India, again

Crimes against women, tolerated by a culture that is insensitive to the origins or causes of the crime.

Cannot be tolerated.

'Nobody helped us for an hour,' Indian rape witness says

 By Reuters

Passers-by left a gang-raped Indian student lying unclothed and bleeding in the street for almost an hour, a male friend who was assaulted with her said on Friday in his first public comments on the case that provoked a global outcry.

The 23-year-old student died in the hospital two weeks after she was attacked on Dec. 16 in a private bus in New Delhi, prompting street protests over the Indian authorities' failure to stem rampant violence against women.

The graphic account from the man in a television interview is likely to add fuel to public anger over the death in a country where official statistics show one rape is reported every 20 minutes.

The woman's friend told the Zee News television network he was beaten unconscious with a metal bar by her attackers before the pair were thrown off the bus.

They lay in the street for 45 minutes before a police van arrived and officers then spent a long time arguing about where to take them, the man said.

"We kept shouting at the police, 'please give us some clothes' but they were busy deciding which police station our case should be registered at," the man said in Hindi.

Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told Reuters GPS records show the first police van reached the scene four minutes after it was were called and took the man and the woman to hospital within 24 minutes.

Neither the woman nor her friend have been named. Five men were charged with her gang rape and murder on Thursday. A court is due to consider the charges on Saturday.

Twitter anger
The man's comments caused an renewed outpouring of anger on Twitter. "After reading and watching the Zee News interview i'm absolutely shocked and ashamed of being an Indian," said @BarunKiBilli.

The man called on the protests to continue, but said he wished people had come to his friend's help when she needed it.

"You have to help people on the road when they need help."

The male friend said he and the woman were attacked after an evening out watching a film.

"From where we boarded the bus, they (the attackers) moved around for nearly two and a half hours. We were shouting, trying to make people hear us. But they switched off the lights of the bus," he said, according to a transcript of the interview.

When they were thrown out, they pleaded with passers-by for help, he added in the studio interview, a blue metal crutch leaning on his chair.

"There were a few people who had gathered round but nobody helped. Before the police came I screamed for help but the auto rickshaws, cars and others passing by did not stop," the man added.

 ______________________________________

 We do not need to make up any stories about them.  We do not need to make allusions to problems ... the state itself is a problem and the people, if they deny it, are the problem.

India and the Rape of the Dalits

I will bet - without knowing, that the woman was a Dalit.

This, in a country where there is no caste system and all people are equal.  The rape and brutality perpetrated upon the dalit class is unquestionable.



Delhi Gang Rape: Youngest Attacker 'Ripped out Victim's Intestines with Bare Hands'


By Hannah Osborne



January 3, 2013 1:13 PM GMT


The youngest of the attackers was the most violent of all.A juvenile who is one of six suspects accused of gang raping and murdering a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi was the most violent of all the attackers, police say.

A police spokesman said that the juvenile sexually abused his victim twice and ripped out her intestines with his bare hands.

Because of his age, he is the only one of the six who cannot be sentenced to death if found guilty. He will be tried in a juvenile court.

Five adults have been charged with rape and murder and police say they plan to push for the death penalty.

However, the maximum sentence the juvenile can receive under existing law is three years.

According to the Hindustan Times, the charges against the juvenile show he also suggested throwing her from the moving bus naked.
A police officer told the newspaper: "Of all the persons in the bus, two had engaged in the most barbarism - Ram Singh, the main accused in the case, and the juvenile.

Threat to every woman

"Both of them had subjected her to sexual abuse twice. Singh was the first to rape her, followed by the juvenile and then Akshay. Later when she lost consciousness, Singh and the juvenile raped her a second time."

The attack took place on 16 December and the victim died from her injuries on 29 December.

Police are awaiting tests that will prove the juvenile is too young to be tried in an adult court. At present the only evidence proving he is 17 is his school leaving certificate.



The victim's father has said that despite his age, he should be given the death penalty if found guilty.



He told the Economic Times that it was the youngest member of the gang that persuaded his daughter to board the bus. "The juvenile should be punished first. He was the one who lured my daughter into the bus and tortured her most mercilessly. He should be hanged like the other five accused.



"Imagine his brutality when he is 17. What a demon he would become once he is older. The government should reduce the juvenile age to 12 or 15 years. All the six accused should never be allowed to step out of the jail. They must be hanged. They are a threat to every woman on the street."

India's Missile Test: China's Scorn

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sutirtho Patranobis, Hindustan Times
Beijing, April 20, 2012

Chinese media continues to belittle Agni test

A day after the launch of the Agni V missile, the government-controlled media, both Chinese and English continued to question the state of preparedness of India’s armed forces and the many problems plaguing them and poured scorn over the launch. Questions were raised about India’s ballistic missile programme regarding its effectiveness. While acknowledging the successful launch, the official television channel, CCTV, said India’s missile programme was riddled with problems.

India, it was pointed out, doesn’t possess a homemade high-precision guidance system for long range missiles to hit targets more than 5000 km away. New Delhi is dependent on foreign technology.
Further, at 50 tonnes, the weight of Agni V could pose a problem in transporting. An unnamed expert claimed that India does not possess the infrastructure, like roads, to quickly transport missiles.And any way, it would take a long time, maybe several years for India to operationalise the missies and induct them into the armed forces.
Chinese language newspapers didn’t lag behind in dismissing the launch. The BBC quoted an editorial in the state-run Chinese newspaper Huanqiu Shibao as saying that India's strategic strike force was in “early childhood” and commented on “the backwardness of Indian missiles”. It was “merely one of the concrete displays of its social and economic development as a whole lagging behind China.”
The BBC quoted another translated comment from the Communist Party newspaper Renmin Wang: Commentator Wu Xuelan wrote that India has always "cherished the dream of becoming a major power" but its social problems “are still very serious” and instead of wasting money on developing missiles, India “should do a better job in terms of [improving] the lives of ordinary people.”
On Friday, CCTV news programme from Washington, titled “missile launch causing stir around the world” said major Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai could be targeted by the Indian missile.
It raised a question whether New Delhi’s acquiring a nuclear-capable missile takes it any close to a seat the UN Security Council? The programme was quick to point out that that India has become the largest importer of arms and its expenditure would touch the 50 billion USD in a few years, (China’s defence budget crossed the 100 billion USD mark for the first time this year.)
Several controversies to hit the Indian armed forces were pointed out this year including the recent letter that army chief VK Singh wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Malik’s assertions that the armed forces were low on ammunition, the air force didn’t have enough fighter jets or training aircraft and equipment were dated.
The state-run China Daily, the most circulated English newspaper, splashed a photograph of the launch on page 1.
On Thursday, the Global Times newspaper published an editorial warning India not to be too adventurous.
The main mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, the People’s Daily, was yet to react to the launch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

india

Indian Love - What do you do when the family says no.

Man beheads girlfriend




B Vijay Murty, Hindustan Times
27/4/2011


It was a college romance with a horrific ending. On Wednesday, a student of St Xavier’s College, Ranchi, was beheaded by her boyfriend inside the campus in the heart of the city. Bijendra Kumar alias Golu, 23, an engineering diploma student of Jamshedpur, used a small dagger to severe the head of Kh usbu, 18, an intermediate student. He was nabbed by students and security guards.

Khusbu belonged to Tatilsilwai on the outskirts of Ranchi, but she visited her uncle’s house in Jamshedpur’s Sonari locality. “The duo apparently met in Jamshedpur and had an affair, which might have turned sour,” said city SP Sambhu Thakur.

Kumar’s family in Jamshedpur had no information about the crime. When HT contacted the family, his mother Yamini Devi said,

“He left the house around 8.30am for the institute and we haven’t heard from him yet.”

When briefed about the incident, Yamini broke down. She said, “We came to know about his affair with Khusbu two months ago when she ran away from her house and came to Jamshedpur to marry my son.” Khusbu’s uncle Rajendra Singh had then intervened and thrashed Kumar for inciting his minor niece to elope. Police said they were trying to find out the reasons behind the murder.

Eyewitnesses said Khusbu had come to college with her grandmother to take her exams. Kumar had followed her, and got into an altercation with her grandmother. “... He attacked her as soon as she came out of the exam hall,” said an eyewitness.

Kumar was thrashed before police took him and sent him to hospital. “We were in love for the last five years, but our parents did not allow us to unite, so we decided to die together. After killing her, I was about to kill myself when they caught me,” said Kumar.

“There cannot be anything more brutal than this,” said Nicholas Tete, principal of St Xavier’s College.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
India

India and Petending: A Fictional Present

Like a great deal else, some people have spoken far too soon (while they refuse to act on policy without waiting until events overtake events and little need will exist to comment) - India has not 'emerged' for it is still locked in a system that will never allow it to be more than a 3rd rate state with a population who thinks more of themselves than they do when they look in the mirror.

One commentator below explains that everything listed is an anomaly, some bad apples, just like anywhere, and things are getting better.

Yes, and Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

I only have one word for those who wish to pretend - DALIT.

One hundred and sixty million of them.




India's mood darkens as corruption undermines nation's self-confidence




By Simon Denyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 9, 2011; 10:39 PM





NEW DELHI - Just a few months ago, India was preening itself in the global spotlight. World leaders were queuing up to visit, and President Obama famously declared that the country was not simply emerging: It had "emerged."

Yet the elation the nation felt then was short-lived. With India's pride buffeted on a daily basis by tales of collusion between politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen and reports of billions of dollars lost to flagrant corruption, the mood among the nation's middle class is distinctly crestfallen.

India is experiencing what some people are calling "a reality check," or what business tycoon-turned-independent member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar sees as a "psychological crisis of confidence."

"In a sense, we had gotten caught up with the rhetoric and hype about our imminent superpower-dom," the 46-year-old former telecom entrepreneur said in an interview in his office in the heart of New Delhi. "People stopped looking at the system, which still needs a lot of work."

The fundamentals of the Indian success story have not changed: the tremendous power of the country's entrepreneurship unleashed by economic liberalization two decades ago, the rapid growth and spending power of its 300 million-strong middle class, the demographic dividend of its burgeoning young population. And although inflation has risen and foreign direct investment has fallen, India's economy, which emerged almost unscathed from the global financial crisis, is still expected to grow by 9 percent this year.

For years, that success had fed what many business leaders, economists and social commentators now acknowledge was a sense of complacency, a feeling that economic growth and the pursuit of wealth would solve the nation's problems and deliver a bright new future. Today, there is a realization that it is not enough for the government to get out of the way of the private sector and that it actually needs to govern, to deliver services instead of merely lining its pockets.

The idea that India was on an automatic path to becoming a developed capitalist economy was "delusional," said 36-year-old best-selling author Chetan Bhagat. "It doesn't just happen. It needs systemic changes, structural changes, cultural changes," he said. "And the biggest roadblock is corruption."

Icons of industry humbled

Doubts about a bright future for India started to set in during the run-up to last summer's Commonwealth Games, with stories of blatant corruption and stunning incompetence shaming the nation.

But when India's comptroller and auditor general reported in November, just a few days after Obama's visit, that mobile phone operators had been undercharged nearly $40 billion for allocations of 2G frequency bands in 2008, and leaked telephone conversations suggested the existence of an unsavory nexus among politicians, business and the media, the national mood really soured.

The billionaire leaders of industry had been the gods of the new India, people such as Anil Ambani, the head of mobile carrier Reliance Communications, who was voted MTV's youth icon in 2003, and the septuagenarian Ratan Tata, often seen as the embodiment of business with a social conscience.

In the past few months, those icons have been publicly humbled. In February, Ambani was hauled up to the Central Bureau of Investigation for questioning over the 2G scam, while Tata has been to court in an attempt to block release of the taped telephone conversations, which featured him, along with his lobbyist Nira Radia and other top industrialists, politicians and journalists.

" 'Have all my gods got feet of clay?' That is the question every Indian is asking," said marketing and branding guru Suhel Seth. "For the first time, you have a crestfallen India that doesn't have an inspirational icon to look up to."

A leadership vacuum

In a February survey of urban middle-class Indians by the Times of India newspaper, 83 percent said corruption was at an all-time high, two-thirds said the government was not serious about tackling it, and 96 percent said it had tainted the government's image.

"The mood of the nation is now downbeat," said Madhurima Bhatia of Synovate, which conducted the survey.

The crisis of confidence is sharpened, political analysts say, by a leadership vacuum, with the elderly figure of Manmohan Singh standing apparently helplessly at the helm of a government in denial about the scale of the problems.

Singh talks of the corruption scandals as "aberrations" and accuses the news media of sapping India's self-confidence and spoiling its image abroad. It is an argument that seems to only make many Indians angrier.

Singh himself has been forced to agree to appear before a parliamentary panel investigating the mobile spectrum scam. His telecom minister is in jail, and he acknowledged "an error of judgment" when the Supreme Court struck down his appointee to run the country's anti-corruption watchdog because he was facing charges of graft.

Indians see a turning point

Sulajja Firodia Motwani, managing director of the Kinetic Motor Co. and co-chair of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's Young Leaders Forum, said corruption had a "deeply corrosive impact" on young Indians, who were starting to feel it was limiting their opportunities to succeed.

"Young India wants to run ahead. We want to make a huge new superpower," she said. "On the one hand, there is much enthusiasm on the growth prospects. On the other hand, corruption in our country has reached such an unprecedented scale, it has become all-pervasive, and that certainly is a dampener for youth."

At the end of January, about 30,000 people, most from the traditionally apathetic ranks of the young and the middle class, marched in New Delhi against corruption, mobilized largely by a campaign on Facebook. There was no comparison to the protests that have convulsed the Middle East, and no one is expecting revolution in India. But there is a widespread feeling that the country is at an inflection point, that crisis can be turned into an opportunity, but that India needs to dramatically improve the quality of its governance if it is to fulfill its vast potential.

"Young India has said enough is enough," Motwani said. "We want a new India."


















india

Citi: Have now gone into the business of prophesy (with our tax dollars)

Keep in mind, Citibank is owned (was owned and is still,. although the percentage may be slightly more or less) by the American people (US government) as a result of monies loaned / given to Citi to BAIL THEM OUT of financial messes they were bright enough to climb in and then rolled around in the muck with the rest of the sounder.

From this entity, owned also in part by non-US interests, comes an oracle of insight into the future of world economics.  Going to a psychic may result in having to handle tarot cards, crystals, or otherwise staring at the woman and listening as she tells you your future.  Usually this future revealed to you includes insights ranging in time frame from the minute you walk out of the room to some far off point, 20-30 years into your future. 

The oracle of insight at Citi is prophesying events that will come to be in, oh, about 30 years.  And much like the psychic who takes your money and reveals your precise future, we must take this peddler of brilliance as seriously as we take that psychic.

There are simply too many holes in the below, to even begin explicating why this oracle of future events should change careers.  Someone should inquire as to whether he was involved in the collapse of Citi (what did it get down to $1-2 a share).





US Will Be the World's Third Largest Economy: Citi


25 Feb 2011
Patrick Allen
CNBC EMEA Head of News



The world is going to become richer and richer as developing economies play catch up over the coming years, according to Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup.

"We expect strong growth in the world economy until 2050, with average real GDP growth rates of 4.6 percent per annum until 2030 and 3.8 percent per annum between 2030 and 2050," Buiter wrote in a market research.

"As a result, world GDP should rise in real PPP-adjusted terms from $72 trillion in 2010 to $380 trillion dollars in 2050," he wrote.

As the world watches oil prices rise sharply amid unrest in the Middle East, Buiter's analysis of the world's long-term prospects offer some hope that better times are ahead but if he is right power will shift from the West to the East very quickly.

"China should overtake the US to become the largest economy in the world by 2020, then be overtaken by India by 2050," he predicted.

One Way Bet on Emerging Markets?

Growth will not be smooth, according to Buiter. "Expect booms and busts. Occasionally, there will be growth disasters, driven by poor policy, conflicts, or natural disasters. When it comes to that, don't believe that 'this time it's different'."

The Most Extreme Cases of Hyperinflation, Ever

However, there are some easy wins for poor countries with big, young populations, he said.

"Developing Asia and Africa will be the fastest growing regions, in our view, driven by population and income per capita growth, followed in terms of growth by the Middle East, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the CIS, and finally the advanced nations of today," he wrote.

"For poor countries with large young populations, growing fast should be easy: open up, create some form of market economy, invest in human and physical capital, don't be unlucky and don't blow it. Catch-up and convergence should do the rest," Buiter added.

Buiter has constructed a "3G index" to measure economic progress; 3G stands for "Global Growth Generators" and is a weighted average of six growth drivers that the Citigroup economists consider important:

Using that index the nations to watch over the coming years are Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

"They are our 3G countries," Buiter said.





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
economic

Interesting Survey Results: Making Whoopee in India

I wonder what the answers would show if Americans took the poll??



The link to the poll/questionnaire and results, taken by Indians.




Outlook-Moods Sex Survey 2011


Making Whoopee!

The fling thing: Casual sex is taboo no more. A young nation gets all frisky and experimental between the sheets

 
A survey on casual sex in a year that brought cheating partners to prime-time TV and promiscuous pin-up stars (and presidents) to front-page headlines? It hit the spot alright, with 52.3 per cent respondents of the Outlook-Moods Sex Survey 2011 giving one-night stands no more than a what’s-the-big-deal shrug. More than half of those quizzed no longer blame it on drinks and drugs (or Rio); and far from worry or guilt, the morning-after feeling, it turns out, is overwhelmingly of pleasure.


Maximum City scores the most points for being best suited for flings, followed not so closely by Delhi and Goa. And while parties remain the usual suspects, social networking sites have become a virtual pleasure trove of no-strings-attached liaisons. Thankfully, it’s not so casual where it counts: 58 per cent play it safe and protected and only 1.2 per cent appear blissfully careless. But before you announce romps the new national pastime, here are some more numbers for you to do the math with: over 80 per cent respondents claim to have never had paid sex, nearly 70 per cent have never had a one-night stand and half of them say they were stopped from straying by shaadi and parivaar. It happens only in India?


******************************


There are two or three thoughts I believe worth noting.  Most of the answers would be reproduced anywhere else if given.  A couple are worth noting.

1) a significant number (above 90%) would not have sex with someone who was not of their race/ethnicity/religion.

And I thought Americans were racist.  One of the most diverse polyglot societies on earth today and the world thinks WE are racist.  I suppose it helps them feel better about themselves if they are using the US as a model of racism.  They can pretend they aren't.

2) If you found out your partner or spouse was having sex with someone else, what would you do?

I would think a significant number of responders would mention counseling, talking, breaking up ... few would mention, at least publicly - killing the person.  Except in India where 16.5 % would KILL the other person. 


Open, tolerant and very forgiving.  Just the sort of people I'd like to turn over control to.  I suppose it would be fine as long as they don't find out their wives prefer Americans.














india




 

India: So far and yet so close

The idea that India is a model to be followed, a leader among nations, is simply foolhardy, mimiked by fools and idiots. 

India has far deeper problems than can be explained in a few sentences, but the following is one example of why India will never be a power to follow until they have solved this issue ...  but I suppose all cultures are the same, equal, and worthy.


The following is taken from a much longer article in The Guardian, January 22, 2011.



Shobha was the youngest of seven children and was dedicated aged eight. At 12, she was taken out of school and her first paying "partner" was her 35-year-old brother-in-law. "No one asked my consent, money talks. Girls like me grow up in living fear of reaching puberty." She was determined that her own daughter would escape the same fate. "The devadasi system isn't about religion. Its about economics. We're just traded like a commodity. I know the pains as a serving devadasi, how exploitative this practice is. We are the victims. What happened to me shouldn't happen in another's life. I want to stop this and I decided to fight."


Sometimes several generations from the same family are devadasi, like Lalitha, whose mother and grandmother were dedicated before her. Like Hanamavva, however, Lalitha is determined to stop the practice. "I was shocked to find out I have to practice this system because I have been dedicated. I was determined not to become devadasi. In my village there are 100 devadasi. About 20 are between 12 and 18. I try to persuade all my friends not to get into this evil practice but they are vulnerable. Both the parents and the community are pressuring them."

Devadasi remain common in the poorest towns and villages of provinces of the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 2006, the National Legal Service Authority in Bangalore launched an awareness programme for police and judges, and said there were 250,000 "devadasi" girls who had been dedicated to Yellamma and Khandoba temples. But the remoteness of many of the villages, and the continuing rise in demand from organised traffickers who pay well for young girls to fill the brothels of India's vast cities, is thwarting efforts to combat the system.

"The social customs combined with economic pressures have pushed girls into the system. The fact that not one of them is married and most of them have children not only leaves them in a traumatised condition but renders their children stigmatised forever," said an authority spokesman.



and from another Guardian article -



Now 26 and diagnosed with Aids, she has returned to her village, Mudhol in southern India, weak and unable to work. "We are a cursed community. Men use us and throw us away," she says. Applying talcum powder to her daughter's face and tying ribbons to her hair, she says: "I am going to die soon and then who will look after her?" The daughter of a devadasi, Parvatamma plans to dedicate her own daughter to Yellamma, a practice that is now outlawed in India.


[...]

Roopa, now 16, has come to buy bangles at the festival. She was dedicated to the goddess seven years ago and was told that Yellamma would protect her. Her virginity was auctioned in the village, and since then she has supported her family by working as a prostitute out of her home in a village close to Saundatti.


"The first time it was hard," she admits. In fact, her vagina was slashed with a razor blade by the man she was supposed to sleep with the first time. Her future, like that of other devadasis, is uncertain. Once they are around 45, at which point they are no longer considered attractive, devadasis try to eke out a living by becoming jogathis or begging near the temple.

[...]

BL Patil, the founder of Vimochana, an organisation working towards the eradication of the devadasi system, says that although the dedication ceremonies are banned, the practice is still prevalent, as families and priests conduct them in secret. The National Commission for Women estimate that there are 48,358 Devadasis currently in India.


"For certain SC communities [Scheduled Caste – a government classification of lower castes] this has become a way of life, sanctioned by tradition," he says. The priests conduct the ceremonies in their own houses because "it is profitable for them".



All cultures are equal, all are the same, all are worthy.

















 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
india

Of Pharaohs and Emperors: Obama trip to India

Bomb-proof tunnel with air conditioning: Obama's security go to extraordinary measures for his tour of the Gandhi museum



By Daily Mail Reporter
6th November 2010



President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle arrived in India's commercial hub of Mumbai on Saturday, days after voters punished his Democrats in mid-term elections.

Probably not since the days of the Pharaohs or the more ludicrous Roman Emperors has a head of state travelled in such pomp and expensive grandeur as the President of the United States of America.

While lesser mortals – the Pope, Queen Elizabeth and so on – are usually happy to let their hosts handle most of the security and transport arrangements when they venture beyond their home shores, the United States creates a mini-America on the move to ensure that nothing is left to chance.

Obama arrives in India at the start of a ten-day tour of Asia. At the heart of the White House caravan is ‘The Beast’, a gigantic, ‘pimped-up’ General Motors Cadillac which security experts say is, short of an actual battle tank, probably the safest road vehicle on the planet.

But an outlandish car is only the start. Mr Obama will fly, of course, on Air Force One, the presidential private jumbo jet, which, boasting double beds and suites, is fitted out more like a luxury yacht. Some reports suggest it costs around $50,000 (£31,000) an hour to operate.

Of course threats can come from any direction, so a squadron of U.S. naval ships will patrol offshore. Some reports have claimed that 34 ships, including two aircraft carriers, will be involved (not far off the size of the Royal Navy’s entire Surface Fleet) but the White House has denied this.

On land, as well as The Beast, Mr Obama’s entourage will travel in a fleet of 45 U.S.-built armoured limousines, half of which will be decoys. He will also travel with 30 elite sniffer dogs, mostly German Shepherds.

The White House has, according to some reports, booked the entire Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, the city’s most luxurious. It is not uncommon for the grander heads of state to reserve a floor or two, but a whole hotel is unprecedented. This hotel was the main target of the 2008 attacks by Pakistani militants which left 166 dead.

As to the cost of all this, the White House will not reveal details – which has allowed Mr Obama’s political foes to bandy about sums including a widely-quoted $200million (£123million) a day. Whatever the figure, it makes the costs associated with the Royal Train and the late Royal Yacht Britannia seem like small change.

It is also reported that a bomb-proof tunnel will be erected for Mr Obama ahead of his visit to Mani Bhavan - the Gandhi museum - on Saturday.

According to Daily News & Analysis, U.S. secret service agents visited the museum on Monday to plan Mr Obama's security during his tour.

They were accompanied by Mumbai Police officers and civic officials of the D ward where Mani Bhavan is located.

While they were inspecting the route and the buildings lining the path to the museum, U.S. security officers noticed a nearby skyscraper in the highly populated area that could pose a threat.

To the amazement of the Indians accompanying the U.S. agents, it was apparently decided to erect a bomb-proof over-ground tunnel, which will be installed by U.S. military engineers in just an hour.

The kilometre-long tunnel will measure 12ft by 12ft and will have air-conditioning, close-circuit television cameras, and will be heavily guarded at every point.

It's being built so it is large enough for Mr Obama's cavalcade to pass through and will be manned at its entry and exit points.

The material that the tunnel would be made of has not been released but officials said that the structure would be dismantled immediately after Mr Obama and his party leaves the area.

Meanwhile the furore over reports that his Asia trip is going to cost taxpayers $200million a day has been dismissed by the Obama administration who called the figure 'wildly inflated'.

Last week an Indian government source told the NDTV channel: 'The huge amount of around $200million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit.'

The claim was immediately seized upon by talk show hosts and rights wing politicians who relished the opportunity to rub salt into Mr Obama's wounds saying the trip was a waste of government funds during the country's recession.

But the White House have refused to reveal the true cost of the three-day trip to Mumbai and Delhi.

'The numbers reported in this article have no basis in reality', White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

He added: 'Due to security concerns, we are unable to outline details associated with security procedures and costs, but it's safe to say these numbers are wildly inflated'.

The White House have said these claims are exaggerated but with any presidential trip, Mr Obama travels with a large number of staff and security detail includes his own aircraft and fleet of secure vehicles.

There will also be tens of thousands of Indian police and members of the military protecting the US delegation.

Secret Service agents travelled to India last week to address security concerns at locations the president is likely to visit.

Mr Obama will visit India, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and China as part of a 10-day state tour of Asia.

The trip has sparked some criticism in the U.S., which is battling high unemployment and stagnant economic growth.

Mr Obama will spend three days in India, and will also visit New Delhi.

The White House will be hoping to secure more than $10 billion in new business for American firms in what is the biggest trade mission in US history.

Mr Obama is bringing 250 U.S. executives including GE chief Jeffrey Immelt and Honeywell's David Cote, which the U.S. India Business Council says is the largest such delegation to ever accompany a president on a foreign visit.

The presidents of six universities, including Georgetown and Duke, are also set to come.

Last fiscal year, India's $11 billion worth of investments in the U.S. matched U.S. investments in India for the first time ever, according to the U.S. India Business Council.

A man walks with a camel past a sand sculpture depicting President Barack Obama ahead of Obama's arrival to the country, in Puri

Bilateral trade, on track to hit $50 billion this fiscal year ending March, has more than doubled since 2004.

But sentiment has frayed since the two countries signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 2008.

Then-President George W. Bush pushed through that deal, which allowed nuclear trade with India despite its weapons programme and seemed to herald a new era of cross-continental commerce.

It hasn't been that simple.

The job creating power of India's big, fast-growing market is hampered by its restrictions on foreign access to key sectors like retail, finance, education and insurance.

Multinationals are wary of the shape-shifting rules that seem to govern things like taxes and environmental permits in India.

And the large defence contracts that headline the wish list of deals for Obama's visit come burdened with offsets and foreign investment caps.

The Americans who accepted outsourcing of IT and back office functions in boom times as a way to free up capital for job creation at home seem less certain of the strategy's benefits during a bust.

With U.S. unemployment at 9.6 pe rcent, India's putative role as a driver of job insecurity has leaked into campaign rhetoric - Barbara Boxer's attacks on Carly Fiorina for sending Hewlett-Packard jobs to India and China helped her win the California Senate race - and popular culture alike.

NBC's new sitcom, 'Outsourced', tells the story of a Kansas City company that sends most of its jobs to India.

Indian companies keep insisting, quietly, that they're not really the problem: If you don't like jobs getting sent overseas, better to direct your anger at major U.S. corporations whose race for low cost competitiveness drives India's $50 billion software services sector.

'We strongly believe the global delivery model is beneficial to customers,' said Infosys chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan.

'It increases their competitiveness. It reduces costs. It gives them access to a scalable high quality talent pool and to emerging markets. That's why it's growing.'

The U.S. Congress seemed to disagree, hiking visa fees for Indian outsourcing companies by about $2000 per worker in August, provoking howls of discontent here.

'It's tens of millions of dollars,' said Tata Consultancy Services chief executive N. Chandrasekaran.

The law pinches Indian outsourcers where it hurts, at the heart of the industry's hopes for future growth in its most important global market.

The companies have been trying to diversify into health care and government work and move up the delivery chain to higher value areas like consulting. All require workers, with visas or U.S. passports, in the United States.

Many here fear the backlash will get worse by the 2012 elections, barring a turnaround in the U.S. labour market.

Indian outsourcers - and their clients in corporate America - are happy to move jobs to the U.S. as long as it doesn't disrupt their low-cost business model.

That translates into very few jobs.

Lobby group Nasscom says India's software services exporters have created 35,000 high-paying U.S. jobs in the last five years.

Industry leader Tata Consultancy Services is looking to hire 1,000 Americans this fiscal year. Less than one per cent of its global work force are American, according to company data.

Infosys is also looking to hire 1,000 Americans. Its 1,600 permanent U.S. employees - not counting an additional 600 or so who work for two U.S. subsidiaries - make up 1.3 per cent of the company's global work force.

'We can't replace all the people from here with people from the United States and have the same value proposition,' said Chandrasekaran.

From the U.S. side, perhaps most disillusioning is a law passed by India's parliament that extends liability to the suppliers of nuclear plants, making it difficult for private companies to compete against their state owned French and Russian peers in India's multibillion dollar nuclear reactor build-out.

A sweeper cleans the premises of Mughal emperor Humayun's tomb in New Delhi. President Barack Obama is expected to visit the tomb during his tour of India

'There has been a reality check,'said Stephen Cohen, a South Asia security expert at the Brookings Institution.

Backers of the civil nuclear deal in Washington, he said, 'made believe India was a true ally and would never let us down'.

U.S. India Business Council president Ron Somers said India's signing last week of an International Atomic Energy Agency convention on liability is a step forward and will require Indian laws to conform to international norms, which do not make private companies liable unless there is malfeasance.

Even India's purchase of 10 Boeing C-17 transport aircraft, expected to be finalised during Obama's visit, will probably be worth less than the anticipated $5.8 billion because of fewer add-ons, said Guy Anderson, lead analyst at Jane's Defence Industry.

India is second only to China in ramping up military procurement, making it an attractive market for U.S. defense companies.

But the bureaucracy is so inefficient the government doesn't manage to spend the money earmarked for military procurement each year, and Russia still dominates sales in a country where some, especially in the older generation, continue to regard U.S. intentions with skepticism.

Somers says naysayers are too impatient and points out that from 2007 to 2009, the U.S. sold India $4.3 billion worth of defense equipment - a huge jump from the $342 million sold from 2001 to 2006.

'We've come a long way,' he said.













india

India: Not All Cultures are Worth Keeping

Curse of the Gujjar marriage

Oct 21, 2010, 12.01am IST
The Times of India


DHARWAD: In the marriage mandis of North Karnataka and Uttara Kannada, agents rule the roost, striking bargains with parents and selling innocence for hard cash. Here, women are a commodity and their price is fixed, depending on age and beauty.



It is called a Gujjar marriage, and is the first link to the booming trafficking racket in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The victims are impoverished lower caste women, for who the marriage becomes the path to a brothel in Mumbai or North India.



Police say they are aware of this problem, but are unable to act because they receive no complaints and no complainants have come forward so far. Only human rights and NGO activists alert people to the issue.



Widely known as `Gujjar marriages' (also `Gurjara maduve' -- the word Gujjar here is not intended to refer to any community, but a practice, tradition and style of marriage) across North Karnataka and Uttara Kannada districts, impoverished girls, deserted women, widows and single women from lower castes are sold under the guise of marriage.



SHEETAL RETURNS HOME



Sheethal (name changed), 31, has just returned from Mumbai to her home in Bedasgaun in Mundgod in Karwar district. Belonging to a scheduled caste, she was sold to a 40-year-old man in Maharashtra in June 2009, she returned home two weeks ago after her husband deserted her.



Isabella S Xavier, founder member of Sadhana, women and children welfare society and District Human Rights Centre, Dharwad, said: " Gujjar marriage is just a `one-night' ceremony. The men, who hail from Gujarat or Rajasthan or UP, pay a certain amount to the girl's parents and get married overnight. The men bear all the expenses, including buying jewels for the bride. The next day, they take the girl away."



Pankaja K Kalmath, executive director and founder trustee of KIDS (Karnataka Integrated Development) Dharwad added: "In Gujjar marriages, only the bride's parents are present and none of the bride's relatives are invited. After that, no one is aware as to what happens to them."



Recalling her traumatic experience, Sheethal said: "I was cheated by a man in my village when I was 27 years old. I was three months pregnant. He promised to marry me only if I aborted the child. My family members took money from him and got my child aborted. He refused to marry me and absconded."



Promising to get her married off, her mother took her to Maharashtra. "In June 2009, my mother and an agent from Malagi village in Mundgod took me to Maharashtra. I don't know the name of the place, but I do remember that it was beyond Mumbai. I was married off without any expenses. My in-laws managed everything and gave a lot of jewels, which they claimed to be gold. Later, I was taken to a house where their mannerisms were taught for a month. There was a girl from Karnataka who taught me how to behave and work. My husband owns a provision store in Nasik," she said.



She added that the jewels she was given were all fake gold. "They lied to me saying the jewels were gold and silver," she said. However, she refused to reveal the name of her husband.



INJECTIONS AND ILL-HEALTH



Sheethal recounted that her husband used to give her a lot of tablets and injections. "They made me feel giddy and my health deteriorated slowly. I was unable to recover because of which my husband left me in his friend's house in another village. He said he would take me home after I recover. But he never returned. Even after making several calls, he refused to take me back, stating that I was very weak. I couldn't stay in his friend's house. Later, I went to Mumbai," she said.



Unaware that she was sold to him, she said: "I have seen many girls from my village who were married off like me. Their families were paid huge amounts, with which they bought lorries, and a few also built houses. I wanted to know how much my mother was paid. I kept asking her but she refused to tell me."



Deserted by her husband, she took shelter in Mumbai. "In Mumbai, there are many girls from my village who are deserted by their husbands. With their help, I started working in a shop. I make woollen hair bands and stay in the shop owner's house. He takes good care of me. I do all the household work and then work outside. I get Rs 2,000 per month. But my health condition worsened and my owner sent me home for a month," she said.



Her return to the village has only alerted the agents around. "One agent from a neighbouring village is constantly pestering me to get married. He said he would arrange another wedding if I give my consent. My family members want me to move out of the house as fast as possible fearing societal pressure. But I am not ready for another marriage," she said.



However, she believes that some day her husband will take her home. "I will once again try to call my husband and convince him to take me home. Otherwise, I have to find a job," she rues.



There are also women who refuse to go back to their husbands. Chandrakala (name changed) came to her village in Kyasankere in Mundgod for delivery. "She refused to go back home fearing physical harassment. She was married off four years ago at the age of 16 to a person in Pune. We don't know how much her parents were paid. But when she came for delivery, she complained that she was harassed every day. It has been one-and-half years since she came to the village," Renuka F Bhovi of Kyasankere village said.



Why are they termed `Gujjar marriages'?



Explaining the genesis of the name, Pankaja said many men come from Gujarat. "People started calling it `Gujjar marriages'. Though women are sold to men from Maharashtra and Rajasthan, this practice is known as Gujjar marriage," she said.















 
 
 
 
india

The Indians Can Do It (must be a Dell)

I am amazed.  I will expect the unit to sell very well in the US and Europe.  It is staggering how far ahead the rest of the world is in terms of producing items without the huge overhead and exposing just how grossly inflated the costs are.

NOT.

In a country where 30 million people are treated worse than dirt, a country with a Constitution that bans discrimination based upon class yet 10% of the population are routinely ignored and or physically injured, often with the police supporting or encouraging the behavior, in a country where medical care for birth consists of rolling 1000 women into a massive room at approximately the same moment, giving birth, handing them the baby and their discharge papers, and wheeling them all out for the next group to be rolled in, in a country where you pay the Sudras a penny a day for 8-10 hours of work, I could produce the space shuttle for $10,000.  On the other hand - slavery, human bondage, unfair employment practices, greed, and intolerable working conditions, along with sweat shops - all come to mind.   I could make a car for $100.

Anyone who jumps at this chance, who heralds this achievement as a stunning breakthrough for the Indians, is insensitive, at the very least.




India develops world's cheapest "laptop" at $35


July 16, 2010

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has come up with the world's cheapest "laptop," a touch-screen computing device that costs $35.

India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal this week unveiled the low-cost computing device that is designed for students, saying his department had started talks with global manufacturers to start mass production.

"We have reached a (developmental) stage that today, the motherboard, its chip, the processing, connectivity, all of them cumulatively cost around $35, including memory, display, everything," he told a news conference.

He said the touchscreen gadget was packed with Internet browsers, PDF reader and video conferencing facilities but its hardware was created with sufficient flexibility to incorporate new components according to user requirement.

Sibal said the Linux based computing device was expected to be introduced to higher education institutions from 2011 but the aim was to drop the price further to $20 and ultimately to $10.

The device was developed by research teams at India's premier technological institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science.

India spends about three percent of its annual budget on school education and has improved its literacy rates to over 64 percent of its 1.2 billion population but studies have shown many students can barely read or write and most state-run schools have inadequate facilities.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
India

Iran, India, Pakistan, Venezuela ... and all we have is Obama

Who is next? My guess, Pakistan will push for the same destructive power. Obama will sigh.

Iran will upgrade and has missiles that can reach into Europe, Venezuela will seek to have nuclear weapons, Brazil will begin the process, Saudi Arabia will inform the world it is looking to the generations to follow and will begin energy independence from oil, by building 2 light-water nuclear reactors.

The world is a much smaller place and more deadly than ever before, and the least experienced president sits in the White House with a staff of amateurs.






India raises nuclear stakes

By James Lamont in New Delhi and James Blitz in London
September 27 2009
Financial Times


India can now build nuclear weapons with the same destructive power as those in the arsenals of the world’s major nuclear powers, according to New Delhi’s senior atomic officials.

They said India had built weapons with yields of up to 200 kilotons, which would be considered a “proper strategic deterrent” by the global community. A nuclear weapon above 50 kilotons is considered high yield. India’s enhanced capability gives it a considerable edge over Pakistan, its nuclear-armed arch-rival.

India’s declaration came as Iran launched war games on Sunday, testing short-range missiles, just days after announcing it had been building a second uranium enrichment plant. Western governments seized upon this as further evidence that Tehran was in breach of UN obligations.

India’s move follows heated domestic debate about whether its last nuclear tests in 1998 were successful. K Santhanam, a senior scientist at the Defence Research and Development Organisation, had disputed the thermonuclear test at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan, claiming the yield was lower than had been expected.

The debate has fuelled speculation that India might be getting ready for another nuclear test, a proposition that some in the international security community consider seriously.

A test would also raise tensions with Pakistan and jeopardise a newly signed civilian nuclear deal between New Delhi and Washington.

India, which has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, started developing its nuclear arsenal in 1974. New Delhi is estimated to have manufactured weapons-grade plutonium for at least 100 warheads. Senior Indian officials have insisted that the 1998 tests were successful and deny the need for anything more than computer simulations to gauge the yield of nuclear weapons.

“The May 1998 tests were fully successful in terms of achieving their scientific objectives and the capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons,” said R Chidambaram, the government’s principal scientific adviser and former chief of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Military experts expressed scepticism about whether such a powerful weapon could be successfully deployed without greater testing.

Pakistani analysts, meanwhile, were sanguine in the face of Indian claims. “The bottom line is that Pakistan benefits from the knowledge that it has enough nuclear assets to ward off the threat of a nuclear attack,” said Shahid ur Rehman, author of a book on the lead-up to Pakistan’s own nuclear test in 1998.

Barack Obama, the US president, appealed at the UN General Assembly for more countries to embrace the NPT. He has proposed that countries, such as India, join as non-nuclear weapons states. India vigorously rejected his proposal in a letter to the president of the UN Security Council.

Additional reporting by Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad










India

India: Terrorists Hunting for Jews during New Year

The end of the holy month of Ramadan and the Feast of Eid. What we did not see this year or for that matter during any holy month, was Christian extremists hunting down Muslims during their holy month and targeting them for death.




Israeli, Western tourists in India under terrorist threat

September 18, 2009, 4:11 PM (GMT+02:00)

The counter-terror center in Jerusalem has warned Israelis travelling in India to attend the Jewish New Year events this weekend only at sites which are competently secured. Terrorist groups are reported seeking out sites popular with Western tourists, including Jewish centers in all parts of India. The Pakistani group which attacked hotels and the Habad center in Mumbai last November is cited.

Indian officials report they are liaising with Israel over the threats and have tightened security for tourists in the past year.

A special warning went out to Habad centers, which play host to Israeli and Jewish tourists, especially on festivals, and this year hired an Israeli security firm for extra protection.










islam

Those Crazy Indians

In a country of over 1 billion, 160 million people, somewhere around or approximate to 300 million are classified as Dalits. According to their Constitution of 1950, it is against the law to discriminate against Dalits - BUT in India, laws only pertain to those who are a) poor, b) not powerful, c) not educated, d) unable to avoid being caught (which requires money, education, and connections).

It is common in India for this discrimination against 300 million to occur. Every human rights agency or similar organization on earth records thousands of cases each year - violence, rape, beatings, burnings, humiliation (imagine raping someone and having them parade through the street naked while everyone in the town watches and laughs - including the police).

When confronted publicly, they will refer you to the Constitution of 1950 and explain that the cases are rare and when the police are told, they become involved. This would sound good, except in many cases, it is the police who are further humiliating the dalit. The person (from the dalit class) is abused, attacked, burned, raped, beaten - they go to the police who in turn will often humiliate them further, ignore them, or rape them again. The stories are legion - and it is not simply one or two stories .... I have personally read over thirty such stories, several dealing in scores of examples and this is all in the last few months. I have not trolled Indian newspapers daily, or human rights agencies for the details - my stumbling upon the stories is random, not purposeful. If I trolled the local newspapers of India carefully I am quite sure we could find scores of examples each day.


When we have a court case and trial where the defendant is wealthy or powerful, we tend to watch more carefully for their ability to circumvent the law. When they escape what 'we' believe is a fair judgment we react publicly. We do not condone classes in the United States and permit those from 'better' classes the privilege of escaping justice, or the routine scrutiny of investigations. Does it happen in the United States - probably, but it is not endemic to the judicial system whereby anyone from the higher classes escapes justice simply by virtue of their being a 'better' person.

In India - escaping justice or scrutiny is reserved for VIPs - associated with class or power.

As for punishing Americans in a tit-for-tat, go ahead. Remember that it is American visitors who bring the money to India - not the Europeans. You want to discourage Americans traveling to India? You have bigger worries. The Mumbai killers didn't get into the city without help from within the country and within the city. Concentrate on issues that are crucial to your country, and the safety of millions - perhaps even, work on the 300 million who are discriminated against.





Actor's US 'detention' prompts outrage in India

By NIRMALA GEORGE
Associated Press Writer
Sun Aug 16, 2009

NEW DELHI – Angry fans burned a U.S. flag in protest Sunday, a Cabinet minister suggested searching visiting Americans and an actress tweeted her outrage after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he was detained for questioning at a U.S. airport.

Though U.S. immigration officials denied he was formally held, fellow Indian film stars and political leaders condemned what they called "humiliating" treatment given to Khan, a Muslim who is well-loved in a largely Hindu country. One Cabinet minister suggested a "tit-for-tat" policy toward Americans traveling to India.

Angry fans in the northern city of Allahabad shouted anti-U.S. slogans and burned an American flag.

Khan said he was detained Friday by U.S. immigration officials at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey because his name came up on a computer alert list.

The actor is in the U.S. to promote a new film, "My Name is Khan," which is about racial profiling of Muslims after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The story was front-page news in India, where the ability to avoid being frisked at airports is seen as a status symbol. Politicians, sports celebrities and film stars often claim VIP status to avoid security checks.

"My name is Khan? Too bad. SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) feels the heat of American paranoia," said The Times of India, quoting Khan as saying he felt "angry and humiliated."

Khan later downplayed the incident. "I think it's a procedure that needs to be followed, but an unfortunate procedure," he told reporters Saturday in suburban Chicago.

U.S. customs officials told The Associated Press that Khan was questioned as part of a routine process that took 66 minutes. Spokesman Elmer Camacho said Khan was not detained, "but it took a little longer because his bag was lost by the airline."

"Shocking, disturbing n downright disgraceful. It's such behavior that fuels hatred and racism. SRK's a world figure for God's sake. Get real!" actress Priyanka Chopra said on her Twitter feed.

The federal information minister, Ambika Soni, angrily suggested that India adopt a similar policy toward Americans traveling to India.

In the Indian capital, New Delhi, a small group of photo-waving fans shouted slogans in support of Khan.

The U.S. ambassador, Timothy J. Roemer, on Saturday said the U.S. Embassy was trying to "ascertain the facts of the case — to understand what took place."

Khan, 44, has acted in more than 70 films, and has consistently topped popularity rankings in India for the past several years.


*************************************

Now he doesn't want to step foot on US soil again.

I say - fine.

After his 'ordeal' at the hands of immigration officials at the Newark airport, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has said he does not feel like stepping on American soil anymore but ruled out seeking an apology for the incident which was denied by US officials.












India

Hillary and Barack - India, Global Warming and Smoking.

As I have pointed out long ago - Hillary made a deal with Barack during the primary campaign - give up running and get a sure seat at the State Department.

Hillary thought back to how her husband used his Secretary of State - whether Warren Christopher or Madeline Dimbulb. She pondered Reagan and his various Secretary's of State, or George W. Bush and his two Secretary's of State. All these SoS had power and authority - they were the voice of the US abroad. They were an integral part of every foreign endeavor.

Then came Barack.

He redefined the office of SoS - the power moved, from State Dept to the White House where all power was held by his closest aides - most of whom do not like Hillary.

So what is her job?

Barack's job - to keep her from running against him in 2012.

To that end, he gives her things to do every so often.

He sends her off and about occasionally, and just this past week, she was off to India. She was there for a few reasons - the most public of which was to hammer out a deal on Climate Change.(which used to be called Global Warming until we realized much of the world is getting colder)

"As dozens of cameras recorded the scene, Ramesh [India's Minister for Polluting] declared that India would not commit to a deal that would require it to meet targets to reduce emissions. " he further added that "India's position, let me be clear, is that we are simply not in the position to take legally binding emissions targets."

Why?

To enable India's economic growth.


Curious isn't it. Why should the US sacrifice our economic growth, our economic wealth, our 1st world position ... why should we enact such onerous burdens that our economy will fall behind that of India or China. Why.

None of that is as funny as the next part -

The funny part was - she was visiting a GREEN building while in india. So what building did she visit?

"... the "green" building -- the brick-and-sandstone headquarters of the hotel division of Indian tobacco giant ITC Ltd. "

Brilliant. It couldn't have been planned any better.

The corporate giant for SMOKING INC. India has a lot of smokers. Maybe more than in all of Canada and the US and Mexico. Imagien - all those smokers and all that smoke ... hilarious.




Hillary did not accomplish much as the Minister for Polluting jabbed at Hillary a few times:

Ramesh replied that India's position on per capita emissions is "not a debating strategy" because it is enshrined in international agreements. "We look upon you suspiciously because you have not fulfilled what [developed countries] pledged to fulfill," he jabbed, calling it a "crisis of credibility."




To read the full article:


Clinton, Indian Minister Clash Over Emissions Reduction Pact
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 20, 2009










Hillary and Obama

Canada says NON

CANADA SNUBS G8 EMISSIONSTARGET

July 10, 2009
National Post


SUMMIT SETS 80% 70% reduction by 2050 ‘realistic,’ Prentice says

L’AQUILA, ITALY • The Canadian government refused yesterday to adjust its plan to combat global warming even though its objectives fall short of the new commitment from the G8 group of industrialized countries to slash greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

That made Canada one of the targets for criticism after U.S. President Barack Obama failed yesterday to obtain clear commitments from emerging industrial powerhouses such as China and India to commit to specific targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Critics, from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to environmental lobby groups, said developed countries didn’t show adequate leadership at the G8 summit here.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, said Canada is doing all it can in advance of the UN-sponsored negotiations in Copenhagen in December aimed at a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 treaty that will expire in 2012.

Canada joined its partners in the G8 group of industrialized countries — the United States, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy — in supporting an overall 80% cut in emissions by 2050.

But Mr. Prentice said the Canadian government won’t budge from its vow to reduce emissions by 60% to 70% by 2050.

“This is a realistic target [given] the climate we have, the industrial base we have, our population growth,” Mr. Prentice told reporters.

Mr. Harper said Canada’s reduction plan is in line with the Obama administration’s.

“If we had regulations that are not similar to the United States, we will simply have a loss of business and production to the United States.”

Russia also said it wouldn’t abide by the G8 pledge.

A coalition of Canadian environmental groups said the Harper government’s targets fall far short of its global responsibility as one of the world’s wealthiest nations.

“Canada’s current 2020 target, which is equivalent to just 3% below 1990 levels, falls far short of the emission cuts needed to avoid dangerous climate change,” Climate Action Network Canada said in a statement.

Mr. Obama led a meeting of 16 major greenhouse-gas emitting countries plus representatives of the European Union yesterday in a bid to get a broader commitment in support of overall global reductions of 50% by 2050.

The group, called the Major Economies Forum, agreed with the G8 that an average global temperature increase of two degrees Celsius above preindustrial age levels would be catastrophic. The planet is now 0.8 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

However, they failed to accept specific targets due to foot-dragging from India and China, countries that have complained that their richer counterparts haven’t set sufficiently aggressive medium term targets for 2020. This is a distraction from the real reasons.

The developing world also wants a multibillion-dollar support package to help their economies adjust.

The UN’s Mr. Ban issued a statement yesterday saying he’s disappointed with the results this week and is, therefore, calling for a global summit in September to try to build momentum heading into the critical Copenhagen talks in December.

“The time for delays and half-measures is over,” he said.

He said political leadership is needed “to protect people and the planet from one of the most serious challenges ever to confront humanity.”

Brazil also questioned the G8’s leadership, saying the 2050 target was “not credible” unless it was accompanied by targets for 2020 — the year when the UN says emissions must peak and start to move downward.

************************************

It is important to note who is and is not in line - CANADA not in line. BRAZIL not in line. CHINA not in line. INDIA not in line.

There are others and it is more important to figure out who is not than worry about the US taking the lead.

We will destroy our economy to try to get in line with countries who will be sidelined by india and China and ultimately weakened as a result.

The evidence is clear. The future is clear.

Following this path will destroy the United States as a world superpower and allow India and China and others to pass us.

This WILL NOT help the world.











global warming

Gay India: A Sign of Progress

On Thursday, the new Delhi High Court ruled that sex between members of the same sex was a violation of the rights of the individuals.

Some will herald this as a step into the 21st century. Some will pat themselves on the back and say how much work has been done.

I would rather look at this as a case of Western values making their way into Indian culture. Set aside the fact gays are everywhere - not the issue. The issue is the question of whether a person has some right to a sexual behavior and until recently it was predominantly a Western value that suggested in the affirmative.

It may well be for the best, but that is also not the point.

The point is - it appears to many in India that the West is imposing its values via the courts and law, upon the people. Destroying their traditions and values in the name of sex.

This decision did more to destroy relations between the US and India than had the US Ambassador spit on their prime minister.





Court decriminalizes gay sex in Indian capital

Jul 2, 2009
By MUNEEZA NAQVI
Associated Press Writer

NEW DELHI (AP) - New Delhi's gay community celebrated a landmark court ruling Thursday that decriminalizes homosexuality—a decision that could end widespread police harassment and be a harbinger for gradual acceptance for homosexuals across this deeply conservative country.

The Delhi High Court ruled that treating consensual gay sex between adults as a crime is a violation of fundamental rights protected by India's constitution. The ruling, the first of its kind in India, is not binding outside New Delhi.

Hours after the ruling was issued dozens of members of New Delhi's gay community—some with rainbows painted on their faces and others holding signs that read "Queer and loving it"—gathered in the heart of the capital to celebrate.

"I'm so excited and I haven't been able to process the news yet," said Anjali Gopalan, the executive director of the Naz Foundation (India) Trust, the sexual health organization that filed the petition with the court.

"We've finally entered the 21st century."

But some religious leaders quickly criticized the ruling. "This Western culture cannot be permitted in our country," said Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, a leading Muslim cleric in the northern city of Lucknow.

Sex between people of the same gender has been illegal in India since a British colonial era law was issued in the 1860s classifying it as "against the order of nature." According to the law, gay sex is punishable by 10 years in prison.

While actual criminal prosecutions are few, the law frequently has been used to harass people. The court's verdict should protect New Delhi's gay community from criminal charges and police harassment.

"This legal remnant of British colonialism has been used to deprive people of their basic rights for too long," Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "This long-awaited decision testifies to the reach of democracy and rights in India."

The verdict came more than eight years after the New Delhi-based Naz Foundation filed its petition—not unusually long in India's notoriously clogged court system. The decision can still be challenged in India's Supreme Court.

The government has remained vague about its position on the law, and Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said he would examine the high court's order before commenting.

"Our effort will be to try to see that the government does not appeal to the Supreme Court. There is a chance that others will go and appeal," Anand Grover, a member of a lawyers group involved in the case, said in Geneva.

While the ruling is not binding in India's other states, Tripti Tandon, a lawyer for the Naz Foundation, said she hoped it would have a "persuasive" effect on other courts.

Rights activists say the law, also popularly known as 377, or section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, sanctions discrimination and marginalizes the gay community. Health experts say the law discourages safe sex and has been a hurdle in fighting HIV and AIDS. Roughly 2.5 million Indians have HIV.

The U.N. agency UNAIDS welcomed the court ruling and said it would make it easier to reach homosexual men with programs to combat the spread of HIV.

Homosexuality is slowly gaining acceptance in some parts of India, especially in its big cities. Many bars have gay nights, and some high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues. The last two years have also seen large gay pride parades in New Delhi and other big cities such as Mumbai and Calcutta.

Still, being gay remains deeply taboo in most of the country, and a large number of homosexuals hide their sexual orientation from their friends and families.

Religious leaders in the capital and in other parts of India argue that gay sex should remain illegal and that open homosexuality is out of step with India's deeply held traditions.

"We are totally against such a practice as it is not our tradition or culture," said Puroshattam Narain Singh, an official of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council.

In New Delhi, Rev. Babu Joseph, a spokesman of the Roman Catholic church, told New Delhi Television that while homosexuals should not be treated as criminals, "at the same time we cannot afford to endorse homosexual behavior as normal and socially acceptable."

Still, rights activists hope that Thursday's ruling will send a message to the entire country.

"The symbolic value of this judgment is unmatched," said Arvind Narrain, another lawyer involved with the case. "It says lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people are citizens with equal rights."






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