Roommate of the bombers of AI 182 has a sudden case of amnesia – TheStar.com – Air India witness forgets testimony.

The former roommate of a star Crown witness became the latest in a number of defence witnesses for an accused Air India bomber who has had trouble remembering things. Balbir Singh Gharala entered the witness box for the second time today, his testimony conflicting with several statements he made a week earlier. …Bagri, a Kamloops, B.C., sawmill worker, and Vancouver millionaire Ripudaman Singh Malik are charged with eight counts, including conspiracy and murder, in two June 23, 1985 terrorist bombings that killed 331 civilians. Two baggage handlers were killed in a Tokyo airport when a suitcase from Vancouver exploded. An hour later, 329 people headed from Toronto to India died when a second bomb ripped apart Air India flight 182 off the coast of Ireland.

One can only imagine the homestyle justice this guy’s afraid of facing…

For those that missed it, NPR did a great story (audio only) about a week ago on the success of Indian owned motels and hotels in the U.S. They interview one Gujarati family in particular. The story also delves into first generation business practices such as giving out personal loans on good faith, and shows how such old world business traditions help to give immigrants a leg up in the new world economy. This is one of several South Asian related features that NPR has done in the last few weeks.

(via Madhoo) Interesting feature article in Little India magazine about 1st gen’ers unhappy w/ life in America –

Most wounding to her was the loss of her independence: Her H4 visa robbed her of her identity – she was not allowed to work, and did not have a bank balance or credit card – and to even take a trip back home, she was dependent on her husband. She had been driving for years in India, but here she failed the crucial road test because she was used to driving on the left. She recalls the utter hopelessness she felt then: “When I come out of the car, I sit and cry and cry. I donÂ’t believe this. IÂ’ve been driving for years and now they tell me I canÂ’t drive? IÂ’m crying like a baby. I donÂ’t want to live in this country. I mean, every day youÂ’re struggling.”

As Madhoo points out, it’s sorta hard to feel pity for someone trying to drive on the Left…. Continue reading →

eight london hospitals are outsourcing transcription to india, with comical, yet potentially worrisome results:

London, Aug. 19: Yet another fault has been found by British unions with the quality of outsourcing to India but this time perhaps with some justification.

Medical letters are being transcribed by secretaries in India but potentially life-threatening errors are creeping in because of insufficient knowledge of either the English language or of complicated terms, it was claimed yesterday.

It is also possible that the use of computer spell checkers is leading to some words being replaced by unlikely ones. In one example, the drug “Lansoprazole”, used to treat stomach ulcers, was transcribed as the popular holiday resort “Lanzarote”.

In another case, “phlebitis (vein inflammation) left leg” was changed to “flea bite his left leg”. And a “below knee amputation” was transcribed as “baloney amputation”. One note referred to a patient’s “cute angina” instead of “acute angina”. “Euston station tube malfunction” should have read “Eustachian tube malfunction”.

personally? i think most politicians should have their “baloney” amputated, but that’s just me. 😀

from The Telegraph.

Two weeks ago a friend of mine in Houston forwarded me a link to an ongoing discussion on the website of Dr. Vijay Mehta. Dr. Vijay Mehta is best known for the many appearances he makes at various South Asian conferences and gatherings such as SASA, Bhangra Blowout, etc., in an attempt to create a database of potential South Asian bone marrow donors. I myself have registered for the database.

In addition to the bone marrow drive, Dr. Mehta’s website tackles several other issues that are usually swept under the rug of South Asian American society. I encourage you all to visit the site for yourself. It is the first instance I have seen of a healthy discussion between first gen’s like many of our parents, and second generation young adults. The post that I was forwarded in particular was written by a young woman named Reena who lives in Texas. Continue reading →

The DesiBoyz photo collection shows us the real source of India’s IT prowess –

Check out the rest of the site for desi humor bits.

TCS: A Tech Central Station article which is generally quite optimistic on India’s future & econ development has an interesting stat –

For those concerned that the environment will suffer as a result of further development, consider that 70 percent of Indians today defecate in public, and many rural Indians rely on dung as a source of fuel.

There’s something rather apropos about reading this on a blog named Sepia Mutiny, eh?