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8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
1/32
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 US AFFAIRS 9 TRAVEL 18
Vol.9 No. 3 May 14-20, 2016 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
SPORTS 22
New York
Eminent physician and
community leader Dr Raj Bhayani
has been named for the inaugural
Atal Mithila Award to be presented
to him in Delhi on May 22. The
awards are named after formerPrime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who had special ties
with Mithila region in north Bihar
bordering Nepal. Dr Bhayani is
winner of the US Congressional
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Dr Raj Bhayani to
receive Atal Mithila
Award in India
NY‑based Dr Bhayani is eminentphysician, businessman and
community leader.
Washington China and Pakistan
are closely coordinating moves to
block India's entry into the
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Beijing is using Pakistan's non‑
starter position with the NSG to
block India's application in the
name of parity, stating that it
would either support NSG entry
for both India and Pakistan, or
none of them.
Talking about the China ‑Pakistan grand strategy to stall
India's admission into the NSG ,
well placed US sources who work
with the NSG said that it does
appear that the two are coordi‑
nating closely to stop the Indian
entry. The sources pointed that
when India sought an information
session with the NSG
Participating Governments (PGs)
at the recent NSG Consultative
Group meeting on April 25‑26,where it would have made a for‑
mal presentation to the NSG
Group in support of its member‑
ship, Pakistan requested for a
similar discussion slot with the
NSG PGs.
Sources said that even though
Pakistan was fully aware that its
request would be rejected, it
made its application at the cue of
China, in order for Beijing to look
even‑handed when it sought the
rejection of both requests on
grounds of parity.
Providing an insight into the
China‑Pakistan plan to stall India,
sources say that Pakistan is now
going to write to all the NSG PGs
about its wish to join the group.
This is being done in anticipationof an application by India for NSG
membership at the forthcoming
plenary session of the group in
June. The Pakistani appli cation,
added sources, is "just a decoy"
for China to reject both applica‑
tions on grounds of parity. China
Washington Donald Trump and
House Speaker Paul Ryan conclud‑
ed their highly anticipated meeting
Thursday amid signals that the
Republican Party will work to
piece itself together after a frac‑
tious primary.
"While we were honest about
our few differences, we recognize
that there are also many important
areas of common ground," Trump
and Ryan said in a joint statement,
reported CNN. "We will be having
additional discussions, but remain
confident there's a great opportu‑
nity to unify our party and win this
fall, and we are totally committed
to working together to achieve
that goal."
Ryan, speaking with reporters
during his weekly press briefing,
sought to portray his openness to
Trump, despite withholding his
endorsement. "This is our first
meeting, I was very encouraged
with this meeting, but this is a
process. It takes some time, you
don't put it together in 45 min‑
utes," he said. The speaker called
Trump's achievement of earning
more votes than any Republican
candidate in history "really kind of
Continued on page 4
GOP movingto acceptnomineeTrump
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
TRUMP, RYAN TOUT UNITY
IN WAKE OF MEETING
China, Pak nexus to block India's entry into NSG
Dr Ajay Lodha & Dr Rekha Bhandari
conferred Ellis Island medals
The two accomplished New York doctors received the prestigiousaward for immigrants at a glittering ceremony on May 7 on Ellis Island.
See page 15 for details.)
Exclusive: Dr AD Amar,President of Indian‑Americansfor Trump 2016, on 'The way to Trump Presidency' >> page 11
Presumptive GOP nominee for President
Donald Trump arrived at the Capitol Hill
Thursday for a meeting with House
Speaker Paul Ryan
Photo courtesy AP)
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info May 14-20, 2016
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
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3May 14-20, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
Washington: A federal judge on
Thursday ruled in favor of
Republican lawmakers in their
lawsuit against the health care
reform known as "Obamacare",
saying that the US government is
unconstitutionally using public
funds to make access to health
services less costly.
Judg e Rosemary Collyer said
the federal government has no
authority to spend public funds
without the specific approval of
Congress.
The decision will remain on
hold, however, and Obamacare
will remain in place since the
government will file an appeal.
Collyer ruled that the adminis‑
tration may not spend billions of
dollars in federal funds to pay
insurance companies to reim‑
burse them for cuts that the law
requires them to make to cus‑
tomers' out‑of‑pocket medical
payments.
Republicans hailed the ruling
as "a critical step" in defense of
separation of powers, in the
words of Kevin Brady, who heads
the House Ways and Means
Committee.
However, the administration,
which says that the authorization
for the spending is contained
within the 2010 Affordable Care
Act, announced that it will imme‑
diately file an appeal.
Albany NY : Former state Senate
Majority Leader Dean Skelos was
sentenced Thursday to five years in
federal prison, while his son, Adam
Skelos, was sentenced to 6‑1/2
years. Skelos, 68, and his son Adam,
33, were convicted in December of
eight counts of bribery, conspiracy
and extortion, days after former
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
was convicted of similar corruption
charges.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara con‑
firmed Dean Skelos' sentence, issu‑
ing a statement castigating the
state's culture of political corruption.According to various media reports,
Dean Skelos was also ordered to pay
a $500,000 fine, while the father
and son will jointly pay more than
$300,000 in forfeiture.
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood
issued her sentence in Manhattan
federal court.
"The nearly simultaneous convic‑
tions of Sheldon Silver and Dean
Skelos, whose corruption crimeswere laid bare during fair and public
trials, have no precedent," Bharara
said in his statement. "And while
Silver and Skelos deserve their
prison sentences, the people of New
York deserve better."
Dean Skelos, a Nassau County
Republican, was convicted of using
his powerful position to secure more
than $300,000 for his son from New
York City real‑estate developerGlenwood Management, an environ‑
mental firm with strong ties to the
developer and a medical‑malpractice
insurer on Long Island.
The environmental firm, AbTech,
ultimately won a $12 million con‑
tract from Nassau County, where
Skelos was a power broker.
Melville NY: Punjab Congress
president and former CM, Captain
Amarinder Singh, addressing a
huge rally here on May 7, said,
“Punjab is undergoing difficult
times, and these difficulties can
only be resolved and progress putback on track when Congress gov‑
ernment comes back to power.”
On the last leg of his visit to the
US, he was speaking at the Hilton
Hotel at an event organized under
the aegis of Punjabi NRIs of US and
supported by the many other
orgnizations.
In Punjab, he said, inattention to
agriculture, joblessness and drug
addiction by youth were among
the major problems which
required careful and urgent social
and governmental intervention. He
alleged that key departments
including education in the state
were failing to deliver even mini‑mum services and his party appa‑
ratus was already preparing to
uplift and improve them to a high‑
er standard of efficiency. He said
Punjab was in a dire need for a cre‑
ative and far‑sighted government
and the Congress will be able to
deliver that.
The former Maharaja of Patiala
warned Punjabis about Aam Adami
Party and said that Delhi adminis‑
tration has gone down under AAP
and if their failed policies and
practices are adapted in Punjab, it
will collapse.
Amid applause and shouts of
ʻCaptain Amarinder Singh
Zindabad!ʼ, and ʻCaptain le aao,
Punjab batchaao!ʼ from the audi‑
ence, he lamented that Badal fami‑
ly had ruined Punjab with corrup‑
tion. The backbone of Punjab, the
farmers, he said, are in such dire
shape that they are being forced to
commit suicide in alarming num‑
bers. Singh informed the gathering
that the February 2017 election
will be his last and like a warrior
who hangs his sword after a cer‑
tain period, the time had come for
him to pass the baton to younger
leaders after he serves for the next
5 years
Discussing with many attendees
directly among the 2,000 strong
crowd, Amarinder Singh listened
to their personal issues and
general complaints. He declared
that the properties of NRI Punjabis
that have been illegally occupiedor confiscated will be given back to
the rightful owners.
Congress government will put in
place new rules and procedures to
resolve NRI problems, he prom‑
ised.
Sangat Singh Gilzian, MLA from
Tanda who was in Capt. Amarinder
Singhʼs team from Punjab, also
made a case for why Punjab needs
a great leader like Capt. Amarinder
Singh to save it from going under.
Indian National Overseas
Congress ‑ USAʼs President
Mohinder Singh Gilzian lauded the
huge numbers that came to the
event. Gilzian, George Abraham,INOC (USA) chairman, and
Harbachan Singh, Secretary‑
General, had a separate meeting
with the Captain.
Gurmit Singh Gill announced
that he would take thousands of
Punjabi NRIs from USA to Punjab
to canvass for Congress in the
2017 elections.
INOC (I) chairman Shudh
Parkash Singh spoke about the
development under the previous
government of Amarinder Singh
and his love for NRI Punjabis. He
also recalled his Chalo Punjab
Initiative in the last election, which
was supported by the All India
Congress Committee (AICC), andhow the NRI team of Chalo Punjab
was received by the Captain. He
assured that the youth of Punjab
will see a better future under the
Congress government led by
Amarinder Singh.
Those who played an active role
in organizing the event included
Karamjit Singh Dhaliwal, President
of Malwa Brothers Association.
The AICC from New Delhi sup‑
ported the event. Senior most lead‑
ers of Congress party sent best
wishes for the success of the event.
Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi
in a letter wished that Punjab will
see better days again underCaptain Amarinder Singh's leader‑
ship. He also congratulated the
Indian diaspora in building strong
US‑India relations.
Dr. Karan Singh, MP and
Chairman of Foreign Affairs Dept
of AICC, hoped in his message that
Captain Amarinder Singh will
again lead the Congress Party to
victory in the Punjab elections
next year.
Punjab Congress chief CaptAmarinder Singh addressed a
big rally on Long Island.
Dean Skelos
and son
Adam, who
too has been
sentenced.
(Photo courtesy AP)
ʻCongress in power can solve problems of Punjab and of NRIsʼ
ExSenate leader Dean Skelos
gets 5 years in prison
US federal judge rules
in favor of Republicansagainst 'Obamacareʼ
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
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Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info Updated Daily
GOP moving to acceptnominee TrumpContinued from page
unparalleled," and clearly hopes to channel
the support for the presumptive nominee
into support for a conservative policy agen‑
da writ large.
"The question is ... how we unify it all?
How do we keep adding and adding and
adding voters while not subtracting any vot‑
ers?" he said. "Most Americans do not likewhere this country is headed."
Trump tweeted his thoughts while his
plane taxied on the runway before taking
off for New York, "Great day in D.C. with
@SpeakerRyan and Republican leadership.
Things working out really well!"
"I thought it was a great meeting," Trump
said in a Thursday evening interview on Fox
News with Sean Hannity.
Trump suggested the two sides would
eventually come together.
"I don't mind going through a little bit of a
slow process," Trump said. "We're getting
there."
Republican National Committee Chairman
Reince Priebus ‑‑ who helped broker the
meeting ‑‑ told CNN's Dana Bash the meet‑
ing was "great," and "a good first step
toward unifying our party."
Speaking later in the day to CNN's Wolf
Blitzer, Priebus said Trump and Ryan plan
to be back in contact and that could be as
soon as Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
told reporters his meeting with Trump was
"constructive" and that they spoke about a
"variety of things, both campaign related
and issues.”
The meeting at RNC headquarters marked
a watershed moment.
For Trump, the meeting tested his ability
to reconcile with the Washington establish‑
ment that he and the voters have scorned.
For Ryan, it will help shape his own future
with a party increasingly impatient to get
behind its nominee and win back the White
House.
A top Trump aide had said there are "no
expectations at all" of an immediate Ryan
endorsement, describing the Thursday ses‑
sion as an "opening conversation" in an
ongoing process of party unification.
Senators who met with Trump said they
discussed a range of issues from immigra‑
tion to tax policy and were impressed at
how "genial" and "affable" he was in person.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said he
understood that Trump is more of a "show‑
man" in public.
He said he suggested to Trump that he
find a new way to talk about immigration,
and referenced his experience as a border
state senator.
According to a source familiar with the
meeting, Trump told House leadership hewould come out with a list, assisted by con‑
servative groups The Federalist Society and
the Heritage Foundation, of judicial nomina‑
tions he would make if he had the opportu‑
nity to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Trump also said the members present at the
meeting should submit names to him and he
would put them on the list.
A few of the House leadership members
pushed Trump on abortion ‑‑ he has voiced
views to the left of the GOP on the issue ‑‑
and Trump confirmed repeatedly that he
was not interested in changing the party's
platform. Source: CNN
China, Pak nexus to block India's
entry into NSGContinued from page
knows that Pakistan does not stand a
chance at the NSG, and most of the states
will reject Islamabad's application.
By taking the lead in rejecting the
Pakistani application along with that of
India, China would like to project its posi‑
tion as "neutral" when in reality it is "work‑
ing in tandem with Pakistan to stall India's
application ".
US sources are disappointed with the
Chinese tactics of "using Pakistan's non
credentials with the NSG to settle scores
with India". Informed sources say that this
strategy is not a secret and during Pakistan
President Mamnoon Hussain's visit to
China in November 2015, China revealedits hand when it told President Hussain
that if India is allowed to get NSG member‑
ship, China would ensure that Pakistan also
joins the group.
US sources have seen through China's
game of "either both or none" in the NSG.
They say that India's non‑proliferation cre‑
dentials can never be compared with
Pakistan's, as Pakistan has a history of
"selling nuclear technology to rogue states
like Libya". They point to the father of
Pakistan's nuclear bomb, Dr A.Q. Khan, and
his global nuclear trade. Added to this his‑
tory, is the fear in the West that Pakistan's
nuclear weapons, especially the tactical
version that it is now in the process of
developing, can easily find their way into
the hands of terrorists, as Pakistan's
nuclear command is extremely vulnerable
to penetration by Islamic hardliners. ‑ANI
Dr Raj Bhayani to receive AtalMithila Award in IndiaContinued from page
Achievement Award for dedicated commu‑
nity service, renowned surgeon and entre‑
preneur with passion for hospitality and
real estate investments.
Dr Bhayani completed his ENT residency
from Columbia University and completed
Facial Plastic & Microvascular Surgery fel‑
lowship from Oregon Health Science
University. He has done extensive research
in medical field and published over 50
research paper all over world.
Healthcare Leadership and other posi
tions held include:
Director of ENT services at FlushingHospital
Chief of ENT Division Interfaith
Hospital
Director of Facial Plastic Surgery at
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
Director of New York Institute of
Otolaryngology and Aesthetic Surgery
His business, hospitality and real estate
profile includes:.
Director Board of REXCHECK.COM
Real Estate Global Exchange, a technology
Start Up for next generation real estate
transactions.
President and CEO Unity Capital
Holdings LLC – A Real Estate Investment
Start Up in Commercial Real Estate.
Early Investor in Navika Capital,Hospitality Real Estate Investment.
.Member of AAHOA – Asian American
Hotel Owners Association.
Dr Bhayani was Convention Chair for
Chaalo Gujarat July 2015 and Finance
Chair for India Day Parade, Long Island
August 2015. He served as co‑chair on
finance committee for Prime Minister
Narendra Modiʼs historic visit to Madison
Square Garden, New York in 2014.
Pak admitsrelations with USunder ̒ stressʼ ahore Adviser to the Prime Minister on
Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz stated that rela‑
tions with the United States have been
under stress for the past three monthsbecause of conditions attached by
Washington to the funding of F‑16s sale.
According to Dawn, the adviser admitted
this while winding up a debate in the
Senate on an adjournment motion on the
US decision to withdraw proposed subsidy
on the sale of F‑16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
Aziz said that Pakistan‑US relations had
come to a standstill in 2011 because of
incidents of WikiLeaks, Raymond Davis,
Abbottabad operation, Datta Khel and
Salala.
Since 2013, he said Pakistan`s relations
with the US had witnessed an "upward tra‑
jectory".
"In the past three months, however, this
upward trajectory in relations has wit‑nessed a downward slide, as reflected in a
decision of the US Congress to block partial
funding for eight F‑16 aircraft," he said.
Aziz said that the action by the US might
have been caused by concerns raised by
Washington on the nuclear issue which had
been firmly rejected by Pakistan.
"We have also rejected frequent
demands, especially by the US Congress,
for the release of Dr Shakil Afridi. The US
officials, Congress, think‑tanks and media,
in tandem with our adversaries, have also
been blaming Pakistan for supporting the
Haqqani network without giving any con‑
crete evidence to enable us to take addi‑
tional action against it or other terrorist
organizations," he added.Asserting that the Haqqani Network issue
remained the top US concern at the
moment, Aziz said that Indian lobby in the
US had not been cooperative especially
after the Pathankot incident.
However, he assured the Senate that in
view of the importance of the issue,
Pakistan had been making all‑out efforts to
finalize the F‑16 deal with the US adminis‑
tration. ‑ANI
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
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5May 14-20, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
Edison NJ: At a game show like set
of the MoneyGram Cricket Bee on
May 7th, Bharat Jayakumar of
Sunnyvale, California bagged thetitle of Champion and $10,000
prize money.
Jaya kumar answered Aus tral ia
as the winners of the first U‑19
title the right option of his champi‑
onship question to become the
first ever Champion of the
MoneyGram Cricket Bee.
The second runner up, Auroshish
Mishra of Belmont, California was
the runner up having missed the
right answer to his question and
took home the $2,000 prize
money.
The MoneyGram Cricket Bee was
launched earlier this year and is a
game of Cricket Trivia that is con‑ducted in a bee format, which is
the miss and out basis. Over 800
people registered to play the con‑
test and to qualify through the
rounds and secure one of the 9
slots at the Finals.
“We are pleased to be able to call
the first annual MoneyGram
Cricket Bee a success,” said Ivy
Wisco, MoneyGramʼs marketing
director. “Congratulations to thewinners and all of the contestants.
It is an honor to support commu‑
nity events like the Cricket Bee
that unite friends and loved ones
around the world.”
Contests were held in Edison, NJ,
Hayward, CA and Toronto, Canada
from where the top three were
invited to the finals. Cash prizes of
$500, $300 and $200 were given
out at the regional levels as well.MoneyGram, along with its mar‑
keting agency, AAAZA, commis‑
sioned the idea for the Cricket Bee
from leading multicultural agency
Touchdown Media in an effort to
engage and connect with the more
than 10 million cricket fans in
North America.
New York The U.S.
Department of
Defense is expanding
its work with tech
startups, bringingtech executives to
work at its Silicon
Valley lab and plan‑
ning a new office in
Boston to tap into
research happening
in that area.
The expansion fol‑
lows the early suc‑
cess of the Defense Innovation Unit
Experimental (DIUx) office, an 8‑
month old Silicon Valley incubator
that is a key part of Secretary of
Defense Ash Carter's push to
rebuild ties between the military
and tech industry according to a
news report published onpcworld.com.
DIUx will be led by Raj Shah, a
former F‑16 combat pilot, director
of security at Palo Alto Networks
and now a tech entrepreneur. Other
members of the team include Isaac
Taylor, who ran Google X and has
worked on Google's Glass and VR
efforts, and Douglas
Beck, Apple's vice
president for
Americas and
Northeast Asia.Shah provided an
example of the kind
of tech block that the
DIUx hopes to solve.
As an F‑16 pilot, he
flew combat mis‑
sions in Iraq but his
aircraft didn't have a
GPS system that pro‑
vided a moving map. That is partic‑
ularly important when flying near
borders, because U.S. aircraft did
not want to inadvertently stray into
Iranian airspace. The solution for
some pilots was to strap an iPad to
their knees, because commercial
GPS apps could do something itwould take the DOD millions of dol‑
lars and months to accomplish, he
said. Carter opened DIUx, in
Mountain View, California, to gain
early access to new technology, and
in the hope that Silicon Valley's
unique way of thinking would rub
off on the Pentagon.
N e w Y o r k India‑born former
Goldman Sachs director Rajat
Gupta, a free man now after a 2‑ year jail term on insider trad ing
charges, has approached a US
court to overturn his conviction,arguing that there is no evidence
to show that he "received even apenny" for passing confidential
boardroom information to his
friend.In an exhaustive brief filed in the
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
yest er da y, 66 ‑y ea r‑ old Gu pt a' steam of lawyers argued that the
judgement of the Manhattan dis‑trict court finding Mr Gupta guilty
of insider trading "should be
reversed" and his "convictionshould be vacated."
Gupta's appeal comes on the
back of a landmark ruling by theManhattan appeals court that for
an insider trading conviction pros‑ecutors must show that a defen‑
dant received a personal benefit
for passing illegal tips. Gupta's
lawyers have cited the ruling that
led to the reversal of insider con‑
victions of hedge‑fund managersTodd Newman and Anthony
Chiasson in December 2014.
"As this Court has noted, notevery disclosure of corporate infor‑
mation violates the insider tradinglaws. Given the stakes in a criminal
case, and the apparently boundless
use being made of the securitieslaws by prosecutors, this Court in
Newman imposed a clear rule: The
tip must be shown to have beenpart of a quid pro quo agreement,"
the lawyers wrote in the brief."Rajat Gupta was severely preju‑
diced by the erroneous instruction.
The government lacked evidenceshowing Mr Gupta received even a
penny from his alleged wrongdo‑
ing. There was no quid pro quo,"they said.
Gupta was convicted in 2012 of passing confidential boardroom
information to now jailed hedge
fund founder Raj Rajaratnam. (PTI)
(Left to Right): Rahul Walia, founder of the MoneyGram Cricket Bee, Ivy
Wisco, MoneyGram, Bharat Jayakumar, National Champion of theMoneyGram CricketBee, HR Shah, CEO of TV Asia, Aurosish Mishra,
National Runner Up of the MoneyGram CricketBee
Guests at the event (right) Presentation by a member of Tagore Society
Former F‑16 combat
pilot turned tech
entrepreneur Raj Shah
(Photo courtesy: fcw.com)
Bharat Jayakumar wins firstMoneyGram Cricket Bee
New York: The Consulate of India
in association with the Tagore
Society of New York organized an
event at the Consulate to celebratethe 155th birth anniversary of
Rabindranath Tagore on May 7.
The event was attended by a large
number of enthusiastic crowds
owed by the life and times of one
of the greatest sons of India.
The evening began with the
singing of Indian national anthem
composed by the great
Rabindranath Tagore followed by
presentation of other Tagore songs
by members of Tagore Society of New York. Consul General
Ambassador (Mrs.) Riva Ganguly
Das during her address recollected
some of her personal involvements
surrounding Tagore during her
postings as a diplomat in various
countries and noted how Tagore's
ideology was recognized and the
affection people have for him
around the world. The program
featured ʻGlimpses of Rabindra
Sangeetʼ, a presentation by mem‑bers of Tagore Society.
The program efficiently com‑
pered by Renee Lobo, community
activist and TV journalist and New
York City Commission on Human
Rights had variety of singers
devoted to Rabindranath Tagore
and ended with a dinner.
Raj Shah to lead Defense
Department’s tech incubator DIUx
NY Consulate celebrates 155th BirthAnniversary of Rabindranath Tagore
Rajat Gupta not giving up legal
battle to overturn conviction
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
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6 May 14-20, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
The India Center hosted the Ninth
Annual Natraj Indian Folk Arts
Festival on May 7 at Manhattan
Neighborhood Network. Lalitha
Cosme, a dancer, instructor and chore‑
ographer trained in Kathak, Odissi, In‑
dian folk, ballet and contemporary
dance styles presented a dance on holi
and a Rajasthani dance. Mallakhamb
Federation USA presented Mallakhamb
which is a combination of Yoga, Mar‑
tial Arts, and Gymnastics. Ninaad Haar‑
sole who since his school days has
done choreography and performed
various forms of dances performed adance on Ganesha along with Swa‑
roopa Haarsole.
Pradnya Navalgundkar and her stu‑
dents presented Yoga. Somreeta
Mukherjee, a software designer who
works in the finance industry and is
trained in Indian classical music and
Rabindra Sangeet sang songs by Ra‑
bindranath Tagore on the occasion of
his anniversary. Dr. Bindeshwari Ag‑
garwal teaches Hindi at New York Uni‑
versity and is a famous Hindi poetess
known for her satirical work. She is a
member of Akhil Vishwa Hindi Samiti
which hosts Hindi Poetry festivals in
New York. She presented Hindi poems
about the immigrant experience.
Neena Wahi teaches Hindi at Boston
University. Born and raised in India she
completed her Master's Degree from
India and did Master's of Education De‑gree in the US. Her poems have been
published in various publications in‑
cluding the book "Pravasini Ke Bol,"
which was published in 2006. She pre‑
sented Hindi poems on her immigrant
experience.
Four Indian‑Americans have been in‑
dicted for hatching a plot to commit
H‑1B visa fraud, use of false docu‑
ments and mail fraud among other of‑
fences, the US federal prosecutors said in
an official statement.
The couple Sunitha Guntipally and
Venkat Guntipally, Pratap "Bob" Kon‑
damoori and Sandhya Ramireddi, alleged‑
ly used three California corporations to
orchestrate the improper submission of
more than 100 H‑1B specialty‑occupation
work visa applications, said the statement
from the US Attorney's Office Northern
District of California.
In a 33‑count indictment filed last week‑end, all the four are charged with con‑
spiracy to commit visa fraud, false state‑
ments, mail fraud, obstruction of justice,
and witness tampering and aiding and
abetting these offences.
The defendants submitted to the gov‑
ernment, or caused to be submitted, H‑1B
visa application materials stating that the
foreign workers named in the applica‑
tions would be placed at specific compa‑
nies in the US, the statement read.
However, those companies either did
not exist or never intended to receive the
foreign workers named in the defendants'
applications.
The indictment alleges that through
their ownership, direction and control of
two companies ‑‑ DS Soft Tech and
Equinett ‑‑ the Guntipallys generated net
profits of about $3.3 million and gross
profits of approximately $17 million from
2010‑2014.
According to the indictment, the hus‑
band‑wife team founded and owned DS
Soft Tech and Equinett where Venkat
served as president and Sunitha as vice
president of both the firms.Kondamoori from Nevada is alleged to
be the founder and owner of SISL Net‑
works and Kondamoori's sister, Ramired‑
di from Pleasanton, is alleged to have
been the human resources manager and
operations manager of all three compa‑
nies.
In addition, Kondamoori, Sunitha Gun‑
tipally and Ramireddi are charged in con‑
nection with alleged efforts to conceal the
defendants' conduct. (IANS)
Four IndianAmericanscharged with
H1B visa fraud
U
niversity of Califor‑
nia‑Los Angeles
(UCLA) “study finds
that yoga and meditationcan help minimize cognitive
impairment”, according to
UCLA release issued on
May 10.
To reduce risk for
Alzheimerʼs, skip Lumosity
(games claiming to improve
memory, etc.) and get onto
the yoga mat, this study by UCLA‑led
team of neuroscientists and funded by
the Alzheimerʼs Research and Preven‑
tion Foundation, adds in the release.
It further says: “If you or your rela‑
tives are trying to improve your mem‑
ory or offset the risk for developing
memory loss or dementia, a regular
practice of yoga and meditation couldbe a simple, safe and low‑cost solution
to improving your brain fitness”.
According to US National Institutes
of Health, yoga may help one to feel
more relaxed, be more flexible, im‑
prove posture, breathe deeply, and get
rid of stress. According to a recently re‑
leased “2016 Yoga in America Study”,
about 37 million Americans (which in‑
cluded many celebrities) now practice
yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated
with having a positive self image.Yoga was the repository of some‑
thing basic in the human soul and psy‑
che, Zed added.
India Center hosts Ninth AnnualNatraj Indian Folk Arts Festival
UCLA study endorses yoga toreduce Alzheimerʼs risk
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Mallakhamb items presented by the Mallakhamb Federation USA
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
7/32
7May 14-20, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Washington DC: Indian American
Neera Tanden on Wednesday led the
Hillary Clinton campaign in slam‑
ming the economic policies of Donald
Trump, Republican presidential pre‑
sumptive nominee, and alleging that
this poses threat to the economic
future of women and families.
"Make no mistake: Trump's divisive
comments about women's health are
a direct threat to our dignity and eco‑
nomic security," said Tanden, presi‑
dent of the Center for American
Progress Action Fund.
"Trump is now trying to cover up
the bald spots in his economic plan
but women can see for themselves
and women can see through his
comb over," said Tanden who was
joined by Senator Barbara Mikulski
of Maryland.
The two said that the trillions in tax
cuts for millionaires, billionaires and
corporations laid out in Trump's tax
plan would be an enormous boon for
the top one per cent of earners, made
at the expense of working families,
seniors and the health of the econo‑
my. Trump's plan would give $ 3 tril‑
lion over 10 years or more than 35
per cent of its tax breaks to million‑
aires, enough money to ensure
Medicare and Social Security's sol‑
vency for the next 75 years, repair
the ailing infrastructure, or raise
every person now living in poverty
up to the poverty line. Trump would
give multi‑millionaires in the top 0.1
per cent like himself a raise of $1.3
million a year, or $100,000 a month.
Tanden alleged Trump's ideas are
not the only risk his presidency
would pose for the economic future
of women and families around this
country.
"His tax plan gives $3 trillion to
millionaires that's enough to make
Social Security and Medicare solvent
for 75 years. Women, who rely dis‑
proportionately on Social Security,
can't afford such an irresponsible
giveaway," Tanden said.
Tanden and Mikulski said Trump
still opposes raising the minimum
wage because he believes "wages are
too high" and recently said he doesn't
favor a federal floor for the minimum
wage, which could leave many work‑
ers subject to a lower minimum
wage. At a time when two‑thirds of
minimum wage workers are women,
this issue is critical to working fami‑
l ies, they said. "I 'm with Hillary
because I know that she's the only
candidate who will make fighting for
women and families her priority,"
Mikulski said. (PTI)
2,100 INDIANSGRANTEDASYLUM IN THEUS BETWEEM
2012‑14New Delh i : Over 2,100 Indians have
been granted asylum by the Obama
administration between 2012 and 2014,
as per a report by the Homeland Security
of the US.
Minister of State for External Affairs V
K Singh gave details of the Indians pro‑
vided asylum by the US while quoting
from the report in reply to a question in
the Lok Sabha.
He said according to latest edition of
Annual Flow Report, 425 Indians were
given asylum in 2012, 1,042 in the year
2013 and a total of 716 Indian nationals
were granted it in 2014. The total comesto 2,183.
"The US government does not share
any information with our mission or our
Consulates on the number of Indians
who have sought or have been granted
asylum or the grounds on which the US
government has granted them asylum,"
Mr Singh said. (PTI)
New Delhi India and the US
held a two‑day bilateral con‑
sultation May 11‑12 under
the aegis of the WTO over the
American move to imposehigh fees on temporary work‑
ing visas.
In March, India dragged the
US in WTO's dispute settle‑
ment body against the latter's
measures imposing increased
fees on certain applicants for
L‑1 and H‑1B categories.
India has stated that the
move would impact Indian IT
professionals.
It said India hopes that the
US will constructively engage
to address its concerns
regarding recent US meas‑
ures which impair the ability
of both US‑based Indian com‑
panies and Indian profession‑
als to supply services in
America. The H‑1B and L‑1
categories of non‑immigrants,
for which there has been a
significant fee hike, corre‑
spond with the categories of
specialists and intra‑corpo‑
rate transferees, both of
which are part of US' commit‑
ments under the WTO'sGeneral Agreement on Trade
in Services.
These are also the same cat‑
egories that are most exten‑
sively used by Indian service
suppliers, especially in the IT
sector, supplying services in
the US.
The request for consulta‑
tions is the first step in a dis‑
pute at the dispute settlement
system of the WTO.
Consultations give the parties
an opportunity to discuss the
matter and find a satisfactory
solution without proceeding
further with litigation.
If consultations fail to
resolve the dispute, the com‑
plainant may request the
Dispute Settlement Body to
establish a panel of experts to
study the dispute. (PTI)
Neera Tanden leads Clinton campaignin slamming Trump's policies
Neera Tanden, president, Center forAmerican Progress Action Fund
(Photo: Twitter)
New York Indian‑American Congressman
Ami Bera's 83‑year‑old father has pleaded
guilty to illegally funnelling over$260,000 to his son's congressional cam‑
paigns in violation of the US federal law.
Babulal Bera, who could be jailed for up
to 30 months, pleaded guilty in
Sacramento before US District Judge Troy
Nunley in the Eastern District of
California.
A resident of California's La Palma,
Babulal is scheduled to be sentenced by
Nunley on August 4.
He admitted that in 2010 and 2012, he
made the maximum allowable individual
contributions to his son's congressional
campaigns in two of California's districts
during these years.
Babulal said that he solicited friends,
family members and acquaintances tomake contributions, which he then reim‑
bursed with his own funds to make cam‑
paign contributions in excess of the contri‑
bution limits established by federal law.
The government has identified over 130
improper campaign contributions involv‑
ing approximately 90 contributors in the
two elections. So far, the government has
identified over $ 220,000 in reimbursed
contributions relating to the 2010 cam‑paign and over $ 40,000 in reimbursed
contributions relating to the 2012 cam‑
paign.
Ami Bera is the only Indian‑American
lawmaker in the current Congress and is
currently facing a tough re‑election cam‑
paign against Sacramento Sheriff Scott
Jones to keep his seat in the state's 7th
congressional district.
A report in the Los Angeles Times said
quoted the lawmaker as saying that hewas incredibly saddened and disappointed
in learning what his father did. He said
that neither he nor any campaign aides
were aware of the activities until being
contacted by federal prosecutors.
"While I deeply love my father, it's clear
that he has made a grave mistake that will
have real consequences for him," Ami said
in the statement.
He said since he first learned about the
investigation from authorities, his team
and he have cooperated fully with the US
Attorney's Office.
The report also quoted Acting US
Attorney Phillip Talbert as saying in a
news conference that "Congressman Bera
and his campaign staff have been fullycooperative in this investigation" and so
far there is no indication "from what we've
learned in the investigation that either the
congressman or his campaign staff knew
of, or participated in, the reimbursements
of contributions.
Babulal had immigrated to the US from
Rajkot, Gujarat in 1958. (PTI)
Ami Bera's father admits illegalcampaign contributions
Babulal Bera(Photo courtesy: sacbee.com)
India, US hold talks onhike in work visa fee
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
8/32
8 May 14-20 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Washington:
An Indian‑American public
accountant is running for a Senate seat in
the US state of Nevada by employing a non‑
conventional anti‑corruption campaign
which promises to get "dirty money" out of
politics.
Bobby Mahendra is pinning his hope on
the grass‑roots campaign he built to replace
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, 76, who
has held the position uninterrupted since
1987.
Mahendra, 42, claimed he had "achieved
the real front runner status" by building a
grass‑roots campaign on the Facebook and,
unlike other candidates, has not taken a sin‑
gle penny from corrupt sources.
"I am the most liked politician (on
Facebook) in the State of Nevada. One of my
main goal is to help get dirty money out of
politics," Mahendra told PTI. "I always want‑
ed to be able to give back to the Community
through service to country, and I knew that Iwould run for office one day; however, I
never expected it to be right now! I looked at
the candidates that were offered on the
political landscape, and I didn't feel that any
candidate offered what I wanted," Mahendra
said. Mahendra, whose father Narendra Lal
Mahendra is from Gwalior and mother
Sunita Mahendra from Punjab, is pitted
against three other candidates including the
front‑runner Catnerine Cortez Masto, the
former Attorney General of Nevada, in the
Democratic primary seat vacated Mr Reid.
Reid, who is not seeking a re‑election, has
endorsed Masto to replace him.
The State primary is scheduled on June 14
and the general elections on November 8.
Mahendra now has 21,000 supporters on
his Facebook page as against less than
15,000 of Masto. Republican Senate race
front runner Congressman Joe Heck has less
than 17,000.
Mahendra, who has lived in Las Vegas
since 2011, said he is running a non‑con‑
ventional campaign and hopes this would
yield results in the June primaries. (PTI)
Washington DC: Indian American elementary
teacher Revathi Balakrishnan was among 56“State Teachers of the Year” honored by
President Barack Obama at the White House.
The president honored the teachers May 3.
Balakrishnan is a talent and gifted specialist
teacher at Patsy Sommer Elementary School in
Austin, Texas, and was chosen as the Texas
Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief
State School Officers as part of the National
Teacher of the Year Program.
In addition to being chosen to the CCSSO
honor, Balakrishnan in 2016 was named Patsy
Sommer Elementary School Teacher of the
Year, Round Rock Independent School District
Elementary Teacher of the Year and Region
XIII Elementary Teacher of the Year, as well as
Texas Teacher of the Year and Texas
Elementary Teacher of the Year by the TexasAssociation of Supervisors and Administrators.
The University of Madras and Northeastern
University graduate, earning a bachelor's and
master's in economics, respectively, was also
honored in 2011 by the Texas Association for
Gifted and Talented as the Region XIII Gifted
and Talented Teacher of the Year.
The National Teacher of the Year Program
identifies exceptional teachers in the country,
recognizes their effective work in the class‑room, engages them in a year of professional
learning, amplifies their voices and empowers
them to participate in policy discussions at the
state and national levels.
Revathi Balakrishnan(Photo courtesy: ndtv.com)
Elementary school teacherRevathi Balakrishnan
honored at White House Washington DC: An IndianAmerican Sikh woman fromCalifornia has been elected
to a key position in the
Republican party at the
national level. Chandigarh‑
born Harmeet Kaur Dhillon
was elected as the newest
national committee woman
of the Republican National
Committee by thousand plus
votes in attendance at the
California Republican Party
convention. She was earlier the vice chair‑
man of the California GOP.
She was the first woman elected to this
position of vice chair of the California
Republican Party. A nationally recognized
trial lawyer, Dhillon, 47, was born in India,
but raised in rural North Carolina after her
Sikh parents moved to the US. "A little girl
from Chandigarh, India, the Bronx, and
Smithfield, North Carolina back in the day, to
being one of California's three votes on the
RNC. For the next four years starting in late
July, I will help shape the poli cies of the
party of Abraham Lincoln
and Harriet Tubman, the
party of liberty and opportu‑
nity," Dhillon said after here
election.
Following her clerkship
with Paul V Niemeyer of the
US Court of Appeals for the
Fourth Circuit, Dhillon's prac‑
tice in New York, London,
and the San Francisco Bay
Area has focused on federal
and state commercial litiga‑
tion and arbitration, with a particular
emphasis on unfair competition/trade secret
misappropriation, intellectual property
(including trademark litigation and internet
torts), complex contractual disputes, and
First Amendment litigation. "I could not have
done this without the support of a huge
number of friends old and new and my fami‑
ly, who have brought me to where I am
today. Thank you to my parents Parminder
Kaur Dhillon and Tejpal Singh Dhillon for
instilling conservative values in me. I am
truly honored," she said. (PTI)
Bobby Mahendra
California lawyer electedto key Republican post
N e w D e l h i : Indian‑
American actor Kal Penn,
who served in the Barack
Obama administration,
feels most Americans don't
agree with Republicans'
presumptive nominee
Donald Trump's racist
views.
"I seriously believe that
most of the Americans
don't agree with Donald
Trump over his racist, anti‑
women, anti‑LGBT prac‑
tices. We are not that
country. Hopefully elec‑
tions will prove that,"
Penn, who was associate
director in the WhiteHouse Office of Public Engagement from
2009 to 2011, said at the "Cultural
Connections in US‑India Relations" at the
American Center here.
Trump, who is expected to clash with
Democratic front‑runner Hillary Clinton in
November, has been opposed by peoples and
critics, and often been tagged "anti‑immi‑
grant", "misogynist",
"racist" and "worse."
During the event, Penn's
2007 film "The
Namesake", which also
stars Bollywood actors
Irrfan Khan and Tabu, was
screened.
Sharing his experience
about campaigning for
Obama, Penn said that it
would not "weird" for him
to shift from acting to pol‑
itics.
"For me it was an honor
to get a chance to serve
for your country," said
Penn, whose real name is
Kalpen Suresh Modi, andis best known for his role of Kumar Patel in
the popular "Harold & Kumar" film franchise.
He has also appeared on TV shows like
"House", "How I Met Your Mother" and "The
Big Brain Theory".
Penn is in India for the shooting of Guneet
Monga's upcoming project "The Ashram."
(IANS)
Harmeet Kaur Dhillon(Photo courtesy: dhillonlaw.com)
Bobby Mahendra runningfor Senate seat in Nevada
Kal Penn speaking at AmericanCenter in New Delhi
Most Americans don'tagree with Donald
Trump: Kal Penn
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
9/32
9May 14-20, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info U S AFFA I RS
ashingtonRepublican Donald
Trump pulled even withDemocratic rival Hillary Clinton
in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll
released on Wednesday, in a
dramatic early sign that the Nov.
8 presidential election might be
more hotly contested than first
thought.
While much can change in the
six months until the election,
the results of the online survey
are a red flag for the Clinton
campaign that the billionaire's
unorthodox bid for the White
House cannot be brushed aside.
Trump's numbers surged after
he effectively won the
Republican nomination last
week by knocking out his two
remaining rivals, according to
the poll. The national survey
found 41 percent of likely vot‑
ers supporting Clinton and 40
percent backing Trump, with 19
percent undecided. The survey
of 1,289 people was conducted
over five days and has a credi‑
bility interval of 3 percentage
points. "Very happy to see these
numbers," Trump said in a writ‑
ten comment to Reuters. "Gooddirection." A spokesman for
Cl inton's campaign did not
respond to requests for com‑
ment on the poll.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey con‑
ducted in the five days to May 4
had the former secretary of
state at 48 percent and the New
York magnate at 35 percent.
Republican strategist Dave
Carney said the Reuters/Ipsos
poll showed the vulnerability of
Clinton, who is still battling U.S.Senator from Vermont Bernie
Sanders for the Democratic
nomination.
Trump has his own problems,
though. He is struggling to bring
some senior Republicans behind
his campaign after primary elec‑
tion battles in which his fiery
rhetoric rankled party elites.
Reuters
W a s h i n g t o n : Democrat hopeful Bernie
Sanders won the primary in West Virginia ‑‑
a state where rival and party front‑runner
Hillary Clinton had won in 2008.
With 61.7 percent of precincts by Tuesday
evening, Sanders led Clinton 51 percent to
36.7 percent, Politico reported.
"With our victory tonight (Tuesday night)
in West Virginia, we have now won primar‑
ies and caucuses in 19 states. And let me be
as clear as I can be: We are in this campaign
to win the Democratic nomination," Sanders
told a cheering crowd of supporters in
Salem, Oregon, which will go to polls on May
17. In a separate statement released by
Sanders' campaign, the Vermont senatorthanked "the people of West Virginia for the
tremendous victory they gave us today in a
state that provided a landslide vote for
Hillary Clinton in 2008."
Clinton beat then Senator Barack Obama
by 40 points in 2008, a stark contrast. "West
Virginia is a working‑class state and many of
the people there are hurting. They know, like
most Americans, that it is too late for estab‑
lishment politics and establishment econom‑
ics. They want real change," Sanders said.
So far, Clinton is leading Sanders by 1,705
to 1,415 in pledged delegates and 523 to 39
in superdelegates, an overall lead of 2,228 to1,454. With only 926 pledged delegates
remaining, Sanders' hopes rest with
superdelegates deciding to abandon Clinton
in large numbers. Meanwhile, Republican
presumptive nominee Donald Trump, whose
last remaining competitors exited the race
after Trump's victory in Indiana last week,
also won in West Virginia on Tuesday, easily.
Washington DC: Donald Trump isconsidering the possibility of set‑ting up a commission to "take avery serious look" at radicalIslamic terrorism and his propos‑
als to temporarily bar Muslimsfrom entering the United States,even floating the name of formerNew York City mayor RudyGiuliani to spearhead the opera‑tion.
"We have to be extremely care‑ful," Trump told Fox News in aphone interview Wednesdaywhen asked about his calls for aMuslim ban. "In fact, I'm thinkingabout setting up a commissionperhaps headed by Rudy Giulianito take a very serious look at thisproblem. But this is a worldwideproblem. And we have to besmart."
Giuliani, who was New YorkCity's mayor during the terroristattacks that hit the World TradeCenter on September 11, 2001,endorsed Trump last month,ahead of the New York primary.
Meanwhile, Republican party'spresumptive presidential nomi‑nee Donald Trump has demotedhis proposed Muslim immigrationban to a mere "suggestion".
In a radio interview with FoxNews' on Wednesday, Trump soft‑ened his call to temporarily pro‑hibit Muslims from entering theUS.
"We have a serious problem. It'sa temporary ban. It hasn't beencalled for yet. Nobody's done it.This is just a suggestion until wefind out what's going on," Trumpsaid.
But Trump did not mince wordsin linking Muslims to the prolifer‑ation of terrorism around theworld, Politico reported.
"We have radical Islamic terror‑ism all over the world. You can goto Paris, you can go to SanBernardino, all over the world: If they want to deny it, they candeny it. I don't choose to deny it,"he said.
Trump's comments came a dayafter he claimed he would makean "exception" for London's firstMuslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, toenter the US.
But Khan has rejected Trump'soffer. “This isnʼt just about me ‑itʼs about my friends, my familyand everyone who comes from abackground similar to mine, any‑where in the world,” Khan said.
Trump mulls setting up
commission on Islamic terrorism
Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at acampaign rally last week. (Photo courtesy AP)
Bernie Sanders (Photo courtesy AP)
Trump catches up withHillary in opinion poll
Sanders defeats Hillary
in West VirginiaWashington: Democratic front‑runner HillaryClinton said that since Donald Trump became
the Republicans' presumptive nominee, she
has been hearing from Republicans interested
in supporting her presidential campaign.
"For a lot of people, again, who take their
vote seriously and who really see this as a
crossroads kind of election, I am asking peo‑
ple to come join this campaign," she told CBS
News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
"And I 've had a lot of outreach on
Republicans in the last days who say that they
are interested in talking about that."
Despite her campaign already going hard
against Trump in the days since he effectively
secured the Republican nomination, Clintonsaid she was not going to run an "ugly" race
against him.
"I'm not going to run an ugly race. I am
going to run a race based on issues," she said.
"And what my agenda is to the American peo‑
ple. I don't really feel like I'm running against
Donald Trump. I feel like I'm running for my
vision of what our country can be."
Asked whether she was making claims
about his "stability", Clinton said she is only
talking about the statements he's made as a
candidate.
Clinton noted the discord in the RepublicanParty, with top leaders like House Speaker
Paul Ryan saying they were not ready to back
Trump, and others, like South Carolina
Senator Lindsey Graham, vowing they will not
back him at all. Clinton was also asked to
explain which "hard questions" she thinks
Trump needs to answer as he enters general‑
election mode.
Hillary Clinton campaigning inLos Angeles May 5. (Photo: IANS)
'Lots' of Republicans want to
help my campaign: Clinton
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
10/32
10 May 14-20, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
By Dennis Prager
There are many reasons Donald Trump
is the presumptive Republican presi‑
dential nominee. The four most often
cited reasons are the frustrations of white
working‑class Americans, a widespread
revulsion against political correctness, disen‑
chantment with the Republican “establish‑
ment,” and the unprecedented and unrivaled
amount of time the media afforded Trump.
They are all valid.
But the biggest reason is this: The majority
of Republicans are not conservative.Conservatives who opposed Trump kept
arguing ̶ indeed provided unassailable
proof – that Donald Trump is not a conserva‑
tive and has never been one. But the argu‑
ment meant little or nothing to two types of
Republicans: the majority of Trump voters
who donʼt care whether he is a conservative,
and the smaller number of Trump voters
who are conservative but care about illegal
immigration more than all other issues,
including Trumpʼs many and obvious fail‑
ings.
So, then, what happened to the majority of
Republicans? Why arenʼt they conservative?
The answer lies in Americaʼs biggest – and
scariest – problem: Most Americans no
longer know what America stands for. For
them, America has become just another
country, a place located between Canada and
Mexico. But America was founded to be an
idea, not another country. As Margaret
Thatcher put it: “Europe was created by his‑
tory. America was created by philosophy.”
Why havenʼt Americans over the past three
generations known what America stands
for? Probably the biggest reason is the influ‑
ence of left‑wing ideas. Since its inception,
the Left has opposed the American idea, and
for good reason. Everything the American
idea represents undermines leftist ideas. And
the Left, unlike most Americans, has always
understood that either the Left is right orAmerica is right. America stands for small
government, a free economy (and therefore
capitalism), liberty (and it therefore allows
for libertyʼs inevitable consequence, inequali‑
ty), the “melting pot” ideal, and a God‑cen‑
tered population rooted in Judeo‑Christian
values (so that a moral society is created by
citizens exercising self‑control rather than
relying on the state to impose controls).
Only America was founded on the idea of
small government. But the Left is based on
big government. America was founded on
the principle that human rights come from
the Creator. For the Left, rights come from
the state. America was founded on the belief
that in order to maintain a small govern‑
ment, a God‑fearing people is necessary. The
Left opposes God‑based religions, particular‑
ly Judeo‑Christian religions. Secularism is at
the core of Leftism every bit as much as egal‑
itarianism is. It took generations, but the Left
has succeeded in substituting its values for
Americaʼs.
The American Revolution, unlike the
French Revolution, placed liberty above
equality. For the Left, equality is more impor‑
tant than all else. Thatʼs why so many
American and European leftists have cele‑
brated left‑wing regimes, no matter how
much they squelched individual liberty, from
Stalin to Mao to Che and Castro to Hugo
Chávez. They all preached equality. It tookgenerations, but the Left has succeeded (pri‑
marily through the schools, but also through
the media) in substituting its values for
Americaʼs.
While the Left has been the primary cause,
there have been others. The most significant
is success. American values were so success‑
ful that Americans came to take Americaʼs
success for granted. They forgot what made
America uniquely free and affluent. And
now, itʼs not even accurate to say “forgot,”
because, in the case of the current genera‑
tion, they never knew. While the schools,
starting with the universities, were being
transformed into institutions for left‑wing
indoctrination, American parents, too,
ceased teaching their children American val‑
ues (beginning with not reading to their chil‑
dren the most popular book in American his‑
tory, the Bible).
Schools even stopped teaching American
history. When American history is taught
today, it is taught as a history of oppression,
imperialism, and racism. Likewise, there is
essentially no civics education, once a staple
of the public‑school system. Young
Americans are not taught either the
Constitution or how American government
works. I doubt many college students even
know what “separation of powers” means, let
alone why it is so significant. So, then, thanks
to leftism and Americaʼs taken‑for‑grantedsuccess, most Americans no longer under‑
stand what it means to be an American.
Those who do are called “conservatives”
because they wish to conserve the unique
American idea.
But conservatives now constitute not only
a minority of Americans, but even a minority
of Republicans. That is the primary reason
Donald Trump ̶ a nationalist but not a con‑
servative ̶ is the presumptive Republican
nominee. As I noted from the outset, I will
vote for him if he wins the nomination ̶
because there is no choice. But the biggest
reason he won is also the scariest.
Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated
radio talk‑show host and columnist. He is the
founder of Prager University. © 2016
Creators.com
The scariest reason why Trump is winning Trump is not a conservative, but then a majority of Republicans too are no more conservative. Why? The answer lies in Americaʼs biggest ‒ and scariest ‒ problem: Most Americans no longer know what
America stands for. For them, America has become just another country, a place between Canadaand Mexico. But America was founded to be an idea, not another country.
By Arun Kumar
First he drove the economistsinto a tizzy by suggesting he
would be open to renegotiat‑
ing US public debt; then DonaldTrump said the US would never
default on its debt as it can "print"money. And as the pundits were
shaking their heads over how the
self‑styled "king of debt's" talk of US default could send the global
economy spinning, he suggested
the wealthiest Americans were like‑ly to pay more taxes under his
administration.While the experts discussed how
'The Donald' was deviating from his
past promise to slash taxes acrossthe board, the presumptive
Republican presidential nominee
called his likely Democratic rival an'enabler' of her husband Bill
Clinton's infidelities.And lo and behold the long for‑
gotten Monica Lewinsky affair
between the then President BillClinton and a White House intern
in 1995 and 1996 was back on
centre stage with TV talking heads
discussing was it fair for a thrice‑
married Trump to rake the privatelife of an opponent.
Trump stuck to his guns saying
his comments were a 'retribution'for Clinton playing "the woman's
card to the hilt" and suggested
while he was focused on trade,immigration and veterans issues,
the media had built up a "small
amount" of his speech "like it's the
biggest thing in the world."
"But it is a big thing," Trumpadded in the same breath. "Hey,
look, he was the biggest abuser of women, as a politician in the histo‑
ry of our country. He was
impeached."Hillary Clinton herself declined to
take the bait saying she would not
comment on "how he's running his
campaign," but "a lot of his rhetoricis dangerous."
But Democrat Senator Elizabeth
Warren responded to Trump'sTwitter assaults taunting her as
"goofy" by calling him a "bully",
fuell ing speculation about herbecoming a running mate for
Clinton, who is said to be lookingfor someone who can act as an
attack dog.
And as the pundits were left yakking about whether this or that
would help or hurt Trump, the mas‑
ter manipulator turned his atten‑tion to mending fences with the
Republican Party establishment
still smarting over his harsh rheto‑ric against it.
He distanced himself from 2008Republican vice presidential candi‑
date Sarah Palin's call to oust
House speaker Paul D. Ryan overhis refusal to endorse Trump's can‑
didacy ahead of a summit Thursday
with him and Republican NationalCommittee chairman Reince
Priebus. On his part, Ryan, who willserve as chairman of the party's
convention in July to formally
anoint its standard‑bearer, was still
not ready to support Trump butacknowledged "He's the nominee.
I 'l l do whatever he wants withrespect to the convention."
He also offered to step down as
convention chairman if Trump sowanted even as the likes of former
presidents George H W Bush and
George Bush, his brother Jeb Bushand the Republicans' last presiden‑
tial nominee Mitt Romney, stillrefused to support Trump.
But the 2008 Republican nomi‑
nee John McCain, whom Trump hadonce declined to call a war hero for
being taken a prisoner during the
Vietnam War, said it was "foolish"for the establishment to ignore the
will of millions of Republican vot‑ers.
And as the pundits wondered
whether the tactics that havebrought the Republican nomination
in Trump's grasp would work with
a more diverse electorate in theNovember presidential poll as well,
the conversation once againrevolved around The Donald.
Donald Trump drives the conversation
Republican presidential front‑runner Donald Trump. (Photo: IANS)
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
11/32
By Nilima Madan
Do we want Donald Trump as
President of the United States?
This all important question has
to be answered today keeping inmind America and Americans,
not just his slogan, ʻMake America
Great Again.ʼ Especially, if the
route he takes is bringing 'cof‑
fee shop' conversation to the
public without mincing words.
But, it is very possible that
his attributes will change
if he did become the
President. Although, in
hindsight there may be
remorse, regret, or even an
apology. Albeit that may not take
away the deep hurt, disrespect and discrimi‑
nation Trump inflicted on women, Muslims,
Hispanics and other rival candidates where
the very modus operandi has been the basisof a Republican divide.
Words have been said such as, ʻwomen
should be punished
for getting an abor‑
tion…build a Mexican
wall…defund Planned
Parenthood… much
about US debt and
about NATO. He has
been flip‑flopping so
much, for example
on taxes and mini‑
mum wage that a clear
Presidential vision is amiss.
Trumpʼs confidence, business acumen, pow‑
erful personality, negotiation skills, global
connections, etc. are likely to work well inpolitics. As observed, he is strongly opinionat‑
ed, dominating and not easily manipulated.
His views on free enterprise and less regula‑
tion of the market may appeal to many. His
past dealings of the ʻTrump empireʼ are both
famous and infamous. His reputation of trust‑
worthiness, not to mention what he says and
does, is questionable. Often times, his finan‑
cial and business dealings have attracted
much criticism. We can also debate on his
lack of experience on Foreign Policy, trade
agreements and proposals, valuation of the
Dollar, China policy, relations with the Middle
East, Mexico or Russia as components which
can affect our global standing and bilateral
relations.
The wealthier class can afford to pay more, yet then there are those who have to work
harder to pay for health insurance and basic
bills. Therefore, a balance with all levels of
income and needs have to appeal in order for
a vote in favor. Because voters look for
answers to many questions that affect the
general population related to their daily liv‑
ing and lifestyle. Health insurance, salaries,college funding for kids, safety and overall
well‑being are all issues that are taken into
account while deciding on a decisive candi‑
date. Fulfillment of promises that bring jobs
back, reduce healthcare costs, help students
achieve a higher education, and putting fami‑
lies back in their homes with a stable econo‑
my are of key importance.
One's views may be left or right, but ulti‑
mately, it's ʻhe or sheʼ that does good by
majority which counts, a lot like Mr. Narendra
Modi has attempted in India. This time, more
than any other election for White House, it is
becoming a political game not about a power‑
ful candidate, but a conundrum of brick bats
and volley of words that has marred clarity of
the US public as to who can be a hundred per‑cent clear choice for the countryʼs next
President.
11May 14-20, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP - ED
By Dr A.D. Amar
Because of the kind of decline
America has had over the last
few decades, it is not surpris‑
ing to see Donald J. Trump contest‑
ing for the presidency on a revolu‑
tionary agenda, and Americans
embracing it, even when it is fuzzy,
lacking clarity. They are yearning
for the change that will bring their
country back from a course of
steady decline. They understand
that there have to be drastic
changes, because only drastic
changes will bring about the revolu‑
tion essential to undo the wrongs of the past several administrations.
They do not like anything to do
with the status‑quo. Politicians, they
believe, have failed them and those
politicians who have any associa‑
tion with the current state of the
country remind them of failure, and,
hence, do not get their support.
Trump has attracted Americans
because his agenda is focused on
the economy and immigration̶the
key sources of Americaʼs problems.
He wants to help American econo‑
my through better management of
its foreign trade and deals. His goal
is not to reduce trade but to force
countries that heavily export toAmerica to start buying from it to
reduce their trade deficit. It is con‑
sistent with the economic theory of
foreign trade that encourages coun‑
tries to specialize, consolidate glob‑
al consumption, increase productiv‑
ity, bring down prices and increase
availability of goods and services to
all people around the world.
However, it is not supposed to be a
one‑way street that results some
countries to become exporters and
the others to be importers, as some
countries are doing to America.
Good foreign trade should result in
a balanced trade among counties.
Trump will start trade negotia‑
tions by targeting those countries
that cause huge trade deficits with
America, such as China, Japan,
Mexico, Germany, and South Korea.
Take China. Its trade deficit in
2009, when Obama took over theWhite House, was about $227 bil‑
lion, which, as of 2015, has bal‑
looned to $368 billion. The obvious
question Americans are asking is,
“Where has been Obama
Administration? Why it allowed
China to amass such a huge trade
surplus with America?” Americans
also fault trade deals that have
brought about this dependence on
imports and dominance of foreign
transplants in America. Trump has
said that he will renegotiate
Americaʼs trade deals. This will
result in America producing more
of its consumption domestically, or
producing and exporting enough to
pay for its imports. By bringing
trade balance in line, we will be able
to keep about a trillion dollar home
for recirculation in our own econo‑
my.
The second major item of Trumpʼsagenda is immigration. He agrees
with Americans when they say that
there are too many illegal immi‑
grants in the US, and that they must
be required to return home, have
their visas processed there, and if
clean, should be given visa and
brought back to the USA. To solve
permanently the problem of illegal
immigration, he wants to build a
wall along Americaʼs southern bor‑
der, the one with Mexico, as that is
the major source of illegal immigra‑
tion. A control on illegal immigra‑
tion will allow America to bring in
high skilled workers, such as engi‑
neers, scientists, the IT profession‑
als, and doctors that America needs
to allow expansion of its economy.
Politicians fail to achieve whatthey promise to do, primarily
because they canʼt act against the
will of their donors who fund their
elections. It is for this reason that
Trump has announced that he will
not accept any funding from special
interest groups. Trump is setting
himself free of not only these
donors, but is also threatening
other politicians in power, known as
the “establishment”. It will result in
many special interest groups̶the
donors̶losing their clout in
Washington. This will also hit many
established politicians whose sur‑
vival depends on this money. This is
the reason politicians do not wantto lose the donor groups, and so
they oppose Trump. When Speaker
Paul Ryan, the highest‑ranking
Republican, says that he is not
ready to endorse Donald Trump, or
the three Bushes̶George HW,
George, and Jeb̶declare that they
will not vote for Trump, their goal is
to maintain their control of the
party. Trump wants to act free of all
politicians who have brought about
the mess in America. Voters like this
approach and are flocking to the
polls for the last eight months to
vote for Trump.
As this reality is dawning on more
voters, they are overwhelmingly
voting for the “disruptive” candi‑
dates, such as Donald J. Trump and
Bernie Sanders. This is expected to
continue until June 7 when the
Primary season comes to a close.
However, while it is already too latefor Sanders to win Democratic nom‑
ination, the situation is so oppor‑
tune for Trump. The general elec‑
tion is shaping up to be between
Trump and Clinton. Moreover, since,
Clinton is a politician associated
with the current state of the coun‑
try, voters from both parties will
flock to Trump as the savior. Based
on the exit interviews conducted at
the May 10 West Virginia primary,
CBS finds that Trump will take away
as many as 43% of Bernie Sandersʼs
voters in November, and, thus, will
sail to victory and be the next
President of the USA.
Dr. A.D. Amar (Amar Dev Amar) is a business professor at Seton Hall
University, South Orange, NJ, and
president of Indian‑Americans for
Trump 2016 that he cofounded in
December 2015 after learning of
Trumpʼs agenda.
The way to Trump PresidencyTRUMP HAS ATTRACTED AMERICANS BECAUSE HIS AGENDA IS FOCUSED ON THE
ECONOMY AND IMMIGRATION—THE KEY SOURCES OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS.
EXCLUSIVE
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
Weighing in on Trumpʼs pluses and minuses
The author, Dr Amar, endorsing Donald Trump for President at NewJersey Conservative GOP conclave.
This time, more than any other election for White House, it is becoming
a political game not about a powerful candidate, but a
conundrum of brick bats and volley of words that has
marred clarity of the US public as to who to plumphundred percent for the countryʼs next President.
8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-3 May 14 May 20, 2016
12/32
New Delhi Christian Michel,
one of the middleman in the
AgustaWestland chopper deal,
has said in an interview to a
news channel that he "never
met Congress president Sonia
Gandhi and former prime min‑
ister Manmohan Singh" and
that neither the Congress nor
the present NDA government
"interfered in the deal".
In an interview to India Today
TV, Michel also said that Delhi‑
based lawyer Gautam Khaitan,
former board member of
Aeromatrix, was the brain
behind the scandal. He said that
the only person he had met
related to the Agusta deal was
former Indian Air Force chief
S.P. Tyagi.
The BJP stepped up its attack
against the Congress alleging
that the Italian court judgment
on AgustaWestland helicopter
graft case had mentioned
names of Congress president
Sonia Gandhi, Ahmad Patel, and
former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi,
among others.
Firms Finmeccanica,
AgustaWestland, IDS Infotech
Ltd (India) and Aeromatrix
India are the accused compa‑
nies booked by the CBI in the
First Information Report (FIR)
lodged in March 2013 in con‑
nection with the
AgustaWestland case.
The AgustaWestland case
refers to alleged bribery and
corruption involving several
senior officials and helicopter
manufacturer AgustaWestland
surrounding the purchase of a
new fleet of VVIP helicoptersby India.
Khaitan, former Aeromatrix
board member, and Tyagi were
questioned by CBI in recent
days.
"No, never. I have never met
Sonia Gandhi. Never met
Manmohan Singh or (former
defence minister) A.K. Antony.
Congress never interfered in
the Agusta deal. I avoid meet‑
ing leaders, my expertise is
implementation," Michel told
the TV news channel, which
tracked him down in Dubai.
"Modi government has never
interfered in the deal," he
added.
"Gautam Khaitan is certainly
the brain behind the scandal.
He was responsible for moving
the money. He knows every‑
thing," he said.
He said that to even imagine
leaders like former prime min‑
ister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and
Manmohan Singh involved in
the deal was "ridiculous".
"I think Indian leaders did
their job. But to say that a man
like Vajpayee, Dr Manmohan
Singh or A.K. Antony is involved
is ridiculous. No one would
believe that," added Michel.
On meeting former IAF chief
Tyagi, Michel said: "I probably
met S.P. Tyagi in Gymkhana
Club. I met Tyagi and others,
but I wasn't keen on them.
"I think Tyagi was used as a
tool for (another middlemen
Guido) Haschke to get inside
AgustaWestland. I don't think
he can play any major role. I
can't say there were no kick‑
backs," he added.
Asked about the allegations
made by BJP Rajya Sabha MP
Subramanian Swamy, Michel
said: "Subramanian Swamy hasbeen misled on Agusta
specifics. He has authenticated
(documents) what was given in
the CAG report.
New Delhi Dehradun: A day afterousted Chief Minister Harish
Rawat won the trust vote, theunion cabinet headed by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi revokedPresident's Rule in Uttarakhand topave the way for the Congress gov‑ernment's return in the state.
The cabinet decision came afterthe BJP‑led central governmenttold the Supreme Court that Rawatgot 33 votes while 28 legislatorsvoted against him in the Tuesdayfloor test supervised by the apexcourt.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgitold Justices Dipak Misra andShiva Kirti Singh that there was“no doubt” that Rawat had the leg‑
isl
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