Category Archives: Politics

A double whammy

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Another VERY patriotic South Asian American

Last week when I was live-blogging the incoming polling data from around the country, I didn’t list every South Asian candidate. Manish posted a link to some additional results in the comment section of my post. A race to be on the Fairfield City Council in Solano County, CA turned out to be one of the most dramatic races of the night. The Indian American candidate, Democrat Iqbal “Paul” Randhawa, lost with a meager 5% of the vote. There was drama nonetheless:

As voters cast ballots Tuesday afternoon, Fairfield City Council candidate Paul Randhawa, his wife and son were in court.

After confirming the charges against each of the owners of Fairfield-based M&K Travel Services, Solano County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara James told the trio they could post a collective $2 million bail once they appear in court in San Francisco.

They were then returned to Solano County Jail.

“Is my lawyer here?” a confused Iqbal “Paul” Randhawa asked before he was led from the courtroom. He told The Reporter during a Monday jailhouse interview that he hoped to post bail following Tuesday’s hearing.

Randhawa, his wife, Gurdev “Debbie” Randhawa, and son, Manjinder “Manny” Randhawa, were arrested Monday at their Dynasty Drive home on San Francisco-issued warrants alleging fraudulent business practices.

Paul Randhawa, 52, faces 15 counts of grand theft, 15 counts of failing to refund money and one count of conspiracy. His bail is $1 million. [Link]

Damn. Way to kick a man when he is down. Not only does he get creamed in the election, but he has to spend election day in jail with his family. What kind of game was Paul running?

According to the authorities the Randhawa family which operates M&K Travels with offices in Fairfield, San Francisco and San Jose allegedly failed to deliver more than $50,000 worth of discounted air tickets to India; and in two instances clients received refund cheques that bounced.

Randhawa, his wife and son face 31 counts of conspiracy and grand theft, they said.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Paul Randhawa, if convicted, could face 13 years and four months in a state prison along with a fine of $375,000. [Link]

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Press bias

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As Abhi posted earlier, here’s how the Orlando Sentinel reported the results of the Don Sherrill – Tom Abraham election. You’ll recall this is the race where Sherrill called his Indian-American opponent a potential embed and 9/11 terrorist, purely because of Abraham’s ethnicity:

With a difference of less than two dozen votes, a two-term council member who recently made off-color statements about his Indian-born opponent’s ethnicity was returned to serve on the City Council on Tuesday. [Link]

The ‘off-color’ statements in question:

“… I don’t want an Indian in my government… these kind of people get embedded over here… You remember 9-11.” [Link]

Statements calling an Indian-American an embed and a 9/11 terrorist: ‘off-color.’ Same statements about blacks or Hispanics: ‘racist’ and ‘bigoted.’ The difference? Visibility. Those ethnicities show up on the cultural radar. This kind of revisionist euphemism in the press is itself a kind of racism.

Send your own email now:

To: Charlene Hager-Van Dyke (reporter), chagervandyke@orlandosentinel.com
Cc: Manning Pynn (public editor), mpynn@orlandosentinel.com; Letters to the Editor, insight@orlandosentinel.com

Subject: Re: Sherrill wins by 19 — Mahoney waltzes in

I enjoyed your story about the results of the Don Sherrill – Tom Abraham election. However, I am dismayed by the story’s inappropriate use of the phrase “off-color”:

“… a two-term council member who recently made off-color statements about his Indian-born opponent’s ethnicity was returned to serve on the City Council on Tuesday.”
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-voc09_105nov09,0,673927.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-volusia

The statements which Don Sherrill made:

“… I don’t want an Indian in my government… these kind of people get embedded over here… You remember 9-11.”
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Neighbors/West/03WVolV01POL102805.htm

Let’s call it what it is. These statements aren’t “off-color,” they’re openly racist.

Previous posts: My opponent is undecipherable and probably an “embed”, Abraham vs. Sherrill to the Supreme Court???

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Abraham vs. Sherrill to the Supreme Court???

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Former SM blogger and political pundit Cicatrix, accurately predicted last night that the tight race down in Florida was headed for a contentious recount battle. Don Sherrill, the “off-color” incumbent, beat upstart challenger Tom Abraham by only 19 votes. To quote Cicatrix: “hey Florida! reeeeeeecount!!” The Orlando Sentinel reports:

With a difference of less than two dozen votes, a two-term council member who recently made off-color statements about his Indian-born opponent’s ethnicity was returned to serve on the City Council on Tuesday.

Don Sherrill, who has served on Seat 4 of the council the past four years, is the apparent winner after garnering 51 percent of the vote against his opponent, Tom Abraham.

Election officials said 19 votes cast Tuesday and some provisional ballots, which were not included in Tuesday’s total, separated the two at day’s end.

Sherrill did not return calls Tuesday night. Abraham, who said he was “totally confused with the election process,” asked for a public-records inspection of the votes. Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall said Abraham could have an inspection of the ballots sometime next week with Sherrill present.

Quite frankly, I am not sure how this will go down if it ends up at the Supreme Court. John Roberts and Samuel Alito (who I predict will be confirmed) tend to yield to states rights. At least Katherine Harris is out of the picture…we hope.

Sherrill’s comments, which ranged from being unable to understand Abraham to comparing him with a Sept. 11 terrorist, drew out some, including neighbors from his Country Village retirement community who voted against him and others who credited him for speaking out.

I’m gonna offer to drive the truck.

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Escape from Draconia

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Tony Blair’s idea of throwing British Muslims in jail for three months without charge has been resoundingly rejected.

Hecklers shouted, ‘We aren’t a police state!’The House of Commons rejected a crucial provision of the government’s anti-terrorism bill today by a vote of 322-291, handing the once-invincible Prime Minister Tony Blair his first Commons defeat since he came to power eight years ago…

49 Labor members broke ranks and helped reject the government’s proposal, which would have increased to 90 days the time that terror suspects can be held without charge… Immediately after defeating the 90-day plan, the House of Commons passed an alternative proposal… to extend the detention period to 28 days…

To jeers and heckling from his opponents, one of whom shouted out, “We aren’t a police state!” Mr. Blair made it clear he believed that extreme times called for extreme measures… “Let’s not pretend that we can win the war on terror by passing every single law the government throws up,” Mr. Davis said. [Link]

I would have taken great pride in writing, ‘England learns well from its former colony,’ but that was only true before massive spying on ordinary Americans, legalized torture, secret CIA prisons, secret evidence, gag rules, suspension of jury trials and the Fascist Act.

How very un-American America has become worshipping the false god of political advantage. In casting off one draconian ruler, how did we become its student? In fighting another evil empire, did we become one ourselves? Stripping away what makes this America is a mark of weakness, not strength. The real problem is not police powers, it’s bureaucratic ineffectiveness. ‘In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.’

Related post: Every little helps

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The Language Advantage

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An article in Indian Express discusses the barriers to transforming the world of work something we’ve long suspected –

”Companies are finding that despite India’s one-billion population, the effective employable pool for white-collar workers is smaller than anticipated. This is causing salaries to ratchet upwards”. At the same time, there is a large mass of educated and unemployed people or those stuck in jobs well below their skill and qualification.

Educated and yet unemployed / underemployed? The article asserts that the core reason is English language skills and provides a startling figure –

…Salary differences between equally qualified (non-professional/technical) candidates can be as high as 400 to 500 per cent. In fact, the more fancied jobs in airlines, hotels, media, banks and financial services only to those who know English, the rest are forced into less fancied assignments.

…The best jobs with the upmarket shopping malls, multiational fast-food chains and tony restaurants go to those who can speak English along with the mandatory fluency in local languages. The job market in the services sector is likely to expand furiously as malls, multiplexes, food courts, and large retail chains expand operations across India, moving from the cities to larger towns. This growth will only accelerate if the government eventually permits Foreign Direct Investment in the Retail Sector, letting in large retail chains such as Wal-Mart.

The English advantage really drives home the cultural globalization at work within India. Such a large pay differential implies – particularly when seen in retail & services sectors – that there are domestic, well-to-do desi consumers who pay a premium to interact with confident English speakers as part of their business experience. Message to your bro’s back home – Learn English – 400-500% is a far bigger differential than, for ex., the diff between undergrad and grad degrees.

On the flip side, I suppose some sorts of anti-globalization advocates would wipe out the 400 to 500% differential by keeping the Wal-Mart’s out and keeping everyone equally poor.

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With whiteboard in hand

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I am a HUGE Tim Russert fan. I’ll admit it. I want to grow up to be like him someday. No time like the present to begin. So here goes. For the next 24 hours, with my virtual whiteboard in hand, I will be Live Blogging election results from around the country. I may declare a winner with only 5% of the precincts reporting in some areas of the country, but it doesn’t matter. Because this is a blog I can correct myself in real-time and nobody will ever know. Check back at this post for frequent updates and results for additional candidates. You can send me the links to any South Asians who I am missing over our tip line.

Virginia State Assembly

Supriya Christopher ((D)) 6,605 44% lost
Sal Iaquinto ((R)) 8,271 55%
Officially: 15 out of 15 precincts reporting

Houston City Council:

John Elford 19,699 14%
Sue Lovell 44,939 32%
Jay Aiyer 36,101 26%
James B. Neal 13,721 10%
Poli Acosta 24,663 18%
Runoff Election
Officially: 677 out of 677 precincts reporting

John Shike 1,691 17%
M.J. Khan 6,989 69% won
K.A. Khan 1,403 14%
Officially: 41 out of 41 precincts reporting–> All three candidates were of Pakistani origin!

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Foreign minister, meet petard

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The Indian PM stripped foreign minister Natwar Singh of rank today after Singh was fingered by a report on the U.N. oil-for-food scandal.

Why you gotta be all up in my grill?

It’s not clear yet whether the move will be merely cosmetic or permanent:

India’s foreign minister was stripped of his post Monday over allegations that he benefited illegally from the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq, becoming the first political casualty of an independent report that revealed massive corruption in the effort to help Iraqis suffering under sanctions. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh… demoted him to minister without portfolio…

The independent inquiry, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, has accused more than 2,200 companies and prominent politicians worldwide of colluding with Saddam Hussein’s regime to bilk the oil-for-food program of $1.8 billion in kickbacks and illicit surcharges. It named Singh and the ruling Congress party as a ”non-contractual beneficiary…”

NDTV, a local television news channel, reported that Singh will get his portfolio back if Pathak’s investigation clears him. [Link]

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Boys and their toys

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The Indian Air Force reveals its hand by agreeing to fly its new, $45M Sukhoi 30 MKI fighters in mock air combat against the U.S. Air Force tomorrow:

Actual fighter manoeuvres during the war game beginning Monday will commence on Tuesday and last till November 17…

The IAF has normally been wary of fielding the Sukhoi 30 Mki for drills with foreign air forces… The decision to field the Sukhoi 30 Mki was taken because Cope India 2005 is the largest and most sophisticated of air exercises that the IAF will be participating in with the Americans.

The deployment by the USAF of an E-3 Sentry AWACS (airborne early-warning aircraft) and the possibility that the IAF will participate in the Red Flag exercises — the largest multinational fighter aircraft exercises — in the US next year were motivating factors that have led to the decision to use the Sukhoi 30 Mki. [Link]

These are late-generation fighters with thrust vectoring pitted against aging F-16s. During the last such air exercises, the American F-15Cs lost (thanks, GujuDude); there was speculation that the U.S. military was deliberately punching above its weight class to plump for a raise.

You can always count on Bengal to protest

The exercise, to be based out of Kalaikunda in Bengal, which the Left is protesting against, takes off tomorrow. [Link]

Here’s a photo of the fighter at the Bombay airport. Related posts: one, two, three, four.

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Krishna for Christmas

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ABC Home is a Jagannath of a furnishings store which fills an entire New York City block. Here’s their sidewalk display for the holidays. They hawk Lakshmi with leather gloves, Buddha with bath beads. Reindeers game at Krishna’s feet, Ganesh sits blue by Christmas trees. Three white women, expensively dressed with close-cropped hair, chatted by the display: ‘And then the Buddhists get annoyed…’

30% Off — She Love You Long Time — Take Lakshmi Home Today

It’s syncretic, it’s pretty, it’s callow. I don’t see Jesus and Mary lounging among the loofahs, I don’t see Moses parting the Listerine. But you can buy ‘spicebodhi,’ capsaicin enlightenment in a bar. Symbols my parents revere become interior design props. Mild, tolerant, ‘cardamom-scented‘ Hinduism and Buddhism are gussied up and vended. We gave you Manhattan, you give us beads.

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Brown on the Board of Education

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Mukul Datta is running for the School Board in Charlotte, NCA bit of cyberhypercavicunicucunctatalinkus* (I’m sure you can figure out what kind) revealed to me that there is another local candidate of South Asian descent running for office this Tuesday.  In Charlotte, North Carolina, Mukul Datta is far from a sure bet for  District 2 seat of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education–two other people are running for the seat: the incumbent Vilma D. Leake and Sheila Jackson,  receiver of the Charlotte Observer endorsement. Because this is a tiny race in the grand scheme of things, it’s difficult to find anything substantial about Datta that he didn’t write himself. This article on the race includes a candidate who has since thrown her weight behind Jackson–among the other three, Datta seems to be most focused on reassessing spending priorities and tackling the issues that persist after Charlotte’s federally mandated desegregation order was dissolved 4 years ago.

Retiree Mukul Datta spent more than two decades as a teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He gives the district a failing grade.”To me, more and more, it is separate and unequal – divided by class and race,” he said.”Many of the board members are saying they do this for the children, but the first question that comes to my mind is ‘If you love the children, why are you talking their money from the classroom and spending it on retreats?'” he said. He says CMS wastes money that could be used to boost teacher pay, citing board member travel and high-priced retreats as areas that can be cut back.(Link.)

Up in Connecticut, Satish Chandra is seeking reelection to the Amity Board of Education, and here in California Ranjit “Ricky” Gill had been appointed as the student representative to the State Board of Education by Schwarzenegger. Scanning the Indian American Center for Political Awareness newslist, I see that in Santa Clara Ric Singh, Kuldip S. Mahal, Stuart Johnson, and Subash Bhatt have lost previous bids for school boards seats. Continue reading →