Author Archives: Abhi

About Abhi

Abhi lives in Los Angeles and works to put things into space.

Scandal looms at the White House

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President Bush, already beset on all sides of his administration by scandal, is courting yet another one even if he doesn’t know it yet.  The 1000 rupee question is, “will he or won’t he show up to the White House Diwali celebration?”  He has opted out of Diwali festivities on all previous occasions.   New Kerala.com reports:

The United States India League has urged U S President George W Bush to attend the annual Diwali celebration in the White House noting that his presence would ”send the right signals to his friends in India and the Indian American community”.

”Merely going through the motions of having a proforma Diwali celebration would not be enough. Diwali is Hinduism’s most importance observance. The White House celebration should reflect that,” the League director Don Feder said in a release yesterday.

The White House is all set to celebrate Diwali, one of the holiest of Hindu festivals on November 1.

Although Diwali has been celebrated in the White House twice before during President Bush’s first and second term, it has always been an unofficial one, with a lot of prodding from the influential Indian Americans with friendly ties to the US Congress and the White House.

President Bush himself has not attended the occasion as he has been out of town on both the previous occasions.

Well what about the good Prime Minister from across the pond?  Will there be a party at the British Parliament?

Over 100 British lawmakers, senior ministers and diplomats are expected to attend the Diwali celebrations at the House of Commons, Lower House of Parliament, on Thursday… Guests at the reception will include over 100 Parliamentarians, ministers and cabinet secretaries, diplomats, business and community leaders and civil servants, the organisers said on Saturday night.

In a message to the Forum, Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “This festival has an important role. It gives every one of us a chance to reflect on the important contribution that your communities are making to Britain’s success. This is something for us all to celebrate…” [Link]
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A Concert for Bangladesh: Re-released

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Before there was Live Aid or Live 8, there was the original, the Godfather of all arena-rock fundraising concerts: 1971’s a Concert for Bangladesh:

The Concert for Bangladesh was the first benefit concert of its kind in that it brought together an extraordinary assemblage of major artists. The two shows, a Grammy award-winning triple album boxset, and the feature film, generated millions of dollars for a charitable cause and as importantly raised global awareness of a hitherto unpublicized humanitarian disaster. It is therefore acknowledged as the inspiration and forerunner of the major global fundraising events of recent years. To quote the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan “George and his friends were pioneers”. [Link]

And from Wikipedia:

The Concert For Bangladesh was the event title for two concerts held on the afternoon and evening of August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York.

As East Pakistan struggled to become the separate state of Bangladesh, tremendous political and military turmoil led to a massive refugee problem. This problem was compounded by torrential rains causing devastating floods and threatening a humanitarian disaster.

Bengali musician Ravi Shankar consulted his friend George Harrison regarding a means of providing help to the situation. Harrison recorded the single “Bangladesh” to help raise awareness and pushed Apple Records to release Shankar’s single “Joi Bangla” in a dual-pronged effort to raise funds.

Shankar also asked Harrison’s advice regarding a small fund-raising concert in the United States. Instead, Harrison took over and persuaded his friends to join him at a large concert at Madison Square Garden. The event was organised within five weeks.

A well-reviewed re-release of the concert on CD and DVD drops in record stores Monday. Continue reading →

As American as a Chevy or a Cola

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Upendra Chivukula, who in 2002 became the first Indian American elected to the New Jersey assembly, is running for re-election.  New Kerala.com reports:

Chivukula, currently serving his second term in the New Jersey State Assembly, hopes his track record on how he has helped his district while in office will get him re-elected.

“I have brought $4.9 million into the district to provide aid to various municipalities; the various legislations I have sponsored, some in process, such as prompt-pay laws for healthcare providers to compensate, better definition of customer care so that insurance companies cannot escape their responsibilities.

This is a work in progress. You keep working on it,” said Chivukula, the Indian American who has sponsored a Science and Technology Caucus in the state legislature and was instrumental in establishing the World Languages and International Studies Caucus.

“The most important issue facing people are property taxes and how to provide relief,” Chivukula, who has also expressed interest in running for the US House of Representatives in November 2006, told IANS.

“Number two is how to make healthcare affordable and providing access to healthcare.”

Methinks this is the wrong political environment in which to focus on priority number one, so maybe he will concentrate instead on number two, which deserves more attention anyways.

American Public Media’s radio show Marketplace did a story this past Thursday on Chivukula, which also featured Congressman Bobby Jindal (thanks for the tip Manan).  The ~4 minute story discusses the rise of political muscle within the Indian American community.  In the story, Chivukala tells the reporter that even though his last name is difficult for most Americans to pronounce, he thinks he can get elected.  To paraphrase, he tells her to, “just think if you drive a Chevy and drink a Cola.  Then put them together and you have Chivukula.”  Continue reading →

The Final Frontier

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For today’s edition of Science Friday here on SM, I thought I would write about the science story that made the biggest impact in this past week, as well as the one closest to my heart.  The theme of this week’s Science Friday will be Human Space Exploration.  What are countries around the world, including the U.S., India, and China doing in order to keep their societies at the forefront of space technology?  The “prestige” of nuclear weapons pales in comparison to the prestige and society-wide benefits that a country gains on the road to putting its citizens in space.  Anyone can make nukes, but only three countries (U.S., Russia, and China) have the economic power and human capital to put people into space and return them safely.

China continued its impressive run by following up its first human mission with this second one that placed two men is space for five days (the equivalent of our Gemini Program from the 60s).

Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, known as taikonauts, were declared to be in “fine condition” after their 5-day spaceflight which ended at 4:33 a.m. Monday, Beijing time. The mission, lasting 115 hours and 32 minutes, was more than five times longer than China’s maiden manned mission in 2003.

“We feel fine,” Fei told a crowd of well-wishers. Nie expressed thanks to the Chinese people for their “concern and support.”

Wu Bangguo, No. 2 in the Communist party hierarchy and head of the country’s national legislature, was quoted by Xinhua as saying the second manned space mission was a “complete success,” and a “milestone” in China’s space technology development. [Link]

What about India?  Is it even trying to keep pace with its ambitious neighbor?

… as China begins planning a lunar mission in 2007, and with the US and India declaring an interest in another Moon landing – and a manned flight to Mars – are we seeing the dawn of a new space race?

“Once China had announced its first unmanned lunar spacecraft, India came along and said that they were also interested in unmanned lunar exploration,” Philip Clark, of the British-based Molniya Space Consultancy, told BBC World Service’s Analysis programme.

“They’ve now signed an agreement with the European Space Agency for joint experiments with the Indian spacecraft…

While India’s space programme is relatively small, it has made considerable strides in recent years, putting a number of satellites into orbit. [Link]

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Hard asses make good soldiers

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SM readers are probably aware that I enjoy spotlighting animals whenever I can.  The latest beasts to rise to blog-worthiness are the noble asses of the Pakistani Military.  The only easy day was yesterday.  The BBC reports:

They have their own parades, rigorous training and dedicated doctors. They are treated as fully fledged soldiers.

Some villagers used to laugh at how much time the army spent on them.

But now the mules of the Pakistani army are proving saviours for some of the tens of thousands of quake survivors still stuck atop inaccessible mountains.

Nine days after the killer quake struck Kashmir and parts of northern Pakistan, the army mobilised its animal transport units (ATUs), or what’s left of them, to reach inaccessible areas – sometimes without any human assistance.

These units of specially trained mules have been a critical link in the logistics serving the Pakistan army – and the Royal Indian Army under the Raj before that – in the mountainous northern regions and Kashmir.

Anyone that has participated in high altitude climbing knows that mules can often be invaluable.  In addition to carrying supplies, mules and their cousins can help carry you should you fall ill, as many poor quake victims surely have.  My friend and I were accompanied by a friendly mule named Carlos while on a mountain in Peru.  Because of our manly egos we told each other that it was better to leave the other on the side of the mountain than be helped onto the mule.  We had this conversation out of earshot of Carlos of course.  Beasts of burden have been invaluable to armies for centuries, if not longer.

Military officials dealing with the ATUs say there were more than 2,000 mules deployed in Kashmir when the quake struck.

An officer in the border region of Chikothi in Kashmir told the BBC news website that “only a fraction survived“.

The army takes the loss hard – these mules enjoy a status no less than that of a fully fledged soldier.

Like men, they have to go through a rigorous selection procedure followed by several months of training before they can be formally drafted into the army.

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Homer converts…Rev. Lovejoy in shock

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In my daily efforts to help bring you guys the most interesting stories from around the world, every once in a while I am just blown away.  Today is one of those days.  ABC News (via AOL news) reports on the revelation that Homer Simpson has embraced Islam:

After 17 seasons of entertaining U.S. audiences, “The Simpsons” can now be seen on Arab television. While U.S. foreign policy is not always a hit overseas, there is a huge audience for American popular culture.

So the Arab satellite network MBC is bringing the cartoon saga of Springfield to the heart of the Arab world. “The Simpsons” has been exported overseas and is now called “Al Shamshoon.”

With Omar instead of Homer, and Badr substituting for Bart, MBC hopes to win coveted young viewers. After all, 60 percent of the Arab world is 20 years old or younger. [link]

Here is the catch.  In an act of what can only be described as “censorship wizardry,” MBC has to convince its audience that the entire time Homer is at Moe’s tavern, he is simply enjoying a cold mug of…soda.  Oh wait…

Moe’s Bar has been completely written out of “Al Shamshoon.”

…MBC is making some changes as the characters go from American to Arab. They will remove references to things forbidden by the Koran, such as bacon, beer, and other references that might be construed as offensive.

Homer Simpson’s ubiquitous Duff beer will now be soda in the Arab version of the show.

Ooooh, that’s–got–too hurt–the Duff man.  Apu can’t sell hotdogs anymore but will instead sell “Egyptian beef sausages.”

With characters who are Jewish (like Krusty the Clown), Hindu (like Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu) and Christian (like the family’s pastor, Rev. Lovejoy), Al Jean — “The Simpsons” executive producer — says those changes mean they aren’t “The Simpsons” anymore.

You can watch a video of the story on the AOL website I linked above.

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Will they or won’t they?

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There is a game of high-stakes foreign policy poker being played in Washington right now between the U.S. and India with respect to nuclear cooperation.  As with most issues of late, the normally homogenous Republicans are showing signs of a spine again by demonstrating thinking independent of their party leader.  The Washington Post reports:

Congressional leaders crucial to the fate of a controversial U.S.-India nuclear deal are pressing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to consult them before proposing legislation to implement the agreement.

The leaders make their case in a letter which congressional aides said reflects deep unease about the deal’s consequences and the way the administration secretly negotiated it, without input from lawmakers who must approve it.

“We firmly believe that such consultations will be crucial to the successful consideration of the final agreement or agreements by our committees and the Congress as a whole,” they wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Reuters.

Many members of Bush’s Republican party, which controls Congress, and also many Democrats fear the deal excessively benefits India and undermines international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

Of course, this is all really about Iran.  India surprised people last month by voting with the U.S. in threatening to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council (where it could potentially be punished) for its nuclear activities.   The genie is out of the bottle with respect to nuclear technology so we may as well spread weapons to our friends if they will help us prevent the spread to our enemies.  The U.S. however, wants assurances that their technological gifts won’t be used for India’s weapons program:

The separation plan is at the heart of the nuclear deal because it is meant to ensure any U.S. or international cooperation with India advances only the South Asian nation’s civilian energy program, not weapons development.

Burns said the separation issue will be central to his talks in New Delhi this week but it would probably take a month or two for the plan to be drawn up.

Once a clear separation plan is offered by India, it will be easier to ask the U.S. Congress for the necessary changes, he said.

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What the data might reveal

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The Christian Science Monitor carries a provocatively titled article today: “How India’s nuclear secrecy hampers earthquake detection.”  The article investigates India’s refusal to share real-time seismic data on the grounds that it could reveal information about underground nuclear testing:

In the wake of the recent earthquake that devastated Kashmir, some Indian officials are reevaluating the government’s refusal to share real-time online seismology data with the international community.

India has balked at putting seismic data online because it could provide evidence of underground nuclear testing. The country’s refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty also excludes it from exchanging data with the International Monitoring System, a global network of seismological sensors operated by treaty signatories.

Seismologists can more rapidly and accurately pinpoint the location and power of an earthquake when real-time data can be triangulated against a wide network of sensors. A delay of even seconds in reporting data induces errors in the exact location and could set back relief efforts in their crucial early stages, prompting some scientists here to argue against data hoarding.

Such are the consequences of brinkmanship.  We can’t let the other guy know what the yield of our newest, baddest weapon is no matter what.

As for the value of sharing seismic data in the event of a future earthquake, some decision-makers in Delhi have yet to get the message. “Share data? What for?” asked an official from the Ministry of Science, sounding nonplussed when questioned about India’s policy to not make real-time data available via broadband.

“Open-data sharing in seismology over the past century … has been of enormous importance in reporting of earthquakes and studies of global and regional earthquakes,” says Shane Ingate, director of operations at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) in Washington, the world’s repository for data from most seismic networks around the globe. “It is regrettable that India … imposes restriction on the open and rapid access of these important data.”

Emerging technologies are making it possible to detect blasts and blast yields even without rigorous seismic data, so it doesn’t make much sense for India to maintain this policy, especially when releasing that data could help save lives.

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Just press the button…

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Before this Mutiny started I took a solo trip to North Dakota to find a suitable location in which to establish our world blogging headquarters.  The choice of North Dakota was obvious.  There were many existing underground bunkers where we could make a home for ourselves, far away from the prying eyes of  “others.”  I found one facility in particular that immediately caught my attention and won my heart.  I knew I had found our home.  It was a fixer-upper though.  In addition to being a mess, which took days of back-breaking labor to clean up, it featured some old electronic equipment left behind by the previous residents.  Among the bookshelves I found a video cassette which I played out of naked curiosity.  In hindsight this was a bad idea.  The video said that something horrible would happen unless I pressed a red button (which was embedded into a table in the conference room) every three hours.  This helped explain why the previous owner was in such a rush to leave and offered a great deal on the place.  This button reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode I had once seen titled, “Button, button”:

The 1980s revival of the Twilight Zone series featured an episode entitled “Button, button”, based on a short story by Richard Matheson. In the story, a gaunt, black-clad gentleman arrives uninvited at the cramped apartment of a financially destitute couple and presents them with a tempting though somewhat ominous offer. He gives them a simple wooden box with a clear plastic lid overtop a large red button – the type of nondescript contraption teens might build in a high school Woodshop class – and explains their options: 1) Don’t push the button. Nothing happens; the man will come back tomorrow to claim the box. 2) Push the button and get $200,000 – tax free – and someone will die. “Who?” the wife asks. “Someone you don’t know,” the man replies. He then leaves them to think about it. The husband decides it’s unconscionable, but the wife wants to go for it. After all, what is the death of someone they don’t know? People die all the time, don’t they? Maybe a bad person will be the one to die. “And maybe it’ll be someone’s newborn baby,” the husband counters. [Link]

By the time the rest of my fellow mutineers moved in to our bunker I had become obsessed with the red button.  Anna makes fun of me.  She wants to see what will happen if I don’t push the button.  Ennis helps me out from time to time.  If I fall asleep he pushes the button for me.  Anna is probably right, and nothing will happen.  Still, I am both a man of science and a man of faith.  Why am I telling you all of this?  Because today SM tipster Shashi Kara sent us another button to press and it has got me thinking.

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All politics are local

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I like to keep tabs (as best I can) on South Asian Americans running for public office around the country.  The latest two are running for state government in Virginia and Maryland.  Democrat Supriya Christopher of Virgina may have thrown her hat into the ring as a one issue candidate (in my opinion), but she is looking to get smart on the rest of the issues to fend off the competition.  MSN reports:

Supriya Christopher, a US military veteran and mother of two, is a busy woman these days. She is contesting for the Virginia State House of Delegates.

Running for an open seat, Christopher feels “tired but energised” after endless fund-raising efforts that have notched $150,000 to date. She is hopeful of bringing another $100,000 for a media blitz in this last round of campaigning before the Nov 8 elections.

“I’m tired but energised,” said the former US Army Signal Corps officer and now a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia Veterans Services Foundation.

She is the first Indian American as well as the first Asian American to run for a seat in the General Assembly.

Christopher, running from what is considered a Republican bastion, feels she is holding her own against Republican opponent Sal Iaquinto, an attorney, and former staff member delegate Robert F. McDonnell, a Republican.

So what is her one main issue?  All politics are local.

Virginia Beach, and the 84 th District, is the home of some of the world’s greatest military bases and military families. As a proud Navy wife, I have a personal connection to the challenges we face. My husband Damien is an F/A-18 fighter pilot presently onboard the USS Harry Truman serving in the war on terror. This is Damien’s fourth six-month deployment and second tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When serving as President of the Oceana Officers Spouses Club, I was a vocal, public advocate for Navy families. When the issue of base closure arose and opposition to jet noise came to a head, I spoke at hearings with Senator John Warner, the Navy League, the Association for Naval Aviators and congressional and city officials. I was privileged to reiterate how important it is to keep NAS Oceana open in order to provide a quality lifestyle for Navy families, particularly in the 84 th District. [Link]
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