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Chicago Edition
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March 2015 Vol 6, Issue 3
Ameya Pawar Wins 47th Ward Election
with 83 Percent of Vote
Incumbent Ald. Ameya Pawar won reelection in the 47th Ward by a landslide on
Feb 24 election.
to launch her numbers.
In the 47th and 48th wards however, both
Alderman Ameya Pawar and Alderman
Harry Osterman cleared easy victories
within their communities. Pawar, who
earned just under 83 percent of the vote
saw an unsuccessful challenge by Rory
Fiedler who received only 17 percent.
Fielder’s stance on a more ward-centric
office and his support of a casino on
Northerly Island fell flat with the voters.
Osterman had no challenger this election.
Pawar, who has served the ward including
North Center, Ravenswood and Lincoln
Square since 2011, beat out challenger
Rory Fiedler with 82.8 percent of the vote.
Ald. Pawar is the first Asian American
elected to the Chicago City Council. Some
highlights from his time in office include:
The passage of ten major pieces of citywide legislation, which include the creation of a City Council Office of Financial
Analysis, one of the strongest anti-wage
theft ordinances in the country and TIF
reform via the TIF Accountability Ordinance. The newly created City Council
of Financial Analysis makes Chicago the
fourth city in the country to create such
an office and one that the Chicago Tribune
called bona-fide reform.
Redirecting local TIF dollars to public
projects. Ald. Pawar allocated and advanced millions in TIF dollars to: Sulzer
Library, the Lawrence Avenue Streetscape,
Clark Park, Lake View High School and
Coonley Elementary, McPherson Elementary, etc.
Redevelopment projects totaling over $300
million including the Ravenswood Station
retail center (anchor for Mariano’s & LA
Fitness), Kerry Wood Cubs Field, Divvy
Stations, Lycee Francais, etc.
Partnered with local entities to create the
FREE Mariano’s Grocery Senior Shuttle
Bus Service.
Created GROW47 to help organize our
community, businesses and residents
around neighborhood schools. The goal:
create a neighborhood K-12 system. The
result: new “Friends of ” groups, TIF
money to neighborhood schools, funding
for new playgrounds, and advanced major
projects at EVERY neighborhood school
in the 47th ward.
And so much more!
A more gripping race was that between
Alderman Pat O’Connor and challenger
Dianne Daleiden. It was O’Connor’s first
challenger in 24 years and it was a good
fight. With O’Connor winning his election with 58 percent of the vote, Daleiden
proved to be a tough challenger earning 41
percent of the vote. With a die hard base,
Chicago Public School teacher Daleiden
focused on deep issues within the ward
like the Edgewater Medical Center redevelopment and revitalizing the Lincoln
Avenue corridor north of Lawrence.
Moyoral run-off
With Mayor Emanuel unable to pull
off the 50 percent he needed to clinch a
second term, Chuy Garcia became a new
symbol for Chicagoan’s who are looking for change. With only 45 percent of
the vote, the mayor will now need to face
Garcia in an April run-off.
But it is not only the mayoral race that
will have to be decided in April. With just
under 47 percent of the vote, Alderman
James Cappleman will have to face his
run-off opponent – Amy Crawford (who
got just under
38 percent
of the vote).
Crawford
used the rising crime in
the Uptown
neighborhood and the
criticism over
Cappleman’s
handling of
single-room
occupancy
hotels (SROs)
Chicago run-off elections will be April 7,
2015.
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PAGE 2
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Mission Accomplished
Heroes of National Health Care Reform
March 2015
By: Syed Taher Hussain, MBA,
DR Syed Nasir. Mahmood, MBBS, MS, R&D St Mary Hospital Chicago,
Americans of South Asia Hosted
a Party to Celebrate the “Victory
of National Health Care Reform”
at Masti Grill, Devon Ave. Chicago, IL. Mr. Mujeeb Osman, a
great activist, was recognized and
declared as a “Reformer” by Gov.
Pat. Quinn.
Galaxy of Dignitaries:
Hon. Guest Speaker Mayor City
of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel Hero
of Health Care
Alderman Hon. Debra Silverstein, 50th Ward, Champion of
Health Care Reform,
Alderman Hon. Joe Moore, 49th
Ward, Hero of Health Care
Reform,
Hon. Jan Schakowsky, Member
of Congress, Champion of Health
Care Reform,
Senator Hon. Ira Silverstein,
Senator Hon. Terry Link,
Guest of Honor, Shahid B. Ilahi,
MD, & Reformer, Mujeeb Osman.
Founder of Urdu Caucus of
North America,
Ghulam Mustafa Faheem, Chairperson of Urdu Caucus.
Heroes of Health Care Reform,
The Clinton Health Care Plan,
known officially as the Health
Security Act, was a 1993 Healthcare Reform, former president
Bill Clinton, & Hillary Clinton,
Howard Brush Dean 111 Governor of Vermont, Dr. Quentin
Young, Chicago, Jan Schakowsky
A key factor of the new law is a
higher income limit on eligibility for Medicaid (called Apple
Health in Washington state),
as well as a simpler process to
qualify and apply for this insurance. Commonly referred to as
health care reform or Obamacare, the legislation focuses on
coverage expansion, cost control
and health care delivery improvement. Before, approximately one
million people in Washington
were uninsured. Now, 320,000
people who likely never had
insurance are enrolled in Apple
Health.
Health care reform pass, got
together to celebrate the Superb
service and Happiness of Togetherness, on Sunday, Feb 15th 2015
at Masti Grill, Chicago. National
volunteer organization helped
the grassroots movement to pass
the overhaul. Volunteers say that
they’ve never been more popular
and organized as today.
NHCR Affordable Care Act,
popularly known as Obama
care Senator Terry Link of Lake
County acclaimed second year of
Wonderful Success. The Gov. Pat
Quinn, State of Illinois, Appreci-
ated the real Advocates who have
worked Selflessly and Aggressively for the successful implementation of ACA. They have
hosted a private Reception at 100
south Greenleaf St, Gurnee, IL,
on December 10, 2014.
Governor State of Illinois, Pat
Quinn, Senator Terry Link, Senator Ira Silvestein, has congratulated reformers and honored
Reformer, Mujeeb Osman and
his team, with the Title of “The
National Heath Care Reformer.”
Mr. Osman, worked voluntarily
for the public interest policies at
the state and federal level. He had
devoted his professional and personal life for the amazing success
of the party.
According to President Barack
Obama, the health care legislation passed by the House is “a
victory for the American people”
and “a victory for common
sense.”
The bill “will not solve every
problem” in the health care system, Obama says, but “moves us
in the right direction.”
Mr. President praised the Speaker
and other Democrats for getting
the bill through 219-212 vote,
saying they proved that the
government “still works for the
people.”
The heated debate that surrounding the legislation will fade away,
Obama said, leaving a “health
care system that works better for
the American people.”
Some state insurance regulators
said that President Obama meets
the representatives of the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, following his announcement that he would allow
insurers to let people keep their
“substandard” plans for the year.
The White House report
highlights provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that it
had brought down health costs,
including the reduction of Medicare, overpayments to providers
and private insurers. The ACA
also created an incentive to
reduce hospital readmission rates
and boosted the use of “accountable care organizations,” a payment and care model that ties reimbursements to outcomes. The
report cites research that shows
the ACA’s Medicare reforms are
likely to improve quality across
the entire health-care system.
The report also notes factors not
related to the ACA.Factors are
slowing growth in health spending. The rise in cost-sharing in
employer plans to the patients, an
incentive not to use health services that are essential. Even after
passing the National Health Care,
Mr. Osman ingeniously continues to be actively involved in our
State and Federal level for the
National Health Care Reform,
immigration, and public interest
policy, and emerged victorious
to promote the Wealth of Health
and Care.
Host Committee ( in formation)
Benefactor
Proud Recipients of Prestigious
Volunteer Leadership Award:
NSCR. Advocacy Group for
public Policies,
Sharanya Gurujan, Attorney @
Law- Associate Attorney at Raplh
Schwab & Schiever, Chartered,
Asif Mujtaba, Hanmi Bank, Dr.
Mohammed k Saeed, Ciropratice
& Physical Theraphy, Devon
Ave, Masood Ali, MD, Miracle
Medical Center, Mohammad
Ali Gandhi, Businessman, at
Devon, Sahil Babu patel, &
Nirmala Patel, Nawab Mir Abid
Ali khan, Mohammed Naeem,
MD, Kenner, LA. Umair Ilahi,
MD, Dr. Munir Chaudhry, Chairman IFANCA, Syed Hussaini,
President Accurate Engeering
Group, Huma Mulk, MD, Abdul
Durani, MD, Ghulam Mustafa
Faheem,Chair person of Urdu
Caucus of North America, Syed
Taher Hussain, MBA, Azeem
Quadeer, MS, PE, IIT, Chicago,
Singer Shahid Latif, Dr.Syed Ajaz
Hussain, Dr. in pharmacy Drake
University, Iowa, Singer Saif Ali,
Sher M. Rajput, Democratic
for 3 Decades, Syed Hussaini,
Banker at Wintrust Bank, Khalid
Abdul Sami, MD, Dr. Ali Niazee,
Masood Shaikh, Parwaz Hotel,
Aftab Baig Bristol Palace, Mohammed A. Muqtadar, MD, Syed
Rashid Lateef Makkah Tour Travel inc, professor Masroor Quraishi & Mohammad Rafiuddin
Khan, DDS, Zaki Basalath, Dr,
Nawab qayuum khan, Alumni
of Deccan Medical Collage, Dr.
Mohammed Tajammul Hussain
MD. Engr. Anis Elahi, Seema
Elahi, MD, Jayant, Dina, Kuldeep
& Hiten Shukhadia. Dr. Shuja ul
Mulk, Mohammed Amjad, Dr.
Faiz Shareef, MD, Mohammed
Anwar Hussain, MD,
Entertainment & Mind blowing
Music By Super Singers:
Sharanya Gurujan, Ravishankar
Subramanyam, Bharti Desai,
Master Saif Ali, Arman DJ, Shahid Lateef, Taher Hussain, Shikha Tandan, and Mastter Puran
Lal Vyas(Tabla Icon), Bollywood
DJ Band.
This event presented by Urdu
Caucus of North America.
Three course dinner was served
along with musical entertainment. About 100 invited guests
enjoyed the party up to midnight.
Convener: Azeem Quadeer, MS,
PE, Chicago, Syed Taher Hussain,
MBA, Sher M. Rajput, MBA,
professor Masroor Qureshi,
Mrs. Osman, Shikha Tandan. &
Sharanya Gurujan, Attorney-atlaw
March 2015
Asia Times US
ISSN 2159-9645
Publisher/
Editor-in-Chief
Azeem A. Quadeer, P.E.
219-588-1538
EditorAsiaTimes
@gmail.com
Midwest Bureau
Engr. Mujeeb A. Osman
mamujeebbs@yahoo.
com
New York Bureau
Hk. Mohammad Hussain
[email protected]
Indianapolis Bureau
Syed Firasath Ali
[email protected]
Contributing writers
Dr Azher Quader
Chicago
Engr. Faiz-Al-Najdi,
Riyadh
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PAGE 3
New York City is now recognizing
Muslim holidays
In recognition that New York City’s population of 8.5 million is nearly one-eighth Muslim,
the city has announced that its public schools
will close for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha next
school year.
In announcing the move, New York mayor
Bill de Blasio said in a statement: “We made a
pledge to families that we would change our
school calendar to reflect the strength and
diversity of our city. Hundreds of thousands of
Muslim families will no longer have to choose
between honoring the most sacred days on
their calendar or attending school.”
One hope is that the change will help regulate
the pace of learning in classes when a large
chunk of students is forced to miss school
days for religious reasons. For instance, 36% of
students were absent in one Brooklyn school
the last time Eid al-Adha fell during the school
week, according to the city’s press release. A
Harvard study last year examining the impact
of snow days on student learning found that
students suffer more when there are scattered
absences than when the entire class misses a
day.
New York is following a number of other districts around the country that are recognizing
Muslim holidays in different ways, as the American Muslim population continues to grow. For
example, in 2011, one Michigan school district
with a large Muslim population moved football
practice to nights during Ramadan to allow
players who fast during daylight hours to eat
and hydrate before practice, according to the
New York Times. A Connecticut school is offering excused absences and avoiding scheduling
major tests or events on those days.
In certain parts of the country, this kind of flexibility is being applied to other religions. This
week, Edison Township in New Jersey, where
the population is 33% Indian and 8% Chinese,
added both the Hindu holiday of Diwali and
the Lunar New Year to its school holiday calendar. For the past few years, Diwali had been
deemed a “professional development day,” or a
day when faculty and staff work but students
are given the day off, Edison’s board of education president Veena Iyer told Quartz. Now
school employees, who increasingly reflect the
student population, can celebrate Diwali, too.
Edison joins a number of other New Jersey
school districts—given the state’s sizeable Indian population—in recognizing Diwali, though
some also recognize Eid. South Brunswick, for
example, will give students the day off for both
Eid and Diwali.
Hyderabad is best city to live in India:
Global survey
Leaving behind India’s more
traditional business centres such
as Mumbai and Bangalore, the city
of pearls Hyderabad is the best city
to live in the country, says a global
survey.
According to consultancy firm
Mercer’s ‘Quality of Living Report-2015’, notwithstanding its top
rank among Indian cities, Hyderabad globally ranks at 138th position in a list of 230 cities around
the world in terms of standard of
living.
The list is topped by Vienna for
the second consecutive year.
Besides Hyderabad, the list figures
seven other Indian cities -- Pune
(145), Bangalore (146), Chennai
(151), Mumbai (152), New Delhi
(154) and Kolkata (160).
“Over time, Hyderabad has
emerged as a city of choice due to
factors such as improved options
for international schools and a fine
choice of reputable English speaking schools,” Mercer said.
“Additionally, Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport is located
22 kms from the city and offers a
good range of international flights,
which improves its ranking on account of public services,” it added.
Mercer India Practice Leader
(Global Mobility) Ruchika Pal said
“considerable population increases
in Mumbai and New Delhi, in the
recent decades, have increased
existing problems, including access
to clean water, air pollution, and
traffic congestion.”
Globally, Vienna is followed
by Zurich, Auckland, Munich,
Vancouver, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt,
Geneva, Copenhagen and Sydney,
as the world’s top 10 cities in terms
of quality of living.
Bangui (Central African Republic)
and Baghdad (Iraq) were ranked as
the bottom two cities on the list.
Interestingly, the survey found that
Indian cities are safer than most
others in South Asia.
While the ranking of Sri Lanka’s
capital Colombo is above Hyderabad at 132, Dhaka in Bangladesh is ranked 211 and Pakistan’s
Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi are
ranked 191, 199 and 202, respectively.
The parameters taken into account
for the survey include political
and social environment, medical
and health care, public services,
recreation facilities and natural
environment, among others.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
PAGE 4
Muzakira in Chicago
Anjumane Ilm-O-Adab is committed
to exploring and preserving the Urdu
language in the United States. On Feb. 15,
2015, a program was held at the Addison
Public Library “Urdu Mai Naatiya Shairi”.
The purpose of the program was to learn
from our educators, philosophers, and
poets.
What was shared to convey the essence of
our Prophet (PBUH)’s message and teachings is to help clarify the divine purpose of
Islam and to firmly establish the conditions of awakening and enlightenment of
humanity both individually and collectively.
At the heart of a human being’s circle of
love lies the love of Allah. It makes one
grow into a mature, dignified, proud,
and complete being; every kind of beauty
stems from it. Next to the love of Allah
(SWT) comes the love of His Messenger,
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He himself
relates in one of his sayings how the love
for Him is interrelated with faith.
The message of Prophet (PBUH) was
exclusively expressed by Dr. Sadiq Naqvi,
Dr. Qutubuddin from Indiana, Hashmat
Sohail Sahib, Mohammad Wasiuddin
Sahib, Mothrama Ghousia Sultana, Nazar
Naqvi Sahib, Dr. Afzal ur Rahman, Irshad
Ansari Sahib, and Khaja Afeef Sahib. Naat
khawan were recitede by Mrs.Shahana
Mohiuddin, Mrs. Sarah Bilal, and Miss.
Mahwish Syed.
SUPER SUFI MUSICAL
SENSATION
SMITA BELLUR
OF BANGALORE
Mir Ali and Talat Rashid represented Pakistani community and welcomed
Presidential candidate Jeb Bush at his first fundraiser in Chicago with
Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar of Bolingbrook
has touched many hearts w/ her
enchanting Hindustani Classical
Qawwalies / Gazals. She will be
touring North America this year
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March 2015
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PAGE 5
DuPage Democrats Stand together for a stronger,
healthier and fairer America
Asian Media USA ©
The Democratic Party of DuPage County
celebrated Presidents Day Gala on February 28th at The Carlisle, located at 435 E.
Butterfield Road, Lombard, IL The event
received overwhelming support with over
400 Democrats attending the Gala. Dignitaries who graced the occasion included
Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth,
Congressman Bill Foster and Congressman Mike Quigley. State Legislators
Senator Lou Lang, Senator Daniel Biss,
Senator Tom Cullerton, Senator Michael
Noland, Senator Dan Harmon, Rep Linda
Chapa Lavia, Rep Stephanie Kifowit, Rep
Kathleen Willis, and Rep Deb Conroy also
participated in the celebration.
BobPeickert ,Chair of the Democratic
Party of Dupage County welcomed the
guests and thanked everyone for supporting DPDC. He introduced his team of
officers and the gala committee members
to the audience. The room was filled with
passionate Dupage Democrats who promised fight for democratic values and make
IL a progressive State.
Biil Foster addressed the audience and
reiterated his support for the President’s
Executive order and to make Immigration
Reform his top priority in Congress. He
acknowledged the benefits of Affordable
Care Act and the impact it has had on
Americans who have enrolled for healthcare coverage.
Tammy Duckworth and Mike Quigley
emphasized their ongoing efforts to pass
the immigration reform bill and to secure
federal funding to improve transportation
infrastructure in Dupage County. A special group of young men representing the
“Lost Boys of Sudan” joined the gala and
gave the powerful message of hope and
faith which has helped them rebuild their
lives. These young men fled Sudan during the civil war of 1987 and close to four
thousand Lost Boys came to the United
States seeking peace, freedom and education. The International Rescue Committee
helped hundreds of them to start new lives
in cities across the country. The Lost Boys
faced enormous challenges in adjusting
to American culture and modern society.
IRC case workers worked closely with
the boys in orienting them to their new
communities, making sure that they were
as comfortable as possible, and offering
guidance on such issues as personal safety,
social customs, public transportation,
shopping, cooking, nutrition and hygiene.
Many of them went on to earn college
degrees and attain US Citizenship in their
new homeland. The President of this
group addressed the audience and assured
DPDC their full support.
Deputy Director of AFSCME, Mike
Newman explained the recent move by
Governor Rauner to weaken the Unions
by passing an executive order forbidding
state agencies from collecting fair-share
payments from state employees. AFSCME
has strongly opposed his budget proposal
which will make billions in cuts to vital
public service programs. He noted the
serious impact of the budget shortfall on
all IL working families, vulnerable seniors,
children and the disabled.
The Glenbard East High School Acapella
group gave an impressive performance
showing casing their superior vocal talent.
These young girls received great appreciation from the audience.
Awards were presented to Dan Bailey,
who was the recepient of Kathryn “Tinker” Harvey Pioneer Award. Judith Easton
received Bill Redmond Precinct Committeeman of the year award.
The arrival of Former IL Governor Pat
Quinn, created great excitement among
the guests and they applauded his presence. Former Governor urged supporters to keep DuPage Blue and celebrate
diversity in our Nation. His message
of protecting the unions and collecting
fair wages was heard loud and clear. He
criticized Governor Rauner for proposing a reduction of 600 million dollars to
local Governments in the 2016 budget and
increasing the minimum wages by only
25 cents each year, which would put many
Illinoisans below the federal poverty level.
He asked Democrats to support President
Obama in Washington and help pass the
Immigration Reform bill. His commitment towards the hard working families of
IL and the most vulnerable population was
evident in his address.
Raffle tickets were sold and prizes were
given to winners.
The Democratic Party of DuPage County
officers:
Bob Peickert (Chair), Rose Fitzpatrick
(1st Vice Chair), Nasir Jahangir (2nd Vice
Chair), Paul Fessenbacker (Vice Chair),
Judy Pitts (Recording Secretary), Doug
Cole (Corresponding Secretary) and Bob
Jeffers (Treasurer), Amy Rohrer ( Executive Director) and Tony Fuscone (Sgt. at
Arms).
Gala Committee members are Dawn
Basaraba, Laurie Driscoll, Rose Fitzpatrick, Barbara McDonald, Karen Hoffman,
Janice Rinehart, Mike Braun, Nasr Nasman, Sarbani Chowdhury, Edith Makra,
Dave Kusnierz, Amy Rohrer, Steve Schenk,
Larry Pitts and Bob Peickert.
Shahid Lateef and Bharti Desai
March 2015
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Times .US
PAGE 6
ASIAN AMERICAN COALITION OF CHICAGO HONORS
DR. AMARJIT SINGH AND ANUKOOL VASUDEVAN
Rajinder Singh Mago
The Asian American Coalition of Chicago honored Indian Americans Dr. Amarjit Singh, and Anukool Vasudevan, at their 32nd Conference on Business And Networking and Annual Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday,
February 28, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Hotel in
Rosemont Illinois. This year’s gala event themed “Unity in
Diversity” was hosted by the Indonesian American community of Chicago, with Martino Tangkar serving as the
event chairperson. More than 1300 attended the black-tie
event.
Amarjit Singh M.D, past president of Indian American
medical Association of Illinois and also Past Chairman of
Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago, with a stellar record
of community service won the Indian American Exemplary Community Service Award.
Mr. Anukool Vasudevan a senior at Loyola University
won the Indian American Youth Who Excel Award.
The awards were distributed by the Ambassador of
Republic of Indonesia to U.S.A. Honorable Budi Bowoleksono assisted by Martino Tangkar and George Mui.
Mrs. Aurora Abella Austriaco a distinguished attorney,
the first ever Asian American president of Chicago Bar
Association, was honored with the Pan Asian American
Award.
Lisa Madigan, Attorney General State of Illinois received
the Coalition’s GRAND ASIAN AWARD. This award is
periodically presented to someone of non-Asian descent,
who has made significant contributions to the Asian
Pacific American community.
U.S. Congresswoman IL-8 Tammy Duckworth was the
keynote speaker.
More than 1300 people attended this extravaganza
evening dinner banquet. More than 500 attended the day
time events health fair, business seminars and networking
opportunities.
The dignitaries who spoke
included Jesse White Secretary of State of Illinois, Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan, State Treasurer Michael
Frerichs, State Comptroller
Leslie Munger, US Congressman Robert Dold, Cook
County Board President
Toni Preckwinkle, and Cook
County State’s Attorney Anita
Alvarez. Many other government officers, media outlets,
local dignitaries, business
and community leaders, and
the counsel generals of many
Asian countries were in the
audience. Mr. O.P. Meena
consul H.O.C. represented the
India’s Consulate General in
Chicago.
The evening program was
presented by Asian American
celebrities, TV and radio news
anchors and reporters from
Chicagoland ABC, CBS, NBC
& Fox TV stations, including
Joanie Lum, Billy Dec, Eric S.
Horng, Judy Hsu, Nesita Kwan, Nancy Loo, Mai Martinez,
Susanna Song, and Katie Kim. Linda Yu and Rick O’Dell
participated by pre-taped voice overs.
During the pre-event cocktail hour reception a Fashion
Show was presented by Akira and Lady Quaint.
The entertainment program featured colorful costumes,
Javanese and Balinese gamelan music performances, Holy
Balinese “Barong” Lion Dance, Indonesian Cultural dance
“Reog Ponorogo Singo Lodoyo” by a group of 40 Indonesian dancers from Wasington DC, performances from
the 25 member Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago
Dance Troupe; “Puspanjali” by the Indonesian Performing Arts of Chicago; and members of the Indonesian
Dance of Illinois. “Journey to Harmony,“ a Unity Dance
choreographed by Liah Tehan, brought another interpretation of this year’s theme, and musical performance
“Together, The World Can Count On Us,” by Keith, Betty
& Kelly Uchima.
The evening show was produced and directed by Irene
Cualoping.
“The purpose of this celebration is to showcase the
culture, and contributions, of Asian Americans of
Chicago on its road to empowerment,” said Rajinder
Singh Mago Executive Secretary of Asian American
Coalition of Chicago.
An event held on this grand of a scale only once a
year, Lunar New Year is traditionally the single largest
organized annual event in Chicago’s Asian American
community which takes turns to host the event.
There were exhibition booths for businesses and
community organizations in the foyer area during the
whole day.
British-India Sikh Soldier’s contribution to World
Wars I & II was exhibited in photo posters.
The next year’s hosts are Chinese American community chaired by Dr. Karen Eng.
Upcoming P.C.S. programs include: “Rangla Punjab
2015,” scheduled for April 4, 2015 at Meadows Club
in Rolling Meadows, IL. and “Punjabi Sports Festival
2015,” planned for the summer of 2015. Scholarships
for Punjabi youth will be awarded at the “Graduation
Night 2015” in June.
The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago is a not-forprofit community organization devoted to promoting
education, good citizenship, Punjabi culture, language, performing arts, healthy life style, and sports
in the metropolitan Chicago area.
PAGE 7
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Times .US
Netanyahu asks
Maldives arrests
Jews to move to
ex-president
Israel after
Nasheed for
Denmark attacks
‘terrorism’
March 2015
Maldives police have
arrested former president and current
opposition leader
Mohamed Nasheed
under anti-terrorism
laws.
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on Sunday
called for massive immigration of European Jews to Israel warning them to “stay
prepared” for more attacks,
a day after a Jewish man
was killed outside Copenhagen’s main synagogue.
“Jews were being killed on
European land just because
they were Jewish. ... the
wave of attacks against Jews
in Europe is expected to
continue and it is up to us
to stay prepared,” Netanya-
hu said at the beginning of
the weekly cabinet meeting
in Jerusalem.
“Jews need protection
wherever they are, but we’re
telling you — Israel is your
home,” he said, repeating
a similar call made after
attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris last month that
killed 17 people, including
four Jews.
Two shooting attacks
rocked the normally peace-
ful Danish capital Copenhagen on the weekend. In
the first attack on Saturday,
a 55-year-old Jewish man
was killed at a panel discussion about Islam and free
speech. Extending European Jews an invitation
with “open arms” to immigrate to the Jewish state,
the Israeli PM said that his
government is mulling to
adopt a $46 million programme to support aliya
(immigration) of Jews.
Ali Baba Market
And Restaurant
Full line of Middle Eastern
Food & Grocery
Fresh Meat and vegetables
2562 45th St. Highland, IN 46322
Phone: 219-924-3660
A document signed
by the prosecutor
general seen by Associated Press said
that Nasheed was
arrested on Sunday
to stand trial for
his 2012 order as
president to arrest a
senior judge. It said
he was being charged under anti-terrorism
laws, but did not specify why.
Television stations in the country aired
scenes of the arrest.
Nasheed resigned as president in February
2012 following weeks of public protests
against his order to arrest criminal court
judge Abdulla Mohamed.
In 2013, he lost the presidential election
to Yameen Abdul Gayyoom, a half-brother
of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation’s
30-year autocratic ruler, Maumoon Abdul
Gayyoom.
March 2015
PAGE 8
www.Asia
Times .US
China must adopt
two child policy: Official
BEIJING: As China faced looming demographic crisis due to its controversial
one child policy, a family planning official
said the government must adopt a two
child norm to have more young people
to address the growing number of ageing
population.
More births will help solve the country’s
gender imbalance caused by some couples
from rural areas ensuring their only child
is a boy, Mei Zhiqiang, the deputy director of the Family Planning Commission in
northern Shanxi province said.
“We should make sure our policy and
system allows our children to give birth
to two children... and they must have two
children,” Mei was quoted as saying to the
official media here.
China whose current population is of 1.3
billion faced looming demographic crisis
because of its three decades old one child
policy followed by the most populous
nation.
“Government must implant two child
policy to have more young people balancing the growing number of old people,” an
official said.
China should further relax its one-child
policy and all couples should have two
babies if it is to solve problems including
its ageing population.
Some lauded Mei’s suggestion, calling it
an assertive way to rectify the maladjusted
demographic structure.Others sniffed at it,
criticising it as another compulsory policy,
state-run Global Times said.
Family planning has turned increasingly
controversial in Chinese society in recent
years. There is no doubt that preventing
over 400 million births in about 35 years
is a contribution to the reduction of social
pressure.
According to last year’s official report
China had about 185 million people
above the age of 60, or 13.7 per cent of the
population.
However, the side effects are affecting
Chinese society, as its aged population
increases out of proportion to the young,
and the gender ratio becomes severely
unbalanced, it said.
The figure is expected to surge to 221 million in 2015, including 51 million “empty
nesters,” or elderly people whose children
no longer live with them, which makes
it incumbent on the part government to
improve their social security management
involving large amount of funds.
The government announced it was relaxing the one-child policy in 2013 to allow
couples to have more than one baby if one
parent was an only child.
The old policy restricted most of the
urban couples to have one child and most
rural couples to two children, if the first
child born was a girl.
Officials said about one million couples
had applied to have a second child since
the reforms were introduced.
Nigerian president calls for US help
as Boko Haram invade city
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan
appealed for more US help in fighting
Boko Haram, as the rebels struck again
on Saturday and called for a boycott of
upcoming general elections.
The head of state for the first time claimed
direct links between the Sunni radicals
who have been waging a six-year insurgency in Nigeria and the Islamic State
group in Syria and Iraq.
Bakr al-Baghdadi in videos but has not
pledged allegiance to the outfit.
The Nigerian group’s tactics of extreme
violence and mass casualty hit-and-run
raids, bombings and suicide attacks also
predated those carried out by the IS group.
But Jonathan told the US newspaper that
Nigeria had intelligence reports that Boko
Haram was receiving “training and funds”
from IS militants.
He told the Wall Street Journal in an
interview: “Are they (the United States)
not fighting ISIS? Why can’t they come to
Nigeria?
The United States has provided surveillance and intelligence specialists, as well
as aerial drones, to help in the high-profile
hunt for 219 schoolgirls kidnapped by
Boko Haram last April.
“They are our friends. If Nigeria has a
problem, then I expect the US to come
and assist us.”
But Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral
John Kirby said there are no plans to send
US troops to Nigeria.
“I can tell you that there are no plans as I
speak here to send unilaterally, to send or
to add US troops into Nigeria. There are
no US troops operating in Nigeria,” he told
reporters.
Kirby said the United States was in the
early phases of helping establish a multinational task force of African nations to
help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram.
Jonathan’s comments were published as
hundreds of Islamist fighters invaded the
northeastern city of Gombe, firing heavy
guns and throwing leaflets calling for
locals to shun the elections.
The attack, which began at about 9:00 am
(0800 GMT), saw residents flee and the
authorities impose a 24-hour lock-down
in the city, which Boko Haram has repeatedly targeted.
Nigeria’s defence headquarters said it had
repelled the attack.
“The terrorists attack on Gombe has been
repelled. Troops are in pursuit”, it said on
Twitter.
Boko Haram has opened up two new
fronts in its campaign to create a hardline
Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, pushing
into neighbouring Niger last week and, for
the first time on Friday, into Chad.
It has also increased the frequency and
intensity of its attacks on northern Cameroon. The increasing regional threat has led
to the deployment of troops from all three
neighbouring countries, reflecting security
fears.
Jonathan and his government have long
sought to portray the insurgency as being
fuelled by outside forces and he has previously called Boko Haram “Al-Qaeda in
west Africa”.
Critics have interpreted his attempt to
blame foreigners for the violence that has
left more than 13,000 dead and displaced
more than one million since 2009 as a
diversion from national failings.
Boko Haram, which loosely translates
from the Hausa language widely spoken in
northern Nigeria as “Western education is
forbidden”, started out in 2002 as a largely
peaceful Islamist movement.
But it has been transformed in the last six
years from a rag-tag group of guerrilla
fighters into a conventional army, seizing territory and dozens of towns in three
northeast Nigerian states.
The group has generally not been thought
to have any direct operational links with
overseas jihadists, although some fighters
may have received training from Al-Qaeda-linked militants in north Africa.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has
previously mentioned IS group leader Abu
But bilateral ties have since been fraught
over Washington’s refusal to provide military hardware because of concerns about
human rights abuses in the Nigerian army.
- Delayed election The latest attack in Gombe, south of Boko
Haram’s centre of operations, coincided
with the original date for presidential
elections, at which Jonathan is seeking a
second four-year term.
The vote was postponed last Saturday after
the electoral commission was advised that
regional forces needed more time to tackle
the insurgents and would not be able to
provide security on polling day.
But the six-week deadline to effectively secure and stabilise the northeast and allow
hundreds of thousands of people displaced
by the violence to vote has been seen as
unrealistic.
Jonathan maintained that postponing the
elections until March 28 would give the
security agencies time to “clean up” the
three states worst hit by the insurgency for
voting to take place.
March 2015
PAGE 9
www.Asia
Times .US
‘Sabka CM’ Arvind Kejriwal
promises a new Delhi
Exactly a year after his government resigned following a
tumultuous 49-day stint in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal took
oath as chief minister on Saturday. Far from being a man
in hurry — as he clearly was last time — he pledged to
serve Delhi for five years, described himself as “sabka
CM” and promised to rid the city of corruption. And for
completing this “mission”, he warned his party against
ahankaar (arrogance), saying they had been punished
when with 28 seats in Delhi, they set out to contest across
the country in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Acutely conscious of the massive mandate given to his
party by Delhi — 67 out of 70 seats, which he described
as a “miracle” and “god’s message” — Kejriwal assured
Delhiites that this time he was going to be around for five
years.
“Since Delhi’s people have given me love and they have
put faith in me, for the next five years I will live in Delhi
and only serve the people of the city,” he said. Acknowledging the contribution of every strata, community
and caste in AAP’s win, Kejriwal said: “People of every
religion have voted for Aam Aadmi; Hindus, Muslims,
Christians, Sikhs, Jains, all voted for AAP, people of every
caste voted, the poor voted in large numbers, the rich also
voted.” Describing himself as everyone’s CM, Kejriwal
referred to even those who didn’t vote for AAP. “We consider the MLAs of the three constituencies that we did not
win our own. I have seen some parties do a booth-wise
analysis after the election results and identify booths that
did not yield votes for that party. For us, the entire Delhi
is our booth. We have to serve the entire city,” he said.
Speaking on his resolve to eradicate corruption, he said
he, too, was wracked by doubts during the Anna agitation
whether India would ever become corruption-free. But
AAP managed to achieve that in its 49 days in government, he said. “Last time, before forming a government,
there was zest, passion and romanticism in us, a craze to
remove corruption from the country, but today...we have
the confidence that in five years we will be able to rid
Delhi of corruption.”
Repeating his message of December 28, 2013 when he
had taken oath as CM for the first time, he said if someone demanded a bribe, people shouldn’t refuse to pay.
They should do a “setting”, record everything and hand it
over to him. He promised strict action. In this context, he
announced revival of the anti-corruption helpline soon.
With close aide and now deputy chief minister Manish
Sisodia standing by him through his almost 30-minute
long speech, Kejriwal warned his party of a fate like that
of Congress or BJP if they allowed themselves to become
arrogant after the stupendous performance in the Delhi
election. “When one gets such a victory, one can become
arrogant. And if one gets arrogant, then everything is
lost,” he said.
Dentist charged in death of patient getting 20
teeth pulled
A dentist has been charged in the death of a patient who
became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled and
several implants installed.
Rashmi Patel turned himself at the Enfield Police Department and was charged with a misdemeanor count
of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of
tampering with evidence, police said. Patel has offices in
Enfield and Torrington.
The charges came a year after Patel’s patient Judith Gan
died at a hospital on Feb. 17, 2014. State dental regulators
concluded that Patel failed to adequately respond when
Gan’s oxygen levels dropped dangerously low as she was
consciously sedated in the middle of the tooth extraction
and implant procedures in his Enfield office that day.
Patel, who posted $25,000 bail, has denied any wrongdoing in his treatment of Gan.
“Dr. Patel disputes the charges and urges that the charges
be dropped,” his attorney Paul Knag said in a statement
Wednesday.
license.
“In the Dental Commission proceeding, multiple expert
witnesses testified that Dr. Patel followed the standard of
care,” Krag said. “The state’s seeking of criminal charges is
contrary to this evidence and inconsistent with the decision of the Commission not to revoke his license.”
The commission said in a report that Patel “ignored”
signs that Gan, of Ellington, was in distress, including the
drop in her oxygen saturation, changes in the color of her
face and hands and wheezing and gurgling sounds. The
commission said Patel, who lives in Suffield, also ignored
warnings from his dental assistants that Gan was in danger and continued with the procedures.
When one of Patel’s assistants yelled that Gan was “flat
lining,” Patel tried to revive Gan while the assistant called
911, according to the Dental Commission’s report. Gan,
64, was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced
dead.
Gan’s death and other incidents prompted the State Dental Commission in December to suspend Patel’s license
pending a months-long review of his practice and permanently ban him from performing conscious sedation.
The commission also found that Patel should not have
attempted to perform so many procedures on Gan in one
office visit given that her medical history included a heart
attack six months before the visit, two strokes within the
last two years and medication that could have affected her
response to the sedation.
But, Krag said, the commission did not revoke Patel’s
Patel also violated care standards in December 2013 when
another patient under conscious sedation to have teeth
extracted inhaled a piece of gauze called a throat pack,
which was designed to protect him from swallowing
foreign objects, the commission found. The patient began
flailing, his blood pressure spiked and he was rushed to a
hospital but recovered.
A lawyer for Gan’s husband has said a lawsuit against Patel
is planned.
PAGE 10
www.Asia
Times .US
Mideast: Americans could stop sharing
Zionist values!
March 2015
-Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
Israel and the strong Jewish cum American
lobbyists in Washington, including their
members in US Congress have influenced
US policies to such an extent that America
has shed its democratic values and become
increasingly arrogant. This is the result
sharing the Zionist values.
Ever since Israel was imposed on Mideast in
Palestine territories, years of US-Israeli bilateral relations tilted favoring and protecting the Zionist regime in Mideast by using
the US veto to shield Israeli military from
any possible punishment. So much so, Israeli leaders, accustomed to being pampered
by American rulers, expect Washington
to formulate policies that serve the Israeli
causes. American Jews, the powerful financial lobby, now dictate their terms to both Republican and
Democratic parties. In fact, these rich Jews decide even
the foreign policy matters of USA.
Israel and its US lobbyists have been coercing the White
House to attack Iran over its controversial nuclear ambitions. However, President Obama wants to make Iran a
friend and is trying to solve the nuke issue amicably and
that has annoyed Israel since it is the only nuclear power
in West Asia and does not want Iran to challenge Israel
with its own nukes.
Israel and the strong Jewish cum American lobbyists in
Washington, including their members in US Congress
have influenced US policies to such an extent that America has shed its democratic values and become increasingly
arrogant. This is the result sharing the Zionist values.
The hawkish Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, now focused on getting reelected as PM for his third term wants
to address the US Congress and use Americans and US
Congress to influence Israeli voters to choose him to as
PM without approval of the White house or US president. The speech, scheduled for March 3, was arranged by
Boehner and the Israeli ambassador without consulting
the White House — a move that Obama’s team has called
a breach of protocol. The president has said he will not
meet with Netanyahu during his visit to avoid any appearance that he is trying to influence the Israeli elections that
are scheduled for mid-March.
Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s national security
adviser, sharply criticized Israeli PM Netanyahu over his
plans to address a joint meeting of Congress next week,
saying his actions had hurt his nation’s relationship with
the United States. Netanyahu’s decision to travel to Washington to deliver the speech two weeks before the Israeli
elections has “injected a degree of partisanship, which is
not only unfortunate, I think it’s destructive of the fabric
of the relationship,” Ms. Rice said in an interview on the
PBS television program “Charlie Rose.”
Ms. Rice demurred when asked whether she believed
Netanyahu was making the speech to gain political favor,
saying she is not going to ascribe motives to the Israeli
prime minister “The point is, we want the relationship
between the United States and Israel to be unquestionably
strong, immutable, regardless of political seasons in either
country, regardless of which party may be in charge in
either country.
US President Obama has refused to meet Netanyahu if he
comes to address the Congress. Her comments marked
the strongest public rebuke to date by the Obama administration since Netanyahu accepted an invitation from
Speaker John A. Boehner to make his case to Congress
against a nuclear deal with Iran, which is a priority of
Obama’s. It is also the frankest acknowledgment yet by a
top American official of the degree to which the controversy has damaged US-Israeli relations.
stood by Israel for decades.”
The fact remains that Netanyahu visit is not only a
“breach of protocol,” but it could be construed as unconstitutional. In the Constitution, the president’s powers of
authority include the right to invite foreign dignitaries
and Congress’s do not. If the president or the Democrats
wanted to make a federal case over this, they could. Of
course they won’t, since Congress has been infringing
on the authority of this president since he was elected
and Congress has suffered no adverse consequences as
a result. Netanyahu said that he was making the trip to
Washington because it was his obligation to “do everything I can to prevent” a nuclear agreement with Iran.
“Therefore, I will go to Washington to address the American Congress, because the American Congress is likely to
be the final brake before the agreement between the major
powers and Iran,” he said as he toured a military base in
southern Israel.
The episode is a low point in the tense relationship between Obama and Netanyahu and has touched off weeks
of mostly anonymous sniping and finger-pointing. This is
a bald faced attempt by Republicans to manipulate Jewish
voters, who normally would not vote for a party whose
major candidates can’t even say in public that evolution
and science are key elements of a modern society, to
vote Republican. It doesn’t matter whether we agree with
Israeli politics or the American support of Israel. We have
elevated reckless partisanship to open rifts in foreign
policy to garner votes. What a mistake. The US will pay
for this since it makes Americans look weak and divided.
Top administration officials have hinted more openly
of their displeasure in recent days at the way Israel has
been misbehaving with USA which stood by Israeli and
its crimes against humanity. The White House said that
Obama agreed with Ms. Rice’s assessment, saying he had
raised the same concerns several times. Her comments,
said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, are
“entirely consistent with what the president has already
said.” “Allowing this relationship to be subjected to party
politics does weaken the relationship,” Spokesperson
Earnest said.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who as president of the
Senate would be expected to attend, has said he will be
traveling abroad. Secretary of State John Kerry said that
he would be in Switzerland negotiating with the Iranians.
The White House has also not committed to sending a
representative next week to the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee’s conference, where Netanyahu is also
scheduled to appear.
Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said.“We
offered the prime minister an opportunity to balance the
politically divisive invitation from Speaker Boehner with
a private meeting with Democrats who are committed to
keeping the bipartisan support of Israel strong… but his
refusal to meet is disappointing to those of us who have
It is commonly believed that Israel has at least
80 deliverable nuclear weapons, and may
have twice that number. Given Bebe’s attitude
toward Iran, it seems quite rational that the
Iranians would want some deterrence capability. But many Americans still think Israeli
nukes obtained illegally are harmless and pose
no threat to Arab and humanity, but they
argue only the Iranians “do represent a major
threat to the entire world”, but this is not the
way Israel to do things directly questioning
US wisdom and Netanyahu knows it.
It appears even core US media are controlled
by US Jews who wants Obama to respect
Israel and Netanyahu and promote the Zionist
interests in Mideast as usual as a key American policy. They expect Israel to engineer an invitation
from the Knesset for President Obama to address it to
praise Israel and US-Israeli ties.
Netanyahu badly wants the USA to attack Iran and utterly
destroy their military capability, just like Americans did
with Iraq. That would cost trillions of dollars, thousands
of US soldiers’ lives, and hundreds of thousands of Iranian lives. But Israel would be safe and emerge stronger in
Mideast.
President Obama opposes the Israeli tactics to use
Americans for domestic purposes of Israel. Obama has
given Israel everything by way of armaments and UN
votes. Netanyahu is the leader of Israel, not the US. If he
feels it necessary to insult President Obama to promote
Israel’s interests, so be it. A new president will be in office
in less than two years, and this incident will have blown
over. Iran will be a threat to Israel for a lot longer. Iran is
a far more useful ally to USA than Israel, and Americans
should act accordingly.
The President Obama’s efforts to resist the enormous
pressure from the Israeli lobby are to be congratulated.
USA must approach the negotiations with Iran in a manner that advances the interests of the USA, not those of
Israel. And President Obama is doing precisely that to the
dismay of Netanyahu and his fellow fanatic zealots who
promote and support Zionist crimes against humanity.
The idea that Obama will not meet with Netanyahu out
of concern for influencing the upcoming election is
remarkable. As far as even the vast majority of Israelis are
concerned, Netanyahu has become the problem, not the
solution. He has caused terrible damage to Israel, financially and politically, and has become a huge embarrassment. Americans are keeping Netanyahu in power. It is
only the cumbersome election system which only he as
PM has the power to change.
The Iranian leadership has become more moderate with
time. It is likely to continue to do so once its economy is
reintegrated with that of the world. And the Iranians will
be agreeable to far more nuclear inspection than exists in
the State of Israel. Israel denies having nukes and does not
allow any inspection by IAEA.
Meanwhile, for promoting peace globally, Americans
could stop sharing Zionist values. US leaders keep saying
they will stand by Israeli state crimes without realizing
that their Israeli connect indeed disconnects the world.
That is in fact has been the major victory of Zionist foreign policy formulated by US Jews.
If Netanyahu goes ahead with his speech, he will have
done more harm to his country than USA or Iran. Netanyahu and every single Israeli and Jewish lobbyist in
Washington know it.
Already the US-Israeli relations have somewhat ruptured.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
PAGE 11
Z++ security for Rs 1,900 crore Shivaji statue
The state has proposed an elaborate security arrangement for the Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj memorial in the Arabian Sea
off Mumbai, including a system that will
keep it invisible on radars, bunkers and an
independent security unit, including the
National Security Guard ( NSG).
The measures are aimed at deflecting or
countering terrorist attacks, like 26/11
when the terrorists sailed into the city, at
the memorial isle that the government
estimates will be visited by 10,000 people
daily once it is commissioned in 2019.
Besides an anti-radar system on the 16
hectare rocky outcrop 2.6km from Nariman Point, “permanent bunkers will be
erected that security personnel can use
in case of an attack. The memorial will be
under CCTV surveillance”, said officials.
Officials from the public works department that is executing the project said
letters have been sent to the National
Security Guards, the Mumbai police and
the Coast Guard to co-ordinate and set
up an independent security unit for the
memorial.
The Rs 1,900 crore, 190 feet statue, which
was granted approval is being promoted as
a tourist attraction.
Officials said the PWD has been granted
environment clearance for a jetty at Nariman Point near the NCPA. “There will be
two points from where visitors can board a
boat to the memorial — Gateway of India
and Nariman Point. The visitors will have
to park their cars in multi-level car parks
to be erected by BMC, board a designated
bus to the jetties and take a boat back and
forth,” said an official.
An Environment Impact Assessment
report prepared by the National Environment Engineering Research Institute
(NEERI) and the National Institute of
Oceanography has warned that the memorial and the tourists could affect birds in
the area and their migratory routes. Fishing will also be hit, it said.
There will be an inspection gallery inside
the statue for maintenance. No decision
has been taken on whether the public
should be allowed access to the gallery.
The ticket rates are also to be decided, said
sources
Iraq’s ancient Nimrud
archaeological site bulldozed
attacked other archaeological and religious
sites, claiming that they promote apostasy.
Turkey rules out combat mission to to help
Iraq retake Mosul
Earlier this week a video emerged on
militant websites showing Islamic State
militants with sledgehammers destroying
ancient artifacts at the Mosul museum,
sparking global outrage.
Islamic State militants “bulldozed” the ancient Nimrud archaeological site near the
northern Iraqi city of Mosul using heavy
military vehicles, the government said.
A statement from Iraq’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities didn’t elaborate on
the extent of the damage, saying only that
the group continues to “defy the will of the
world and the feelings of humanity” with
this latest act.
Nimrud is a 13th century B.C. Assyrian
archaeological site located on the Tigris
River just south of Iraq’s second largest
city, Mosul, which was captured by the Islamic State group in June. The extremists,
who control a third of Iraq and Syria, have
Last year, the militants destroyed the
Mosque of the Prophet Younis - or Jonah
- and the Mosque of the Prophet Jirjis,
two revered ancient shrines in Mosul.
They also threatened to destroy Mosul’s
850-year old Crooked Minaret, but local
residents surrounded the structure, preventing the militants from approaching.
Iraq’s national museum in Baghdad
opened its doors to the public last week for
the first time in 12 years in a move Prime
Minister Haider al-Abadi said was to defy
efforts “to destroy the heritage of mankind
and Iraq’s civilization.”
The Islamic State group has imposed a
harsh and violent version of Islamic law in
the territories it controls and has terrorized religious minorities. It has released
gruesome videos online showing the
beheading of captives, including captured
Western journalists and aid workers.
A U.S.-led coalition has been striking
the group since August, and Iraqi forces
launched an offensive this week to try to
retake the militant-held city of Tikrit, on
the main road linking Baghdad to Mosul.
PAGE 12
www.Asia
Times .US
Hacked American blogger Avijit Roy
laid to rest in Bangladesh
March 2015
Bangladeshis in huge numbers paid tributes to slain American blogger Avijit Roy
on Sunday as they criticized the government for its failure to ensure safety to the
writer, known for his critique of religious
extremism.
People from all walks of life, including
Roy’s friends, relatives, well-wishers,
teachers and students, gathered at the
Dhaka University premises with flowers
to pay their respect to the slain writer,
who was on a visit to his native city in
mid-February to attend a book fair.
Roy, known for his critique of religious
extremism, was hacked to death in the
university area by machete-wielding
assailants, who attacked the Bangladeshiorigin writer as he was returning from
the book fair with his wife on Thursday.
The coffin containing his remains was
taken from the Dhaka Medical College
and Hospital (DMCH) mortuary and
placed on a platform erected at the university’s premises.
After paying their tributes, Kabir,
expressed indignation over the government’s “failure to ensure the safety of the
Bangladesh-born US-based bioengineer”,
reported bdnews24 for which Roy used
to write columns regularly.
The coffin bearing the body of Avijit Roy
in Dhaka University complex, on March
1, 2015. (AFP photo)
“Free thinking in Bangladesh is become
a great danger, all the free thinkers are
at great risk,” writer-journalist Shahriar
Kabir, a friend of Roy’s father, said.
“We want to know why the government
failed to ensure the safety of him, despite
knowing that he had been facing threats
from the Islamist radicals,” he added.
The killing of the blogger — said to be
around 40 — that apparently took place
right in front of a police barricade put
up to restrict vehicular movement on
the adjacent road for the ongoing book
fair sparked countrywide protests and
international condemnation.
highlighted humanist and rationalist
ideas and condemned religious extremism.
No arrests have been made in the case
so far. People held a protest at the spot
where he was killed and chanted slogans,
demanding immediate arrest and speedy
trial of the killers.
His wife and fellow blogger Rafida
Ahmed Banna was seriously injured as
she tried to defend him.
Roy’s body was later handed over to
Dhaka Medical College (DMC) for
medical research as per his wish.
According to Roy’s friends and family, Islamist radicals had been threatening him
in recent weeks because he maintained a
blog “Mukto-mona” or “Freemind” that
This was the second such murder of a
writer at the February book fair scene
since the attack on famous Bangladeshi
author and Dhaka University professor
Humayun Azad who subsequently died
of his wounds in Germany.
Bangladeshi secular activists seen in a
torch-lit protest against the killing of
Avijit Roy in Dhaka, on February 27,
2015. (AFP photo)
The militants later also killed another
blogger Rajib Haidar in 2013 here.
The US has condemned Roy’s murder in
the “strongest terms”, calling it “horrific
in its brutality and cowardice”.
Sri Lanka bans alleged killer of Rajiv
Gandhi from travelling abroad
COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court barred former Tamil
Tiger rebel leader Kumaran Pathmanathan, wanted by India in connection with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi,
from travelling abroad, a lawyer said.
Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister when he was killed
in May 1991 by a suicide bomber at a public meeting in
Tamil Nadu.
Pathmanathan, who became leader of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) in 2009, after their defeat
by the Sri Lankan army, is also on Interpol’s most wanted
list on charges including arms smuggling and criminal
conspiracy.
“The Court of Appeal issued an order to the Controller of
Emigration and Immigration to prevent him leaving the
country,” said Sunil Watagala, a lawyer who had sought
Pathmanathan’s arrest.
Pathmanathan had been the LTTE’s chief arms procurer
and run its global fund-raising network as it fought to
carve out a separate state for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government captured him in Southeast Asia in August 2009 and brought
him to Sri Lanka. Pathmanathan then began cooperating
with the government, and was released in 2012.
The coalition headed by Sri Lanka’s new president,
Maithripala Sirisena, pledged before his election victory
last month to take legal action against Pathmanathan if it
won.
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist party that
had backed Sirisena for president, then filed a petition
seeking Pathmanathan’s arrest.
March 2015
PAGE 13
www.Asia
Times .US
India-born Ajit Jain in race for
Warren Buffett successor
Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway dropped one of
the biggest hints about a possible successor to the billionaire investor, describing India-born Ajit Jain and Greg
Abel as “world-leading” performers who are “better” business executives than the octogenarian.
In his much-anticipated annual letter to shareholders,
Buffet praised Jain, who manages the Berkshire Reinsurance Group, for the way he has grown the business over
the years.
While Buffet stopped short of naming his successor,
company Vice Chairman Charles Munger named Jain and
Abel, who heads Berkshire’s energy business, while talking about possible successors to Buffett.
“But, under this Buffett-soon-leaves assumption, his
successors would not be ‘of only moderate ability’. For
instance, Ajit Jain and Greg Abel are proven performers
who would probably be under-described as ‘world-class’.
‘World- leading’ would be the description I would choose.
In some important ways, each is a better business executive than Buffett,” Munger said in his letter to the shareholders.
He added that he believes that neither Jain nor Abel
would leave Berkshire, “no matter what someone else of-
fered” or desire much change in the Berkshire system.
Munger said 63-year-old Jain “created out of nothing” an
immense reinsurance business that produced both a huge
“float” and a large underwriting gain.
Buffett also lauded Jain’s “unmatched” underwriting skills,
saying he insures risks that no one else has the desire or
the capital to take on.
“His operation combines capacity, speed, decisiveness
and, most important, brains in a manner unique in the
insurance business. Yet he never exposes Berkshire to
risks that are inappropriate in relation to our resources,”
he said.
Jain’s “mind, moreover, is an idea factory that is always
looking for more lines of business he can add to his current assortment,” Buffett said.
Jain was born in Odisha and is an alumnus of IIT and
Harvard. Long been the front runner to succeed Buf-
fett, Jain has been associated with Buffett for nearly three
decades.
The 84-year old investor and philanthropist said Berkshire
is “ideally positioned” for life after he and Munger leave
the scene.
“We have the right people in place - the right directors,
managers and prospective successors to those managers.
Our culture, furthermore, is embedded throughout their
ranks,” he said.
Buffett has suggested that his son, Howard, succeed him
as a non- executive Chairman to further ensure continuation of the company culture.
Buffett also made clear that if elected, his son would
receive no pay and would spend no time at the job other
than that required of all directors.
Mukesh Ambani loses rich list top spot
to pharma tycoon
A fall in oil prices saw Mukesh Ambani cede his status
as “India’s richest man” to pharmaceutical tycoon Dilip
Shanghvi, who edged to the top of Forbes’ list of billionaires in the country.
The “real time” list of the richest Indians on the business
magazine’s website showed Shanghvi with a net worth of
$22 billion, and Ambani, who chairs the giant Reliance
Industries group, behind with $20.4 billion.
The switch comes just three days after the Forbes list for
2015 confirmed 57-year-old Ambani as India’s top billionaire for the eighth straight year.
A surge in the shares of Shanghvi’s Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries on Wednesday helped his wealth count rise
to the top spot on Forbes’ real time tracker. Shanghvi’s
business profile has rocketed after he bought out troubled
pharma peer Ranbaxy Laboratories last year from Japa-
nese giant Daiichi Sankyo for $3.2 billion.
The buyout surprised Indian markets but the acquisition
has been caught in a legal tangle and is yet to be completed.
The fortunes of Reliance Industries and Mukesh Ambani, who lives in a 27-floor home worth at least a billion
dollars in Mumbai, have been hit as falling global crude
prices dented the firm’s major revenue sources from petrochemicals and refining.
In global rankings of wealth, 59-year-old Shanghvi is now
in 37th place while Ambani is 42nd, Forbes data showed.
The three other Indians in the top 100 global list are Azim
Premji, owner of IT major Wipro, in 47th, followed by
HCL Technologies’ founder Shiv Nadar at 63rd and steel
magnate Lakshmi Mittal at 84th.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
PAGE 14
Nasa Europa mission to
search for alien life
WASHINGTON: Nasa is planning a mission to
Jupiter’s moon Europa to search for signs of alien
life on the icy, ocean-harbouring world.
Nasa has asked scientists to consider ways that a
Europa mission could search for evidence of alien
life in the plumes of water vapour that apparently
blast into space from Europa’s south polar region.
These plumes, which Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope spotted in December 2012, provide a possible way to sample Europa’s ocean of liquid water,
which is buried beneath the moon’s icy shell,
researchers said.
Nasa is zeroing in on a flyby mission design,
something along the lines of a long-studied concept called the Europa Clipper.
As currently envisioned, Clipper would travel
to Jupiter orbit, then make 45 flybys of Europa
over 3.5 years, at altitudes ranging from 25km to
2,700km.
The $2.1 billion mission would study Europa’s
subsurface ocean, giving researchers a better understanding of the water’s depth, salinity and other
characteristics.
Nasa also wants to add plume sampling to the
Europa mission’s task list, if possible.
During a Europa plume workshop at the Ames
Research Center in Silicon Valley earlier this week,
Nasa science chief John Grunsfeld urged attendees to “think outside the box” and come up with
feasible ways to study the moon’s plumes.
Researchers would want to analyse bits of Europa
material in well-equipped labs here on Earth, but
bringing samples back is likely beyond the scope
of the flyby mission currently under consideration.
However, it may be possible to detect biomolecules onsite, using gear aboard a Clipper-like
probe, researchers said.
Jupiter’s moon Europa. (Getty Images photo)
Spotting a set of amino acids that all display the
same chirality, or handedness, in plume material
would be strong evidence of Europan life, astro-
biologist Chris McKay, of Nasa Ames, said at the
workshop.
Collecting enough plume material to perform
such analyses will likely prove extremely challenging, ‘SPACE.com’ reported.
It may require flying so low and so slowly that it
makes more sense to send a lander down to the
Europa surface through the plume, said astrobiologist Kevin Hand of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
However, first the spacecraft should be able to
find the water vapour when it gets to Europa.
At the moment, the plume remains unconfirmed;
scientists have pointed Hubble at Europa repeatedly since the initial 2012 detection, but have
come up empty in attempts to spot it again.
So, if the plume exists, it is apparently sporadic
or episodic, not continuous like the powerhouse
geysers that erupt from the south pole of Saturn’s
icy moon Enceladus, researchers said.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
PAGE 15
Pakistanis Mourn Martyrdom of Iconic
Cardiologist Dr. Shahid Nawaz Malik
By: Faiz Al-Najdi
Noted Cardiac Surgeon and head of Cardiology department at Pakistan Institute of
Medical Sciences (PIMS) Prof Dr. Shahid
Nawaz Malik breathed his last on Friday
at Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in
Rawalpindi- Pakistan. Malik was shot and
critically injured on February 14 by two
unknown assailants. Malik was targeted
when he came out of the private ward
and was walking towards his vehicle at
about 3:30 pm. PIMS sources said, Malik
received a bullet at the back of his head
called posterior fossa. Though, he was
operated upon, the damage caused by the
bullet was irreparable.
Earlier Malik had worked at King Khalid
Hospital in Riyadh from 1988-1996 before
he served as a Chief Cardiologist in King
Faisal Specialists Hospital from 1998 till
2007 after which he had left for Pakistan
on final exit. During his stint in the Kingdom, he remained socially very active.
Meanwhile this sad news was received
with indignation and there has been an
outrage among the expat Pakistani community throughout Saudi Arabia at this
callous murder of such an iconic figure
who spent all his life in the service of
people.
On Friday evening there was a wedding
reception for the son of Shamshad Siddiqui – a noted businessman in Riyadh
which turned very gloomy when this sad
news was received. I took the opportunity
to obtain the opinion of some of the attendees who were in close association with
Malik.
Deputy Head of the Mission at Pakistan
Embassy Khayyam Akbar was visibly very
upset at this sad news. “I knew him well
and found him to be a very kind person
committed to his profession. His death is a
great loss to the nation. Pakistan has lost a
proud son, “Khayyam said.
Shamshad mentioned that he knew Malik
for a very long time. “His untimely death
has devastated me personally. I pray for his
soul to rest in peace and also pray so he is
awarded with an exalted place in Jannah
with the choicest of bounties, “Shamshad
added.
Asghar Qureshi – a noted businessman –
mentioned that his association with Malik
was spanned over decades. “I was his patient as well and when I first learnt about
this sad news I was not able to control my
emotions and cried for hours, “Qureshi
remarked.
Choudhry Faryad said that he was like
a brother to him. “I am saddened to see
that such an iconic person is so callously
killed. I have no words to express my grief,
“Choudhry added.
Dr. Asad Roomi – a noted Cardiologist
at Military Hospital in Riyadh – showed
his grave concern at targeting doctors in
Pakistan. “As for Malik, I can only say that
we have lost a very capable Cardiologist.
My prayers go out for him, “Dr. Roomi
mentioned.
Mailk Kausar - a noted personality in
Riyadh - mentioned that Malik was like a
brother to him. “For me it is like losing a
close family member, “Kausar added.
Dr. Mansour and Dr Erum said that an
icon from the doctor’s fraternity was lost.
“We recall his words when he had said so
way back in 2001, that he would lead his
life and practice his art with virtue and
honor and that us physicians while providing treatment to the sick, must consider
their well-being to be of greater importance than their ability to compensate our
services, the couple added.
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Ashiq Hussain – General Secretary of
Pakistan Writers Club – mentioned that he
was very saddened to learn about the sad
demise of Malik. “I knew him since he was
elected the first Chairman of the Governing Board of Pakistan International School
in Riyadh, “Ashiq said.
Ghulam Safder, Javed Akhter and Waqar
Wamiq – all of them noted figures in Riyadh – also expressed their profound grief
at this sad news.
Abdul Karim Khan, Malik Faqeer, Sher
Afzal, Riaz Rathore, Fayyaz Ali Khan,
Rana Khalid, Waseem Sajid, and Qazi
Ishaq Memon – all activists of Pakistan
Peoples Party (PPP) – were visibly were
sad. “We lost a patriotic Pakistani, a
capable Cardiologist who served selflessly
and above a friend of the poor. We recall
the days when he used to attend our meetings and proudly used to mention that he
was a Bhuttoist, “all of them echoed in one
voice.
Faiz Al-Najdi is a Riyadh Based Professional Engineer, a Writer, and a Social
Worker.
Email; [email protected]
.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
Badlapur Movie Review
CAST: Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui,
Huma Qureshi, Divya Dutta, Radhika Apte,
Yami Gautam, Kumud Mishra, Vinay Pathak
DIRECTION: Sriram Raghavan
GENRE: Crime
DURATION: 2 hours 5 minutes
STORY: Raghu’s (Varun Dhawan) indefectible life is
devastated, when a robbery episode kills his wife and son.
The culprit Liak (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) refuses to let
out the truth and is imprisoned for 20 years. Refusing to
move on, Raghu harbours in him the tryst for truth. Can
he avenge the deaths of people who meant the world to
him? And, is being devoured by the feeling of revenge as
gratifying as his volcanic rage had promised?
REVIEW: Badlapur is a gobsmacking movie that suffuses
on screen - a deftly written story, spectacular performances and an intelligently layered screenplay. What works
best here is the film’s unpredictability. From the minute it
begins, you’re latched to your seat with your heart throbbing in your mouth and your throat frequently choking
up. For the sheer impact the movie conjures
up, writer-director Sriram Raghavan deserves
a bow!
Mixing grit and suspense in the right measure,
Sriram allows his film to take the risky path in
keeping you invested, ably playing his motley
bunch of characters. While the layers smoothly
unfold in this vendetta affair, Raghavan’s clarity of vision keeps the narrative seamless. The
wicked humour sprinkled abruptly in the sequences draws one further into this movie. The
excessive gore might be considered superfluous
but is vital for the impact it has.
PAGE 16
TNN
The driving force here are the actors who evolve
the story. Varun’s measured acting and sincere
eyes draw empathy. With each scene, the intense
hues he brings to Raghu, unravel. Nawaz is
superlative as Liak, bringing a sinful streak of
twisted comedy, teaming it with unabashed
swagger. The ladies deliver adequately, but it’s
Huma Qureshi who brings more to her role than
what it holds.
Though the film’s second hour meanders and is a
tad long, the compelling climax and memorable
scenes, like the one where Liak reveals the truth
that Raghu had desperately been seeking, trivializes these flaws. Added to it, Sachin-Jigar’s haunting music adds a piercing quality.
Brisk and absorbing, concluding differently than
expected, Badlapur is an inspired film that dangerously attempts to change the landscape of the
thriller genre in Bollywood.
Ab Tak Chhappan 2 Movie Review
CAST: Nana Patekar, Vikram Gokhale, Mohan
Agashe, Raj Zutshi, Gul Panag, Ashutosh Rana,
Dilip Prabhawalkar
DIRECTION: Aejaz Gulab
GENRE: Crime
DURATION: 1 hour 45 minutes
STORY: After his wife is murdered, encounter specialist
Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) goes into self-proclaimed
exile to ensure his son’s safety. But the home minister
(Vikram Gokhale) wants him back on the job to tackle
Mumbai’s escalating crime scene. Sadhu returns, only to
find himself playing into the hands of the very criminals
he had set out to kill.
REVIEW: Your heart goes out to Nana Patekar, who
resurrects his role as an encounter cop and in doing so,
lends utmost authenticity to his character. As a man torn
between his duty as a cop and responsibility as a father,
he singlehandedly strives to salvage what appears to be a
poor remake of the gripping original (Shimit Amin’s Ab
Tak Chhappan, 2004) with his tremendous screen presence.
However, despite Nana’s brilliance, the makers (who aren’t
associated with the original) let him down with their
predictable plot, sleep-inducing screenplay, cliched execution and repetitive dialogues. Other than unimaginative
writing, poor build-up of negative characters, unflattering
camera angles (supposed ode to Ram Gopal Varma?) and
lack of plot twists, make this a crime drama a half-hearted
attempt.
Of course, there are scenes that hit the bull’s-eye, like
Sadhu’s rivalry and sarcastic repartee with his junior
(Ashutosh Rana) and the precious moments he shares
with his son. However, in the absence of a strong story,
the film struggles to hold your attention. Also, cops, politicians, journalists, basically everyone involved in the film
keep spouting the same lines, giving us a demo on how
the words (system, force and mission) can be used in multiple ways... ‘System ko badalna hoga, system yeh kehti
hai, system yeh, system woh...’ the obsession doesn’t end.
Despite its flaws, ATC2 can be watched, if you are a diehard Nana Patekar fan. On second thoughts, watching the
original again would be a smarter move.
March 2015
On the lighter side....
www.Asia
Times .US
An angry wife was complaining about her husband
spending all his free time in a bar, so one night he took
her along with him.
I was hurting real bad and didn’t want to move. However,
I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she
was in terrible shape just by her groans.
“What’ll you have?” he asked.
Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on
the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so
he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his
gun and shot her between the eyes.
“Oh, I don’t know. The same as you I suppose,” she replied.
So, the husband ordered a couple of Jack Daniel’s and
threw his down in one shot. His wife watched him, then
took a sip from her glass and immediately spat it out.
“Yuck, that’s TERRIBLE!” she spluttered. “I don’t know
how you can drink this stuff!”
“Well, there you go,” cried the husband. “And you think
I’m out enjoying myself every night!”
___________________________________________
A husband went to the police station to file a missing
persons report.
Husband: “I lost my wife, she went shopping hasn’t come
back yet.”
Officer: “What is her height?”
Husband: “Average, I guess.”
mode. And it has full LED headlights, which use light
emitting diodes for all light functions and has a very thin
scratch on the front left door...”
_____________________________________________
Farmer Joe was in his car when he was hit by a truck.
He decided his injuries from the accident were serious
enough to take the trucking company (responsible for the
accident) to court. In court the trucking company’s fancy
lawyer was questioning farmer Joe. “Didn’t you say, at the
scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine’?” said the lawyer.
Farmer Joe responded, “Well I’ll tell you what happened.
I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the....” “I
didn’t ask for any details,” the lawyer interrupted, “just
answer the question.”
“Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ‘I’m fine’!”
Officer: “Slim or healthy?”
Farmer Joe said, “Well I had just got Bessie into the trailer
and I was driving down the road....”
Husband: “Not slim, but probably healthy.”
The lawyer interrupted again and said, “Judge, I am trying
to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this
man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was
just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying
to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to
simply answer the question.”
Officer: “Color of hair?”
Husband: “Changes according to season.”
Officer: “What was she wearing?”
Husband: “Not sure, either a dress or a suit.”
By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe’s
answer and said to the lawyer, “I’d like to hear what he has
to say about his favorite mule Bessie.”
Officer: “Was she driving?”
Husband: “Yes.”
Officer: “Color of the car?”
Husband: “Black Audi A8 with supercharged 3.0 litre
V6 engine generating 333 horse power teamed with an
eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission with manual
PAGE 17
Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, “Well as I was
saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into
the trailer and was driving her down the highway when
this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and
smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one
ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other.
Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in
his hand and looked at me. He said, “Your mule was in
such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?”
___________________________________________
A priest, a lawyer, and an accountant were all at the bedside of a very ill man. The man said to them,
“Gentlemen, I’m dying. Before I go, however, I want to
ask you one final favor: My family is rotten and I don’t
want to give any of them an inheritance. I would like to be
buried with the remainder of my money.” He then hands
the priest, the lawyer, and the accountant three envelopes
that contain $100,000 each.
“While my coffin is being lowered into the earth, please
throw each of the envelopes in. Don’t tell anyone what’s
inside the envelopes.”
So the three men leave. Sure enough, one week later, the
man dies. During the funeral, the three men toss the envelopes into the grave whilst the coffin was being lowered.
After the funeral, the three men go to a cafe to discuss the
life of the old man. The priest says,
“I have a confession: I took $10,000 from my envelope.
But I used it to fix up the children’s home. The old man
was always very generous and loved the children. I’m sure
he wouldn’t mind seeing where his money went.”
The lawyer pipes in,
“Well, I also have a confession: I took $30,000 as payment
of a personal loan he borrowed from me years ago.”
The accountant, looking rather shocked, says,
“I cannot believe you two! I wrote a personal check that
covered the whole thing!
US woman on death row asks for huge
meal before execution
A meal to die for! A US woman on death
row, convicted for killing her husband, has
submitted a lengthy list for her last feast
before execution — from cheeseburgers to
cherry vanilla ice cream — she wants it all.
ers, two large orders of fries, cornbread
with a side of buttermilk, popcorn, lemonade and a salad with boiled eggs, tomatoes,
bell peppers, onions, carrots, cheese and
buttermilk dressing.
Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, will become
the first woman to be executed in seven
decades in the US state of Georgia when
she receives a lethal injection on February
25.
She also wants a cherry vanilla ice cream
for dessert, prison officials were quoted as
saying by New York Daily News.
Gissendaner, the state’s only woman on
death row, has requested two cheeseburg-
Gissendaner, 46, has been given the death
penalty for orchestrating a particularly
brutal death for her husband, Douglas Gissendaner, in 1997.
A jury found the murderous spouse
persuaded her boyfriend, Gregory Owen,
to kidnap her husband at knifepoint, club
him in the back of the head and stab him
to death in a rural stretch of woods while
she went dancing with her girlfriends.
They later torched his car and left his
corpse face down among the trees to be
chewed by wild animals.
Gissendaner planned to pay off her house
with insurance money from her husband’s
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death and she was ticked off when she
realised he had never taken out a policy,
friends testified.
Owen flipped on his former lover and was
sentenced to 25 years.
Gissendaner was convicted in 1998 and
the jury recommended she be put to
death.
The US Supreme Court refused to hear
hear appeal in 2014.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
PAGE 18
Hyderabad
Building another Tokyo in new capital region of
Andhra Pradesh, says CM Chandrababu Naidu
Seeking to promote Japanese investments
in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N
Chandrababu Naidu aid that dedicated
industrial townships and clusters for Japanese are planned to be set up in the state.
Addressing a seminar on ‘Expanding
Technology Cooperation for Smart Community in Andhra Pradesh,’ here, he said
India and Japan are natural allies today for
business and also investments.
“Make Andhra Pradesh as a destiny for
Japanese investments, build another Tokyo
in new capital region (of AP)...there you
have so many opportunities. I want to do
business most efficiently and for that I am
assuring you on ease of doing business
through speedier clearances, infrastructure and good governance, transparent
government,” Naidu said.
“I am doing focus on Japan only...the reason is simple. We need investment. India
is growing very fast. Japan has technology
and huge capital,” he said.
“You may have seen experience in China
and other countries. India has democracy
and large land and India is moving very
fast towards double digit growth rate,”
Naidu said.
“We are establishing land bank for 10 lakh
acres of land, 24X7 power, abundant water
for industry, and world-class infrastructure, roads and ports in the state and committed to create industrial infrastructure,”
Naidu said.
“We are preparing time bound programme
for each sector and every project,” he said,
adding, all clearances will be given in 21
days for industries and for mega projects it
will be given after one to one discussion.
“There will be total cooperation. Our
people are happy seeing Japanese investments. Once you start the project I will be
after you till the project is completed. I am
asking you to come forward, ultimately to
attract investments and we are prepared to
work with you,” Naidu said.
“We won’t disappoint you. I am assuring you on my and my team’s commitment. AP is strategically positioned to
attract foreign investment and to leverage
advantages. AP government is undertaking multiple forward looking initiatives to
facilitate investments.”
K Chandrashekar Rao to start
new English newspaper
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his family are
expanding their media business and will soon launch an
English daily in Telangana.
Mr Chandkrasekhar Rao, who had successfully launched
Namaste Telangana, now a leading Telugu daily, and the
popular T News Channel during the height of the Telangana movement, will start publishing an English newspaper titled Telangana Today.
Sources said the CM had been toying with the idea of
launching an English daily exclusively for Telangana for a
while and made up his mind recently.
“It’s true we are coming up with an English
daily titled Telangana Today. It may take
two to three months for its formal launch.
We will have multiple editions in Telangana
in a phased manner and will provide all the
coverage Telangana people desire,” a close
confidant of the CM told this newspaper.
At present Namaste Telangana, which was
launched on June 6, 2011, is published from
Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar and Nizamabad and the English daily too will begin with
some of these editions, it is learnt.
Hyderabad: Kidney trade busted
doctor, 3 others arrested
: With the arrest of four persons including a doctor, Hyderabad police claimed to have busted a racket of kidney
transplants for Indian patients at hospitals in Sri Lanka or
Iran.
The officers of Commissioner’s Task Force (West Zone)
today arrested Dr Hirdesh Saxena alias Kumar (60), a
resident of Shirdi in Maharashtra, and city-residents K
Raghavender, a businessman; A Ashok, a student; and
Sanjay Kumar Jain, a passport agent.
Additional police commissioner Anjani Kumar said Dr
Saxena was the kingpin of the racket. The recipients of
transplant had to shell out Rs 30 lakh, while Saxena made
a profit of Rs 8 lakh per transplant, he added.
Raghavender alias Dr Sanjay Kapoor, who acted as Saxena’s agent, earned a commission of Rs 3 lakh per donor.
Ashok worked for Raghavender and helped find the donors for a commission of Rs 50,000, while Jain arranged
passports by charging Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000.
“They lured youngsters through social media and
sub-agents and persuaded them to donate kidney for
money. The donors who had a passport were paid Rs 5
lakh, while those who did not have one were paid Rs 3
lakh,” said the officer.
Dr Saxena also was in cahoots with Ram Kumar of
Chennai, providing him donors for Rs 3 lakh. Though
both recipients and donors would be Indian nationals, the transplant was performed in either Iran or Sri
Lanka by keeping the government regulators there in
the dark.
Donors and recipients would be taken there on tourist visa. “Dr Saxena scouted for patients at dialysis
centres and also through social media. He was in
this trade for the last one year. The racket operated in
Karnataka, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala,
Maharashtra,” ACP Kumar said.
A case under the Andhra Pradesh Transplantation of Human Organs Act-1995 and IPC has been registered.
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
PAGE 19
CHICAGO PRAYER TIMING
Question:
What is the best way to thank Allah and to show
gratitude towards Him?
Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and may His peace and
blessings be upon the Prophet (peace be upon him)
who said: “Should not I be a grateful servant.” [Sahîh
al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]
Probably the best way to thank Allah is to be aware
of His presence and His power at all times and in
all places and to keep in mind all the favors He
has granted to us whether these favors are seen or
unseen.
For example: some of the marvelous favors that He
has bestowed upon us are Islam, belief, guidance and
righteousness. These are marvelous favors that cannot be equated with other things. If we wish to thank
Allah for these favors, we should fulfill our obligations and refrain from falling into all forbidden
things. In other words, we do what Allah commands
us to do and abandon what He has forbidden us.
Another example of a favor we often take for granted
is our sight. This is a great favor from Allah. It has
provides us with countless blessings. Allah says: “But
if you count the favors of Allah, never will you be
able to number them.” [Sûrah Ibrâhîm: 34] .You see
the way ahead of you and see what may be beneficial
or harmful. If you wish to thank Allah for this favor,
you should not use your sight in viewing unlawful
things. All other favors and blessings can be treated
in the same way.
A good way to make Allah’s favors dearer to us is
look at those who are lacking them. When we see
the patient in the sickbed, we realize Allah’s favor
in giving us good health. We should exploit our
good health in obeying Allah by pushing ourselves
to perform prayers, fasts, Hajj, and good deeds like
enjoining on others what is right and forbidding
what is wrong.
When we witness the difficulties suffered by those
who are blind and the deaf, we come to know how
blessed we are by having full use of our senses.
All of these favors encourage us to thank Allah and
use the blessings that He has given us in obedience
to Him and not in disobedience.
Remember that gratitude for blessings is a blessing
which needs to be given thanks for, so that one will
continue to enjoy the blessings of his Lord, thanking
his Lord for those blessings and praising Him for
helping him to be among those who give thanks.
We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to help us and you
to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.
And Allah knows best.
Sheikh Khâlid Husayn
March 2015
www.Asia
Times .US
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