vol.8 issue 26 - oct 31-nov 6, 2015
TRANSCRIPT
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New York: The sports extravaganza of the
century will kick off in a weekʼs time. And
tickets for the first of the three matches of
Cricket All‑Stars in New Yorkʼs Citi Field sta‑
dium are selling like hot cakes. Fans from all
over Tristate and nearby states are eager to
be part of history, to witness Indiaʼs
favourite sport making a splash in baseball
country.
Indiaʼs master blaster Sachin Tendulkarand Aussie spin wizard Shane Warne are
captaining opposing teams in the three‑
match Twenty20 exhibition tour in
November. The two are expected to arrive in
the Big Apple by Nov 3. The other 28
retired internationals players making up the
teams are from eight major Test playing
countries. The latest name to be added to
the roster is of run machine Virendra
Sehwag. He joins other icons like Sourav
Ganguly, VVS Laxman from India; Ricky
Ponting and Glenn McGrath from Australia;
Ja cques Kall is and Shau n Pol lo ck from
South Africa; Michael Vaughan and Graeme
Swann from England; Brian Lara, and Curtly
Ambrose from the West Indies; Daniel
Vettori from New Zealand; Wasim Akram,
Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan and Muttiah
Muralitharan, and Kumar Sangakkara from
Sri Lanka. One of the first exciting events
before the first game will be a Press
Conference and “Live Draw” featuring all
players on Nov. 5 at 11 am in Midtown
Manhattan. The three‑game series is being
played in Major League Baseball stadiums in
NYC, Houston and Los Angeles.
New York based Leverage Agency is pro‑
ducing and promoting the series. BenSturner is its Founder, CEO and President.
New Jersey‑based Arya Dance Company
will choreograph the Opening Ceremonies
for all three games. A Bollywood star
(Priyanka Chopra of ʻQuanticoʼ fame?) is
expected to perform, but the name has not
been announced yet.
The South Asian Times is the Print Media
Partner. Said Kamlesh Mehta, its Chairman,
“We are proud to join hands with the his‑
toric beginning of Cricket All‑Stars as print
media partner and a member of the Board of
Promoters. Our association with the nation‑
al sport of India ‑ cricket ‑ is part of our
commitment to build bridges, and play a
leading role among the Indian diaspora in
USA besides being a family oriented weekly
newspaper.”
Boulder CO:
For once, Donald Trump didn't
take center stage at a Republican presiden‑
tial debate. With him subdued on
Wednesday night in the third‑round debate
in Boulder, Colorado, other candidates were
able to swoop in and steal the show: namely,
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Ted
Cruz of Texas.
The other big outcome, as per analysts,from the CNBC debate that turned on the
moderators was the beginning of the end of
Jeb Bushʼs campaign. Ben Carson, the other
frontrunner, was his usual self. NJ Governor
Chris Christie held his own, but is not
expected to find much traction in his poll
numbers. So if you leave aside outsiders
Trump and neurosurgeon Carson, Rubio
and Ted Cruz are sure to be taken more
seriously now. The
The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30US AFFAIRS 10 BOLLYWOOD 18 HUMOR 28
Vol.8 No. 26 Oct 31- Nov 6, 2015 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi: In its biggest ever engage‑
ment with Africa, India on Thursday
sought to recharge its ties with all 54
African countries, announcing increased
interaction in areas like energy and agri‑
culture while offering an additional con‑
cessional credit of $10 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modidescribed as "historic" the summit attend‑
ed by 41 heads of state and government
including of South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria,
Ghana, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and
Liberia and comprising two kings, 25
presidents and six prime ministers besides
six vice presidents, foreign and trade min‑
isters and senior officials. The third India‑
Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) ‑ the largest
international gathering of leaders in Delhi
after the Non‑Aligned Movement summit
in 1983 ‑ was held at the Indira Gandhi
Indoor Stadium, allowing all the leaders to
sit as equals at a horse‑shoe shaped table.According to Indian officials, Africa had
never been present in such strength in any
of their interactions with other world
power or groupings ‑ an indicator of their
expectations from India and the country's
growing international stature. Prime
Minister Modi,
The third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) was thelargest international gathering of leaders in Delhiafter the Non-Aligned Movement summit in 1983
India widens engagement withAfrica, gives $10 bn more credit
Continued on page 4
PM Narendra Modi with the African leaders during the special dinner hosted, on thesidelines of the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit, in New Delhi on Oct 28. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
Cricket All-Stars
opening match in NY tipped to be sold out
Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz
breakout stars at GOP debate
Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruzat the CNBC debate
Continued on page 4
The South Asian Times implores its readers who are eligible voters togo out and vote on Tuesday, November 3 in the elections in your area.
This is our duty in a democracy.
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info October 31-November 6, 2015
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3October 31- November 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
New York The New York Chapter of PrathamUSA welcomed more than 550 guests, among
them prominent Indian‑American philanthro‑
pists, corporate executives and Wall Street
elite, to its annual gala held on October 16 at
the renowned Waldorf Astoria. This yearʼs
gala, which celebrated the 20th anniversary
of Pratham and highlighted the organiza‑
tionʼs achievements over the years, raised a
huge $4 million for Pratham programs that
bring quality education to underprivileged
children and youth in India.
"I admire Pratham and its ideals ‑ one of
those ideals is compassion, that we're all in
this together. The second value I see is this
idea of action ‑ don't just sit there!" said
Booker during his keynote speech, where he
spoke passionately on Pratham's legacy.
He also spoke on the work of Dr. Rukmini
Banerji, CEO of Pratham. "To see this great
CEO... put forth this vision, not just for chil‑
dren, not just for Indian children, but for
human beings‑‑ something that will affect
hundreds of thousands ‑ that to me is the
audacity of action."
Dr. Banerji shared her appreciation of sup‑
porters and reminded the audience why they
were there: “Our organization has worked
tirelessly for the last 20 years to ensure qual‑
ity education for all children across India.
Tonight we celebrate not only Pratham, our
executives and supporters, but most impor‑
tantly the children, for without them we
would have no future.”
“I am honored and humbled to receive such
unyielding support from our sponsors,” said
Chapter President Deepak Raj, who was
recently appointed President of Pratham
USA. Emcee Miss America 2014 Nina
Davuluri welcomed guests after a cocktail
hour featuring a spirited performance by
Nicole Atkins. “I am so proud to be a part of
the evening and pleased to connect with
Indian‑American leaders to mobilize our
community to effect change.”
As one of the largest educational move‑
ments in India, Pratham reaches millions of
children and youth annually through its
operations. Nearly 90% of every dollar raised
by Pratham USA goes to support programs
that include literacy and remedial learning
programs, vocational training and communi‑
ty libraries.
To learn more about Pratham and its pro
grams, visit http://prathamusa.org
New York People of Indian origin living
in America have demanded legislation to
protect their properties in India against a
growing number of scams and setting up
of fast track courts to deal with property
disputes.
A growing number of scams against
hereditary, residential and commercial
properties of NRIs/PIOs is greatly dis‑
couraging them to invest in India, a com‑
munity meeting in New York over the
weekend noted.
Organized jointly by the GlobalOrganization of People of Indian Origin
(GOPIO), New York chapter and the
Indian American Kerala Center, it dis‑
cussed many issues of NRIs buying, sell‑
ing and owning properties in India.
The meeting chaired by GOPIO founder
president Dr. Thomas Abraham requested
GOPIO to take up the issue of setting up
fast track courts with the Indian govern‑
ment. The meeting also called upon the
Indian government to enact another legis‑
lation to provide title insurance to ensure
that their ownership in real estate is pro‑
tected against forged signatures on the
deed and for any such fraudulent transfer
of their properties.
It was also pointed out that NRIs are
subjected to higher TDS (tax deducted at
source) for capital gains while selling
properties.
The meeting passed a resolution cover‑ing all these issues and plans to present it
at the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to
be held in Los Angeles on November 15.
The speakers included New York
Attorney Anand Ah uja who is also the
president of GOPIO‑New York and
Pambayan Meyyan, senior vice president
of Forest Hills Financial Group.
Los Angeles Every year since
2003, Government of India has
been organizing Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in India
to provide opportunity for net‑
working among the NRIs and
PIOs residing in various parts
of the world and enable them to
share their experiences in vari‑
ous fields. Since 2007, Regional
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
(Overseas Indiansʼ Convention)
has also been organized annual‑
ly by the Government of India with the sup‑
port of overseas Indian community of the
region where the convention is held.
This year, Regional PBD is being held in Los
Angeles by the Ministry of Overseas Indians
Affairs on November 14‑15, 2015 and
is the ninth such conference held out‑
side India. Indiaʼs Consul General in
San Francisco heads the organization
of the regional PBD. It is expected to
attract over 1,000 attendees.
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate
it and the Indian Government
will host the banquet dinner
Nov 15 for all registrants.
The objective of the
Convention is to connect the
Indian Diaspora with India, to
provide a platform for the
Indian community and to con‑
tribute to the relationship
between the two countries,
USA and India. The members
of the Indian community will have opportuni‑
ty to convey their concerns and aspirations to
the Government of India and will explore ways
to give back to the mother country.
Seminar topics will range from business‑
to‑business to Clean Ganga and Swachh
Bharat to Manufacturing and Make in
India. The “early bird” registration
fee is $50.
F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t
www.rpbdla.org.
Pratham CEO Rukmini Banerji with USSenator from New Jersey Cory Booker. Ratan Tata, Chairman Tata Trusts, flanked by Steve Denning, Chairman, General Atlantic,and Dinyar Devitre, Chairman, Pratham USA.
External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj will
inaugurate the convention.
Indian‑Americans seek
protection of NRIproperties in India
Regional PBD in Los Angeles
slated for Nov 14‑15
$4 M RAISED AT PRATHAM
GALA IN NEW YORK
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New York The Kansas City
Royals defeated the New York
Mets 7‑1 in Game Two of the
World Series, thanks to an out‑
burst of runs in the sixth andeighth innings and a complete‑
game performance from pitcher
Johnny Cueto. Royals shortstop
Alcides Escobar and first‑base‑
man Eric Hosmer drove in a pair
of runs each, and Cueto gave up
only two hits , safely l i f t ing
Kansas City over the Mets. Theseries will head back to New
York for Game Three, scheduled
for Friday at 8:10 p.m. ET.
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India widens engagement with
Continued from page 1
who was dressed in his usual kurta
with a pale blue sleeveless jacket
and churidar, in his closing
remarks, said: "This has been a
truly historic day. We had the
opportunity to listen to the whole
of Africa."
He said closer defense and secu‑
rity cooperation, especially incapability development, will be a
key pillar of their partnership,
which was so "natural" as their
"destinies are so closely inter‑
linked" and "aspirations and chal‑
lenges are so similar".
Announcing that the next IAFS
will be held after five years, Modi
stressed Africa will remain at the
centre of India's attention and
engagement with it will remain
"intense and regular."
The summit adopted a Delhi
Declaration seeking a decisive
push for United Nations Security
Council reform and calling on all
countries to ensure that their terri‑tories were not used for cross‑bor‑
der terrorist activities, while also
adopted was a Framework
Agreement on Strategic
Cooperation. Commemorative
coins and stamps were also
released, and President Pranab
Mukherjee later hosted a banquet
for the visiting leaders.
On the sidelines, Modi also had
bilateral meetings with 10 African
leaders including Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah Al‑Sisi.
Modi who met 19 leaders on
Wednesday is slated to have more
bilaterals on Friday.
In his opening address as thesummit host, Modi sought to
strengthen the India‑Africa part‑
nership by announcing 50,000
scholarships in the next five years.
"It is a meeting of dreams of one‑
third of humanity under one roof,"
Modi said as he outlined a
roadmap for increased Indian
interaction with African countries
in a wide gamut including connec‑
tivity, infrastructure, power and
agriculture ‑‑ his speech evoking
loud cheers from the leaders ‑ in a
bid to enhance Indian influence in
a continent where China had
stolen a march with over $200 bil‑
lion investments in the last 15
years. He also called for a compre‑
hensive agreement on climatechange at a global conference later
this year. No one, Modi said, had
contributed less to global warming
than India and Africa, adding that
"the excess of few cannot become
the burden of many".
The summit, in which the visit‑
ing leaders were treated to a cul‑
tural extravaganza at the start
including African dances, also saw
the dresses and images of Africa
come alive with many of the lead‑
ers sporting traditional costumes
and headgear, including Liberian
President and Nobel Peace Prize
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and African
Union Commission chairNkosazana Dlamini‑Zuma and
many speaking in their native lan‑
guages.
IAFS is a major initiative of the
Modi government to reach out to
the continent which has rich
resources, is witnessing faster
growth and has a similar demo‑
graphic profile. African countries
see large scope of cooperation
with India in diverse areas such as
agriculture and education.
South African President Jacob
Zuma described the relation
between India and the African
countries as an embodiment of
South‑South cooperation anddwelt on the roles "played by your
visionary former prime ministers
Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter
Indira Gandhi".
Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe strongly pitched for
reforms of the Security Council
and said Africa should get at least
two permanent seats.
Apart from the concessional
credit in addition to the $7.4 bil‑
lion India has already committed,
Modi said India would also offer a
grant assistance of $600 million,
which would include an India‑
Africa Development Fund of $100
million and an India‑Africa Health
Fund of $10 million.
He said India and Africa woulddeepen their partnership on clean
energy, sustainable habitats, pub‑
lic transport, health care, telecom‑
munications and climate resilient
agriculture.
Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz
Continued from page 1
two candidates who thrived at the
debate have been slowly but clear‑
ly gaining strength over the last
few weeks.
Wrote The Washington Post:
“Rubio was good in the first two
debates. He was outstanding in
this one. The long‑awaited show‑
down between Rubio and Bushwound up being a romp; Jeb tried
to attack on Rubio's Senate atten‑
dance but got schooled by a very
well‑prepared Rubio. "Cruz had the
single most memorable moment of
the debate when, early on, he took
on the CNBC moderators for the
alleged ʻgotchaʼ questions they
were asking. It drew a huge
response in the debate hall and
outside of it ̶ and set the stage
for a litany of attacks against the
media from Cruz's rivals as the
night wore on."
Fox News said: "In conventional
terms Senators Cruz and Rubio
won Wedensday night's debate.They were laser focused, quick,
smart, and passionate. They
defended themselves, their
records, and went on the offensive
at all the right times, calling out
the moderators on unfair ques‑
tions that were focused less on
policy than on personality."
Royals pummel Mets, areup 2‑0 in World Series
Beijing
China has decided to end
its decades‑long one‑child policy,
the state‑run Xinhua news agency
reports. Couples will now be
allowed to have two children, it
said, citing a statement from the
Communist Party.The controversial policy was
introduced nationally in 1979, to
slow the population growth rate.
It is estimated to have prevented
about 400 million births. However
concerns at China's ageing popula‑
tion led to pressure for change.
Couples who violated the one‑child
policy faced a variety of punish‑
ments, from fines and the loss of
employment to forced abortions.
China to endonechild policy
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5October 31- November 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
Washington DC: US President
Barack Obama singled out US
Soccer Federation's (USSF) Indian‑
American President Sunil Gulati as
he welcomed the US women's
World Cup‑winning champions
into the White House."I want to recognize a lot of peo‑
ple who made these incredibly tal‑
ented women‑put them in a posi‑
tion to be able to showcase their
talent so effectively," he said
Tuesday welcoming the team that
overcame Japan 5‑2 in a thrilling
Canada 2015 Final in July.
"First of all, US Soccer President
Sunil Gulati. Please give him a big
round of applause," said Obama
amid applause. He also praised the
team's "outstanding coach, Jill
Ellis." Allahabad‑born Gulati, 56,
was unanimously re‑elected to a
record third four‑year term as
USSF president in March 2014. A
former president of Kraft Soccer
for the New England Revolution in
Major League Soccer, he is also a
senior lecturer in the economics
department of Columbia
University.
"These champions deserve all the
attention that they've been getting.
After 16 long years, too many
heartbreaks, they flew north to putAmerica back on top of the soccer
world and they did it in style,"
Obama said. All 23 players, coach‑
es and backroom staff filed in to
the East Room, greeted by a loud
ovation from the invited guests. To
begin the ceremony, a 13‑year‑old
girl, Ayla, from Massachusetts,
shared a letter she wrote to
President and Mrs. Obama towards
the end of Canada 2015.
The letter explained her anger
after her brother told her that
'boys are so much better at soccer
than girls', and that she wanted the
White House's help to prove him
wrong.
Obama hailed young Ayla's
courage and used her letter to
frame his congratulatory remarks
to the recent Women's World Cupchampions. "They've done it with
class. They've done it the right
way. They've done it with excite‑
ment. They've done with style. We
are very, very proud of them," he
said. "Girls like Ayla [were told]
they weren't somehow supposed to
be as good at sports as boys,"
Obama said. "And Ayla got mad,
and she should be mad with those
attitudes."
"This team taught all America's
children that 'playing like a girl'
means you're a badass."
Obama singles out US soccer's Indian‑American chief
Washington/New York: Indian
social activist and founder of
Sulabh sanitation movement Dr.
Bindeshwar Pathak has been
selected for the 2016 prestigious
"New York Global Leaders
Dialogue Humanitarian Award."
Following the visit to witness
examples of Dr Pathak's greatworks by New York Global Leaders
Dialogue Chairman Mr Phil
Scanlan and esteemed Advisory
Council members Ms Pam Kwatra
and Mr Ketan Patel, the New York
Global Leaders Dialogue at its
board meeting in New York select‑
ed Dr. Pathak. He is a great
humanist and known as a social
reformer for his 42 years long
campaign against untouchability in
different parts of India.
In making the announcement
from New York, Mr Scanlan said,
"The New York Global Leaders
Dialogue is privileged to honor Dr
Bindeshwar Pathak at the 2016
leadership dinner April 12 at the
Harvard Club, New York. Dr Pathak
is a great humanitarian who for
decades has enhanced the quality
of life for millions of fellow human
beings. He embodies our philoso‑
phy of leadership, namely, that
leadership is focused on creating
collaborative new space in the
service of others. We are especially
attracted to leaders who transform
lives for the better, and Dr Pathak
stands tall in embodying these
rarest of qualities."
The New York Global Leaders
Dialogue thought leadership plat‑
form fosters international under‑
standing, collaboration, harmony,
inter generational connectivity,
cultural enrichment and human
dignity‑‑standing at the intersec‑tion of public, private sectors and
civil society. Leaders worldwide
welcome the opportunity to meet
as equals, exchange ideas, embrace
and contribute ideas to resolve
planetary challenges, and nurture
cohorts of younger leaders.
Advisory Council member Ms.
Pam Kwatra through a press state‑
ment said: "My colleagues and I
have been motivated by the way an
Indian sanitation activist through
his movement is changing the lives
of millions of Indians. It's highly
commendable that his work is
restoring the dignity of the mar‑
ginalized and mainstreaming themin society."
Ms Kwatra lauded, "Dr. Pathak's
belief that providing the simple
things we take for granted such as
toilets can be a tool for social
change and that innovation is inte‑
gral to improving the lives of those
on the margins of society."
Dr. Pathak established Sulabh
International ‑‑ a Social and
Behavior Change Coalition ‑‑ to
promote the adoption of improved
hygiene practices across the coun‑
try. Sulabh, which engages nearly
50,000 people, has constructed
nearly 1.3 million household toi‑
lets and 54 million government toi‑
lets based on an innovative toilet
design.
Nearly 15 million people use
these toilets daily. Apart from the
construction of toilets, the organi‑
zation is leading a movement to
discourage manual cleaning of
human waste.
N e w Y o r k In a rare criminal
action on Wall Street, an Indian‑
origin former Goldman Sachs
banker, suspected of taking confi‑
dential documents from a source
inside the government, has agreed
to plead guilty, a media report
said on Tuesday.
Rohit Bansal and his source
Jason Gross , who at the time of
the leak was an employee at the
Federal Reserve Bank of New
York, will accept a plea deal fromfederal prosecutors under which
they could go to prison for up to a
year, the New York Times report‑
ed.
Federal prosecutors are prepar‑
ing to this week announce crimi‑
nal charges against the banker,
Rohit Bansal, and an employee of
the regulator Gross.
"The outcome partly reflects
their low‑level rank on Wall
Street. Bansal, who was 29 at the
time, was an associate at
Goldman," the report said.
The Federal Reserve is also
expected to permanently bar
Bansal from the banking industry,
the report quoted a person briefed
on the matter as saying.
The report said that it is "rare"
for a Wall Street banker to face
criminal charges. Not a single
Wall Street chief executive was
charged after the financial crisis
even as bankers or traders have
faced charged in a few investiga‑
tions.
Under a tentative deal with New
York State's financial regulator,
Goldman is expected to pay a 50
million dollar fine and face new
restrictions on how it handled del‑
icate regulatory information.
The settlement would also force
Goldman to take the rare step of
acknowledging that it failed to
adequately supervise Bansal"thrusting the bank back into the
spotlight just as it was beginning
to overcome a popular image as a
firm willing to cut corners to turn
a profit," it said.
In a statement, a Goldman
spokesman said that the banker
worked for the firm for less than
three months, and that the bank
"immediately began an investiga‑
tion and notified the appropriate
regulators" once it detected the
leak. Bansal had previously spent
seven years as a regulator at the
New York Fed and after he joined
Goldman in July 2014, he was
assigned to advise one of the
banks he previously regulated, a
midsize bank in New York, the
report said. It alleged that soon
Bansal received government infor‑
mation about that bank from
Gross, a former colleague who was
still working at the New York Fed.
President Obama poses with a jersey he received from the U.S.Women's National Soccer Team during a ceremony to honor the team
and their victory in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. US SoccerFederation's President Sunil Gulati is int he first row left.
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
Prestigious award forSulabh movement founder
Dr Bindeshwar Pathak
Indian‑origin banker to pleadguilty in regulatory leak case
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6 October 31- November 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
New York The annual India
Association of Long Island Food
Drive is part of the Diwali holidays
during which its members make a
special effort to help the hungry &
homeless Long Islanders by col‑
lecting food, medicines and mone‑tary funds for The INN (Interfaith
Nutrition Network). The INN oper‑
ates 14 soup kitchens, 3 emer‑
gency shelters and a long term
housing program. This year its
three projects have been recog‑
nized by New York State and by
Nassau County.
For your Monetary & Food dona‑
tions or to attend the presentation at the soup kitchen or any other
information call
Suda Sharma 516 541 1239 or
Aruna Saxena 631 683 4143
IALI 20th Diwali Food drive in progress
New York Emmy Award nomi‑
nated Indian‑American filmmak‑
er Tirlok Malik won the best fea‑ture film award as also a special
Outstanding Achievement in the
Multicultural Arts at the
International Fi lm Festival
Manhattan.
Malik received the Outstanding
Achievement award in Acting,
Fi lmmaking, and Immigrant
Advocacy last week at the festi‑
val which shows films, which
deal with social issues, according
to a media release.
The festival has the most
diverse selection of world class
films and a focus on social issues
and advocacy as part of the pro‑
gramming and goals.Many of Malik's films like
"Lonely In America" ,
"Khushiyaan", "On Golden Years"
deal with the effects of migra‑
tion in America.
"I am happy to be a part of this
festival and I feel honored for
this award," said Malik.
Malik also received the Best
Feature Film (USA) award for
"On Golden Years." Luis Pedron,
co‑founder of the festival, said:"The film "On Golden Years"
deals with social issues of retire‑
ment that millions of first gener‑
ation immigrants face in their
lives." Films from many coun‑
tries such as Israel, Australia,
Philippines, Sweden, Singapore,
USA were shown at IFFM.
Written and directed by Malik,
"On Golden Years" is inspired by
the book "Seeking Roots" by Iggy
Ignatius, who is also the codirec‑tor of the film. The film starring
Ranjit Chowdhry, Jyoti Singh,
Reeves Lehmann, Shetal Shah,
Noor Naghmi and Tirlok Malik
among others has been shot at
the Indian retirement communi‑
ty Shantiniketan in Florida.
Malik has recently launched a
website www.nritvfilmclub.com
which streams Indian American
movies.
Cambridge MA: Oxigen USA,
Inc. has announced the
launch of Money Transfer to
India with the best exchange
rate guaranteed. Indian‑Americans can now send
money from New Jersey and
Florida to their loved ones in
India at an effective rate of
70 Rupees per Dollar for a
limited time only.
“I am excited to be associat‑
ed with Oxigen serv ices,
which is at the threshold of
exponential growth,” says
Sachin Tendulkar, Oxigenʼs Brand
Ambassador. The Cricket Legend
Sachin Tendulkar will be in New
York in early November and Oxigen
customers can win a chance to
meet Sachin in person. They can
simply register on Oxigen.com, joinOxigenʼs Inner Circle and initiate a
money transfer by November 3,
2015. Oxigen.com brings to the US
market a new way of transferring
funds to India that is far more effi‑
cient and hassle‑free. Oxigen.com
offers several unique features such
as 2‑click payments, a shopping
cart experience that allows multiple
types of transfers to multiple recipi‑
ents in a single check out, and the
highest True Exchange Rate (net of
fees) guaranteed, enabled by a daily
comparison to competitor
exchange rates. One can pay your
familyʼs monthly phone, Internet,
TV, and utility bills instantly from
oneʼs US credit card. Oxigen USAʼsChief Happiness Officer Amir
Alexander Hasson said, “As the
Diwali gifting season approaches
and Oxigen Brand Ambassador
Sachin Tendulkar comes to New
York for the All Star Cricket Series,
itʼs hard to think of a better time to
launch Oxigenʼs US money transfer
service.” For information on Oxigen,
visit Oxigen.com/the inner circle
and Facebook.com/OxigenUSA
Filmmaker Tirlok Malik wins
award at New York festival
Tirlok Malik
Oxigen launches moneytransfer in the US
Send money home and win a chanceto meet Oxigen brand ambassador
Sachin Tendulkar
New Jersey: Attended by more than125 people, the South Asian Breast
Cancer Survivors Video launchevent was held at the TV Asia audi‑
torium in Edison, NJ on October
22. The video project was fundedby Susan G Komen National office
to the "Foundation for Morristown
Medical Center" Atlantic Health.Several real life breast cancer sur‑
vivors attended the event to sharethe brave stories about their trau‑
matic and life changing events and
delivered a powerful message of getting regular screening and
requested all women not to shy or
afraid of coming out and ask for
help. The stories touched peoples'hearts and it was an eye opener formany in the audience. The brave
survivors were very effective in
conveying the message of earlyscreening, detection and interven‑
tion to reduce complications and
emotional and financial burden onthe family and save lives.
Dr. Aaron Chevinsky, Surgical
Oncologist and Dr. MuhammadAbbasi, Oncology Specialist were
among the guest speakers who
provided excellent information onbenefits of early and regular
screening, most common barriers
and myths about breast cancer.
Both physicians delivered some
facts and statistics about breastcancer in South Asians and in gen‑
eral population and what stepswomen can take to catch and
detect disease on earlier stages and
get some professional help toreduce disease complications and
overall better outcome and disease
free life.Breast Cancer is one of the most
common cancers among Americanwomen affects roughly 230,000
women as well as 2,300 men each
year and is respons ible for morethan 40,000 deaths annually in the
United States. It does not discrimi‑
nate and strikes people of all races,ages and socio‑economic status.
There are lot of myths and tabooabout cancer in South Asians and
physicians urged all women to
speak to their physicians if theyfeel anything abnormal or detect
any abnormalities and do not
ignore early symptoms. “The earli‑
er the detection, better the out‑come and less complications and
overall chances of higher sur‑vival,”said Dr. Chevinsky. They also
answered questions from the audi‑ence to provide some valuable
information which was easilyunderstood by everyone.
Several South Asian non‑profit
organizations, physicians, otherhealth care professionals, promi‑
nent business men/women, andcommunity volunteers were pres‑
ent at the video launch, to spread
awareness on early detection of Breast Cancer in our community.
The event was organized by
Ji gi sh a Ko th ar i, Ex ec ut iv eCommittee member of Indian
Health Camp of NJ – IHCNJ, a non‑profit organization in New Jersey
since 1999 which provides free
health screening and disease pre‑
vention fairs in South Asian com‑munities. She has been affiliated
with NJ Cancer screening and earlydetection (NJCEED) program at the
Morristown Medical Center foralmost 14 years.
Real life cancer survivors attended the event.
South Asian Breast Cancer Survivors video launched
This year IALIʼs three projects have been recognized by NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Nassau CountyExecutive Ed Mangano. Food Drive project founder and convener for past 20 years Suda Sharma is third from right.
Donations will be given on Nov 14
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7/32
San Francisco The San
Francisco‑based nonprofit organ‑
ization, Kiva, co‑founded by
Indian American Premal Shah,
was voted as one of the top win‑
ners of the Google Impact
Challenge.
After being named one of the
top 10 finalists in late
September, winners were
announced Oct. 21.
Being one of the top four (there
was a three‑way tie for fourth,
which led to Google giving out
two additional top prize awards),
Kiva was awarded a $500,000
grant. The remaining organiza‑
tions in the top 10 earned a
$250,000 grant. In addition,
organizations will receive sup‑
port from Google volunteers, and
access to co‑working space at the
Impact Hub Bay Area.
Kiva is a micro‑lender company
that provides 0 percent loans to
small businesses around the
world, in over 80 countries, and
locally in Oakland, Calif., that are
socially impactful but financially
excluded.
Google Impact Challenge advis‑
ers, including Google.org director
Jacqu el ine Ful ler, former U.S .
Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, San Francisco Foundation
CEO Fred Blackwell and former
San Francisco mayor Willie
Brown Jr., among others, looked
for projects with innovative
approaches, ambitious plans to
improve the lives of local resi‑
dents, and nimble, adventurous
leadership teams to execute their
vision. They narrowed the list
from 25 to 10 before the compe‑
tition went into the peopleʼs
hands. Voting took place Sept. 29
through Oct. 20. The $500,000
grant winners were the “Peopleʼs
Choice” honorees.
Kiva hopes the grant will lead
to generating $4 million in fund‑
ing for about 800 community
entrepreneurs to build their busi‑
ness and strengthen Oaklandʼs
economy within three yearsʼ
time.
New York
Indian
American farmer
manager Anita
Adalja is among 12
individuals from
across the country
who was recog‑
nized as White
House Champions
of Change for
Sustainable and
C l i m a t e ‑ S m a r t
Agriculture at an
event in
Washington, D.C.
Oct. 26.These individuals were
selected by the White House
for their achievements and
will be honored for their
exemplary leadership and
innovation in agricultural pro‑
duction and education. The
Champions have helped
implement agricultural prac‑tices that promote soil health
and energy efficiency,
improve water quality, and
reduce greenhouse gas emis‑
sions.
Adalja, a manager at the
Arcadia Center for Sustainable
Food and Agriculture, has
worked to create a
more equitable and
sustainable food sys‑
tem by increasing
food access, sustain‑
able farming, farmer
training and ʻfarm‑
to‑schoolʼ education.
Under her manage‑
ment, Arcadia Farm
grows thousands of
pounds of naturally
grown produce that
is sold in low‑ or no‑
food access areas in
Washington, D.C. ,through its mobile farmersʼ
market program. A social
worker by training, Adalja has
previously farmed at One
Woman Farm in Gibsonia, Pa.,
and was the farm manager for
Common Good City Farm in
Washington, D.C.
Washington DC: As the retrial began
of an Alabama police officer accused
of slamming an Indian grandfather to
the ground while taking a walk last
February, prosecutors said they have
good evidence on their side.
Former Madison Officer Eric Parker
faces up to 10 years in federal prison
for slamming down Sureshbhai Patel
Feb 6 days after he had arrived from
India to take care of his grandson.
Patel who does not speak English was
left partially paralyzed after the inci‑
dent.
Parker is charged with deprivation
of rights under color of law. His first
trial ended early last month with a
hung jury as the jury split 10‑2 infavor of acquittal.
"Civil rights cases are important to
us. We feel like the evidence we have
is good. The jury has video evidence
they can see," Robert Posey, first
assistant US attorney for the northern
district, was quoted as saying by
Alabama public radio. "We feel that
these cases deserve resolution so
that's why we're going to try it again,"
he said.
After meeting lawyers of both sides
behind closed doors, US District Judge
Madeline Hughes Haikala Monday
ordered that, unlike during the first
trial, media will not be allowed to
report or blog from the courtroom.
Reporters will be allowed to take
handwritten notes and report after
they leave. The order is intended to
stop witnesses from hearing what
other witnesses have said to discour‑
age false testimony, inaccuracies or
collusion.
Meanwhile, South Asian Americans
Leading Together (SAALT), anumbrella community organization,
demanded justice for Sureshbhai
Patel. It expressed the hope that the
retrial is heard before a jury that truly
represents the population of Madison,
Alabama where one in ten residents
speaks a language other than English
at home.
San Francisco As Oracle's
OpenWorld 2015 and JavaOne
conferences got underway herewith over 60,000 people from
141 countries exploring the
future of cloud computing, sev‑
eral people of Indian origin were
busy talking to innovators and
developers at one of the biggest
software networking platforms.
India is home to Oracle's sec‑
ond largest workforce of devel‑
opers and engineers and
accounts for its largest research
and development investment
outside the US.
"I have been coming to
OpenWorld for seven years and
have always found this the best
place for networking. The indus‑try interactions have helped us
grow our business manifold,"
says Jag Bondugula, senior pro‑
gram manager with Virginia‑
based Concept Plus company.
Kishore Durvasula from
Fujitsu America, a firm that
offers an extensive portfolio of
business technology servicesand industry solutions, sees this
platform a perfect place to meet
and greet customers under one
roof.
"The presence here leverages
a unique headstart. For start‑
ups, this is the best arena to
explore new cloud solutions and
adapt to the changing technolo‑
gies faster," he said.
Pavani Manapragada from
McLane Company, a US‑based
supply chain services company,
finds this an opportunity to find
best solutions for her firm that
provides grocery and food serv‑
ice supply chain solutions to mil‑lions.
"The mood is so upbeat here.
Things work out fast and in an
efficient way. Meeting all stake‑
holders at one place has made
my job simpler," she says.
7October 31- November 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Indian‑origin techies login to big Oracle event
Kiva hopes the grant willlead to generating
$4 million in funding forabout 800 communityentrepreneurs to buildtheir business andstrengthen Oaklandʼseconomy within threeyearsʼ time.
Eric Parkerʼs retrial begins forslamming Sureshbhai Patel
Nonprofit Kiva wins $500,000in Google Impact Challenge
Farm Manager AnitaAdalja honored as
ʻCHAMPION OF CHANGEʼ
Anita Adalja
Kiva co‑founder Premal Shah.
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8 October 31- November 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Sikhs excel at the Parliament of Worldʼs Religions
New York An Indian‑origin
gynaecologist has been arrest‑ed in the US for allegedly
accepting favors from a phar‑
maceutical company in return
for prescribing its osteoporosis
drugs, a media report said.
Rita Luthra, 64, was arrested
on Thursday for allegedly
accepting free meals and
speaker fees from Warner
Chilcott, a New Jersey‑based
pharmaceutical company, in
return for prescribing its osteo‑
porosis drugs, wwlp.com news
website reported on Friday.
She is also charged with
allowing the company's sales
representatives to access
patient records and lying to
federal investigators.
Osteoporosis drugs are used
to cure a medical condition in
which the bones become brittle
and fragile from loss of tissue.
According to court docu‑
ments , Luthra, based in
Longmeadow town in
Massachusetts, was indicted for
violating the Anti‑Kickback
Statute, wrongful disclosure of
individually identifiable health
information and obstructing a
criminal health care investiga‑
tion by lying to federal agents
and directing an employee to
do the same. The indictment
also seeks $23,500 in criminal
forfeiture. The Anti‑Kickback
Statute is a criminal statute
that prohibits the exchange (oroffer to exchange), of anything
of value, in an effort to induce
(or reward) the referral of fed‑
eral health care programme
business.
The court documents said
that from October 2010 to
November 2011, Warner
Chilcott company allegedly
paid Luthra $23,500 to pre‑
scribe its osteoporosis drugs.
On multiple occasions, the
company representative
allegedly brought food to
Luthra's medical office for her
and her staff, and paid Luthra
$750 to talk with her for 25‑30
minutes while she ate.
It was noted that the compa‑
ny's sale of osteoporosis drugs
increased as it paid Luthra for
prescribing the drugs. The
sales took a nosedive when the
company stopped paying
Luthra.
She was also alleged to give
access to the pharmaceutical
company's sales representative
to protected health information
in her patients' medical files.
She was accused of providing
false information to federal
agents when interviewed about
her relationship with the phar‑
maceutical company and
directed one of her employees
to also lie.
INDIANORIGIN
DOCTOR INDICTED
IN GRAFT CASE
New York
The American Sikh
Council (ASC) led with other
Sikh organizations the Council
of Parliament of Worldʼs
Religions (CPWR) participation
at Salt Lake City, Utah from
October 15 ‑19. This event is
held every four years and this
year it was att ended by ove r
9,500 people from over 50 dif‑
ferent religious/peace organiza‑
tions and more than 80 coun‑
tries.
The highlight of the
Parliament of Worldʼs Regions
was the ʻGuru Ka Langarʼ which
was a combined effort of the
Sikhs across the US and world‑
wide. The local sangat of the
Sikh Gurdwara Sahib of Utah
took the lead, providing volun‑
teers and services in every area
of the ʻGuru Ka Langar.ʼ GuruNanak Nishkam Sewa Jatha
(GNSSJ) of UK brought in dis‑
plays and provided volunteers
to serve the ʻGuru Ka Langar.ʼ
Khalsa Care Foundation of Los
Angeles provided phenomenal
services to cook the ʻLangar.ʼ
Sikhs held several seminars,
panel discussions and presenta‑
tions. The Sikh speakers spoke
about their religion, their histo‑
ry and their traditions. There
was also a lot of focus on the
issues and problems Sikhs have
had in the past, especially since
9/11/2001. Other speakers
focused on the current issues
such as discrimination, hate
crimes, bullying and harass‑
ment, in the US and in Punjab.
The speakers emphasized the
teachings of love, humility, uni‑
versality of all and the oneness
of the Almighty. Some of the
key presenters were Lord
Indarjit Singh of UK, and S.
Gurtej Singh of Chandigarh,
Punjab. The presentations were
very well received.
Other programs included
Kirtan by the Nishkam Sevak
Jatha and by Raagi Kultar Singh
and his Jatha. Sikh youth organ‑
izations had a good display and
presentations in the ʻSacred
Spaceʼ room. The visiting guests
were treated with detail infor‑
mation on the Sikh Faith.
The American Sikh Council
(ASC) had an exhibit where they
handed out educational materi‑
als on the Sikh Faith while tyingturbans on anyone who wanted
one. Over the next few days ASC
volunteers tied over 500 tur‑
bans. While tying turbans ASC
members had one on one con‑
tact with guests and the undi‑
vided attention for five or so
minutes to explain and discuss
their heritage. The turban tying
became so popular that when
ASC ran out of turban material.
The guests brought their own
scarfs and had ASC members
tied them like dastaars/turbans.
On the final day during the
closing ceremonies in a hall
with over 5000 attendees, the
organizers singled out the Sikhs
for praise. Although there were
only about a hundred Sikhs in
total, there were another 400
people walking around with
turbans! The chairman of
CPWR said that it was “the first
time I have seen so many Sikhs
– brown Sikhs, white Sikhs,black Sikhs, yellow Sikhs – and
why not?” A thunderous
applause followed.
Turban tying was very popular at the event.
Aurora Illinois):
A local school audi‑
torium was converted for a few
hours into a mini India for the
Diwali celebration hosted by the
City of Aurora, the second largest in
Illinios, after state capital Chicago,
of which it is a suburb.
Over 4,000 people, mostly Indian
Americans in traditional attire,
attended the event, organized by
the Indian American Community
Outreach Board of the city. The
guests were treated to an eclectic
collection of dances ranging from
vignettes from the Ramayana to
semi‑classical and Bollywood
dances expertly performed by ama‑
teurs, many of them second genera‑
tion Indian Americans.
The fast‑paced cultural extrava‑
ganza entertained the crowd, while
serving as an introduction to India's
mythological and cultural heritage
for US‑born Indians and non‑
Indians. Cuisines from various
Indian states and traditional Indian
apparel and jewelry provided a
feast for the eyes and palate.
A video presentation projected
glimpses of Indian history and cul‑
ture. Aurora mayor Tom Weisner lit
the traditional lamp inaugurating
the event, which started with
Ganesh Aaradhana and included a
Bharat Natayam performance
'Rama Ravana' depicting the slaying
of the 10‑headed demon king.
Weisner, whose unstinted support
led to the city hosting the first
Diwali event last year, appeared vis‑
ibly pleased at the success of the
event, as well as the contribution of
the Indian American community to
the cultural fabric of the city.
"Indian Americans have enriched
the city with their unique contribu‑
tion to music, dance and cuisine," he
said . Other elected off ic ials
endorsed him. US Congressman Bill
Foster said that Diwali reminded
Americans of how multiple cultures
have contributed to the American
heritage. Among those attending
were two members of the state leg‑
islature, Indian consul general
Ausaf Sayeed and several aldermen.
Krishna Bansal, the chairman of
the board, noted that it was fitting
that Diwali, the festival of lights
should be celebrated by Aurora, the
city of lights. (Aurora, named for the
goddess of dawn was the first city
in the United States to get public
electric lights.) "Diwali, which sym‑
bolizes the victory of light over
darkness, or the triumph of virtue
over evil, has assumed greater rele‑
vance in a world torn by division
and strife," he said.
Bharat Natyam and fireworks at earlyDiwali celebrations in City of Aurora
Garba enthusiasts swirl at the Sankara Eye Foundation organized fundraiser Dandia event at Santa ClaraConvention Center in California. (Photo: Avni Bid Photography & Sankara Eye Foundation)
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info October 31-November 6, 2015
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10 October 31-November 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info U S AFFA I RS
New York City Council Candidate Joe Concannon
By Robert Golomb
Joe Concannon ‑ this Novemberʼs
Republican / Conservative / Reform
Party candidate for the New York City
Councilʼs Central Eastern Queenʼs 23rd CD
seat, previously held by Democrat Mark
Weprin who vacated it last month to takean appointment to a position in the Cuomo
Administration, told me in a recent inter‑
view that for him the metaphorical glass of
water has always been half full, never half
empty. It is a philosophy, he said, that he
has always tried to live by.
That would seem to be the right philoso‑
phy to have for Concannon who will be fac‑
ing two opponents in this fallʼs special elec‑
tion: former New York State Assemblyman
Barry Grodenchik, who won the Democratic
primary last month, defeating 5 opponents
to secure the partyʼs nomination; and
activist Rebecca Lynch, who came in third
against Grodenchik in the primary and is
now running for the seat on the WorkingFamilies Party Line.
The buzz within Queens political circles
is that what before the Democratic primary
had been widely viewed to be an uphill
campaign for Concannon has received a
major boost from having in Lynch and
Grodenchik two traditional l iberal
Democrats, competing for and, presumably,
dividing the votes of their common base.
It is a buzz that Concannon, 54, an Air
Force Veteran and a retired NYPD Captain,
told me he has heard, not only directly from
political professionals, but also indirectly
from voters. “It is funny in a way”,
Concannon told me, “most Republicans,many independents and many self‑
described moderate Democrats with whom
I have spoken tell me they cannot separate
the two {Lynch and Grodenchik} because
both are liberals with the exact same failing
liberal philosophy.... These folks from these
3 distinct groups have become my most
natural and most enthusiastic supporters”,
Concannon contended.
“And I also have spoken”, he added, “with
many self‑ identif ied loyal l iberal
Democrats. During sometimes lengthy dis‑
cussions, which sometimes developed into
friendly debates, I would frequently hear
the comment that while they would never
vote for me because I am a Republican,they were still struggling to make a final
choice between Lynch and Grodenchik,
because they find that the policies of both
these candidates represent their kind of
ideologically pure liberalism. I believe that
such a sincere, though in my mind misbe‑
gotten, struggle in the hearts and minds of
liberal Democrats will prove extremely
helpful to me in November.”
Concannon, who running solely on the
Reform Party line in 2013 was defeated by
Weprin in that fallʼs general election, has
the right to feel heartened by such strong
support from Republicans, independents
and moderate Democrats and encouraged
by such internal struggles some liberal
Democrats appear to be experiencing.
However, he should, perhaps, feel dispirited
by the voter registration numbers in the
23rd District showing registered Democrats
outnumbering Republicans by 4 to one, a
count that has remained in that range for
decades.
This disadvantage in voter registration,however, doesnʼt concern Concannon, who
told me he believes the race will be decided
on quality of life issues currently on the
minds of voters rather than by political
party affiliations. “It doesnʼt matter what
votersʼ current political ties are”, stated
Concannon. “Nor,” alluding to his loss to
Weprin two years ago, he added, “does
2013 matter, when I ran a last minute cam‑
paign on only the Reform Party line....
People here in Queens and, in fact, through‑
out the city have seen the quality of their
lives go down under Mayor De Blasio and
many of his rubber stamp pals in the City
Council. And that is what concerns the vot‑
ers today.”
Concannon pointed to the reported rate
of the increase in violent crime as the most
serious sign that the quality of life for New
Yorkers has deteriorated since Bill de Blasio
became Mayor in 2013. Citing available
NYPD reported crime statistics, Concannon
stated, “Under Mayor De Blasio whose poli‑
cies are supported by both of my oppo‑
nents, the murder rate has gone up by morethan 5% citywide and a frightening 20% in
the 105th precinct which covers the majori‑
ty of the district, and the rate of rapes has
gone up by 6% citywide and a frightening
73 percent in the 105th precinct. This is
attributable, I believe”, he asserted, “to
Mayor De Blasioʼs anti‑police policies and
anti‑police rhetoric, about which my two
opponents are totally on board.”
To attempt to reverse this rise in violent
crime, Concannon said he will use his posi‑
tion in the City Council to fight for the
return of the type of policing that brought
crime to record lows during the Giuliani
and Bloomberg Administrations. “I will use
my voice in the City Council to strongly
advocate for a return once again to the
proactive policing strategies that made
New York City the safest major city in
America during the prior two {mayoral}
administrations”, he promised. “It worked
in the past and should have never been
reversed by Mayor De Blasio and the City
Council.”
Concannon added that, in addition to
public safety, there are other quality of life
issues that voters have voiced to him dur‑
ing the campaign. “In every neighborhood I
have visited”, Concannon told me, “I have
constantly heard people complain of a bro‑
ken 311 system {the New York City hot line
number to report non‑emergency prob‑
lems}. They are rightfully outraged thatthey often receive no response from city
agencies when they report such problems
as broken sidewalks, hanging tree limbs
and garbage illegally dumped on their
block. If elected I will immediately go to
work with my colleagues on the council to
address the problems with 311 and begin
to move the city back in the right direction
regarding all quality of life issues, from
crime on down.”
Should he, in fact, be elected, Concannon,
the married father of three and grandfather
of two, will be only one of four Republicans
compared to 47 Democrats on the 51‑mem‑
ber City Council, making his optimism
appear perhaps quixotic. But despite thatobstacle, Concannon remains convinced
that he could still be a positive force on the
council.
“I believe”, said the former police captain,
“My strength has always been my ability to
form cooperative, goal oriented coalitions
with a disparate group of people. I was able
to do that in my career in law enforcement
and will be able to do so on the City
Council, regardless of its {political party}
composition.”
Words to be expected from a guy who has
always believed that the glass of water is
half full.
Robert Golomb is a nationally and inter‑
nationally published columnist. Mail him at
[email protected] and follow him on
Twitter@RobertGolomb
Joe Concannon (Republican) was joined by someprominent Indian Americans when helaunched his campaign in June this year.
Joe Concannon speaking at a Sikh Festival at Martin Van Buren park.
When two opponents are
better than one
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11October 31- November 6, 2015TheSouthAsianTimes.info U S AFFA I RS
Washington The House
voted 266‑167
Wednesday to approve a
budget deal that raises
the nation's debt ceiling
through March 2017,
potentially avoiding a fis‑
cal crisis that could have
ensued i f the nation
defaulted on its loans.
The measure amounts
to one final package craft‑
ed by House Speaker
John Boehner with other
legislative leaders and
President Obama, as
Boehner wraps up a
tumultuous career lead‑
ing the House. The deal
also clears the plate for
GOP speaker nominee
Paul Ryan, who surprised
some conservatives
Wednesday when he announced he would
support the measure. The deal was
approved as 79 Republicans joined with
187 Democrats to easily clear the number
of votes needed to send the measure to the
Senate. House Appropriations Chairman
Hal Rogers, a Kentucky Republican, said
the deal accomplishes something almost
better than avoiding default: a chance to
get back to normal.
The focus now turns to the Senate,
where Sen. Rand Paul has promised to fili‑
buster the legislation, but Senate
Republican leaders were "confident" they
could push the measure to Obama's desk.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
has also built in enough time to the debate
to overcome Paul's maneuvers.
Washington Addressing one of educa‑
tionʼs most divisive issues, President
Obama on Saturday called for cappingstandardized testing at 2 percent of class‑
room time and said the government
shares responsibility for turning tests
into the be‑all and end‑all of Americ an
schools.
Students spend about 20 to 25 hours a
school year taking standardized tests,
according to a study of the nationʼs 66
largest school districts that was released
Saturday by the Council of the Great City
Schools. But itʼs not known how much
class time students spend preparing for
tests that became mandatory, starting in
third grade, under the George W. Bush‑
era No Child Left Behind law and are a
flashpoint in the debate over theCommon Core academic standards.
“Learning is about so much more than
just filling in the right bubble,” Obama
said in a video released on Facebook. “So
weʼre going to work with states, school
districts, teachers, and parents to make
sure that weʼre not obsessing about test‑
ing.”
To drive the point home, Obama and
Education Secretary Arne Duncan plan an
Oval Office meeting with teachers and
school officials working to reduce testing
time.
Walgreens, Rite Aid merge to create drugstore giantNew York Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. agreed to buy Rite Aid Corp. for about $9.4 billion, in
a move that would create a drugstore giant as companies across
the U.S. health‑care industry look for ways to bulk up. Walgreens
agreed to pay $9 a share in cash for Rite Aid, offering a 48% pre‑
mium to Rite Aidʼs closing price Monday. Rite Aidʼs stock rose 43%
to $8.67 on Tuesday after The Wall Street Journal reported on the
merger talks. Walgreens shares rose 6.4% Tuesday to $95.16. The
deal, which would unite two of the countryʼs three biggest drugstore owners, would be likely to
draw scrutiny from antitrust regulators, who could demand divestitures in exchange for their
approval. It also adds to a blockbuster year for health‑care mergers and acquisitions, helping
to put 2015 on track to be the busiest year ever for M&A. Including assumed debt, the transac‑
tion is valued at $17.2 billion. Rite Aidʼs debt totaled $7.4 billion in August.
The deal is Speaker Boehnerʼs gift to his successor, Paul Ryan,in a way clearing the stables.
Obama encourages limits onstandardized student tests
For most of my life, if someone told me that Iwould be running for office, beseechingover 750,000 people for their trust and vote, Iwould have laughed. I would have explainedthat someone who was born in Africa,brought up in United Kingdom and whospent most of her life in the United States as ahousewife is not the type of person who winselections. Government office is for peoplewho are higher than me, I would have said.But here I am now.
Here I am, three years in. Here I am, an immi‑grant, a mother, a wife, a lifelong fan of DilipKumar and Mohammed Rafi . Here I am,working with a staff of professional public
employees leading the charge to deliver first‑class services to the people of our Town. HereI am, working every day with a fantastic teamof Republicans in office to continue toprovide efficient, fair, honest and accountablegovernance of this Town. Here I am, the firstSouth Asian elected official in the history of Long Island, asking for your vote, announcingto all of you that I am once again running forthe office of Town Clerk of the Town of Hempstead.
We in the Town Clerkʼs office have come along way, but the work we do is not a sprintfrom one point to another, it is an ongoing jo ur ne y to co nt in ue to de li ve r on ou rpromises to the people of the Town. Taking
my 14 years of experience working in variousstaff positions in the Town Clerkʼs office, I
have led various initiatives to help better thelives of all residents of Hempstead: Mobileservices to every school, senior center, libraryand community facility. Extended hours of Thursday so everyone can access our wonder‑ful, efficient serivces. Fully bilingual serviceacross all departments in the Town Clerkʼsoffice. And in spite of all of these new andproductive services to the public, the TownClerkʼs office budget is now 7% lower than itwas when I entered office.
My name is Nasrin Ahmad and I refuse towaste your tax dollars; I refuse to have my staff
offer anything but the best service to you andyour loved ones; I refuse to slow down justbecause of what we have achieved; I refuse,regardless of what Iʼm doing or where I am, toever stop in my God‑given responsibility tohelp people in any way that I can.
I thus respectfully and humbly ask you forone thing: your vote. With your vote andthose of your families and loved ones, I cancontinue working to provide you with thebest services at the lowest possible cost totaxpayers. Thank you, God bless you, and Godbless the United States of America.
Nasrin AhmadFor Town Clerk
Town of Hempstead
Advertisement paid by Friends of Nasrin Ahmad
Come out and vote on November 3.
Budget deal betweenWhite House and Congress
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12 October 31-November 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
New Delhi Evincing a shared feel‑
ing of pain over the killing of
innocents in terror incidents in
Africa, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi sought to deepen coopera‑
tion with African countries in
maritime security and countering
terrorism.
ddressing the third meeting of
the India‑Africa Summit (IAFS)
here, Modi said there were links
that unite India and Africa against
the threat of terrorism. He said
that on the issue of security, coun‑
tries were no longer insulated by
distance.
"Today, in many parts of the
world, the light of a bright future
flickers in the storm of violence
and instabil i ty. When terror
snuffs out life on the streets andbeaches, and in malls and schools
of Africa, we feel your pain as our
own. And, we see the links that
unite us against this threat," he
said.
He said that when nations are
caught in conflict within, no one
around remains untouched.
"We also see that when our
oceans are no longer safe for
trade, we all suffer together. We
know that our cyber networks
bring opportunities but also carry
huge risks. So, when it comes to
security, distance no longer insu‑
lates us from each other," he said.
"That is why we wish to deepen
our cooperation in maritime secu‑
rity and hydrography, and coun‑
tering terrorism and extremism...
and, why we must have a UN
Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism," he said.
Modi said India will also provide
support for Africa Union's peace‑
keeping efforts.
"We will train African peace‑
keepers here and in Africa. We
must also have a stronger voice in
decisions on UN peacekeeping
missions," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses at the inaugural ceremony of the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit 2015, in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inaugural ceremony of the 3rdIndia Africa Forum Summit 2015, in New Delhi.
India to deepen cooperation withAfrica in countering terrorism: Modi
Patna The third phase of Bihar's
staggered assembly polls ended
with 53.20 percent of the 14.5
million electorate voting in 50
constituencies across six districts.
Additional Chief Electoral
Officer R. Lakshmanan said the
exercise passed off peacefully,
including in areas where Maoists
are active. There were only minor
clashes between rival political
activists.
According to officials, more
than 7.5 million people voted dur‑
ing the day in a battle that has pit‑
ted the BJP led by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi against the Grand
Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar.
The voters on Wednesday
included Nitish Kumar, his ally
and RJD leader Lalu Prasad, BJP
leader and former deputy chief
minister Sushil Modi and BJP's
dissident MP Shatrughan Sinha.
After voting in Patna with his
family, Lalu Prasad, a former chief
minister, hit out at Modi.
"Modi is playing the communal
card on reservation. People in the
country never expected such
words from the prime minister,"
he said.He was referring to Modi 's
statement that the Grand Alliance
was trying to put in quotas in jobs
and educational institutions for
Muslims. Sushil Modi also voted in
Patna. And so did Nitish Kumar
and Shatrughan Sinha, a
Bollywood veteran who has
embarrassed the Bharatiya Janata
Party by publicly praising Nitish
Kumar.
When journalists asked himwho he thought will win the Bihar
battle, Sinha retorted: "Khamosh"
(silence). The MP has been side‑
lined by the BJP in the election
campaign. Polling began at 7 a.m.
in the districts of Patna, Saran,
Vaishali, Nalanda, Bhojpur and
Buxar. It got over at 4 p.m. in 10
constituencies located in Maoist
strongholds. Elsewhere it ended
at 5 p.m.
Nalanda is Nitish Kumar's hometurf , and is widely known as
'Kurmistan' due to the dominance
of his Kurmi caste.
As in the f irst and second
rounds of polling on October 12
and 16, serpentine queues formed
at polling stations since early in
the morning.
Officials said voters in over a
dozen villages boycotted the polls
to protest what they said was lack
of development in their areas.
Lalu Prasad's prestige was at
stake on Wednesday as his sons
Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejaswi
Yadav were in the fray. They con‑
tested from Mahua and Raghopur
respectively in Vaishali district.
The BJP is banking heavily on
Dalits and other backward castes,including Yadav voters, besides
most upper castes to get the win‑
ning votes. Its allies include the
Lok Janshakti Party, Hindustani
Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok
Samata Party.
The JD‑U has tied up with the
RJD and Congress.
According to the Association for
Democratic Reforms and the
National Election Watch, 215 of
the candidates in the third round
faced serious criminal charges,
including those of murder.
The staggered elections to pick
a 243‑member Bihar assembly
will end on November 5. Theresults wil l be known on
November 8. The fourth round of
poll ing wil l take place on
November 1.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar show his finger marked withphosphorous ink after casting his vote during the third phase
of Bihar assembly polls in Patna.
Bihar's third election phase ends,
53 percent vote
India, Africa should pitchfor UNSC reforms,
says Modi
New Delhi India and Africa must
speak in one voice for reforms in
international institutions like the
UN Security Council, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said. Addressing theIndia‑Africa Forum Summit here,
Modi said the international institu‑
tions cannot be representative of
the world if they do not give place
to India and Africa.
"The world is undergoing politi‑
cal, economic, technological and
security transition on a scale and
speed rarely seen in recent history.
Yet our global institutions reflect
the circumstances of the century
that we left behind, not the one we
are in today," the prime minister
said.
"This is a world of free nations
and awakened aspirations. Ourinstitutions cannot be representa‑
tive of our world, if they do not give
voice to Africa, with more than a
quarter of UN members, or the
world's largest democracy with one‑
sixth of humanity," he said.
"That is why India and Africa
must speak in one voice for reforms
of the United Nations, including its
Security Council," the prime minis‑
ter added.
Indiaannounces
$10 bn creditfor Africa
N e w D e l h i Prime Minister
Minister Narendra Modi has
announced a credit of $10 bil‑
lion to Africa which will be in
addition to the ongoing credit
program.
"To add strength to our part‑
nership, India will offer conces‑
sional credit of $10 billion over
the next five years. This will be
in addition to our ongoing credit
program," said Modi.
He was speaking on the last
day of the India‑Africa Summit
Forum here.
Modi also pledged an assis‑
tance of $600 million to the con‑
tinent and 50,000 scholarships
for African students in India.
"We will also offer a grant
assistance of $600 million. This
will include an India‑Africa
Development Fund of $100 mil‑
lion and an India‑Africa Health
Fund of $10 million," Modi said.
"It will also include 50,000
scholarships in India over the
next five years. And, it will sup‑
port the expansion of the Pan
Africa E‑Network and institu‑
tions of skilling, training and
learning across Africa." he
added.
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New Delhi The world cannot be connected without India,
social media platform Facebook's founder MarkZuckerberg said.
"It is very important to connect people in India (one of
the largest democracies) as it is central to our plans of
connecting the next billion people and then the whole
world," Zuckerberg said at the townhall meeting held at
the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
"India is one of those countries which you cannot over‑
look if you want to connect the world," he added. The
townhall at IIT Delhi follows the Menlo Park chapter at
Facebook headquarters which was held during Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's second US visit.
Zuckerberg also reiterated his commitment to India by
clarifying his plans of opening schools here.
"We have opened schools in Africa with internet capable
infrastructure to give a boost to education quality and we
are evaluating plans to open such schools in India in the
future," the chief executive said.Asked about net neutrality and Internet.org, Zuckerberg
said the platform via its free basics program aims to solve
three problems of connecting to the internet ‑‑ availability,
affordability and awareness.
"We are trying to aid availability by streaming the inter‑
net via satellites. In terms of affordability, free basics is
free to use and also low on data consumption. Users are
not forced to pay for the service," Zuckerberg said reiterat‑
ing the need of an open internet platform like its propri‑
etary initiative Internet.org in India while reminding that
Facebook always supported net neutrality and adhered to
regulations.
"We have always adhered to net neutrality regulationsbut there are several countries who still do not have
norms in place. We will adapt to them as soon as they are
in place as we are in the favor of being 100 percent net
neutral," Zuckerberg said. Further explaining, he said "Free
basics programme under the Internet.org initiative aims to
connect the next billion people. It does not intend to harm
anyone ‑‑ neither the consumers nor the operators," he
said.
"Any developer who can stream low‑data consuming
content can be a part of the platform," the chief executive
told a gathering of 1,100 people expressing his discontentin some way over the ongoing debate about net neutrality.
"Internet.org is currently live in 24 countries and has 50
million subscribers. India itself has nearly over one million
people subscribed to the platform," Zuckerberg said reiter‑
ating his favourite example of quoting a research that
claims that every 10 people connected to the internet lifts
one life out of poverty.
Currently, India has no regulations on net neutrality.
Communications and Information Technology Minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad in a reply to the Lok Sabha had said
"the committee of the department of telecommunications
on net neutrality has submitted its report. However, it is
not the final report nor the government has taken any
final view."
"Based on the report, comments, suggestions and recom‑
mendations of TRAI, the government will take a consid‑
ered decision on various aspects of net neutrality, in thebest interest of the country," Prasad said.
The chief executive, who is a role model for many
techies, when asked about the entrepreneurs in India said
that Facebook was doing its best to provide low cost tools
to entrepreneurs here. In addition, Zuckerberg also gave a
sneak peak of how the future Facebook should look like by
divulging several new fundamental features that the com‑
pany was working on including a fix for users getting
'irritating' Candy Crush requests.
India central to connecting nextbillion, world: Zuckerberg
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg visited Taj Mahal inAgra Oct 27 and found it "more stunning than I expected".
14 October 31- November 6, 2015 TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
139‑DAY FTII STRIKE ENDS,
PROTESTS TO CONTINUEPune FTII students who went onstrike on June 12 against theappointment of Gajendra
Chauhan as its chairman
returned to their classes saidprotests against the BJP member
will go on. Meanwhile, three FTIIalumni returned their National
Awards to join the agitation.
The Film and TelevisionInstitute of India students said
they will continue to protest in a
"peaceful and democratic man‑ner" against Chauhan, who they
say is not fit to head the coun‑
try's premier film institute.
Ranjit Nair, spokesperson forthe FTII Students Association,
said that the strike was over.
"We have come to realize, afterour long‑stretched negotiations
with the government, that thegovernment is a bully," a miffed
Nair said.
He said the students will nowinvite people from all over the
country who face similar prob‑
lems. "The strike will escalatenow... It's time to register our
protest all over again and take it
to different heights," Nair said.
To this end, three prominentFTII alumni ‑‑ Vikrant Pawar of
Maharashtra, Rakesh Shukla of
Uttar Pradesh and Prateek Vatsof Goa ‑‑ decided to return their
National Awards in protest
against what they termed "anatmosphere of intolerance" in the
country in the past few months."More will follow," Nair said,
adding that they are looking to
garner increased support fromthe country's filmmaking com‑
munity for their cause.
Lucknow Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav sacked
eight cabinet ministers and with‑
drew portfolios of nine ministers
in a major shake‑up of his min‑
istry. The move is being seen as a
precursor to the cabinet reshuffle
scheduled for October 31 when
some new faces are likely to be
included in the 43‑month‑old
Samajwadi Party government.The ministers who have been
removed from the state cabinet
are Shiv Kumar Beria, Bhagwat
Sharan Gangwar, Ambika
Chowdhary, Aridaman Singh, Alok
Kumar Shakya, Yogesh Pratap
Singh, Shivakant Ojha and Narad
Rai.
Sources say the ministers have
been removed on action initiated
by