Not Required Indian, NRI: Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/NRIs-treated-as-Not-Required-Indians/articleshow/4979439.cms

NRIs treated as Not Required Indians!

Mukesh Patel 6 September 2009, 10:58pm IST


Indubhai Amin, a non-resident Indian (NRI) settled in the UK earns
interest income of Rs 3 lakh on his non-resident ordinary account bank
deposit in India in the current FY 2009-10. Enjoying his personal
exemption limit of Rs 1.60 lakh and the eligible deduction of Rs 1
lakh u/s 80C, Amin is comfortable paying income tax of Rs 4,000 in the
first slab of 10 per cent on his effective taxable income of Rs
40,000.

Flat tax of 20% and 30%

A huge shock awaits Amin and millions of NRIs, in regard to taxation
of their interest and investment income and capital gains earned in
India, proposed to be treated under the draft Direct Tax Code as
"income from special sources."

In 2011-12, on the same interest income of Rs 3 lakh, Amin will be
required to pay a hefty tax of Rs 60,000 at the flat rate of 20 per
cent, without being eligible to claim any basic exemption or other
deduction, as provided under rule three of the First Schedule to the
Code.

Moreover, all capital gains earned by a non-resident will attract a
flat tax of 30 per cent, irrespective of the amount of capital gains.
While a resident Indian will be required to pay tax of Rs 3.84 lakh on
his taxable income of Rs 25 lakh, an NRI earning equivalent capital
gains will be called upon to pay almost double tax of Rs 7.5 lakh.

Hair-raising drafting

New section 13 (2) provides that such ‘special income’ shall be
computed in accordance with the provisions of the Ninth Schedule, the
drafting of which is literally hair-raising. It provides that the
amount of accrual or receipt shall be computed as the taxable income,
and no loss, allowance or deduction shall be allowed, as the same
shall be presumed to have been granted. The only exception in this
regard, in respect of capital gains arising from the transfer of
equity shares or units of equity oriented mutual fund chargeable to
STT, is quite amusing, as it stands redundant in view of the proposal
to abolish STT (a classic instance of incoherent drafting).

The draftsman does not seem to have realized the harsh implications.
It means that if an NRI sells a capital asset purchased for Rs 10 lakh
at Rs 30 lakh, he will be required to pay tax of Rs 9 lakh at 30 per
cent on the gross sale consideration of Rs 30 lakh without any
deduction even for the cost of acquisition of Rs 10 lakh (not to
mention any benefit of indexation on the same).

Determination of residential status

The residential status of an individual under the Code is proposed to
be determined as per the current norms. However, the status of "not
ordinarily resident" (NOR) is proposed to be eliminated. Despite the
above, Clause 24 of the Sixth Schedule has still provided for
exemption in respect of interest earned on foreign currency deposits
in the case of NOR. Poor drafting indeed!

The Code has proposed to retain the current exemptions availed by a
non-resident in case of interest earned on NRE and FCNR deposits with
banks.

Special exemption for returning NRIs

A useful exemption has been provided in case of income earned outside
India, if it is not derived from a business controlled from India, in
the financial year in which the returning NRI becomes an Indian
resident and the immediately succeeding financial year. However, the
benefit of the said exemption would be available, only if such
individual was a non-resident for nine years immediately preceding the
financial year in which he becomes a resident.

Wealth-tax liability for NRIs

Proposed Section 102 of the Code provides for wealth tax liability in
the case of the value of all global assets of an individual or HUF.
However, an exemption has been provided in case of the value of assets
located outside India in case of an individual who is not a citizen of
India or an individual or HUF not resident in India. Hence, while
returning NRIs who are non-citizens will enjoy wealth-tax exemption
for their overseas assets, NRIs with Indian citizenship becoming
residents will attract wealth-tax liability on such assets held
abroad.

Illogical exemption under wealth-tax

Talking about wealth tax, the Code prescribes an exemption in respect
of any house or plot of land belonging to an individual or HUF, if it
is acquired before April 1, 2000. It is difficult to understand the
logic as to why this exemption has been denied in all cases where such
immovable property is acquired after March 31, 2000!

Proposals That Will Hurt the Global Indian Sentiment

Flat Rate of Tax

20% flat tax on interest & other investment income
30% flat tax on all capital gains
Apart from 20% & 30% TDS on above, TDS at a baffling rate of 35%
prescribed on all residual income

No Personal Exemption

No personal exemption or deduction allowed in computing the above
income treated as ‘income from special sources’.

Weird Interpretation

Poor drafting leads to such a weird interpretation that transfer of a
capital asset may attract 30% tax on gross sale consideration.

What Discrimination!

Ironical but true! Non-Indian sportspersons, say Ricky Ponting or
Shoaib Akhtar, required to pay a concessional tax of 10% on their
game, advertisement and column earnings in India, thus enjoying a more
privileged tax status than our own sons of the soil living abroad

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/business/india-business/NRIs-send-most-money-back-home/articleshow/2477713.cms

NRIs send most money back home

Subodh Varma, TNN 21 October 2007, 12:46am IST

NEW DELHI: India has displaced China and Mexico to become the top
remittance receiving country in the world, according to latest data
released by the World Bank. Indians working in foreign countries sent
back over $25.7 billion (roughly Rs 1,28,500 crore) as remittances in
2006, followed by Mexico ($24.7 billion), China ($22.5 billion) and
the Philippines ($14.9 billion).

To put the scale of the remittances in perspective, consider this:
money received by India through this route is roughly the same as the
country’s total estimated annual expenditure on defence, or about five
times the estimated expenditure on education in 2007-08. Total income
tax and wealth tax collections in the country are less than the
remittances received. And they are over three times the foreign direct
investment in the country in 2006.

However, the remittances make up only about 3% of India’s GDP. In
several small countries, remittances are a much bigger share of the
national economy. Thus, in Moldova, remittances are equivalent to 38%
of its GDP. Other countries in which remittances are over 20% of GDP
include Tonga, Guyana, Haiti, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Honduras and
Jordan. In the Indian subcontinent, Nepal receives remittances
equivalent to 15% and Bangladesh 9% of their GDP.

Among the Indian states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu provide almost half of
the total immigrants from India. These are followed by Karnataka,
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

A study conducted by the Centre for Development Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram, showed over 25% of households in Kerala have at
least one person working abroad.

Sheer numbers and relatively higher skill levels appear to be driving
the growth in Indian remittances. The World Bank study estimates that
the number of Indian immigrants is about 10 million. Mexico and Russia
are the top immigrant sending countries with an estimated 11.5
immigrants each.

Interestingly, the bulk of remittances are being sent not by highly
skilled professionals like doctors or software engineers, but by more
humdrum workers, wage employees and service providers.

Apart from increased international flow of labour, better means of
transferring funds, like electronic transfers, are contributing to the
rapidly increasing remittances.

This is borne out by the fact that the business of wire transfer
companies is booming, with estimated revenues of $15 billion in 2006,
and up to 30% profit margins.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/business/india-business/NRIs-may-find-it-less-attractive-to-park-funds/articleshow/1952214.cms

NRIs may find it less attractive to park funds

TNN 25 April 2007, 05:12am IST

Faced with the challenge of managing excess capital inflows, the
central bank has sought to discourage part of these flows by slashing
rates on NRE and FCNR deposits.

By reducing the rates by 50 basis points, RBI has made it less
attractive to park money in these deposits. The interest rate
differential prevailing now between India and many other countries was
good enough to prompt many overseas investors to take advantage of
arbitrage opportunities on offer.

But, for the monetary policy managers, excess capital flows pose
problems in the form of higher money supply and the threat of
inflation. To obviate this, the central bank has to sterilise such
flows.

Such opportunities will now be reduced with the lowering of the rates
on NRE and FCNR deposits. The move comes at a time, when NRI deposits
grew by 188% during April-December 2006 compared to a year ago.

RBI’s annual monetary policy statement unveiled on Tuesday said, “In
the context of large capital inflows and implications for liquidity
and monetary management, there is a need to review the interest rate
prescriptions related to NRI deposits, viz., foreign currency non-
resident (banks) (FCNR(B)) deposits and Non-Resident (External) Rupee
Account (NR(E)RA) deposits.”

The interest rate ceiling on FCNR (B) deposits of all maturities has
now been pegged at Libor/Swap rates for the corresponding maturities
minus 25 basis points for the respective foreign currencies. RBI has
announced a reduction in the interest rate ceiling on FCNR (B)
deposits by 50 basis points, which is Libor minus 75 basis points with
immediate effect.

Hitherto, the interest rate ceiling on NR(E)RA for one to three years
maturity did not exceed 50 basis points above Libor/Swap rates for US
dollar of corresponding maturity. RBI has cut the deposit rate by 50
basis points to Libor/Swap rates.

Remittances will be inelastic to changes in interest rates on NRI
deposits, since they form part of current account transactions, while
NRI deposits constitute a capital account transaction.

Remittances by overseas Indians, as reflected in private transfers in
the balance of payments, have touched a new high of $8,145 million
during the quarter ended December 2006. This is the highest-ever
received by the country in any single quarter. Remittances for the
entire calendar year 2006 touched $26.9 billion.

According to RBI, NRI deposits surged by 188% to $3.2 billion in April-
December 2006 from $1.11 billion in the first three quarters last
year. “Net inflows under NRI deposits during April-December 2006 were
substantially higher than those a year ago, partly attributable to the
higher interest rates offered,” RBI said.

On the whole, debt flows (net) in the form of external assistance,
external commercial borrowings (ECBs), NRI deposits and short-term
credit put together increased substantially $14.5 billion in April-
December 2006 from $2.7 billion a year ago.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20090925261904200.htm


Steady inflow

C.P. CHANDRASEKHAR

In explaining India’s growth success, the role of remittances needs to
be emphasised.

K.K. MUSTAFAH

Money changers lined up at Perunna in Kerala. The surge in remittances
from migrant workers did not weaken in 2008 despite the recession.

HAS unemployment or unsatisfactory employment at home proved to be a
boon rather than a bane for India? That seemed to be the message that
came through when the World Bank reported that in crisis year 2008,
India bettered its position as the leading recipient of remittances,
with a record inflow of $52 billion. This was well ahead of the $40.6
billion that China, which stood second, received that year. According
to those estimates, remittances to India increased by more th an a
third from its $38.7 billion level in 2007. Clearly, short-term
migration was not just proving to be a temporary solution to the
unemployment problem at home, but was delivering a flow of foreign
exchange that could serve as a shock absorber in times of crisis when
foreign investors were holding back or moving out, exports were
slowing and domestic income growth was sluggish.

The significance of these flows should not be underestimated. Even in
2007, remittances into India amounted to 3.3 per cent of its GDP. In
2007-08, when the effects of the global crisis were yet to be felt,
India’s balance of payments statistics indicated that net private
transfers to the country, consisting largely of remittances, brought
in $41.7 billion, which was higher than the $40.3 billion earned
through the much-celebrated net exports of software services and just
marginally less than the $45 billion that came in the form of both
direct and portfolio investment. In 2008-09, provisional figures
indicate that net private transfers stood at $44 billion and net
software services exports had risen to $47 billion, whereas net
foreign investment (direct and portfolio) had collapsed to just $3.5
billion, largely because of the exit of portfolio investors. Net
portfolio inflows that stood at $29.6 billion in 2007-08 turned
negative, and the net outflow was around $14 billion.

The sources of remittances have indeed changed over time. Immediately
after the oil shocks of the 1970s, the short-term migration trail was
dominated by the flow of masons, carpenters, and unskilled workers
drawn by the construction boom in West Asia. Migration to other parts
of the globe, especially its developed centres, such as the United
States and the United Kingdom, consisted of permanent migrants who
retained most of their savings in their countries of residence. Short-
term migrants often had their families at home to maintain and chose
to transfer their savings home, being attracted by the higher interest
rates and driven by the need to accumulate their savings to support
them when they returned.

The transformation that has taken place in the sources of remittances
over the last decade and a half is that while West Asia has remained
an important source in absolute terms, its share in total remittances
has indeed fallen substantially. According to a 2006 study by the
Reserve Bank of India, regionwise, North America accounted for nearly
44 per cent of the total remittances to India, followed by West Asia
(24 per cent) and Europe (13 per cent). This shift in the sources of
remittances was a result of the impact that the software services
export boom had on the nature of Indian migration to the U.S. and
Europe. In the U.S., for example, the flow of software and IT services
workers required to provide onsite services to clients of Indian firms
under the H1B visa provision increased substantially. These workers,
who were paid a full salary or a substantial allowance while resident
in the U.S., saved and transferred a significant share of their
earnings either to support families at home or to retain them as
savings in the home country.

Thus, explaining the remittances surge, which has sustained itself
through the oil shock years and into the IT boom period, is not
difficult. The puzzle relates to the question why this surge has not
lost steam in the wake of the financial and real economy crises that
engulfed both North America and West Asia in 2008. The construction
boom in the Gulf has indeed faltered. And demand for outsourced
services from the U.S. is bound to have shrunk, especially since the
financial sector was a major source of demand for software and IT-
enabled services. Moreover, the recession has increased local
opposition to hiring foreign workers, leading to some loss of job
opportunities for short-term migrants to the developed countries.

An often-provided reason for the persistence of the remittances surge
in 2008 is that the effects of the crisis would have been felt with a
lag, especially given the oil price surge that preceded the downturn.
Further, a lag in the effects of the global crisis on net services
exports from India was to be expected, given that contracts in
software and Business Process Outsourcing services are typically
signed for long periods such as two to three years. The effect of the
crisis would be on the renewal of contracts and the signing of new
contracts, and the initial impact on aggregate revenues would be
proportionately lower according to the weight of legacy contracts in
the total.

SHAJU JOHN

Visa applicants at the office of the British Deputy High Commission in
Chennai, a file photograph. According to a 2006 study by the Reserve
Bank of India, Europe accounts for about 13 per cent of remittances
from abroad.

The lag was likely to be even longer in the case of remittances
because workers who lose their jobs abroad and return home tend to
bring their accumulated savings, and this “windfall effect” could more
than compensate for the fall in the remittance flows resulting from
lower overseas employment. In addition, rupee depreciation over 2008
accompanied by growing interest rate differentials was likely to have
encouraged larger remittances through rupee denominated non-resident
accounts.

Finally, remittances can reflect the conversion of past savings into
current flows. Private transfers which are normally treated as
remittances actually have two components: “inward remittances for
family maintenance” and “local withdrawals/redemptions from NRI [non-
resident Indian] deposits”. During the period from 2006-07 to 2008-09,
when net private transfers rose from $30.8 billion to $43.5 billion
and then to $46.4 billion, local withdrawals or redemptions of NRI
deposits averaged about 43 per cent of total remittances. As the
Reserve Bank of India’s Annual Report for 2008-09 explains: “A major
part of outflows from NRI deposits is in the form of local
withdrawals, which are not actually repatriated out of the country but
utilised domestically, making them equivalent to unilateral transfers
without any quid pro quo. Such local withdrawals/redemptions cease to
exist as external liability in the capital account.”

This implies that a significant part of the increase in “remittances”
during 2008-09 was the result of the redemption of past savings rather
than the transfer of a part of current incomes. This too would have
moderated the impact of the global crisis on remittance flows.
Inasmuch as past savings, if tapped for current consumption, would run
out for some workers, this too could lead to a lagged effect of the
crisis on the remittances figure.

This seems to be the experience in Latin America. Thus, the World Bank
reports that globally, “the slowdown in remittance flows that became
evident in the last quarter of 2008 has continued into the first half
2009. As the U.S. job market weakness continues, officially recorded
remittance flows to the Latin American and the Caribbean region have
dropped significantly in the first half of 2009.”

However, in contrast to this, remittance flows to South Asia and East
Asia have continued to post strong growth in 2009. This, according to
the World Bank, is partly because the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)
countries, which attract a large share of Asian migrants, have not
significantly reduced their hiring and partly because of an increase
in remittance flows to finance investment, as a result of “falling
asset prices, rising interest rate differentials and a depreciation of
the local currency”. But the pace of construction in the GCC countries
is finally slowing, the rupee’s depreciation has halted and interest
rates in India have been reduced in response to the deceleration in
growth. As a result, the World Bank expects the crisis to have an
adverse effect on remittances to India, too, in the year ahead. In
fact, according to the RBI, quarterly figures point to a moderation in
the flow of remittances in the second half of 2008-09, which it
attributes to the adverse effect on employment of the financial crisis
and the collapse in the price of oil that is affecting activity in the
Gulf countries.

It is undeniable that remittances have been and remain a major source
of strength for the Indian economy, especially for its balance of
payments. And given the accumulated stock of migrants abroad, this is
unlikely to change all too soon, even if some are forced to return.
This perhaps is a factor that needs to be emphasised a little more
when explaining India’s growth success.

,,,and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://nvonews.com/2009/09/08/overseas-indians-promotion-legal-migration/

Newsताजा समाचार

Welfare of Overseas Indians and promotion of legal migration

Sep 8th, 2009 | By NVO Bureau | Category: New Delhi, News New Delhi:
Mr. K. Mohandas, Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA)
inaugurated the 2nd Annual Consultation Meeting with the State
Governments here today. The two-day Consultation Meeting is aimed to
discuss how the Ministry can partner with the State Governments to
provide the required support in effectively addressing the problems of
Overseas Indians. Addressing the state representatives, Mohandas said
that a Nodal Department should be set up by all states for welfare of
Overseas Indians and promotion of legal migration from the States. He
said that state governments can play active role in implementation of
various schemes and programmes of the Ministry. He further said the
skill up-gradation and pre-departure Orientation Training Programme
for potential emigrants, creation of database of skilled manpower and
facilitating their overseas employment, migration of students for
study abroad and their registration and Know India Programme are the
focus areas where the Ministry and State governments can work together
for welfare of NRIs, PIOs and Overseas Indian Workers.

The Consultation Meeting serves as a platform to enable the State
Governments to make suggestions recommendations to the Government of
India in the matter of overseas Indians. The Meeting focuses on
various Emigration and Diaspora related issues. This includes the
following:

· Creation of Nodal Department for welfare of Overseas Indians
by all State Governments and promoting legal migration from the
States.

· Promotion of overseas employment opportunities by the State
Governments.

· Skill Up gradation and Pre-departure Orientation Training
and creation of awareness to the potential emigrants by the States.

· Action against unregistered Recruiting Agents (RAs) and
Travel Agents by the State Governments.

· Emigration Management Bill.

· E-Governance Project.

· Legal migration and preventing exploitation of women.

· Migration of Students for study abroad and their
Registration.

· Programs/schemes operated by the States for the benefit of
NRIs / PIOs.

· Giving effect to benefits conferred on registered OCIs by
notifications issued by MHA, MOIA, UGC, AICTE, etc.

· Problems relating to NRI Marriages and providing Legal
Assistance to deserted wives.

· Quick Redressal of property related grievances of NRIs.

An important Workshop on the theme ‘Prevention of illegal Migration:
Drawing up an Action Plan’ would be organized on the second day of the
Consultation Meeting. The Workshop would equip capacity building of
all the Stakeholders involved in the process. The Consultation Meeting
is being attended by senior officials from 16 State Governments and
representatives of the Central Government Ministries including
Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of
Labour. The recommendations of the two day Consultation Meeting would
serve as guidance to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the
State Governments for addressing the concerns of the overseas Indians,
especially the Overseas Indian Workers.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://nvonews.com/2008/05/28/punjab-set-toll-free-call-centre-2/

Newsताजा समाचार
Punjab to set up toll-free call centre for NRIs

May 28th, 2008 | By Vikas Jaatyan

Punjab will have 24-hour toll-free call centre for live and on-the-
spot redressal of problems and grievances of the Punjabis settled
across the globe. The centre, a bilingual facility in Punjabi and
English, comes as a follow-up of the decisions taken during the NRI
Sammelan held in Chandigarh and Jalandhar in January this year.

Harcharan Bains, media adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal, said in addition to the call centre, the NRI-specific official
website of the state government would also function as back-up for the
government-to-NRI interaction.

About 70 lakh NRIs of Punjabi origin are settled in different parts of
the world, with Canada, the UK, the USA, Malaysia, Australia, Germany,
Italy, Spain and some countries in the West Asia being the favoured
destinations.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government today signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in
the government of India for putting in place a structured mechanism
for the welfare of Punjabis going to or already settled in different
countries across the world. The MoU was signed in the presence of the
Chief Minister with chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh and K. Mohan
Das, secretary, Ministry of Overseas India Affairs, representing the
state and the Union governments, respectively. Although the major
thrust of the MoU is at creating awareness among the Punjabis about
problems faced in migration and employment-related issues, one of its
key clauses concerns imparting vocational skills to aspiring
emigrants.

Short-duration skill-training courses will be organised keeping in
mind country-specific demand for skilled workforce from Punjab. The
MoU also provides for a stepped-up co-ordination between Punjab and
the Central government on legal aspects of migration from the state.
It also seeks a joint initiative for setting up help centres for
solving immigration related problems at various airports and for
providing emergency documentation in case of loss of passports abroad,
said Bains.

The MoU lists the broad outlines of the programme for training
prospective emigrants at identified training centres through three
tracks, namely training through the centres of Ministry of Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises, Private Partners and recognised non-
government organisations and the state government.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://nvonews.com/2008/10/22/exploitation-of-indian-workers-90-cases-in-gulf-countries/

Newsताजा समाचार
Exploitation of Indian Workers – 90% cases in Gulf Countries

Oct 22nd, 2008 | By NVO Bureau

Featured New Delhi: Instances of exploitation of Indian emigrant
workers have come to the notice of the Government from time to time.
Over 90% of such workers are employed in Gulf countries. The
complaints received relate to various issues including instances of
exploitation by recruitment agents. During the last two years, the
number of complaints received.

345 foreign employers have been placed under prior approval category
based on such complaints.

With a view to protect the interests of the Indian workers going
abroad, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has taken the
following steps:

Attestation of employment documents by the Indian missions concerned
in respect of six countries viz. Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Jordan, Sudan
and Kuwait for all categories of workers (skilled & unskilled) has
been made mandatory whereas for vulnerable categories, i.e.
housemaids/ domestic servants and unskilled labour, attestation of
employment documents by the Indian missions has been made mandatory
for all ECR countries.

All demands for 500 or more workers is verified for the genuineness of
the demand as well as the Foreign Employer by the concerned Indian
mission.

All demands from Recruiting Agents in the Watch List of the Ministry
of Overseas Indian Affairs are attested by the Indian mission
concerned before grant of clearance.

Protectors of Emigrants have been asked to conduct appropriate checks
and exercise abundant caution while granting emigration clearance,
while taking into account the extant instructions of the Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs.

This Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has entered into bilateral
MOUs with the UAE and Kuwait and updated the existing agreement with
Qatar to ensure protection to emigrant workers. MOU with Malaysia and
Bahrain have been finalized. Negotiations are on with Oman. Efforts
are being made to sign MOUs with other labour receiving countries.
These MOUs provide for a Joint Committee consisting of representatives
of both countries to discuss and resolve grievances of workers.

Special measures being taken for better protection and welfare of
vulnerable sections of emigrants including women emigrants are: -

1. Age restriction of 30 years for all women emigrating on ECR
passports.

2. Opening of Overseas Indian Workers Resource Centre in host
countries to serve as a one stop service

outlet for addressing the information and assistance needs of
emigrants.

3. A 24×7 helpline viz. Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) has
been set up to enable emigrants/ prospective emigrants to seek
information and file complaints against Recruiting Agents/
Foreign Employers.

A comprehensive insurance scheme, viz. Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana,
2006, is in place, which makes it mandatory for every emigrant worker
to be covered under the Scheme while seeking emigration clearance.
The Scheme, inter-alia, provides workers with life insurance, medical
expenses and legal expenses cover and also the deportation expenses
wherever needed. With effect from 01.04.2008, the scheme has been
upgraded by providing additional benefits at reduced premium rates.
Workers now have life insurance coverage of Rs.10 lakhs (in place of
Rs.5 lakhs), Medical Expenses coverage of Rs.75,000/- (in place of Rs.
50,000/-), Family Hospitalization coverage of Rs.50,000/- (in place of
Rs.25,000/-), Maternity Expenses coverage of Rs.25,000/- (in place of
Rs.20,000/-), Legal Expenses coverage of Rs.30,000/- (in place of Rs.
25,000/-) etc. The insurance premium has been reduced to Rs.275 for 2
years policy period and Rs.375 for 3 years policy period.

A vigorous campaign in the print and electronic media to educate
potential emigrants including labourers and other vulnerable sections
like women emigrants has been launched to propagate the benefits and
hazards of legal and illegal migration respectively.

This was informed by the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar
Ravi in the Lok Sabha today.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://nvonews.com/2008/06/07/scheme-protect-indian-women-deserted/

Newsताजा समाचार

Scheme to protect Indian women deserted by their NRI husbands

Jun 7th, 2008 | By NVO Bureau

News New Delhi: The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is running a
scheme to provide legal assistance to Indian women divorced/deserted
by their overseas Indian spouses to enable them to take up their case
in the relevant court (s) in the country concerned.

The objective of the scheme is to provide some financial assistance to
needy women in distress who have been deserted by their overseas
Indian spouses for obtaining counseling and legal services. The term
“Overseas Indian” would include NRIs and foreign citizen of Indian
origin. The counseling and legal services would be provided through
credible Indian Women’s Organizations/Indian Community Associations
and NGOs identified for providing such services and empanelled with
the Indian Missions in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
and the Gulf. The scheme is a welfare measure to support women of
Indian origin in distress, through the mobilization of the local
Indian community in the endeavour and with some financial assistance
from the Government.

The scheme would be available to the women who have been deserted by
their overseas Indian spouses or are facing divorce proceedings in a
foreign country subject to the following conditions:-

•The woman is an Indian passport holder.

•The marriage of the woman has been solemnized in India.

•The woman is deserted in India or after reaching abroad within five
years of the marriage.

•Divorce proceedings are initiated within five years of the marriage
by her overseas Indian spouse.

•An ex-parte divorce has been obtained by the overseas Indian spouse
within 10 years of marriage and a case for maintenance and alimony is
to be filed.

•The scheme would not be available to a woman facing criminal charges
of having a criminal case decided against her.

•The domicile of the woman seeking relief under the scheme is not
relevant for allowing the benefit. The woman may be domiciled in the
country of her overseas Indian spouse or in India at the time of
making the application.

•Preference may be given to applicants on the basis of financial
needs.

•Assistance will be limited to meeting initial cost and incidental
charges for documentation and filling of the case by the Indian
women’s organization/NGO on the woman’s behalf.

•The assistance will be limited to US $ 1000 per case and will be
released to the Indian community organizations/NGO concerned to enable
it to take steps to assist the woman in documentation and preparatory
work for filing the case.

•The women’s organization/NGO will make efforts to enlist community
advocates, preferable women advocates, to extend further legal
assistance/appearance in court etc. on a pro-bono basis.

Under the scheme Indian Missions in the countries concerned would
empanel credible Indian Women’s Organizations/Indian Community
Associations/NGOs and their member advocates, preferably women, to
provide legal aid to the victims in distress and whose names have been
approved by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. The applications
for providing legal aid received by the Missions would be examined by
an officer designated by the Head of the Mission on case-to-case basis
and approved by Head of Mission/Deputy Chief of the Mission.

The applications received in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
will be examined by an internal committee consisting of a legal
advisor and an officer of the rank of Director/Deputy Secretary and
approved by Secretary. Thereafter, the Ministry will recommend the
case to Mission concerned to provide legal aid support. The applicant
would also be informed to approach the Mission concerned in this
regard

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ET-Cetera/Immigrants-prefer-adopted-countries/articleshow/4991092.cms

Immigrants prefer adopted countries than home return

9 Sep 2009, 1807 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Even as the economic turmoil has squeezed the global
employment market, many an immigrant is preferring to remain in their
adopted countries rather than return home, says a report. Moreover,
illegal migration to many countries has come down in recent months in
the wake of declining job opportunities.

"Immigrants are overwhelmingly choosing to stay put in their adopted
countries, rather than return home, despite the impact of the economic
downturn on employment," the report by the Washington-based Migration
Policy Institute for BBC World Service has said. According to the
report, some migration flows, particularly illegal migration, are also
down.

The decline is mainly due to the fact that "would-be migrants are
being deterred by reduced job prospects in countries that would
previously have offered them greater opportunities". The study noted
that recession has also dampened the movement of economic migrants to
the major immigrant-receiving regions of the world.

The report focuses on migration flows to and from the major migrant-
destination regions as well as movement in major migration corridors
including Gulf State flows from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and the
Philippines.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://deshgujarat.com/2008/11/06/gujarati-nri-sonal-shah-appointed-obamas-adviser/

Gujarati NRI Sonal Shah appointed Obama’s adviser
Ahmedabad, DeshGujarat, 6 November, 2008

NRI Gujarati Sonal Shah, an eminent economist who heads Google’s
philanthropic arm, has been appointed an advisory board member by US
President-elect Barack Obama to assist his team in smooth transition
of power.

40-year-old Sonal Shah is part of a panel comprising individuals with
significant private and public sector experience who will offer their
expertise in their respective fields to Obama’s transition team, US
media reported on Thursday.

She along with other members of the advisory board will help the
transition team headed by former White House chief of staff John
Podesta, longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse, the
President-elect’s Senate chief of staff.

The sub-group to which Sonal belongs has been asked to focus on an
innovation agenda that will implement President Elect Obama’s vision
for harnessing the power of technology. Sub group will identify and
prepare those that will serve to use technology to help address a
broad spectrum of pressing national issues such as energy, health care
and education, Civil society as well government cost efficiencies and
transparency. Sonal’s specific responsibilities include liaising with
experts in the field to ensure their talents, ideas and expertises are
maximized.

Shah, who was named the ‘Person of the Year 2003′ by ‘India Abroad’
publication, currently works for Google.org on their Global
Development team, where she is engaged in defining their global
development strategy and promoting the firm’s philanthropy work.

Prior to joining Google, she was Vice President at Goldman, Sachs and
Co. and developed and implemented its environmental strategy. She has
also served as the Associate Director for Economic and National
Security Policy at the Centre for American Progress, where she worked
on trade, outsourcing and post-conflict reconstruction issues.

After her coursework at the University of Chicago (B.A.), the London
School of Economics, and Duke University (M.A.), Sonal worked with the
United States Department of Treasury for over seven years on a variety
of issues and regions.

Gujarat connection

Originally from North Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district’s Gabat village,
Shah is the co-founder of the US-based non-profit organisation
Indicorps which offers one-year fellowships for Indian-origin
Americans to work on specific development projects in India. Other co-
founders of Indicorps are Sonal’s sister Roopal and brother Anand.

For extensive work in Gujarat, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had awarded Shahs
Pride of Gujarat award(Guajarat Garima Award) in Vishwa Gujarati
Parivaar Mohatsav 2004, Ahmedabad in presence of Chief Minister
Narendra Modi. Sonal’s brother Anand Shah had received an award on
behalf of his siblings Sonal and Roopal Shah.

Sonal’s father moved from Gujarat to New York in 1970 and she along
with her sister and mother joined him in 1972. Sonal was three and
half at that time. Sonal is single and lives in California as she
works with Google while Sonal’s parents live in Houston.

(Sonal is the eldest daughter of Shri Ramesh Punamchandra Shah, in-
charge of Ekal Vidyalya in USA. Please send your congratulations to
Rameshji. His email address: ***@ekalvidya.org)

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://nvonews.com/2008/10/22/helpline-for-overseas-indian-workers/

Newsताजा समाचार
Seven languages 12 hour helpline for Overseas Indian Workers

Oct 22nd, 2008 | By NVO Bureau

News New Delhi: The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has set up an
Overseas Workers’ Resource Centre (OWRC) for rendering counseling
assistance to overseas Indian workers and those who are desirous of
going abroad for employment. The objectives of the Centre are:

■Information dissemination on matters relating to emigration

■Registering, responding to and monitoring complaints received from
emigrant workers

■Grievance redressal and follow up with stakeholders

The OWRC functions with a toll free number 1800 11 3090 accessible
from anywhere in India for rendering help to the emigrant workers. The
Helpline is presently functioning in seven languages, viz. Hindi,
English, Tamil, Malayalam, Punjabi, Kannada and Telugu from 10.00 am
to 10.00 pm, seven days a week. The Helpline has received a total of
4616 including 43 calls from overseas Indians, till date.

This information was given by Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs
Vayalar Ravi in the Lok Sabha today.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Indicators/Impact-on-NRIs-a-year-after-collapse-of-Lehman-Brothers/articleshow/5009578.cms

Impact on NRIs a year after collapse of Lehman Brothers

14 Sep 2009, 2007 hrs IST, Ishani Duttagupta, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: They’ve been touted as a fluid nation – India’s 30 million
strong diaspora is geographically spread even wider than the Chinese
and the Journey of ‘made in India’ label spells the spirit of
entrepreneurship around the world, and also provides a deep pool of
professional skills and talent globally. But in a world deeply scarred
by the financial crisis, Indian entrepreneurs and professionals too
are facing their moments of truth – from job losses and going out of
visa status to having to shut shop and move back to India, reality is
not always happy.

Reason enough for the ministry of overseas Indian affairs to undertake
a study on the impact of the global financial crisis on jobs of
overseas Indians – specially in the Gulf region. “So far, we’ve not
found any big reason for worry, and the overall number of Indians
going to the Gulf countries has actually gone up in the first seven
months of this year, over the last year,” a senior official in the
MOIA told ET. Dr Ravi Pillai, who heads Nasser S Al Hajri Corporation,
the construction services major, that employs over 28,000 Indians in
the Gulf states, has seen a blip in the employment opportunities in
that region.

However, he is keen on putting the past year behind and now sees big
recovery coming up in the region. "Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi
have all recently signed major contracts running into billions of
dollars in the oil, power and gas sectors and there is bound to be
huge employment opportunities for Indian workers again starting in
2010 when these projects take off in a big way," Dr Pillai told ET.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Banking/Barclays-launches-NRI-Dual-Account-for-Indian-students-in-UK/articleshow/5018226.cms

Barclays launches NRI Dual Account for Indian students in UK

16 Sep 2009, 1505 hrs IST, PTI

MUMBAI: Foreign lender, Barclays Bank today launched Barclays NRI Dual
Account, enabling Indian students studying in UK to avail a host of
banking
services.

This will enable students to get access to an international students
account in UK and a NRE savings account in India at the same time, the
bank said in a press release.

The key-features of the scheme include zero balance NRI savings
account, higher cash withdrawal and point of sale limits of Rs 50,000
and free online or branch-based money transfer from UK to India.

Students can also avail free international ATM cum debit card, which
will have access to over 1,700 branches and 3000 ATMs across the UK,
the bank said.

Barclays has operations in over 50 countries and has around 4.9 crore
clients globally. PTI DU RRN RRN sdm 09161454 MUMBAI

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Politics/Nation/Italian-govt-declares-amnesty-scheme-for-illegal-NRIs/articleshow/5018823.cms

Italian govt declares amnesty scheme for illegal NRIs

16 Sep 2009, 1715 hrs IST, PTI

PATIALA: Indian immigrants living in Italy without proper
authorisation for years can now get their passports issued, thanks to
an amnesty scheme declared by the Italian Government for them.

Under the scheme, those Indians who do not have passports or lost them
or they have expired can get duplicate passports issued on priority
basis.

The amnesty would be available only till the end of this month and is
open to all Indian immigrants in Italy who are not having proper
authorisation, K A P Sinha, Principal Secretary to Minister of State
(External Affairs) said in a statement here today.

About 40,000 people from Punjab, who were facing problem in getting
duplicate passports issued, will be benefited by the scheme.

The Italian government's decision came after the Indian Government
took up the issue with Rome.

On the directives of Union Minister of State for External Affairs
Preneet Kaur, a special team consisting of officials from different
passport offices in Punjab has been deputed at the Indian Embassy in
Rome and CGI Milan, to expedite the process of issuing duplicate
passports.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=59&contentid=2009072320090723025616968975e2d4b&sectxslt=&pageno=1

Gujarat & Diaspora: Building bridges

A host of exchange opportunities exist between East African NRGs and
Gujarat in terms of economic development and tourism opportunities at
both places

By Pravin Sheth
Posted On Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 02:56:17 AM

In the post-Amin, post-Socialist Nyerere era, the Gujarati Diaspora
and Africans have come closer. The influential Madhwani family has
been recalled with better offers by the post-Amin governments. Its
dynamic member Nimisha Madhvani is Uganda’s High Commissioner to India
and is trying hard to orient Gujarat to invest in the resource-rich
Uganda. Mahendrabhai Mehta has re-energised his industries and re-
occupied his palatial house, defiled by Idi Amin who uprooted him. The
three ‘Ms’— Madhwani, Mehta and Manubhai Chandaria — have
reconstructed the story of the Phoenix. Ashwin Ganatra has built
‘makindos’ (lakes) and distributed free seeds and ploughs to the poor
local population in Tanzania, and Hasmukh Dawda has distributed free
wheel-chairs to each of the disabled natives though his Human Welfare
Society. We were pleasantly surprised during our recent visit there
when we were greeted ‘Jesi (Jay Shri) Krishna’ and ‘Je (Jay) Ram’ by
the Africans.


Nimisha Madhvani is Uganda’s High Commissioner to India and is trying
hard to orient Gujarat to invest in the resource-rich Uganda
At the same time, reconnection between the Diaspora and their
motherland is visible. Ashwin Ganatra and Janardan Shukla gave
numerous illustrations of extensive development work of African
Halaris in Jamnagar (Lohanas, Bhatias, Oshwals) and Kutch (Leuva
Patels, Jains) in fields of education, temples and welfare. Porbandar
area carries deep cultural imprint of Nanji Kalidas. “The whole
Charotar is developed by NRGs. “We carried refrigerators to jewellery
to our vatan” says Shantibhai Patel. Uganda Indian Association
president Rajni Taylor says, “Every Kutchi owns a house in Kutch.”
Young Mulji Pindolia, president of the Hindu Council of Africa
narrates how Gujaratis collected a huge fund to help quake-stricken
people of Kutch in 2001 and during the riots in Nairobi in 2008. The
Hindu Council helped 28 communities and provided safety to Gujaratis
during the riots. Some workers like Janardan Shukla also help ease
immigration law related problems for people.

A new dimension may link the Diaspora with Gujarat. Significant
economic development of Gujarat is offering opportunities to both the
sides to promote dialogue with a focus on economic development. The
process is mediated through leadership of CM Narendra Modi. Says NRG
Shantibhai Patel of Nairobi, “Modi is dynamic. Lives of people in
Gujarat have improved under his regime.” Rajnibhai Acharya, Hasmukh
Dawda, Aswin Ganatra, Bipin Soni, to Naren Mehta, Vinod Vadhera
(father of Sriti Vadhera, senior minister in the Gordon Brown
government in Britain) and the top economic elite such as Mahendrabhai
Mehta, the opinion of these informed NRGs is similar on the work done
by the Gujarat chief minister. NRG minister Jay Narayan Vyas too is a
respected figure in Africa.

Many NRGs do not yet have an exact idea of the recent fast-paced
progress in the state. NRGs need to have a full view of development
made in different areas of industry, tourism and opportunities they
can avail of with the incentives the state offers. On the other hand,
one NRG says that tourism information must be made freely accessible
to NRGs. Info on cultural, medical and marine tourism needs to be
packaged in more attractive detail. Many are unaware of the uniqueness
of Dholavira in Kutch that can attract tourists in the ‘sand, salt and
sea’ model of Dubai. To Dawda, food processing and juice-making
industry can be really interesting.

So also, richness and diversity of Africa’s natural products for herb-
based pharmaceutical companies will impress our pharma leaders. Its
rich mineral resources offer Gujarat an exciting opportunity where the
far-sighted Chinese have already made inroads. The people of Gujarat
also need to be made more and more aware of these opportunities and
the exciting call of its Safaris, the exotic wild life for tourism-
loving Gujaratis. The July 27 symposium at GCCI aimed at encouraging
dialogue with NRGs, to be attended by Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Jay Narayan
Vyas and Dr Gunvant Shah, promises to be landmark on the issue.

Economics and tourism will make an exotic and energising cocktail for
a party to celebrate a new relationship between Gujarat,
entrepreneurs, governments and its Diaspora.

One of the city’s most eminent political analysts, Pravin Sheth
dissects the twists and turns of policy in Modiland

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://msn.bankbazaar.com/guide/motherland-calling-nri-investments-in-india/

Motherland Calling: NRI investments in India
September 18th, 2009

For Saurav, today was a bit unnerving. He had received a call from his
cousin Abhay in Ahmedabad and for once he was unable to make a quick
decision. However, a thought struck him as he reviewed his financial
assets. After all, NRIs were preferred borrowers in India…

Saurav Patel had migrated to the US ten years back after his
graduation. He had done his MS in the University of Pennsylvania. He
works now with Microsoft and is well settled in Seattle.

Patriotism for motherland India would surface once in a while,
particularly when he wants to make investments. Although it was also
true that India seemed a greater and better bet given the situation
prevailing in the US.

He was a shrewd investor and he knew of every possible way to invest
and multiply his money.

A sneak preview into his portfolio would show:

- NRE bank accounts into which he sends surplus dollars every month.
His fixed deposits gave low returns compared to the general interest
rates in India, but the interest was tax free. Also anything was
better than the 0% he gets for his deposits in the US.

- NRO bank accounts into which his income from India, rentals from his
properties etc are maintained. His father, who holds his Power of
Attorney, meticulously handles all of it.

- Rental residential properties, one each in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

- A rental commercial property, which he developed from the land his
grandmother gifted him at Ahmedabad.

- A strong portfolio, of blue chip stocks, in his demat account - the
one he opened after he gained NRI status. His bank where he has his
NRE account, helped him with the opening of his PIS (portfolio
investment scheme) and demat account and the process was actually
easy.

- He carefully dematerialised all the shares his father had gifted him
when he got married.

- A trading portfolio of mid cap and small cap stocks which his broker
buys and sells depending on market conditions and research tips.
Though he was skeptical of this method of investing, this portfolio
has given good returns in the last year when the equity markets tanked
and then recovered.

- Mutual funds, quite a bit of them - equities, call money market,
bonds. However some mutual funds that have entities registered in the
US as sponsors or partners do not accept his money. But that’s ok. His
father, who holds his Power of Attorney, meticulously handles all of
it.

- The moment he got his VISA he went and opened a PPF account through
the local Post office with minimum investment of Rs.500/-. He knew as
an NRI he cannot open a PPF account, but can invest if the PPF account
was opened before he gained NRI status. He continues to invest in this
account up to the maximum limit every year.

- He also owns a few ULIP products which he bought last time he
visited India, some child plan and retirement plans.

- He bought Gold Exchange traded funds in the US. He bought the
argument that the US dollar is likely to depreciate as a result of the
bailouts and inflationary situation that might follow. Gold might well
provide him the necessary hedge. It made sense to buy gold in the US
rather than in India because he knew that the domestic price of gold
in India is dependent on the dollar prices and that fluctuates quite a
bit.

He couldn’t benefit from the high interest rates and relative safety
offered by investment options like NSC, KVP and Post office small
savings schemes as they were not available for NRIs.

But now this call from his cousin Abhay in Ahmedabad kept him mulling
over a lot of issues. This was basically about an investment in a new
NRI community that is being developed 30 kms from Ahmedabad, in the
outskirts of the city. The price was attractive after the recent
meltdown in the real estate market in India and the property was sure
to appreciate.

He generally borrows from his bank in the US for buying properties in
India. He used to get these loans pretty cheap and he anyway had a
good track record. But now, would his bank lend him money?

Also would he be able to repay? He did not know, because the job scene
in the US is not hunky dory and all that uncertainty over Barrack
Obama’s policies on discouraging hiring of H1B holders. He was keen on
buying the property, but was not sure. He kept thinking about it all
night.

Next day morning, he contacted his father and explained his plan. His
father was thrilled. He quickly mailed all his papers to get a loan
approved in India. NRIs were preferred borrowers in India and they
accepted his assets in India and other property rentals as supportive
income streams.

His could own that property now… and maybe enjoy it someday too. This
seemed to work out and he walked to work with a spring in his steps,
happy about his decision to get back to India soon.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.nri-worldwide.com/nri/index.php

Estimates of Non-Resident Indians spread across the world vary
depending on who you talk to - from a modest 15 million to over 40
million. It is also estimated that there are between 40 to 100 million
ethnic Indians spread across the world. Our aim is to bring this great
diaspora together - for together we can rise to new heights in every
sphere, everywhere... Welcome to NRI World.

Are you an NRI... Get yourself listed in the NRI Community. An
opportunity to let the world know who you are. Register yourself now.
This site is still being developed. Even after it is developed it will
continue it's dynamic fibre - much like the NRI psyche. Please do
visit often.

http://www.nri-worldwide.com/nri/cat.php?id=85

NRI's web tool to let readers 'flip' through news sites

Report dated September-17-2009

Google is testing a new format called 'Fast Flip' that is supposed to
make reading online stories as easy as flipping through a magazine, a
shift that eventually could feed more advertising sales to revenue-
starved publishers.

The service is meant to duplicate the look and feel of perusing a
printed publication. The stories are displayed on electronic pages
that can be quickly scrolled through. For now, Fast Flip will only
show the first page of a story. To continue, readers will have to
click through to the publisher's site. Two major papers, New York
Times and the Washington Post, as well as magazines like Newsweek and
BusinessWeek, will be offering their content.

Google hopes Fast Flip will make reading online more enjoyable. If
that happens, Google can show more ads to more people, with most of
the money going to publishers, said Fast Flip developer Krishna
Bharat, a Google engineer. "The publishing industry is facing many
challenges. Increasing viewing engagement is part of the solution", he
said. Bharat also developed Google's news section.

Farah Pandith appointed US special representative to Muslim
communities

Report dated September-17-2009

American NRI Farah Pandith has been formally sworn in as the first US
Special Representative to Muslim communities as part of the Obama
administration's efforts to reach out to the Islamic world.

41-year-old Pandith, whose family migrated from Jammu and Kashmir in
the late 1960s, is the first Special Representative to Muslim
Communities of the United States.

NRI Art Exhibition in New York

Report dated September-11-2009

Beginning September 13, a month long exhibition of contemporary
Indian art is to begin in New York.

The Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora, curated by
Vijay Kumar, at the Queen's Museum of Art, is a mix of painting,
drawing and prints, photographs, C-prints, photo montages, videos and
sculpture, which will be held till October 18.

Organised by the Indo American Arts Council the exhibition explores
and draws from the experiences of artists whose origins can be traced
to the Indian subcontinent.

Of the artists exhibiting, Khalil Chishtee's figures are made of
plastic bags, Jagdish Prabhu has drawn his figures in soot, Pritika
Chowdhry's works comprise of sculptures that investigate the potential
of 'the fragmented body to invoke collective narratives of trauma'.

The Council aims at promoting and building awareness, creation,
production, publication and perfomance of Indian and cross cultural
art forms in North America.

NRI scientist claims chillies can prevent diabetes

Report dated September-01-2009

An Indian researcher has found that the flavour-potent chilli could
wallop diabetes and cardiovascular disease which are the leading cause
of mortality in developed countries.

University of Tasmania School of Human Life Sciences research fellow
Kiran Ahuja said it was possible that one day chillies would replace
aspirin, or be combined with aspirin as a medication for the
prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

"Aspirin... has a nasty side effect, which causes stomach bleeding in
patients," said Ahuja.

The research team is investigating the biological activity of two of
its active ingredients - capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin.

Their work has shown that the capsaicinoid chemicals have the
potential to lower blood glucose and insulin levels, reduce the
formation of fatty deposits on artery walls and prevent blood clots -
minus some of the nasty side-effects of traditional medications.

This work on blood coagulation follows Ahuja's earlier investigations
that showed a potential role of chilli in prevention of diabetes and
formation of fatty deposits on artery walls.


Reena Patel is Miss Bollywood UK

Report dated August-31-2009

Reena Patel, from London, beat off 14 rivals - short listed from a
list of 900 - at the star-studded event (Aug 29) in Birmingham to win
the title which comes with the offer of a Bollywood role and a year's
modelling contract.

The runner up was Simran Chadha from Manchester and the third place
was taken by Stacey Fox of Essex in an ethnically diverse contest.

Patel, 23, now waits to be flown off to India to live the life of a
Bollywood celebrity and will be automatically entered into the finals
of Miss Universe Great Britain which will give her an opportunity to
compete for the title of Miss Universe.

The contest was open to women from all ethnicities.

NRI European Parliamentarian receives Krishna Menon Award

Report dated August-30-2009

NRI Member of the European Parliament, Claude Ajit Moraes, received
the V K Krishna Menon award for 2009 for outstanding achievement as a
young Parliamentarian.

Moraes is the Deputy Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party
and Spokesperson for the Socialist and Democrat Group in the European
Union on Justice and Home Affairs.

Receiving the award, Moraes from Karnataka and a relative of acclaimed
Indian journalist the late Frank Moraes said, "as a British Indian who
now represents our capital in Europe, I am aware how India's status in
the world is changing rapidly."

UK NRIs honoured by Indian Overseas Congress

Report dated August-24-2009

A function was organised in London by the Indian Overseas Congress UK,
the overseas wing of the Indian National Congress, to celebrate the
63rd Anniversary of India's Independence.

Chief guest Asoke Mukerji, Acting High Commissioner of India to the UK
presented the medals and 'tricolour stoles' to leading entrepreneurs,
philanthropists, community workers and social workers.

Among those recognised were hotelier and philanthropist Joginder
Sanger who began with a travel agency in East London and became the
exclusive Air India GSA, who is now the CEO of an exclusive chain of
hotels in central London that are frequented by film stars and VVIPs,
including the PM of India. As vice chairman of the Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, Sanger played a lead role in modernising the Bhavan's complex.

NRI entrepreneur Sunil Chopra, former President of NSUI Delhi and
former VP Youth Congress Delhi, now living in the UK and Dr Cyriac
Maprayil, Founder chairman of the V K Krishna Menon Institute in
London were given medals for their community work.

Also honoured on the occasion were Mohinder S Mandhair, Chairman of
the Indian Overseas Congress, Birmingham; Dr Gulbash Singh Chandhok,
Founder Patron of the Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India; Mr
Shamsi 95 year old poet and broadcaster from the Voice of Kenya;
Pramod Kad, former Councillor of Hounslow; U Murali Nair, Director
Sahgham Ltd (Hinduja Group); Sarvesh Mathur businessman; and
Rajinder Singh Mokha, Harnam Singh Hans and Ajmeet Singh, social
workers.

96-year-old NRI is world's oldest blogger

Report dated August-20-2009

Randall Butisingh 96, of Florida (USA) is the world's oldest blogger
after his popular web blog was awarded the Greypow Award for best
senior site by the websitelifebeginsat80.com, that periodically lists
the best senior sites on the web. The website was launched in 1999 as
an attempt to encourage the world's senior citizens to overcome their
distrust of computers.

Mr Butisingh was born in British Guyana in 1912 and has the
distinction of being the only senior blogger to type and post his own
blog. His predecessor, Maria Amelia Lopez Solina died in May 2009
aged 97, she dictated her blog to her grandson.

Butisingh grew up in Buxton, East Coast Demerara. In 1927 he passed
the school leaving examination and became a pupil teacher at age 15,
to begin a 45 year career as a teacher. He retired in 1972. He has
seven children, 19 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. He has
written three books of poems and was recognised as a Poet of Merit by
the American Poetry Association.

In his blogs he writes about life in Buxton, on philosophy, economics,
politics, environment, poetry, history, psychology and religion.

http://www.nri-worldwide.com/nri/cat.php?page=3

Most Indian companies in UAE beat the recession

Report dated August-19-2009

Consul General of India in the UAE Venu Rajamony speaking on the
sidelines of a State Bank of India event in the UAE, said no major
Indian companies have been bankrupted in the UAE because of the global
financial crisis, if there were any they are very small companies.

Rajamony cited the case of Emke Group that recently opened a large
mall in Al Ain and announced expansion plans. Companies are impacted
but continue to maintain their commitment to the UAE economy and are
confident the economy will bounce back.

According to Rajamony Indian companies are the second largest business
community in the UAE after local firms. The UAE has also earmarked
multi billion dollar investments in India.

Non oil trade between India and the UAE has increased 24 percent in
2008 to $29 billion making the UAE India's third largest trading
partner after the US and China. India's major exports to the UAE
comprise of petroleum products, finished precious and semi precious
jewellery, machinery, textiles, apparel and cereals. India's imports
from the UAE are mainly crude oil, petroleum products, raw pearls,
precious metals, electrical machinery and equipment and iron and
steel.

Hindu priestess appointed in Obama's advisory council

Report dated August-14-2009

Anju Bhargava 42, a banker and Hindu priestess has been appointed by
US President Barack Obama as a member of a faith based advisory
council of the White House, that hopes to remove ignorance about
Hinduism and disseminate the meaning of the rituals associated with
the religion.

Ms Bhargava, president of the Asian Indian Women in America is a
graduate of Stella Maris College, Madras University. She was born
and raised in Chennai and says most people don't understand Hinduism
or the ritual process. Her mother Sarla Bhargava is from Rewari.

Anju Bhargava began her career over twenty years ago as a banker and
has held senior positions in corporate America, focusing on business
transformation, organisational development and risk management. She
is currently also working with the Rutgers Business School as a Fellow
of the Department of Accounting, Business Ethics and Information
Systems. She was the only Indian American to serve in the Community
Builder Fellowship of former US President Bill Clinton's White House.

She stressed the need to bridge the gap between philosophy and ritual,
and wants people to understand the Vedantic Hindu tradition and
richness of the rituals.

Bhargava is possibly the only Indian American woman priest in the US.

US NRI one of 50 politicians to watch for

Report dated August-12-2009

Nikki Haley, who is seeking the Republican party nomination to run for
South Carolina Governor next year has been named as one of the 50
politicians to watch for by US news organisation 'Politico' known for
its coverage of politics in Washington.

In an interview Haley said she is surprised by the attention her
candidacy has attracted but she warned the party's future relies on
issues not personalities.

Haley 37, is a state legislator who has been compared with US NRI
Republican governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal.

If elected Ms Haley will be only the second Indian American and the
first US NRI to become the Governor of a US state.

16-year-old NRI represents Ireland as youth politician

Report dated August-10-2009

Sujitha Ramesh 16, is among 200 youth aged between 13 and 18
representing their counties at Ireland's National Youth Parliament to
voice their concerns about children in parliament.

Sujitha's parents Ramesh and Satyabhama from Kollegal have been in
Ireland for twenty years. Sujitha is doing her secondary education at
St Louis in Ireand and shifted her interest from science to politics,
after she was elected to the youth parliament for a two year term in
2008.

Sujitha says Ireland's National Youth Parliament gives children an
opportunity to represent their counties at the national level. The
national Children's Strategy 2000 of Ireland says children will have a
voice in matters that affect them and their view will be given due
weight in accordance with their age and maturity with the aim to
improve the lives of all children in Ireland.

Over 5 candidates will be selected from 26 counties based on their
presentations and from an initial 30 students, 5 to 8 will finally be
selected to the National Youth Parliament and the others will assist
the youth parliamentarians.

The objectives of the National Youth Parliament is to provide a
platform where children can raise and debate issues that concern
them; act as a path for children's concerns to be fed into the
development of public policy-making; provide a model for children's
participation that can be developed at a local level; support civic,
social and personal development in children; provide an opportunity
for children to learn of experiences of other children growing up in
Ireland.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.nriol.com/indiandiaspora/index.asp

http://www.nriol.com/indiandiaspora/indians-abroad.asp

Indian diaspora

The Indian diaspora today constitutes an important, and in some
respects unique, force in world culture. The origins of the modern
Indian diaspora lie mainly in the subjugation of India by the British
and its incorporation into the British empire. Indians were taken over
as indentured labor to far-flung parts of the empire in the nineteenth-
century, a circumstance to which the modern Indian populations of
Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, Surinam, Malaysia, South Africa,
Sri Lanka, and other places attest in their own peculiar ways. Over
two million Indian men fought on behalf of the empire in numerous
wars, including the Boer War and the two World Wars, and some remained
behind to claim the land on which they had fought as their own. As if
in emulation of their ancestors, many Gujarati traders once again left
for East Africa in large numbers in the early part of the twentieth
century. Finally, in the post-World War II period, the dispersal of
Indian labor and professionals has been a nearly world-wide
phenomenon. Indians, and other South Asians, provided the labor that
helped in the reconstruction of war-torn Europe, particularly the
United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and in more recent years unskilled
labor from South Asia has been the main force in the transformation of
the physical landscape of much of the Middle East. Meanwhile, in
countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, Indians
have made their presence visibly felt in the professions.

Who and what is an Indian? How we are to characterize the Indian
diasporic community as 'Indian' given that it is constituted of such
diverse elements as South Asian Hong Kong Muslims, Canadian Sikhs (or
shall we say Sikh Canadians?), Punjabi Mexican Californians, Gujarati
East Africans now settled in the U.S. by way of England, South African
Hindus, and so forth? In the United States, at least, the Indian
community has occupied a place of considerable privilege, and many
Indians could deflect the moment of recognition that 'Indianness' and
being 'American' do not always happily coincide. In recent years, with
a declining economy on the one hand, and the congregation of Indians
in clusters that visibly put them apart on the other hand, Indians
have for the first time become the targets of racial attacks. The
Indian woman in her 'native dress', with the vermillion dot on her
forehead, is easily seen as an embodiment of sheer otherness, and so
she has been perceived by the so-called "dot-busters", a gang of white
teenagers operating in New Jersey who have already been responsible
for several violent crimes against Indians. In North America and the
U.K., the native Indian costume has come up for public scrutiny and
discussion in an altogether different respect: Sikhs have insisted
that they be exempt from the law that compels bicyclists and
motorcyclists to wear helmets, for such helmets cannot be worn over
turbans, and their religious faith requires Sikhs to wear turbans. The
kirpan has been an issue of contention in California schools. The
'corner shop', a hallowed symbol (if we could recall our Dickens) of
English life, is now mainly in the hands of Indians. The obvious
question is not only, 'What do the English think of that', but also:
'If the English landscape has been so altered, what is English about
England'? The diaspora, in short, affects the center as well.

However unlike Indian communities across the world might be, they all
maintain some sort of tenuous link with the motherland. The most
likely candidate for a force of bonding would be, of all things, the
Hindi feature film, a phenomenon unique to the Indian diaspora: what
Hollywood is to Western Europe, the Bombay Hollywood ("Bollywood") is
to the Middle East and East Africa. The modesty, not to mention
puritanism, of the the Hindi film is said to explain its appeal to the
Islamic world; and though we may well contest that interpretation, it
is worthy of note that Hindi films found in grocery and video stores
across the U.S. often carry subtitles in Arabic, one language which is
indubitably not spoken by any Indian community in the U.S.! The Indian
'arranged marriage' might furnish another such facet of a 'common
culture'. Newspapers published by Indian communities flourish
everywhere, and they invariably carry a section with matrimonial ads.
Though these very ads help Indians to 'locate' one another, they pose
difficult questions about 'otherness', both the otherness' of Indians
in relation to 'Americans', and the internal 'otherness' of certain
Indians in relation to other Indians.

The religious practices of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims in the U.S. and
other overseas communities might be assisting in transforming the
nature of religious faiths in India itself. Hindus all over the world
are showing alarming signs of susceptibility to a resurgent and
militant Hinduism; indeed, it is even arguable that they seem to know
the meaning of Hinduism better than do Hindus in the 'motherland'. Why
do overseas Hindus, particularly in the North American diaspora,
appear always to out-Hindu the Hindu? In thinking of the Indian
diaspora, other questions that come to the fore include: relations
between parents and children; race relations between Indians, blacks,
and whites; the place of Indian food and music in the preservation of
Indian communities; the responsibility, if any, of the Indian
Government to overseas Indians; and the future prospects of the Indian
community in the U.S.

Articles (Hindu)

Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin

A non-resident Indian (NRI) is an Indian citizen who has migrated to
another country. Other terms with the same meaning are (somewhat self-
deprecating in context) desis, overseas Indian and expatriate Indian.
For tax and other official purpose the government of India considers
any Indian national away from India for more than 180 days in a year
an NRI. In common usage, this often includes Indian born individuals
who have taken the citizenship of other countries.

A Person of Indian Origin (PIO) is literally, simply a person of
Indian origin who is not a citizen of India. For the purposes of
issuing a PIO Card, the Indian government considers anyone of Indian
origins up to four generations removed, to be a PIO [1].

There is a huge NRI and PIO population across the world, estimated at
around 25 million.

Moving on out


The most significant historical emigration from India was that of the
Roma. Around the 10th century A.D, Muslim invaders tore through what
is modern-day Afghanistan, destroying ancient Hindu and Buddhist
communities. The Hindu Kush is where thousands of Indians were
wholesale slaughtered. The remnants of the Indian community left to
Europe, where they were ridiculed and persecuted as the Gypsies,
(based on an account of their origins lying in Egypt). They adopted
local religions such as Christianity and Islam, but combined some of
their Hindu practices with the new faiths. It is possible that the
Gypsy Christian saint Black Sarah may have been a Christianization of
the Hindu goddess Kali. They also speak a distinct Indo-Aryan language
of their own, Romany. Another major emigration from the subcontinent
was to South East Asia. It started as a military expedition by Hindu,
and later Buddhist, kings of South India and resulted in the settlers'
merging with the local society. The influence of Indian culture is
still strongly felt in South East Asia, especially in places like Bali
(in Indonesia). However, in such cases, it is not reasonable to apply
the label 'PIO' to the descendants of emigrants from several centuries
back, especially since intermixture is so great as to negate the value
of such nomenclature in this context.

During the nineteenth century and until the end of the Raj, much of
the migration that happened was of a forced nature - export of (thinly
disguised) slave labor to other colonies under the indenture system.
The major destinations, in chronological order, were Mauritius,
British Guyana, the West Indies (Trinidad and Jamaica), Fiji and East
Africa. There was also a small amount of free emigration of skilled
laborers and professionals to some of these countries in the twentieth
century. The event that triggered this diaspora was the Slavery
Abolition Act passed by the British Parliament on August 1, 1834,
which freed the slave labour force throughout the British colonies.
This left many of the plantations devoid of adequate work force as the
newly freed slaves left to take advantage of their newly found
freedom. This resulted in an extreme shortage of labour throughout
many of the British colonies which was resolved by massive importation
of workers engaged under contracts of indentured servitude.

An unrelated system involved recruitment of workers for the tea
plantations of the neighboring British colonies of Sri Lanka and Burma
and the rubber plantations of British Malaya (now Malaysia and
Singapore).

During the Partition of India, there was a great deal of migration
between India and Pakistan, primarily of Muslims relocating to West
Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs relocating to India. A similar migration
took place on the East side of India in the Bengal region between East
Pakistan (since 1971 the nation of Bangladesh) and the Indian state of
West Bengal. In total, about 7 million Muslims shifted to Pakistan, 10
million Hindus and Sikhs went to India, and anywhere from 500,000 to 1
million people died in riots and religious strife. Government policy,
especially in lieu of India's reaching out to expatriates for
investment (and extending, in some cases, offers of dual-citizenship),
has refused to recognize Pakistanis and Bangladeshis as, officially,
Persons of Indian Origin. This interesting situation is not, of
course, a denial of recent history, but a result of the divisive
nationalism that exists between India and Pakistan and, to a lesser
extent, Bangladesh.

After independence in 1947, the pattern of emigration naturally
changed. At first Indians sought better fortune mainly in the United
Kingdom, but later North America, especially the USA (with 1.7 million
Indians in total), became the favored destination after change in
Indian emigration law that made this possible. Some displaced PIOs in
Africa (especially under Idi Amin in Uganda) and the Caribbean also
reached the UK. Smaller numbers of Indians have also emigrated to the
English-speaking countries like Australia and New Zealand.

After the 1970s oil boom in the Middle East, a large number of Indians
emigrated to the Gulf countries. However, this was on a contractual
basis rather than permanent as in the other cases.

PIOs today

Indians in the US

Indians in the USA are one of the largest among the groups of Indian
diaspora, numbering about 1.7 million, and probably the most well off
- their median income is 1.5 times that of the host country. They are
well represented in all walks of life, but particularly so in
academia, information technology and medicine. There were over 4,000
PIO professors and 33,000 Indian-born students in American
universities in 1997-98. The American Association of the Physicians of
Indian Origin boasts a membership of 35,000. In 2000, Fortune magazine
estimated the wealth generated by Indian Silicon Valley entrepreneurs
at around $250 billion.

There appear to be class differences within the Indian American
community, with earlier professional immigrants looking down upon
working-class communities who are later first generation immigrants.
Gujarati shopkeepers and Punjabi cab drivers are common stereotypes of
the latter community. Most older generation Andhra and Tamilians are
doctors or people who came to do their masters and settled down. While
a significant proportion of the current-generation Andhra and
Tamilians are doctors, the vast majority are involved in the IT
industry in one way or the other.

Americans of Indian descent have, in the past, been targets of racism
by members of all ethnic groups--though it has dissipated
substantially. Some of it is overt, perhaps the worst example being
the New Jersey dot busters - groups of thugs who sought ethnic Indians
and mugged them or attacked their property in the late 80s and early
90s, the "dot" referring to the bindi worn traditionally by Hindu
women on their forehead. These attacks were racially motivated, and
alienated the Indian population from the American mainstream. This
lack of assimilation has created many problems for both ethnic Indians
as well as non Indians.

Another peculiarity are most children of these immigrants - also
called as "ABCD" - American Born Confused Desi. This term (usually
used as something of an insult) reflects the fact that these first
generation Americans find themselves stuck between traditional parents
and upbringing at home and the more liberal and open community
outside. This "in-between-ness" can leave them with uncertainty about
their own role in society - neither Indian nor American.

Statistics on Indians in the US

In the year 2002, of the entire total 1,063,732 immigrants to USA from
all the countries, as many as 66,864 were from India. According to the
US census, the overall growth rate for Indians from 1990 to 2000 was
105.87 per cent. The average growth rate for the whole of USA was only
7.6 per cent.

Indians comprise 16.4 per cent of the Asian-American community. They
are the third largest in the Asian American population. In 2000, of
all the foreign born population in USA, Indians were 1.007 million.
Their percentage was 3.5 per cent. From 2000 onwards the growth rate
and the per cent rate of Indians amongst all the immigrants has
increased by over 100 times.

Between 1990 and 2000, the Indian population in the US grew 113% - 10
times the national average of 13%. Source: US Census Bureau

Today, Asian Indians are the second largest Asian group (2,226,585) in
the US, behind only the Chinese (2,762,524). Source: 2003 American
Community Survey

Indians own 50% of all economy lodges and 35% of all hotels in the US,
which have a combined market value of almost $40 billion. Source:
Little India Magazine

One in every nine Indians in the US is a millionaire, comprising 10%
of US millionaires. Source: 2003 Merrill Lynch SA Market Study

A University of California, Berkeley, study reported that one-third of
the engineers in Silicon Valley are of Indian descent, while 7% o
valley hi-tech firms are led by Indian CEOs. Source: Silicon India
Readership Survey

Indians have the highest educational qualifications of all ethnic
groups in the US. Almost 67% of all Indians have a bachelor’s or high
degree (compared to 28% nationally). Almost 40% of all Indians have a
master’s, doctorate or other professional degree, which is five times
the national average. Source: The Indian American Centre for Political
Awareness.

Indians in the UK

Bollywood movies are released commercially in the United KingdomThe
Indian emigrant community in the United Kingdom is now in its third
generation. As an immigrant group, people of Indian origin have been
remarkably successful.

A remarkable collection of the oral history of the British NRIs is
available on Britain's leading NRI website History Talking.com. It's a
web radio where you can listen to some of the leading NRIs living in
the UK.

Stereotypes about Indians have now moved from their being bus-
conductors, waiters, and small shopkeepers to their being doctors,
lawyers, accountants and successful businesspeople. Increasingly, the
second and third generation of Indians has started inter-marrying with
the rest of the population, to the point where this has in itself
become a stereotype.

In a few local areas, ethnic tension has resulted in ill-feeling and
racist violence against immigrants, and groups such as the British
National Party have exploited this. However, in general, racism
towards people of Indian origin has greatly reduced from the early
days of mass immigration after Partition and the expulsion of the
Ugandan Indians.

Indian culture has been constantly referenced within wider British
culture, at first as an "exotic" influence in films like My Beautiful
Laundrette, but now increasingly as a familiar feature in films like
Bend It Like Beckham. Indian food is now regarded as part of the
British cuisine.

According to the April 2001 UK National Census [2], 4.37% of the
population of England and Wales identified themselves as "Asian" or
"Asian British", and 0.36% as "Mixed: White and Asian", making a total
of 4.73% of the population, or 2.46 million people, identifying
themselves as of "Asian" descent. (Note: in the UK context, "Asian"
means Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi).

Indians in Malaysia

Most Indians migrated to Malaysia as plantation laborers under British
rule. They are a significant minority ethnic group, making up 7% of
the Malaysian population. Most of these are Tamil but some Malayalam-
and Telugu- speaking people are also present. They have retained their
languages and religion -- 80% of ethnic Indians in Malaysia identify
as Hindus. Hinduism in Malaysia diverges from mainstream (post-
Vedantic) Hinduism: its main feature is Mother-goddess (Amman)
worship; caste deities, tantric rituals, folk beliefs, non-Agamic
temples, and animal sacrifice are its other characteristics. Deepavali
and Thaipusam are the main festivals. However, there is an increase in
agamic worship in Malaysia, due to the efforts of the Malaysian Hindu
Sangam and several notable Hindu leaders such as Subhramanya Swami of
Hinduism Today.

There is also a small community of Indian origin, the Chitty, who are
the descendants of Tamil traders who had emigrated before 1500 AD, and
Chinese and Malay women. Considering themselves Tamil, speaking Malay,
and practicing Hinduism, they number about 2,000 today.

Indians in the Middle East

There is a huge population of Indians in the Middle East, especially
in the oil rich monarchies neighboring the Persian Gulf. Most moved to
the Gulf after the oil boom to work as labourers and for clerical
jobs. However, a significant minority are either employed in the
highest echelons of major banks and corporations or have prospered
greatly through conducting business in the region. Indians in the Gulf
do not normally become citizens however. They retain their Indian
passports since most of the countries in the Gulf do not provide
citizenship or permanent residency. However, the United Arab Emirates
and Saudi Arabia now allow limited forms of naturalization to persons
who have stayed in the country for twenty years. One of the major
reasons Indians still like to work in the Gulf is because of the tax-
free income it provides and its proximity to India.

Indians in South Africa

Most Asians in South Africa are descended from indentured Indian
labourers who were brought by the British from India in the 19th
century, mostly to work in what is now the province of KwaZulu-Natal
(KZN). The rest are descended from Indian traders who migrated to
South Africa at around the same time, many from the Gujarat area. The
city of Durban, has the largest Asian population in sub-Saharan
Africa, and the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi worked as a
lawyer in the city in the early 1900s.

Indians in Canada

According to Statistics Canada, in 2001 there were 713, 330 people who
classified themselves as being of Indian origin. The term “East
Indian” or Indo-Canadian is most commonly associated with people of
Indian origin, since the term Indian in Canada has commonly been used
to refer to the Aboriginal Canadians and still continues to be used to
describe them, causing much confusion. In addition, the term Indian is
also occaisonally applied to people from the Caribbean (West Indians).
Out of this population, 42% are Hindu, 39% are Sikh, and the remainder
are Muslim, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, or no religious affiliation.
The main Indian ethnic communities are Punjabis (which account for
more than half of population) as well Gujratis, Tamils, Keralites,
Bengalis, Sindhis and others.

The first Indians began moving to Canada in small numbers to British
Columbia, and were mainly male Sikh Punjabis who were seeking work
opportunities abroad. These first immigrants faced widespread racism
by the local white Canadians. There were race riots that targeted
these immigrants, as well as new Chinese immigrants as well. Most
decided to return back to India, while a few stayed behind. The
Canadian government prevented these men from bringing their wives and
children until 1919, which was the main reason why they decided to
leave. Quotas were established to prevent many Indians from moving to
Canada in the early 20th century. These quotas allowed less than 100
people from India a year until 1957, when it was increased to 300
people a year. In 1967, all quotas were scrapped in Canada, and
immigration was based on a point system, thus allowing many more
Indians to immigrate in large numbers. Since this open door policy was
adopted, Indians continue to come in large numbers, and roughly 25
000- 30 000 arrive each year (which is now the second highest group
immigrating to Canada each year, behind Chinese immigrants who are the
highest group).

Most Indians choose to immigrate to larger urban centers like Toronto
and Vancouver, where more than 70% live. Smaller communities are also
growing in Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Indians in
Toronto are from diverse locations in India, such as Punjab, Gujarat,
Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh and Kerala. Brampton, a suburb of Toronto
has many Indian residents, and the town of Springdale in Brampton is
commonly referred to as “Singhdale” because of the many Sikhs that
live there. Indians in Vancouver mainly live in the suburb of Surrey,
but can also be found throughout Vancouver. The vast majority of
Vancouver Indians are of Sikh Punjabi origin.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.nriol.com/indiandiaspora/indian-overseas-population.asp

http://www.nriol.com/indiandiaspora/history-indian-diaspora.asp

History of Indian Diaspora

Diasporas -- transnational communities created by emigration, very
often forced emigration -- have a long history on Tripartite Alliance
Earth as on the other worlds of the ITA. Jews, Armenians, Greeks,
Africans, Chinese, Lebanese, Romani -- all of these communities, and
more besides, constitute transnational communities in their own
rights. The largest diaspora, though, counting more than 20 million
members worldwide, is the Indian diaspora.

In the study of Indian Diaspora, it is customary to distinguish
between two main phases of emigration: "Overseas emigration in the
nineteenth century" and "Twentieth century migration to industrially
developed countries" (see Jain 1993: Contents). For analytical
convenience, these could be termed the colonial and the post-colonial
phases of Indian diaspora. It is, no doubt, possible to identify
overlaps between these two phases: The emigration of Indians that
began in the second quarter of the nineteenth century continued into
the early decades of the twentieth century. The trickle of emigration
of Indians to the "industrially developed countries," which assumed
phenomenal proportions in the post-colonial phase, could be noticed in
the nineteenth century itself. Nevertheless, it is important to
recognize the distinctive nature of these two phases of migration, for
their causes, courses and consequences. Studies on Indian diaspora
have largely focused on one of the aforementioned phases. This is easy
to understand considering the magnitude of the populations involved,
and the variegated nature of their economic status and political
predicament in different diasporic situations. Furthermore, some of
these diasporic communities have been topical or their members
themselves have begun manifesting an acute sense of "community self-
awareness." Not less important, in many of these cases, archival
records and other secondary data can be found with greater ease, and
the conventional techniques of historical, anthropological and
sociological research can be easily adopted.

Indian Diaspora in Ancient Times

It should be emphasized, however, that the emigration of Indians has a
much longer history than what the reference point of colonialism seems
to suggest. In the history of ancient India, we come across accounts
of the Buddhist bhikkus who travelled into remote corners of Cental
and Eastern Asia. Maritime history of pre-colonial India records
evidence of continuous contact between the kingdoms of the Coromandel
coast and the islands of South-East Asia. The contact of the Palas of
Bengal with the Sailendra kings of Indonesia and the expeditions of
the South Indian Cholas which vanquished the great Indonesia empire of
Sri Vijaya are repeatedly referred to by scholars (see Tinker 1977:1).
Several elements of Hindu and Buddhist religion, mythology and culture
have survived in South-East Asia, and most notably in Thailand and
Bali (see Vincent Smith 1958). "Yet none of these contacts led to a
distinctive Indian population overseas" (Tinker 1977:1). The trade
with East Africa, however, lead to a permanent Indian settlement
there. In a footnote, McNeill (1963:210) observes that "there is some
reason to think that a colony of Indian merchants lived permanently in
Memphis, Egypt from about 500 BC" (see also Sastri 1959). In the
nineteenth century, when "European explorers like Burton first
ventured into the interior [in Africa] they were guided on their way
by Indian merchants" (Tinker 1977:2-3). These early migrants to East
Africa belonged mainly to small trading communities like the Ismailis,
Bhoras and Banyas of the Gujarat region. Their counterparts covering
Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, Thailand, and Indonesia were mainly
Nattukkottai Chettyars of Chettinad in the Tamil region of South
India. Research on the pre-colonial Indian diaspora is scant and
sketchy. Even the available data are scattered in historical works.
Documenting the sources of such data is necessary. With the help of
historians compiling the basic research material on the subject may
even be possible.

Indian Diaspora during European Colonialism

In terms of the magnitude of emigration and its spread, the European
colonization, marked by the penetration of mercantile capitalism in
Asia, was the most crucial phase in Indian diaspora. Large scale
emigration of Indians into far off lands was facilitated by the
integration of peripheral economies into the emerging world capitalist
system, the onset of a revolution in transportation and communication,
and the opening of the Suez Canal. The phenomenal trade surpluses
earned by the European mercantile class in the wake of geographical
discoveries were invested in mines and plantations in Asia, Africa and
elsewhere. This created an enormous demand for a cheap and regulated
labour force. By the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the
demand for labour was accentuated by the ever expanding colonial
economy, the growing opposition to slavery and its eventual abolition
(by England in 1833, by France in 1848 and by Holland in 1863), and
the inability of the European countries to meet the shortfall in
labour by deploying their own labour force. A combination of factors
made India (and China) an extant reservoir of cheap, docile, and
dependable labour, especially to work on the plantations. Tinker
(1993) provides one of the most comprehensive surveys of the
emigration of Indian labour overseas during the colonial era. Broadly
three distinct patterns of Indian emigration are identifiable in this
period: (1) "indentured" labour emigration, (2) kangani and maistry
labour emigration, and (3) "passage" or "free" emigration. The
indentured labour emigration, so called after the contract3 signed by
the individual labourer to work on plantations, was officially
sponsored by the colonial government. It began in 1834 and ended in
1920. The overwhelming majority of the labour emigrants under this
system were recruited from North India. These labour emigrants were
taken to the British colonies of British Guiana, Fiji, Trinidad and
Jamaica; the French colonies of Guadalupe and Martinique; and the
Dutch colony of Surinam. The kangani (derived from Tamil kankani,
meaning foreman or overseer) system prevailed in the recruitment of
labour for emigration to Ceylon and Malaya (see Jayaraman 1975:6). A
variant of this system, called the maistry (derived from Tamil
maistry, meaning supervisor) system was practised in the recruitment
of labour for emigration to Burma. Under these systems the kangani or
maistry (himself an Indian immigrant) recruited families of Tamil
labourers from villages in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Under
these systems the labourers were legally free, as they were not bound
by any contract or fixed period of service. These systems, which began
in the first and third quarter of the nineteenth century, were
abolished in 1938. Emigration from India did not cease after the
abolition of indenture and other systems of organized export of
labour. There was a steady trickle of emigration of members of trading
communities from Gujarat and Punjab to South Africa and East Africa
(Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), and those from South India to South East
Asia. Most labourers emigrated to East Africa to work on the railroad
construction. These emigrants were not officially sponsored: they
themselves paid their "passage" and they were "free" in the sense that
they were not bound by any contract.

Indian Diaspora in the Post-Colonial Period

A new and significant phase of emigration began after India became
independent in 1947. Broadly, three patterns of emigration can be
identified in the post-independence emigration: (1) The emigration of
Anglo-Indians to Australia and England, (2) The emigration of
professionals to the industrially advanced countries like the United
States of America, England and Canada, and (3) The emigration of
skilled and unskilled labourers to West Asia. The emigration of the
Anglo-Indians is one of the least studied facets of Indian diaspora.
Feeling marginalized in the aftermath of India's independence, many of
these descendants of intermarriage between Indians and the English
left India for England in the first instance. Finding that they were
not racially and ethnically acceptable to the English, several of them
emigrated to Australia, which has become a second "homeland" to a
significant section of the Anglo-Indians. The large-scale and steady
emigration of doctors, engineers, scientists and teachers to the
industrially advanced countries of the West is essentially a post-
independence phenomenon, and particularly so of the late 1960s and the
1970s. It somewhat declined with the adoption of stringent immigration
regulation by the recipient countries. This pattern of emigration,
often described as "brain drain," is essentially voluntary and mostly
individual in nature. With the second and subsequent generations
having emerged, and the emigrant population enjoying economic
prosperity and socio-cultural rights, this stream of emigration has
resulted in vibrant Indian communities abroad. To be contrasted with
the above is the emigration of skilled and unskilled labourers to West
Asia in the wake of the "oil boom" there (see Nair 1991 and 1994).
This emigration is voluntary in nature, but its trends and conditions
are determined by labour market vagaries. It is a predominantly male
migration, characterized by uninterrupted ties with the families and
communities back in India. This cannot be otherwise as in most of the
West Asian countries the immigrant labourers cannot settle down, and
have neither property rights nor the freedom to practice their own
religion (other than Islam).

Major Indian Populations Outside Indian Community (1985-2000)

Country /Total Indian population in 2000 /Percentage of total national
population in 2000

Arabia /1,400,000 /61
East African Community /380 000 /1
England/ 2 850 000 /7
Fiji /470 000 /63
Kwazulu /850 000 /19
Mauritius /700 000 /52
Reunion /240 000 /47
Surinam /950 000 /58
Trinidad /270 000 /43
Rest of European Confederation /3 450 000 /0.5

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nrinews/

Description

NRI News Group!

"Connecting Indians around the world”

‘Share News and Information’. We are interested to know the
happenings, in your part of the world. Please write to us.

Membership:

NRI News Group is a free, independent forum for the Non-Resident
Indians (NRI) & People of Indian Origin (PIO) everywhere.
All People of Indian Origin are welcomed to join.

This is a family oriented forum intend to act as a 'communication
link' between people living overseas and India. We are not affiliated
with any politics, religion, region or any other interest.

India is a country with over 1 billion people with noticeable
diversity of several languages, religion, customs and practices.

There are more than 20 million NRI’s all over the world, comes from
this diverse background. There are many rich values and benefits for
us and for the generations to stay together than differences.

Articles to the News Group:

We welcome any article generates public interest, those related to
Indians in particular. Also politics, culture, religion and any topic
with substance, those affect our daily life are invited. Your
community/group reports, non-profit activities are also welcome.

No discriminatory comments of any kind are allowed: -

(Personal, country, race, ethnic, religion etc.) The group is not
responsible for the opinion of any member.

To publish articles: ***@yahoogroups.com

Also check NRI News at: http://twitter.com/nrinet and
at Face Book under Groups

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=126500838816

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Obama-appoints-NRI-Arun-Majumdar-to-key-administration-post/H1-Article1-455575.aspx

Obama appoints Indian American Arun Majumdar to key administration
post

Press Trust Of India
Washington, September 19, 2009

First Published: 09:04 IST(19/9/2009)
Last Updated: 09:58 IST(19/9/2009)

US President Barack Obama has appointed Indian American Arun Majumdar
as in-charge of advanced research in the field of energy, one of the
key posts in his administration.

A product of Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, Majumdar has been
nominated as Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency –
Energy in the US Department of Energy.

Currently, Majumdar is the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy
and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and
Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

Obama also announced his intent to nominate Daniel W Yohannes as Chief
Executive Officer of Millennium Challenge Corporation and Gustavo
Aranavat as US Executive Director to the Inter-American Development
Bank.

"These individuals have proven that they will bring skill, dedication
and expertise in these important areas to my administration, and I
look forward to working with them in the coming months and years,"
Obama said in a statement.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/indiansabroadnews/Nine-Indian-origin-people-work-in-White-House/Article1-456060.aspx

Nine Indian-origin people work in White House
Press Trust Of India

Washington, September 20, 2009

First Published: 19:26 IST(20/9/2009)
Last Updated: 19:32 IST(20/9/2009)

At least nine Indian-origin people work in the White House, with some
getting USD 100,000 or more a year, official figures released by
President Barack Obama's office have revealed.

According to the figures, Sonal Shah, who's the Deputy Assistant to
the US President and Director at Office of Social Innovation and Civic
Participation, gets an annual salary of USD 120,000.

Both Rachana Bhowmick, who is the Director of Special Projects, and
Aditya Kumar, also Director of Special Projects as well as Special
Assistant to Office of Chief of Staff, earn USD 99,000 a year each.

Those in the salary slab less than USD 90,000 are Anisha Dasgupta who
works as a Counsel at an annual package of USD 86,927 and Pradeep
Ramamurthy, the Director of Response Policy, whose gross salary is USD
86,927.

The figures, released on the White House blog, also reveal that Kavita
Patel who is the Director of Policy for the Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement gets USD 65,000
annually, while Shomik Dutta, the Special Assistant to White House
Counsel, earns USD 62,000.

Likewise, White House Policy Advisor Manashi Deshpande earns USD
54,000 a year while Taara Rangarajan gets USD 40,000 for her services
as Deputy Associate Director.

According to the White House, consistent with Obama's commitment to
transparency, the figures have been disclosed on its website as it is
transmitted to the US Congress. Since the year 1995, it's required to
deliver a report every year.'

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=jjxvOdddead&title=Social_group_fights_for_over_200_Punjab_men_stranded_abroad

IANS
Social group fights for over 200 Punjab men stranded abroad

2009-09-23 21:50:00

, Sep 23 (IANS) Representatives of Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) Wednesday
submitted a memorandum to district administration in this Punjab city
to highlight the plight of over 220 illegal immigrants stranded in
various countries while trying to get to Spain and Italy.

'Unscrupulous travel agents, from across Punjab, betrayed these
innocent men and charged anything between Rs.200,000 to Rs.1 million
for sending them abroad. They had promised them jobs with high
salaries, accommodation and free medical facilities,' Ramandeep Singh
Bhurowal, general secretary of LBP, told IANS after submitting a
memorandum to Jalandhar deputy commissioner here.

LBP, in its petition, has said that 65 Punjabi youths are stuck in
Libya, 63 in a Spanish jail and nearly 90 men in Saudi Arabia and
Iran.

Bhurowal said that six youth died in Saudi Arabia due to very
unhygienic conditions there.

'However, they (agents) did not take them to Spain or Italy (the
promised destinations) but left them on the way. In case of Iran and
Saudi Arabia, youths have no jobs and they are living solely on the
mercy of touts stationed there,' he said.

Families of stranded youths took out a protest march here Wednesday.

Ajit Singh Pannu, Jalandhar deputy commissioner, said: 'We received
their memorandum today. This is a very serious issue and we have
assured them of all help in taking up their case.'

Most of these youths stuck abroad are from middle class and lower
middle class families, who had taken hefty loans, either from private
money-lenders or from banks, to send them abroad.

In some cases, families do not have any clue about their sons for the
past five-six years.

'My son Balwinder Singh (25) had gone to Libya six months back after
paying a travel agent Rs.150,000. He was promised a job of carpenter
with a salary of Rs.25,000,' Bimla Devi, a mother and resident of a
village in this district, told IANS.

'However, there is no job and my son is forced to do odd work there.
He has got no salary for the past six months and they give him food
just once a day. If they oppose, then the agents beat them
mercilessly,' she added.

LBP president Balwant Singh Ramoowalia said, 'We want the government
to take strict action against these fake travel agents, who are
running their business from small shops. Many of them disappear after
cheating people of millions of rupees.'

The LBP, in its appeal, asked the district administration to approach
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and also demanded an immediate
intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and concerned union
ministry in this matter.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/

Welcome To The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration

The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration is a report put together by P.F.
Wagner with editing and additions by Dan Amato of the immigration
website Diggers Realm

Within this report you will find statistics, facts and the issues the
United States is facing regarding illegal immigration.

All of the information is presented in a well sourced and documented
manner. You can navigate through the different sections on the
navigation bar to your left.
Most Americans are against illegal immigration, but I feel that the
majority just don't know the dire situation that our country is in and
the damage that illegal aliens are doing to the United States.

From the costs of education to traffic congestion to the impact of
having a bilingual society, you'll find all of the facts here.

So get yourself a cup of coffee (or as some have suggested, a whole
pot), sit back and have yourself a read of a very comprehensive report
on the state of our nation.

- Dan Amato

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/forward.html

Forward

America is unique from most other countries in that she was founded by
immigrants from numerous other countries. These immigrants had a
vision, work ethic, values, fortitude, imagination, and pioneering
spirit which enabled her to become the greatest nation on earth. Most
of the immigrants came here by choice and all eventually integrated
into AMERICAN society to become a homogenous people. While it took
longer for some than others, they and their descendents ultimately
became "One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all."
Many, but not all, modern immigrants to the United States are not much
different.

However, unlike the distant past, immigration now consists of two
components: legal and illegal. This report will not even attempt to
cover the many contributions that legal immigrants are currently
making to this country. This paper will, however, explore various
aspects and direct consequences of illegal immigration that many
people are unaware of and most people do not know the full extent of.
This is The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration.

In this paper, I will explore some of the collateral damage of the
dark side and attempt to frame the issues in ways of direct
applicability to the average American. Throughout the paper I will ask
whether the collateral damage of illegal immigration is worth it.
Assuming that most Americans will say "no," I will then provide
specific solutions on what to do about it.

It is an undisputable fact that the vast majority of illegal aliens,
the proper term, are Hispanic/Latino. However, this is more a result
of geographic factors and poor economic conditions in the countries to
our south than anything else. If the socio-economic conditions of
Canada and Mexico were reversed, the illegal immigration issue would
center on our northern border rather than our southern border.

All ethnic groups and nations have certain common characteristics and
tendencies. For example, Americans in general have a nationalistic
"we're #1" attitude. This is often construed as an "ugly American"
perception by people in many parts of the world. However, we are also
one of the most benevolent and forgiving nations as well as one of the
most giving people, on a personal basis.

In discussing the issue of illegal aliens, some of the social and
cultural characteristics of the ethnicity or nationality of the aliens
need to be highlighted, if they are a contributing factor and it is
relevant to the discussion. Acknowledging such characteristics is not
prejudiced, racist, or xenophobic and it does not make the discussion
bigoted. In fact, ignoring such relevancy simply because of ethnicity
could be construed as racist.

In any case, the author of this report wants to make it perfectly
clear: very few Americans are against a reasonable amount of legal
immigration, regardless of race, nationality or ethnicity, but most
Americans are against any amount of illegal immigration, regardless of
race, nationality or ethnicity.

It is further to be noted that the illegal aliens are not just a
"Mexican" or "Hispanic" problem. It is only that most illegal aliens
are currently from Mexico and the vast majority of illegal aliens are
Hispanic. Maybe with the exception of the Swedish Bikini Team, the
majority of Americans would be against any people, regardless of race,
nationality or ethnicity, being illegal aliens in the USA.

That said, we all know that all illegal aliens are simply hard working
contributors to American society and are only doing the jobs Americans
won't do.

Or do we?

Let us now look at The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration and its
collateral damage.

- P.F. Wagner

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/the_dark_side_of_illegal_immigration.html

The Dark Side Of Illegal Immigration

In Biting the Hand That Feeds You, Congressman Steve King of Iowa
noted:

What would the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration boycott look like
without illegal immigration?

•The lives of 12 U.S. citizens would be saved who otherwise would die
a violent death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day.

•Another 13 Americans would survive who are otherwise killed each day
by uninsured drunk driving illegals.

•There would be no one to smuggle across our southern border the
heroin, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines, which plague the
United States, reducing the U.S. supply of methamphetamines that day,
by 80%.

•Our hospital emergency rooms would not be flooded with everything
from gunshot wounds, to anchor babies, to imported diseases, to
hangnails, giving American citizens the day off from standing in line
behind illegals.

•Eight American children would not suffer the horror as victims of sex
crimes.
I'll bet you did not see Congressman King's comments on the evening
news.

(Note: see Day Without Illegal Immigration for even more information
on the illegal alien boycott.)

Are Congressman King's comments baseless rhetoric, hateful speech, or
actual facts? The MSM (mainstream media) and proponents of illegal
aliens consistently bombard us with reports of an individual illegal
alien that has done what most legal immigrants do: work hard and
succeed. However, what they rarely tell us about are any of the
negative aspects of illegal immigration. This report will detail some
of the dark, negative aspects of the impact of illegal aliens that you
might not be aware of.

Let's start with a broad summary on how illegal immigration is or can
affect you personally. Here are just some of the negative side affects
of illegal immigration:

•easy conduit for terrorists entering the USA

•massive escalation in crime

•surge in foreign national prisoners to support for years

•increases Balkanization of US

•increases multiculturalism/segregation/divisiveness instead of the
American melting pot

•increases desire for Aztlan (reclaiming SW states for Mexico)

•increasing number of traffic accidents

•main contributor to surging US population

•dramatic impact on society and infrastructure, including education

•destruction of fragile ecosystems in American SW

•main cause of emergency rooms and hospitals closing as well as
service cut backs

•introduction of third world diseases

•increased welfare costs

•massive costs to society – over and above contributions

Let's now examine The Darker Side of Illegal Immigration in greater
detail.

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_terrorism.html

Impacts Of Illegal Immigration: Terrorism

When it comes to the impact of illegal immigration, terrorism must be
at the top of the list due to its potential to directly harm the
greatest number of Americans. It is worth noting that three of the
four terrorist pilots in the 9/11 attack were in the country
illegally. 9/11 was a precursor. The next big incident could be far
greater and kill many more Americans.

A recent Homeland Security report, A Line in the Sand: Confronting the
Threat at the Southwest Border (a MUST READ!), reports that in 2005 at
least 850 people from countries of "special interest" were apprehended
crossing the southern border. How many more successfully crossed is
unknown. How many actual terrorists have crossed is unknown. We do
know, however, that they are there - see Al-Qaida Operative Nabbed
Near Mexican Border.

By the way, "countries of special interest" is government-speak for
terrorism conducting and sponsoring countries.

As noted in a June 2006 article, Broken, by Kenneth R. Timmerman, on a
Homeland Security publication, "The report reveals that 45,008 aliens
from countries on the U.S. list of state-sponsors of terror or from
countries that protected terrorist organizations and their members,
were released into the general public between 2001 and 2005, even
though immigration officers couldn't confirm their
identity." (emphasis added) Maybe Bin Laden is not in Pakistan ...

As reported in a February 2005 USA Today article by Mimi Hall, Despite
new technology, Border Patrol overwhelmed, the numbers are going up
and DHS is concerned as they admit they only catch an estimated 1/3 of
the border crossers. The article goes on:

"... the Border Patrol arrested 39,215 so-called "OTMs," other-than-
Mexicans, along the Southwest border. In 2004, the number jumped to
65,814.

Those figures worry intelligence and Homeland Security officials, who
say al-Qaeda leaders want to smuggle operatives and weapons of mass
destruction across the nation's porous land borders. James Loy, deputy
secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress last
week, "Several al-Qaeda leaders believe operatives can pay their way
into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more
advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons."

T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, says the
Border Patrol has "reliable intelligence that there are terrorists
living in South America, assimilating the culture and learning the
language" in order to blend in with Mexicans crossing the border.

"We really don't know who comes into this country illegally over the
Southwest border," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says. "This is a
big problem."

The independent 9/11 Commission's report warned in August that "the
challenge for national security in an age of terrorism is to prevent
the very few people who may pose overwhelming risks from entering or
remaining in the United States undetected." And that's a daunting task
along these stretches of border in the Southwest."

and concludes with:

"The holes that remain in our border security systems are not small,"
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, says. "They are gaping, and
they are glaring to our terrorist enemies. They are coming for us."

A March 2005 Christian Science Monitor report, US-Mexican border as a
terror risk, notes:

"It's not clear how many terrorists or people having connections to
terror groups, may have entered the US as OTMs. But FBI Director
Robert Mueller, in a House Appropriations Committee hearing March 9,
2006, said he was aware that individuals from countries with known Al
Qaeda ties had entered the US under false identities."

As noted in an October 6, 2006 article in the UK Times On-Line,
Seizures of radioactive materials fuel 'dirty bomb' fears, by Lewis
Smith:

"Smugglers have been caught trying to traffic dangerous radioactive
material more than 300 times since 2002, statistics from the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) show. Most of the incidents
are understood to have occurred in Europe.
The disclosures come as Al-Qaeda is known to be intensifying its
efforts to obtain a radioactive device. Last year, Western security
services, including MI5 and MI6, thwarted 16 attempts to smuggle
plutonium or uranium. On two occasions small quantities of highly
enriched uranium were reported missing. All were feared to have been
destined for terror groups."

For a possibly related incident recently in the US see Airport Arrest
Turns Up Nuclear Info.

Even more recently there is a December 2006 article in the Canada Free
Press, Spy Death by Nuclear Poisoning Tied to American Hiroshima,
where it was reported:

"The death of Alexander Litvinenko by radiological poisoning points to
the possibility that the former Soviet spy may have been involved with
Islamic terrorists in the preparation of tactical nuclear weapons for
use in the jihad against the United States and its NATO allies."
and,

"In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to suitcase
nukes that were developed by U.S. and Soviet forces during the Cold
War. Reliable sources, including Hans Blix of the United Nation, have
confirmed that bin Laden purchased several of these devices from the
Chechen rebels in 1996. According to Sharif al-Masri and other al
Qaeda operatives who have been taken into custody, several of these
weapons have been forward deployed to the United States in preparation
for al Qaeda's next attack on American soil."

In any case, it is only a matter of time, unless we acquire the
national will to absolutely crush the terrorists first. Did you happen
to see that report or the November 2006 reports Al-Qaeda planning for
nuclear attack and Al-Qaeda Chief Vows to Blow Up White House on your
local news channel?

How about Al Qaeda Claims to Have 12,000 Fighters in Iraq or Al-Qaeda
gloats over demise of Rumsfeld? When the MSM starts parroting the far
left's policy of appeasement with Iran, you might want to note Iran's
Call for the Destruction of Israel, where Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad called for Israel to be "wiped off the map." Iran is where
Al Qaeda gets a lot of its funding and many of the "freedom fighters"
willing to kill themselves fighting the "great and small Satan" – the
US and Israel. Their goal is the elimination of Israel first, then the
elimination of the USA. This is not idle speculation but documented
fact – see the links at the end of this section.

In a speech by Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Michael Chertoff on September 11, 2006, Five Years Later, he stated
"Our number one defense against terror involves the perimeter, keeping
dangerous enemies from entering the United States of America."

While DHS and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) are doing a little
better job, by that admission we are in big trouble, given the current
porosity of the borders.

How bad are we actually doing and what is the current risk? See The
Five Years War: Public Safety versus Special Interest for some rather
discouraging insight.

As noted in a report by The Center for Strategic and International
Studies,

Strategic Study on Bioterrorism, some analysts consider bioterrorism
to be a greater or more viable threat than nuclear terrorism.

Couple that with the recent report, World's most deadly bugs ... in
the hands of terrorists, which notes:

"New technology that would give terrorists the power to create deadly
bacteria and viruses from scratch is only years away from completion
and threatens to make existing controls on biological weapons
obsolete, experts warned yesterday ... Al-Qaeda is determined to
acquire the technology to carry out a nuclear attack ... The official
warned that Osama bin Laden's terrorist network was trawling the world
for the materials and know-how to mount an attack using nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons."

Also take note of North Korea trying to weaponize bird flu which
notes:

"The pariah state of North Korea is trying to weaponize the bird flu
virus, making it the ideal threat for al-Qaida, the British
intelligence agency MI6 has learned. The Bush administration has given
briefings classified "Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information"
to members of Congress and the Senate on the threat. In aerosol form
it would be undetectable at all border crossings and virologists at
Porton Down – Britain's research center responsible for developing
antidotes against biological attacks – fear that a genetically
engineered version of the virus would be far more lethal than any
current threat from the virus. World ranking experts have said that it
would be "the greatest threat al-Qaida could unleash."

It is worth noting that the Bird Flu is not yet person to person
contagious but is currently killing about 60% of those that catch it –
a fatality rate that far surpasses any plague in history. Some
scientists say it is only a few mutations away from becoming pandemic.
Mutations that could be engineered.

If the very real potential of illegal alien terrorists attacking again
is not important to you then I would suggest you see the movies United
93, True Lies, and The Peacemaker, and then read Osama's exploits
south of border -AlQaida in league with Mexican radicals in plot to
penetrate U.S., says MI6 report and No place to run. Then consider
some of the more serious alternatives of open borders in a post 9/11
world. As Congressman Lamar Smith noted, Border Security Is National
Security.

The illegal alien terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 killed 2,752
Americans.

Have we forgotten the zeal for those who not only want to kill
Americans but will actually try to kill as many Americans as they can?

Should illegal alien terrorists target a major shopping mall or subway
system in the US and contaminate it with a nuclear agent such as
polonium-210 or a biological agent such as Anthrax, the death toll
could easily be in the tens of thousands.
Should the illegal alien terrorists set of a small suitcase nuke in a
major city the death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands.

Should the illegal alien terrorists release a genetically engineered
version of the Bird Flu that is person-person contagious across the
USA the death toll could easily be in the tens of millions.

For all you parents and grandparents who still don't think controlling
our borders and knowing who is in the country is important, you might
want to check out Mass Slaughter in Our Public Schools: - The
Terrorists' Chilling Plan where it is reported:

"... according to two trainers at an anti-terrorism conference on the
East Coast, preparations for attacks on American schools that will
bring rivers of blood and staggering body counts are well underway in
Islamic terrorist camps.

•The intended attackers have bluntly warned us they're going to do it.

•They're already begun testing school-related targets here.

•They've given us a catastrophic model to train against, which we've
largely ignored and they've learned more deadly tactics from.

...Al-Qaeda has publicly asserted the "right" to kill 2,000,000
American children, Rassa explained, and has warned that "operations
are in stages of preparation" now. He played vivid videotapes
confiscated in Afghanistan, showing al-Qaeda terrorists practicing the
takeover of a school. The trainees issue commands in English, rehearse
separating youngsters into manageable groups and meeting any
resistance with violence. Some "hostages" are taken to the rooftop,
dangled over the edge, then "shot."

"Any place that has given [Islamic terrorists] trouble, they've come
after the kids," Grossman said. Muslim religious literature, according
to Rassa, states clearly that the killing of children not only is
"permitted" in Islam but is "approved" by Mohammed, so long as the
perpetrators "are striving for the general good" as interpreted by
that religion.

He cited instances in Indonesia where girls on their way to school
have been beheaded and in other countries where children have been
shot, mutilated, raped or burned alive.

In this country this year ['06], Rassa said, there have been several
school bus-related incidents involving Middle Eastern males that raise
suspicion of terrorist activity. These include the surprise boarding
of a school bus in Florida by two men in trench coats, who may have
been on a canvassing mission, and the attempt in New York State by an
Arab male to obtain a job as a school bus driver using fraudulent
Social Security documents. The latter gave an address in Detroit, home
to a large colony of fundamentalist Muslims.

Rassa claimed that floor plans for half a dozen schools in Virginia,
Texas and New Jersey have been recovered from terrorist hands in
Iraq."

The nation was griped by the "massacre" at Columbine High School a few
years ago. As tragic as that was, imagine what a few committed illegal
alien terrorists could do in one of our schools. It has already
happened in other schools to other people's children. The article goes
on regarding:

"... the brutal takedown in 2004 of a school that served children from
6 to 17 years old in Beslan, Russia.
Some 100 terrorists were involved, nearly half of whom were discreetly
embedded in the large crowd of parents, staff and kids who showed up
for the first day of school; the rest arrived for the surprise attack
in SUVs, troop carriers and big sedans. Across a three-day siege, 700
people were wounded and 338 killed, including 172 youngsters.

More than 1,000 men, women and children, including babies, were penned
in an unventilated gym and a cafeteria. As the days passed without
food or water and inside temperatures rose to 115 degrees, survivors
were eating flowers they'd brought for teachers and fighting for urine
to drink out of their shoes in desperation. Women and some children
were repeatedly and continuously raped.

Adult males and larger male students were used as "forced labor" to
help fortify the building, then shot to death. Bodies were thrown out
of an upper-story window, down onto a courtyard. Attempts at
negotiation by responders were used by the terrorists strictly as an
opportunity to buy time to solidify their fortifications.

Surviving hostages were surrounded by armed guards standing on deadman
switches, wired to explosives. All entrances to the building as well
as stairwells and some interior doorways were booby-trapped.
Youngsters were forced to sit on window sills to serve as shields for
snipers. "Black widows" (potential suicide bombers) were rigged so
their bomb belts could be detonated by remote control when leaders
considered the timing was right. The terrorists stayed cranked up on
some type of amphetamine to keep awake.

... When troops finally stormed the school in a counter-assault on the
third day, "pure pandemonium" reigned. Soldiers and the kids they were
trying to rescue were gunned down mercilessly. Explosions touched off
inside started multiple fires.

Responders who made it inside had to jump over trip wires as they
"ran" up stairs under fire from above. By then terrorists were holding
hostages in virtually every room. Rescue teams were subjected to
continual ambushes. Gunfights occurred predominately within a 6-ft.
range, with some responders having to fight for their lives in places
so cramped they couldn't get off their hands and knees.

Some children successfully rescued from the building were so crazed by
thirst that they ran to an outdoor spigot and were killed by a grenade
as they filled their hands with water."

The police and swat team could not save the students and teachers at
Columbine from two moderately armed but amateur killers. Illegal alien
terrorists targeting schools will be heavily armed and thoroughly
trained to kill and will not be holding captured kids for ransom. Nor
will they persuaded to "can't we all just get along?" by some touchy-
feely psychologist hostage negotiator and they will not be influenced
by "peace-now" demonstrators singing Kumbaya. They want to die serving
their cause and will try to kill as many American children as they can
before they themselves are finally killed.

If you do not think this is possible, check the response time of heavy
police reinforcements and the swat team to your children's school and
then estimate how many children could be killed in that time by just a
few terrorists with automatic weapons and grenades. In just five
minutes, most of everybody in the school would be dead, especially
with the "lockdown" procedures adopted by most schools.

Do not make the mistake of assuming that illegal alien terrorists are
stupid. They are diabolical, cunning, determined, willing to die for
their god fighting the "infidels," and want to kill as many Americans
as they can. That includes your children in one of their most
vulnerable locations – your local school. According to many experts
(see the links at end of this section) the terrorist sleeper cells are
already in the US waiting word to launch their attacks. It would not
surprise me if the attacks started right before the 2008 elections in
an attempt to push the nation further left like they did in Spain.

Proper border security and identification are key elements to keep
them out and arresting them when here so what happened in Belsan does
not happen in a school in your town with your children being killed
this time.

To see how easy it would be for a few illegal alien terrorists to kill
a few tens of thousand to hundreds of thousands of Americans using
"stuff" that is already here and, unfortunately, too easily
accessible, see Carl Prine's 1/14/07 investigative article in the
Pittsburg Tribune Review: Terror on the Tracks.

Is there a railroad line anywhere near your children's school?

When you see the MSM media and ACLU railing against some part of the
Patriot Act or other government program designed to catch domestic and
infiltrated terrorists in the USA, consider the words of terrorism
expert Dave Gaubatz in a February 2007 article, Sleeper Cells in the
United States and Canada:
"There is every reason to suspect that we will endure suicide missions
by Islamist sleeper cells. They are already in place. They are waiting
for the right time. I know this from experience.
... Children are the ones who suffer in wartime and I want to prevent
any child from ever having to experience a terrorist attack."

According to Global Security.org in their report on sleeper cells:

"As late as February 2004, one report claimed that Al Qaeda sleeper
cells were believed to be operating in 40 states, according to the FBI
and other federal authorities, awaiting orders and funding for new
attacks in the United States.
On July 8, 2004 a Senior Intelligence Official stated: "There is
intelligence that al-Qaeda has individuals dispersed worldwide, and
worldwide would include the United States, that are -- they are using
in order to facilitate the operational planning necessary to carry out
attacks successfully."

... In March 2005 a leaked FBI report concluded that "US Government
efforts to date also have not revealed evidence of concealed cells or
networks acting in the homeland as sleepers."

One book published in late 2005 repeated the claim of 5,000 Al Qaeda
sleeper cell agents in the United States. This claim is made in the
context of Osama's "patient" long term plan to execute an "American
Hiroshima" in a simultaneous nuclear attack on seven major US cities.
This is beyond even Hollywood's wildest imagination.


The terrorists will not go after hard targets. They will attack soft
targets that provide a high degree of success, the most casualties,
and the greatest impact on the American psyche in an attempt to weaken
our national will on the fight against terrorism.

Are they waiting to attack your children's school?

It is only a matter of time before the USA is hit again. All these
catastrophes would be a direct result of poor border security, lack of
real identification, substandard immigration enforcement, the MSM hand-
wringing over spying on domestic terrorists, and would all be part of
the collateral damage of tolerating illegal immigration to save ten
cents on a head of lettuce.

Next Section: Impacts Of Illegal Immigration: Crime

For more information on the potential of illegal alien terrorism, see:


•Osama's exploits south of border - Al-Qaeda in league with Mexican
radicals in plot to penetrate U.S., says MI6 report

•Al-Qaeda nukes already in U.S. - Terrorists, bombs smuggled across
Mexico border by MS-13 gangsters

•Links between illegal immigration, terrorism, drug trade worry U.S
officials

•The Smoky Bomb Threat

•How Terrorists Game the Immigration System

•Terrorists Training in South America Threaten US National

•Scientists tighten security over germ terror threat

•Bordering On Nukes? - New accounts from al-Qaeda to attack the U.S.
with weapons of mass destruction

•Al-Qaeda's Mr Nuclear to Head Fresh Attacks on US

•Islamic extremists invade U.S., join sleeper cells

•Al-Qaeda has considered plans to 'smuggle nuclear materials to
Mexico, then operatives would carry material into the U.S.

•Border seen as gateway to U.S. for al-Qaeda

•Arrested MS-13 member wanted in police slayings

•Where is Adan Shukrijumah?

•Al-Qaeda's Illegal Immigration Threat

•FBI Can't Find Sleeper Cells

•FBI's Mueller: Hezbollah Busted in Mexican Smuggling Operation

•Prisons are a Breeding Ground for Terrorists

•Michigan's Hezbollah Connection

•Hezbollah, Illegal Immigration, and the Next 9/11

•Illegal Aliens Busted with Airport Security Badges

•51 terror suspects nabbed trying to enter U.S. illegally

•Chasing the Sleeper Cell

•Likelihood of U.S. Terrorist Sleeper Cells

•Al Qaeda seeks tie to local gangs

•Al Qaeda Associate with Child Rape Conviction to Be Deported

•Al-Qaeda's unlikely allies in Central America and Mexico

•Islamic Radicalism in Mexico: The Threat from South of the Border

•Terrorists and Criminals Gain Entry into US Through Fraud

•Open Borders in Dangerous Times

•Bickering on the border

•Border family's strange encounters with illegal crossers

•Texas Sheriffs Say Terrorists Entering US from Mexico

•Zarqawi Planning U.S. Hit? Intelligence officials say operatives may
infiltrate via to strike at soft targets on American soil

•Making it easier for Al Qaeda

•Unholy Border Alliance

•Iranian-American Indicted for Attending Terrorist Training Camp

•Sleeper cells in America - 'Atomic Iran' explains terrorist threats
to U.S. homeland

•Broken: Tens of thousands of illegals from terror-sponsoring
countries in U.S.

•Islamic extremists invade U.S., join sleeper cells

•New al Qaeda tape: Won't stop until we blow up White House

•Other Than Mexicans

•Top terrorist sighting raises no FBI interest

•Terrorist Gets 30 Year Sentence in New York Subway Bomb Case

•Houston man admits trying to help Taliban - A second man, in U.S.
illegally, faces similar conspiracy and weapons charges

•Out of the Shadows: Getting Ahead of Prisoner Radicalization,
International Terrorism: Threat, Policy, and Response

•Sleeper Cells Waiting To Strike? - Latest Arrests In California Raise
Speculations About U.S. Operatives

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime.html

Impacts Of Illegal Immigration: Crime

Except for when an illegal alien does something really horrific, such
as when illegal aliens killed Denver Police Officer Don Young and Los
Angeles County Deputy David March, or when one dragged his girlfriend
to death behind his car, we rarely hear about the crime being
committed specifically by illegal aliens.

There are a number of reasons why. A large part of the reason is that
the overwhelming majority of the MSM generally believe that illegal
immigration is a "victimless crime" and, as such, it is not worthy to
do any real reporting on. Some more is due to the fact that illegal
aliens are often silent on family violence and afraid to report crime
within their communities leaving much of the crime totally unreported.
It is also due to the fact that the MSM rarely make any distinction
between crimes committed by US citizen perpetrators and illegal alien
perpetrators. In fact, they seem to go out of their way to not let us
know. Then too, the FBI and Justice Dept. just don't track it.

As much as I do not like siding with the MSM, in their defense,
establishing the residency of a perpetrator often takes much longer
and with the ever decreasing news cycles there is just no time to
check and get it confirmed. The end result is that most crimes being
committed by illegal aliens are simply not reported as being committed
by an illegal alien because by the time the perpetrator's residency is
actually identified it is usually "old news." However, that does not
excuse the MSM from reporting the facts in high profile cases where
there are numerous follow-on stories. Nor does it excuse them from
doing investigative reporting on the collective number of crimes being
committed.

While the murders of Officer Young and Deputy March and the recent
horrific dragging death were national news, few know about illegal
alien Cornelio Rivera Zamites molesting and then strangling to death
four year old Esmerelda Nava. Yet such horrible things are fairly
common and are happening more and more frequently.

Putting things in their proper perspective, most crime is actually
down and since 1993 violent crime has been sharply trending down,
except for the last few years as well as an up-tick in 2006 which may
or may not be attributable to illegal aliens. As we'll see latter,
NOBODY really knows – or at least they aren't saying.
In any case, the overall favorable results are mostly due to a
corresponding "get tough" policy with its increased expenditures. This
has resulted in a large increase in the adult correctional population,
over the same time period, especially for violent crimes, and also
includes a dramatic surge in the number of illegal aliens
incarcerated.

As we continue to look at the violent crime being committed by illegal
aliens, keep the steep rise of incarcerated violent prisoners in mind
and note that the slope of the curve increases after 1989.

As noted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, State prison population
by offense type, "Over half of the increase in State prison population
since 1995 is due to an increase in the prisoners convicted of violent
offenses."

In any case, despite what the MSM reports, or doesn't report as the
case may be, a correlation between illegal aliens and crime can be
gleaned from comparing a National Index Crime Rate map with a map of
the percentage of the unauthorized population as a the total foreign-
born population in the state.
Note that if California was split in two, southern California would
probably be in the top category as well.


Chart of the estimated unauthorized population as a % of the total
foreign-born population,
from the Hew Hispanic Center - Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and
Characteristics

Regarding the increased crime fighting expenses referenced a few
paragraphs earlier, since the early 1980s there have been massive
increases in expenditures as reported by the Justice Department as
detailed in the following charts:

Charts from US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

How much of that is consequence of illegal alien crimes is largely
unknown because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT. However, we do know that a
large portion of the surging prison population is due to illegal alien
criminals – a subject addressed later in this section. Also note the
correlation with the increase in the illegal alien population since
1989.

Chart from Hew Hispanic Center
Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers and Characteristics

At this point it is worth noting that the Hew Hispanic Center uses
rather conservative numbers, as does the Census Bureau. There are
strong indications that the numbers are actually far higher. The Wall
Street investment firm Bear Stearns published a report, The
Underground Labor Force is Rising to the Surface, in January 2005
which claims that the illegal alien population is double the official
government estimates and was closer to 20 million, at that time.

In October, 2006, Virginia Deane Abernethy, Ph.D. and Chairman of the
Population-Environment Balance of the Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine published a report, Census Bureau Distortions Hide
Immigration Crisis - Real Numbers Much Higher where she claims that
"7.2 million aliens enter illegally each year" and notes that the
"Census Bureau is a willing participant to misinforming the public on
the state of the nation." Information from US Border Report –
Migration Across the Mexican Border also supports much higher
numbers.
Regardless, if either alternative estimate is correct, even partially,
the correlation would be even stronger.

In any case, while a notable percentage of illegal aliens are
committing a lot of crime, as we shall soon see, it must be stressed
that the vast majority of illegal aliens are decent people who work
hard and are only trying to make a better life for themselves and
their families, something you or I would probably do if we were in
their place. With the exception of ID theft, for most illegal aliens
their only crime is breaking the immigration laws of the United States
and being in the country illegally.

Nevertheless, it is also fact that a disproportionately high
percentage of illegal aliens are criminals and sexual predators. That
is part of the dark side of illegal immigration and when we simply
allow the "good' in we get the "bad" along with them. Ignoring the
fact that just being an illegal alien already makes one a criminal,
the question is, how much really "bad" is acceptable and what price
are we willing to pay in terms of the collateral damage being
inflicted by simply allowing all of them in?

This section will concentrate on violent crimes committed by illegal
aliens against people. The following section will detail the SEXUAL
CRIME being committed by illegal aliens. While most sexual crime is
violent as well, there is just too much horrific crime being committed
by illegal aliens to cover it all in one section. In any case, I do
not mean to minimize the tremendous devastation upon Americans and
society in general from a significant number of additional property
and other crimes being committed by illegal aliens.

As an example of a rapidly growing crime that has a high illegal alien
participation, causing many months if not years of misery for the
victim, see the GAO's report IDENTITY FRAUD – Prevalence and Links to
Illegal Alien Activity, as well as Identity Theft is a Serious
Immigration Issue and Illegal Aliens Steal Identities To Get American
Jobs.

If you happened to be the victim of identity theft by an illegal alien
you probably don't think it was a "victimless" crime. If you haven't
been the victim of ID theft but would like to know what the fuss is
all about, see: 10-year-old girl victim of ID theft, Two women, one ID
and plenty of problems, As victim of identity theft, I wish several
things would happen, and Illicit Use of Social Security Information
Rises. Also note Faye Bowers' article in the Christian Science
Monitor, An Illegal Immigration Link to Identity Theft, to see how
easy and cheap it is to get the documents stealing YOUR
identification.

Additionally, there is a plethora of other criminal activities with a
high illegal alien participation, including such crimes involving
cocaine, methamphetamine, home invasion, auto insurance fraud, life
insurance fraud, food stamp fraud, mortgage fraud, auto theft, drug
trafficking, prostitution, more prostitution, and, of course,
counterfeiting documents.

As we will see, many illegal aliens are not just your casual
immigration violating, ID theft and fraud committing, law breaker.
Many are recidivists – a.k.a. career criminals, like Juan Leonardo
Quintero, who was previously deported after being convicted of
indecency with a child, but who later came back and then just recently
killed a Houston cop in cold blood, leaving a widow and five now
fatherless children.

Keep "previously deported" in mind as you will be seeing that
reference a lot in this paper.

Also, many crimes are gang related with the growing Mara Salvatrucha
(MS-13) gang being notoriously brutal in carrying out its criminal
activities – a topic independently covered in the GANG CRIMES section.

As detailed by Edwin Rubenstein in Criminal Alien Nation, criminal
illegal aliens are a growing threat. In summary, he reports:

In 1980, our Federal and state facilities held fewer than 9,000
criminal aliens but at the end of 2003, approximately 267,000 illegal
aliens were incarcerated in U.S. correctional facilities, as follows
•46,000 in Federal prisons
•74,000 in state prisons
•147,000 in local jails
The article also notes that approximately 27% of all prisoners in
Federal custody are criminal illegal aliens and the majority (63%) of
those are Mexican citizens. However, the large Mexican component is
mostly due to the fact that the majority of illegal aliens are from
Mexico and the incarceration rate is only slightly above the Mexican
representation (~57%) of the illegal aliens in the overall illegal
alien population, although a more recent crossing analysis indicates a
much higher Mexican content.

The article goes on to state that in fiscal 2004, the Federal govt.
spent $1.4 billion to incarcerate criminal aliens. This total included
$280 million of reimbursements made to state and local governments
under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program [SCAAP] - a
Department of Justice program managed by the Bureau of Justice
Assistance (BJA) - but SCAAP funds cover less than 25% of the full
cost of incarcerating criminal aliens, leaving the balance of 75% to
be picked up by the local jurisdiction.

It is worth noting that all the incarceration costs, some $5.6 billion
in 2004, are ultimately paid for by the taxpayers. Throughout this
paper, it is worth noting the costs being imposed on society for
illegal aliens as you will see that the costs will continue to
accumulate, often dramatically so. It is also worth noting that with
proper border security and immigration enforcement there would be few
illegal aliens and little of those costs would be incurred thus
allowing a cost-benefit analysis.

The GAO issued a report, number GAO-05-337R, entitled Information on
Criminal Aliens Incarcerated in Federal and State Prisons and Local
Jails on May 9, 2005, prepared for the Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security, and Claims. It noted:

"At the federal level, the number of criminal aliens incarcerated
increased from about 42,000 at the end of calendar year 2001 to about
49,000 at the end of calendar year 2004--a 15 percent increase. The
percentage of all federal prisoners who are criminal aliens has
remained the same over the last 3 years--about 27 percent. The
majority of criminal aliens incarcerated at the end of calendar year
2004 were identified as citizens of Mexico. We estimate the federal
cost of incarcerating criminal aliens--BOP's cost to incarcerate
criminals and reimbursements to state and local governments under
SCAAP--totaled approximately $5.8 billion for calendar years 2001
through 2004. BOP's cost to incarcerate criminal aliens rose from
about $950 million in 2001 to about $1.2 billion in 2004--a 14 percent
increase."
And interestingly notes:

"Federal reimbursements for incarcerating criminal aliens in state
prisons and local jails declined from $550 million in 2001 to $280
million in 2004, in a large part due to a reduction in congressional
appropriations."
This illustrates the failings of your government as the Federal
Government is responsible for securing the borders but allows more and
more illegal aliens to violate the sovereignty of the United States.
However, when the illegal aliens commit crimes and are arrested, they
are paying less and less of the state and local costs of incarcerating
them. That's something you might want to ask your state's
congressional members about. Although notable, the public cost of
incarcerating illegal aliens is trivial alongside the carnage they
imposed on their victims. Remember, incarcerated illegal alien
perpetrators committed crime before being incarcerated. So the
question is "How much crime?"

To give you an idea of "how much crime," as noted in Illegal Alien
Crime Wave in Full Swing, in April 2005, the GAO released a report on
a study of 55,322 illegal aliens incarcerated in federal, state, and
local facilities during 2003. It found the following:

Of the 55,322 illegal aliens studied, researchers found that they were
arrested a total of 459,614 times, averaging about 8 arrests per
illegal alien.

•They were arrested for a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses,
averaging about 13 offenses per illegal alien.
•49% had previously been convicted of a felony, 20% of a drug offense;
18% a violent offense, and 11%, other felony offenses.
•81% of the arrests occurred after 1990
•56% of those charged with a reentry offense had previously been
convicted on at least 5 prior occasions.
•Defendants charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive
criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a
prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related
felonies.
Note the last two points – they mean the perpetrators were "previously
deported." Regardless, ALL those crimes would have never happened,
i.e. were preventable, with serious deportation of the illegal aliens
already here and proper border security to prevent both entry and re-
entry.

In reviewing those numbers, note that the study only sampled about 21%
of the incarcerated illegal aliens. To get the full extent of the
collateral damage, we need to extrapolate the average number of
offenses out across all 267,000 incarcerated illegal alien criminals.
Doing so results in some 1,288,619 crimes!

Don't the MSM and illegal alien supporters continually tell us that
illegal immigration is a "victimless crime" and that they are only
here to do the work Americans don't want to do? Since each crime has a
victim, 1,288,619 sounds like a lot of victimization to me. Maybe they
are also referring to doing the "work" that American criminals don't
want to do. Also keep in mind that the 1,288,619 crimes are only the
ones committed by the hard core illegal alien criminals that were
finally caught and incarcerated. The ones not caught and the new
criminals crossing daily are committing more crime each and every day.

One of the problems in identifying the involvement of illegal aliens
in crime, is that NOBODY TRACKS IT as a particular demographic
statistic. While the INS keeps track of all sorts of demographic data
for the illegal aliens that were actually arrested and deported and
puts it in the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, the judicial system
does not track it. As noted in Cop murder spotlights crisis of killer
aliens - No government agency tracks crimes by illegals, not even
attacks on police so nobody really knows how many illegal alien
criminals there are or how many crimes they are actually committing.
Many simply fall through the cracks.

If we assume illegal aliens commit crime at the same rate as citizens
in the general population, an assumption that may grossly
underestimate their involvement as we will see later, we can estimate
the number of crimes being committed by illegal aliens. To do this, we
note the number of illegal aliens in the population and apply the
percentage representation in the population to the total number of
crimes committed.

The current population of illegal aliens ranges from a generally
accepted low of 12 million to a few estimates in the 25-30 million
range. For the purposes of this discussion, I will use a relatively
lower estimate of 15 million in a population of 300 million which is a
5% representation. It is worth noting that many official government
figures use a bit lower number. If in fact accurate, a lower number of
illegal aliens in the general population would actually increase their
disproportionate involvement, something that is probably occurring
anyway as we shall see latter.

According to FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), Crime in the United
States (CIUS) 2005, for the Estimated Number of Arrests and applying a
straight 5% illegal alien participation component we now get:

CRIMES (actual arrests) Number In USA by illegal aliens
Total 14,094,186 704,709
Murder & non-negligent manslaughter 14,062 703
Forcible rape 25,528 1,276
Offenses against family & children 129,128 6,456

The last column is the estimated criminal collateral damage being
inflicted by illegal aliens for 2005 as a straight proportional
percentage basis of the population. Similar collateral damage would
have been inflicted in 2006 and you can expect about as much in 2007.

Using a simple cost-benefit analysis, is this much crime acceptable to
save ten cents on a head of lettuce?

You probably wouldn't think so if you were one of the 704,709 victims.
Again, keep in mind, this is the collateral damage being inflicted PER
YEAR with a 5% participation rate. If the number of illegal aliens is
greater than 15 million the number of crimes goes up. If the
participation rate is greater, the number of crimes goes up.

In trying to figure out who is actually committing the crimes and
whether the 5% straight participation is valid, interestingly, as
noted in The Tarpit blog, Hispanics/Latinos, by far the largest
component of illegal aliens, become "White, Caucasian, or Other"
perpetrators in Arizona. The same thing in Colorado, Florida, New
Jersey, New Mexico, and probably other states as well. Even the FBI
doesn't seem to want to know as neither the nationality of the
perpetrator nor a Hispanic/Latino category is even present in either
their Uniform Crime Reports or Victims and Offenders Supplement.

When I inquired of Justice Department as to why they didn't want to
know if Hispanics or foreign nationals were committing any crime,
their response was:

"The Uniform Crime Reporting Program was mandated by Congress to
collect and publish the crimes that are reported to police agencies
for statistical purposes, not investigative purposes.
The elements of race and ethnicity built into the UCR Program adhere
to the guidelines established by DIRECTIVE NO 15, RACE AND ETHNIC
STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL STATISTICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING. Those
guidelines are set by the Office of Management and Budget, and as
federal agency in the capacity of overseer of the UCR Program, the FBI
is required to abide by those guidelines. For UCR purposes there are
four racial categories: White; Black; American Indian or Alaskan
Native; and Asian or Pacific Islander. The term Hispanic is an
indicator of ethnicity, and the UCR Program does not currently collect
information on ethnicity."

I also asked the Justice Department what categories the foreign
national terrorists and the 2,752 Americans killed by foreign
nationals on 9-11-2001 fell into but did not get a response.

While the Justice Department tracks nearly every conceivable aspect of
crime, evidently, Congress only wants to know what crimes "White,
Black, American Indian, and Asian" Americans are committing
Interestingly, however, ethnicity is very important for establishing
minority status and preferences but totally unimportant for
determining who is committing crimes. Crimes being committed by
illegal aliens, aka foreign nationals, are not tracked.

While we are on the subject of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR),
Jim Kouri notes in Crime Statistics and the Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polka
Dot Bikini:

"Yet the public is generally unaware that the UCR system is
essentially a voluntary system; there is no federal legislation that
requires States or local jurisdictions to report their crime data to
the FBI.
The voluntary nature of the UCR, of course, affects the accuracy and
completeness of the data. Although the FBI devotes a great deal of
attention to the quality of the data it publishes in CIUS, it cannot
mandate agencies to provide data on time (or at all)."

Thus, if anything, the FBI underreports crime.

In any case, it would appear that other than what the INS reports when
foreign nationals are deported, NOBODY IS TRACKING CRIMES COMMITTED ON
US SOIL BY FOREIGN NATIONALS. Given the serious of the crimes and
large participation by mostly Hispanic, illegal alien, a.k.a. foreign
national, criminals it almost seems as if the various government
agencies don't want you to know. Also, I could not find any
investigative reporting by the MSM on the issue. If even a small
number of those 704,709 crimes were committed against members of the
media or politicians maybe we would have heard something but the
silence is deafening.

As noted in a September 2006 article, Cop murder spotlights crisis of
killer aliens, in WND

"While no government agencies specifically track crimes by illegal
aliens, there have been some efforts to quantify the loss. Last
December, Mac Johnson set out to investigate the number of homicides
perpetrated by illegal aliens. Since the federal government would not
provide any useful information, he contacted all 50 statehouses. Three
months later, he had fewer than a dozen responses. Only one state,
Vermont, provided any useful information.
He then set out to statistically estimate the number of murders by
illegal aliens based on available crime data and conservative
estimates of the actual number of illegal aliens in the country –
which, of course, nobody really knows.

He found that between 1,806 and 2,510 people in the U.S. are murdered
annually by illegal aliens. If he's right, that would represent
between 11 percent and 15 percent of all murders in the U.S.":

Using the mean of Mr. Johnson's range, that means there are 2,158
murders committed annually by illegal aliens – crimes that never would
have happened if they weren't here. This is part of the collateral
damage of tolerating illegal immigration.

Note that at 2,158 murders that would be 15.3% of all the murders
reported by the FBI, which would be about three times the
representation of illegal aliens in the general population. Whether
illegal aliens are committing three times as many of the other crimes
as well is unknown because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT. Regardless, keep
that "three times" in mind because it will come up again.

At this point it is worth noting that Representative King states in
Biting the Hand That Feeds You , referenced in the INTRODUCTION and
often quoted all over the internet, that illegal aliens are
responsible for 4,380 murders. I believe Congressman King based his
numbers on two GAO reports (d05337r and d05646r) on the number of
incarcerated illegal aliens and the total number of incarcerated
prisoners and applying the resulting percentage to the FBI's reported
number of crimes. Based on this estimate, illegal aliens would be
responsible for about 31% of the murders, a rate that is about 6.2
times their representation in the population. While there are
indications that this number may be more accurate, nobody really knows
because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.

Returning to the FBI's crime list and a straight 5% prorated share
committed by illegal aliens, some 704,709 yearly crimes, each of these
crimes has both a personal and economic impact. You can easily imagine
the personal devastation on the individual and families as they ask
"why me?" Since all these crimes would not have happened if there were
no illegal aliens in the country, the unfortunate answer is that
"because we as a nation and people have tolerated, and in many cases
aided and abetted, illegal immigration."

The economic burden which these crimes impose on their victims and
society have costs. As noted earlier there has been a tremendous
increase in the law enforcement budgets and each caught criminal needs
to be incarcerated at about $25,000 per year. How much more law
enforcement is spending as a direct consequence of illegal aliens is
unknown but reviewing the expenditure graphs, note that the rate of
the expenditures increases after around 1989 which correspond with the
large increase in the illegal alien population.

In any case, with 267,000 illegal aliens incarcerated, as of 2003,
just the incarceration costs at $25,000 per inmate per year is $6.7
BILLION per year. I'll take a wild guess that you didn't realize we
were spending that much. Do you have any better ideas on what we could
be spending $6.7 billion a year on rather than providing three meals a
day and color TV to a bunch of illegal alien prisoners? While you
think about that, here is anther one to ponder: how much money would
we have saved since 1980 if there were still only 9,000 incarcerated
illegal aliens rather than 267,000?

As extensive as these direct costs are, there are also indirect costs
imposed on the victims, including loss of income and property,
uncompensated hospital bills, and treatment for resulting emotional
and psychological trauma.

As noted in the abstract of the report Victim costs of violent crime
and resulting injuries, by Miller, Cohen, and Rossman:

"This DataWatch estimates the costs and monetary value of lost quality
of life due to death and nonfatal physical and psychological injury
resulting from violent crime. In 1987 physical injury to people age
twelve and older resulting from rape, robbery, assault, murder, and
arson caused about $10 billion in potential health-related costs,
including some unmet mental health care needs. It led to $23 billion
in lost productivity and almost $145 billion in reduced quality of
life (in 1989 dollars). If associated deaths and cases resulting in
psychological injury only are included, costs average $47,000 for
rape, $19,000 for robbery, $15,000 for assault, and $25,000 for arson.
Considering only survivors with physical injury, rape cost $60,000,
robberies $25,000, assaults $22,000, and arson $50,000. Costs are
almost $2.4 million per murder. Lifetime costs for all intentional
injuries totaled $178 billion during 1987-1990."
Note that those costs are in 1989 dollars. Using the CPI index to
adjust for 2006 dollars, multiply those numbers by 1.62 which means
each rape costs society an average of $76,140 and each murder costs
some $3.9 million. Thus just the 2,158 murders committed by illegal
aliens burdened our society with $8.4 BILLION in costs.

The report tabulates the various costs for each crime as follows:

You may find similar summarized totals from the Justice Dept. in a
summary Cost of Crime.

Again, applying the CPI increase, the total costs in 2006 dollars
would be $289 BILLION. If illegal aliens were responsible for just 5%
of it then that would be $14.4 BILLION.

For a comprehensive look at the cost of crime, see a report by
Professor David Anderson, The Aggregate Burden of Crime, which reports
that the net annual burdened costs of crime is actually far higher.
The report notes that in 1999 the costs exceeded $1 trillion. In 2006
dollars that would be $1.62 TRILLION. 5% of that would be in excess of
$81 BILLION.

Thus if illegal aliens are responsible for 5% of the crime, the costs
are somewhere between $14.4 and a minimum of $81 billion, per year. A
higher representation yields proportionally higher costs. Also, any
overrepresentation of involvement means that both numbers go up
proportionately. As an example, we have seen that illegal aliens are
involved in murders at a rate that is three times representation.
Regardless of the actual number, keep in mind that these are YEARLY
costs.

Other studies note that career criminals cost society $1.6 million
each, over and above the costs of incarcerating them. Given that there
are about 270,000 career illegal alien criminals currently
incarcerated in federal, state, and local jails that results in a cost
of $432 BILLION. If so, that is $1,440 for every man, woman, and child
in the United States. How much lettuce would that buy?

While there are already some 270,000 incarcerated illegal aliens,
there are estimates that another 80,000 to 100,000 illegal aliens who
have been convicted of serious crimes still walk the streets. As
previously noted, based on studies, those illegal alien criminal will
commit 13 offenses per illegal alien. For this group, crime pays.

A January 2004 article in the Washington Times, Illegal Criminal
Aliens Abound in U.S., by Jerry Seper notes:

"About 80,000 illegal criminal aliens, including convicted murderers,
rapists, drug dealers and child molesters who served prison time and
were released, are loose on the streets of America, hiding from
federal immigration authorities.
"Keeping our law-enforcement officers in the dark doesn't make
America's streets safer for anyone," said Rep. Charlie Norwood,
Georgia Republican. "At a time when our officers are faced with
arresting and re-arresting the same 80,000 criminal aliens over and
over again, we should be giving them greater access to data and more
resources."

Making matters more difficult for federal authorities are several
municipalities that have passed ordinances prohibiting their
employees, including police officers, from enforcing federal
immigration laws.

Known as "sanctuary laws," the ordinances are in place in varying
degree in major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston.

Immigration opponents argue that the laws encourage illegal
immigration. Some, including the District-based Federation of American
Immigration Reform, have charged that sanctuary laws offer shelter for
would-be terrorists by allowing illegal immigrants to establish
themselves as residents."


A January 2007 article, Illegals Become Repeat Criminals, also by
Jerry Seper in The Washington Times reports:

"Criminal aliens set free on the streets of America -- instead of
being deported after serving their time - are being rearrested as many
as six more times by U.S. authorities, according to a government audit
released yesterday.
But the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General said it did
not know how many of 262,105 illegals in the audit, who had been
charged with a crime and then released, had been rearrested.

... During fiscal 2005, Justice distributed $287.1 million in SCAAP
payments to 752 state, county and local jurisdictions -- nearly 70
percent of which went to 10 jurisdictions: the states of California,
New York, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts; New
York City; and two California counties, Los Angeles and Orange.

The report also said investigators identified an official "sanctuary"
policy for two jurisdictions that received at least $1 million in
SCAAP funding: Oregon, which received $3.4 million, and the city and
county of San Francisco, which received $1.1 million and has
designated itself a "city and county of refuge."

In addition, an executive order issued in New York City limits the
enforcement of immigration law by local authorities, the report said.

The audit defined "sanctuary" as a jurisdiction that may have state
laws, local ordinances or departmental policies limiting the role of
local authorities in the enforcement of immigration laws.

The audit also examined the level of cooperation among federal, state
and local authorities, but found "conflicting views between ICE and
local jurisdictions as to what actions constitute full cooperation."

Congress did not define 'fully cooperate,' nor did our review of
immigration legislation disclose any specific steps that localities
are required to take to help effect the removal of criminal aliens
from the United States," the audit said.

The report also found that among 164 state and local agencies
surveyed:

•30 jurisdictions do not generally ask those arrested about their
immigration status.
•17 said they do not inform ICE when they have someone they suspect
may be an illegal alien in custody. Some agencies said they do not
inform ICE about possible illegals in custody because they don't think
ICE will respond.
18 jurisdictions do not alert ICE before releasing undocumented
criminal aliens.

Without a doubt, illegal aliens who are deported return, and those
that are caught and incarcerated commit more crime when released. And
the sanctuary policies of many cities and municipalities facilitate
both. How frustrating this must be for DHS, ICE, and various law
enforcement agencies who are trying to protect Americans from being
molested, raped, killed, and murdered.

Making matters worse, if that is possible, most of the numbers for
criminal illegal aliens actually underestimate the impact or
involvement of criminal illegal aliens as the FBI is probably
underreporting the crime and the data does not include:

•The cost of criminal aliens for whom states and localities are not
reimbursed under the SCAAP program.
•Criminal aliens who have become citizens are not included.
•U.S. born criminal children of illegal immigrants are not included
As noted by Heather MacDonald in a must read 2004 article, The Illegal-
Alien Crime Wave:
•In Los Angeles, 95% of some 1,500 outstanding warrants for homicides
are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive
felony warrants are for illegal aliens.
•A confidential California Department of Justice study reported in
1995 that 60% of the bloody 18th Street Gang, with an estimated
membership at 20,000 in California, are illegal aliens. Police
officers say the proportion is probably much greater. The gang
collaborates with the Mexican Mafia, the dominant force in California
prisons, on complicated drug distribution schemes, extortion, and
drive-by assassinations, and is responsible for a number of murders,
assaults, or robberies every day in LA County.
•The Columbia Li'l Cycos gang, which uses murder and racketeering to
control the drug market around L.A.'s MacArthur Park, was about 60%
illegal in 2002, says former Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis Li. Frank
"Pancho Villa" Martinez, a Mexican Mafia member and illegal alien,
controls the gang from prison, while serving time for felonious
reentry following deportation.
However, as this section has noted and as Ms MacDonald so poignantly
notes "Good luck finding any reference to such facts in official crime
analysis." This is the stuff that NOBODY in the government or MSM is
tracking and reporting on.

That must read, interim report from the House Committee on Homeland
Security, A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest
Border details the criminal activity and violence taking place along
the Southwest border and notes that the region has been experiencing
"an alarming rise in the level of criminal cartel activity, including
drugs and human smuggling ... " and continues "The border also is the
site of violent criminal enterprises. These enterprises are carried
out by organized crime syndicates and include the smuggling of drugs,
humans, weapons, and cash across the US-Mexico border."

The report notes that in 2005, Federal drug seizures were a total of
1,129,275 pounds of cocaine and 6,866,465 pounds of marijuana. Most of
that was along the southern border. Additionally, the report further
states that Federal law enforcement estimates that only 10-30% of
illegal aliens are actually apprehended and only 10-20% of the drugs
are seized.

A particularly troublesome observation of the report is:

"While many illegal aliens cross the border searching for employment,
not all illegal aliens are crossing into the United States to find
work. Law enforcement has stated that some individuals come across the
border because they have been forced to leave their home countries due
to their criminal activity. These dangerous criminals are fleeing the
law in other countries and seeking refuge in the United States."
Still think we don't need to control our borders? As noted by Mike
Cutler in A Very Bad Sign for America, things are really getting out
of hand. Need more proof? How about a January 2007 report, Guardsmen
overrun at the Border, where it was noted:
"A U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun
Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico. According to the
Border Patrol, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the site in the
state's West Desert Region around 11 p.m. The site is manned by
National Guardsmen. Those guardsmen were forced to retreat.
The Border Patrol will not say whether shots were fired. However, no
Guardsmen were injured in the incident.

The Border Patrol says the incident occurred somewhere along the 120
mile section of the border between Nogales and Lukeville. The area is
known as a drug corridor. Last year, 124-thousand pounds of illegal
drugs were confiscated in this area."

The Border patrol says the attackers quickly retreated back into
Mexico.

Rather than engage the drug-running illegal aliens who wantonly and
with force are violating our borders to smuggle their addicting drugs
in, we retreat. In their defense, however, most likely the National
Guard retreated because that was their orders regarding their "rules
of engagement."

For more information on this "incident," go to Mexican Gunmen Involved
in Arizona Border Incident Actually A Uniformed Mexican Force where it
is reported that they were probing the border.

Why is there so much action on the border? As previously noted,
Federal law enforcement estimates that only 10-20% of the drugs are
seized and that they seized 1,129,275 pounds of cocaine. Giving them
the benefit of doubt, if 20% of the drugs are seized that means
4,517,100 pounds made it through. While some experts say 80-90% of the
cocaine comes across the US-Mexico border, if just 50% came across the
southern border that would be 2,258,550 pounds. With a street value
conservatively estimated at $2,000 per uncut ounce, that is $72.2
BILLION in cocaine.

That cocaine is heading into your state, city, neighborhood and
schools and is probably enough to get most of the teenagers in the
United States hooked. For those of you in illegal alien sanctuaries
across the USA, your elected officials are aiding the illegal aliens
criminals to spread the poison.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop at just cocaine. There is the big buck
business of methamphetamines. For more horror stories, see the
comprehensive special report METH AND THE DRUG LORDS - BIG-TIME
OPERATIONS from The McClatchy Company's California newspapers. One
interesting difference, however, is that the Mexican drug cartels are
making much of that poison it in the good ole USA.

Compared to cocaine and methamphetamine, marijuana is a much less
lucrative "business" but nevertheless many, many tons of it are being
smuggled in. As an example, a recent article, Border Patrol Agents
Intercept Drug Smugglers on Horseback, notes that ICE agents in the
Tuscon area seized "529 pounds of marijuana -- which has an estimated
value of $529,000, according to figures from the National Drug
Intelligence Center, that is a fairly average seizure in the Tucson
Sector, the busiest along the southern border for drug seizures.

The article notes that "From Oct. 1 through Jan. 31, agents have
seized 299,154 pounds of marijuana, more than 2,400 pounds a day. The
totals represent a 31 percent increase from the same time period in
fiscal year 2006, when the pounds of marijuana seized shattered
previous records."

At the current rate, and using the a generous 20% drug seizure rate,
that means that the Border Patrol will seize 897,462 pounds but allow
3,589,848 pounds through. The street value of that marijuana is $3.6
billion. And that is just in the Tuscon area of the border.

Still think we don't need to secure the border? Home much crime in the
US do you think is a direct result of all those drugs?

To see what all that drug money is funding and what is coming our way
see Drug Trade Fuels Violence on Nuevo Laredo's Streets where it was
noted "In Laredo, life is different ... Here we are prisoners. In our
city, we learn to live with the devil."

In fact it is getting so bad along the southern border that KVIA news
reported: Threat to US citizens forces Mx officials to lock down town,
TX Sheriff boosts security.

For more information on what is going on at the southern border, see
the AP report Assaults on border agents in southwestern Arizona
increasing and Ranch Rescue USA for numerous references on the
escalating violence and serious incidents that are routinely occurring
on the southern border because there is no physical security.

Many of the cops in the southwest are getting very frustrated over the
situation. As noted in a March 2005 article by William La Jeunesse of
Fox News, Border States Grapple With Alien Criminals:

"Many police officials in states along the U.S.-Mexican border say
they are fed up with the number of illegal aliens populating American
prisons, many of them incarcerated for violent crimes such as murder,
rape and robbery.
Almost one in six inmates in Arizona, for example, is a Mexican
citizen.

"It is a phenomenon that law enforcement recognizes as a major
problem," said one undercover detective, who specializes in street
gangs and goes by the name "Paco."

"We have to put drug users and violators in there, babysit them, and
now we have to babysit illegal aliens," said Maricopa County, Ariz.,
Sheriff Joe Arpaio whose jails are 4,500 inmates over capacity.

Most Mexicans cross the border looking for work, but competition is
fierce for jobs requiring uneducated, unskilled labor. Many illegal
immigrants find themselves far from realizing their dreams.

"We come over here to find a better life," said inmate Tony Perez, a
convicted drug dealer. "Not all of us are here to sell drugs or to do
bad things, despite a few that do. But then again, doesn't everybody
else from every other country?"

Arpaio's Phoenix jails house 1,200 criminal aliens, including Perez,
who by law should have been deported. But because of federal
bureaucracy and an overburdened system, only the most dangerous felons
are actually sent home.

Even when deportation is ordered, about 60 percent of orders are
ignored.

Christian Higuera, who is serving time for assault, has fathered an
illegitimate child, born in Arizona. He said he hopes he will be
allowed to stay with his child, an American citizen, once he gets out
of jail."

I would imagine that criminals with such attitudes make the job even
more frustrating than the "previously deported" and "repeat offender"
aspect of illegal alien criminals.

We often hear from the MSM, illegal immigration supporters, and
liberals in general, that illegal immigration is a victimless crime.

Tell that to the relatives of the following victims:

Mary Nagle, a wife and mother of two, who was raped and murdered by an
illegal alien who came to her home to power wash her porch. If that
wasn't bad enough, the perpetrator used Mary Nagle's own cell phone to
call her sisters and friends describing how he sexually abused her.
Read about the tragic story here and here.
The two Catholic nuns who were on a walk saying their rosary when they
were attacked by illegal alien Maximilano Esparza who raped both and
killed one by strangling her with her rosary beads.

Terry and Lisa Dilks of Urbandale, Iowa, who were murdered by two
illegal aliens. Both perpetrators had previously been arrested on drug
charges and turned over and subsequently released by federal
immigration agents.

The 10 killed and 4 wounded victims of illegal alien Muslim fanatic
and sniper John Lee Malvo.

Kimberley Hope who was killed while feeding her neighbor's dogs by
illegal alien Daniel Gonzalez Berumen who simply wanted her car.

Vinessa Hoera was a young single mom, only 23, when she was kidnapped,
raped and brutally murdered by an illegal alien from Guatemala.

Tracy Owen, a 23 year old, very pregnant woman of Nashville, who was
murdered because a couple of drunk, illegal aliens thought they had
struck her in a car-pedestrian traffic accident. In fact, they had not
but shot her five times believing they had.

Norfolk Police Officer Sheila Herring who was shot by illegal alien
Mario Roberto Keen as she responded to a disturbance at a sports bar.
Keen had previously been sentenced to five years in prison in 1990 for
selling cocaine and had been previously deported. Keen attempted to re-
enter the United States in New York in 1997, but was reportedly barred
from entering. Obviously, he found another way.



Officer Tony Zeppetella, 27, of the Oceanside, CA, police department,
was murdered by illegal alien gang member Adrien George Camacho when
he stopped him for a traffic violation. Camacho pulled out a gun and
shot the officer. Camacho then pistol-whipped the injured officer
before shooting him again, killing him with the officer's own gun. At
the time, Camacho had a criminal history that includes five previous
felony convictions had been previously deported several times.

Fort Worth Officer Dwayne Freeto was killed by drunken driver while
helping a stranded motorist. The speeding car struck Freeto's parked
cruiser, causing it to burst into flames burning Officer Freeto to
death.

Police Officer Brandon Winfield, a 12-year veteran on the Houston
police force with five children who was killed by illegal alien Juan
Leonardo Qunitero who had been previously deported for molesting a 12-
year-old girl. Officer Winfield thought he was assisting a disabled
motorist when he was murdered in cold blood.
For more cops killed by illegal aliens go to Officer Down News –
although you will have to do some digging to establish the residency
of the perpetrator.

And those are just a few of the Americans who recently died at the
hands of illegal aliens.

There are currently over 400,000 unaccounted for illegal alien
criminals with outstanding deportation orders. Those are just the ones
apprehended. At least one fourth of these are hard core criminals.
NOBODY knows how many more there are, however, they are numerous and
roaming your neighborhood, wanting to prey on you and your family.
Read more about it here.

In fact, the criminal activity in the illegal alien community is now
so bad that illegal aliens are being held for ransom and as slaves by
other illegal aliens and smugglers are kidnapping illegal aliens from
other smugglers!

While it is a fact that most illegal aliens are generally law abiding,
it is also a fact that a significant percentage of illegal aliens have
no respect for the rule of law and our legal customs. Many come with
anti-American attitudes and philosophies that are totally "alien" to
our culture, a subject addressed later in this paper in the CULTURAL
DIFFERENCES section. The end result is an ever-growing lawlessness
among large portions of the illegal alien communities.

As previously noted, this report does not go into the property crimes
being committed by illegal aliens. While violent crimes against one's
person are the most serious, if your identity or car is stolen by an
illegal alien you won't be too happy about it.

As a small example of property crimes, in 2003, according to the
Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles, some 57,600 cars were stolen in
just Phoenix alone. The owner losses are estimated to exceed $864
million. Most of the stolen cars ended up in Mexico and were never
recovered. How many of those cars were stolen by illegal alien car
thieves versus resident car thieves is unknown but you can be
confident that illegal aliens had a disproportionately large part of
it.

Although somewhat dated, The Center for Immigration Studies' report
Federal Immigration Law Enforcement: Procedures and Complaints
documents the growing criminal element in the growing tide of illegal
immigration, as well as the deportation obstacles in our broken
immigration policies.

To have an appreciation of how hard it is to keep out some of these
violent illegal alien criminals with our current porous borders, read
the Dept. of Justice's special report on the story of Rafael Resendez-
Ramirez, who on December 16, 1998, entered the home of Dr. Claudia
Benton in West University Place, Texas, sexually assaulted her, and
then beat her to death in her bedroom. Ramirez had a long history of
entering the United States illegally, committing crimes here, and
being voluntarily returned or involuntarily deported to Mexico. See
the report at: Part1 and Part 2.

For more information on crimes committed by illegal aliens and the
personal impact it has had on individual citizens see:

•Immigrations Human Cost
•Victims of Illegal Aliens
•Crime Victims of Illegal Aliens
•Escaping Justice
•Predatory Aliens
•Victims of Illegal Aliens Memorial
•Ohio Jobs & Justice PAC – Victims of Illegal Aliens
•Crimes involving immigrants from around the world, both legal and
otherwise
Go to Fallen Heroes for information on a few more cops killed by
illegal aliens.

Are you now getting an idea that illegal aliens are committing a lot
of crime and it is costing a lot of money?

Unfortunately, it gets even worse. As noted in some of the personal
references in this section, as well as some of the links at the end of
this section, a particularly horrendous aspect of the collateral
damage of tolerating illegal aliens are the sexual crimes being
committed against American women and children, a subject which is
independently covered in the following section, SEXUAL CRIMES.

When visiting any of the links and sites listed in this report, keep
in mind that NOBODY is tracking and reporting the crimes on a national
basis and these are just the tip of the iceberg.

For additional information on the criminal side of illegal aliens see
the links listed immediately below. However, first start with the MUST
READ A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest
Border

As you peruse the following links, the question we need to be asking
ourselves and all our government officials is:

How many violent crimes being committed by illegal aliens is
acceptable collateral damage to save ten cents on a head of lettuce?



Next Section: Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Sex Crimes

Previous Section: Impacts Of Illegal Immigration: Terrorism
For more information on crimes committed by illegal aliens see the
stories below.

•The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave
•Illegal Aliens in Federal, State, and Local Criminal Justice Systems
•The Crime of Illegal Aliens
•Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime Statistics
•The Truth About Illegal Immigration, The U.S./Mexican Border Has
Become a Sieve of Death
•Crime & the Illegal Alien
•Illegals: The Crime Rampage
•The End of Innocence
•Illegal Alien Crime Wave: Coming to a Neighborhood Near You
•Terror on the streets
•Crime & the Illegal Alien -The Fallout from Crippled Immigration
Enforcement, Illegal Alien Killers, Rapists, and Robbers
•Border Breakdown
•Illegal Immigration Linked To Crime
•Illegal, 17, runs down hero cop
•Neighbor (illegal immigrant) charged in death of Bellevue woman in
home
•Criminal Aliens, Gang Members, Fugitives and Other Immigration
Violators
•Tim Kaine and illegal-alien crime
•Crime & The Illegal Alien
•Chinese Organized Crime and Illegal Alien Trafficking: Humans as a
Commodity
•Day Laborers – Wanted
•Serial rapist admits to being here illegally
•The Crime of Illegal Aliens
•Illegal Aliens in Federal, State, and Local Criminal Justice Systems
•The Internationalization of Criminal Justice
•Crime & the Illegal Alien - The Fallout from Crippled Immigration
Enforcement
•Kidnapped Infant Taken as Retribution (Illegal Alien smugglers)
•Illegal immigrant gets 33 years in rape, thefts
•Fear and Bondage in America
•Illegal Alien "Ma Barker" Captured by Feds
•Illegal immigrant arrested in Branson also wanted for murder in South
Carolina
•FBI Testimony to House International Relations Committee
•Hispanic Minuteman-Cop Fights Corruption & Illegal Immigration
•Nationwide Illegal Alien Worker Leasing Conspiracy Uncovered
•44 arrests in immigrant-smuggling probe, ICE Apprehends More Than
2,100
•Illegal Alien Kills Actress
•9 illegal aliens arrested in Nashville – Feds seize 55 KG of Cocaine,
weapons, and 1.1 Million Dollars
•Border Narcotics, Smuggling, Stolen Vehicles, Illegal aliens &
Politics
•Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime Statistics
•Mexican National Described as One Man Crime Wave
•Crime: Mexico's No. 1 export - 'Minutemen' founder provides inside
look at violent Hispanic gang MS-13
•ICE deports illegal alien convicted of kidnapping, 1st degree sex
crime - Man is one of more than 600 criminals deported from
Minneapolis area this fiscal year
•Smugglers terrorize illegals to pay fees
•One of Mexico's "Most Wanted" Criminals Captured in Ohio
•Deported illegal who shot officers killed - California patrolmen
fired on as they sat in their cruiser
•Feds Charge 55 Suspects in Major Human Smuggling Network
•Feds Nab 31 Koreans and Two NYPD Cops for Human Trafficking
•Agents Nab Illegal Alien DUIs in Federal Operation
•Feds Capture Illegal Alien Murderer, "Mexico's Most Wanted", Gunman
Sought In Killing Of Deputy, K-9 Officer
•Plea for gang violence crackdown
•Three migrants killed by gunmen in southern Arizona

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_property_crimes_and_operation_predator.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Property Crimes And Operation Predator
There are currently over 400,000 unaccounted for illegal alien
criminals with outstanding deportation orders. Those are just the ones
apprehended. At least one fourth of these are hard core criminals.
Nobody knows how many more there are, but they are numerous and
roaming your neighborhoods, preying on you and your family. Read more
about it here.

Many of these heinous crimes are against children. How many children
are being molested, raped, and murdered by illegal aliens? Nobody
knows for sure but the numbers are staggering. To give you some idea
of the prevalence of the crime, peruse the ICE Public Information News
Releases.

While there are numerous reports of individual sexual predators such
as Mexican Sex Offender and Six-Time Deportee in ICE Custody or Man
Deported Following Conviction For Molesting 6-year-old, you will see
many reports of multiple child predators being caught and deported.
Some of them over the last two years are as follows:

•45 child predators arrested in New York City,,
•36 convicted Orange County child sex offenders face deportation
•ICE arrests 52 child predators in NYC operation
•Four Child Predators Arrested In Rhode Island
•ICE Arrests 16 predators in Westchester County Operation
•ICE Agents Arrest 8 Child Sex Predators In Washington, DC And
Virginia
•18 Predators Nabbed By ICE In Nassau County
•ICE Arrests 25 Child Sex Offenders in Chicago Area
•ICE Arrests 7 in Rockland County, NY
•12 Child Sex Predators Arrested in Santa Clara County
•ICE Arrests 27 Sexual Predators in Suffolk County
In case you are interested, that is 250 illegal alien child molesters.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

When we talk about the costs to secure our borders, we need to ask
"How many crimes against children is acceptable collateral damage?"
Isn't that what it is all about? Cheap lettuce versus molested, raped
and murdered children - a cost/benefit tradeoff.

Occasionally, the Federal Government decides to actually do something
about some of the more violent illegal alien criminals - after they
are already here and have committed mayhem! Operation Predator evolved
out of ICE's mission to find and deport illegal aliens with the more
heinous criminal records. The majority of the arrests under Operation
Predator - roughly 85% - involved foreign nationals in this country
whose child sex crimes made them removable from the United States. By
matching immigration databases with state Megan's law directories, ICE
agents have arrested more than 1,800 registered sex offenders.

Digressing for a moment, what the hell was a convicted, illegal alien
sex offender even doing out of jail or not immediately deported – even
if 63% do come right back - let alone roaming around the neighborhoods
while on a registry! Has the judicial system in this country gone
insane?

In any case, Operation Predator began on July 9, 2003, and resulted in
6,085 child predator arrests throughout the country - an average of
roughly 250 arrests per month and eight arrests per day. While arrests
have been made in every state, the most have occurred in these states:
Arizona (207), California (1,578), Florida (255), Illinois (282),
Michigan (153), Minnesota (190), New Jersey (423), New York (367),
Oregon (148) and Texas (545).

While Operation Predator was a noble effort and ICE is to be
commended, it only made a small dent in the criminal activity and
number of horrific crimes being committed by illegal alien child
sexual predators.

It is worth noting that some pedophile statistics report that each
pedophile molests average of 148 children. If so, that could be as
many as 900,580 victims from just the 6,085 illegal alien predators
that were caught. Regardless, how many children being molested is
acceptable collateral damage?

In fact, the criminal activity in the illegal alien community is now
so bad that illegal aliens are being held for ransom and as slaves by
other illegal aliens and smugglers are kidnapping illegal aliens from
other smugglers! Then there is the fast growing "sex slave" problem as
reported in The Girls Next Door, SEX TRAFFICKING - San Francisco Is A
Major Center For International Crime Networks That Smuggle And
Enslave, Raid in Tennessee ends girl's captivity as a sex slave
Profiling Sex Trafficking: Illegal Immigrants At Risk, Latina Sex
Slavery, and Police sting in Colorado shuts down Pacifica brothel
For more crimes committed by illegal aliens and the personal impact it
has had on individual citizens see Immigrations Human Cost, Victims of
Illegal Aliens, Crime Victims of Illegal Aliens, Escaping Justice,
Predatory Aliens, Crimes involving immigrants from around the world,
both legal and otherwise, and Victims of Illegal Aliens Memorial. Go
to Fallen Heroes for information on a few more cops killed by illegal
aliens.

When visiting any of the links and sites, keep in mind that nobody is
tracking and reporting the crimes on a national basis and these are
just the tip of the iceberg.

While it is a fact that most illegal aliens are law abiding, except
for breaking immigration laws, it is also a fact that a significant
percentage of illegal aliens have no respect for the rule of law and
our legal customs. Many come with anti-American attitudes and
philosophies that are totally alien to our culture, a subject
addressed later in this paper. The end result is an ever-growing
lawlessness among large portions of the illegal alien communities. It
only makes sense that illegal alien criminals come to the United
States - this is where the money is and our jails are a whole lot
nicer than what they have in their home countries.

As previously noted, this report does not go into the property crimes
being committed by illegal aliens. However, like the activities of
other equal opportunity criminals, many property crimes are drug
related, an activity that many illegal aliens, especially illegal
alien gangs, are involved in. While violent crimes against one's
person are the most serious, if your identity or car is stolen by an
illegal alien you won't be too happy about it.

As a small example of property crimes, in 2003, according to the
Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles, 57,600 cars were stolen in
Phoenix alone. The owner losses are estimated to exceed $864 million.
Most of the stolen cars ended up in Mexico and were never recovered.
How many of those cars were stolen by illegal alien criminals versus
resident criminals is unknown but you can rest assured that illegal
aliens had a large part of it..

Next Section: Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Gangs

Previous Section: Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Sex Crimes
For additional information on the criminal side of illegal aliens see
the following links, starting with the MUST READ A Line in the Sand:
Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border

The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave

Crime & the Illegal Alien

Predatory Aliens

Immigration's Human Cost

Illegal Aliens in Federal, State, and Local Criminal Justice Systems

Illegals: The Crime Rampage

Violent Sexual Predators Who Are Illegal Aliens

Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime Statistics

Squaring up for a drugs war on streets of Laredo

Feds Bust 25 Illegal Alien Sexual Predators in Los Angeles

Young rape victim (5 years old) undergoes HIV treatment

More illegal aliens tried in gang rapes - 2 new cases uncovered in
unnoticed crime wave

The Truth About Illegal Immigration

The U.S./Mexican Border Has Become a Sieve of Death

Crime & the Illegal Alien -The Fallout from Crippled Immigration
Enforcement

Illegal Alien Killers, Rapists, and Robbers

Border Breakdown

Feds Capture (in Ohio) Illegal Alien Murderer, "Mexico's Most Wanted"

Gunman Sought In Killing Of Deputy, K-9 Officer

Neighbor (illegal immigrant) charged in death of Bellevue woman in
home

44 arrests in immigrant-smuggling probe

Crime & The Illegal Alien

The End of Innocence

The Crime of Illegal Aliens

Mexican drug cartels take over U.S. cities

Mexican Mafia's dealings revealed - Prison guard among 37 arrested
after 2-year probe

Border Narcotics, Smuggling, Stolen Vehicles, Illegal aliens &
Politics

Illegal Aliens Linked to Rise in Crime Statistics

Illegal, 17, runs down hero cop

Illegal Alien Kills Actress

Illegal immigrant arrested in Branson also wanted for murder in South
Carolina

Day Laborers - Wanted

9 illegal aliens arrested in Nashville - Feds sieze 55 KG of Cocaine,
weapons, and 1.1 Million Dollars

Illegal Immigration Linked To Crime

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_gangs.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Gangs
As can be seen from the aforementioned studies and references, many
illegal aliens are not your casual immigration violating, ID theft
committing, law breaker. Many are recidivists – a.k.a. career
criminals, like Juan Leonardo Quintero, who was deported after being
convicted of indecency with a child, but who later came back and then
just recently killed a Houston cop in cold blood, leaving a widow and
five now fatherless children.

Many of the brutal crimes referenced in the two previous sections are
gang related with the growing Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang being
notoriously brutal in carrying out its criminal activities. How much
is unknown because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.

If you do not yet have any of the violent illegal alien gangs in your
area, you might want to take note of US Undocumented Settling in New
Areas where it noted that illegal aliens are moving away from
traditional illegal immigrant enclaves and settling in mass in newer
areas and a fairly recent Washington Times article, Gang follows
illegal aliens, that noted:

"The violent MS-13 - or Mara Salvatrucha - street gang is following
the migratory routes of illegal aliens across the country, FBI
officials say, calling the Salvadoran gang the new American mafia.
MS-13, has a significant presence in the Washington area, and other
gangs are spreading into small towns and suburbs by following illegal
aliens seeking work in places such as Providence, R.I., and the
Carolinas, FBI task force director Robert Clifford said. "The migrant
moves and the gang follows," said Mr. Clifford, director of the
agency's MS-13 National Gang Task Force."


As reported by Known Gangs, one of the nation's leading private
organizations specializing in gangs training and information, here is
some information on one of the most violent gangs that has a very high
illegal alien involvement, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13):
In the 1980s, "A group of Salvadorian immigrants created a new gang
calling themselves Mara Salvatrucha also known as MS-13. It is
believed they got their name from combining the name of "La Mara," a
violent street gang in El Salvador with Salvatruchas, a term used to
denote members of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. This
was a group of Salvadorian peasants trained as guerilla fighters. The
"13" was added to pay homage to the California prison gang, the
Mexican Mafia.
Members of this newly formed gang soon engaged in violent criminal
acts. They quickly became known as one of the most violent gangs in
the area because many of their founding members had experience or
training in guerilla warfare, thus gaining a level of sophistication
that superseded their rivals.

Mara Salvatrucha has become Central America's greatest problem. In
addition to violent acts committed by the gang against citizens and
gang rivalries, the gang has even engaged in organized violent acts
against the government. In 1997 the son of Honduras President Ricardo
Maduro was kidnapped and murdered by MS-13 members. MS-13 members have
continued to taunt Central American government officials. Members also
left a dismembered corpse with a note for the Honduras president that
"more people will die ... the next victims will be police and
journalists." In 2004, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger received a
similar messages attached to the body of a dismembered man from MS-13
members.

In 2002 in the city of Tegucigalpa in the Honduras, MS-13 members
boarded a public bus and immediately executed 28 people including 7
small children. Again, they left a message written on the front of the
bus taunting government officials.

... Currently El Salvador has a murder rate of approximately 54 per
every 100,000 people, while the United States murder rate is
approximately 6 per every 100,000.

... MS-13 members in our country are known to be involved in all
aspects of criminal activity. Some law enforcement sources have
reported that because of their ties to their former homeland, MS-13
members have access to sophisticated weapons thus making firearms
trafficking one of their many criminal enterprises.

Despite their access to weaponry, there have been many high-profile
murders and assaults in which MS-13 have used machetes to attack their
victims.

The federal government has increased efforts to locate and deport
illegal MS-13 members living in our nation but with the lack of
cooperation from many cities whom support sanctuaries policies, has
made the government's job an uphill battle."


As noted in Gangs Or Us, "Since there are no "precise" statistics, it
is difficult to estimate the number of cliques or the number of
members. It has been estimated that MS-13 has over 15,000 members and
associates in at least 115 different cliques in 33 states, and these
numbers are continually increasing."
These gangs are not your Mafia of the past that had a "criminal code
of conduct" that was enforced by the Godfather. As noted in ICE
Deports Teenage Hondruran Gang Member - Gang sexually assaulted 2
girls in suspected initiation rite at vacant Maryland apartment:

"A 17-year-old Honduran citizen and MS-13 gang member convicted as an
adult for participating in the sexual assault of two teenage girls in
Maryland was deported today by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE).
Reinaldo Ramos-Ramos, an illegal alien who entered the United States
in June 2002 by crossing the Southwestern border, was one of 10 gang
members who sexually assaulted the minor girls, ages 16 and 17, inside
a vacant Adelphi, Md. apartment March 14, 2003.

The assaults might have been a savage gang initiation rite that calls
for female gang prospects to either endure being "jumped in" through a
beating by gang members, or be "sexed in" by multiple male gang
members."


Although notable, don't think that the illegal alien crime wave is
just a Mexican or Salvadorian problem. Also see:

•Chinese Organized Crime and Illegal Alien Trafficking: Humans as a
Commodity
•The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave
•The violence of Hmong gangs and the crime of rape
•Beyond Willie Sutton: Crime And Lack Of Punishment
for information on equal opportunity illegal alien gangsters.

What is on the horizon if we don't get serious? A November 29, 2006
article in the Washington Post Foreign Service, Surge in Violence
Shocks Even Weary Mexico - Drug Killings Nearly Doubled In Past Year,
reports:

"... A hit man had decapitated Sauzo's son, then chopped off his arms
and legs. The killer was so unconcerned about being brought to justice
that he scrawled his own name and nickname -- "El Barby" -- on a note
left with the mutilated corpse.
Still, Sauzo's mother, Cristina Gomez, didn't bother to go to the
police. "Why waste my time?" she said in an interview. "This is the
way it is in a town without laws."

Gomez's reaction and the audacity of Sauzo's murder - one of 11
decapitations in the state of Guerrero this year and one of 2,000
killings in a nationwide war between rival drug cartels - are
symptomatic of the unraveling of the rule of law that has plagued
Mexico for years.

But in the past year, the number of spectacularly gruesome killings
and the intensity of civil unrest have spiked to such alarming levels
that even Mexicans who were once hardened by years of violence are
shocked.

... The bulk of the violence is the result of a barbaric, five-year
war between Mexican drug cartels which are now approaching the
strength and size of the notorious Colombian cartels of the 1980s.
Drug killings have nearly doubled in the past year; in a single
incident this month, six police officers were fatally shot in the
troubled state of Michoacan.

... "We have a huge problem, a problem that exists throughout the
country; it's difficult, complicated, dynamic," said Juan Heriberto
Salinas Alt', a retired army general who serves as Guerrero state's
public security director. "It's something we've never seen before."

... In Guerrero, a southern Mexican state best known for its Acapulco
resorts, drug killings have ballooned from 32 at this point last year
to 281, according to Salinas Alt's, the public security director. Only
a handful of those murders have been solved because of "a high level
of police corruption," he said.

... Tamayo Hernendez, known as workaholic family man, was found Nov.
10 naked and dead in a cheap roadside motel room. That day, a Tijuana
police chief was shot to death. A headline in the Mexico City
newspaper El Universal called it "A Normal Day in the Country," and in
an editorial, the paper lamented that "bit by bit, murder by murder,
the country is winning an international reputation for danger."


As noted in Mexico's Drug Wars Heat Up "In the once-chic beach resort
of Acapulco, the severed heads of two police officers who had been
clamping down on drug traffickers were found a few months ago with a
note attached: "So that you learn to respect." The grisly method soon
caught on. In August alone, four more heads accompanied by threatening
notes appeared in the central Mexican state of Michoacán."

Something to think about the next time you are vacationing in Mexico.
In any case, these are some of the criminal illegal aliens that are
freely coming across the southern border to set up shop and operation
in America. How serious is the problem? In answer to that question,
you might want to check out what Congressman Tom Tancredo says about
the problem as noted in a World Net Dailey report, Mexican drug
cartels take over U.S. cities.

For further information, see: Gang expert backs Tancredo charges -
Retired cop says Mexican drug cartels rig elections to take over U.S.
cities, as well as the videos:

•The Threat Next Door (MS13)
•Los Angeles Gangs
•Latino Gangs on the Rise (in Memphis)
•Gangs Recruiting Younger Kids
To see which gangs may be operating in your state go to Gangs Or Us.
For more information on California and LA gangs see Street Gangs.

Finally, don't think the gang problem is just a male illegal alien
problem. For some insights into female gang members, see The changing
face of gangs - Dramatic increases in gang activity nationwide include
a strong, rising female presence.


Next Section: Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Crime Summary

Previous Section: Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Property Crimes And
Operation Predator
For some more information on the growing gang problem, see:

•MS-13 gang growing extremely dangerous, FBI says
•Immigration and the Alien Gang Epidemic:MS-13
•America's Most Dangerous Gang – MS13 - Violent, Vicious, and
Spreading Fast
•Illegal Alien Gangs Flourishing in America
•7 Mexican Gang Members Arrested in Western Suburbs Face Deportation
•Alien Crime Gang in the Shenandoah Valley
•Unlucky 13 Members of MS-13 Indicted in Tennessee
•Mexican Mafia's dealings revealed - Prison guard among 37 arrested
after 2-year probe
•Teen's Hands Severed In N.Va. Machete Attack
•MS-13 Man Sentenced to 3 Life Terms After Gang Rape
•Mexican drug cartels take over U.S. cities
•Squaring up for a drugs war on streets of Laredo
•MS-13 gang hired to murder Border Patrol
•The gangstas in my neighborhood
•Criminal Aliens, Gang Members, Fugitives and Other Immigration
Violators
•MS-13 gang seen as growing threat
•The New Face of Organized Crime
•Immigration and the Alien Gang Epidemic: Problems and Solutions
•Crime: Mexico's No. 1 export 'Minutemen' founder provides inside look
at violent Hispanic gang MS-13
•Gangs: Immigration's Third World Momentum
•Latino Gang Members Convicted of Violent Hate Crimes Against Blacks
•MS-13 and Other Alien Gangs Intimidating, Threatening Witnesses
•More illegal aliens tried in gang rapes
•Illegal aliens linked to gang-rape wave
•Six gang rapes by illegal aliens
•4 illegal aliens gang-rape woman in NYC
•Illegal aliens linked to gang-rape wave - The crime epidemic no one
will talk about?
•More illegal aliens tried in gang rapes - 2 new cases uncovered in
unnoticed crime wave
As just a quick peruse of the title of the links indicates, note the
involvement in sexual crimes. I'll bet you don't see gang rape
initiation rites in the Godfather movies or on the Sopranos. These are
not the gangs that Elliot Ness was battling.

If income tax evasion was the only collateral damage being inflicted
we could probably tolerate this aspect of illegal immigration but gang
rapes?

While we passively tolerate the illegal alien invasion, this is more
collateral damage of illegal immigration to save ten cents on a head
of lettuce.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_crime_summary.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Crime Summary
While this report has attempted to put a personal face on the
collateral damage of illegal alien crime, note that many of the links
in this report detailing some of the crime are dependent on the
archiving time of some of the various sources making their articles
available. Once taken down, many of the crimes simply "disappear" from
American consciousness.

As an example, I'm willing to bet that most people living outside of
the Denver metro are not aware that in the fall of 1999 five Asian
gang members, illegal aliens as it was reported many years latter,
kidnapped and gang raped a University of Colorado coed. Initiation
rites were involved and they specifically targeted a "white woman."

If it wasn't for the archiving efforts of some groups fighting illegal
immigration general knowledge of such incidents would be lost to all
but the most serious researcher. Even with the internet it is very
difficult to track down and report the participation level of illegal
aliens in crime because NOBODY IS KEEPING TRACK! However, as this
report has detailed and documented, it is quite considerable and is
the direct consequence of our unfettered immigration policy, porous
borders, sanctuary cities, and lack of enforcement.

In recent Testimony of District Attorney John M. Morganelli before the
House Subcommittee on immigration, Border, Security and Claims he
stated:

"Unfortunately, the majority of illegal aliens who are here are
engaged in criminal activity. Identity theft, use of fraudulent social
security numbers and green cards, tax evasion, driving without
licenses represent some of the crimes that are engaged in by the
majority of illegal aliens on a daily basis merely to maintain and
hide their illegal status.
In addition, violent crime and drug distribution and possession is
also prevalent among illegal aliens. Over 25% of today's federal
prison population are illegal aliens. In some areas of the country,
12% of felonies, 25% of burglaries and 34% of thefts are committed by
illegal aliens."


Ignoring the "minor crime" such as ID theft and property crimes being
committed by illegal aliens, here is a summary on some of the
collateral damage reaped in crimes as a result of tolerating illegal
aliens in the USA:

•In Los Angeles, 95% of some 1,500 outstanding warrants for homicides
are for illegal aliens. About 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive
felony warrants are for illegal aliens.
•There are currently over 400,000 unaccounted for illegal alien
criminals with outstanding deportation orders. At least one fourth of
these are hard core criminals.
•80,000 to 100,000 illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious
crimes are walking the streets. Based on studies they will commit an
average of 13 serious crimes per perpetrator.
•Illegal aliens are involved in criminal activities at a rate that is
2-5 times their representative proportion of the population.
•In 1980, our Federal and state facilities held fewer than 9,000
criminal aliens but at the end of 2003, approximately 267,000 illegal
aliens were incarcerated in U.S. correctional facilities at a cost of
about $6.8 billion per year.
•At least 4.5 million pounds of cocaine with a street value of at
least $72 billion is smuggled across the southern border every
year. ..
•56% of illegal aliens charged with a reentry offense had previously
been convicted on at least 5 prior occasions.
•Illegal aliens charged with unlawful reentry had the most extensive
criminal histories. 90% had been previously arrested. Of those with a
prior arrest, 50% had been arrested for violent or drug-related
felonies.
•Illegal aliens commit between 700,000 to 1,289,000 or more crimes per
year.
•Illegal aliens commit at least 2,158 murders each year – a number
that represents three times greater participation than their
proportion of the population.
•Illegal alien sexual predators commit an estimated 130,909 sexual
crimes each year.
•There may be as many as 240,000 illegal alien sex offenders
circulating throughout America. Based on studies, they will commit an
average of 8 sex crimes per perpetrator before being caught.
•Nearly 63% of illegal alien sex offenders had been deported on
another offense prior to committing the sex crime.
•Only 2% of the illegal alien sex offenders in one study had no
history of criminal behavior, beyond crossing the border illegally.
•In Operation Predator, ICE arrested and deported 6,085 illegal alien
pedophiles. Some studies suggest each pedophile molests average of 148
children. If so, that could be as many as 900,580 victims.
•Nobody knows how big the Sex Slave problem is but it is enormous.
•The very brutal MS-13 gang has over 15,000 members and associates in
at least 115 different cliques in 33 states.
•The overall financial impact of illegal alien crimes is estimated at
between $14.4 and $81 billion or more per year. Factor in the crime as
a result of the cocaine and other drugs being smuggled in and the
number may reach $150 billion per year.
Still think illegal immigration is a "victimless crime" and we don't
need to control our borders? Remember, about 60% of the crimes being
committed are by illegal aliens who were previously deported.

Allowing our borders to be disregarded coupled with little national
commitment about doing anything about it has resulted in growing
mayhem by illegal alien criminals, not a "victimless crime."

As the previous sections have detailed, the dark side of illegal
immigration includes a lot of horrific crime being perpetrated by the
hard core criminal element of the illegal alien population. In the
cost-benefit tradeoff of tolerating illegal immigration, how much
collateral damage are we willing to accept?

In tolerating illegal immigration, how many Americans do YOU accept
being molested, raped and murdered each year to save ten cents on a
head of lettuce?

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_traffic_accidents.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Traffic Accidents
On October 19, 2003, the 29 year old, ex-quarterback for the
University of Colorado football team, John Hesler, was driving his
Honda Accord on Interstate 76 in Colorado when it was clipped by an
SUV sending it across a median and into the path of a pickup truck,
causing a horrific accident. The driver and passenger of the SUV that
caused the accident fled the scene and haven't been found. The
Colorado State Patrol told Hesler's family that they most likely are
in Mexico.

As of January 2007, John Hesler was still living in a rehabilitation
center going through extensive mental and physical therapy. The car
that caused the accident did not have insurance. Since the driver was
not apprehended or ticketed nobody knows whether the driver causing
the accident had a license or not. Most likely he did not, but even if
so, false documentation is a major problem in Colorado, as well as
across the USA.

John Hesler was "lucky." He survived his traffic encounter with an
illegal alien but not without terrible costs to himself and family. Go
to the John Hesler website to see the journey from being on the top of
the world with a full life and promise before him to:

"John's thought process improves daily which is great, but there for
awhile the realization of everything he has endured hit him like a ton
of bricks. Negative thoughts and remarks became a frequent visitor in
John's everyday life. A change was needed and we pray and ask each of
you to continue to pray that this will bring John back to a lasting
optimistic state of mind."
For a detailed report on what is happening on the roads and highways
of the East Coast see the article Harvest of death on the Eastern
Shore where it is reported that while 5% of the population in the area
is Hispanic they are involved in 25% of the fatal traffic accidents,
an astounding 5 times as much participation as representation. Given
the fact that most members of the Hispanic community are law abiding
and responsible citizens, that means that a large percentage of the
illegal alien portion of the Hispanic community is even worse. How
much worse nobody knows because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.

A review of State Police auto accident reports for 2002 through 2004
for that area of the Eastern Shore also revealed that of the 179
accidents involving Hispanic laborers:

•75% of the drivers had no auto insurance.
•Nearly all of the vehicles driven by migrants were registered to
other drivers.
•93% of the vehicles had false out-of-state tags.
In 2003 and 2004, 128 of the 395 people, 32.4%, arrested on DUI
charges were Hispanic, a rate six times greater than the Hispanic
portion of the population.

The article goes on, "When crashes occur, it is not uncommon for
Hispanic drivers – often intoxicated and unlicensed – to flee before
troopers arrive. According to State Police records, about a third of
accidents involving migrant workers are hit-and-run. State Trooper
Koushel said migrants often cannot be conclusively identified when
they're stopped for a violation or involved in an accident." "Many",
he said, "are illegal aliens who carry fake or invalid driver's
licenses". "Because of that", he said, "many fail to show up in court.
It's almost like writing a ticket to a ghost."
For more information on the DUI problem, see Hispanics in crashes lead
DWI stats.

Illegal aliens that drive without licenses often can not read English.
As a result, they don't know the rules of the road and can't read
highway signs. As noted in Where Illegals Go for Driver's Licenses,
North Carolina allows illegal aliens who can't speak English to bring
in their own interpreter so the English speaking examiners don't have
a clue what the applicant knows or doesn't know. Couple that with the
higher tendency for DUI driving and many illegal aliens are the worst
drivers on the road, as noted by some of the various traffic accident
statistics cited in this paper. Add in the fact that they generally
have no insurance and that makes them, as a group, the most
irresponsible drivers on the road, as well.

As noted in No license to drive: Illegal immigrant drivers creating
problem in De Queen, Arkansas, population 5,765:

"Hispanic drivers in De Queen without driver's licenses have become an
accident waiting to happen, an official said. "The majority of
Hispanics have no driver's license and they're part of the illegal
immigration problem. If they're here illegally, they can't get into
the system to get driver's license. In most cases they don't have car
insurance either," said Mayor Billy Ray McKelvy.
... The drivers also have no vehicle insurance and no liability
insurance, says McKelvy.

... In the last two months, De Queen has been averaging about an
accident per week involving Hispanic drivers with no driver's
licenses. Ten vehicles have been involved and the average amount of
damage per vehicle was estimated to be $3,000. So far, none of the
crashes in De Queen have been fatal."


However the consequences of illegal aliens driving have not just been
a few cars damaged as in DeQueen. Putting some of the personal
consequences of the "victimless crime" into perspective:

Police chief of the Needville Independent School District, Chief
Ernest V. Mendoza lost his life when he was hit head on by drunken
illegal alien Guillermo Paniagua Paniagua who veered into his lane.
Paniagua had four previous drunken driving convictions. Paniagua fled
the scene on foot but was captured latter. Mendoza, a 25-year-veteran
of law enforcement, leaves behind a wife and four children.
Min Soon Chang, a freshman from the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte, was killed by drunk driving illegal alien Jorge Humberto
Hernandez-Soto, who hit him while going 100 MPH the wrong way on the
highway. Hernadez-Sot had been previously deported to his native
Mexico 17 times. That is not a typo.

Cheryl Ceran, 47, and two of her children, 15-year-old Ian and 7-year-
old Julianna were killed on Christmas Eve by drunk driving illegal
alien Carlos Rodolfo Prieto, 24, who ran a red light and slammed into
their car. Also injured in the crash were Cheryl Ceran's husband, Gary
Ceran, 45, their daughter, Clarissa, 19, and a son, Caleb, 12. Prieto
had at least two other drunken driving arrests and did not have a
license.

Kelly Bergen, 25, a teacher, was crushed between two potato trucks, an
accident caused by an illegal alien driving without a license or
insurance.

Deputy Loren Lilly, an 18 year veteran of the Cobb County, GA, police
department was killed Christmas Eve morning on his way to work when an
illegal alien swerved into his lane. The driver, Joel Camacho Perea,
faces charges of hit and run, failure to maintain lane and driving
without a license.

Marine Corporal Brian Mathews, 21, and his girlfriend Jennifer Bower,
24, were killed by a drunk illegal alien Eduardo Raul Morales-Soriano
who slammed into their car when it was stopped at a traffic light.
Corporal Mathews was on leave, after just returning from duty in Iraq.
Morales-Soriano had a blood-alcohol level that was four times the
legal limit.

20 year old Natalie Housand was killed when illegal alien Jesus Garcia
Lopez hit her car while going 100 MPH, driving drunk. Amazingly, after
the head-on collision, Lopez fled the scene.

Donna and Sean Wilson of Juliet Tennessee, were killed by illegal
alien Gustavo Reyes Garcia who had been, arrested 14 times in the
previous five years prior to when he ran into and killed them, again
driving while intoxicated. Garcia had previously been arrested 5 times
on DUIs.

Tricia Ann Taylor, 17, lost both her legs above the knees when she was
pinned against a wall by a drunken illegal alien with seventeen prior
violations who hit her while drag racing.
Ryan Ostendorf, a 28 year old paramedic, who was also a Kansas
University student and who dreamed of becoming a doctor, was killed by
illegal alien Victor Anzua-Torresa who had ignored an order to receive
treatment after his previous drunken-driving conviction. Anzua-Torresa
had also been previously deported in 2000 and been arrested for
several other offenses, including possession of drug paraphernalia.

5-year-old Felix Leon was killed in a hit and run accident by illegal
alien Carlos Jaramillo.
James F. Rogers Jr., 18, of North Jackson, TN was killed by Luis Oscar
Garcia, a Mexican who had been living in the U.S. without a green card
for three years. Garcia ran a red light. In addition to the vehicular
homicide and DUI charges, Garcia faces counts of driving without a
license, registration or proof of insurance. When police did a check
on his license plate, it did not come back under his name.

Joshua Morrow, 4, and his uncle, Ronald Bishop were killed by an
illegal alien who left the scene of the accident.

Christopher Shackleford, 19, Julieanne Pascoe, 18, and Kelli
Bourgeois, 18, were all killed in Marietta, Georgia, by an illegal
alien drunk driver. He did not have a valid driver's license or
insurance but did have a blood alcohol level at twice the legal limit.

Brandon Haley, 31, was killed while riding his bicycle in a hit and
run by illegal alien Lazardo Lobaton.

The Marti family, pictured here during a happy moment that no longer
exists. Sean, just 24 years old, and his daughter Sage, 5 months old,
were killed by a drunk illegal alien who was driving the wrong way on
Highway 84 in Idaho. Natalie Marti was in a coma for two weeks after
the head-on crash, spent two months in the hospital, and has suffered
brain damage from a traumatic head wound.
Chicago Police Officer Michael Gordon lost his life to a drunken
illegal alien driver. Officer Gordon was in the driver's seat of his
squad car when it was struck by Luis Calle, a Guatemalan, whose blood
alcohol level was 0.177, twice the legal limit.

Helen Hughes, 22, Jennifer Carter, 18, and Hughes' stepbrother, 16-
year-old Ben Leonard were all killed by an illegal alien, who
allegedly was driving drunk, and already had a long record of crime in
the United States.

22-year-old Amy Kortlang was killed by an illegal alien driving
without a license and while drunk. The illegal alien driver had been
previously deported, barely six months prior to causing the accident.
Oakland Police Officer Will Seuis was killed on his ride home by an
illegal alien. A sixteen-year veteran of the Police Department,
Officer Seuis was remembered at his funeral as a hard-working cop who
had received 33 letters of appreciation from citizens, including one
from a motorist he had ticketed. The illegal alien had a long history
of traffic convictions.

Peggy Keller, dean of distance education at Yakima Valley Community
College, was killed by a twice deported illegal alien who was driving
under the influence of methamphetamines.

19 year old Travis Smith was killed when he was struck head-on by a
vehicle driven by an illegal alien who was transporting four other
illegal aliens to Pennsylvania.

Six year old Annie Cumpston was killed in a hit-and-run accident in
downtown Baltimore by a truck driven by illegal alien Guillermo Diaz
when it veered into the crosswalk as she and her family were leaving
the circus. When Diaz was arrested, he did not have a driver's
license, the tags on the truck were expired and his blood-alcohol
level was 0.07 percent. Diaz had been in the United States illegally
for four years doing construction work. He received 10 years in prison
but is eligible for parole in just two years. This is an example of a
horrific crime where all the easy to find references are gone but you
can find the story at archived at CRIME VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS.



The above are only a small sampling. Be sure to see the links at the
end of this section.

How bad is the problem getting? See: The Carnage of Unisured Motorists
for a detailed report on the havoc caused by illegal alien drivers in
an East Coast community and Numbers flabbergast legislators - Crashes,
arrests highlight illegal immigration problem, lawmakers say where
over a few days of bad weather in Colorado over 100 illegal aliens
were in auto accidents or given traffic tickets.

For a growing twist on the problem, see: Illegals without driver's
licenses register cars and Dangerous Loophole Allows Illegal Drivers
On Road.

Finally, it is worth noting that illegal alien drivers are not only
killing Americans and themselves. Some of the most horrific accidents
are as a result of an illegal alien transporting other illegal aliens.
For a few examples, see: Van stuffed full of immigrants takes deadly
roll or 9 suspected illegal immigrants killed in Yuma crash or Driver
in Crash Held on Smuggling Counts. In the first two incidents there
were 21 illegal aliens in the vehicles that got into the accident. In
the third there were "only" 11 in the van with four dying. The
emergency services and medical costs on the local community for such
accidents are enormous and especially burdensome on the smaller rural
communities.
Who pays for the carnage? American citizens, of course. As noted in
When illegal immigrants crash, taxpayers usually foot the bill, "the
only trauma center in Southern Arizona, Tucson's University Medical
Center ... At the current run rate we'll incur 5 - 6 million dollars
in un-reimbursed costs for taking care of foreign nationals." That is
just the unpaid emergency medical costs for one hospital in one city.
Since there is no such thing as a free lunch, the insured pay for
treating the uninsured through higher medical costs and insurance
premiums.

How many Americans are being killed in traffic accidents by illegal
aliens? As noted by a Media Matters article interview, Boyles guest
acknowledges "no one really knows how many Americans per day are being
killed by illegal aliens" as it is all a guess based on bits and
pieces starting with the fact that nobody really knows how many
illegal aliens are actually in the USA. Again, it comes back to nobody
knows because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.

Looking at one particularly egregious component of traffic accidents,
hit and runs, nationally 11 of every 100 traffic accidents are a hit
and run. After a hit and run driver flees the accident scene,
something very common when the driver is an illegal alien, the
unfortunate victim is responsible for all the expenses, as well as
suffering the inconvenience of being without a car while it's being
repaired.

Fortunately, the vast majority of hit and run accidents only cause
vehicle damage but many drivers, including, most notably, illegal
aliens, do not have insurance, let alone adequate insurance, to handle
any expenses, even if only to repair the unfortunate victim's car.
Thus, if you do not carry comprehensive insurance on an older car and
are hit by an illegal alien that destroys your car, you are left
without a car. As bad as that can be, unfortunately, there are also
many deaths and serious injuries as well, for which the victim's
insurance must also pay. Although they may be hidden in some states,
these costs are represented in the "uninsured drivers" portion of your
auto insurance premium.

As noted in Not all Hit and Run Accident Victims Die, often the
injuries are often crippling, life long, and require many years of
treatments and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in
medical costs.

How many hit and run accidents are there and what is the participation
of illegal aliens? As reported by Deadly Roads, as of December 29,
there were 1,544 killed and 105,078 injured in hit and run accidents
in 2006. Extrapolating for the year, 2006 will end up with about 1,560
killed and 105,948 injured by hit and run drivers. If the illegal
alien population was responsible for just 5% of the carnage, that
would result in 78 killed and 5,297 injured. However, as previously
noted, the data suggests that the proportional involvement of illegal
aliens in traffic accidents is actually far higher and there is no
reason to believe it would be any different for hit and run accidents.
In fact, if anything, the participation of illegal aliens is probably
even higher but, again, NOBODY IS TRACKING IT so nobody really knows.
For what is happening in California see California's hit-and-run
crisis - More flee fatal accidents here than any other state where it
is reported: "

"The number of fatal hit-and- run traffic deaths statewide jumped by
19 percent from 1999 to 2001, federal statistics show. Nearly 300
people are killed annually in hit-and-run accidents in the state.
Hit-and-runs accounted for 7.8 percent of the state's fatal crashes in
2001, the latest year for which figures are available from the U.S.
Transportation Department. The figure is more than twice the national
average of 3.8 percent - and a full percentage point higher than the
next-highest state, Arizona."


In Spiral Of Immigrant Corruption In America, Frosty Wooldridge says,
"To give you an idea of how fast the United States careens into Third
World standard operating procedure, in Greeley, Colorado last year,
police recorded 270 hit and run accidents for that year. Greeley, with
less than 70,000 residents, houses the largest contingent of (illegal
alien) Mexicans in Colorado."

While anecdotal, it fits the pattern as California has the highest
illegal alien population of all states, Arizona has the second
highest, and Greeley is reported to have one of the highest percentage
concentration of illegal aliens in Colorado. In any case, nobody that
I am aware of is correlating the incidence of hit-and-run accidents
with the illegal alien population.

As noted in a 2003 article in the Austin American Statesmen, A
troubling trend: Hispanics and DWI - Latinos account for nearly half
of 2002 Austin arrests:

"Of 3,007 drunken driving arrests in 2002, 43 percent involved
Hispanic men, even though they make up only about 11 percent of
Austin's driving population.
Including women, Hispanics made up 47 percent of the DWI arrests but
only 21 percent of Austin drivers.

... Statewide, 42 percent of the people arrested in 2002 for driving
while intoxicated were Latino, according to the Texas Department of
Public Safety.

In Austin, 46 percent of the people arrested for drunk driving from
1999 to 2002 were Latino, according to the Austin Police Department."


As noted in a December 2005 article, Durham court outreaches to
Latinos to prevent DWI, by Paul Savery in the Carolina NewsWire:

"46% OF INDIVIDUALS CHARGED WITH DWI ARE LATINO ACCORDING TO STUDY OF
TRAFFIC CHARGES IN DURHAM COURT
... Latinos are over represented among individuals charged with DWI in
Durham. Latinos account for 7.6% of Durham's population, but account
for a much greater percentage of those individuals charged with DWIs
and other traffic offenses.

In Durham 44% (589) of individuals charged with a traffic offense are
Latino and 40% (74) of all individuals charged with a DWI were Latino.
(Based on the Coalition's sampling of data from the Durham Traffic
Court dockets. A one week period (5 days) of Durham Traffic Court was
selected at random from each of the last 3 months of 2004 and yielded
a total sample of 1338 of individuals charged with traffic offences.)

In Durham 46% (253) of individuals charged with DWI are Latino. 99%
(251) of Latinos charged with DWI were male, with an average age of 27
years old. (Based on the Coalition's examination of the Durham City
Police Department's 2004 DWI Arrest Record which accounts for all the
DWI arrests (801) from 1-1-04 to 12-31-04.)

The Latino community in Durham is paying a terrible cost for the high
rate of drinking and driving. Apart from the cost of legal fees,
fines, lost wages from DWI convictions, the cost of drinking and
driving in terms of death and injury is also high. Recent data for
2002-2003 from a local trauma center shows that 43% of Latino
admissions are due to motor vehicle collisions and a significant
number involved alcohol use."


As noted in a July 2006 article Illegal Immigrants Filling Jails -
Sheriff's department officials around state predict thing will worsen
in the Carolina Journal Print by Karen Welsh:

"RALEIGH - County jails throughout North Carolina are stressed to the
limit with illegal immigrants, law-enforcement officials say.
... Kevin Jastzabski, prison captain for the Lee County Sheriff's
Department, said the number of Hispanics clogging the county's system
is getting larger everyday. "We do have a problem, and it is going to
keep on growing," he said "It doesn't look like it's going to slow
down any time soon."

... It's not racial discrimination, as some have feared, but cultural
differences that are putting most of the illegal immigrants behind
bars.

The arrests are legitimate, Jones said, and arise mostly from drug
trafficking or driving under the influence of alcohol in Alamance
County. DUI is the number one killer of Hispanic males in the state,
he said.

"There are cultural differences," he said. "They drink and drive. It's
culturally acceptable for them to do that. When we bring them in, they
are usually double the legal limit. But law-enforcement officers have
been called racist and have been accused of singling out Hispanics.
Now the statistics are showing we were probably right from the onset -
law-enforcement-wise."


As noted in a December 2006 article by Jared Allen in the Nashville
City Paper, Male Hispanics responsible for disproportionate number of
fatal car crashes:
"As a percentage of Nashville's population, male Hispanics have been
responsible for a greater percentage of fatal traffic accidents this
year than any other demographic, police data show.
... While the U.S. Census bureau estimates that Hispanics made up
approximately 6.3 percent of Nashville's population in 2004, police
say they were responsible for 17 percent of the fatal car wrecks that
have occurred so far in 2006.

... Since the summer, Nashville's Hispanic leaders have weathered a
tempest caused by a number of deadly, high- profile accidents police
say came at the hands of Latinos, three quarters of whom were
allegedly drunk, and some who have been identified as illegal
immigrants.

"As a cultural group, Hispanics are responsible for more fatal
accidents then they are entitled to ... based on their percentage of
the population," said Metro Police Sgt. William Keeter, supervisor of
traffic analysis, hit and runs and fatal crash investigations.

... At the same time, though, alcohol was a contributing factor in 75
percent of the fatal car crashes caused this year by Hispanics, a far
higher percentage than with other groups, police said.

Keeter said the rate of alcohol-caused crashes among whites, Blacks,
Asians and others is usually about 40 percent."


Over on the West Coast the problem persists but, interestingly, not at
the same rate in one report. As noted in DUI's culture gap -Latinos in
S.J. account for disproportionate amount of arrests:

"Approximately 2,000 Latino men like Mercado were arrested in Stockton
between 2000 and 2004 on suspicion of driving under the influence of
alcohol. They accounted for at least 54 percent of all DUI arrests in
Stockton, according to the Police Department, although Latinos make up
just 35.3 percent of the city's population, based on the latest
estimates from the California Department of Finance.
In 2004 alone, police arrested 4,242 people on DUI charges in San
Joaquin County, according to the California Department of Justice.
Latinos accounted for 46.8 percent of the arrests but only 33.1
percent of the county's population. In Stockton, 59 percent of the 883
DUI arrestees that year were Latino men, the highest percentage of any
city in San Joaquin County."


Maybe the Hispanics in California are drinking more wine. Regardless,
the article goes on to note:

"The Latino community creates its own problems," said Joe Ynostroza,
technical assistance director for the California Hispanic Commission
on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Sacramento, a nonprofit educational
organization. The problem is especially acute in Mexico.
"Most of this is first- or second-generation Mexican males," he said.
"Alcoholism runs rampant in the Mexican Latino community."

No other ethnic or racial group has such a high level of DUI arrests
statewide, according to the California Department of Justice"


How much of this is attributable to Hispanic illegal aliens nobody
knows because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT. The lower number may actually be
a result of the larger Hispanic community where the vast majority of
Hispanics are law abiding and are not committing DUI/DWIs.

In any case, note the references to "cultural differences," an issue
discussed in the following section.

While fairly small samples, the reports indicate that Hispanics are
involved in DWIs at a rate that is often three to five times than
their representation in the population. That is an amazing statistic.
The impact of Hispanic illegal alien DWIs on the resident Hispanic
portion of the overall DWI statistics is unknown but is undoubtedly
very large and giving the Hispanic community a very bad reputation and
reinforcing old stereotypes.

In any case, nobody tracks DUIs/DWIs OR accidents by resident status.
As previously noted, coming up with a more accurate number is
complicated by the fact that the MSM seem to go out of their way to
not report residential status of the person involved in the crime or
accident. Even in some of the references used in this report you will
have to dig deep to find the resident status of the perpetrator.
Regardless, the number is considerable and we need to ask ourselves if
having 5% collateral damage for a "victimless crime" is acceptable.

If 5% is acceptable, then how about 25%?

In 2000, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a
comprehensive report Unlicensed to Kill detailing the carnage being
caused by unlicensed drivers. While the report did not identify if the
unlicensed drivers were illegal aliens or not, it did note that of the
278,078 drivers involved in fatal crashes in the US between 1993 and
1997 some 3.7% were unlicensed, 2.7% were of unknown licensed status,
and another 7.4% were driving on invalid licenses. The end result is
that during the period 42,049 people were killed in crashes involving
at least one driver who was unlicensed, driving on an invalid license,
or with a license of unknown status. The report also notes that DUI
drivers also played a significant part in the highway carnage.

As previously noted, a high percentage of illegal aliens tend to drive
without licenses and fake licenses. While the number of illegal aliens
involved in the 278,078 fatal crashes caused by drivers with no or
improper licenses during the examined period is unknown, if just 5% of
the 42,049 deaths were caused by illegal aliens that is over 2,000
American citizens killed during the five year period which is an
average of 400 citizens per year. The absolute number of traffic
deaths caused by illegal aliens driving without licenses is unknown,
but most likely much higher than just a 5% participation rate.

In 2003, the AAA Foundation released Unlicensed to Kill – the Sequel,
which goes into more detail regarding state practices. The report
noted that the data showed a wide variation across states in the
proportions of drivers involved in fatal crashes who lacked a valid
license – from a low of 6.1% in Maine to a high of 23.1% in New
Mexico. Arizona and California closely followed New Mexico. Reviewing
the involvement, there is a strong correlation between the percentages
and the states with higher proportions of illegal aliens, although the
report does not make that link. By-the-way, regardless of residency
status, both reports basically say that vehicle impoundment is the
best method to prevent unlicensed drivers from killing people, as most
offenders are usually arrested on prior DUIs. California also uses it
to get older, more polluting vehicles off the roadway and their laws
have resulted in forfeiture in approximately half the cases. Evidently
in California it is OK to kill people while driving without a license
but not OK to gas them with a little more pollution. The report also
noted that in the vast majority of cases, an unlicensed driver with a
DUI was not the owner of the vehicle.

In any case, compare the AAA's data with the information from the East
Coast in the article Harvest of death on the Eastern Shore where the
participation of illegal aliens is actually noted.

As reported in a 2001 article, Cultural Impact, from Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD): "... when you combine the Hispanic drinking
culture with the lack of education on drunk driving prevention, you
end up with tragic consequences." The article goes on, "According to
research compiled by Dr. Catherine Clark of the Alcohol Policy Group
in Berkeley, Calif., Hispanic drivers are more likely than Anglo
drivers to consume more alcohol more frequently and have been shown to
be more likely than Anglos to drive with a blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) level over .05 percent." MADD's data indicate that 42% of all
traffic fatalities involved alcohol, the percentage is increasing, and
Hispanics as a group are involved at a much higher rate than their
portion of the population.

Is the percentage of fatalities involving alcohol increasing because
of the increasing component of Hispanic illegal alien drivers? Again,
nobody knows but the data would suggest it.

As noted in a Pan American Health Organization World Health Day 2004:
Road Safety report:

"In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
death for Hispanics between the ages of 1 and 34, and the third
leading cause of death for all ages surpassed only by heart disease
and cancer, according to the U.S. Transportation Department's National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
NHTSA also found that Hispanics are less likely to wear a seat belt.
In addition, a NHTSA study said, "although Hispanic male teenagers
travel fewer miles than their white counterparts, they are nearly
twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle crash."


Do you suppose the tendency of Hispanics to be involved in DUI/DWIs at
far greater rates might have something to do with that?

According to a NHSTA press release, there were 16,885 alcohol-related
fatalities in 2005. The press release notes "According to the data
released today, the highest percentage of drivers in alcohol-related
fatal crashes was for male drivers ages 21 to 34 (33 percent),
followed by males age 35 to 44 (25 percent).

As to be expected, the NHSTA does not track fatalities by ethnicity or
citizenship. Interestingly, even the CDC's National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control will not even identify "Hispanics" or "illegal
aliens" as part of their Impaired Driving Groups at Risk, despite
overwhelming evidence of the alarmingly high risks for these two
groups. They will, however, provide the fact sheet page in Spanish.

The estimates on the number of illegal aliens in the USA range from a
generally accepted low of 12 million to a few estimates of 20-25 or
more million. One report, Census Bureau Distortions Hide Immigration
Crisis- Real Numbers Much Higher, says that the numbers may actually
be far higher.

For the sake of argument I'll use 15 million. Assuming equal
automobile ownership, a straight proportional representation of
illegal aliens in traffic accidents can now be estimated. Thus 15
million illegal aliens in a population of 300 million is a 5%
representation level. However, as some data has suggested the actual
participation may be much greater than the representation and lower
automobile ownership would also increase the participation rate.

If we were to apply the 5% illegal alien representation in the
population to the 16,885 alcohol related fatalities it results in 844
deaths. However, it is worth noting that Representative King states in
Biting the Hand That Feeds You that illegal aliens are responsible for
4,745 deaths. I believe Congressman King based his numbers on two GAO
reports (d05337r and d05646r) on the number of incarcerated illegal
aliens and the total number of incarcerated prisoners and applying the
resulting percentage to the NHSTA's numbers. Based on this estimate,
illegal aliens would be responsible for about 28.1% of the total
alcohol related deaths which means that illegal aliens are responsible
for 5.6 times as many deaths as representation. While on the high
side, note how close that is to the participation in the limited DWI
studies referenced earlier.

Whether or not illegal aliens are involved in all traffic accidents at
the same rate as DWIs is unknown because NOBODY IS TRACKING IT.

In any case, the NHTSA reported that in 2004 there were 6,181,000
traffic accidents that killed 42,636 and injured 2,788,000. They also
reported that the economic costs for traffic accidents in 2000 was
$230.6 Billion. If illegal aliens are responsible for just 5% of it,
that is 309,050 accidents, 2,132 deaths, 139,400 injuries, and a cost
of $11.5 billion.

If Congressman King is correct and if illegal aliens are involved in
all traffic accidents at the higher participation rate, multiply those
figures by 5.6.

Regardless of the actual amount, unquestionably illegal aliens are
involved in traffic accidents, hit and runs, DWIs, and drunk driving
deaths at rates that are far higher than their representation in the
population - as much as five times greater. Even if only twice as
much, I'll let you do the math on the collateral damage and carnage
being inflicted by illegal aliens.

It is worth repeating that NOBODY IS TRACKING the illegal alien
component of the traffic accident carnage. This makes it impossible to
do an accurate cost/benefit analysis to see if the collateral damage
is worth having them here. However, there are strong indications that
we are paying a horrendous cost with scores of Americans, and illegal
aliens, being injured and killed on America's highways and byways as a
direct result of illegal alien drivers.

So much for a "victimless crime."

As detailed in this section, illegal alien drivers, as a group, are
probably the absolute worst drivers on the road. They are, without
question, the most irresponsible.

Illegal alien drivers kill and injure far more children than alar,
second hand smoke, and Mark Foley.

Combined.

Which got all the press?

In tolerating illegal immigration, exactly how many Americans do YOU
accept being injured and killed by illegal aliens in traffic
accidents?

In accepting the collateral damage of illegal immigration, how many
people can be killed by drunk-driving illegal aliens?

How many American children is it acceptable to have seriously injured,
permanently maimed, and killed by grossly irresponsible illegal alien
drivers to save ten cents on a head of lettuce?

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_cultural_difference.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Cultural Difference
In addition to the more permissive and irresponsible attitudes on
drinking and driving held by many Hispanic illegal aliens, as detailed
in the previous section, the Washington Post reported in a June 2002
article, In Mexico, an Unpunished Crime, there is a "machismo
culture," instilled through what is learned in the home, school and
church, which has allowed many men to "believe they are superior and
dominant, and that women are an object." The article goes on, "when it
comes to punishing sexual violence against women, surprisingly little
has changed in a century. In many parts of Mexico, the penalty for
stealing a cow is harsher than the punishment for rape."

As reported in a VDARE article, Mexican Sexual Diversity:

"... the social status of women in some rural areas is not much better
than the Taliban level, where females have no civil rights and are
essentially slaves for men. As an example, a kind of kidnap-for-sex
custom remains legal in Oaxaca, a southern state of Mexico. In "Oaxaca
last summer, the one-year-old, government-funded Oaxacan Women's
Institute persuaded the legislature to pass heavy criminal penalties
against a practice known as ‘rapto.' Laws in most Mexican states
define rapto as a case where a man kidnaps a woman not for ransom, but
with the intent of marrying her or to satisfy his "erotic sexual
desire." The new law championed by the women's group established
penalties of at least 10 years in prison. But in March, the state
legislature reversed itself and again made the practice a minor
infraction. A key legislator - a man - argued for the reduction,
calling the practice harmless and ‘romantic."
As noted by Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D. of the Violent Crimes
Institute in Importing Violence: The Danger of Immigration from
Violent Cultures:

"Over the past several years, the U.S. has seen a large influx of
immigrants, both legal and illegal, from countries whose values are
opposed to the rights guaranteed by the U.S. constitution.
Specifically, there are large numbers of immigrants coming from
countries that are misogynistic. These societies accord women little
to no rights, and the idea of violence committed by men against women
and children is not unusual.
... The fact is that South American male attitudes toward females are
often archaic and misogynistic. Thus it is not surprising that the
U.S. is seeing more attacks against women and little girls committed
by these immigrants. In August 2005, illegal immigrant Jose Ramirez
from El Salvador was charged with the violent attack of a 15 year old
girl who refused to respond when he whistled at her (Roh,
2005).Perhaps such primitive behavior stems from the homeland culture.
El Salvador and Guatemala have had a string of unsolved brutal murders
where young females have been abducted and cut apart. Authorities have
found body parts, including heads scattered around. In one instance,
two female heads were deposited right in front of a local police
station, blood still oozing from the severed heads (Miles, 2003).
Gangs are suspected in these crimes as it is often part of their
initiation to kill.

If you are not yet disgusted, you will be. Not only are criminal
immigrants coming from cultures that are misogynistic, but they are
changing U.S. culture in response to their sickness. Many illegal
aliens join violent gangs which take over neighborhoods and terrorize
innocent citizens. These gangs are highly organized with tentacles
spread through several countries. The mantra of the deadly MS13 gang
is: blood in, blood out. And the chilling effects of the illegal
aliens participation in these gangs are very far reaching. For
example, on December 19, 2002, Victor Cruz, Jose Hernandez, Armando
Juvenal, and Carlos Rodriguez were involved with the drawn out gang
rape of an unsuspecting 42 year old New York woman."


The "machismo culture" is not just a Mexican attribute. As noted in
Violence against women in South Asian countries:

"Rigid cultures and patriarchal attitudes which devalue the role of
women, result in the wide spread occurrence of violence against women.
The family structure, in which the man is the undisputed ruler of the
household, and activities within the family are seen as private,
allows violence to occur at home. As well as traditional forms of
violence such as wife-battering and sexual assault, women in these
countries are also exposed to dowry crimes such as bride burning,
kidnapping for the purposes of prostitution, and "honor killings."
Laws permit discrimination against women and discourage reporting of
violent acts."
Is this the attitude we want to be importing into the USA to save ten
cents on a head of lettuce?

For detailed descriptions of just some of the crimes committed by
illegal aliens, often due to the machismo culture, go back up to the
SEXUAL CRIMES section and start clicking on the links or see
Immigrations Human Cost, Victims of Illegal Aliens and Read This.

Connect the dots.

As previously noted in The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly
One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants in the United
States, by researcher Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, the illegal alien
population contains a higher percentage of sex offenders. Allowing
illegal aliens to wantonly violate our sovereignty resulted in an
estimated 960,000 victims of sex crimes in the 88 months examined in
the study. That is 10,909 per month or about 364 per day. Does that
sound like a victimless crime? How many more children must be abused
or women raped before we say enough is enough? We have enough home
grown degenerates and perverts in the US without allowing illegal
aliens to simply walk in with their machismo attitudes and prey on
American women and children.

For an interesting insight into the sexism embedded in the Mexican
culture, see "Violated Twice:" Mexican Rape Victims are Regularly
Denied Abortions which notes:

"The group (Las Libres, a Guanajato women's rights group), also works
to combat the overall sexism and impunity that usually allows rapists
to escape unpunished and puts women through a "second rape" if they
try to report the crime and receive medical treatment or an abortion.
"They say women are liars and are inventing the rape to get an
abortion," said Cruz. "Or they say they invited the rape, that they're
easy. They say how were you dressed, did you like him or not. In
Mexico women are treated as sexual objects, not people. If a woman is
walking alone in the street, anyone can insult her or touch her body.
Even in her own house, she can be raped and abused."

... Though there are no reliable statistics, rape is thought to be
exceedingly common in Mexico. It is estimated that at most, one in 10
victims report the crime. Government officials have reported an
estimated incidence of about 120,000 to 130,000 rapes per year; but
Marianne Mollmann, the women's rights advocacy director for Human
Rights Watch, said the real number is probably closer to one million.

In many states sex with a minor is only a crime if the child is
"honest" and "chaste," and in many states the age of consent is 12,
13, 14 or "at puberty" regardless of age. And the criminalizing of
incest victims means that incest cases are rarely prosecuted. In 2005,
for example, the state of Guanajato investigated a woman for incest
after her father, who had been molesting her since age six, reported
her to authorities. The woman's husband told Human Rights Watch that
the local public prosecutor threatened to arrest his wife on incest
charges.

Women generally have little control of their bodies and sexuality;
they are expected to submit unquestioningly to their husbands' sexual
demands. In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled that men could force their
wives to have sex for the purpose of procreation. This ruling wasn't
overturned until 2005."


Anybody see anything from NOW on this aspect of illegal immigration?

Unfortunately, the machismo attitudes and being in the country
illegally breeds even more crime within the illegal alien community.
As noted in a September 2005 AP story by Amanda Keim, Abused
immigrants don't know about legal remedies:

"Maria never saw her husband explode until their wedding night, when
he got angry at a guest and kicked a door. Five years later, he was
pointing a gun at her head, threatening to shoot their two young
children and saying he would harm Maria's family if she reported him.
Then the rapes began. Maria was too afraid to report the abuse to the
police. As an undocumented immigrant living in southern Arizona, she
lived in fear that she would be deported if she made any contact with
authorities.

Maria isn't alone. Untold numbers of immigrant women across the
country suffer at the hands of husbands who know their immigrant
spouses are terrified of being forced to leave the country and exploit
that fear to continue the abuse.

... Spouses who are in the United States legally often use immigration
status as a control tactic to keep victims from reporting abuse, said
Montserrat Caballero, program director for Su Voz Vale, Spanish for
Your Voice Counts, a bilingual and bicultural program in the Southern
Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault. The program offers therapy,
crisis intervention and referral services primarily to Latina assault
victims.

... in abusive situations, the spouse will often threaten to cancel
immigration papers and report the immigrant or her family to
authorities, said Seattle attorney Ann Benson, director of the
Washington Defender Association's Immigration Project, a program to
advance immigrants' rights.

"They're essentially held hostage in this marriage because of their
immigration status," Benson said. "Their abusive spouses kept green
cards from them to wield control."

... "What is a woman going to do if she reports an abusive partner and
has nowhere to go? She's not going to report it," she said."


Is this the attitude we want in immigrants coming to America? Or are
we going to wait until it gets as bad as In Juarez murders, progress
but few answers where over 400 Mexican women have been abducted, raped
and murdered? The article points out:

"The only thing certain in the case seems to be the victim profile.
The majority of the victims are under 18, a handful between the ages
of one and four. Two-thirds are students, domestic or factory workers
from poor backgrounds.
... Another common factor is that many of the young women were
kidnapped and subjected to brutal sexual violence before being killed.
Amnesty International estimates that at least 139 of the more than 400
of the victims were sexually assaulted, often "beyond the act of
rape."

The injuries include bite-marks, stab wounds, and other types of
mutilation and beatings. The cause of death in more than 70 percent
was either asphyxia resulting from strangulation or injuries caused by
blows.

... the situation in Ciudad Juarez, which has also spread to
neighboring Chihuahua, is emblematic of the general violence against
women that undermines human rights protection throughout Mexico.

... There has been a tendency since early in the investigation to
blame the victims, says Carmona, referring to public comments made by
several members of the Chihuahua state police and to the general lack
of protection for women who are victims of violence. It was only in
1997 that the Mexican government updated the civil and criminal code
to bring penalties for crimes related to family violence and rape in
line with international standards. Laws against domestic violence
exist in only eight of the country's 31 states, among which there is
no uniformity."


As noted in a News 14 Carolina report, Culture might be factor in
sexual abuse:

"A recently released report compiled by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Department showed there has been a 50 percent increase in
sexual assault among the local Hispanic population. But experts say
part of that might be attributed to cultural differences.
In many Hispanic cultures, it is acceptable for men to engage in
sexual activity with younger women, says Dr. Elizabeth Peterson-Vita,
who is speaking this week at a mental health conference in Charlotte.
She is focusing on cultural differences concerning North Carolina's
growing Hispanic community.

"We always have to look at cultural norms, and if people are coming
from other areas and different cultures, we have to understand the
culture that they've come from and the ideas they have, which may not
be synonymous with American culture and law," she said.

Such culture clashes are to be expected when there is such a large
influx of immigrants, social workers say. "As the Latino population in
Charlotte and North Carolina continues to burgeon, there's going to be
all sorts of things that come along with that," said Lynn Bradley
Hiltz of Hope Haven.

Those things will require education on what is culturally acceptable
and what is illegal, experts say."


Notice the dismissal of the crimes by the social workers? Evidently we
need to understand and accept their cultural differences and then
educate Hispanic illegal aliens that molestation, rape, and murder is
a "no-no." What happened to all the good Hispanic and Catholic
values?

Heather MacDonald further notes in Hispanic Family Values? that
runaway illegitimacy is creating a new U.S. underclass and that:

"Conservatives who support open borders are fond of invoking "Hispanic
family values" as a benefit of unlimited Hispanic immigration.
Marriage is clearly no longer one of those family values. But other
kinds of traditional Hispanic values have survived - not all of them
necessarily ideal in a modern economy, however. One of them is the
importance of having children early and often. "It's considered almost
a badge of honor for a young girl to have a baby," says Peggy Schulze
of Chrysalis House, an adoption agency in Fresno. (Fresno has one of
the highest teen pregnancy rates in California, typical of the state's
heavily Hispanic farm districts.)."Unfortunately, another troubling
aspect of Hispanic culture that has terrible and long lasting
consequences is illegitimacy.

Chart from:Importing Poverty:
Immigration and Poverty in the United States:
A Book of Charts
As noted in an article by Heather MacDonald, Seeing Today's Immigrants
Straight, "Half of all children born to Hispanic Americans in 2002
were illegitimate, twice the rate for American whites and 42 percent
higher than the overall American rate. The (illegitimate) birthrate
for Hispanic teens is higher than that for Black teens. In Santa Ana,
California, which has the highest proportion of people who speak
Spanish at home of any large U.S. city - 74 percent - the teen
birthrate was twice the national teen average in 2000. This
predilection for out-of-wedlock childbearing among Hispanics cannot be
blamed solely on corrosive American culture, since the illegitimacy
rate for foreign-born Hispanics is 40 percent. The illegitimacy rate
in Mexico is 38 percent; in El Salvador, it is 72 percent."

This trend is also noted in New Study Says Unwed Latina Moms Less
Likely to Marry where it is reported:

"In a newly released study by a Cornell University researcher, unwed
mothers were found to be less likely than other women to improve their
lives financially through marriage.
In fact, while white and Black unwed mothers were 30 percent less
likely to marry than other women, unwed Latina mothers were 56 percent
less likely to marry than single childless women.

We can probably attribute that huge discrepancy to cultural shame
where no macho man would marry a woman who had children by another
hombre, but that same macho man has no problem living with the woman
and being "daddy" to her children, at least in name."


How much of the illegitimacy is a result of rapes and the "machisimo
attitude" is unknown but the permissive cultural attitudes greatly
contribute to the problem.

The US is a nation of laws and most Americans respect the rule of law.
However, this is in direct contrast to Mexico and most third world
countries where endemic corruption permeates the society, bribery is a
way of life, drug cartels control and run things, illegitimacy is an
accepted norm, women are but sexual objects, and individuals operate
in a "survivor" and "machismo" mentality.

The perpetrators with these attitudes are the ones coming into the
United States and committing so many of the sexual crimes detailed in
a previous section.

As noted in an article by Frosty Wooldridge, Spiral of Immigrant
Corruption in America:

"Corruption becomes a mechanism by which Third World societies
operate," Heath Boatwright said. "When you immigrate millions of them
illegally into the United States, you create exactly the same
lawlessness in our country. They feel at home because so many of their
countrymen break the law with fellow illegal aliens that it is a
normal, continuance of their behavior in our civilization."
Such attitudes only bred more "victimless" crime and are more
collateral damage to save ten cents on a head of lettuce.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/the_balkanization_of_america.html

The Balkanization Of America
Since the "discovery" of America, the United States has always been a
nation of immigrants and continues to be so. Compared to all other
nations, the USA has a very liberal immigration policy. In 2005 we
allowed an astounding 1,122,373 legal immigrants permanent resident
status. There are about 3.5 million on the waiting list to enter
legally. The US probably accepts more legal immigrants than all the
other industrial nations combined.

For the most part, legal immigrants come to the United States because
they want to become Americans. Historically, immigrants integrated
fairly quickly into American society, adopting our language and
culture. However, this is not what is happening now.

As noted by ex-Colorado Governor Dick Lamn in an August 8, 2002
article, One Nation, One Tongue, published in the Rocky Mountain News
(link gone but a version is archived here):

"The Southwest, and to a lesser extent, the whole nation, is in danger
of backing into becoming a bilingual nation without debate or
forethought. This seems to me to be a grave mistake. I look around the
world in vain for an example of where bilingual nations live in peace
with themselves.
One scholar, Seymour Martin Lipset, put it this way:

The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not
assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy. Canada,
Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon-all face crises of national existence in
which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and
Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France
faces difficulties with its Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans.

A nation is much more than a place on a map. It is a state of mind, a
shared vision, and a recognition that we are all in this together. A
nation needs a common language as it needs a common currency. You have
to share something with your neighbors beside a zip code. We need many
things to tie us together, but one indispensable element must be that
we all speak one common language.

... America has been successful because we have become one people.
There is a "social glue" of a common language, a shared history,
uniting symbols that tie us together. We live under a common flag,
which we honor, and salute.

Nations need cultural ties that bind also. That culture was not fixed
in cement with the arrival of the Pilgrims, but is always changing and
evolving. We can remember Cinco de Mayo as we do Saint Patrick's Day
and Octoberfest and we can buy more salsa than catsup without
endangering our national soul. But we must avoid becoming a Hispanic
Quebec; we must stay one people and one nation."


As seen by the May 1, 2006, demonstrations by people supporting
illegal immigration, a notable portion of the Mexican illegal alien
population and their supporters believe the American Southwest belongs
to Mexico. They hold an allegiance to Mexico above USA, and believe
they are "owed" the same rights as citizens. For an interesting take
on the demonstrations, see Illegal Alien Anarchy - Connecting the
Dots!
As noted in a Judicial Watch Special Report: NEW FRONTS IN THE
IMMIGRATION BATTLE:


A National Review Online article, American Dhimmitude The road from
amnesty states:

"This isn't really about immigration, though - it's about power. What
we're seeing in the streets is a naked assertion of power by outsiders
against the American nation. They demand that we comply with their
wishes and submit our immigration policies for their approval, and
implicitly threaten violence if their demands are not met. Far from
being a discussion among Americans about the best way to regulate
immigration, the illegal-alien marches have been marked by the will to
power: ubiquitous Mexican flags, burning and other forms of contempt
for the American flag, and widespread displays of blatant racial
chauvinism and irredentism."
Taking it further, there are a number of Mexican and Hispanic advocacy
groups, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC),
the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the
Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) and the National
Council of La Raza (La Raza), which more or less support, advocate, or
have a revolutionary agenda of conquering America's southwest,
retaking northern "Aztlan" from the gringo invaders.
It is worth noting that the Aztlan believers conveniently ignore the
fact that the US won the 1846 Mexican War but still paid Mexico $18.3
million dollars for the mostly unoccupied, arid and/or mountainous
lands in the southwest. The sum was more than the $15 million paid in
the 1803 Louisiana Purchase for about the same amount of land,
although, on balance, the lands of the Louisiana Purchase were much
more hospitable and conducive for agriculture use. They also ignore
the fact that at the time there were as many gringos in the area as
Mexicans and both were far outnumbered by Native Americans, from whom
most of the land was actually taken from. If they want to be mad at
somebody they should really be mad at Spain who originally took all
the land, resulting in most of the people in what is now Mexico
eventually becoming Hispanic.

To find out more about the issue, read about the Mexican War as well
as a 1911 text, American History, by David Saville Muzzey, Ph.D.,
along with the text of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

In any case, the "reconquista" philosophy is detailed in El Plan
Espiritual de Aztlan. Their ideas of culture, society, education, and
community are devoted to the concept: "For the very young there will
no longer be acts of juvenile delinquency, but revolutionary acts."
and "El Plan de Aztlan is the plan of liberation!" It is worth noting
that these groups are active in the nation's colleges, universities
and even high schools. How radical are these groups? Spend some time
on La Voz de Aztlan, Action LA, Mexica Movement, and We Hate Gringos
and see for yourself.

What are the results of such attitudes? As noted in Mexican youth
protest possible deportation of criminal parents: "As the U.S. Senate
deliberates this week on sweeping legislation to curb illegal
immigration, protests were orchestrated around the country. In
Concord, California, youthful Mexican protestors paraded down Willow
Pass Road around noon then moved over to Monument Boulevard, later
returning to Willow Pass Road about 1:40 P.M. on their way downtown.
As seen in photo above youthful demonstrators riding on cars flaunted
the Mexican flag while others threw gang signs. Concord police made no
move to arrest or ticket protestors that violated motor vehicle safety
codes, apparently fearing reprisals from Mexicans."
An article in the San Bernadino Sun on the massive riot at Fontana
High School contains telling quotes from school officials totally
ignoring the balkanization problem. Unfortunately, the article is no
longer available but was captured and posted on Americans for Legal
Immigration along with some rather interesting pictures.

Another advocacy group, the Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund (MALDEF), says it's racist to make English the
country's official national language and inhumane to build a border
fence. MALDEF also promotes free college tuition for illegal
immigrants and lowering educational standards to accommodate new
Latino migrants.
As reported in a Front Page article, Mexican Anti-Americanism in
America, MALDEF "is one of the leaders in this anti-American movement.
MALDEF is a supposed grass-roots organization that receives almost
none of its money from the people it claims to support. In reality,
they are funded by the Ford Foundation and take their ideological
guidance from the anti-American leftists of the National Lawyers
Guild."

Did your local news miss this picture when they showed all the
American flag waving illegal immigrants and their supporters demanding
their rights?

As noted in Men with Two Countries:

"In early 2002 the Mexican counsel general in San Jose, California,
Marco Antonio Alcazar, visited a group of largely Hispanic ten and
eleven-year olds at a Salinas, California elementary school. There he
extolled the virtues of Americans claiming Mexican citizenship and
gave the school a collection of books from the Mexican government,
designed "to help students understand Mexican history and culture." In
these books, the failure of Mexico – a nation secretly tormented by
the fact that its northern neighbor has become the world's leading
society while it has remained a banana republic – is blamed on
"American imperialism."
What are the expected results of these growing anti-American
attitudes? How about: Mexican Separatist School Pushes Marxism, Anti-
Americanism where it was reported:

"A school in Los Angeles, California, is using taxpayer money to push
a radical separatist agenda to its students, according to evidence
obtained by Judicial Watch through the California Public Records Act.
Academia Semillas del Pueblo (Seeds of the People Academy) was
ostensibly established to provide an alternative to traditional
schools and better education options for Latinos. Behind the façade,
statements by the school's president, Mexican radical Marcos Aguilar,
prove that the school's purpose is far more threatening.
Aguilar was a student radical at UCLA in the early 1990s, when he
joined the reconquista-focused student group M.E.Ch.A, which features
the slogan "Por La Raza todo, Fuera de La Raza nada," or, "For the
Race, everything, for those outside the Race, nothing." He was
involved in destroying a teacher's lounge at UCLA in 1993 as part of a
protest to force the University to create a Chicano Studies
department."


Why does this section mostly focus on the attitudes of Mexican illegal
immigrants? Because most illegal aliens currently being apprehended
crossing the southern border are Mexican, as noted by the government's
own data as reported in a Judicial Watch report, U.S. Border Patrol
Survey Analysis as detailed in the pie chart to the right.
While English is not the official language of the United States, it is
the unofficial, official language and English fluency is a requirement
for anybody to be successful in the USA. Many illegal aliens have
lived in the USA for years, even decades, and can not speak English.
They are able to live comfortably in their "little Mexico" or "little
China town" communities and never integrate into American society.

Results? The balkanization is becoming so great that English is
becoming a minority language in some rather large enclaves.

Did you know that English proficiency is one of the main requirements
to become a citizen and that one must be a citizen to vote? So then,
why are ballots printed in foreign languages? In Los Angeles County,
ballots are translated into Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean,
Japanese, and Vietnamese. Due to the recent influx of Spanish-speaking
immigrants, many other counties around the US routinely have ballots
printed in Spanish. If foreign language ballots are required, how did
these people ever become citizens? Or are we just simply allowing non-
citizens to vote?

The answer to that question is federal law – the 1965 Voting Rights
Act was amended to mandate bilingual ballots in counties where there
are 10,000 voting-age citizens in one ethnic group or where 5% of
voting-age citizens belong to any single non-English-speaking group.

So much for the "English language proficiency" requirements of
becoming a citizen.

In an interesting aside, the Associated Press reported that 50% of
Hispanics backed English measure, Proposition 103, on the 2006 Arizona
ballot. In fact, as reported in Hispanics help pass laws against
illegals: "All four of Arizona's anti-illegal immigration propositions
passed by wide margins - and, perhaps surprisingly, several surveys
showed that between 40 percent and 50 percent of Hispanics voted for
them." Evidently, like immigrants of the past, there are many
Hispanics who want to integrate into American society and believe
English is mandatory.

Most public schools are now teaching Spanish almost to the exclusion
of all other foreign languages. How much longer before we start
printing road signs with Spanish subtitles like WalMart and some other
stores are currently doing on their isle signs in some of their
stores?
As demonstrated throughout history, and more recently by Quebec and
the Balkans, a nation needs a common language, culture, and heritage
which is summed up in the motto of the United States: E Pluribus Unum
("Out Of Many, One").

Or as Michael Savage puts it, "Borders, Language, and Culture" are
what make a nation.

Contrary to the common refrain that immigration, legal and illegal,
contributes to "diversity" an October 8, 2006 article in the Financial
Times, Study paints bleak picture of ethnic diversity, reports:

"A bleak picture of the corrosive effects of ethnic diversity has been
revealed in research by Harvard University's Robert Putnam, one of the
world's most influential political scientists.
His research shows that the more diverse a community is, the less
likely its inhabitants are to trust anyone – from their next-door
neighbor to the mayor.

... When the data were adjusted for class, income and other factors,
they showed that the more people of different races lived in the same
community, the greater the loss of trust. "They don't trust the local
mayor, they don't trust the local paper, they don't trust other people
and they don't trust institutions," said Prof Putnam. "The only thing
there's more of is protest marches and TV watching."


How can the Balkanization be avoided? Not by Professor Putnam's ideas
of changing society but by President Theodore Roosevelt's 1907 ideas
on who the immigrant should be and what the responsibilities of the
immigrant are:

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes
here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us,
he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is
an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or
birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's
becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American.
There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an
American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have
room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one
language here, and that is the English language. And we have room for
but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Then there are Thomas Jefferson's 1787 thoughts on immigration, from
Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 8, The number of its
inhabitants?:
"... But are there no inconveniences to be thrown into the scale
against the advantage expected from a multiplication of numbers by the
importation of foreigners? It is for the happiness of those united in
society to harmonize as much as possible in matters which they must of
necessity transact together.
Civil government being the sole object of forming societies, its
administration must be conducted by common consent. Every species of
government has its specific principles. Ours perhaps are more peculiar
than those of any other in the universe. It is a composition of the
freest principles of the English constitution, with others derived
from natural right and natural reason. To these nothing can be more
opposed than the maxims of absolute monarchies.

Yet, from such, we are to expect the greatest number of emigrants.
They will bring with them the principles of the governments they
leave, imbibed in their early youth; or, if able to throw them off, it
will be in exchange for an unbounded licentiousness, passing, as is
usual, from one extreme to another. It would be a miracle were they to
stop precisely at the point of temperate liberty. These principles,
with their language, they will transmit to their children. In
proportion to their numbers, they will share with us the legislation.
They will infuse into it their spirit, warp and bias its direction,
and render it a heterogeneous, incoherent, distracted mass. I may
appeal to experience, during the present contest, for a verification
of these conjectures.

But, if they be not certain in event, are they not possible, are they
not probable? Is it not safer to wait with patience 27 years and three
months longer, for the attainment of any degree of population desired,
or expected? May not our government be more homogeneous, more
peaceable, more durable?

Suppose 20 millions of republican Americans thrown all of a sudden
into France, what would be the condition of that kingdom? If it would
be more turbulent, less happy, less strong, we may believe that the
addition of half a million of foreigners to our present numbers would
produce a similar effect here. If they come of themselves, they are
entitled to all the rights of citizenship: but I doubt the expediency
of inviting them by extraordinary encouragements ... "


A recent opinion piece in the Dallas News, Can We Bridge the Black-
Latino Divide, echoes the growing problem: "As the debate over illegal
immigration has intensified, so, it seems, have the tensions between
Latinos and Blacks. Dallas school board meetings are a microcosm of
what many urban communities, especially those with large influxes of
Latino immigrants, are experiencing."

While the author uses the political correct "Latino immigrants" the
problem is actually with the Latino illegal aliens, especially those
displacing poor Blacks on the economic ladder of success. Note that
the tension is increasing the division between Blacks and all Latinos
and damaging the relations between Blacks and Latinos – another
unintended consequence of allowing illegal immigration.

As reported in Examine Mexico's Real Intent Before Reforming
Immigration:

"In May, 2005, the BBC reported: "The Latinization of California is
nothing short of a revolution. California will become a predominantly
Spanish-speaking state within the next few years. And, as the majority
population, there is really no need, or incentive, for them to
assimilate into mainstream American society as their predecessors have
always done. Whether Latinos then decide to push for greater autonomy
or to seek a political agenda of their own with closer ties to Mexico
and Central America is very much up for grabs." In 2001, the pro-
immigration New California Media reported that Mexico "continues to
mourn the loss of half of its territory to the U.S. in the 19th
Century."
Mexico is pushing hard for amnesty and various benefits for millions
of illegal Mexican migrants. Once naturalized, amnestied migrants
could add tens of millions of people and future voters to the U.S.
through births here and through immigration of extended families. U.S.-
born children, even of illegal immigrants and guest workers, are
American citizens and could vote at 18. Furthermore, in 2001 Ernesto
Ruffo Appel, then-border czar of Mexico, reportedly advised Mexican
migrants: "If the border patrol agent finds you, try again."


How come the BBC gets it and our MSM, President and Congress don't?

As noted in an Investor Business Daily article, Los Angeles, Mexico
(archived here):

"Few caught the significance of the words of then-Mexican President
Ernesto Zedillo before the National Council of La Raza in Chicago on
July 27, 1997: "I have proudly affirmed that the Mexican nation
extends beyond the territory enclosed by its borders."
... President Vicente Fox repeated this line during a 2001 visit to
the U.S., when he called for open borders and endorsed Mexico's new
dual citizenship law.

A June 2002 Zogby poll found that the majority of Mexican citizens
agree with him and hold the view that, since the Southwest U.S. really
belongs to Mexico, they do not need permission to enter. The poll
found that 58% of Mexicans agreed with the statement, "The territory
of the United States' Southwest rightfully belongs to Mexico.""


An interesting aspect of the balkanization of America is the often
playing of the "race card" whenever the discussion of illegal
immigration comes up. According to most Latino advocacy groups, just
being against illegal immigration is racist. This attitude is best
expressed by Alfredo Gutierrez, political consultant, "We call things
racism just to get attention. We reduce complicated problems to
racism, not because it is racism, but because it works." Quoted in The
ProEnglish Advocate, 1st quarter, 2002 as reported by Richard de
Uriarte, in The Phoenix Gazette, March 14, 1992.

This attitude is carried out in the Latino "rights" groups mentioned
earlier and by other such groups such as the Puerto Rican Legal
Defense and Education Fund where every perceived injustice is because
of "racism." In actual fact it is these very groups that are often
acting in a racist manner.

"Por La Raza todo, Fuera de La Raza nada!" which means "For the Race,
everything, for those outside the Race, nothing!"

Such attitudes do not contribute to an indivisible country and
homogenous society and are not in keeping with the official motto of
the United States: E Pluribus Unum ("Out Of Many, One"). While the
motto was originally intended to reflect the unity of the various
states, over the years, as the nation grew, it also came to reflect
the unity of all the various peoples that make up the country.

Such attitudes do, however, greatly contribute to the Balkanization of
the USA and are part of the collateral damage of illegal immigration.

The canary in the mine is found in our inner cities and prisons as
noted in Illegal immigration sparks 'race war' in cities, prisons.

In addition to the gang problems and the racist attitudes held by many
illegal aliens, the language barrier creates greater balkanization and
the job displacement is fueling resentment, especially between Blacks
and Hispanics. This has been building for some time but is now
reaching a boiling point. As noted in a 1999 article, Hispanics,
Blacks find futures entangled Immigration, by Martin Kasindorf and
Maria Puente, USA TODAY:

"With Latinos due to surpass Blacks as the nation's largest minority
group by 2005, the two groups could be in for an uncomfortable period
of jostling over primacy, particularly in California, Texas and New
York, where large numbers of Latinos and Blacks live side by side.
"As the Hispanic population grows, as it remembers the predominant
place in the racial dialogue Blacks traditionally held and remembers
its feelings of exclusion, it's going to be hard for them to modulate
their feelings of potency from numbers," veteran Black civil rights
leader Roger Wilkins says. "That's going to cause real stress with
Blacks."

Already, frictions sporadically flame into turf wars over jobs,
schools, housing and other issues.

... Dallas School Board meetings during the 1997-98 school year
degenerated into near-brawls between Hispanics and Blacks over filling
the post of school superintendent. The warring factions recently
settled on

Bill Rojas, a Black man of Puerto Rican descent. People on both sides
say tension over controlling the schools is still just below the
surface. Blacks hold more teaching and administrative jobs than
Hispanics, though the student count is 50.3% Latino, 39% Black."


For some insight on where this is heading, note the 1/1/07 commentary
"Believe it or Not in America in 2007 There's A Forbidden Zone Where
Blacks Risk Death If They Enter In" by Earl Hutchinson, a Black
American (his race is only pertinent to put the commentary into proper
perspective) political analyst and social issues commentator, in the
The Hutchinson Political Report where he comments:

"There's no physical sign, barrier, or even a chalk line that marks
the zone where a Black can't enter at the risk of grave harm. But the
zone is there, and Blacks know that if they enter it they can be beat,
shot at, or killed. The twist is that the forbidden line is not in a
redneck, backwoods, and Deep South town during the rigid and violent
Jim Crow segregation era. The bigger twist is that the Klan, Neo-
Nazis, racist skinheads, and bikers didn't establish the racially
restrictive zone. Purported Latino gang members established it. The
forbidden zone is in a small, mixed ethnic bedroom community in Los
Angeles. The year is 2007, not 1947.
A Black family that recently fled the community in fear for their
lives bluntly told a reporter that they left because Blacks there are
scared to death. In the past year, the hate terror escalated to the
point where Blacks tell tormenting tales of being harried when they
leave their homes, or their children walk to school. They say that
they are forbidden to go into a park, and a convenience store.

... The easy explanation for the hate terror is that the perpetrators
are bored, restless, disaffected, jobless, untutored, violence prone
gang members, and the violence is a twisted response to racism and
deprivation. The attacks no doubt are deliberately designed by the
gang hate purveyors to send the message to Blacks that this is our
turf, and you're an interloper. But despite arrests, police
crackdowns, gang injunctions, assorted anti-violence marches and
rallies, and community peace efforts, the Black and Latino low
intensity battle has shown no sign of abating.

Then there's the vehemence of the racial hate. The dirty, and painful
secret is that Blacks and Latinos can be racist, maybe even more
racist than whites, toward each other. It's easy to see why. Many
Latinos fail to understand the complexity and severity of the Black
experience. They frequently bash Blacks for their poverty or type them
as clowns, buffoons and crooks. Some routinely repeat the same vicious
anti-Black epithets as racist whites. The color complex reinforces the
notion that Blacks are a racial and competitive threat, and any
distancing, ostracism, avoidance, and even violence is a rational
response to keep Blacks at arms length.

On the other side, some Blacks feed the same myths and racial
stereotypes, and bash Latinos as anti-Black, and violence prone,
gangsters that are a menace, as well as ethnic and economic
competitors. The warped misconceptions and fears have so far trumped
the loud calls and efforts by Black and Latino activists and many
residents for unity and peace.


For some additional insights on the growing problem, see the report
The Rift Evidence of a divide between Blacks and Hispanics mounting
from the "illegal alien friendly" Southern Poverty Law Center as well
as the following articles:

•Los Angeles School Brawls Expose Black-Latino Tension,
•Black, Hispanic Activists Strive for Unity in Los Angeles,
•Ethnic Media Try to Defuse Ethnic Tensions in L.A,
•Rising Black-Latino clash on jobs.
For additional information on the balkanization problem see the Full
Disclosure Network video Hispanic Minuteman-cop Fights Corruption and
Illegal Immigration.

Balkanization – more collateral damage to save ten cents on a head of
lettuce.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_education.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Education
Many legal immigrants to the US are highly educated – something that
is highly desired in an immigrant. In contrast, most illegal aliens
are very poorly educated. The average education levels for Mexican
fathers, a large component of the illegal alien population, and their
U.S.-born children are at the bottom of the educational spectrum.

Uneducated immigrants, regardless of heritage or ethnicity, who have
little interest in education, generally end up with poorly educated
children. While the averages are already bad, the education gap
between Mexican and non-Mexican natives is far larger than the simple
averages would indicate.



Importing Poverty: Immigration and Poverty in the United States: A
Book of Charts

As noted in Children, Grandchildren Of Mexican Immigrants Fail To
Close The Education Gap:

•45% of all non-Mexicans have a post HS degree
•5.4% of first generation Mexicans have a post HS degree
•9.3% of second generation Mexicans have such degrees
•8.5% of third generation Mexicans have such degrees
•9.6% of fourth generation Mexicans have such degrees
"So even in the fourth generation - after at least fifty to sixty
years of "assimilation," it appears that the descendents of Mexican
immigrants display scant interest in higher education. This is a
stunning finding. It belies the expectation that college-based
affirmative action programs would eventually level the education
playing field."


The long lasting refusal of Hispanic immigrants to embrace education
is also evident at the bottom end of the educational spectrum:
•14.6% of first-generation Hispanics are High School dropouts – versus
4.6% of first generation non-Hispanics
•15.9% of second-generation Hispanics are High School dropouts –
versus 8.2% of second generation non-Hispanics
Excluding the additional costs for subsidized school feeding programs,
the average cost of educating children, including the children of
illegal aliens, in the nation's public schools is about $7,524 per
child per year. For a K-12 education, that is almost $100,000 per
child.

A very high percentage of illegal aliens' children do not speak
English. In the 2004/5 school year in Colorado, 114,857 students,
almost 15% of the state's K-12 public school student population, were
English language learners. The state does not ask about citizenship,
so the cost of educating children of illegal aliens in Colorado public
schools is unknown but somewhere between $500 million and $1.2 billion
per year, depending on whose numbers you want to use for the number of
children of illegal aliens that are in school. Thus, in Colorado, just
the education costs for the children of illegal aliens is somewhere
between $270 and $650 per household, an amount that would buy a lot of
lettuce, even at twice the cost per head.

In the 2004/5 school year, Texas had about 690,000 ESL students.
Nationally, there are an estimated 5.1 million ESL students speaking
145 languages. 80% of ESL students speak Spanish. If 90% of the ESL
students are children of illegal aliens then the education costs for
children of illegal aliens is about $34.5 billion per year.

Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools
Into the Red notes that "The estimated costs of educating illegal
aliens and their children exceed 28.6 billion dollars in 2004 alone."
The report further notes:

A look at the top ten highest state expenditures provides a stark
illustration of the trade-offs for accommodating large-scale illegal
immigration:

In California, the $7.7 billion spent annually educating the children
of illegal immigrants - nearly 13% of the overall 2004/5 education
budget could:
•cover the education budget shortfall for the 2004-05 school year,
estimated by the Legislative Analyst Office at $6 billion and nearly
cover the $2 billion reduction this year from the Proposition 98
formula.
•or the remaining $1.7 billion could pay the salaries of about 31,000
teachers and reduce per student ratios, or furnish 2.8 million new
computers - enough computers for about half of the state's students.
•prevent educational shortfalls estimated at $9.8 billion over the
past four years that have impacted on "... class size, teacher
layoffs, shorter library hours and fewer counselors, nurses,
custodians and groundskeepers." (Los Angeles Times, March 11, 2005)
In Texas, the $3.9 billion spent annually educating the children of
illegal immigrants could:

•cover more than the $2.3 billion shortfall identified by the Texas
Federation for Teachers for such things as textbooks and pension
contributions.
•make Texas' salaries for teachers more competitive by national
standards, thereby reducing costly attrition, and recruit the 5,000
new teachers needed each year.
See the report for the other eight.

Almost all communities have schools that are being greatly affected by
illegal aliens. While the majority of illegal aliens congregate in the
bigger cities, rural and even high-end enclaves are also being
affected. As an example, in Summit County, Colorado, home to 4 major
ski areas and the high-end vacation towns of Breckenridge, Dillon,
Frisco, and Silverthorne, the ESL student population increased from 20
students in 1994 to 525 in 2003 – an increase of 2,625% in just ten
years. Summit County may be able to increase taxes to come with the
extra $3.8 million to pay for educating all the new ESL students but
many poorer counties can't.

While the costs of educating children of illegal immigrants are
crushing the primary and secondary school budgets, many institutions
of higher education are competing to get illegal immigrants. As noted
in a recruiting seminar, Helping Undocumented Students Navigate the
College Pipeline:

"Based on three years of research, this webinar will offer up-to-date
information about policies and practices to provide undocumented
immigrant students with greater access to higher education. The
session will include information about state and federal policies that
shape college access for undocumented students and offer best
practices for helping undocumented students persist through the
college admissions, college attendance, and financial aid acquisition
processes."
The poor education level of illegal aliens dooms most to poverty level
jobs in the USA and prevents them from climbing the economic ladder of
success. This factor has related social costs that are enormous – a
subject covered in following sections.

However, the direct cost of educating the children of illegal aliens
is somewhere between $29 and $35 BILLION dollars a year. You can add
in another billion or two for the costs of supplemental feeding
programs and other welfare benefits administered through the schools
but which are off the "education costs" in the school budgets.

Most illegal aliens are working in lower paying jobs are often sharing
houses and apartments with other families. Most pay little or no state
or federal income taxes and, because they have low incomes and frugal
lifestyles, they pay little sales taxes as well. The local and state
taxes illegal aliens pay, comes no where near paying for the education
costs of their children. The difference is picked up by the tax paying
public. Since many localities fund public schools through real estate
taxes, this often means escalating taxes which put an enormous burden
on elderly home owners living on fixed incomes.

This has added more collateral damage costs to the "victimless crime"
that taxpaying Americans must shoulder in order to save ten cents on a
head of lettuce.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.usillegalaliens.com/impacts_of_illegal_immigration_diseases.html

Impacts of Illegal Immigration: Diseases
Legal immigrants are required to have medical screening to ensure that
they do not bring any contagious diseases into the United States.
Illegal aliens are not screened and many are carrying horrific third
world diseases that do not belong in the USA. Many of these diseases
are highly contagious and will infect citizens that come in contact
with an infected illegal alien. This has already happened in
restaurants, schools, and police forces.

Malaria was eradicated from the USA in the 1940s but recently there
were outbreaks in southern California, New Jersey, New York City, and
Houston. Additionally, Malaria tainted blood has been discovered in
the blood supply.

Dengue was first recognized in the 1950s, affects most Asian countries
and has become a leading cause of death among children in the infected
areas. Heretofore unknown in the US, Dengue outbreaks have now
occurred in the United States.

Leprosy, a scourge of Biblical days, is caused by a bacillus agent and
is now know as Hansen's Disease. In the 40 years prior to 2002, there
were only 900 total cases of leprosy in the US. In the following three
years there have been 9,000 cases and most were illegal aliens.

As noted in the article Leprosy in America: new cause for concern by
Dr. William Levis, head of the New York Hansen's Disease Clinic. "It's
creeping into the U.S. ... This is a real phenomenon. It's a public
health threat. New York is endemic now, and nobody's noticed." In the
same article, Dr. Terry Williams, who runs a Houston-based clinic
serving leprosy patients across southern Texas, said that the bulk of
the cases treated by his clinic were immigrants. "A lot of our cases
are imported," he said. "We see patients from everywhere--Africa, the
Philippines, China, South America." (emphasis added)

Hepatitis A-E is a viral infection that primarily attacks the liver.
In 2004, more than 650 people contacted Hepatitis A at a single Chi-
Chi's Mexican restaurant in Pennsylvania. Four latter died. Hepatitis
B is one of the major diseases of mankind and is a serious global
public health problem. It is estimated that 2 BILLION people are
infected and about one million persons die each year. The new vaccine
is only 95% effective in preventing an infection and will not cure a
person who already has Hepatitis B, which results in a lifelong
infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver
failure, and early death. An estimated 1.3 million people in the US
are currently infected. No vaccine is currently available to prevent
Hepatitis C-E and treatment for chronic Hepatitis C costs about $1,500
per person.

Tuberculosis (TB) kills approximately 2 million people each year. It
is estimated that between 2002 and 2020, approximately 1,000,000,000
people will be newly infected, over 150 million people will get sick,
and 36 million will die. TB is a highly contagious disease. Like the
common cold, it spreads through the air. When infectious people cough,
sneeze, talk or spit, they propel TB germs, known as bacilli, into the
air. Each person with active TB will infect on average between 10 and
15 people every year.
The United States currently has one of the lowest rates of TB in the
world. Mexico has 10 times the rate of prevalence and many African
countries along with Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Philippines, and
Indonesia have rates that are 100 – 150 times higher. Making matters
worse, a few years ago a Multi-Drug-Resistant (MDR) strain of TB has
emerged that is resistant to all standard anti-TB drugs. Treating a
single case of MDR TB costs over $250,000 and as much as $1,200,000
per person, and even with treatment about half of the patients with
MDR-TB prematurely die.

In an article in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., Dr. Reuben
Granich, a lead investigator for the CDC commented on MDR-TB:

"Evidence of it has surfaced in 38 of 61 California health
jurisdictions, and it could ‘threaten the efficacy of TB control
efforts,' Granich said. The infected were said to be four times as
likely to die from the disease and twice as likely to transmit the
disease to others ... Reluctant to label the infected as ‘illegal' or
even ‘undocumented' aliens, the report notes that of the 407 known
cases of MDR-TB, 84% were ‘foreign-born' patients, mainly from Mexico
and the Philippines who'd been in the U.S. less than five years. The
percentage of TB cases among the ‘foreign-born' jumped from 29% in
1993 to 53% as of last year."
Recently, there was a TB Outbreak In Oklahoma City in a hospital
affecting thousands.

Hopefully, this will not be the new extensively drug-resistant XDR
strain just being brought in by illegal aliens (now 4% of US cases)
and which is currently impossible to cure at any cost. In any case, it
would not be surprising to find that the source of the outbreak is an
illegal alien working in the hospital or an infected resident worker
who became infected through contact with an infected illegal alien
since the TB rate for residents in the USA is very low.

For more information on TB and the link to illegal aliens, see:

•Is CDC covering up skyrocketing TB rate?
•Immigration helps diseases spread in Valley
•Mayor favors tougher stance against illegals.
Chagas Disease (American Trypanosomiasis), endemic to South and
Central America, is spread by infected triatomine bugs, known as the
"kissing bugs," that bite people. It was unknown in the United States
until fairly recently. It is now estimated that between 100,000 and
500,000 people in the US have Chagas Disease. Who is infected? Mostly
illegal aliens.

Since Chagas Disease is basically unknown outside of the illegal alien
community most doctors won't recognize it and the blood supply just
started being screened for it. Most cases of Chagas Disease that occur
in patients other than illegal aliens are thought to be contracted
from tainted blood – blood sold by illegal aliens with Chagas Disease
before the blood supply started being tested for it as of August of
2006.

HIV The number of illegal Mexican and Central American immigrants with
HIV or AIDS is unknown, mostly because researchers rarely ask about
immigration status. However, it is known that the rate of HIV
infection among Latino women in California is about twice the rate of
white women. At one free California health clinic, all of the women
have HIV or AIDS. Most are Mexican or Central American "immigrants."

Then there is Schistosomiasis, Guinea Worm Infection, Whooping cough,
Cysticercosis, Morgellon's, and a host of others.

All these diseases and pathogens, and a plethora of others that are
not endemic to the US, are being brought in by unscreened illegal
aliens who then spread them to an unsuspecting population. These
diseases will give you something to think about the next time you are
eating at a restaurant with the grunt work being done by illegal
aliens who didn't have medical screening before preparing and handling
your food.

As recently reported in Hepatitis Risk for East Asians in New York,
among east Asian immigrants in New York City, one person in seven
carries the Hepatitis B virus and that researchers at New York Univ.
School of Medicine, found that 15% of east Asians in New York - as
many as 100,000 people - are chronic hepatitis carriers, with the rate
highest among immigrants from China. That infection rate is 35 times
the rate found in the general population. The article did not mention
how many of the infected people were illegal aliens but odds are the
vast majority were.

Health reporter Bill Sardi noted:

"Recently an outbreak of hepatitis traced to Chi-Chi's Mexican
restaurant, in Pennsylvania was inexplicably traced to contaminated
green onions, not the most obvious cause, undocumented food workers
who harbored Hepatitis. For the most part, Hepatitis is a blood-borne,
not a food-borne disease. The Hepatitis outbreak infected over 650
individuals, caused 9,000 Americans to undergo immune globulin shots,
and killed 4 people.
If Americans found out restaurants can commonly infect their customers
from food workers, it would be a serious blow to the restaurant
industry. Better blame the green onions. Let's concede the onions,
grown in Mexico, were contaminated from fecal material containing
Hepatitis. Did all the green onions imported from Mexico end up in one
single restaurant? There were no other outbreaks of Hepatitis anywhere
elsewhere from green onions. There were 13 restaurant workers who had
Hepatitis. They were the likely source of the transmitted infection.

While the unions resist mandatory Hepatitis screening and vaccination
for food workers, the government mandates that newborn babies be
jabbed with Hepatitis vaccines before they can leave the hospital. The
logic in this defies understanding until one realizes that newborn
babies of immigrant families can more easily acquire Hepatitis so all
babies are given the vaccines."


As noted in a May 2006 article, Milford taking harsher stance against
illegals than Framingham, increased levels of TB are being noted and
some municipalities are finally starting to take action to protect
their citizens.

As unfortunate as it may be, the US can not bear the financial burden
for treating the world's sick, ill, and infected populace, but the
Govt. should be protecting American citizens from the diseases being
brought in by illegal aliens.

How many more citizens will come down with Hepatitis, Leprosy, E-coli,
or Chagas Disease from contact with an infected illegal alien before
something is done? How many school children must get TB before our
government takes action to protect them?

Remember the movie Alien and how the creature popped out of infected
bodies? The Guinea Worm is a mini-version. Maybe your kids can take
advantage of the experience on show & tell day.

If we screen legal aliens for contagious diseases, why are we allowing
unscreened and contagious illegal aliens to roam the country infecting
the citizenry?

Diseases - collateral damage from a "victimless crime" to save ten
cents on a head of lettuce.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/indiansabroadnews/Indian-origin-woman-gets-33-years-jail-for-killing-daughters/Article1-456922.aspx

Indian-origin woman gets 33 years jail for killing daughters

Indo-Asian News Service
London, September 22, 2009

First Published: 21:16 IST(22/9/2009)
Last Updated: 21:17 IST(22/9/2009)

An Indian-origin woman was on Tuesday jailed for at least 33 years -
one of the longest prison sentences ever handed to a woman in Britain
- for killing her two teenage daughters in a frenzied knife attack two
years ago.

Rekha Kumari-Baker, 41, was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court after a
jury took just 35 minutes the previous day to find her guilty of
murdering Davina Baker, 16, and Jasmine Baker, 13, as they slept in
her Cambridgeshire home June 2007.

Judge David Bean said the Parole Board would not consider her for
release until 2040, when she will be 72.

"Your defence of diminished responsibility was flimsy and
insubstantial," the judge told Kumari-Baker, who stabbed Davina 37
times and Jasmine 29 times with a kitchen knife in what the jury was
told was a bid to "wreak havoc" on her ex-husband.

"You knew quite well what you were doing and you were not mentally
ill. The crimes were, as the prosecution rightly put it, murder, full
stop.

"Davina and Jasmine were cruelly cut down in the prime of life. Their
death has been a shattering loss to their father, David Baker, and
their friends."

"Most people will find it inexplicable that a mother could kill her
own children and you have given no explanation for it," the judge
added said.

Evidence at the trial showed that Davina - whose body was found
kneeling on the floor - had put up a struggle.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/300141_Indian-origin-Vadera-to-represent-UK-at-G-20

Indian-origin Vadera to represent UK at G-20

H S Rao

London, Sep 25 (PTI) Britain's Indian-origin Business Minister Shriti
Vadera, who is set to step down, will take up next month her
"incredibly important" new role as the UK's representative to G-20 and
work in the Cabinet Office unpaid.

According to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Vadera will act as a liaison
between British presidency of the G-20 this year and the South
Koreans, who take up the post next year.

He said Vadera will work in the Cabinet Office unpaid.

Baroness Vadera will take up her new assignment next month, media
reports said. However, the exact date on which she will resign from
her current post was not immediately known.

The Prime Minister, who was with Vadera in New York yesterday before
travelling to Pittsburgh for the G20 meeting, told reporters that her
new role was "incredibly important".

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/300393_Sikh-children-can-carry--Kirpan--in-61-US-schools

Sikh children can carry 'Kirpan' in 61 US schools
STAFF WRITER 18:48 HRS IST

Washington, Sep 25 (PTI) Sikh students enrolled in 61 schools run by
the National Heritage Academies in the US have been allowed to carry
'Kirpan', a symbol of their faith, subject to certain restrictions.

The National Heritage Academies (NHA), which runs its schools in the
states of Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Indiana, North Carolina and New
York, has allowed Sikh children to carry 'Kirpan' in the institutions,
a statement issued by the United Sikhs, a Sikh advocacy group, said.

It all started when Sukhmeet Kaur, a Sikh student in the 8th grade,
was ordered by school authorities to remove her 'Kirpan' during school
hours or not to come to school at all.

After being approached by her father, Gobinder Singh, the United
Sikhs' legal team wrote to the school, the Endeavour Charter Academy
at Springfield in Michigan.

"It really affects a child's growth when they cannot practise their
faith freely.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/299855_Indian-taxi-driver-assaulted-by-Aus-footballer

Indian taxi driver assaulted by Aus footballer

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Sept 25 (PTI) In yet another attack on an Indian here, a
taxi driver from the community was injured when a drunk Australian
star footballer allegedly assaulted him after an altercation.

Essendon football player Michael Hurley was arrested for kicking and
punching an Indian cabbie outside a fast-food outlet on Hoddle Street
here.

Hurley, 19, took a taxi outside a South Melbourne nightclub about 5:30
am and went to the food outlet. He left the taxi for some food and
when the driver pursued him asking for fare, Hurley allegedly kicked
him in the groin and punched him, according to 'The Herald Sun'.

Police arrested Hurley at the scene.

The soccer player was later was taken to Fitzroy police station and
questioned over the incident. He was subsequently released.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the alleged attack was over a fare
dispute.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/300111_Racial-overtones-in-attacks--action-to-be-taken--Aus




SUBSCRIBERUser NamePasswordRemember Me
25 Sep 2009, 22:21 HRS IST
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News

Racial overtones in attacks, action to be taken: Aus

STAFF WRITER 17:10 HRS IST

New Delhi, Sep 25(PTI) Australia today admitted that its image had
been affected by a spate of attacks on Indians, some of which "had
racial overtones" and promised to take effective corrective steps,
including increase in jail term for racial crime.

John Brumby, Premier of Australia's Victoria province where most of
the attacks have been taking place, met Union HRD Minister Kapil
Sibal, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Delhi Chief
Minister Sheila Dikshit, assuring them that his Government was "doing
everything" possible to ensure total safety of Indians living there.

During the meetings, Brumby was conveyed about India's concerns over
recurring attacks and was asked to take all necessary steps to improve
safety and security of Indians.

"Our image has really been affected by incidents of attacks on
international students.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.indicpost.com/editorial-news/almost-right/

Almost right

Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, says that the
attack on Indian students in Australia is Australia’s internal matter.
He’s almost right.

Though admittedly for a small duration, on a mutually symbiotic terms,
the student community, from any nation, become the citizens of the
host country. It is just as true for Indian students in Australia, as
it would be for a Australian studying in Delhi or Mumbai University.
The ‘visiting’ students enjoy all the perks of the commercial and
infrastructural success of the host nation – if not entirely the
social enrichment. For every theft of a mobile phone on campus, they
are just as eligible to file a police complaint as the ‘citizen
student’ of the host nation is. And they can use every mode of
commuting, communication and recreation that the host nation has built
for its citizens. And on the end of the spectrum, they also have to
follow all the rules and regulations of the host nation.

Where is the difference then, between the ‘citizen student’ and the
‘visiting student’?

If the arrogance is derived from the higher fees being charged to
international students, it could well inform itself that the practice
takes place across the globe. When in doubt about the issue in India,
go to Taj Mahal and learn the difference between the rates of entry
tickets for Indian and foreign nationals. Clearly there are some
privileges that are more easily (and economically) accessible to some,
as compared to others. Works the same within a family too! So, just as
the host nation can’t be arrogant about providing quality education to
‘visiting students’, the latter can do well to stay away from the
misplaced pride about paying higher fees. It’s just economics. Between
equals.

What is not economics, and what does not make the two ‘partners’
equal, is the lack of willingness of the host authority (government)
to ensure and enforce that equality. What the Vilasrao Deshmukh
government did while Mumbai burnt because of some MNS and SP hoodlums,
is precisely what the Australian government should try to avoid. It
can’t remain a silent spectator to an immensely self-damanging string
of events.

As long as the Australia government promises to be fair and neutral,
and shows some action on ground to stop the criminal acts – whether
racially motivated or otherwise – against Indian students in
Melbourne, we should hold our horses; and treat it as Australia’s
internal matter.

But the day it becomes clear that the Australian government is the
shielf for the racist, it would no longer be Australia’s internal
matter.

Shashi tharoor is almost right.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/304191_Indian-origin-jailed-for-manslaughter-of-their-baby

Indian-origin jailed for manslaughter of their baby
STAFF WRITER 18:18 HRS IST

Melbourne, Sept 28 (PTI) An Indian-origin Australian couple were today
sentenced to long jail terms for manslaughter of their baby, choosing
to treat her homoeopathic remedies rather than allopathic for simple
eczema, which later turned into severe skin disorder.

Thomas Sam, 42, a college lecturer in homoeopathy and his wife Manju,
37, of Sydney were found guilty of the most serious case of
manslaughter by criminal negligence leading to the death of their nine-
month-old daughter Gloria in May 2002.

Though both faced a maximum sentence of 25 years if convicted, New
South Wales Supreme Court Judge Peter Johnson sentenced Thomas to
longer sentence of at least six years and his wife for four years.

The judge observed that Gloria had suffered helplessly and
unnecessarily from a treatable condition. And was more severe on the
father saying he should have known better being a homoeopath.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/ahmedabad/Modi-wants-NRIs-to-study-HDI/articleshow/5066159.cms

Modi wants NRIs to study HDI
TNN 29 September 2009, 12:03am IST

GANDHINAGAR: Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the CM's
fellowship programme in order to attract the best of young talent to
study
Gujarat's social sector and suggest ways to improve the sagging human
development index (HDI).

About a dozen fellows upto 35 years of age will be given a year-long
fellowship to experience government functioning from close quarters
and share their views with top officials.

Sources said candidates who have studied in prestigious foreign
universities, especially bright Gujarati NRIs, will be preferred. The
applicants had applied for these positions through the website
http://gujaratcmfellowship.org. Sources said Modi may like to
personally interview the candidates screened by a committee headed by
chief secretary D Rajagopalan.

"The CM's fellowship programme can work as a think-tank. Each fellow
will have to work with a government department or its branches at
district level," a senior government official said, adding, "While it
can aid the person doing social sector research with Gujarat as focus,
we have decided not to turn it into an academic exercise. We have also
not fixed any remuneration for chosen candidates. The amount is open-
ended and will depend on the person's talent."

Significantly, Modi's earlier efforts to draw in academics for
suggesting ways to improve HDI miserably failed. Though he launched
Buddhisagar Parishad, in which top intellectuals were to suggest ways
to improve social sector performance, it never took off. Modi even
involved Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad to work closely with
well-known economist Jeffrey Sachs, director, Earth Institute at
Columbia University, for the project. But even that effort fizzled
out.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/mumbai/Campaign-intensifies-to-free-techie-jailed-in-US/articleshow/5079053.cms

Campaign intensifies to free techie jailed in US
Vijay Singh, TNN 2 October 2009, 04:10am IST

NAVI MUMBAI: The campaign to free Vikram Buddhi, the post-graduate
Indian student who has been languishing in an American prison for over
three years, is now intensifying.

His parents, Captain B K Subbarao (69) and Syamala Buddhi (64), who
are residents of Navi Mumbai, have gone to Delhi to meet officials of
the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

Vikram is likely to be sentenced by a US court in November; hence it
becomes all the more important for the `Free Vikram lobby' to fight
for his justice.

Capt Subbarao told TOI from Delhi, "Vikram has been jailed for
allegedly threatening US leaders on a website in 2006. But there is
not a single evidence that suggests that Vikram had authored those
posts. We only hope that the new US leader, Obama, is receptive to our
problem.''

A letter has been sent to foreign minister S M Krishna, who is
reportedly studying the matter before approaching the US counterparts.
Besides, two open-category groups have also been started on a social-
networking site, garnering support for Vikram's freedom.

"We request the Indian government to intervene in the matter as
Vikram's sentencing is going to take place within a month. We hope
that justice prevails,'' said his mother, Syamala.

In January, Navi Mumbai students collected 4,000 signatures in support
of the jailed student and sent it to President Obama.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/british-asians-outsourcing-murder

British Asians 'outsourcing murder'
by generaldecay | September 28, 2009 at 05:46 am

73 views | 4 Recommendations | 1 comment

A BBC investigation has uncovered the deadly practice of British
Asians travelling to India to hire contract killers. Family and
business associates, who are lured to the sub-continent, are often the
targets.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8277948.stm

Page last updated at 10:34 GMT, Monday, 28 September 2009 11:34 UK

British Asians 'outsourcing murder'
By Poonam Taneja
BBC Asian Network

Some say up to 100 overseas Indians are killed every year in Punjab

A BBC investigation has uncovered the deadly practice of British
Asians travelling to India to hire contract killers.

Family and business associates, who are lured to the sub-continent,
are often the targets.

In a country where murder is cheaper and less fraught with risk, the
perpetrators of these crimes are rarely brought to justice.

Campaigners in both India and the UK believe this to have claimed the
lives of hundreds of victims over several years.

These armchair murder plots are hatched in the living rooms of Britain
and executed mainly in the rural Indian state of Punjab.

'Foul play'

I made the journey to India to investigate these sinister crimes.

In a remote village, surrounded by lush green fields, a rickety ox-
drawn cart trundles along the dusty lane.

It is here that a British woman, who was on holiday with her husband
visiting relatives, was killed - the apparent victim of a hit-and-run
accident.

But her relatives in India suspect foul play.

"Her husband wanted to re-marry. He told her to leave him - she said,
'I'll die but I won't let him go'," her mother revealed.

She was one of the first to arrive on the scene.

"They beat her up. They dumped her in the ditch and made it look like
an accident. They wanted to show it like an accident. There was no
blood, no car and no tyre marks."

Mr Kalra denies the police force is riddled with corruption

Despite a lengthy police investigation, charges are yet to be brought
against the suspects in India.

For legal reasons, we can not name the victim or her family.

Her killing bears striking similarity to that of another British
woman, Surjit Athwal.

The 26-year-old mother of two disappeared in Punjab in 1998.

Two years ago, a British court found her mother-in-law and husband
guilty of arranging her murder.

They had hired criminals in India to kill her. She was strangled and
her body dumped in a river.

Her brother, Jagdeesh Singh, now campaigns for other victims'
families.

"I think Surjit's case exposed for the first time in this country
overseas outsourced killings. How the Punjabi community, settled in
Britain, send their females back to the land of origin, in the full
knowledge that they can have them murdered easily, swiftly and
efficiently."

'Simple'

It is not only women that are lured abroad to be killed in these types
of murders.

Raju, not his real name, recalls his brother's death during a visit to
their ancestral village in Punjab.

"He was found on the floor, with a bullet in the head. We have
evidence to suggest the murder was arranged by his wife and her lover.
We believe the motive was to fraudulently claim insurance money."

So how easy is it for British Asians to outsource murder?

Surjit Athwal disappeared in Punjab in 1998

According to Indian journalist, Neelam Raaj, finding a person to carry
out the killing is simple.

"The person who's taking the contract would just be a small-time
criminal. He's usually a goon in the village."

In India, murder is cheap, with hired assassins paid up to $800
(£500).

Formerly, the modus operandi was a drive-by shooting, now it is likely
to be a staged road accident.

And it appears there are few risks.

In the bustling city of Ludhiana, Jassi Khangura juggles life as a
successful entrepreneur with a career in Indian politics.

He used to be a businessman in London, now he is an elected
representative for the ruling Congress party in the Punjab legislative
assembly.

"What we have in Punjab - and in many other states of India - is a
criminal nexus that takes place between the police, the politicians
and the criminals. That nexus gives the Indians that live in the UK a
large degree of cover.

"Even if they're identified as the perpetrators of the crime, they're
given a considerable degree of protection and that means they never
get charged."

He alleges police corruption in the state is responsible for a trend
which he believes claims the lives of up to a 100 overseas Indians a
year.

Missing

But in the manicured grounds of his colonial-style villa in Punjab's
capital, Chandigarh, inspector general of police for Jalandhar
district Sanjiv Kalra says the figures are exaggerated and denies his
force is riddled with corruption.

"From my experience, these kinds of things are more talked about than
they are actually present on the ground," he said.

However, for many victims' families the search for justice in India is
elusive.

They are now turning to the authorities in the UK for help. British
detectives are increasingly being called in to solve these murders.

Commander Steve Allen of the Metropolitan Police Service has this
stark warning.

"We have increased our knowledge of and our confidence in dealing with
murders of British citizens overseas. We will follow you, we will
pursue the evidence and we will bring you to justice wherever in the
world you commit these offences."

Meanwhile, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says it is currently
aware of six British nationals who have gone missing in the Delhi and
Punjab area.

Passport to Murder will be broadcast on BBC Asian Network at 1800 28
September 2009.

I did not know this!

In a country where murder is cheaper and less fraught with risk, the
perpetrators of these crimes are rarely brought to justice.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

If it is the case that 'murder be cheap', then I suppose it makes
sense to outsource. I feel a chill in my bones, nonetheless.

Here is one example of a contract killing.

In a remote village, surrounded by lush green fields, a rickety ox-
drawn cart trundles along the dusty lane. It is here that a British
woman, who was on holiday with her husband visiting relatives, was
killed - the apparent victim of a hit-and-run accident. But her
relatives in India suspect foul play. "Her husband wanted to re-marry.
He told her to leave him - she said, 'I'll die but I won't let him
go'," her mother revealed.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The BBC piece gives an example of another woman who was killed in a
similar manner. It makes me wonder if these contract killings are
being used as a handy way of getting rid of women. It's hard to say,
based on the information in the article, but it is interesting to me
that female victims featured more heavily than male victims; not least
because it strikes me as a opportune way to off a couple of petulant
wives if needs be.

In any case, I've learned something today...

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nri-jailed-for-27-years-for-kidnapping-fellow-indian/524575/

NRI jailed for 27 years for kidnapping fellow Indian
Agencies

Posted: Saturday , Oct 03, 2009 at 1702 hrs

London: A 28-year-old NRI has been jailed for 27 years for conspiracy
to kidnap a fellow Indian and blackmail his father who lives in
Gujarat.

Dipesh Kumar Chauhan along with his accomplices, Shujah Khaliq and
Arif Aga, both aged 26, pleaded guilty during the two-week trial at
Southwark Crown Court last evening, the Metropolitan Police said
today. Khaliq and Aga were sentenced to 18 years each in prison.

However, police did not name the victim to protect his identity to
ensure he returned safely to his family.

"The victim does not come from a wealthy family. I am glad that they
contacted police immediately so that we could locate the victim and
ensure his safe return to the family,"Dr Greg Trinder of the Kidnap
Unit said.

"The evidence against these three individuals was overwhelming. It
showed the thought and planning that had gone into the crime and their
motive of greed. Khaliq and Aga had the sense to plead guilty but
Chauhan believed he could claim the defence of duress. I am grateful
the jury saw through his lies and found him guilty alongside the other
two defendants.

"Kidnaps are still comparatively rare in this country. We are grateful
to all those who have assisted us in our investigation," Trinder
said.

According to the prosecution, the victim, 24-year-old at that time,
had arranged to meet his friend Dipesh Kumar Chauhan at Queensbury
underground station for dinner on October 17 last year.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-need-for-expats-returning-to-uae-to-submit-flu-certificate/495143/

No need for expats returning to UAE to submit flu certificate
Agencies

Posted: Tuesday , Jul 28, 2009 at 2216 hrs

Dubai: Expatriates returning to the UAE from abroad will not be
required to produce a medical certificate proving that they are not
affected by swine flu, the country's Health Ministry said today,
denying earlier media reports in this regard.

"The news about this issue is completely untrue," Ali bin Shuker,
Director of the Health Ministry, said in a statement.

Earlier, a media report had said that expats will be required to
present a medical certificate proving they are not affected by swine
flu before returning to the country.

"Without this certificate, any person with swine flu symptoms will be
prohibited from entering the country," the Gulf News quoted a source
from the National Committee for Combating Swine Flu as saying.

Shuker said the Ministry was handling issues regarding the disease
with "transparency and clarity". He added that the Ministry is keeping
the public informed through its weekly update issued on Mondays or
through interviews given by officials to TV and radio stations.

The UAE has recorded around 125 cases of the virus, according to
Health Ministry figures and, according to the World Health
Organization (WHO) the virus has infected 134,503 people and killed
816 world over.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/opinion/02krugman.html

Mission Not Accomplished
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: October 2, 2009

Stocks are up. Ben Bernanke says that the recession is over. And I
sense a growing willingness among movers and shakers to declare
“Mission Accomplished” when it comes to fighting the slump. It’s time,
I keep hearing, to shift our focus from economic stimulus to the
budget deficit.

No, it isn’t. And the complacency now setting in over the state of the
economy is both foolish and dangerous.

Yes, the Federal Reserve and the Obama administration have pulled us
“back from the brink” — the title of a new paper by Christina Romer,
who leads the Council of Economic Advisers. She argues convincingly
that expansionary policy saved us from a possible replay of the Great
Depression.

But while not having another depression is a good thing, all
indications are that unless the government does much more than is
currently planned to help the economy recover, the job market — a
market in which there are currently six times as many people seeking
work as there are jobs on offer — will remain terrible for years to
come.

Indeed, the administration’s own economic projection — a projection
that takes into account the extra jobs the administration says its
policies will create — is that the unemployment rate, which was below
5 percent just two years ago, will average 9.8 percent in 2010, 8.6
percent in 2011, and 7.7 percent in 2012.

This should not be considered an acceptable outlook. For one thing, it
implies an enormous amount of suffering over the next few years.
Moreover, unemployment that remains that high, that long, will cast
long shadows over America’s future.

Anyone who thinks that we’re doing enough to create jobs should read a
new report from John Irons of the Economic Policy Institute, which
describes the “scarring” that’s likely to result from sustained high
unemployment. Among other things, Mr. Irons points out that sustained
unemployment on the scale now being predicted would lead to a huge
rise in child poverty — and that there’s overwhelming evidence that
children who grow up in poverty are alarmingly likely to lead blighted
lives.

These human costs should be our main concern, but the dollars and
cents implications are also dire. Projections by the Congressional
Budget Office, for example, imply that over the period from 2010 to
2013 — that is, not counting the losses we’ve already suffered — the
“output gap,” the difference between the amount the economy could have
produced and the amount it actually produces, will be more than $2
trillion. That’s trillions of dollars of productive potential going to
waste.

Wait. It gets worse. A new report from the International Monetary Fund
shows that the kind of recession we’ve had, a recession caused by a
financial crisis, often leads to long-term damage to a country’s
growth prospects. “The path of output tends to be depressed
substantially and persistently following banking crises.”

The same report, however, suggests that this isn’t inevitable: “We
find that a stronger short-term fiscal policy response” — by which
they mean a temporary increase in government spending — “is
significantly associated with smaller medium-term output losses.”

So we should be doing much more than we are to promote economic
recovery, not just because it would reduce our current pain, but also
because it would improve our long-run prospects.

But can we afford to do more — to provide more aid to beleaguered
state governments and the unemployed, to spend more on infrastructure,
to provide tax credits to employers who create jobs? Yes, we can.

The conventional wisdom is that trying to help the economy now
produces short-term gain at the expense of long-term pain. But as I’ve
just pointed out, from the point of view of the nation as a whole
that’s not at all how it works. The slump is doing long-term damage to
our economy and society, and mitigating that slump will lead to a
better future.

What is true is that spending more on recovery and reconstruction
would worsen the government’s own fiscal position. But even there,
conventional wisdom greatly overstates the case. The true fiscal costs
of supporting the economy are surprisingly small.

You see, spending money now means a stronger economy, both in the
short run and in the long run. And a stronger economy means more
revenues, which offset a large fraction of the upfront cost. Back-of-
the-envelope calculations suggest that the offset falls short of 100
percent, so that fiscal stimulus isn’t a complete free lunch. But it
costs far less than you’d think from listening to what passes for
informed discussion.

Look, I know more stimulus is a hard sell politically. But it’s
urgently needed. The question shouldn’t be whether we can afford to do
more to promote recovery. It should be whether we can afford not to.
And the answer is no.

http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/opinion/02krugman.html

1.m. johnsonva October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Paul, the President is ready to cry " mission accomplished " because
all of the bankers who fin anced his campaign have gotten their money
back - and more.

He was put in office to keep the rich rich and the comfortable
comfortable, while pretending he understood and was working for the
middle class working man.

If you read shadowstats , you will discover that the real unemployment
rate is much higher than the official numbers. And, after President
Obama promised that unemployment would never exceed eight percent if
he could just have another trillion dollars in " stimulus " money to
distribute to his friends and political cronies.

Out here in the real middle-class world, people are hurting and angry.
The so-called best and brightest who destroyed our economy have been
rewarded by Obama and Congress, while the rest of us are waiting for
our tax rates to increase to pay back the money Obama gave those so-
called best and brightest.

Everyone I talk to says we will throw them all out in 2010 and 2012.
But, I'm worried that by then they will have done damage that can't be
repaired.

Recommended by 488 Readers

2.Kate Madison Depoe Bay, Oregon October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am...

"Look, I know more stimulus is a hard sell politically. But it’s
urgently needed. The question shouldn’t be whether we can afford to do
more to promote recovery. It should be whether we can afford not to.
And the answer is no."

So......where does all of our DEFENSE SPENDING figure in here? We are
debating further troop increase in Afghanistan--plus nation building.
And don't forget Pakistan--a real dilemma! But PLEASE, where does
America fit into the bill? In all of the "stuff" I read about
Afghanistan "yes" or "no," NOWHERE do I see written about the cost of
our efforts there present and future. Yet, where healthcare for our
own citizens is being discussed and written about, that is ALL I read!
How much will it cost? Can we afford it? No new taxes, etc. etc.

I have to believe that healthcare reform and stimulating the economy
are all of a piece! If we can deal with one, we are certainly able to
deal rationally with the other. But, WAR??? That is the big question,
is it not? We just cannot discuss war and money in the same sentence!
Or rationally!! What a shame!!!

Recommended by 710 Readers

3.caly ban fairfax, california October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

One of the great benefits of being a columnist or a professor is that
all you have to do is snap your fingers and magically a new stimulus
package will be passed to create new jobs and rescue the economy. Yes,
that would be nice, but don't blame Obama or the Democratic leadership
because it's not happening and they're not even talking about it.

The reality is that there is absolutely zero chance that any more
stimulus will be passed, for the same reason that the Finance
Committee killed a public option (at least in that Committee). We have
a solid block of Democrats in Congress who are essentially Republicans
(since the Republicans have essentially become nihilists). Until we
replace those Democrats with real Democrats no new stimulus money and
no meaningful health reform will be enacted.

Recommended by 809 Readers

4.janice smith pa October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

When President Obama was campaigning he promised transparency and
accountability. But what he has delivered is great gifts to Wall
Street CEOs and little else.

I am tired of the failed promises and the outright lies. The people
with whom the President has surrounded himself are worse than the ones
in the Bush Administration. Obama's people keep saying how much the
economy is improving. Maybe Wall Street has improved, but most of the
people I know are barely hanging on.

We did not send Obama to Washington so that he could become best
friends with the Goldman Sachs and the JP Morgan people, but that is
exactly what he has done. Has one of theose bankers that caused the
financial disaster even been indicted?

I know you think he should spend more "stimulus " money. Where did the
last " stimulus " money go? I haven't seen any, and I don't know
anyone who has seen any.

Well President Obama's mission may be accomplished but it is a
different mission than the one on which he campaigned.

Recommended by 350 Readers

5.June Gudmundsdottir Los Angeles, CA October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

"And I sense a growing willingness among movers and shakers to declare
'Mission Accomplished' when it comes to fighting the slump"

By movers and shakers you mean Democrats and their supporters, right?
The presumably purposeful 'mission accomplished' allusion is an apt
one as well.

On the subject of the economy--and more specifically jobs, however,
can you please explain how the Cap and Trade and Healthcare
legislative proposals will help solve these problems? I don't recall
the last time that adding trillions of dollars of taxes to our economy
helped to create jobs or stimulate an economy...

Cap and Trade will raise the cost of every material good and service
an American citizen purchases or consumes. Healthcare will either add
the healthcare cost of 10-40 million people to our national debt or it
will require those same people at the barrel of a gun (the IRS can put
you in jail for failure to pay) to purchase the insurance for
themelves.

Please explain how these proposals--the two major legislative
proposals on the national agenda right now and for the foreseeable
future--will help boost the economy or create jobs. You support both
of these policies so the explanation should be a simple one for you.
Please explain this to myself and the other skeptics (who loyally read
your columns weekly even though we virtually never agree with you) in
a future column.

Recommended by 84 Readers

6.Kevin Nevada October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Wow. A long article with a dearth of substance. I laud the literary
talent of the author, but question the direction of the comments.
Unlike the editorial writer, I am in fact barely employed. So my
question to the author is, "And what exactly do you have in mind for
Federal Revenue (aka, taxpayer money) that would/could be used to
further stimulate the current 'job' vacuum'"? An interesting question,
although the answer is not in more government, but in stimulating
small businesses.

I would suggest that news organizations willing to publish this
minimal level of discourse look in the mirror for salvation; and
opinions as simple as these should bear "recalibration". Were I
evaluating a writer's performance on this article, I would suggest
more fact and less fiction.

Recommended by 51 Readers

7.retep San Francisco October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

What we need is Mr. Obama to make the case to American people for more
stimulus. This is time for statesmanship, not political score keeping.

Recommended by 53 Readers

8.Ed McGuinness Chicago October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

I do believe once we get through health care the administration will
refocus on the necessary reform of the financial services industry.

Chase bank charging credit card borrowers 30% annual interest in these
tough times will be a poster child for the abuses and excesses of Bush
era lax regulation and consumer non protections.

Who in their right mind would trust any bank going forward? The
unethical immoral disgusting behavior that JP Morgan Chase and its ilk
engage in needs to be criminalized for good for the economy, for the
good of all Americans.

Recommended by 254 Readers

9.Jacob Olsson New York October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

What's the difference between this recession and the depression? In
those days, when he who didn't have a job, but wanted one was
considered "unemployed", the unemployment rate was between 20 and 25%.
By that standard, the unemployment rate is almost as high today,
almost 20%. But nowadays, an "unemployed" person is registered,
actively receiving benefits and actively sending out resumes. All part
of the unbelievable spin.

And you are right Paul, the human toll is enormous, which is exactly
why we don't need any more bailouts of failed banksters, hedge fund
managers and other criminals. That is the true short-term folly:
bribed politicians giving money to their Wall Street friends.

Helping unemployed, starving Americans is not really what I would
consider a "stimulus", it is just common decency. This is a permanent
policy in most civilized countries. However, it is very different to
suggest all kinds of poorly planned infrastructure projects all over
the country. We need better long-term planning.

What we need is an industrial policy. Such a policy would be focused
on what industries America can become competitive in, and the money
would go towards research and an overhaul of the educational system. A
country in which university studies cost as much as a Mercedes E Class
every year has a big problem. A country that awards inefficiencies in
the financial industry, the medical industry and promotes the creation
of private monopolies and oligopolies can only go down the hill.

It's time for long-term planning, financial prudence and an end to the
worst crisis management in American history.

www.usparliament.blogspot.com

Recommended by 453 Readers

10.R. Law Texas October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Professor PK,

You write: 'It’s time, I keep hearing, to shift our focus from
economic stimulus to the budget deficit. No, it isn't.'

The job isn't nearly done until Wall Street is re-structured and re-
regulated. The Masters of the Universe have repeatedly refused to re-
habilitate their pay policies (even though propped up by the public
treasury) and need a visit from the IMF, World Bank and Chainsaw Al of
yester-year before our job is done in protecting the economy from
their excesses.

These are the people who invented share-holder activism/greenmail,
decried bloated, inefficient target companies, and until there has
been more creative destruction and re-regulation they will go back to
their old habits.

In large part, the Republicans have used the healthcare circus to
avoid this discussion; the time is nigh.

Recommended by 240 Readers

11.choice NH October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Much more, yes. Indeed immensely more actions are necessary to avert
disasters now and going forward. Perhaps it is this very crisis, for
better or for worse, that has finally focused people's mind on the
fundamental economic crime of destroying the middle class ongoing for
decades. Clearly, it started by Reagan, as you pointed out earlier.
There is none other than Elizabeth Warren who best illustrated below.

Hope the opportunity to reverse this vicious downward spiral is here.

The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class, Elizabeth Warren
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A

Recommended by 98 Readers

12.Mark C San Francisco October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

One question: what's happened to the trillions of dollars in "toxic
assets" held by the Wall Street "great" pillars of finance? Is this a
real ticking time bomb...or was this just a mirage and an excuse to
raid the treasury?

Recommended by 153 Readers

13.John San Francisco CA October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Oh boy, I can't wait to see all the comments calling you a
"socialist." (Seems to be the most horrifying thing you can accuse
someone of today, short of child molester.)

Recommended by 56 Readers

14.Allan LA October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

If nothing else, the author is consistent - consistently wrong.

The buyers of our public debt (deficit) will not continue to loan
money for social spending. Even FDR was smart enough to know that.

Krugman once again exhibits the fundamental misunderstanding of
economics he is famous for.

Recommended by 53 Readers

15.sunshinefl October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

You wrote :

" You see, spending money now means a stronger economy, both in the
short run and in the long run. "

Is that economics or magic? If what you are saying is true, why don't
you advise everyone to spend everything they have and then borrow more
and invest and spend that?

Wait... Isn't that exactly what so many people, individuals and
business , did before? Isn't that what caused most of this mess?

I plan to continue saving my own money and I hope my Representative in
Washington feels the same about my tax money. President Obama can
declare whatever he wants. He doesn't seem to really be sure of what
he is doing, anyway.

Recommended by 61 Readers

16.pdxtran Minneapolis October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Just this evening, I received a phone call from my local PBS station,
asking why I hadn't yet renewed my pledge. I explained that I'm a self-
employed person caught in a cash flow crunch, that money is tight, and
that I will renew when more money comes in.

The woman on the other end of the line said sadly, "I've heard that a
lot this evening. I hope your luck changes."

I bet that people trying to raise funds for non-profits could tell
Wall Street financiers or Ivy League economists what's really going on
between the coasts.

Recommended by 255 Readers

17.joyotpaul chaudhuri Tempe, Arizona October 2nd, 2009 6:44 am

Paul Krugman is absolutely correct. Unemployment levels are corrosive
to the very fabric of society. More stimulus to prime production is
more important than just watching Wall Street.

Recommended by 197 Readers

18.Neal Perkasie, PA October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

More stimulus won't be "a hard sell politically." It will be an
impossible herculean task. The middle of the country has grown up
being fed a steady diet of "you must live within your means," even for
the government (and in many quarters, especially for the government).

It is true that long-term high unemployment is unacceptable, but if
stimulus is to be achieved, I believe it must be accomplished in
smaller targeted packages with demonstrable benefits, and it must be
shown to not be going to bail out banks or line the pockets of the
richest corporations or government bureaucracies. It must be shown
that the jobs will not be exported to far off lands. Teachers, nurses,
green energy sound promising.

There is an enormous amount of suspicion and distrust for not just big
government, but also big corporations. The benefits to the average
person on Main Street will have to be made crystal clear. Revising the
tax code toward more fairness and equity might help reduce the unease
that I see as rampant in the middle classes, the independants...

There may not be a feasible political solution to shortening the pain
of a slow recovery.

Recommended by 93 Readers

19.Bill Appledorf San Francisco October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

Cats at the top of the pyramid do not care what happens to workers
without jobs. Their economy (the cats' economy) has been downsized,
and as long as they (the cats) are making money, they have nothing to
worry about.

Why do I think this? Look at your typical banana republic, or better
yet your typical Free Trade Zone. Poverty, sweat shops, political
oppression, violence -- as long as it can be handled easily by
paramilitaries (Blackwater, for example) or local militias (the
Pittsburgh police, the Seattle police) -- do not bother cats who are
rolling in dough.

People have been predicting that the U.S.A. is going to become a
banana republic for a long time. Well, look around you. This is what a
banana republic looks like. And when the Republicans get back in,
which they will at some point, they'll have torture and disappearances
for anyone who doesn't like it enough to shoot off their mouths about
it.

Not everyone is poor in a 3rd world country. That's the point.

Recommended by 308 Readers

20.Jim New York October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

Back in the 80's many Third World countries were suffering from too
much debt and the IMF imposed sanctions on those countries who the IMF
believed were not doing enough to control fiscal policy.

With this in mind I agree that further stimulus is needed to develop a
true 21st century economy however the same set of rules that applied
to Third World Countries should be used against States who do not have
their spending under control. This would involve abrogating Municipal
Contracts that have created a system where the Government employees
enjoy the protections afforded to the ruling classes found in the
former Soviet Union. Without meaningful reform at the State and Local
Municipal level any future fiscal stimulus is doomed to failure.

Recommended by 25 Readers

21.mich SC October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

I can support a stimulus to create jobs, not bail out failing
companies and continue wars (Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan (via CIA
drones & billions in "aid") that are draining us. Attending a
community college with young people the issue is jobs. Many are going
into debt to improve skills for the hope juuhiujzxjobs. Most of these
programs are only 2 years. Will the jobs be there? Some students are
self paying tuition, some taking loans, and some on VA, but we all
need real jobs when we get out.

Recommended by 38 Readers

22.Sergei Dovgodko St.Paul, MN October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

More gov. spending is desirable but not possible to internal cultural
and ideological divisions.

What can be done on the macro level?

One possibility for the US would be to break up in 5-6 independent
republics. Each republic could then pursue its own development path,
either capitalist or socialist. Or maybe a hybrid of some kind?

The socialist type republics could pursue more gov. spending on
infrastructure, socialized heath care, retirement, and education. The
capitalist republics could reduce taxes and eliminate much of their
governments. All new republics could still have a monetary union,
similar to Euro zone.

Recommended by 22 Readers

23.Michael Califra New York, NY October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

“(L)istening to what passes for informed discussion.” That’s the
problem. Too little informed discussion. Just look at how a major
policy initiative was thrown off the rails over the summer by a few
screaming lunatics at town halls. Does anyone believe that the level
of discourse about economics is really going to rise above that? Can
anyone believe that the Republicans won’t demagogue the national debt
as stealing our children’s future and giving it to the Chinese? Does
anyone really believe there won’t be even more Astroturf tea bagger
outrage exploited by the media? Can anyone really believe that the
Democrats won’t be cowed by it all? Pretty depressing.

Recommended by 114 Readers

24.JohnTurlock, CA October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

The problem is that this is going to be more of the same "trickle-
down" stimulus ideology. We'll need to give money to the banks to loan
to the corporations to hire more workers . . . and this will work just
as well now as it did in the Reagan era. This reverse Robin Hoodism is
a gross violation of the social contract and it has to stop.

Recommended by 75 Readers

25.Timezoned New York City October 2nd, 2009 7:28 am

Hey, the stock market is back, so those who rule our country are
happy. High unemployment just ensures that they'll have plenty of
desperate people to work at their low-wage jobs in fast food and
discount stores, because they'll need any job they can get. For the
oligarchy that actually runs things, this is working out just the way
they like things.

Recommended by 360 Readers

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/americas/Indian-American-lawyer-to-plead-guilty-to-2-mn-fraud/Article1-460764.aspx

Indian American lawyer to plead guilty to $2 mn fraud

Arun Kumar, Indo-Asian News Service
Washington, October 03, 2009

First Published: 12:29 IST(3/10/2009)
Last Updated: 12:31 IST(3/10/2009)

An Indian-American lawyer has agreed to plead guilty to two felony
charges relating to a scheme where he took more than $2 million
awarded in a class action suit and lost it all on the stock market.

A criminal information filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles
charges Sandeep Baweja, 39, with one count of wire fraud and one count
of obstruction of justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
said Friday.

Prosecutors filed a plea agreement in which Baweja agreed to plead
guilty to the two charges which carry a statutory maximum penalty of
30 years in federal prison. Baweja was the sole proprietor of Baweja
Law Group (BLG), which was based in Los Angeles until August 2008 when
BLG relocated to Irvine.

According to court documents, Baweja filed a class action on behalf of
current and former real estate agents of ZipRealty, Inc. in May 2007.
The complaint alleged that ZipRealty denied class members certain
sales commissions, refused to reimburse business expenses, and made
unlawful wage deductions.

In the fall of 2007, Baweja reached a settlement with ZipRealty in
which the company agreed to pay $3.55 million to compensate class
members and to pay for attorney's fees and other costs.

On March 10, 2008, United States District Judge S. James Otero
finalised the judgment in the case, which prompted ZipRealty to pay
the $3.55 million settlement, a quarter of which went to attorney's
fees for Baweja and his co-counsel.

Baweja's share of the attorney's fees was $660,000. The balance of the
settlement - approximately $2,525,000 - was to be paid to
approximately 800 class member claimants on a pro rata basis.

After the settlement money was deposited into a bank account that
Baweja controlled on behalf of the class, Baweja set up his own online
stock brokerage account and began transferring most of the settlement
proceeds into that trading account.

Although he had no experience as a trader in the stock market, Baweja
used the misappropriated funds to day trade securities on margin. By
December 2008, the value of Baweja's stock account had shrunk to
approximately $55,000, meaning that Baweja had lost virtually all of
the settlement money that he had held in trust for his clients.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/india/Foreign-help-sought-to-nab-hawala-kingpin/Article1-460700.aspx

Foreign help sought to nab hawala kingpin

Manish Tiwari, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, October 03, 2009

First Published: 02:07 IST(3/10/2009)
Last Updated: 02:12 IST(3/10/2009)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked the passport authorities to
impound the passport of non-resident Indian (NRI) businessman Naresh
Chandra Jain, who was booked recently for running one of the largest
hawala networks in the world.

Also, the directorate approached some of the 30-odd foreign
countries, where Jain had set up his bases to launder more than Rs
5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) so far, an ED official, requesting
anonymity, said.

The government is also considering the US Department of Homeland
Security’s request for a role in the hawala racket probe.

The directorate, which investigates violation of foreign exchange
norms, will probe how Jain and his associates transferred some Indian
politicians and industrialists’ money to countries such as the UK,
Canada, Dubai and Turkey.

Hawala is an illegal global banking system, which organises transfer
of money across borders, bypassing all the established exchange laws
and procedures.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Delhi Police and various
security agencies will join the investigation after being informed
about last week’s seizure of documents from eight premises owned by
Jain.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Politics/Nation/Indians-bash-up-two-Australians-following-racial-attack/articleshow/5088872.cms

Indians bash up two Australians following racial attack

5 Oct 2009, 0945 hrs IST, PTI

MELBOURNE: Two locals, who allegedly abused a group of Indians and
vandalised their car, were bashed up by them here, police said on
Monday.

The incident took place at a carpark outside Meadowglen International
Athletics Stadium in Epping when a local skateboarder damaged the rear
window of a car belonging to an Indian.

The skateboarder also used the abusive language against some Indians
who were coming of the stadium where a Kabaddi match had ended last
night.

"Associates of the people, whose car was damaged, came to their
assistance. Two men were assaulted and hit with sticks in the brawl.
These two injured men were from the group outside who had allegedly
started to verbally abuse the people from the vehicle," police said in
a statement.

The two men, aged 25 and 42, were taken to Northern Hospital with
minor injuries, they said. However, no arrests have been made and the
incident was under investigations, police said.

"A lot of people were leaving, the presentations were on at the time,
I spoke to one of the boys that was there and he said a guy had
smashed the rear window of a car that was leaving," Councillor from
the City of Darebin Tim Singh, who was present at the medal
presentations ceremony for Kabaddi tournament, was quoted as saying by
the media.

Singh said that the guy also made some racial comment following which
the clash broke out between the two groups.

Meanwhile, an AAP report quoted police officer Mark Doney as saying
that the incident occurred when contestants of the team began to leave
the venue.

"One of the youths there tried to get in the way of the cars and
yelled out a bit of abuse at people. I think he got his just desserts
by the occupants of the vehicle after he smashed the window of their
car. Obviously, push has come to shove and he smashed the panel of the
side window of the car with the skateboard. It has escalated from
there as some of his mates have come down the skatepark. A couple more
were assaulted," he said.

Inspector Doney said the injured men hadn't pressed charges.

"We don't have a complaint of assault from them," he said.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/314129_Curbs-on--Menace--NRI-cyclist-in-UK-town

Curbs on 'Menace' NRI cyclist in UK town
STAFF WRITER 9:6 HRS IST
Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Oct 5 (PTI) An Indian-origin cyclist who randomly kicked and
punched pedestrians as he rode past them, in Leicester, has been
barred from riding cycle in the town after he was released from
prison.

Photographs of Gurnaik Singh Dogra are to be placed across Leicester
to warn citizens about his bizarre behaviour that lasted for nearly
seven years before he was arrested recently. He has now been released
but restrictions have been placed on his cycling.

As per the recent court order, Dogra, 37, can be again arrested and
possibly jailed if he is caught riding or even pushing his bike
through certain streets in the town. While he can still ride
elsewhere, the order means he can still be arrested if he threatens or
assaults anyone.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Despite-race-attacks-Indians-flock-to-Australia/articleshow/5091785.cms

Despite race attacks, Indians flock to Australia
Bishwanath Ghosh, TNN 6 October 2009, 12:25am IST

CHENNAI: In the end, the lure of studying abroad wins hands down
against the fear for life — if Australian government data showing the
number of Indians enrolling for courses Down Under is anything to go
by.

Figures released by Australian Education International, the
international arm of the country's education department, indicate a
37.3% jump in the number of Indians enrolling with universities there,
notwithstanding the racial attacks targeting them.

In August this year, 1,09,356 Indians enrolled for studies in
Australia, compared to 79,656 in August 2008. Though the number of
enrolments need not be the same as the number of students, since a
student can be enrolled for more than one course, it indicates the
strong interest shown in studying in that country.

The jump is equally significant even when one compares the August 2009
figure with that of May 2009 — 85,157 students — when the attack on an
Indian student drew international attention.

The numerous reports of racial attacks in Australia seemed to have in
no way affacted student aspirations to study Down Under, if statistics
are anything to go by. Latest figures released by Australian Education
International indicate a 37.3% jump in the number of Indians enrolling
in universities there.

On May 24, Shravan Kumar Theerthala, 25, was stabbed in the head with
a screwdriver while he was attending a party in the suburbs of
Melbourne. This was followed by a series of attacks, which led
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to set up a task force to deal
with the problem.

Some educational counsellors in India, however, would like to take
those figures with a pinch of salt. "There is a slowdown. Many
students have deferred their plans," said Dr CB Paul Chellakumar, head
of Campus Abroad. But some Indian students in Australia who TOI spoke
to did not seem to be surprised by the figures given by Australian
Education International.

Kavya Swaminathan, 21, who is doing her masters in molecular
biotechnology in Sydney, said, "There is no race-targeted prejudice as
such. People here are warm and friendly. I believe anyone is taking a
big chance if he or she venturs out late in the nights in lonely
suburbs. That’s when you can get into trouble, which is often
perceived as racist."

Figures just released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that
in the six years up to June 2009, while the annual number of
enrolments by Chinese students increased by an average of 16% per
year, the number of enrolments by Indians increased, on average, by a
whopping 46% per year. Only in 2002, India — with just 11,364
enrolments — ranked 8th among the countries sending students to
Australia to education. The lifestyle in Australia, however, seems to
have Indians floored.

According to a survey conducted among Indian students in Australia by
Hotcourses, the popular study abroad course finder on the internet,
53% of the respondents said they chose to go Down Under because of the
lifestyle.

As many as 95% said they were made to feel welcome by the locals, but
42% also said they had been verbally harassed. “About 95% said they
were made to feel welcome by Australians, yet only 26% spent any
leisure time with the locals. Almost 74% spent their leisure time with
fellow Indians. This shows a lack of integration which could be
leading to a ‘them and us’ attitude,” said Rajagopalan.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/81-attacks-on-Indians-in-Oz-since-May-23-Govt-to-RS/articleshow/4730084.cms

81 attacks on Indians in Oz since May 23: Govt to RS
PTI 2 July 2009, 08:24pm IST

NEW DELHI: A total of 81 confirmed cases of attacks on Indians,
including students, have been reported in Australia since May 23 this
year, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi said the Australian
government has informed India that it was taking a series of steps to
check attacks on Indians and ensure their safety.

"The total number of confirmed cases of attacks on Indians, including
students, since May 23 is 81," he said.

Ravi said the matter has been taken up with the Australian government
at the highest level.

"It has been conveyed to them that such attacks should not be allowed
to happen and that it is the responsibility of the police authorities
in particular to ensure the well-being and security of our students in
Australia," the minister said.

He said that in some cases, arrests have been made and offenders
charged.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/indians-abroad/Dont-break-the-law-Australian-PM-warns-Indian-students/articleshow/5021162.cms

Don't break the law, Australian PM warns Indian students
IANS 17 September 2009, 10:12am IST

SYDNEY: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday warned students from
India not to take the law into their own hands after writer and
activist Farrukh

Related videos

More Videos »

Dhondy reportedly urged Indians in the country for "some form of
retaliation" following the brutal assault on four Indians in
Melbourne. ( Watch Video )

Dhondy has urged Indians in Australia to take matters into their own
hands, The Age reported on Thursday.

"There really has to be some form of retaliation from the Indian
community as a whole. India has to stand up," he told ABC Radio.

Rudd said Australia was a law-abiding nation.

"The laws are there for a purpose and that is for all citizens to
adhere to them," he was quoted as saying by The Age.

When asked what message he had for anyone who took the law into their
own hands, Rudd said: "People should not".

The four Indians were attacked by a group outside a bar in Epping on
Saturday and the attackers told the victims "You Indians, just go back
to your country".

The attack comes as Victoria's Premier John Brumby prepares to go on a
mission to India to help repair Australia's reputation.

The victims say they were bashed by up to 70 people in a car park in
High Street at Epping on Saturday night.

But the police say there were only four or five offenders, although
there were another 15 people making racist comments.

There have been a string of attacks on Indian students since May this
year. The attacks have caused an uproar in India.

India's external affairs minister SM Krishna was assured by Canberra
that students from India would be taken care of.

The latest attack takes place after a brief lull in such incidents in
which the victims maintain that the assaults were racially motivated.

The brother-in-law of two of the victims, Onkar Singh, had told ABC's
AM programme that his relatives have suffered serious injuries.

"Sukhdip got very badly injured in that, and Gurdeep has his jaw
broken, and Mukhtair's (the uncle) shoulder is broken," he was quoted
as saying.

"When the attack happened there was a lot of people, about 70 and they
might have run away or something because they can all see the whole
car park was full with them."

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Australian-official-cancels-Mumbai-trip-over-attack-fears/articleshow/5033758.cms

Australian official cancels Mumbai trip over attack fears
AFP 20 September 2009, 02:11pm IST

MELBOURNE: An Australian state leader on Sunday cancelled a planned
trip to Mumbai due to travel advice from Canberra that extremists were
planning attacks in the city.

Victoria state premier John Brumby was scheduled to visit the city
this week as part of a trip to assure Indians that Australia remains a
safe place to study following a recent wave of assaults on Indian
students in Melbourne.

But he said in a statement on Sunday that he had altered his itinerary
after Australia's foreign affairs department on Friday issued a travel
advisory warning about the possibility of attacks in Mumbai.

"Credible information indicates that terrorists may be planning
further attacks in Mumbai, including at places frequented by tourists,
in September or October 2009," the warning said.

An assault by 10 Islamist gunmen in Mumbai last November killed 166
people, including two Australians.

Brumby said he would spend more time in New Delhi, instead of
travelling to Mumbai.

His visit comes after a spate of street violence against Indians in
Australia's second largest city, the most recent when four men were
seriously assaulted last weekend in a pub car park.

The attacks have cast a shadow over an education industry worth 15.5
billion dollars (13.4 billion US). About 95,000 Indians are studying
in Australia after a university publicity blitz targeting the
country's growing middle class.

Brumby said last week that Australia's image in India had been
tarnished by the attacks and he wanted to send the message during his
visit that Melbourne was one of the safest cities in the world to
study in.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/indians-abroad/Another-Indian-student-attacked-in-Australia/articleshow/5080777.cms

Another Indian student attacked in Australia
PTI 2 October 2009, 04:00pm IST

MELBOURNE: After a brief lull in attacks on Indians in Australia, a
student from the community was attacked with a "plank of wood or a
baseball bat" by two men which left him with 20 stitches in his head.

The 28-year-old student, whose name is not known immediately, was
attacked by the men after he got down from a bus at Keilor Plains
train station on Tuesday.

He has been left with 20 stitches in his head after an "unprovoked"
attack in Melbourne's north-west, the 'Age' newspaper reported.

"The victim got off a bus at Keilor Plains train station at 12.15am on
September 29 and was walking down Power Street when he was approached
by two men," police said.

They asked him for a cigarette and he gave one to both of them. As he
turned to walk away, the man was hit over the head at least six times
with what he believes was a "plank of wood or a baseball bat", they
said.

He was knocked unconscious and the offenders made off with his
backpack, police were quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Around 30 Indian students were attacked in various cities from June to
August. Last month, three Indians were "brutally bashed" by a group of
around 70 youth while playing here.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/indians-abroad/Indian-taxi-driver-assaulted-by-Australian-footballer/articleshow/5055971.cms

Indian taxi driver assaulted by Australian footballer
PTI 25 September 2009, 04:09pm IST

MELBOURNE: In yet another attack on an Indian here, a taxi driver from
the community was injured when a drunk Australian star footballer
allegedly assaulted him after an altercation. ( Watch Video )

Essendon football player Michael Hurley was arrested for kicking and
punching an Indian cabbie outside a fast-food outlet on Hoddle Street
in Melbourne.

Hurley, 19, took a taxi outside a South Melbourne nightclub about 5:30
am and went to the food outlet. He left the taxi for some food and
when the driver pursued him asking for fare, Hurley allegedly kicked
him in the groin and punched him, according to 'The Herald Sun'.

Police arrested Hurley at the scene. The soccer player was later was
taken to Fitzroy police station and questioned over the incident. He
was subsequently released.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the alleged attack was over a fare
dispute. Hurley is expected to be charged for assault-related
offences, according to media reports.

The paper did not identify the Indian cab driver who is said to have
received minor injuries in the incident.

Essendon, the club, has described the player's arrest as
"disappointing and unacceptable".

Essendon managing director Peter Jackson said, "We are extremely
disappointed that Michael was out so late and that he put himself in a
situation where an incident occurred."

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/indians-abroad/Attack-on-Indians-Victorian-govt-to-give-more-powers-to-police/articleshow/5021274.cms

Attack on Indians: Victorian govt to give more powers to police
PTI 17 September 2009, 10:41am IST

MELBOURNE: In the wake of recent attacks on three Indians, Victorian
government has said it will provide more resources and powers to its
police forces to fight racially motivated crimes.

"We'll give police more powers and give police more resources to make
sure we get the message out clearly in the community. Anybody who
undertakes acts of racism or violence in Victoria will feel the full
force of the law," Victorian premier John Brumby said.

Brumby, who would visit India next week, insisted that Victoria was
still the safest place in Australia "in terms of our crime rate".

"I want to get the message out there that we welcome the Indian
community...(and) reassure the Indian community that Victoria's a
great place to be and a great place to study," he was on Thursday
quoted by the local media as saying.

The local media, however, said Brumby's visit would be a challenging
one after the recent assault and lashed out at the police for being
too late in putting out statement for witnesses to the attack.

A report in 'The Age' said Victorian police did not put out a
statement calling for witnesses to the attack until last morning -
more than three days after it occurred and a day after it had already
been reported in India.

"I think it makes the trip to India even more important. I had an
excellent meeting some weeks ago with the Indian minister for external
affairs. I'll be meeting with him again in India," Brumby said.

During his visit, the premier would meet senior Indian government
ministers, Chambers of Commerce and student organisations. He will
also visit some schools.

"I want to get the message out there that we welcome our Indian
community. We have a very large and it's a very well established and
it's a very good community. I'll be making these points known strongly
and loudly in India, but we do have a challenge here and that is to
keep getting the message across that acts of violence are unacceptable
and acts of racism are completely unacceptable," he added.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/10/06/stories/2009100651880100.htm

Savings accounts yield more than FDs for NRIs
K. Ram Kumar

Mumbai, Oct. 5 Banks are seeing more inflows into Non-Resident
(External) rupee (NRE) savings bank accounts than NRE rupee term
deposit accounts as non-resident Indians have realised that parking
money in the former earns more interest.

While the interest rate on NRE S/B deposit is fixed at 3.50 per cent,
the interest rate on NRE term deposit fluctuates with the London Inter-
Bank Offered Rate (Libor).

Currently, a NRE term deposit of one year to less than two years
maturity earns 3.01 per cent interest; two years to three years: 3.10
per cent; and three years and above: 3.67 per cent.

Libor is the daily reference rate based on the interest rates at which
banks borrow unsecured funds from other banks in the London wholesale
money market. Currently, the one-year Libor is hovering around 1.20
per cent. About a year ago, when the global financial markets had
frozen, the one-year Libor touched a high of 3.90 per cent.

Underscoring the advantage of parking funds in NRE S/B account vis-À-
vis NRE term deposit account, a senior public sector banker pointed
out that in the case of the former, interest is calculated monthly on
accrual basis and is credited twice a year — February and August —
into the depositors account. Moreover, even if a customer withdraws
funds, he/she will earn interest on the outstanding amount in the
account.

In contrast, if a NRE term depositor withdraws money before the
maturity period, he/ she will not get any interest.

As money in savings bank account can be repatriated any time, the
official suggested that the Reserve Bank of India should increase the
current interest rate ceiling of 175 basis points over Libor to 250
basis points over Libor so that the effective interest rate on the
term deposit turns attractive

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/returning-NRI.asp

Musings of a Returning NRI – Choosing to Move Back to India
chillibreeze writer — Padmaja Narsipur

My sister-in-law called today and said that she and her husband are
considering a move back to India from the US. “What do you think?” she
asked me, “Since Deepak and you have done it recently.” Of late, this
is a question I’ve been asked fairly frequently.

NRI: Our Return to India
ISBN 978-81-904055-9-1
Released JULY 2008
142 pages, US$16.99

Experiences of professionals, wives, mothers and sons, who have
returned to India, give a realistic picture about living in India.
Personal stories are supplemented with information resources to make
this a must buy for anyone planning to relocate.

My usual reply is that everyone’s experience is different and that
there are definite pros and cons to moving back. I told Deepak’s
sister something similar, and added specific comments about what she
could expect if and when she moved back.

I belong to that growing tribe of “RNRIs” or returned NRIs – people
who moved out of India in search of education, money, jobs or freedom
and are now moving back to India, recognizing India’s recent status as
a happening country. Our (my husband and I, along with our kids) move
back has been a much-discussed one; discussed in fact, since the day I
met him. We talked several times of the option that someday we may
move back to the country of our birth.

Both Deepak and I moved to the US in our early 20’s, he moved here
earlier than me. Like many other young Indians of our generation, we
went to graduate school (in New Mexico), worked in the technology
industry (in the San Francisco Bay Area), purchased that dream BMW and
the ranch-style house in a suburb, had our kids there,and got our US
citizenship – we basically lived the Indian-American version of the
American dream.

But that question pushed to the back burner popped up frequently –
whenever we met our parents and noticed that they were getting older,
whenever I woke up at 6 am on Ganesha Chathurthi day and hit the
freeway for my daily commute or when my oldest son showed a distinct
preference for pasta over rice and rasam.

It really came to the fore when our twins were born. We sorely missed
the family support that most parents of young children take for
granted in India. We pondered over ways by which we could juggle a Bay
Area mortgage with 2 full time jobs, 3 kids under the age of 3 and 60
plus miles of daily commute for each of us. Besides, Deepak’s father
offered him the unique opportunity of being his own boss by joining
his venture in manufacturing. It was a tempting offer,and soon after,
it was “Adios, San Francisco” and “Namaste, Hyderabad”.

This was in mid-2005 and the road since then has had its ups and
downs, most of which the reader may be able to deduce easily. But the
kids love being with their grandparents, Deepak enjoys what he’s
doing, and I have free time for the first time, in what seems like
forever. There’s still a long way to go; plenty to achieve. I’m happy
I have that US passport secure in my almirah (closet) – I have
excellent memories and dear friends in that country and it will remain
my second home. But for now, we’re content, and Hyderabad is home.

Are you an expat living in Hyderabad? Tell us about your experiences
with the Charminar city.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this
article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of
Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism
policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to
this article.

Do you currently live abroad? Have you recently returned to India?
Find out how you can write for Chillibreeze.

—About our writer:

Padmaja says, "In a previous incarnation, I was one half of a Silicon
Valley DINK couple logging my hours as a software engineer. Nowadays
I'm a stay-at-home mom of 3 young boys (never a boring moment!), a
voracious reader (all-time favorite - Jane Austen's "Pride and
Prejudice", currently reading - Ashok Banker's Ramayana series) and
sometimes writer. Future plans include lots of travel (when the kids
are older)."

Rated 4.5 out of 5

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/NRIlistssomeprosandconsoflivinginAmericaandIndia.asp

I've Returned to India. Here are my tips for Expats Living in India
and Adjusting to Bangalore and Bombay
chillibreeze writer — Shalini Bahadur

Looking for more info?

Even though I have grown up in India, it was a very different
scenario. I grew up in India's only planned city, Chandigarh and
studied at an elite boarding school in the Simla Hills which gave me a
very different perspective of reality in India. I expected nothing
less from any other city in India. It was either the organization of
the city or the quaintness of the hill towns I visited so often,
nothing else.

Going to the US for college was one of the best experiences in my
life, so far. I loved the way the towns and cities were so organized,
traffic flowed so smoothly, everyone followed the rules, no one
littered, there was easy access to the civic amenities like libraries,
free musical and theatrical performances in the parks etc. It was so
easy to find out how to do things, like get a driving license, file
taxes, buy a car, rent an apartment, move to another city, all things
that were mired in red tape and piles of paperwork in India.

I was extremely apprehensive to return to India after college and
working there. I was quite sure I wouldn't be able to adjust to life
here again; to the chaos, the chalta-hai attitude, the total disregard
of any form of professionalism and also to no central heating and air-
conditioning.

It took me almost 2 years to get back to driving again in India after
returning!! I just hated the chaos and unpredictability on the roads
here. Then, all of a sudden, something happened that made me realize
that fun could be found in all the chaos, that it wasn't such a bad
place after all. I think it was more of a mindset than anything else.
One has to be very open to situations in India. Things will never
happen as you plan them and to be able to live a happy life here one
just has to go along with the flow.

As if Fate was testing me, as I came to appreciate life in India, I
got married and we moved back to the States! This time around I had
seen both sides of the picture as an adult and was able to make better
decisions. Plus, by then 9/11 had happened and the US wasn't such a
great place to be a foreigner anyways. The looks and stares one got at
the supermarket were never friendly.

Returning to India, Bangalore was a great place to set up our first
independent home (I can only say this in retrospective, as it was
extremely hard and confusing at the time!). We found an apartment in
the Defence Colony area of Indiranagar. It was a lovely location full
of houses not apartments and lots and lots of trees. Of all the places
to live in India, Bangalore has to be one of the best to adjust to
life in India. It is still relatively small to get around, the people
are friendly, most locals know English (in fact you get better service
if you pretend not to know Hindi as they are not so keen on
northerners!), the weather is fabulous, lots of very interesting nooks
and crannies to explore, great places to eat and lounge, home and
lifestyle shops around every corner and lots of bookstores and cafe's
too.

Bangalore has a certain kind of warmth to it while Bombay is brash and
proud to be so. The main advantage of Bombay is its network of trains
and that it is relatively safe for women to use them even at night.
Living and working in these two cities has been a very interesting
experience. The main difference in India is that each city is so
different. In the States, one can move across the country but there'll
always be a wal-mart, kinko's, subway, home depot, starbucks etc.

The secret to a happy life in India is to have the cell numbers of a
plumber, an electrician, a general dogsbody, an ac repair and
serviceman, a good dhobi and milkman, a store nearby that delivers
grocery items, a DVD rental place etc etc. Each time I move to a new
city, my first priority is to compile this list.

Usually the best advice on moving is from army and air force wives who
become experts within a few moves. Apart for the physical packing and
moving, the hardest part is getting ones daily requirements fixed in a
new place, as the setup of each city is very different. Moving and
setting up a new home in India is one great big dance where it’s best
to be innovative and imaginative.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this
article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of
Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism
policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to
this article.

—About our writer:

Shalini says,

"An eternal student, I love learning anything new. I'm addicted to
reading, word games, puzzles, traveling and researching trends. Bliss
to me is to curl up on the couch with a good book/good site and a cup
of cocoa. Currently working as an assistant manager in Retail
Operations with a Children's wear retail chain called Gini and Jony.
She is an NRI with a BSc degree in Clothing and Textiles from Kansas
State University and worked with JCPenney and K-Mart before deciding
to return to India."

Rated 3.5 out of 5

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/316398_Australia-to-light-up-main-installations-for-Diwali

Australia to light up main installations for Diwali
STAFF WRITER 13:9 HRS IST

Melbourne, Oct 6 (PTI) In an unprecedented move, Australia's Victorian
state will this year light up major installations including its
parliament, airport and Indian consulate during Diwali, apparently to
placate the feelings of Indians angry over a spate of attacks against
them.

Under a seven-day long lighting competition being organised by
Celebrate India Inc and beginning from October 10, prime buildings in
Melbourne will be lit up, event coordinator of the organisation Arun
Sharma said.

"For the first time Melbourne departure lounge and Indian Consulate
will be decorated apart from the state parliament building, Horsham
council, museums and other parts of the city, and cultural programmes
like dhol programme and rangoli events will be held there," he added.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Back+to+India+with+dreams+to+fulfil&artid=mbrAXA1gsyw=&SectionID=|tGqidECZfs=&MainSectionID=|tGqidECZfs=&SectionName=wAHwOtECfcmiuk9phhHd4Q==

Back to India
with dreams to fulfil

Gauri Rasgotra

First Published : 02 Oct 2009 11:36:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 06 Oct 2009 02:20:27 PM IST

My husband’s posting brought us to the US and it’s been three years
that we have lived in DC. It was a big decision to leave my practice
as a lawyer with a prestigious Delhi firm and come to the land to
which many flock to fulfil their dreams. I was fortunate as I got to
work with the George Washington University Law School and even more
fortunate that it was to do with India. Everything in America was huge
— the area, many people, the escalators, the food helpings. Our small
is their tall, our tall is their ‘grande’ and our ‘grande’ is their
‘venti’ is the first lesson that Starbucks coffee teaches. I wandered
the mall to shop for my brother’s expecting wife, I came to ‘Mimi
Maternity’ and picked up outfits for her. As my husband paid, the girl
at the counter gave me the bag, smiled and said “Have a good one”. I
was embarrassed: “I must be me getting large, I mean fat”. I panicked
and grabbed hold of my husband’s hand and asked “Rahul, did she wish
me a good baby? Where is my baby bump?” He laughed; it was a way of
saying have a great day.

My days however did not always seem so great. I made a call for a
meeting and said: “Hi, can I speak with Rhonda?” The answer: “It is
she”. Confused, I repeated the number, and the voice said: ”Yes, it is
correct”. So I again asked for Rhonda, only to get the royal sounding
response: “It is she”. Perplexed I continued, “Is Rhonda not there?“
The response again was “Yes she is”. I asked once again and the reply
was again “it is she”, this time tersely. By then even I figured that
Rhonda was the “she” and there will be many who will be the He.

The dean of the George Washington Law School is a great orator, with
the wit and brilliance of an outstanding lawyer. I was many times
thanked by him for my work on our India project and each time my
response was typically Indian: “You don’t have to thank me, it’s my
job to work.” After hearing this a few times he said, “Gauri, it is
your job to do the work and it is my job to thank you for it.” I
learnt to take appreciation, which I could never do back home. I
enriched myself with a wonderful experience and it made me change my
perspective on many aspects of life. I had always looked at India from
the point of view of what Indians want and what they see; here I
learned to look at the world in a different way.

One can understand a country best not when visiting or even when
studying there, but when working with the people of that country. The
most important lesson is their commitment to their different
communities — their work-place, their neighbourhood and perhaps most
importantly their educational alma mater. People give back with pride
to their educational institutions which run on alumni donations.
Sadly, in India most of us never think of giving back. Some NRIs
contribute to their institutions in India and I wonder why can’t those
of us in India do the same?

I take my dreams back to my country and I know that I will realise
them in India. Where dreams are big, there is no place like home. And
with a billion Indians committing their energies, an unstoppable force
will emerge as a new inspiration of hope and opportunity as it did
once in America.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/318423_NRI-doctor-banned-from-practising-in-UK

NRI doctor banned from practising in UK
STAFF WRITER 14:11 HRS IST
Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Oct 7 (PTI) An Indian-origin doctor has been banned by the
General Medical Council (GMC) from practising in Britain after she
failed to pass an essential exam in child health care six times.

Dr Suma Mondal, who gained her medical degree from Kolkata in 1973,
has been struck off the medical register after the GMC held a Fitness
to Practice hearing on her credentials.

Mondal, 66, was under professional review by her peers since October
2001 and under review by the GMC since July 2003.

Her communication with patients and record-keeping was graded as
"unacceptable" under a review and concerns were raised about her
diagnosis and treatment of patients' conditions due to lack of medical
knowledge.

The GMC had previously banned her from practising medicine for a year
in September 2006, after she failed to pass the Diploma in Child
Health exam six times.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.timesnow.tv/US-Indian-wins-Nobel-for-Chemistry/articleshow/4329095.cms

US-Indian wins Nobel for Chemistry
7 Oct 2009, 1604 hrs IST, AGENCIES

Tamil Nadu-born Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, a senior scientist at the
MRC Laborartory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge, has been awarded
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009 along with two others, the Nobel
Committee announced today.

Born in 1952 in Chidambaram, Ramakrishnan shares the Nobel prize with
Thomas E Steitz (US) and Ada E Yonath (Israel) for their "studies of
the structure and function of the ribosome".

Ramakrishnan earned his B.Sc. in Physics (1971) from Baroda University
and his Ph.D. in Physics (1976) from Ohio University.

He moved into biology at the University of California, San Diego,
where he took a year of classes, then conducted research with Dr
Mauricio Montal, a membrane biochemist.

"This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry awards Venkatraman Ramakrishnan,
Thomas A Steitz and Ada E Yonath for having showed what the ribosome
looks like and how it functions at the atomic level," the Nobel
committee said in its citation.

All three have used a method called X-ray crystallography to map the
position for each and every one of the hundreds of thousands of atoms
that make up the ribosome, it said.

"This year's three Laureates have all generated 3D models that show
how different antibiotics bind to the ribosome. These models are now
used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly
assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity's suffering,"
the citation said.

Better known as Venky among friends, Ramakrishnan started out as a
theoretical physicist. After graduate school, he designed his own 2-
year transition from physics to biology.

As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, he worked on a neutron-
scattering map of the small ribosomal subunit of E Coli. He has been
studying ribosome structure ever since. Ramakrishnan has authored
several important papers in academic journals.

In the August 26, 2000 issue of Nature, Ramakrishnan and his coworkers
published the structure of the small ribosomal subunit of Thermus
thermophilus, a heat-stable bacterium related to one found in the
Yellowstone hot springs.

With this 5.5 Angstrom-resolution structure, Ramakrishnan's group
identified key portions of the RNA and, using previously determined
structures, positioned seven of the subunit's proteins.

In the September 21, 2000 issue of Nature, Ramakrishnan published two
papers. In the first of these, he presents the 3 Angstrom structure of
the 30S ribosomal subunit.

His second paper reveals the structures of the 30S subunit in complex
with three antibiotics that target different regions of the subunit.
In this paper, Ramakrishnan discusses the structural basis for the
action of each of these drugs.

After his postdoctoral fellowship, Ramakrishnan joined the staff of
Brookhaven National Laboratory in ther US. There, he began his
collaboration with Stephen White to clone the genes for several
ribosomal proteins and determine their three-dimensional structures.

He was also awarded a Guggenheim fellowship during his tenure there,
and he used it to make the transition to X-ray crystallography.

Ramakrishnan moved to the University of Utah in 1995 to become a
professor in the Department of Biochemistry. There, he initiated his
studies on protein-RNA complexes and the entire 30S subunit.

He since moved to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in
Cambridge, where he is a Senior Scientist and Group Leader in the
Structural Studies Division. He joins the list of several Nobel
laureates who worked at the laboratory.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.timesnow.tv/V-Ramakrishnan-makes-billion-Indians-proud/articleshow/4329103.cms

V Ramakrishnan makes billion Indians proud
7 Oct 2009, 1735 hrs IST, AGENCIES

He may have migrated to the US long back, but Indian-American
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan today made a billion people back home proud
by winning the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his pioneering work on
ribosome, a cellular machine that makes proteins.

57-year-old Ramakrishnan, born in the temple town of Chidambaram in
Tamil Nadu, is the seventh Indian or of Indian origin to win the
prestigious award.

Born in 1952, Ramakrishnan earned his B.Sc. in Physics (1971) from
Baroda University in Gujarat and later migrated to the US to continue
his studies where he later got settled and attained US citizenship.

He earned his Ph.D in Physics from Ohio University in the US and later
worked as a graduate student at the University of California from
1976-78.

During his stint at the varsity, Ramakrishnan conducted a research
with Dr Mauricio Montal, a membrane biochemist and later designed his
own 2-year transition from physics to biology.

As a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, he worked on a neutron-
scattering map of the small ribosomal subunit of E Coli. He has been
studying ribosome structure ever since.

Ramakrishnan, now a senior scientist at the MRC Laboratory of
Molecular Biology in Cambridge has authored several important papers
in academic journals.

In the August 26, 2000 issue of Nature, Ramakrishnan and his co-
workers published the structure of the small ribosomal subunit of
Thermus thermophilus, a heat-stable bacterium related to one found in
the Yellowstone hot springs.

With this 5.5 Angstrom-resolution structure, Ramakrishnan's group
identified key portions of the RNA and, using previously determined
structures, positioned seven of the subunit's proteins.

In the September 21, 2000 issue of Nature, Ramakrishnan published two
papers. In the first of these, he presented the 3 Angstrom structure
of the 30S ribosomal subunit.

His second paper revealed the structures of the 30S subunit in complex
with three antibiotics that target different regions of the subunit.
In this paper, Ramakrishnan discussed the structural basis for the
action of each of these drugs.

After his postdoctoral fellowship, Ramakrishnan joined the staff of
Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US. There, he began his
collaboration with Stephen White to clone the genes for several
ribosomal proteins and determine their three-dimensional structures.

He was also awarded a Guggenheim fellowship during his tenure there,
and he used it to make the transition to X-ray crystallography.

Ramakrishnan moved to the University of Utah in 1995 to become a
professor in the Department of Biochemistry. There, he initiated his
studies on protein-RNA complexes and the entire 30S subunit.

He since moved to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in
Cambridge, where he is a Senior Scientist and Group Leader in the
Structural Studies Division. He joins the list of several Nobel
laureates who worked at the laboratory.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/indiansabroadnews/Missing-Indian-businessman-s-body-found-in-Australia/Article1-462261.aspx

Missing Indian businessman's body found in Australia
Indo-Asian News Service
Melbourne, October 07, 2009

First Published: 16:55 IST(7/10/2009)
Last Updated: 16:59 IST(7/10/2009)

The body of Indian businessman Pardeep Kumar, who went missing two
weeks back, has been found in Australia's Victoria state. Police are
probing his business connections as they suspect he was murdered.

Detectives say they are investigating possible business connections of
Kumar who is presumed murdered at Mildura, in northwest Victoria, ABC
Online reported on Wednesday.

Kumar, 33, has been living in Mildura for a year. He had set up a
labour contracting company.

Homicide squad detective Ron Iddles said Kumar went to a meeting about
a business deal at the Mildura Library two weeks ago, and has not been
seen since.

"He came here to meet someone, this was what he told someone, it was
going to be a good deal for him and sadly I think he has met with foul
play," Iddles was quoted as saying.

Kumar's blue Commodore car was found two days later outside the
Mildura railway station.

Iddles said Kumar's phone and bank accounts have not been touched
since he went missing.

The police official stated that Kumar was well-connected in the local
Indian community and "he was very popular with his workers because he
was giving them work, accommodation and he actually bought food for
them".

"...at times he had 15 to 20 people staying in his house," Iddles
added.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/indiansabroadnews/Indian-s-body-found-another-Indian-stabbed-in-Australia/Article1-462246.aspx

Indian's body found, another 'Indian' stabbed in Australia
Indo-Asian News Service
Melbourne, October 07, 2009

First Published: 16:08 IST(7/10/2009)
Last Updated: 16:13 IST(7/10/2009)

The body of Indian businessman Pardeep Kumar, who went missing two
weeks back, has been found in Australia's Victoria state even as a man
of "Indian or Asian appearance" was stabbed on Wednesday in Melbourne
after a brawl.

Detectives say they are investigating possible business connections of
Kumar who is presumed murdered at Mildura, in northwest Victoria, ABC
Online reported on Wednesday.

Kumar, 33, has been living in Mildura for a year. He had set up a
labour contracting company.

Homicide squad detective Ron Iddles said Kumar went to a meeting about
a business deal at the Mildura Library two weeks ago, and has not been
seen since.

"He came here to meet someone, this was what he told someone, it was
going to be a good deal for him and sadly I think he has met with foul
play," Iddles was quoted as saying.

Kumar's blue Commodore car was found two days later outside the
Mildura railway station.

Iddles said Kumar's phone and bank accounts have not been touched
since he went missing.

The police official stated that Kumar was well-connected in the local
Indian community and "he was very popular with his workers because he
was giving them work, accommodation and he actually bought food for
them".

"At times, he had 15 to 20 people staying in his house," Iddles
added.

In a separate incident, a man of "Indian or Asian appearance" was
stabbed at a busy intersection Wednesday in Melbourne suburb of
Abbotsford following a brawl involving up to 10 men.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson told The Age that up to 10 people
were involved in the fight that spilled on to tram tracks at the
corner of Victoria and Hoddle Streets just after 3.30 pm.

During the brawl the 28-year-old man was stabbed and kicked to the
ground, she said.

'Daniel', a witness, told The Age that a man of Indian or Asian
appearance, believed to be the stabbing victim, was sitting on the
ground propped against a shop front.

He said: "He didn't look too healthy."

Paramedics arrived at the scene to find the man "dazed and confused"
and with a significant wound to his upper body.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said the victim was taken to Royal
Melbourne hospital with a non life threatening single stab wound.

He said there were believed to have been five attackers of Asian
appearance who jumped on a tram heading for Box Hill.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091008/jsp/frontpage/story_11590289.jsp

Nobel rooted at home
- Chemistry prize for Indian American
AMIT ROY IN LONDON AND G.S. MUDUR IN BERLIN

Oct. 7: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan thought it was a joke, especially the
Swedish accent.

The Indian-born US citizen, who graduated from Baroda, had just been
told over the phone that he had won the Chemistry Nobel, by a caller
claiming to be from the Swedish Academy.

“Well, you know, I thought it was an elaborate joke. I have friends
who play practical jokes,” the scientist, “Venky” to his friends, said
from his lab in Cambridge, Britain. “I complimented him on his Swedish
accent.”

But the 57-year-old who loves sugarcane juice was in for a sweet
surprise: he had indeed won the prize, jointly with Yale professor
Thomas Steitz and Israel’s Ada Yonath.

They had all independently mapped, atom by atom, the cell’s protein-
making factories or ribosomes by using X-ray crystallography. Their
feat has spurred the development of new antibiotics, thus “directly
assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity’s suffering”,
the academy said.

The Indian is senior scientist and group leader at the Structural
Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge — the
same lab where James Watson and Francis Crick mapped the DNA’s double-
helix structure in 1953, a year after Ramakrishnan was born in
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.

His work builds on Darwin’s theory of evolution and, more directly, on
the work of Watson, Crick and Maurice Wilkins, who won the 1962 Nobel.
Ribosomes produce the proteins whose sequence in the DNA forms the
blueprint for life and controls the chemistry of all living beings.

Ramakrishnan is a fellow at Trinity College, which links him to
another Indian Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen. A joke has it that a stone
flung into Trinity is likely to fall on a Nobel winner.

Tamil Nadu has now caught up with Bengal in the Nobel stakes — with a
little help from America. It has Ramakrishnan, Subrahmanyan
Chandrasekhar and C.V. Raman to pit against Tagore, Sen and Mother
Teresa. Bengal, though, can argue that J.C. Bose and Satyen Bose
undoubtedly deserved the prize, that Raman did his pioneering work in
Calcutta, and that Bangladeshi Peace Nobel winner Muhammad Yunus is a
Bengali.

“I have to say I am deeply indebted to all of the brilliant
associates, students and post-docs who worked in my lab…” Ramakrishnan
said modestly.

“Well, I’ll be honest with you. I was a theoretical physicist but my
PhD work was on a problem that was not particularly interesting to me
at the time. And I used to subscribe to Scientific American and found
that there were all these wonderful discoveries happening in biology….
So, I decided to switch.”

Ramakrishnan said that because he had been inundated by calls in a
laboratory, he was not able to break the news immediately to his own
family. “It looks like, from the way the phone’s ringing, that today’s
going to be written off. But I haven’t even told my wife yet. I
couldn’t reach her. She’s probably gone for a walk, and she doesn’t
use a mobile phone, so it will be interesting.”

“He is a fantastic person —very popular among students and faculty
here,” said Umesh Varshney, professor at IISc Bangalore, where
Ramakrishnan spent a little over two weeks last December.

“He can talk to you at exactly the right wavelength, whether you’re a
senior faculty member or a young student,” Varshney said, recalling
how Ramakrishnan would visit a local stall to gulp down sugarcane
juice.

The Nobel trio will split the $1.4 million (Rs 6.56 crore). Their
work, which shows how some antibiotics block the bacterial ribosomes,
may help tame drug-resistant bacteria and minimise the side effects of
antibiotics.

Yonath said the trio were competitors but “we meet a lot… so there’s a
lot of interaction, and not always negative.”

WITH AP AND REUTERS INPUTS

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091008/jsp/frontpage/story_11590192.jsp

First lab: family that valued education
K.P. NAYAR

Washington, Oct. 7: The phone started ringing at 2am today at the
Seattle residence of retired professor C.V. Ramakrishnan.

The callers, mostly from American television networks, wanted to speak
to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan.

Annoyed at being woken up from deep sleep, C.V. Ramakrishnan told the
first caller that his son had not been living at this Seattle address
for 10 years.

“But this is the address from which he renewed his Washington state
driving licence,” the caller protested. “This is the address on his US
passport,” the television reporter insisted.

C.V. Ramakrishnan, trying to shed the ennui from an abrupt awakening,
wondered what it was that the media wanted with his only son at this
unearthly hour.

Before he could conjure up any answer, the reporter, realising that
C.V. Ramakrishnan did not know the big news that had just broken in
Europe, told the father that his son, Indian American Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan, a professor at Cambridge, had just been announced as one
of three winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009.

Was this true? Or was this TV reporter trying to trip him up for some
other reason? Only for a very fleeting second did C.V. Ramakrishnan
have a slight confusion.

He quickly recalled that his wife, the late professor R. Rajalakshmi,
used to be absolutely confident that one day their son would be
awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in biochemistry.

Her confidence was not that of a doting parent, who, of course,
thought highly of her son. Both Rajalakshmi and her husband were
thoroughly familiar with the work that their son was engaged in.

Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu-born, Baroda-educated Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
comes from a family of biochemists. The family always placed a high
premium on education.

Rajalakshmi started her career as a high school teacher in
Chidambaram, where Coimbatore-born C.V. Ramakrishnan met and married
her. Shortly after they married, the husband left for the US for a
post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Hargobind Khorana, an Indian American Nobel laureate in 1968, was at
the University of Wisconsin–Madison when Khorana was awarded the Nobel
for medicine.

Rajalakshmi, who followed her husband to Canada, where he joined the
prestigious National Research Council, enrolled at McGill University
for a PhD.

Although Rajalakshmi and C.V. Ramakrishnan were doing very well in the
West, the pull of the motherland was too strong, even at a time of
severe brain drain from India.

In 1955, when the University of Baroda invited C.V. Ramakrishnan to
join the leading institution of higher learning in Gujarat, the couple
gave up their career in north America and returned home.

Together, C.V. Ramakrishnan and Rajalakshmi not only set up the
biochemistry faculty at the University of Baroda, but also won global
recognition for their work on the role of nutrition in brain
development.

The theories that they developed with generous grants for this
pioneering work ran counter to what the West was propagating at that
time and helped human development in the Third World.

Their young son was then specialising in physics and had already done
his BSc. from the University of Baroda and his PhD. later from Ohio
University, both in physics.

But the family’s partiality towards biology and biochemistry
eventually overwhelmed him too and the latest Nobel laureate joined
Yale as a post-doctoral fellow in the chemistry department.

Other similar openings came his way in the US, but Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan chose to move to England because Cambridge offered him an
escape from uncertainties in the US that come from having to
constantly seek grants for research and not knowing if the funds would
actually be available.

Cambridge, on the other hand, offered the Indian American an open
sesame for the research he wanted to pursue, which won him the shared
Nobel today.

C.V. Ramakrishnan told The Telegraph that he moved to the US in 1996,
well after his retirement because Rajalakshmi had a stroke and their
daughter, Lalita, now an assistant professor of microbiology and
medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, then a Stanford
alumnus, wanted to be with her ailing mother.

Since that first call at 2am today, the phones have not stopped
ringing at the residences of Lalita Ramakrishnan and her father. Among
the callers were India’s consul-general in San Francisco, Susmita
Gongulee Thomas, in whose charge Seattle falls.

Unlike reporters, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was considerate about his
father’s sleep and did not call until 5am although it was a cherished
day for the entire family.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/320341_PM-congratulates-Ramakrishnan-for-winning-Nobel-prize

PM congratulates Ramakrishnan for winning Nobel prize
STAFF WRITER 14:32 HRS IST

New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today
congratulated scientist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan for winning Nobel
prize in Chemistry and said it was a "great pride for India" and a
"tribute to the educational system" in the country.

"It is a matter of great pride for India that a brilliant scientist,
who has gained the highest international recognition, should have done
most of his education in India," Singh said in a message to
Ramakrishnan who jointly won this year's Nobel prize for Chemistry.

He said it was a "tribute" to the educational system in the country
and the dedication of the teaching community that "we are able to
nurture such international excellence in the sciences".

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/NRIs-rich-email-profile-helps-HC-settle-dispute/articleshow/5099724.cms

NRI’s ‘rich’ email profile helps HC settle dispute
PTI 8 October 2009, 02:37am IST

MUMBAI: An email profile of an NRI, showing him a rich man having an
export car house company, has landed him in a soup with Bombay High
Court asking him to pay Rs 30,000 per month as maintenance to his
estranged wife, more than double the amount fixed by a family court
earlier.

The family court had ordered businessman Rahul Luthra to pay Rs 8,000
to his wife and Rs 4,000 to his daughter per month as maintenance
after he disclosed that he had limited means of income.

However, email profile created by Luthra was produced before the HC by
his wife Rashmi saying it projected him as a rich person and owner of
a company based in Dubai.

Being aggrieved by the order, Rahul, had moved the HC seeking
reduction in maintenance to Rs 2,000 per month. His wife too filed an
appeal in HC seeking Rs 30,000 per month as maintenance.

The bench rejected Luthra’s claim , saying “the husband has resorted
to falsehood and tendered false evidence to deprive his wife and child
from getting a reasonable amount of maintenance”.

“From the evidence it is evident that the husband has sufficient
income and is required to maintain his wife so that she can continue
to live in the same manner in which she used to stay in her
matrimonial home earlier,” the judges said.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/From-Burkina-Faso-to-Djibouti-Indians-are-everywhere/articleshow/5104053.cms

From Burkina Faso to Djibouti, Indians are everywhere
Kartikeya, TNN 9 October 2009, 01:55am IST

MUMBAI: This may well be the ultimate ode to the globetrotting Indian
who, for centuries, has been criss-crossing the world in search of
opportunity and adventure — Indian citizens are today permanent
residents of all but three countries in the world.

The ministry of overseas Indian affairs has registered the presence of
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in 180 of 183 countries of the world. The
numbers may vary from just two in Lebanon to almost a million in the
United States of America but the fact is that Indians call the whole
world their home. It is only in North Korea, Pakistan and Bhutan that
not a single NRI is to be found.

NRIs are Indians, who like steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal, proudly hold on
to their blue Indian passports while living in another country. They
are also different from ordinary Indian citizens who obtain visas and
go abroad to work or study for a limited period of time. NRIs remain
citizens of India but enjoy the right to live and work permanently in
another country of their choice.

Indians can now be found in the remotest corners of the Earth. Go to
the Republic of Palau, a speck of an island nation in the Pacific
Ocean which is one of the world's youngest sovereign states, and you
will find five NRIs there. And don't be surprised to find 20 of them
living in the mountains of Bolivia or a 375-strong Indian community
living in tiny Djibouti on the Horn of Africa.

Historically, Indian communities have had a major presence in several
parts of the world. Be it Gujarati merchants who settled in East
Africa, Tamil Chettiars who lived in south-east Asia or indentured
labourers taken from Bihar to work on plantations in the West Indies,
Indians have been migrating to other countries for centuries. During
the two World Wars, they fought for the British army and settled down
in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The NRIs were a
post-independence addition to this long list of migrants.

But it is also true that, historically, the NRI's favoured
destinations have been First World countries or West Asia, where
employment opportunities abound. But the latest data confirm that in a
globalized world, NRIs are making opportunities in literally every
corner of the Earth.

The largest number of NRIs are in Saudi Arabia (17 lakh) followed by
the United Arab Emirates (14 lakh) and the US (9 lakh) but what is
more fascinating is they can also be found — albeit in minuscule
numbers — in Slovenia (10), Montserrat (10), Iceland (21), Bosnia and
Herzegovina (30) and Burkina Faso (150).

Experts also point out that, if People of Indian Origin (PIOs) — a
term for citizens of other countries who have an Indian ancestry — are
included, then both Pakistan and Bhutan would also find it difficult
to shake off the Indian links to their populations.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Australia-is-an-advert-for-multi-culturalism-not-me/articleshow/5110673.cms

'Australia is an advert for multi-culturalism, not me'
Rashmee Roshan Lall , TNN 10 October 2009, 11:09pm IST

The Australian High Commission in Delhi does not seem like a building
under siege. It is well-ordered, bordered by impeccable green sward.
Here, the sound of India’s often inchoate anger at "Australian racism"
to Indian students seems very distant. But it is Peter Varghese’s job
to hear – and answer – India’s charges. He is Australia’s new high
commissioner in Delhi, and his origins in Kerala, birth in Kenya and
Australian upbringing make him possibly Canberra’s best advertisement
for multi-cultural inclusiveness. But, "I’m not", he tells Rashmee
Roshan Lall.

Would you agree this is a difficult time for any Australian high
commissioner in Delhi?

Only to the extent that we have this one issue, which has been a
difficult issue. If you take the overall picture, I would say it is a
terrific time rather than a difficult time because this is a
relationship that is already improving fast and which, in my view can
go a lot further. So I see it as a time of opportunity rather than a
time of difficulty. I’m not dismissive of the student issue because I
understand the concerns that people have in India and I certainly
understand the concerns that parents might have about the security of
their kids. But we’re dealing with that issue and taking steps to
ensure that Indian students and world/international students are
properly looked after and are confident that over time, we’ll be able
to resolve or put behind us this problem.

You use the word ‘problem’. So it must be a difficult time to be
Australian high commissioner in India?

It’s patently a perceived problem.

You’re calling it a ‘perceived problem’?

I think it’s an issue that’s been considerably beaten up in the media.
I’m referring to the image that may have been conveyed that this was a
rampant problem throughout Australia. Now, that’s not to say that I’m
dismissive and that the attacks haven’t occurred, that those attacks
were serious and we take them seriously and they ought to be
condemned. But this idea that somehow all Indians in Australia are
under threat or that Australians are a marauding group of Indian-
bashers is obviously, completely and absolutely wrong.

Would you agree that this is a difficult time for a man who is
ethnically Indian to represent Australia in New Delhi?

Again, see, I wouldn’t put the emphasis on the difficulty of it. In
any diplomatic assignment, you’re going to have to deal with difficult
issues or deal with problems that need to be resolved. That’s just
part and parcel of the job. I don’t in any way feel daunted by that
and I want to put the issue in perspective and point out that there
are a lot of other things happening in the relationship and to view it
simply as a difficulty because the student issue has been a high-
profile problem, would be to take it out of perspective.

But isn’t it inevitable that Indians will see your appointment here as
a quick, meaningless symbolic gesture of inclusiveness by Australia?
And isn’t there a risk that some Australians might see you as overly
soft to your country of ethnic origin? An overloaded plate you’ve got
there.

As you know, my appointment was in the works for a very long time and
it was decided well before the student issue came up. If people do
perceive it in that way then all I can do is to point out that wasn’t
the case. And I don’t think it’s a question of being soft or hard, the
job of a high commissioner is to represent the interests of his
country and to convey messages as precisely and as effectively as
possible. I’ll try to do that as best I can. If some people think it’s
a soft-sell, well, so be it.

When was your appointment decided then? More than six months ago?

Oh the appointment was decided well before the student issue. It was
decided last year.

Is this a dream job for you, interpreting your country of ethnicity to
your adopted country?

I sought the job and in our system in Australia, you are able to
express an interest in particular positions if you’re in the
diplomatic service. I sought the job essentially for professional
reasons. I think this is a big relationship with a lot of growth
tissue left in it. There are very few of those available to a
professional Australian diplomat because big relationships are usually
well-established relationships, which have some room for growth but
nothing like the quantum of growth which I believe this relationship
has.

Would Australia’s other ‘big’ relationship be with China?

China is also a big relationship but our relationship with China is
not identical to our relationship with India. Particularly, when you
get into the strategic area, it’s a different sort of calculation.

Would it be right to describe Australia as more fearful when it comes
to China and more fierce with India? Or the other way round? Or is
that not a good description at all?

‘Fearful’ and ‘fierce’, no no, I wouldn’t ascribe those adjectives to
either relationship actually. We’re certainly not fearful of China. We
have a very strong economic relationship with China. Economic links to
China are important for the Australian economy and we have a broadly
based dialogue with China. With India, we have an economic
relationship that is growing fast, it hasn’t reached the dimensions –
yet - of our relationship with China but we also have ties of history
that are important, we share broadly a similar institutional framework
in terms of our system of government, our judicial system, the rule of
law and very important, in my view, we’re both democracies, we’re both
pluralist societies that are bigger than the sum of our parts. I think
all of those elements of the relationship with India will help us
build a stronger bilateral relationship. I don’t think there’s much
mileage in comparing Australia’s relationship with India and its
relationship with China because these are not zero-sum games. We build
our relationship with India across a very broad front. But we don’t
see this as coming at the expense of other relationships.

Do you think it’s characteristic of the Indian establishment
constantly to compare, for instance, America’s relationship with India
and with Pakistan; Australia’s relationship with India and with
China?

If it is, it’s not something that struck me or has been raised with
me. In relation to Australia, I haven’t had the sense that the Indian
establishment – whoever they may be – are approaching the issue in
that way. And I don’t think that what Australia does with China should
be seen by any one in India as having a negative impact on India’s
interests.

But, how can India not help but be irritated when Australia votes on
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a way identical to China’s view of
Arunachal Pradesh?

I don’t think it is identical to the Chinese position. The last time I
checked, I don’t think China would have been an enthusiastic supporter
of having the India country strategy (of the ADB) include projects in
Arunachal Pradesh, which is Australia’s position. We were a strong
supporter of including Arunachal Pradesh in the India country
strategy. This is why I think to see Australia’s position as pro-
China, anti-India is quite mistaken. We did support an ADB management
position because we accepted the ADB management’s view that it didn’t
want to be drawn into a bilateral border dispute. But it didn’t affect
our support for projects in Arunachal Pradesh being funded by the ADB
under the India country strategy.

So do you believe Arunachal Pradesh is part of India?

Australia doesn’t take a position on bilateral border disputes. Our
view is that bilateral border disputes should be resolved peacefully
between the two claimants. We don’t take a position one way or the
other but as I said, we were supportive of the ADB funding projects in
Arunachal Pradesh as part of the India country strategy.

Would you regard yourself as Australia’s best advertisement for multi-
cultural inclusiveness here in India, right now?

I wouldn’t regard myself as an advert in any way. Look, the best
advert for Australian multi-culturalism is the journey we have taken
in Australia from where we were in the 1950s to where we are in 2009.
In other words, in the space of one generation, to be able to move
from a society, which formally still practised the ‘white Australian’
policy, to a country in 2009, which is composed of people from every
part of the world. I think that’s the best advertisement for
Australian multi-culturalism.

But could there be a better advertisement for Australian multi-
cultural inclusiveness here in India right now than you?

I view my position here as an Australian diplomat who happens to have
an Indian background rather than putting the stress on having the
Indian background.

That’s true but surely, you can’t fail to notice that if anyone says
Australia is racist, you can reply, ‘look at me. I represent the
country’.

To that extent, obviously, to have someone represent Australia from as
multi-cultural a background as I have must say something about the
broader Australian community. But it’s not something I want to wear on
my sleeve.

It must be very difficult for you? Correct me if I’m wrong but some
countries’ policy was never to post one such as yourself to represent
them in India, land of their ethnic origin?

In the past, some countries certainly had that policy. I’m not sure
too many today would have the same.

So, what has changed?

The world has changed. The number of people who might potentially be
posted to a country that they had some connection with has grown a
lot. And I think our systems have more confidence in the
professionalism and the undivided loyalties of their citizens. That’s
a good thing because it can be an advantage.

It can if you speak the language. Do you speak any Indian language?

No, I don’t.


So how can it be an advantage? Is it just that you’re more likely than
an Anglo-Saxon Australian diplomat to know Indian mindsets in your
bones?

Having an Indian heritage and growing up with India, in a sense, being
a backdrop to your life, may help in understanding the place a little
bit better and in communicating with the Indians but I’m not saying
this is a clear-cut example of a clear advantage. I’m just saying it
may help.

Do you have family here in India?

I’ve got a lot of family in Kerala. I can’t say I’ve kept in close
touch with all of my family in Kerala but there are some family
members – uncles and cousins – that I have kept in touch with. All my
mother’s and father’s side of the family, they’re all still in Kerala,
so, it’s a large family tree.

So it’s not a close relationship you have with your parents’
families?

I haven’t been to Kerala since 1994 – that’s the last visit I made and
that was a very brief visit. And before that, I was in Kerala in 1973
I think. I’m not a regular visitor, you can see.

When did you get to Australia?

I was only eight.

Are you totally Australian? Do you have Australian ‘cultural habits’?

I regard myself as an Australian and it would be impossible for me to
do my job if I didn’t regard myself as Australian. I consider my,
well,‘cultural habits, my lifestyle, my values, my worldview to be
very Australian.

I deliberately used the term ‘cultural habits’ because in January, a
43-year-old Filipino machine operator in Townsville, Queensland, was
sacked for using water rather than toilet paper. It was said to be a
very un-Australian ‘cultural habit’. It happened on Australia day.

Really, on Australia day?

Yes. And it struck me at the time that if this could happen, what hope
then of any accommodation with Indian students with their very
distinct ‘cultural habits’?

I don’t know that case so I don’t know what all the facts were. But in
Australia you can’t arbitrarily go round sacking people. We do have a
system of rights and protections, which would apply to everyone and
so, if in this case, there was an element of arbitrariness, there is a
bit of recourse available. But not knowing the complete
circumstances...I don’t think those sort of incidents add up to a huge
amount.

Sure, but what lessons if any, for Indian students who are of a
different cultural construct from Australians, mainly because they
aren’t from the metros but small town India?

Well, people come to Australia from all sorts of backgrounds – urban
backgrounds, rural backgrounds. Some may be familiar with life in a
sophisticated western environment and others may not. And for all of
them, there will be a period of adaptation, some more quickly than
others. So to the extent that some of the Indian students coming to
Australia may be unfamiliar with the environment that Australia
represents – whether it’s the urban environment that they’re
unfamiliar with or the western lifestyle, is another reason for
students to be properly briefed before they come to Australia. That’s
one of the things we’re trying to do.

Australia needs the money Indian students provide; Indians need the
gloss provided by a ‘foreign’ education in Australia. Is it a
symbiotic relationship? A parasitic one? Or one that symbolizes the
law of the jungle – survival of the fittest?

I wouldn’t use any of those biological or Darwinian analogies. The
broad issue here is that there is a complementarity between the
education deficit in India and Australia’s capacity to offer education
to overseas students. I think that broad complementarity is a plus.
It’s a means of bringing Australia and India closer than they might
otherwise be. To the extent that we’ve had some problems, then,
they’re all eminently fix-able. That’s what we’re doing.

But with respect, High Commissioner, will you accept the fact that
Indian students with the best grades generally go to the US or UK and
head for Australia and New Zealand only if they can’t go elsewhere?

I don’t know if you can generalize to that extent because we clearly
are attracting Indian students to our top universities. They are high-
quality students and they choose to go to Australia and presumably
they had the option to go some of these other places you’ve mentioned.
But, they’ve chosen to come to Australia. So, I think Australian
education institutions – the good ones, the high-quality ones – are
attracting good Indian students. But it’s also the case that many
Indian students are coming to Australia for vocational training. I
don’t think we should look down on them. Australia has a very well
established system of vocational training and to the extent that there
is a complementarity between what India needs for its skills base and
what we have to offer, I say all the better. I don’t think we should
get too concerned about the fact that there may be many Indians going
to Australia for vocational training.

Is it true that you’re trying to come up with ways to provide an
Australian education to people who want it here in India?

As a supplementary part of the educational relationship. The Indian
government itself is now thinking seriously about permitting foreign
educational providers to set up in India and if that proves to be the
case, that’s something Australian education-providers ought to look
at. I don’t know whether they will or not. These aren’t decisions that
governments make. We don’t direct educational institutions to set up
shop in other countries. But I would hope that if the regulatory
environment in India is changed to allow foreign campuses or education
providers to operate here, then I would hope that some Australian
educational institutions would take up that opportunity. We do have
experience amongst our educational institutions of operating in other
countries.

Tell me about the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) you’re working on. By
when can we expect it and what will it do for us and for you?

We have to take things a step at a time. The first step was to conduct
a feasibility study and we’re very close to finishing it. My
expectation is that the feasibility study will recommend an FTA, or in
favour of commencing negotiations on FTA. Then it would be up to the
governments of each country to decide if they want to take it forward.
Our view would be that there would be benefit in starting an FTA
negotiation and in concluding as comprehensive an FTA as possible. But
how long that will take or whether both sides will agree to that soon,
that’s not in my hands. These are issues for the two governments to
resolve. In terms of the benefit, like all FTAs, we would hope that it
would facilitate trade and investment, address market-access issues.

What do you want to import that India doesn’t let you so far?

We’d look at an FTA covering goods and services and that would involve
gaining better access than we currently do in a range of sectors. To
take just one example, we’d be interested in having access to legal
services in India. If you look at India’s agricultural sector, we’d be
interested in issues like ‘logistics supply plans’.

But not retail? Not supermarkets? Because that ‘aint happening?

I don’t want to pre-empt what Australian businesses might be
interested in doing. It’s not the government’s job to advise business
to do x, y or z. The government’s job is to create an environment
which is as conducive to business interaction as possible. So ideally,
if an Australian supermarket chain wanted to set up shop in India, in
an ideal world, we’d hope there were no impediments. Whether
Australian supermarket chains are queuing up to do that is a separate
question. But FTA negotiators focus on the regulatory systems and the
impediments to trade and investment. The fewer of those impediments
the better. No country is going to lift all impediments, all
restrictions because all countries have distinct reasons – good or bad
– to impose some restrictions. But FTAs are meant to reduce them too.

So the FTA could take years, if it happened at all?

If you look at the history of FTA regulations, many have taken years.
But we might set a precedent and conclude an FTA very quickly.

A cheesy last question. Which culinary dish best represents Australia
to you, who is of Indian ethnicity, and which Indian dish spells India
to you?

This is actually quite a complicated question. It’s not got a simple
answer because there is no typically Australian dish. Although, you’ll
have many people who’d say something like a meat pie is typically
Australian. Or a chicko-roll, which you probably don’t know.

I can guess. Like a pepperoni roll?

Like a spring roll with vegetables and meat inside. Or a pavlova
(could be typically Australian) though New Zealand might argue. My
view is that the characteristic feature of Australian cuisine now is
that it is eclectic. It draws from all different culinary styles and
what might make it uniquely Australian is the quality of the
ingredients. The particular mix – fusion cooking has become very
popular – means that it’s not unusual for an Australian family in the
space of one week to eat food from two or three different culinary
traditions. They might have pasta one night, stir-fry the next, a
curry or something or a steak and veg. It’s now become the pattern of
eating in Australia to reach into different culinary traditions, which
are all there because of the migrant experience. Incidentally, that
makes Australians very good travelers because they’re not scared of
‘foreign’.

But it is a bit mongrel?

Oh yeah. Culture is an eclectic thing. But you can write books about
what is Australian cuisine and still not get an answer.

So what’s your favourite dish symbolizing India, round here, not in
Australia?

We still as a family, twice a year, have appam and duck curry for
breakfast at Easter and Christmas, which is a Kerala tradition. And
we’ve maintained it all these years. And even the next generation – my
nephews and nieces, who’ve married and had children, maintain the
tradition.

That’s resolutely Indian?

Yes, resolutely Indian.

Not like most Australian food that’s pretty non-specific?

Yes.

A bit like the country perhaps?

A bit like the country, yes. What makes a dish distinctively
Australian? I suppose, anything cooked by an Australian becomes an
Australian dish.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/325325_Schemes-to-get-NRI-scientists-back-home

Schemes to get NRI scientists back home
STAFF WRITER 11:19 HRS IST

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) India has stepped up its drive to attract NRI
scientists back to their homeland as part of efforts to boost quality
research in universities and institutes across the country.

The re-entry programmes, launched by the Department of Biotechnology
(DBT), offer scientists a handsome remuneration, an institute of their
choice to work and freedom to take up research (PhD) scholars under
their wings.

The programmes -- DBT-Wellcome Trust Fellowships, Ramalingaswami
Fellowships and DBT Science Chair -- have generated "great enthusiasm"
among the NRI scientists, who are keen to get back to their
motherland.

"I am flooded with applications for the re-entry packages," Maharaj
Kishan Bhan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, told PTI here.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indiansabroadinterviews/He-read-the-tea-leaves-and-made-a-fortune/Article1-463712.aspx

He read the tea leaves and made a fortune
October 10, 2009

First Published: 23:28 IST(10/10/2009)
Last Updated: 01:53 IST(11/10/2009)

“After coming to London in 1991, we took up a small room, which had
one table that two people would share. We started trading in tea and
now we have become the world’s second largest company in the tea
industry.”

There is no conceit lacing the voice of the founder and Managing
Director of Global Tea and Commodities, Nadeem Ahmed, but it is with
great pride that he says that he still hasn’t given up his Indian
passport, and neither have his two sons.

Sitting in his plush London home in the city’s post Regent Street,
Nadeem talks about his journey over the last 18 years and how he built
his empire using the ‘From bush to Cup’ strategy. “We bought several
tea gardens in African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi,
which the British Government was selling because they were suffering
heavy losses. In a few years, we reduced costs heavily and made them
profitable again.”

The grandson of tobacco businessman, Haji Ilahi, and son of Sir Abdul
Rahim, Nadeem entrusted the job to his trusted Indian managers. “I
used to take great interest in tea gardens in India, so I brought
plantation managers with me from India.”

Indian managers look after his tea plantations in Africa, and Global
Tea and Commodities, which employs 500 workers, imports tea from India
in huge quantities. This is mixed into the company’s noted brands such
as ‘Typhoo’ and ‘Brooke Bond’ to add flavour.

The company, with its annual turnover of £1billion (Rs 8,000 crore),
owns two of Britain’s popular tea brands —Typhoo and Brooke Bond — and
several other big products.

Born and brought up in Kolkata, Nadeem still visits India four-five
times in a year. “It feels very good to go home. Home is where the
family is, and my family is in Kolkata.”

His father, Sir Abdul Rahim, contributed greatly to the establishment
and running of schools, orphanages and hospitals. Perhaps it is his
father’s legacy that makes him say: “In India, businessmen don’t spend
even a small part of what they earn on society, the way Bill Gates has
done. In this, the Tata group has set a fine example. They have done
a lot for the country in the past 100 years.”

In Britain, Nadeem Ahmed’s ‘Typhoo’ brand had tough competition from
Tata’s ‘Tetley’ brand, but he says: “Tata is our competitor but in
social causes he is my inspiration.”

Nadeem does not believe that he had to ever face any difficulties in
Britain because of being an Indian. According to him, a more
equitable/ unbiased society than Britain would be hard to find in the
world.

A fashion and interior designer, his wife has artfully decorated his
home. A photograph of his two young sons taken near the Taj Mahal
hangs on the wall. “My older son is studying finance and accounting at
the London School of Economics, and the younger one is a brilliant
mathematician. He will go to the Imperial College.”

Nadeem wants to hand over his business to his sons in the future and
do some social work. Nadeem, who speaks clear and precise Hindi, says:
“Insha-Allah, I want to go to India and retire, and do social work
there.”


First of a 10-part BBC Hindi series on lesser-known Indians who have
made it big in the UK.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/indiansabroad/Our-party-is-the-real-sakti-of-ethnic-Indians-MIC/Article1-464149.aspx

Our party is the real sakti of ethnic Indians: MIC
Press Trust Of India
Kuala Lumpur, October 12, 2009

First Published: 13:36 IST(12/10/2009)
Last Updated: 13:38 IST(12/10/2009)

As a new ethnic Indian party was launched this weekend, country's
largest ethnic Indian political party, Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC)
claimed it is the real sakti or power of the minority community in
Kuala Lumpur.

Reacting on the formation of 'Makkal Sakti', or People's Power, that
vowed to serve the ethnic Indian population in the country, the deputy
president of MIC G Palanivel said their party "was not a new baby" but
a 63-year-old born in a temple.

"The MIC was created out of an intense fire which still burns in the
heart of every MIC member. It was born out of nationalism and a party
which is a signatory to the Merdeka (independence) Agreement,"
Palanivel said.

Asserting that MIC is working hard on the ground, he said ethnic
Indians have an emotional link with it and recalled that country’s
first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had once said: "Even if there
was only one Indian in the MIC, I would only talk to the MIC."

"But unfortunately we no longer live in the era of leaders like
Tunku," he said.

Malaysia's ethnic Indians, mostly Tamils, comprise eight per cent of
the country's population of 27 million people.

He said it is the widespread anger against Barisan that resulted in
its defeat in 2008 general elections and is unfair to blame MIC for
it.

"The MIC is only a minority. So, how could it have brought about the
downfall of the coalition. How can we alone bring about the fall of
the strong Barisan governments in Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor,"
Palanivel said.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/indians-abroad/restofasia/Samy-Vellu-must-step-down-says-Malaysia-s-Mahathir/Article1-455529.aspx

Samy Vellu must step down, says Malaysia's Mahathir
Indo-Asian News Service
Kuala Lumpur, September 19, 2009

First Published: 00:50 IST(19/9/2009)
Last Updated: 00:54 IST(19/9/2009)

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, in a fresh broadside
against Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president S. Samy Vellu,
Friday called him "a liability" and demanded that he step down.

Mahathir criticised Vellu for the second time in a week, saying that
his leadership of the MIC "has failed", reported NST Online, the
website of the New Straits Times.

Vellu, 74, who has been MIC president since 1979, was re-elected for
the ninth time some weeks ago. His term lasts till 2012.

The MIC, which has traditionally spoken for Malaysia's nearly two
million ethnic Indian community, is a constituent of the ruling
coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) since Malaysia became independent in
1957.

Mahathir warned that Vellu "will become a liability to the BN in the
next general election, deue in 2013, because his leadership has
failed".

The BN lost its two-thirds majority in parliament in the general
election in March last year and control of five of 13 states, when a
bulk of ethnic indians was perceived to have moved away from it.

The MIC was reduced to three seats in parliament and Vellu himself
lost his 11th attempt at re-election to parliament.

Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia for two decades, when Vellu had served as
a minister under him, said he was worried that the people's support
for the Barisan would erode and the coalition would be the 'victim'
because Samy Vellu was still leading the MIC.

"Samy Vellu must step down as party president because he must take
responsibility for the party's failure in the last general election
and for his own loss," Mahathir said in an interview with Bernama, the
official news agency.

"If we look at other countries, whenever a leader fails, he resigns.
In Japan he commits harakiri. We're not asking him (Samy Vellu) to
commit harakiri. You (Samy Vellu) have failed to lead the MIC until
you yourself lost," he said.

Mahathir had said in an interview on the eve of the MIC's general
assembly last week that Vellu had "stayed too long".

Vellu flayed this remark after his team swept the MIC polls. An
overzealous delegate demanded that a "shoe garland" be placed around
Mahathir's portrait. Vellu suspended him and apologised to Mahathir.

"I will meet him (Mahathir) personally to explain the whole episode
and extend my apology," Vellu said in a statement, The Star reported
Friday.

Mahathir said he did not feel anything about the incident and added:
"Nothing would have happened to me."

Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003, said he had "a right" to criticise
Vellu, or anyone, for the sake of BN's future.

Known for his acerbic tongue, Mahathir had run a campaign against his
hand-picked successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Badawi stepped down as the prime minister in April after the coalition
fared badly in the election.

"Malaysian leaders still do not understand that when they fail they
should resign of their own volition, no need for others to tell them.
When you fail, your party fails. You are responsible," he said.

Mahathir said: "Samy Vellu performed worse than Pak Lah (Badawi) but
he did not want to relinquish the post. He should have resigned before
things got to this stage.

"I've criticised Pak Lah, who's Samy Vellu that I cannot criticise?"

Badawi's successor and present Prime Minister Najib Tn Razak who
addressed the MIC assembly last Saturday also asked the party leaders
to "reach out to the Indian community" and win back their support.

It was not enough to be popular within party ranks, he told the MIC
leaders in a apparent reference to internecine squabbles.

They should not be seen as "arrogant", Razak told them.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Ismail-Merchant-collection-fetches-653000-pounds/articleshow/5102431.cms

Ismail Merchant collection fetches 6,53,000 pounds
PTI 8 October 2009, 05:48pm IST

LONDON: India-born and internationally acclaimed film producer, Ismail
Merchant's collection of paintings and other items was sold here for
6,53,000 pound at leading auction house Christie's.

The top lot of Merchant's collection comprised the painting "The Thugs
of India: halt at the shrine of Ganesh" by August Theodor Schoefft, a
19th century Hungarian artist, who also worked at the court of Ranjit
Singh in Lahore. It fetched 91,250 pounds, a Christie's statement said
today.

"The fact that the sale did so well, nearly reaching its top estimate,
is a tribute to Ismail Merchant's taste as a collector, and the
variety of all the objects he assembled. There was something for
everyone. What a pity he wasn't at Christie's this morning - how he
would have loved it," James Ivory, partner of late Ismail Merchant
said.

The other items in this rare collection were films props and posters
from the late producer's movies.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Hip-hop-star-with-Punjab-roots-tops-US-charts/articleshow/5108142.cms

Hip-hop star with Punjab roots tops US charts
PTI 10 October 2009, 04:04am IST

NEW YORK: Indian-origin British artist Jay Sean aka Kamaljit Singh
Jhooti has grabbed the number one spot on America’s ‘Billboard 100’
chart with his debut song “Down” featuring hip-hop star Lil Wayne.

The 28-year-old shot ahead of artists like Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and
Kanye West on the Billboard, which lists the most popular songs in the
US. “Down,” is his debut single that topples ‘Black Eyed Peas’ song
that has ruled the top spot for a record-breaking 26 weeks. “This is
insane. It’s just incredible to have reached No 1 with my first
release in America. It’s difficult for me to put into words. My head
is spinning,” the artist said.

Sean’s parents came from Punjab to UK and settled in Southall, where
the singer of Sikh Punjabi descent was born. True to his roots, the
performer made a guest appearance in Bollywood film ‘Kya Kool Hai
Hum’, and performed at the Zee Cine Awards with a combination of
bhangra and hip hop.

“I’ve been grinding hard for the last seven years releasing records
independently and now to have the biggest record in the US this week,
its just a dream come true,” said Sean, who dropped out of medical
school to pursue a career in music.

Sean’s first album in 2004, ‘Me Against Myself’, became a huge success
in India. Last year, he went to Mumbai, Noida, Hyderabad and Pune on
his first tour of the country. Later this month, he will join Justin
Timberlake at a concert benefiting hospitals for children.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Indian-student-goes-missing-in-NZ-family-suspects-foul-play/articleshow/5115764.cms

Indian student goes missing in NZ, family suspects 'foul play'
PTI 12 October 2009, 03:41pm IST

MELBOURNE: An Indian student has gone missing in Auckland, New Zealand
and his close relatives, with whom he was living, suspect 'foul play'
in his disappearance.

23 year-old Srikanth Rayadurgam, who was to start a diploma in
culinary arts at Auckland University of Technology, is reported
missing since October one, after he failed to return to his sister's
home in Mt. Albert, nzherald newspaper reported quoting local police.

Rayadurgam came to New Zealand in February and was living with his
older sister and her family and working part-time as a chef in an
Indian restaurant, before starting his course.

His desperate family launched a search for him after finding
Rayadurgam had withdrawn NZD 250 on the day he went missing. His
brother-in-law Nagesh Kakanoor found his empty wallet found dumped on
a cycle track nearby, his left shoe, bag and coat stuffed under a rock
on the beach.

Auckland police, on being informed, made aerial and boat searches in
the area and even sent vessel divers, but have still to trace the
missing Indian student.

"He would not have gone into the water. Based on the clues we have got
it's definitely foul play," Nagesh said, as the family awaits a word
on him.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commissioner has approached the New Zealand
authorities to extend all assistance to trace Rayadurgam.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://holocaustpictures.edublogs.org/2009/10/09/urban-nomads-in-paris-montana-blackfoot-indians-we-scantiness-the-airwaves/

Urban Nomads in Paris, Montana Blackfoot Indians
« We scantiness the airwaves oktober 9th, 2009 · Geen Reacties

Bill Kronblum, professor at CUNY, has had a identical fascinating
fixation. At times 14 he worked on a dairy acreage. He joined the
amity segment as it was started and taught chemistry and physics on
the Ivory Coast in French.

He lived with a polygamist family there, consisting of a inhibit,
three wives, and 14 children. In 1968 in the Northeast outskirts of
Paris, (zone militaire), where multifarious communist ideas were held,
he followed some gypsies on holiday the bus to their shantytown. There
are 250,000 Roma gypsies in the globe, and anent 80,000 currently in
Brooklyn. These were the Boyash gypsies, into a admit of the Roma
gypsies. Roma means people, so they were identical excusive in area
themselves Roma and anyone else was unmistakably not Roma. Gypsies
originated in India and their sophistication was Sanskrit. By the 14th
century they were in Europe.

The women in this gypsy family would be effective fortunes, and the
men would knock together up fenders and dents on cars.
The family Kronblum stayed with were the Ivanoviches. They were also
bestial traders who descended from brook baiters/showers, making a
living from showing bears doing tricks. The Boyash in the belated 60’s
were review b reckon total number the conclusive people to do this:
the custom dated abandon to the 12th century but was in the absence of
gone away from at this without delay. He gave the Ivanoviches affluent
to prorogue with them and certificate them.

A inhibit named Atget invented this teachings, and took pictures of
the in any case gypsy modus operandi Kronblum stayed in. He was
interested in something called visual sociology: depicting sociology
in photos. Now there is a careless of gypsy piece of good luck in
Europe. They are seen as the lowest conformation of people.

Additionally, 650,000 Romas were killed in the Holocaust. This made
him more au courant of the state of excitement of relationships
between people pertaining to other species.
Kronblum was sent to Montana to analyze a job that convoluted
Blackfoot Indians, whites, and bears. When whites came, the Blackfoot
attacked stainless settlers. The buffalo was the most cipher resource
on the Blackfeet, so things got grievous when Buffalo went dead, in
agreement to the unhappiness of being confined in a qualification.
They tried to purposefulness prairie dogs as a resource.

When exemplar grease and gas was discovered on their acreage in the
1950’s they got a scads of riches, but from without delay to without
delay the resources were depleted they went abandon into deficit. They
went into ranching on a while with some good fortune. The astounding
into a admit was that they kept photos and documentation of their
modus operandi.

The bears in the Rockies started to feed-bag gone away from of brawl
cans and they no longer wanted to feed-bag their exemplar management:
berries, salmon, etc. Grizzly bears are distressful, so we needed to
hold these bears in their beset in some practice. But to be able this
modus operandi, affluent needed to point gone away from from the
whites within reach. A brawl accumulation was proposed, which the
Blackfoot Indians liked, because it would despair them jobs. Kronblum
was working on the department of the retired in the 90’s, and was sent
to Montana to demand to the core this job.

The whites told Kronblum that they didn’t need Indians encompassing
their houses. He not only develop a entranced discredit of Indians
next to whites, but also that Indians had a entranced competitive
against whites. His eyes were opened to how relations between people
can, and oftentimes subsist impressed other species. Solving the state
of excitement of the bears was farcical without teamwork between the
whites and Indians. An bite of this is that whites had pigs that would
pass encompassing peculiarly in the clam beds from which Indians got
their nutriment. Thus, multifarious primordial issues of chute had to
do with non-human species. Because there was no teamwork, the brook
state of excitement got worse.

Bill Kronblum, professor at CUNY, has had a identical fascinating
fixation. Later on an infusion of topping improved the job. At times
14 he worked on a dairy acreage. He joined the amity segment as it was
started and taught chemistry and physics on the Ivory Coast in
French.

He lived with a polygamist family there, consisting of a inhibit,
three wives, and 14 children. These were the Boyash gypsies, into a
admit of the Roma gypsies. In 1968 in the Northeast outskirts of
Paris, (zone militaire), where multifarious communist ideas were held,
he followed some gypsies on holiday the bus to their shantytown.

There are 250,000 Roma gypsies in the globe, and anent 80,000
currently in Brooklyn. Roma means people, so they were identical
excusive in area themselves Roma and anyone else was unmistakably not
Roma. Gypsies originated in India and their sophistication was
Sanskrit.

The family Kronblum stayed with were the Ivanoviches. By the 14th
century they were in Europe. The women in this gypsy family would be
effective fortunes, and the men would knock together up fenders and
dents on cars. They were also bestial traders who descended from brook
baiters/showers, making a living from showing bears doing tricks. The
Boyash in the belated 60’s were review b reckon total number the
conclusive people to do this: the custom dated abandon to the 12th
century but was in the absence of gone away from at this without
delay. He was interested in something called visual sociology:
depicting sociology in photos.

He gave the Ivanoviches affluent to prorogue with them and certificate
them. A inhibit named Atget invented this teachings, and took pictures
of the in any case gypsy modus operandi Kronblum stayed in. Now there
is a careless of gypsy piece of good luck in Europe. They are seen as
the lowest conformation of people.

Kronblum was sent to Montana to analyze a job that convoluted
Blackfoot Indians, whites, and bears. Additionally, 650,000 Romas were
killed in the Holocaust. This made him more au courant of the state of
excitement of relationships between people pertaining to other
species. When whites came, the Blackfoot attacked stainless settlers.
The buffalo was the most cipher resource on the Blackfeet, so things
got grievous when Buffalo went dead, in agreement to the unhappiness
of being confined in a qualification. They went into ranching on a
while with some good fortune.

They tried to purposefulness prairie dogs as a resource. When exemplar
grease and gas was discovered on their acreage in the 1950’s they got
a scads of riches, but from without delay to without delay the
resources were depleted they went abandon into deficit. The astounding
into a admit was that they kept photos and documentation of their
modus operandi.
The bears in the Rockies started to feed-bag gone away from of brawl
cans and they no longer wanted to feed-bag their exemplar management:
berries, salmon, etc. A brawl accumulation was proposed, which the
Blackfoot Indians liked, because it would despair them jobs. Grizzly
bears are distressful, so we needed to hold these bears in their beset
in some practice.

But to be able this modus operandi, affluent needed to point gone away
from from the whites within reach. Kronblum was working on the
department of the retired in the 90’s, and was sent to Montana to
demand to the core this job. The whites told Kronblum that they didn’t
need Indians encompassing their houses. Solving the state of
excitement of the bears was farcical without teamwork between the
whites and Indians. He not only develop a entranced discredit of
Indians next to whites, but also that Indians had a entranced
competitive against whites. His eyes were opened to how relations
between people can, and oftentimes subsist impressed other species.

An bite of this is that whites had pigs that would pass encompassing
peculiarly in the clam beds from which Indians got their nutriment.
Thus, multifarious primordial issues of chute had to do with non-human
species. Later on an infusion of topping improved the job. Because
there was no teamwork, the brook state of excitement got worse.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Obama-seeks-light-and-knowledge-from-Diwali/articleshow/5125834.cms

Obama seeks light and knowledge from Diwali
Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN 15 October 2009, 04:20am IST

WASHINGTON: In an expansive gesture to Indians worldwide as much as to
showcase his – and America’s -- multi-cultural affections, US
President US President Barack Obama lights an oil lamp during Diwali
celebrations in White House. (AFP Photo)

More Pictures

Related videos

More Videos »
Barack Obama on Wednesday lit a ceremonial Diwali lamp at the White
House to ''symbolize victory of light over darkness.'' ( Watch
Video )

Although it was the Bush White House that began celebrating Diwali,
the Indian festival of lights, in 2003, Obama became the first
President to personally grace the ceremony -- a brief affair that
began with a rather incongruous performance by the well-regarded Hindi
a-capella group Penn Masala, and ended with a Sanskrit invocation by a
priest from the local Siva-Vishnu temple.

''This coming Saturday, Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, here
in America and around the world, will celebrate this holiday by
lighting Diyas, or lamps, which symbolize the victory of light over
darkness, and knowledge over ignorance,'' Obama said on the occasion,
adding, ''And while this is a time of rejoicing, it's also a time for
reflection, when we remember those who are less fortunate and renew
our commitment to reach out to those in need.''

The Diwali ceremony shared the platform with another event where Obama
signed an executive order re-establishing the President’s advisory
committee and White House initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders. By hosting both events together, the U.S President, who is
clearly comfortable being a composite of American, Asia-Pacific, and
African cultures, brought together an unusual coalition in the White
House East Room of Asian-Americans, Indian-Americans, and Pacific
Islanders. All three groups have much in common as successful
minorities but seldom work together.

The half-hour East Room celebration was attended by a mixed crowd of
hyphenated Asians, Americans, and Indians. India’s Commerce Minister
Anand Sharma and Ambassador Meera Shankar dropped by, and several
Indian-Americans in administrative positions in Washington attended.

The White House kept it light and simple. A box of Indian mithai
(sweets) was placed on some 150 chairs that filled the East Room but
there was no food fest or song and dance.

After his remarks, much of which was devoted to the Asian-American
initiative, there was a single lamp that Obama lit from a candle. The
Siva-Vishnu temple priest, dressed in ceremonial togs with an enormous
three-forked tilak on his forehead, kept his invocation short --
chanting ''Asatoma Sadgamaya'' (Lead us from the unreal to the real,
from darkness to light, from death to liberation) from the
Upanishads.

Obama, having lit the White House diya (a word he handled with aplomb)
and wished everyone a ''Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak,'' listened
intently as the priest ended with ''Om Shanti Shanti.'' He returned
the priest’s Namaste and then shook his hands before striding out to
attend to the business of war.

''Thank you Mr President for being the first president to come to the
Diwali ceremony,'' a gadabout journalist called out to Obama. ''Yes,
how about that,’’ the President shot back.

The President spent much of the morning with his ''war
council'' (formally, the national security team) in the White House
Situation room assessing US strategy in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Indian-American-Bharat-Desai-among-Forbes-eight-self-made-stars-/articleshow/5128294.cms

Indian-American Bharat Desai among Forbes eight self-made stars
IANS 15 October 2009, 08:02pm IST

WASHINGTON: Indian-American billionaire Bharat Dasai has been featured
in Forbes annual list of America's 200 Best Small Companies among
"eight self-made stars who have built tidy empires in an array of
industries".

"Small companies can yield big fortunes, especially if you run the
show," said the US business magazine on Thursday.

"One of the self-made members on our list, billionaire Bharat Dasai,
is the 212th richest American, by Forbes estimates."

His wealth vehicle: Syntel, the information-technology services
provider that Dasai founded with wife Neerja Sethi, in Troy, Michigan,
in 1980. The company went public in 1997 as the tech boom raged.

Kenya-born Dasai started Syntel (No. 27 on Forbes Best Small Companies
list) while doing his MBA from the University of Michigan.

Last February, Dasai stepped down as chief executive, but as chairman
of the board, he maintains a 43 percent stake in his company. "That's
a good thing when your company just cleared $101 million on $405
million in revenue in the last 12 months," commented Forbes asking:
"What recession?"

"He has strategic chops to spare: He played for India in the 1994
bridge world championship."

Forbes annual list of America's 200 Best Small Companies features
outfits that have annual revenue between $5 million and $750 million,
have been publicly traded for at least a year and have a stock price
no lower than $5.

"In most cases, the original founders have moved on, sold out or no
longer play a key role in the operations. But a handful of these high
fliers are still controlled by the savvy entrepreneurs who birthed
them," Forbes noted, listing the eight stars.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Indian-American-legislator-raises-400000-for-Congress-bid/articleshow/5126968.cms

Indian-American legislator raises $400,000 for Congress bid
IANS 15 October 2009, 01:02pm IST

WASHINGTON: Raj Goyle, an Indian-American member of the Kansas House
of Representatives, has set a record by raising $403,083.68 during his
first three months as a candidate for Congress.

The amount is the highest amount of money ever raised in the first
quarter by a challenger in the history of Kansas' 4th Congressional
District, according to Examiner.com.

Goyle had also set a record for raising the most money ever for a
state house race when he ran for office the first time in 2006.

He set a record by winning that election and serving the 87th district
as the first Indian-American member of the Kansas legislature. He may
have set a record for the youngest freshman legislator to take a major
piece of legislation onto the floor and have it passed.

Now he wants to set the record of being the first Indian-American to
serve Kansas' 4th Congressional District, only the third ever to serve
in the US House of Representatives.

"I'm proud to have the support of so many people," Goyle said. Goyle
got contributions from over 800 individual donors. Half of the
contributions to his campaign were $100 or less.

Goyle was elected to the Kansas State House of Representatives in
2006, defeating a three-term incumbent. Goyle won re-election in 2008
with 67 percent of the vote.

He is seeking the seat now held by Todd Tiahrt, who is not running for
re-election in order to run for the Senate.

Among the Republican candidates are businessmen Mike Pompeo and Wink
Hartman as well as state senators Dick Kelsey and Jean Schodorf.

Kansas' 4th Congressional District has been in Republican hands since
1994 when Tiahrt unseated Democratic Rep. Dan Glickman.

The Wichita-based district went 58 percent for Sen. John McCain last
year and 64 percent for President George Bush in 2004. It includes all
or parts of 11 southeast Kansas counties.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/333914_Egyptian-sentenced-to-life-for-killing-NRI-in-UK

Egyptian sentenced to life for killing NRI in UK
STAFF WRITER 12:13 HRS IST
Prasun Sonwalkar

London, Oct 16 (PTI) An Egyptian illegal immigrant who stabbed to
death and then robbed an Indian-origin resident in the London suburb
of Wembley has been jailed for life.

In the Old Bailey court, Judge Giles Forrester termed Egyptian Sami
Salama, 37, as a "vicious and callous" murderer for killing 48-year-
old Dilip Unadkat, a shop worker in West End, in the bedroom of his
flat Wembley, in November 2008.

Judge Forrester ruled that Salama went to Unadkat's flat intending to
kill him and then stole thousands of pounds worth of family jewellery
he had recently brought back from a trip to India.

Salama stabbed Unadkat five times through the chest, and then covered
the body with a moisturiser to hide DNA evidence.

He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years, and will be
deported when he is eventually released.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Three-Indian-students-thrashed-robbed-in-Australia/articleshow/5134529.cms

Three Indian students thrashed, robbed in Australia
PTI 17 October 2009, 02:35pm IST

MELBOURNE: In the backdrop of racial attacks against Indians, three
students of the community were bashed and robbed when they were
returning home at night.

The latest incident took place on Thursday night at around 10.30 pm
(local time) when the victims were on their way home from Sunshine
station along Anderson road, The Age reported.

Three to four persons approached the victims from behind near Derby
Road Reserve demanding their wallets and cellphones, the police said
in the report.

One of the victims a 26-year-old student from Sunshine handed over his
wallets and mobile phone and escaped from the spot, the report said.

While the other two students aged 24 and 27 were thrashed by the
offenders who also stole their cellphones.

The 24-year-old man received head injuries in the attack and the 27-
year-old man suffered soreness to his upper body, the report said.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Two-Indian-Americans-among-six-held-in-US-for-insider-trading/articleshow/5134117.cms

Two Indian Americans among six held in US for insider-trading
PTI 17 October 2009, 10:27am IST

NEW YORK: Six persons, including two Indian Americans and a Sri Lanka-
born billionaire, have been arrested in connection with the largest
hedge fund insider-trading ever.

Besides Tamil-origin Raj Rajaratnam, the founder of Galleon Group, the
two Indian Americans identified as Anil Kumar (51) and Rajiv Goel (51)
were arrested in the USD 20 million hedge fund insider-trading case
yesterday, said Preet Bharara, the US Attorney for the Southern
District of New York.

While Rajaratnam is a resident of New York, Kumar and Goel live in
California. The other three involved in this case, unveiled today, are
Danielle Chiesi (43) from New York; Robert Moffat (53) from
Connecticut and Mark Kurland (60) from New York.

If convicted all of them face imprisonment of up to 20 years,
according to the indictment, which reads that the defendants
"routinely received inside information directly or indirectly from
insiders and provided it to each other for the purpose of trading
based on the information", filed in the US court.

Noting that this should be a wakeup call for the Wall Street, Bharara
-- an Indian American recently appointed to this powerful post by US
President Barack Obama -- termed it as a decisive action against fraud
on the Wall Street. PTI LKJ BS

"It should be a wakeup call for every hedge fund manager and every
Wall Street trader and every corporate executive who is even thinking
about engaging in insider trading," Bharara said.

"As the defendants in this case have now learned the hard way, they
may have been privy to a lot of confidential corporate information,
but there was one secret they did not know: we were listening," he
said.

"Today, tomorrow, next week, the week after, privileged Wall Street
insiders who are considering breaking the law will have to ask
themselves one important question: Is law enforcement listening?"
Bharara said in a statement.

"Make no mistake -- the USD 20 million in illicit profits come at the
expense of the average public investor," Joseph Demarest, Assistant
Director-in-Charge of the New York Office, said.

"Where knowledgeable businessmen are unscrupulous and act without
control, the result is unadulterated greed. The FBI's role in
combating white collar crime is to ensure integrity in the
marketplace, to protect the average investor, and by extension, the
economy," he said.

According to the two complaints unsealed in Manhattan federal court,
Rajaratnam, Kurland, Chiesi, and others repeatedly traded on material,
non-public information given as tips by insiders and others at hedge
funds, public companies, and investor relations firms -- including
Intel, IBM, McKinsey, Moody's Investors Services Inc., Market Street
Partners, Akamai Technologies, Inc. and Polycom Inc.

As a result of their insider trading, Rajaratnam, Chiesi, Kurland and
others earned millions of dollars of illegal profits for themselves
and the hedge funds with which they were affiliated.

One of the insiders, Kumar, profited from investments in Galleon.
Goel, also an insider, received profitable trades in a personal
account managed by Rajaratnam, the complaints said.

Telephone conversations between Rajaratnam and Chiesi, intercepted
based on court-authorised wiretaps of phones, as well as consensually
recorded conversations with an individual who subsequently became a
cooperating government witness (the CW), revealed that Rajaratnam,
Kurland, Chiesi and the CW routinely received inside information
directly or indirectly from insiders and provided it to each other for
the purpose of trading based on the information.

The material, non-public information pertained to upcoming earnings
forecasts, mergers, acquisitions, or other business combinations (the
Inside Information), said the statement issued by the Department of
Justice.

Galleon Group is a hedge fund with up to USD 7 billion in assets under
management. Out of the USD 20 million, Rajaratnam alone made USD 12.7
million in illegal profits for Galleon.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Forced-to-eat-beef-NRIs-wife-gets-divorce/articleshow/5133285.cms

Forced to eat beef, NRI's wife gets divorce
Shibu Thomas, TNN 17 October 2009, 03:08am IST

MUMBAI: A man forcing his traditional Indian wife to consume beef,
pork and alcohol, forcing her to pose in skimpy clothes and uploading
such photographs on a website amounts to cruelty, the Bombay high
court has decreed. A division bench of Justice P B Majumdar and
Justice R V More on Friday upheld a family court order allowing a
Ghatkopar resident to divorce her US-based husband.

"This is an eye-opener for parents whose daughter is going to marry a
person settled in a foreign country," said the judges. "In such cases
they are required to take appropriate care to find out the credentials
of the person who has settled in the other country. If the matrimonial
knot is tied without proper verification, it may result in serious
difficulties, as has happened in the present case."

Naina, 32, married California resident Ritesh Karnik (36) in June 2002
in Nashik according to Hindu Vedic rites and moved to the US with him.
Their marital bliss did not last long, with Naina returning to India
within seven months and filing for divorce.

The aggrieved wife claimed that after reaching the US, Ritesh insisted
on her discarding her traditional lifestyle for the American one. He
made her cut her hair and eat beef and pork, even asking her to cook
meat on days when she was fasting, "showing no respect for Gods and
Hindu deities". When she refused, he would deny her money to buy
Indian food, and she had to survive on bread and jam. Her other
grievances: on a trip to Hawaii, Ritesh forced her to wear "short and
vulgar dresses", "mix with boys and girls in parties" and later
uploaded her photographs on websites.

Ritesh's lawyers, while denying that he had uploaded her photographs,
argued that there was no cruelty in asking one's wife to cook a
certain food or wear a particular kind of outfit. "Naina married
Ritesh with the full knowledge that she was required to settle in
America. Consequently she cannot make any complaints regarding the
lifestyle which she was required to follow," Ritesh's advocate
contended, adding that she was expected to "adjust" to the environment
of the new country.

The judges, however, did not buy this argument. "It is not expected
from Naina to sacrifice her own culture and adopt an atmosphere which
may not suit a lady (brought up in a) different Indian culture
altogether," remarked the court. "To ask a wife to wear a particular
type of outfit or compelling her to take wine or alcohol, in our view,
can be said to be an act of cruelty to the wife. Even if the husband
compels the wife to mix with his friends when she is unwilling, it
would also amount to cruelty to her." The judges also took a strong
view of Naina's allegation that her photographs in short dresses of
the couple's trip to Hawaii were uploaded on websites under fake
profiles. "Normally no wife will tolerate the projection of her
photographs on websites," the judges said.

Naina told the court that she did not want any maintenance from
Ritesh. During the hearing of the appeal, Ritesh offered divorce if
Naina withdrew all the criminal cases she had registered against him
under the cyber crime laws for allegedly uploading her photographs.
Naina refused. The court also rejected Ritesh's plea for a retrial in
the family court — Ritesh had said that while he would not come to
India, his mother should be allowed to testify on his behalf.

(Names of the couple have been changed to protect their identities)

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnews.asp?articleID=17391

Sikh security officers to wear turban in US
Posted On Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Agencies

Washington, Oct 21:

Sikhs in US will be allowed to serve in uniform with their beards and
turbans under a legal settlement reached with the US Department of
Homeland Security, a Sikh advocacy group claimed on Wednesday.

In a statement, Sikh Coalition said the Department of Homeland
Security has agreed to pay Raghbir Singh, a Sikh who wears a beard and
turban in accordance with his religious beliefs, monetary damages for
his wrongful termination in 2005.
"Holding the federal government accountable for discriminating against
Sikhs sends a strong message to private employers. If the government
includes Sikh-Americans in its workforce, it should encourage other
employers to do the same," said Harsimran Kaur, legal director, Sikh
Coalition.

"Beyond monetary recognition, we're pleased the government recognised
the need to edit its policies to accommodate for religious
differences," said Khari Tillery, who represented Singh along with the
Sikh Coalition and Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.
"Singh's turba
n and beard did not affect his ability to perform his job duties and
he was an exemplary employee," he argued.

Singh is a former contracted federal security guard who was fired from
his Fresno post in 2005 when his supervisors reported that his beard
and religious turban failed to comply with homeland security uniform.

...and I am Sid Harth

[chhotemianinshallah]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Politics/Nation/Obama-appoints-Indian-American-Rajiv-Shah-to-head-USAID/articleshow/5217942.cms

Obama appoints Indian-American Rajiv Shah to head USAID
11 Nov 2009, 0842 hrs IST, Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN

WASHINGTON: Indian-Americans won one of their highest-ever
appointments in the US government when President Obama on Tuesday
nominated Dr Rajiv Shah as administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID).

Dr Shah, who currently serves as Under Secretary for Research,
Education and Economics and Chief Scientist at the US Department of
Agriculture, will take his new job after he is confirmed by the
Senate. With a budget of over $ 40 billion and nearly 2000 employees,
USAID is an independent federal agency that is responsible for most US
non-military foreign aid, the developmental face of Uncle Sam.

"The mission of USAID is to advance America's interests by
strengthening our relationships abroad. Rajiv brings fresh ideas and
the dedication and impressive background necessary to help guide USAID
as it works to achieve this important goal," President Obama said
while announcing Shah's nomination.

Shah, a graduate of University of Michigan, earned his M.D. from the
University of Pennsylvania Medical School and his Master of Science in
health economics at the Wharton School of Business. He also attended
the London School of Economics, before becoming a policy wonk,
variously working at the World Health Organisation, advising the Gore
2000 presidential campaign on health care policy, and most recently
before joining the Obama administration, serving as Director for
Agricultural Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

At USDA, he managed the Agricultural Research Service, the Economic
Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistical Service and
the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and was responsible
for overseeing more than 10,000 staff worldwide including 2,200
federal scientists and a budget of more than $2.6 billion. He also
launched the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) - a new
scientific institute created to elevate and enhance the capacity of
agricultural research to address sustainable food production, climate
change, bioenergy and human nutrition.

But the job as USAID administrator is a major promotion, elevating him
to a crucial job that involves advancing US foreign policy objectives
by supporting economic growth, agriculture and trade; health;
democracy, conflict prevention, and humanitarian assistance. Although
its predecessor agency International Cooperation Administration dates
back to World War II and the Marshall Plan, USAID was formally
constituted in 1961 and is considered a crucial foreign policy arm of
the US government.

The agency typically receives foreign policy guidance from the
Secretary of State, and expectedly, Hillary Clinton warmly welcomed
the Shah's appointment, describing him as a "leader in the development
community, an innovative and results-oriented manager, and someone who
understands the importance of providing people around the world with
the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty and chart their
own destinies."

"A trained medical doctor and health economist, Raj has the skills and
experience to lead a reinvigorated USAID in the 21st century. He has a
record of delivering results in both the private and public sectors,
forging partnerships around the world, especially in Africa and Asia,
and developing innovative solutions in global health, agriculture, and
financial services for the poor," Clinton said in a statement.

Shah will have his hands full once he is confirmed by the State since
the USAID administrator's post has been vacant for several months with
an acting administrator holding the fort after Obama came to office.
In fact, the nine-month vacancy at the top of USAID had attracted the
ire of Congress, whose members noted that it was the "only major
agency in the government without a captain at a time when American
leadership in development around the world is more needed than ever."

In a September 18 letter to Obama urging him to expeditiously appoint
a USAID administrator, Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar
complained that USAID has been shut out of the interagency processes
related to US policy in places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and
Iraq.

"We recommend that you give strong consideration to selecting a
candidate that has already gone through the vetting process and that
has experience in global development. We believe that time is of the
essence, and that the longer we wait for a new leader for the Agency,
the more serious the problems become," they said.

Iraq and Afghanistan are among the biggest recipients of USAID dollars
and Pakistan is soon expected to join the top ranks since much of the
US non-military assistance to Islamabad is expected to be sent through
USAID. As of September 2009, the USAID said it had contributed more
than $ 170 million in assistance to conflict-affected population in
Pakistan.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5231433.cms?flstry=1

OCI cardholders are hot for Indian assignments
15 Nov 2009, 1950 hrs IST, Ishani Duttagupta, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: The government’s decision to get tough on business visas
for foreigners has vastly improved the employability prospects of
thousands Most expensive cities for expats of Indian-origin people
settled overseas and triggered a surge in applications for the
overseas citizenship of India (OCI) scheme.

Until recently, the Indian government followed a liberal policy of
allowing a large number of occupations and employees of companies to
come to and work with business visas. But with the new rules, the
simpler business visa is restricted to a much smaller number of people
who can come to India to explore possibilities of setting up
businesses. The employment visa is mandatory for skilled and qualified
foreigners who come to India for employment.

Multinational companies are finding it simpler to hire these so-called
OCI cardholders, who enjoy a multiple entry, multipurpose life long
visa to visit India. The card provides a lifelong visa to the holder,
sparing them the need to obtain separate work permits.

For these cardholders, the OCI is also not just about an emotional
connect to their country of origin, it makes eminent business sense
too. Especially for erstwhile Indian nationals living in the west.

Predictably, Indian missions overseas are witnessing a deluge in OCI
applications, the number of OCI cards issued by consulates around the
world has risen to 501,339 in the second week of November 2009 from
around 350,000 issued in January this year. Several Indian consulates
are grappling with a huge backlog of applications.

“The countries from where we have the maximum demand include the US,
the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,” a senior official of the
ministry of overseas Indian affairs told SundayET. According to a
recent report by the Washington DC-based Migration Policy Institute,
43% of the OCI cards were issued through Indian consulates in the US
and 13% in the UK.

Launched in 2005, the OCI is the closest to any form of dual
citizenship permitted by India. Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), who
migrated from India and acquired citizenship of a foreign country
other than Pakistan and Bangladesh, are eligible for grant of OCI as
long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or
the other.

OCI holders are treated on par with NRIs for economic, financial and
educational matters and only don’t have political rights and rights to
buy agricultural and plantation properties. They are also exempt from
registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO)
on their arrival in the country.

Immigration and tax experts feel that the OCI card could gain further
traction and prominence as companies that need to send staff members
to India tap into their available pool of people of Indian origin.

“A MNC employee holding the OCI card could be a better choice to
deliver services in India,” says Kuldip Kumar, executive director for
tax and regulatory services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

KPMG executive director Vikas Vasal agreed, saying India’s growing
importance as an economic destination could boost the allure of the
OCI status.

Employment consultants say companies with large operations in India
are looking at their human resources pool to find OCI cardholders for
key positions in India. “This will definitely create more
opportunities for the pool of people of Indian origin within such
companies. In fact, even when hiring new people, many of these MNCs
will now look for PIOs with the available set of skills,” says Rajesh
Srinivasan, partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

With various global players looking at scaling up business operations
in India, it is often becoming necessary to quickly deploy highly
skilled resources in the country.

“OCI cardholders can travel at very short notice and take up
assignments in India, while others could get caught up in bureaucratic
delays over their employment visa. I know of many companies that are
following an active policy of moving PIOs to India for business
expansion,” says Mumbai-based immigration lawyer Poorvi Chothani.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Travel/Visa-Power/Indians-top-US-international-student-chart-for-eighth-year/articleshow/5235844.cms

Indians top US international student chart for eighth year
16 Nov 2009, 1542 hrs IST, PTI

HOUSTON: Despite the economic meltdown, India has maintained its
position as the top sender of students to America for the eighth
consecutive year, with a record 103,260 students enrolled in various
US universities for the year 2008-09.

According to the Open Doors report, released today by the Institute of
International Education (IIE) with support from the US Department of
State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the number of
international students at colleges and universities in the US
increased by 8 per cent to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008-09
academic year.

The 8 per cent rise in international student numbers is the largest
increase reported since 1980-81 and marks the third year of
significant growth.

India has once again surpassed China as the leading place of origin
for international students in the United States.

However, while Indian student enrolment increased by 9 per cent from
last year, that of China (98,510) shot up by 21 per cent. South Korean
enrolment (75,065) is up 9 per cent.

Open Doors 2009 reports that the number of "new" international
students -- those enrolled for the first time at a US college or
university in Fall 2008 -- increased by 16 per cent.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Travel/Visa-Power/UK-Parliamentarians-seek-English-test-for-visa-applicants/articleshow/5231059.cms

UK Parliamentarians seek 'English test' for visa applicants
15 Nov 2009, 1234 hrs IST, PTI

LONDON: As Britan moves to tighten rules for immigrants, top
parliamentarians have called for a compulsory "English test" for those
applying for UK NRI investments in India visas, a move that could
impact thousands of Indians seeking to move to the country.

The British lawmakers warned that stringent new checks were necessary
to curb abuses of the system and bring immigration "firmly and fairly
under control".

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling and the Liberal Democrat Home
Affairs spokesman Chris Huhne asked the three main parties to adopt a
"common approach" to immigration as Prime minister Gordon Brown vowed
to curb immigration to the UK.

Former Labour social security minister Frank Field and former
Conservative Party Defence Minister Nicholas Soames also underlined
the need for new restrictions on spouses coming into the country, the
Daily Mail said today.

They were quoted as saying by the British tabloid that immigrants
should demonstrate they can speak English so they can "participate
satisfactorily in our society, be able to find work, and know their
rights and responsibilities."

In an open letter to Home Secretary Alan Johnson, Grayling and Huhne
said "it is necessary to deal with a number of abuses of the present
system if immigration is to be brought more firmly and fairly under
control."

Those seeking entry to the UK currently have to complete such a test
before they are granted British citizenship, but the parliamentarians
want the 'English language test' to be made part of the process to be
extended to visa applicants.

Over the past three years, the UK has seen the introduction of e-
Borders to check individuals in and out of the country and the
implementation of the points-based system which ensures that only
those who benefit the economy can come here to work.

Prime Minister Brown vowed on Thursday to shut the doors to highly
skilled non-EU doctors and engineers, and said his government will
consider NRI investments in India denying visa to students seeking
entry to short-term programmes.

Brown has pledged to tighten the new points-based entry system before
the next general election in June next year as large-scale immigration
had put key public services in the country under severe strain and may
be turned into a key electoral issue by the right wing anti-immigrant
parties.


...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Travel/Visa-Power/Immigrants-now-require-permission-to-stay-in-UK/articleshow/5226656.cms

Immigrants now require 'permission' to stay in UK
13 Nov 2009, 1750 hrs IST, PTI

LONDON: Further tightening its noose on immigrants, the UK has
proposed a bill under which five current application categories
available to such NRI investments in India people will be replaced
with a clear-cut concept - 'permission' to be in the country.

Under the new Immigration Bill, immigrants will either be granted
permission or refused, making the rules easier for applicants and
staff.

Those in the United Kingdom must gain permission or face removal for
breaking the law.

These proposals are the next step in building on the rapid progress
the government has made in tightening up Britain's border controls.

Over the past three years the UK has seen the introduction of e-
Borders to check individuals in and out of the country and the
implementation of the points-based system which ensures that only
those who benefit the economy can come here to work.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown had announced that doors will
be shut to highly skilled non-EU doctors and engineers, and the
government will consider denying visa to students seeking entry to
short-term programmes.

In order to bring together the essential changes that have already
taken place, the government is proposing a new bill to bring forward a
new legal framework to simplify and consolidate 40 years of
immigration laws.

"This government has implemented the biggest overhaul of the
immigration system for a generation, and it is important that UK laws
reflect these changes," Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas
said.

"I believe that Parliament should be in primary control of immigration
- this bill will ensure that Parliament and not case law determines
policy," he added.

He said the draft immigration Bill will enable the government to work
more efficiently and is the next step in bringing together the strong
measures put in place to control our borders and making them simple to
use and enforce.

The new, temporary, time-limited, permission will be given for a
particular purpose to visit, work or study and is subject to
conditions such as access to work or public funds.

Permanent residents will be given permission without any time limit or
conditions attached.

The draft bill also proposes a new streamlined power of expulsion
replacing the current powers of deportation and removal, individuals
who are issued with an expulsion order will be required to leave the
UK and will not be able to re-enter while the order is in force.

A tough new menu of conditions is proposed for those on immigration
bail, including restrictions on residence, work or study, access to
public funds, and reporting and electronic monitoring.

The government also published proposals for a new streamlined asylum
support system wherein those plying with the rules will be rewarded
and tough stance will be taken against those who do not streamline the
current complex system of support.

"I believe our proposals strike a fair balance between supporting
asylum seekers while their claim is being determined and encouraging
the return of those who have no protection needs and who have no right
to be in the UK," Woolas said.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Travel/Visa-Power/UK-to-tighten-immigration-norms/articleshow/5224714.cms

UK to tighten immigration norms
13 Nov 2009, 0122 hrs IST, AGENCIES

LONDON: British prime minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday that
doctors and other professionals from outside Europe would be prevented
from taking up jobs in the country, in a crackdown on immigration.

Ahead of a major speech on immigration later on Thursday, Brown
pledged to tighten the points based system for determining which
migrants can work in Britain, saying immigration would fall under his
government.

“One of the reasons that immigration will fall is the tightening of
the new points system and it will continue to tighten over the next
few months,” Brown said in an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper.
Brown said immigration had been a source of “economic, social and
cultural strength for Britain”, but he understood concerns about the
impact of a rising population on employment, wages and the cost of
housing.

“I know people worry about whether immigration undermines their wages
and the job prospects of their children and they also worry about
whether they will get a decent home for their families,” he said.

“They want to be assured that the system is tough and fair. They want
to be assured that newcomers to the country will accept their
responsibilities... obey all the laws, speaking English is important,
making a contribution.” Britain faced a shortage of doctors and nurses
when Brown’s Labour Party came to power in 1997, and thousands have
been recruited from overseas in recent years.

“We have now done a huge amount to train a new generation of medical
staff in our country,” he said. “We are now looking at how we can
close the skills gap in this country so we can take occupations off
the list where we need to recruit from abroad.”

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Travel/Visa-Power/Britain-student-visas-will-be-tougher-to-get/articleshow/5224690.cms

Britain student visas will be tougher to get
13 Nov 2009, 0118 hrs IST, Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN

NEW DELHI: Visa rules for UK-bound students may get tougher as British
prime minister Gordon Brown spelled out a review of student visas to
be jointly conducted by the UK home office and department for
business, innovation and skills in a speech on immigration at West
London on Thursday.

The review would ‘‘look at the case for raising the minimum level of
course for which foreign students can get a visa,’’ Brown said.

The report will be in this December and would also ‘‘examine the case
for introducing mandatory English-language testing for student visas
other than for English courses, and also review rules under which
students on lower qualification courses work part time, especially
those on short courses, to look at whether temporary students are
filling jobs that would be better filled by young British workers.’’

Speaking to TOI on the issue of raising the minimum level of course
for which foreign students can get a visa, Sam Murray, official
spokesperson of UK Border Agency, said: ‘‘At present, a general
student can get a confirmation of acceptance for studies or a visa
letter for courses that lead to an approved qualification approved at
level 3 or the same as or above on the national qualifications
framework, among others. What we got from the speech is that this
level is to be reviewed’’.

At present, student visas are granted under the Tier 4 of the point-
based system introduced in March 2009 whereby a student needs 40
points to be eligible for a visa. Thirty points are based on the visa
letter, which also acts as a sponsorship letter and 10 points for the
proof of availability sufficient fund.

While English testing is so far not mandatory for Tier 4, this aspect
would also come under review and, maybe, made mandatory for the Tier 4
visa as well.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5222483.cms?flstry=1

Brown vows to curb entry of doctors, professionals to UK
13 Nov 2009, 0328 hrs IST, PTI

LONDON: Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday pledged to curb the
entry of doctors and other professionals from outside Europe into the
UK in a Most expensive cities for expats new crackdown on immigration,
a move likely to adversely impact thousands of Indians.

Signalling a major shift in the Labour government's immigration
policy, the Prime Minister vowed to "stem rising tide of migration".
He said his government plans to restrict the points based system for
determining which migrants can work in Britain.

"One of the reasons that immigration will fall is the tightening of
the new points system and it will continue to tighten over the next
few months," Brown told the Daily Mail in an interview ahead of a
major speech on immigration today.

Even as insisting that immigration had been a source of "economic,
social and cultural strength" for Britain, Brown said the points-based
system, introduced last year to control the entry of non-EU citizens
to the UK by grading incomers on the skills they can offer the
country, would be further toughened up.

In a major policy change, Brown is expected to announce that the door
is being closed to non-EU hospital consultants, civil engineers,
aircraft engineers and ship's officers, the report said.

"I know people worry about whether immigration undermines their wages
and the job prospects of their children and they also worry about
whether they will get a decent home for their families," he
underlined.

Brown pledged to tighten the new points-based entry system before the
next general election in June next year as large-scale immigration had
put key public services in the country under severe strain and may be
turned into a key electoral issue by the right wing anti-immigrant
parties.

The Labour government has faced controversy as local doctors have
struggled to find employment.

Last week, Home Secretary Alan Johnson admitted ministers had failed
to grasp growing public concern about the pressures on jobs and public
services.

"I understand people's concerns when they hear suggestions that levels
of immigration are going to rise. Especially in difficult economic
times, people have concerns," said Brown, who is preparing for a tough
electoral battle with the Conservative Party which is ahead in most
opinion polls.

He said the British citizens want "to be assured that the system is
tough and fair". "They want to be assured that newcomers to the
country will accept their responsibilities...obey all the laws,
speaking English is important, making a contribution," he underlined.

"We ask people to show that they abide by our laws, we ask people to
show that they understand our constitution and our democracy, we ask
people to show that they understand the values of liberty, fair play
and responsibility," Brown was quoted as saying by the British
tabloid.

Brown said the latest assessments were that net migration, which hit
more than 290,000 in 2005, has fallen by more than 40 per cent over
the last year - and pledged it would fall further.

He said this is "not an arbitrary cap". "We are going to be setting
out a programme for making sure that we in Britain can train our
British young people and British workers who are looking for jobs,"
Brown underlined.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Travel/Visa-Power/Indians-top-US-international-student-chart-for-eighth-year/articleshow/5235844.cms

Indians top US international student chart for eighth year
16 Nov 2009, 1542 hrs IST, PTI

HOUSTON: Despite the economic meltdown, India has maintained its
position as the top sender of students to America for the eighth
consecutive year, with a record 103,260 students enrolled in various
US universities for the year 2008-09.

According to the Open Doors report, released today by the Institute of
International Education (IIE) with support from the US Department of
State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the number of
international students at colleges and universities in the US
increased by 8 per cent to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008-09
academic year.

The 8 per cent rise in international student numbers is the largest
increase reported since 1980-81 and marks the third year of
significant growth.

India has once again surpassed China as the leading place of origin
for international students in the United States.

However, while Indian student enrolment increased by 9 per cent from
last year, that of China (98,510) shot up by 21 per cent. South Korean
enrolment (75,065) is up 9 per cent.

Open Doors 2009 reports that the number of "new" international
students -- those enrolled for the first time at a US college or
university in Fall 2008 -- increased by 16 per cent.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/visa-power/Over-11000-H-1B-slots-still-up-for-grabs-in-US/articleshow/5223647.cms

Over 11,000 H-1B slots still up for grabs in US
12 Nov 2009, 2303 hrs IST, PTI

WASHINGTON: Over 11,000 H-1B visa slots, once the most sought-after
among Indian professionals, are still vacant against the Congress-
mandated cap of 65,000 for the fiscal 2010, according to US
immigration authorities.

"As of October 30, approximately 53,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions had
been filed," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
said.

This is against the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas
for this year.

This is for the first time in several years that thousands of H-1B
visas are still to be filled up. In previous years, the entire visa
slots used to be grabbed on day one. Many a times, the USCIS had to
resort to a computerised lottery to determine the successful
candidates.

The USCIS also announced that it has approved sufficient H1-B
petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of
20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap.

"Any H1-B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced
degree will now count toward the general H1-B cap of 65,000," it
said.

"USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced
degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been
received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact
that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn," it
said.

...and I am Sid Harth

[bademiyansubhanallah]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125842651845951591.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

THE NEW GLOBAL INDIAN
NOVEMBER 17, 2009, 12:24 A.M. ET.

Desis in the (White) House By S. MITRA KALITA..

They are the hottest tickets in town: invitations to the first
official dinner at the White House.

The Obamas' guest of honor on Nov. 24 will be Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh. Some invites already have gone out but many wannabe
attendees are still waiting …somewhat anxiously.

Will they make the cut?

This being the Indian community—one of the most affluent and
successful immigrant groups in the U.S.—everybody thinks they're a
Somebody. And with this dinner bigger than the dinner President George
W. Bush held for Mr. Singh in 2005, the chances of getting in are
higher. Well, maybe. Politico reported that talk-show celebrity Oprah
Winfrey might be there, which means the Obamas are inviting friends,
which means the president of the South Asian Optometry Association of
the Greater Houston area doesn't stand a chance.

Back in July 2005, President Bush had less than 150 guests, many of
them prominent donors to the Republican Party or the heads of
companies from Infosys Technologies to Ethan Allen Inc. While the
White House is declining to comment, people with knowledge of the
affair say it could draw between 300 and 400. The White House remains
mum on exactly who will be there, saying a guest list will be
disclosed on the actual day.

Asia Society president Vishakha N. Desai confirmed her attendance next
week, saying it will mark her third dinner at the White House for a
visiting Indian official. (The Obama dinner for Singh is technically
not a "state dinner" since the Indian president is the head of state—a
bestowment in itself a technicality given the clout Pratibha Patil
really has.)

Last time around, Ms. Desai sat next to Mr. Singh and described the
experience as an "amazing honor."

"Each White House takes a slightly different spin on the dinner," Ms.
Desai said. Her husband, Robert Oxnam, also was president of the Asia
Society in the 1980s and remembers actress Raquel Welch, for example,
at the 1985 dinner hosted by Ronald and Nancy Reagan honoring
Singapore's longtime Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. President Clinton
invited 700 people over for dinner with Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, the last and largest such banquet of his presidency. The
guest list included the late NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla and
celebrities such as tennis player Vijay Amritraj and model Christie
Brinkley. That dinner featured desi hints with Darjeeling tea, a pea
and cilantro soup, and a dessert spread with fruits such as mango and
litchis included.

The Bush dinner for Mr. Singh also tried to nod to the guest of
honor's homeland. The saffron tablecloths were topped with trumpeting
elephants made of flowers (a convenient meeting of the GOP symbol with
an important animal in Indian culture). Among other fare, the Bushes
served basmati rice and a slew of ice creams, from cashew to chocolate-
cardamom.

"Mrs. Bush introduced me to Mrs. Singh by saying I was CEO of the
'best home furnishing company of the world,'" Farooq Kathwari,
president of Ethan Allen, recalled this week. "She then turned to me
and asked me if that was true. I said how could I argue with her."

South Asians--here and there--are certainly watching Mr. Obama's
overtures toward India with interest. After Mr. Obama won the
election, Indian media widely reported that he "snubbed' Mr. Singh by
not returning his congratulatory call. Mr. Singh refuted the accounts,
saying he was busy traveling and the two could not connect. And in
both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr. Obama's initial trips
to Asia, India did not make their itineraries. Mrs. Clinton did go in
July, carrying the dinner invitation for Mr. Singh.

As conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan escalates, Mr. Obama faces a
tricky balancing act in not allowing relations with India to appear
driven by foreign-policy concerns with its neighbors. Mr. Bush was
especially lauded for his ability to cement such an independent
relationship, most notably by guiding the nuclear deal to passage.

"There was a feeling that Bush had given India very special
consideration. Since the arrival of the Obama administration, there is
a feeling among Indian media and some elites that India is losing its
special status in the U.S.," Ms. Desai said. "In India's 62-year-old
history as an independent nation, the U.S. and India have been
estranged partners for a longer time than allies.This relationship is
still young. It has to be nurtured. So it's great to have the first
state visit."

Great, if you can get in.

"Usually they come pretty much at the last minute," a hopeful Sharad
Lakhanpal said of the coveted invitation. The rheumatologist, medical
professor and past president of the American Association of Physicians
of Indian Origin attended the Bush-Singh dinner in 2005 but hasn't
heard a peep this time around. "I may be wrong but I think if they
send out invitations early, people might inundate them with requests,"
said Dr. Lakhanpal, who added that he wasn't even president of the
physicians group when he went to dinner last time.

"Dinner" feels a misnomer for what really is an elaborately
orchestrated affair, beginning with a welcome reception on the White
House south lawn. Guests' names are announced, but couples are usually
not seated together. (Just like at weekend dinner parties, Aunty heads
one way and Uncle the other…) There's been much speculation over who
will provide the entertainment next week. The White House has asked
Indian community groups for help finding singers, dancers and other
performers, according to members of those groups that requested
anonymity.

Mr. Obama already has won over much of the Indian diaspora, too, with
last month's celebration of Diwali at the White House; Mr. Bush
actually was the first to add Diwali to the presidential calendar, but
that was usually marked in the Old Executive Office Building and the
president himself did not attend. This year, Mr. Obama combined Diwali
with signing an executive order to set up a commission for Asian
Americans. He also asked the a cappella group, Penn Masala, to
perform.

View Full Image

Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama lights an oil lamp in celebration of
Diwali in the East Room of the White House in Washington, October 14,
2009. (REUTERS/Larry Downing)

.And in a greeting passed from one desi to another, posted on
countless Facebook walls and status updates, Mr. Obama explained
Diwali and its meaning for various religious groups.

But Rediff.com reported that the actual celebration of Diwali in the
White House also resulted in jockeying for admission. "We have no idea
how many Indian Americans are being invited or have been invited to
what was essentially in the past six years a desi event," an unnamed
community activist told the web site.

It appears admission to the Diwali function is not an automatic "in"
to next week's dinner.

As of Monday, DJ Rekha, born as Rekha Malhotra, the New York-based
deejay who helped make bhangra a household word, hadn't yet received
an invite—even though she met Mr. Obama at the Diwali function last
month. She wasn't sweating it though.

"I'm on Letterman tonight," said Ms. Malhotra, adding that she's
playing with musicians Wyclef Jean, Cyndi Lauper and Neel Murgai.

Maybe that will help her chances. Or maybe the White House is just
running on Indian standard time.

—S. Mitra Kalita is the Wall Street Journal's deputy global economics
editor.

...and I am Sid Harth

[Sid Harth]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/No-docs-attended-victims-for-3-days/articleshow/5024799.cms

'No docs attended victims for 3 days'
Meenakshi Sinha, TNN 18 September 2009, 04:40am IST

Relatives of Indians attacked and assaulted in northeast Melbourne
last Saturday allege that no doctors attended to the victims for three
days. "My brother-in-law Sukhdeep Singh was only given painkillers. He
cannot even speak because of the injuries. It was only after the news
appeared in the Indian media and the consulate here got involved that
medical specialists attended to him," the victim’s brother-in-law
Omkar Singh told TOI over phone.

According to Omkar, the attack that took place outside Legends
Entertainment Centre at 11pm left Sukhdeep, 26, with a broken jaw, a
broken nose and broken cheekbones, and bleeding in the eyes. Shards of
glass pierced the back of his head as he fell unconscious.

His uncle Mukhtiyar Singh, 46, suffered a broken shoulder and a black
eye.

Another brother-in-law, Gurdeep Singh, 31, has a fractured jaw. Nephew
Inderpal Singh, 20, has two broken teeth. "Even elderly Australian
ladies joined the mob. They hit us with beer bottles, punched and
kicked all through while my relatives lay on the ground, helpless,"
says Omkar.

Omkar and his family are Australian citizens, having emigrated to the
country in 1995. Omkar runs a taxi depot in Melbourne, plying five
taxis, and maintains that these attacks are only targeted at Indians.
"They don’t target other Asians like Chinese, Japanese or Koreans.
Only Indians are the victims," he says.

Amit Miglani, president of Federation of Indian Students of Australia
alleges that the government is not taking any step to stop the
attacks. "We are not aware what they are doing internally. But on the
ground, we see no action being taken. Four people were arrested after
the attack but they have already been released on bail," he says. He
maintains there could be more unreported cases of such attacks.

...and I am Sid Harth