in the fight against terror? Do you not see that Mr. Musharraf has been the target of more assasination attempts than all current world leaders combined? Do you not read news from Pakistan which is one of the biggest victims of terrorism from al-Qaeda and her affiliates? I was garnering support in my community to vote for you until now (over 200 families in my part of Connecticut). The reason was you seemed genuinely concerned about people in the world; you seemed to have touched many with your youth, enthusiasm and charisma; you have been articulate and forthcoming. This was all in stark contrast to Mr. George W. Bush. Alas, all has changed since your insensetive remarks in complete apathy to the feelings of those who supported you on foreign policy issues--both here and abroad. You've come across, not as an alternative to Mr. Bush, rather a chilling sequal should you get elected.I'm sorry to state but I will be campaigning to vote against you from now forward.

Dr. B

________________________________________________________________________________

God Bless America and rest of the world...

We want Peace...

Asfeen Ali

Connecticut

ALERT "HELP INDIA" - Tell Novartis: Drop the Case! = Pharmaceutical company Novartis is ""suing the Indian government"" in a case that could put lifesaving medicine out of reach for families in poor countries. Almost 13,000 supporters have joined CARE

Danielle Clarke USA Vietnam Vet — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:08:21 EDT

For You in June & July- National Conference 2007- Novartis Campaign- Sheila Johnson Challenge- Side by Side- And more!Q&A WITH DR. GAYLE
Recently, Glamour magazine asked Dr. Gayle and other high-profile women to write and answer their own "What if...?" question.

Q: What if every woman gave just a penny a day to a charity for women?
A: My mother taught me never to ignore that penny on the sidewalk. Read more >WHAT WE'RE READING
Blood River
by Tim Butcher

Who: Toby Smith, Internet Strategist
Why: "Butcher follows the steps of Henry Stanley along the Congo river, traveling part of the way with CARE. The result is a sobering account of the deprivations and trauma suffered by the modern-day Congolese." BE GENEROUS
You can help us continue to fight poverty and respond to desperate need by giving a donation today.

Give to CARE today.

Learn more about monthly giving and honor gifts.CARE WEAR
Show your support for women’s empowerment with one of the hottest items in the fashion market today: CARE's "I Am Powerful" T-shirt.
Buy yours online today! ABOUT CARE
CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Learn more about CARE.CARE's National Conference 2007More than 350 CARE supporters came together on June 13 and 14 for CARE's National Conference 2007. Volunteer advocates brought their concerns about global poverty directly to Capitol Hill, meeting in person with members of Congress and their staff. "It touched my core," said one participant. "I can't wait to go back."

Read more: CARE Advocates Speak Out on Capitol Hill

Slideshow: National Conference 2007CARE Tells Novartis: Drop the Case!Pharmaceutical company Novartis is suing the Indian government in a case that could put lifesaving medicine out of reach for families in poor countries. Almost 13,000 supporters have joined CARE in urging Novartis to drop the lawsuit - help us reach 20,000!

Take Action > | Tell a Friend >

Read more: What's at Stake in the Novartis Case Side by SideWAFAAKassab, Egypt
When CARE first stepped in, they asked for women to attend a meeting to learn about the water project... The exposure and experience I gained were very important. Usually in our village, the women stay home. So this was a big step for us to go out. This was all because of CARE's effort to help us participate.

Being able to serve the people and seeing the water being installed is the biggest reward... It's always a pleasure to serve my community. PATRICKClarksville, TN
Everything that CARE is about and represents has been on my heart for quite some time. The invitation to participate in the National Conference resonated with a spiritual invitation, a moral invitation to move beyond myself to make change and impact.

It has been immensely satisfying... I can really say to someone, "Come alongside us and make a difference." The argument that "there's nothing I can do" is - in all generosity - wrong. Because you can. Sheila's "I Am Powerful" ChallengeRight now, thanks to an extraordinary new initiative, your support means even more. Businesswoman, philanthropist and CARE Ambassador Sheila C. Johnson has made a $5 million gift to CARE to issue a singular challenge to women and men in the United States: Join a global movement to empower women in the fight against poverty.News From the FieldCARE Releases Summary and Key Findings of Child Labor Report
CARE's new report discusses how to prevent the worst forms of child labor by focusing on children in rural areas. Read more >

Washington Times: "Powerful" Campaign Connects Women
CARE and Sheila Johnson launch the "I Am Powerful" Challenge.
Read more at washingtontimes.com >

Goldman Sachs Grant Will Support Girls' Education
The foundation's grant will strengthen education programs for adolescent girls in India. Read more >

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