Apparently there was a bit of a throwdown right in the middle of the Indian Independence Day parade in Chi-town. Fellas don’t you understand? Divide and conquer. THAT is what “The Man” wants.
Check out the colors Barack is sporting.
Thus far I have managed to avoid controversy. This post may result in the creation of a new orifice on my body, but I felt like it was time to mix things up.
In an “Open Letter to the Asian American Community” members of NYC based DRUM (Desis Rising Up Moving) write:
Correction: DRUM is just a listserv which people post to in the NY area. The open letter below was written by the South Asian Sisters
We went to watch Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle because we genuinely wanted to support our Asian American brothers. After all, the media coverage told us that this movie was supposed to break stereotypes and be a positive step for Asian Americans. Asian websites raved about the film, and so we were all excited to rally around this film with the rest of the community. We entered the theater and immediately noticed that the audience was comprised of predominantly Asian Americans. We wondered if a movie based on the same premise featuring white boys would draw a bigger crowd. The movie started, and we sat back, waiting to be empowered.
The Harvard Crimson now reports that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will not be speaking at Harvard this September.
The Indian Express wrote last week that, following a phone call from University President Lawrence H. Summers, Singh accepted Lamont University Professor Amartya SenÂ’s invitation to speak at the University.
Why the reversal? What gives?
Well according to an article on Rediff.com:
The Indian Express had also reported that India’s ministry of external affairs had advised the prime minister not to speak at Harvard as the timing of the lecture would clash with bilateral negotiation appointments. The article had that MEA officials felt that a “meeting with Summers, who was treasury secretary in Bill Clinton’s Democratic administration, could jeopardise relations with the current Republican White House.”
Sigh. Will things never change?
Warning: Given my non-blogging job, the following posting is bias. I don’t care!
The Tallahassee Democrat reports:
India is rethinking its plan to send a man to the moon by 2015, as the mission would cost a lot of money and yield very little in return, the national space agency said Thursday.
Okay, I have no problem with that. India has so many other concerns that space travel should not be even a top 100 priority. What I have a problem with is that they can’t be honest about that fact and instead have to cover their retreat by saying the following:
“Whatever a man can do in space, it can be done with instrumentation, also,” said G. Madhavan Nair, head of the Indian Space Research Organization.
False! Not true. This is the same myth perpetuated by the anti-space lobby in our country as well. Here is a good explanation of why robots cannot and should not compete with humans.
Also, keep in mind that the real motivation behind the Indian space program announcing a Moon mission in the first place, was probably the same motivation behind our own program in the 50s and 60s. A nuclear arms race. Whose rocket is bigger, India’s or Pakistan’s?
Georgia’s Khabar Magazine takes an in-depth an thought-provoking look at the Indian-American voter. The article addresses some of the chief reasons Indian-Americans don’t vote (can you believe that the fear of Jury Duty is near the top of the list?), as well as breaks down this voting group into five general types.
First, the why?? question:
Why donÂ’t more Indian-Americans vote? A basic theory shared by political scientists is as follows: the more money and education you have, the more you will vote and participate in politics. Indian-Americans are one of the most educated and wealthiest ethnic groups in the country. So, why is our voter turnout and participation so low?
An analysis by Ritesh Desai who serves on the Georgia Governor’s Asian American Commission sheds light on the jury issue at least:
The Department of Motor Vehicles is required to give their list to the Federal and State Jury services. In other words, if you drive in the State of Georgia you can be called for jury duty. Yet, this myth [voting enters you into the jury pool]is just one of the many fears I have heard from Indian-Americans who hesitate to register to vote because they think the government will interfere in their lives. If they are not fearful of the government, it seems voting is still an inconvenience.
The New York Magazine delves deeper into a story that hit the news over a month ago, about a new Indian Spiderman comic. Author Sukhdev Sandhu writes:
Farewell, Peter Parker; namaste, Pavitr Prabhakar. His fiefdom is the mean streets of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) instead of Manhattan. When crisis calls, he still dons his Spidey bodysuit, but he also sports a billowing dhoti and a pair of snazzy curl-toed slippers on his feet. The Green Goblin, his chief enemy, now takes the form of a rakshasa, a demon drawn from Indian mythology.
Remember my entry earlier this week titled The Legend of Dilip Singh that mentioned the first Indian congressman in the U.S.? Well the story continues as reported in desi-Talk NY News-India Times with the announcement that a building in California will also be named for him:
I can let you know that we hope to have passed this year a bill that will rename a building in California in honor of former Congressman Dalip Singh Saund, the first Indian-American ever elected to Congress. We are moving very, very quickly on that and we hope with the help of Congressman Bob Filner we have identified a building. We are working that process through. And we hope to just spread the word; we need the entire California delegation behind it to support it.
Anyone know what building in California they have in mind? Also why is a NY congressman (Co-Chair of Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, Congressman Joe Crowley (D-NY)) the main one behind the push? Shouldn’t this suggestion have originated from California?
Well okay, my title was purposely provocative but I am not too far off the mark. Late today the NY Times reported:
The federal government is offering $1 billion to hospitals that provide emergency care to undocumented immigrants. But to get the money, hospitals would have to ask patients about their immigration status, a prospect that alarms hospitals and advocates for immigrants.
Well of course it alarms hospitals. They know what a dumb idea this is (disclaimer: I am a liberal). Immigrants aren’t going to seek the medical help they might need knowing that Uncle Sam will be there checking their passports. In post 9/11 times, when an illegal immigrant with a brown name can get held, seemingly indefinitely, under material witness statutes, why would they risk going to the hospital? Continuing with the article:
The Department of Health and Human Services wants hospitals seeking reimbursement to ask patients these questions, among others:
-“Are you a United States citizen?”
-“Are you a lawful permanent resident, an alien with a valid current employment authorization card or other qualified alien?”
-“Are you in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa” of the type issued to students, tourists and business travelers?
-“Are you a foreign citizen who has been admitted to the United States with a 72-hour border crossing card?”
Lawyers are already pointing to the 1964 Civil Rights Act in calling this a bad idea. You should read the other silly details in the article for yourself.
If you haven’t already seen it, Time Magazine’s Asia web issue has a moving series of pictures called, “The Sufi’s of India.” I really enjoyed taking a break from the constant scenes of violence that the media beams out of the Muslim world. This was a welcome respite. Tomorrow I will go back to looking at violence.
Last month during the Democratic National Convention in Boston I was desperately hoping to get an invite as a blogger. I knew that wasn’t going to happen however, and I was overheard several times muttering, “Who do I need to sleep with to get a floor pass?”
That’s why I was shocked when I learned that nineteen-year old Tanisha Sandhu of El Sobrante, California was actually at the convention as a delegate. Its not a trivial thing to be a delegate. Those spots are usually reserved for the party faithful (i.e. biggest fund-raisers and local politicians). As a delegate at 19 she may have a bright future ahead of her.
This past weekend seventeen-year-old Ranjit “Ricky” Gill of Morada, California spoke at the California State GOP Convention.
He is a top student at his high school, where he helps classmates in math. The aspiring doctor also volunteers at Lodi Memorial Hospital. He’s served on the Greater Lodi Area Youth Commission, and last month, he was named by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as the only student representative on the state Board of Education.
Now there seems to be a push, to put him on the stage in NY at the National Convention.