India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

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chaanakya
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India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chaanakya »

Link to fist post in the last thread

Link to Last post

Dear white Facebook friends: I need you to respect what Black America is feeling right now
Dear White America,

It is somewhat strange to address this to you, given that I strongly identify with many aspects of your culture and am half-white myself. Yet, today is another day you have forced me to decide what race I am — and, as always when you force me — I fall decidedly into “Person of Color.”

Every comment or post I have read today voicing some version of disdain for the people of Baltimore — “I can’t understand” or “They’re destroying their own community” or “Destruction of Property!” or “Thugs” — tells me that many of you are not listening. I am not asking you to condone or agree with violence. I just need you to listen. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to, but instead of forming an opinion or drawing a conclusion, please let me tell you what I hear:

I hear hopelessness
I hear oppression
I hear pain
I hear internalized oppression
I hear despair
I hear anger
I hear poverty

If you are not listening, not exposing yourself to unfamiliar perspectives, not watching videos, not engaging in conversation, then you are perpetuating white privilege and white supremacy. It is exactly your ability to not hear, to ignore the situation, that is a mark of your privilege. People of color cannot turn away. Race affects our lives every day. We must consider it all the time, not just when it is convenient.

As a person of color, even if you are privileged your whole life, as I have been, you cannot escape from the shade of your skin. Being a woman defines me; coming from a relatively affluent background defines me; my sexual orientation, my education, my family and my job define me. Other than being a woman, every single one of those distinctions gives me privilege in our society. Yet, even with all that privilege, people still treat me differently.

For most of my childhood, I refused to allow race to be my most defining feature. I actually chose for most of my childhood to refuse race as my most defining feature. But I found that a very hard position to maintain, given the way the world interacts with me and the people I love. Because I have to worry about my brother and my cousins getting stopped by the police. Because people react to my wonderful, kind, intelligent father differently, depending on whether he’s wearing a suit or sweat pants. Race has defined the way I see the world like no other characteristic has.

This can be hard to understand, if you never experienced it firsthand. So again, for just one more moment, reserve your judgments and listen. This is what you might come to realize, if you spent your days in my skin.

In childhood: People regularly ask “What are you” instead of “Who are you?” This will not end, either. In high school, one kid even asks if you are “Mulatto,” which, according to some scholars, originally meant “little mule.”

A few years later: Go on a road trip with your mom. Refuse to get out of the car at a gas station in the boondocks, because you are sure the person with the Confederate flag bumper sticker is going to realize your white mother married a black man and hurt her (and you too, being the byproduct of said union). He’s carrying a rifle on a gun rack. Now even more terrifying.

As a teenager: Be the only person of color in the majority of your Advanced Placement classes, even though there are a decent number of brown and black people at your school. For years following 9/11, get “randomly” selected for the additional screening at the airport.

In college: People assume you got into Princeton because of affirmative action. They refuse to believe it could be because you are smart.

In adulthood: Your younger brother has been stopped in his own neighborhood — the neighborhood he has lived in all his life – and asked what he could possibly be doing there.

At your workplace: For two years in a row the NYPD shows up randomly at the school you work at, which has a 100 percent minority student body. The first time the police don’t even tell the school beforehand. The cops just show up early in the morning, set up a metal detector and X-ray scanner, and fill the cafeteria with dozens of policemen. As your young students file in in the morning, the NYPD scans them like they’re going through airport security right after 9/11. They confiscate cellphones, and pat some of students down, particularly the older-looking boys. As you watch this, you feel anger welling up in your chest and almost start to cry. You think, “Why are you treating my kids like criminals?!” Children are in tears. The screenings are not due to any specific threat, but rather as part of a “random screening program” — but one that never seems to make its way to the Upper East Side. White America’s children are told they can go to college, be anything. These students are treated like suspects. And that is exactly what society will tell your children one day, unless something changes.

Today, tomorrow, every day: White people around you refuse to talk about what is happening in this country. The silence is painful to experience.

These are my experiences. They have deeply affected who I am. And I am SO PRIVILEGED. Mine has been a decidedly easy life for a person of color in America. I try to conceptualize what it is like for my students who got wanded by the NYPD, my students who have been stopped and frisked, my students whose parents work multiple jobs, my students on free and reduced-price lunch, my students whom white adults move away from because they look “scary.”

I try, when I can, to listen to them, because only by validating their feelings can we begin to find a way to overcome the challenges they face. That doesn’t mean I let them off easy when they do something wrong. But I try to understand the why.

I don’t need you to validate anyone’s actions, but I need you to validate what black America is feeling. If you cannot understand how experiences like mine or my students’ would lead to hopelessness, pain, anger, and internalized oppression, you are still not listening. So listen. Listen with your heart.

If you got this far, thank you. By reading this, you have shown you are trying. Continue the conversation, ask questions, learn as much as you can, and choose to engage. Only by listening and engaging can we move forward.

Black is Beautiful and Black Lives Matter,

Julia

Julia Blount was born and raised in Washington, D.C. An alumna of Princeton University, she is currently a middle school teacher.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by svenkat »

http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Gujarati-Woman-Shot-to-Death-in-US-in-Attempted-Robbery/2015/05/03/article2795390.ece
An Indian-origin woman working at a gas station died after being shot in the face in an attempted armed robbery in South Carolina, the third such incident against Indians in the US within a month.

Mradulaben Patel from Gujarat, 59, was the co-owner of a store at a BP gas station in Powdersville. An unidentified man is believed to have shot Patel in the face on Thursday night. Police has asked for help to identify the assailant.

Patel, who underwent surgery on Friday, later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.
Two Indians - Sanjay Patel (39) and Rajesh Madala (35)- were killed during apparent robbery attempts in two separate incidents at gas stations in the US last month, sending shockwaves among the local population.
chaanakya
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chaanakya »

^^
Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · 6h 6 hours ago

The @Ind_Cons_Atl has extended all possible assistance to the family of Ms. Patel and is in touch with police regarding the investigatn

37 retweets 37 favorites
Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · 6h 6 hours ago

Our deepest condolences at the unfortunate demise of Ms. Mridulaben Patel, a PIO, after an attempted robbery at a gas station in S. Carolina

MEA has taken to twitter in a big way. Seems it needs to be followed for updates which come fast and thick on twitter than from MSM newspapers/TV.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by pankajs »

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/sho ... 89507.html
Shooting at Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas, police kill two gunmen
Texas: Police shot dead two unidentified men on Sunday night after they opened fire at an event in Garland, Texas where a contest was being held over exhibition of art and caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, reports said.

The event named “Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" was underway at Curtis Culwell Centre in Texas city of Garland, when two people came out of their car and started firing in the parking lot, said Garland Mayor Douglas Athas as per a CNN report.

A security guard was shot in leg and rushed to the hospital, the report added.

Garland Police swung into action, killing the shooters, the Mayor said.

Meanwhile, people at the event site, Culwell Centre, were evacuated and the bomb squad were searching for any possible explosives hidden at the site.

The event with $10,000 prize for the best cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, was being held by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which has reportedly said it was exercising the freedom of expression.

Pamla Genner, who runs the American Freedom Defense Initiative, took to Twitter to report about the incident saying, "This is a war. This is war on free speech. What are we going to do? Are we going to surrender to these monsters?".
svenkat
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by svenkat »

pankajsji,
your previous post is more suited to 'understanding amrika' thread,imho.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chandrasekhar.m »

India fully aligned with international IPR, will safeguard its own interests, says Nirmala Sitharaman
NEW DELHI: India is fully aligned with international intellectual property rights standards and "there is no need for anyone to question us", Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, rebuffing a US report released last week that questions India's IP policies. Speaking to ET a day after the US Trade Representative placed India along with China and 11 other countries on the 'Priority Watch List' for having a poor record of protecting IPRs, the minister said India will safeguard its interests even as it follows international rules.

On Modi's remark on patents

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in April that India should align its patent laws with "international standards", Sitharaman said what the PM said was that while India was compliant with global standards, it must remain so. This statement of Modi, made in Hindi, {I didn't hear this speech of PM Modi and my Google skills couldn't get that exact Hindi quote. Anyone know what he said in Hindi? Anyway, now that the minister is clarifying what the PM meant, US should stop harping about that quote supporting their demand} has been lauded by the USTR in its report, which urged India to expeditiously undertake the initiatives stated by the PM. "Even till now, let me underline, there hasn't been a single case where we have been dragged to world court on IPR matters," said Sitharaman, adding however that the country needs a greater push for innovations.

Patent experts say top political leaders of the country must be careful with their statements on sensitive issues like IPR.

"Prime Minister Modi should be careful while making public statements on patents and IPR issues, considering the consequences. The US has picked up his statement and made it part of its official policy document as a national admission that India is not aligned with international IPR standards," said Shamnad Basheer, a patent expert.

Different arms of the government are not speaking the same language on IPR, which is leading to confusion on where India stands on these issues and where it is heading, Basheer said.
This statement of the PM came under scathing attack of public health groups, which questioned the intent of the government on IPR given that Indian laws are already compliant with Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). IPR issues have been a sticky point in Indo-US relations, with the Obama government -- prompted by Big Pharmas -- demanding that India change some of its patent laws.

Sitharaman said India will continue to engage with the US on IPR. "The US has greater engagement with India than before. And they have acknowledged that, which underlines the fact that we are absolutely upfront and willing to discuss issues that is in our national interest," she said. India has a robust legislative framework and the nation has always been on the side of the law in relation to IPR matters and absolutely compliant with WTO on this {I guess this means US wants something that goes far beyond adhering to international IPR agreements}, she said, adding that the government, at the same time, has no hesitation in talking or engaging on the matter.

On India's image

The USTR dubs India and China as sources of most of counterfeit pharmaceuticals shipped to the US and alleges that up to 20% of drugs sold in the Indian market are counterfeit, {We need our own research about these numbers. 20% seems unbelievable to me. At such high numbers, Indian public would be wary of consuming Indian made drugs, but I have not come across such opinion} posing a serious threat to patient health and safety. Allegations such as these could seriously dent the image of India, which is one of the largest source of generic drugs globally.

The minister said the government will not let India's image get hurt and will take up this matter with the US. "We have facts in hand and we will be able to speak for India's interests. {Are these facts that the minister has with her in public domain? Because there can't be two percentages for counterfeit drugs in Indian market, one from her and another from US} We will take it up with the US. Not to confront, but to speak about it. We will clear any doubts in their minds, and we have a clear objective (there)," she said. India exports pharma products worth $15 billion annually to over 200 countries.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by pankajs »

Quick point of IPR, etc ....

There are International *Law* and then there are other that are often referred to as International *Norms* or *standards*.

Law is per Multilateral/Bilateral treaties that we have signed. Anything beyond that is usually bunched under *Norms* or *standards* by careful westerners.

So whenever you hear the word *Norms* or *standards* you can bet your house that the other side is asking for *more* than you legal obligation often compliance to their internal laws, etc.

Per the article the minister and Modi refer to *standards*. We need to be very careful with the terminology.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by pankajs »

Quick point on US negotiating tactics that is evident here too ...

If you make a careless statement or a commitment *outside* a structured *give and take* meeting they will *pocket* it and move it off the table for the *give and take* meeting and demand more. This has happened during environment/global warming related discussions too during the last years of the last government as narrated by a person who was part of the official Indian delegation.

When meeting Americans do not put your offer outside the meeting or before the meeting to *create* a good atmosphere or show your commitment and/or sincerity. Whatever you have to offer must be put on the table in the meeting as part of give and take. My guess it that it applies to Cheenis and Bakis too.

This atmospherics business is a very peculiar Indian weakness. I have noted that the same model has been followed by Modi too in many cases.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by panduranghari »

This patenting issue is in relation to Cipla Novartis fight. Cipla wants certain patents owned by Novartis to be made free for the well being of India patients.

Link
On October 21 2014 Cipla, one of India’s largest generic drug manufacturers, sought revocation of five of Novartis’s patents under Sections 66 and 92 of the Patents Act, 1970. While generic companies in India are often at odds with multinational pharmaceutical companies over patents, what makes this dispute noteworthy is that Cipla has filed suit under Section 66 – a provision that has never been used before by a generic company in India. While Cipla describes Novartis’s patents in its application as obvious and lacking in inventive step, it has not filed suit under Section 64 of the act, which specifically allows for revocation on these grounds. Neither has it attempted to negotiate a licence with Novartis. Instead, it has sought revocation in the public interest based on Novartis’s inability to meet reasonable demands for Indian patients. Although revocation in the public interest is statutorily allowed in India, the forfeiture of patents solely on the grounds of non-use may turn out to be too bitter a pill for innovator pharmaceutical companies to swallow. In addition, there are fears that it may have an adverse impact on R&D in the indigenous pharmaceutical sector.

The dispute has once again brought India’s IP regime into sharp focus. The government’s decision will be keenly scrutinised by the international IP community, which in the past has attacked the Indian IP regime, especially with regard to the pharmaceutical sector, for violating standards set out in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs).
The rapacious greed of western pharmaceutical companies ensures many drugs remain unaffordable for masses. Though the western pharmaceutical companies get a lot of government aid and tax relief, they are unwilling to funds drugs for masses.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by A_Gupta »

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/india-likely-r ... ub-1499550
US automotive giant General Motors is planning to make India its new global manufacturing and export hub, as it faces ballooning costs in South Korea, Reuters reported, citing a top official at the firm.

The plan is part of GM's strategy to boost its sales in India, where it is making loss despite its 18 years of experience in the market. The company targets at least a 5% market share in India within the next decade with annual sales of eight million vehicles.

The third-biggest economy in Asia has a growing automotive market, but GM failed to impress customers, who are known for their cost consciousness. The company now plans to launch newly designed subcompact cars in India.

"India may be the last big white sheet of paper in the automotive industry," Stefan Jacoby, GM's chief of international operations, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"We're pretty optimistic. We see growth potential in India, and believe there's a good opportunity for the Chevrolet brand to take share in this market. There's more prosperity and buying power. Vehicles selling for $5,000 [£3,300, €4,450]-$8,000 will more and more disappear in India."

GM's rivals Ford and Nissan have been modifying their strategies for the Indian market to ramp up production and increase exports from there.

South Korea has been a low-cost production and export hub for GM for several years, and the country accounted for nearly a fifth of its global output. However, the lure of the country among foreigners is fading, as labour costs have risen by about half in just five years.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by putnanja »

Those seeking change are not anti-govt: US to India on NGOs
The US today hit out at Modi government for the punitive action against scores of NGOs, saying those who act peacefully to seek change are not anti-government and not trying to weaken national security.

US Ambassador Richard Verma further said citizens have a "inalienable right" in a democratic society to argue peacefully and ask questions or challenge laws.

"I read with some concern the recent press reports on challenges faced by the NGOs operating in India. Because a vibrant civil society is so important to both of our democratic traditions, I do worry about the potentially chilling effects of these regulatory steps focused on NGOs," Verma said.

He was delivering a lecture on "Foundation of the US-India Strategic-Plus Relationship" at Ananta Aspean Institute, a think-tank.

In a crackdown on NGOs allegedly receiving illegal foreign funds, the government last month had cancelled licences of nearly 9,000 such entities for violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

The US-based Ford Foundation has also been put on the 'watch list' by the Home Ministry, which directed that funds coming from the international donor should not be released by any bank to any Indian NGO without mandatory permission from it. The government had also barred Greenpeace India from receiving foreign funds with immediate effect.

Noting that it was natural to have areas of disagreement between the two countries, he said he was looking forward to some tough discussions with India on certain issues, indicating that action against NGOs may be one of them.

"I also know there will be times when we disagree, and I look forward to those conversations, too. Yes, I look forward to the tough discussions because my argument is not that our two sovereign countries must be exactly the same," he said.

After the Ford Foundation was put on the watch list, the US State Department had protested and the issue was also reportedly raised by under secretary for political affairs Wendy Sherman during her meetings with senior Indian officials here last week.


The US envoy said the perception is that the "regulatory actions that are being taken (against the NGOs) could have a chilling affect on speech and expression".

Asserting that democracy was much more than elections, Verma said, "Free societies must engage in a constant and deliberate debate on topics of public concern. We cannot avoid the hard questions in the name of political expediency. We cannot avoid discussions simply because we might not like the answers."

Talking about India's "vibrant community" of over two million NGOs, the Ambassador said that with so many voices engaged in various debates, there are sure to be some whose views others find objectionable.

"Whether it is by changing laws or policies, challenging them in court, or by strengthening their enforcement, those that act peacefully to seek change are not anti-government. They are for better government. By seeking to improve government, they strengthen national security, not weaken it," Verma said.

The US Ambassador said, "I believe in the inalienable right of citizens in a democratic society to argue peacefully for a government they believe is more just, more moral, and more reflective of their individual beliefs.

"This is the same right that found a manifestation in Gandhiji's satyagrahas in Africa and India," he added.

Talking about rights of the citizens and civil society groups, Verma also mentioned Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar and Lokmanya Tilak.

"The American Revolution was steeped in the quest for liberty from tyranny. Our founding fathers sought a government that would be run by the people and for the people.
American founding father Patrick Henry expressed this when he exclaimed 'give me liberty or give me death!'

"Over 100 years later, Lokmanya Tilak's declaration that 'Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it' was a siren call for all in India who sought to end British rule. And as India's freedom came at midnight in 1947, Nehru reflected that her 'soul, long suppressed' had found 'its utterance'," Verma said.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Tuvaluan »

If India wants Dick's opinions on how India should be run, I am sure India can beat out of him with a raw sugarcane...until then, Dick Verma should STFU and worry about his motherland, specifically Maryland and the killings of two innocents in texas for just expressing their freedom using assault rifles instead of swords.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by prahaar »

US Amby should be told on record that he should stop interfering with the course of law in India. This is not party politics, but law. I hope MHA will issue a statement that it expects US to not try and influence the law enforcement in India.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by arshyam »

This is getting ridiculous. This guy holds the wrong passport to be making these statements. Perhaps he should focus on explaining to us how the US is trying to ensure justice to its people under police oppression. They are also not anti-govt.

Prahaar-ji, not the MHA, but the MEA will respond. I fully expect an Akbaruddin-style thappad from the new spokesman, Mr. Swarup.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Tuvaluan »

As if on cue, the turds at Outlook India publish a "letter to the PM" signed by some random bunch of people who pretend they are "civil society". Nowhere in the letter do these oiseaules admit that not responding to a request to submit financial documents or financial fraud is legitimate grounds to nixing NGOs, and these same losers want "complete transparency" from everyone else, including the government. Now is the time to shaft these NGO mofos and make sure they perish if they do not care to operate under govt. regulations, and otherwise want to protect their funding sources.
Amend the presently opaque FCRA rules and regulations; ensure complete clarity and transparency on provisions and processes


http://www.outlookindia.com/article/ope ... ter/294238

Some info I dug up on the author list provided:-

Poonam Mutttreja -- ex-macarthur foundation and now runs population foundation of India.
Enakshi Ganguly -- Center for child rights..works on Child labour issues
Fr. Joe -- Joe Pereira of the Krupa foundation. a proselytyzing org www.kripafoundation.org
Harsh Jaitli -- unknown affiliation
Biraj Patnaik -- Brookings India
Amitabh Behar -- , a representative of a coalition of 4000 Indian civil society organisations under the umbrella Wada Na Todo Abhiyan

4000 NGOs sharing the same umbrella, eh? must be raining money.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by svinayak »

http://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-prim ... 1430905148

How India’s Narendra Modi Became a Social Media #Superstar
Prime minister takes to Twitter, Weibo for diplomacy and image-building; ‘Hello China!’


By NIHARIKA MANDHANA
Updated May 6, 2015 6:39 a.m. ET6 COMMENTS
NEW DELHI—When India’s premier wanted to signal a thaw in relations with rival Pakistan recently, he didn’t call a press conference or make a televised speech. He tweeted.

First, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his “best wishes” to Pakistan’s cricket team. Another tweet said he was dispatching his foreign secretary to neighboring capitals, including Islamabad, “to further strengthen our ties.”

Since Mr. Modi took office last year as leader of the world’s largest democracy, policy pronouncements have come in 140-character snippets. He has used Twitter and other social-media services to engage in diplomacy and build his image in a way few other global leaders have.

On Monday, ahead of a visit next week to Beijing, Mr. Modi—who is also on Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube—joined the Chinese microblogging service, Weibo. “Hello China! Looking forward to interacting with Chinese friends,” his inaugural post said.

By late Tuesday Mr. Modi had 33,000 followers on Weibo. Some of them asserted Chinese claims to territory in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. “Return it to us,” one person wrote.

On Twitter, the 64-year-old politician’s posts range from serious to playful. In February, a tweet exhorted fellow citizens: “World’s interest in India is rising. We have to rise to the occasion & establish global benchmarks in governance, transparency & taxation.”

Sometimes he quotes Bollywood ballads. To promote a campaign for better sanitation, he tweeted an animated video of himself, broom in hand, sweeping a street. “Enjoy :),” the tweet said. He tweeted aerial pictures of the Seychelles after visiting the island nation.

Over the past year, Mr. Modi has rapidly acquired a fan base on the social-media network, becoming the second most-followed world political leader on Twitter after U.S. President Barack Obama, according to San Francisco-based Twitter Inc.

Mr. Modi’s personal account, @narendramodi, has over 12 million followers. That is more than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,who has 6.3 million followers. Pope Francis has 6 million followers in English and nearly 9 million for his Spanish account.

Of course, being a popular leader in the world’s second-most-populous nation, after China, does help with the numbers. Twitter is blocked in mainland China, so President Xi Jinping can’t really compete there. Mr. Xi doesn’t have an official Weibo account.

Mr. Modi’s aides are instructed to regularly send tweet-worthy bits to a team that manages his official Twitter account, @PMOIndia. The government’s overall digital strategy is managed by a network of party officials, volunteers and technology experts.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

maybe dick would like to explain this....... before he mouths off about our society and it's freedoms, which are incidentally, absolutely no bloody concern of his or even that of the US govt.

what about concerns for freedom of speech in his own society, and opposition to their govt murdering innocent folks and destroying entire countries and exterminating entire societies for a few barrels of oil??

US gives Pakistan USD 5.4 billion worth of military equipment


From Lalit K Jha Washington, May 6

The US has given military hardware, including F-16 fighter jets, to Pakistan amounting to a whopping USD 5.4 billion since the 9/11 terror attacks, according to a latest Congressional report.

"The Pentagon reports total Foreign Military Sales agreements with Pakistan worth about USD 5.4 billion for FY 2002-FY 2014," an internal report of the independent Congressional Research Service said yesterday.

Sales of F-16 combat aircraft and related equipment account for nearly half of this.

Compared to this, in the last 10 years India has placed orders or purchased more than USD 10 billion worth of hi-tech military hardware from the US and is planning to buy more.

The remarkable jump in bilateral defence trade between India and the US is attributable to the improvement in India-US defence ties post 9/11 attacks and the 2005 signing of the Defence Framework Agreement between the two nations.

Meanwhile, the US has quietly armed Pakistan, despite the fact that for two years there was a complete halt in supply of new arms and equipment to Pakistan's military.

The military hardware given to Pakistan in the 10-year framework has been argued as supplies needed by Islamabad for capacity building to fight terrorists in its border areas.

But most of the arms and equipment supplied to Pakistan has been those which could be used for conventional war with India.

According to the one-page Congressional Research Service (CRS) fact sheet, the US Congress has appropriated about USD 3.6 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Pakistan since 2001. More than two-thirds of this has been disbursed.

"These funds are used to purchase US military equipment for long-term modernisation efforts. Pakistan also has been granted US defence supplies as Excess Defence Articles (EDA). Cost includes training and support," the report said.

Major articles transferred via EDA include: 14 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon combat aircraft; 59 T-37 Tweet military trainer jets; and 374 M113 armoured personnel carriers.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

The church planters are in sheer panic. They are slyly and stealthily pushing the thin edge of the wedge, using the US ambassador and the SD to test the waters and dilute the FCRA norms or have it removed completely.

I have met some newly rich pastors and through them, I know of many other pastors who live it up in palatial buildings, hordes of servants oops staff, driving fancy SUVs and addicted to expensive suits. These guys are in it just for the money. If cold hard cash is not forthcoming, they will cease to plant anything at all and make no mistake about it, planting will come to a dead halt or at best, a slow crawl.

If the SD succeeds, then the church planters are also through as they have a very similar case. They now fear a new anti conversion law more than anything.

who is the SD to talk of Indian civil society and their freedoms??. We are a democracy and can run our country as we please without any gratuitous interference from the amrekis and their ilk.

Also note the pin drop silence from the usually verbose and combative church in India. The USCRIF, nose bloodied after the direct snub, is also very quiet and that is certainly not normal, they should have, by now, have come out against the GOI with both arms swinging.

It looks like the SD has appropriated leadership and is now point for the charge and is using the full weight of the @WhiteHouse, to bear down on the GOI to remove/dilute/modify FCRA. Soon obama will make a solicitous call to inquire about Modi's health and his natty suit.

This piddly US ambassador bachu of no standing or reputation is talking so loudly in India?? There are big guns backing him and that means the church planters are lurking in the background. After the last ambassador f@cked up so royally and no one from the US even bothered to apologize for hounding Modi for over a decade, and some foolish amrekis, illegally, were even looking for non existent mass graves in gujarat. That was against all accepted visa norms.

GOI should hold firm and kick perfidious amreki butt where and when required.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by UlanBatori »

14 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon combat aircraft; 59 T-37 Tweet military trainer jets.
Lots of trainers, very few combat jets, hain?
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

UlanBatori wrote:14 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon combat aircraft; 59 T-37 Tweet military trainer jets.
Lots of trainers, very few combat jets, hain?
haven't the pakis already adapted their F-16s for nuke delivery onlee??
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Vayutuvan »

pankajs wrote:... If you make a careless statement or a commitment *outside* a...
You're on the dot. Never show all the cards. They are good at poker and others dealing with them should learn Texas hold them.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Shreeman »

UlanBatori wrote:14 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon combat aircraft; 59 T-37 Tweet military trainer jets.
Lots of trainers, very few combat jets, hain?
It is a huge admission in one go. $$6B. Is it the whole, or a tranche. There is not a whole lot left except the 455th at bagram. Wiki says they mainly have Cs or better. And how long before the drones become baki property as well?
chetak
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

Shreeman wrote:
UlanBatori wrote:14 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon combat aircraft; 59 T-37 Tweet military trainer jets.
Lots of trainers, very few combat jets, hain?
It is a huge admission in one go. $$6B. Is it the whole, or a tranche. There is not a whole lot left except the 455th at bagram. Wiki says they mainly have Cs or better. And how long before the drones become baki property as well?
drones are the crown (and the family jewels!!!) jewels, literally. No US drone technology for the pakis unless stolen from crashed aircraft and passed on to chinee onlee.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

Rupa Subramanya @rupasubramanya · 2h 2 hours ago

Apr 2012, "Why Do Some Foreign Countries Hate American NGOs So Much?" Nuanced take. http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... ch/255335/
Image
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by vishvak »

chetak wrote:
Shreeman wrote:[quote="UlanBatori">>]14 F-16A/B Fighting Falcon combat aircraft; 59 T-37 Tweet military trainer jets.
Lots of trainers, very few combat jets, hain?[/<<quote]

It is a huge admission in one go. $$6B. Is it the whole, or a tranche. There is not a whole lot left except the 455th at bagram. Wiki says they mainly have Cs or better. And how long before the drones become baki property as well?
drones are the crown (and the family jewels!!!) jewels, literally. No US drone technology for the pakis unless stolen from crashed aircraft and passed on to chinee onlee.
[/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]
Yes but didn't US weapons drop in hands of ISIL too and other such entities when ISIL could steal or run over some place? The Texas style defense against lone wolf hassassins should be explored for this weapons distribution that can be used against India.
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Post by chetak »

^^^^^^^

wasn't it already done, by the goras, to India during the purulia arms drop onlee??
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

Dick must be devastated onlee

so, civil society concerns of free speech and discussion don't fly in the UAE??

Why Do Some Foreign Countries Hate American NGOs So Much?
The United Arab Emirates is latest country to shut down a U.S.-funded democracy organization.

The Times reports that the United Arab Emirates has shut down the offices of the National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit U.S. agency whose mission is to promote democracy around the globe. The NDI is often called an NGO, short for nongovernmental organization, which might leave some people a bit quizzical given that this particular NGO is funded to a significant extent by the U.S. government. But Wikipedia helpfully explains: "In cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding governmental representatives from membership in the organization."

Given the language of the Times story on the matter, by reporter Steven Lee Myers, one could get the impression that most people consider it the most natural thing imaginable for the U.S. government to fund organizations that send people into the world to spread democracy, even to the point of helping to foster revolutions in countries deemed insufficiently Jeffersonian. Myers calls the UAE decision "a surprising act of diplomatic defiance." He also labels it "especially provocative," given that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was scheduled to arrive in the region shortly for talks with the UAE and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

And Clinton herself followed suit by declaring that "we very much regret" the UAE action and adding that NDI plays "a key role in supporting NGOs and civil society across the region, and I expect our discussion on this issue to continue."

But perhaps there's merit in stepping back just a bit and seeking to look at it from the perspective of the receiving country. Egypt recently arrested members of a number of democracy-promoting NGOs operating in that country and threatened to prosecute them amid concerns expressed by many Egyptians that they were meddling in Egypt's internal affairs. Egyptian officials were responding in part to reports that three U.S. NGOs--NDI, Freedom House and the International Republican Institute--had received some $65 million to press their views in Egypt on how that country should conduct its government. They said this was "illegal foreign funding" to influence their elections.

The case got particular attention in the United States because the son of Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was charged in criminal court there along with a number of others. They were released only after the U.S. government threatened to halt $1.3 million in projected arms sales to Egypt. But the NGO activities were not allowed to resume.

Russia also has expressed outrage at the activities of U.S. NGOs in that country. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin complained, during his race for the Russian presidency, that hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly from the United States, were being funneled into his country to influence those elections. China has expressed similar concerns.

And now the United Arab Emirates, which some NGO officials find particularly puzzling given that the NGO activists there weren't seeking to influence governmental structures in the Emirates but rather in nearby countries such as Saudi Arabia.

For anyone trying to understand why this anger is welling up in those countries, it might be helpful to contemplate how Americans would feel if similar organizations from China or Russia or India were to pop up in Washington, with hundreds of millions of dollars given to them by those governments, bent on influencing our politics. One supposes it would generate substantial anger among Americans if these groups tried to tilt our elections toward one party or another. But suppose they were trying to upend our very system of government, as U.S.-financed NGOs are trying to do these days in various countries--and have done in recent years in numerous locations.

This is a foreign-policy issue that deserves more attention than it is getting in American discourse. Hardly anyone seems interested in the anti-American anger that such activity generates and the diplomatic complexities it creates for our country. The Steven Lee Myers article in the Times reflects the general view that these NGO activists are merely doing what comes naturally to those who believe American democratic structures represent universal values that should be embraced universally throughout the world.

But the arrogance of many of these people is almost guaranteed to be incendiary in target countries. Consider the words of Michael McFaul, once the NDI's representative in Russia. "We're not going to get into the business of dictating [Russia's] path [to democracy]," he said. "We're just going to support what we like to call 'universal values'--not American values, not Western values, universal values." Who, one might ask, is the arbiter of such universal values, and how does one get appointed as crusader in their behalf? To get an answer you would have to travel to Russia, where McFaul now serves as U.S. ambassador.

One contrarian voice on this issue is Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative commentator (and member of the TNI advisory council), who argues that such activity is not only wrong but harmful to American interests. He asks: "Does the United States interfere in the internal affairs of nations to subvert regimes by using NGOs to funnel cash to the opposition to foment uprisings or affect elections? Are we using Cold War methods in countries with which we are not at war--to advance our New World Order?" He replies: "So it would seem."

It would indeed seem that Buchanan's questions deserve at least some attention in the country's public policy discussions. That's because crusades on behalf of presumed "universal values" have a way of going awry.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chetak »

Madhu Kishwar @madhukishwar · 2h 2 hours ago

US panic over restrictions on foreign funding of NGOs is proof that these NGOs are knowingly or unknowingly serving US interests & agendas.
304 retweets 145 favorites
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Tuvaluan »

Pat Buchanan certainly sounds more reasonable that US ambassador to Russia, and PB is reviled by the oiseaules in the US "liberal" media for being a fringe-conservative-crazy.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by svinayak »

http://www.fiids-usa.org/?q=cct2015
Conference on Counter Terrorism
Counter Terrorism Conference - Countering Global Terrorism in South Asian Context
Conference Center, Capitol Hill, Washington DC

Agenda
• 10 AM to 2.30 PM on 1st May 2015
• 10.00 - 11.30. Session 1
• 11.30 - 12.30. Business Lunch
• 12.30 - 2:00. Session 2
http://articles.economictimes.indiatime ... ate-actors

Need of a global treaty to fight terrorism: Experts
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Tuvaluan »

Load of BS from the power-mongering pimps in DC once again. Maybe not funding terrorist armies would be a good start before going through charade of a "global treaty" that would not be necessary of countries like the US did not support terrorism when it suits their purpose. Global treaty it seems. We can how awesome the non-proliferation treaty is in stopping proliferation -- these global treaties are just a means for powerful states to get less powerful states to sign away their rights to using terrorism as a state policy. After such treaties, only the US and China and peer powers will be able to fund terrorists around the world and get away with it.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Philip »

Send the arrogant US amby sh*worm back to his "home" along with the Ford Foundation and other anti-national NGO-supporting firang entities.His behavior is unacceptable.At the very least he must be hauled over the coals with a final warning to keep his "bunghole" closed or be sent "home" cattle class.

India and Mr.Modi,who is on the cover of TIME,must also express its grave concern for human rights and civil-rights in the US,which have dramatically deteriorated under the US's first black pres.There is no need for us to curry favour from the US or any other nation,we must keep our eyes focussed on the tasks ahead in resolving the major issues affecting our nation,its external and internal security,economic growth and progress and preserving our unique heritage and environment along with its wildlife,also Indian citizens! India must be a shining example to the world,not letting others like the US dictate to us the virtues of their hypocrisy.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by member_27845 »

Philip wrote:Send the arrogant US amby sh*worm back to his "home" along with the Ford Foundation and other anti-national NGO-supporting firang entities.His behavior is unacceptable.At the very least he must be hauled over the coals with a final warning to keep his "bunghole" closed or be sent "home" cattle class.

India and Mr.Modi,who is on the cover of TIME,must also express its grave concern for human rights and civil-rights in the US,which have dramatically deteriorated under the US's first black pres.There is no need for us to curry favour from the US or any other nation,we must keep our eyes focussed on the tasks ahead in resolving the major issues affecting our nation,its external and internal security,economic growth and progress and preserving our unique heritage and environment along with its wildlife,also Indian citizens! India must be a shining example to the world,not letting others like the US dictate to us the virtues of their hypocrisy.
+100
Time to declare Dick the Pr1ck Vermin - PNG and may be reopen the cases against the US consulate in Delhi ( unauthorised school / club / sale of liquor etc )

They need to feel some pain
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Yagnasri »

In no country rubbish like this will be allowed. I do not understand why we are tolorating useless brown sepoyees coming here as ambasidors etc and talk us down.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by Hari Seldon »

^Its business, its not personal.

The yhankees are merely fine-tuning a system they are modeling.

They'll churn up some stimuli - NGOs, church-plants, law-breaking, media hitjobs, propagandu - and each time, they will study the quality and quantity of our responses - silent annoyance, irritation spilling over to verbal rebuffs, quiet groundwork sans open pushback etc.

Each time, they get more data (like wind tunnel numbers) and they calibrate the model some more.

With Modi sarkar coming in, they have a helluva lot of calibration and catching up to do.

Yawn. What's new?
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by A_Gupta »

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 202333.cms
India today termed the US move to retain it on the 'Priority Watch List' on intellectual property rights (IPRs) concerns as a "unilateral measure" and it is inconsistent with the established norms of the WTO.

"India continues to be placed on the Priority Watch List under the US Special 301 on account of USA's assessment of Indian IPR protection being inadequate," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said the report ..

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/art ... aign=cppst
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by A_Gupta »

https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/07/us ... or-europe/
U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma on Wednesday criticized India’s recent crackdown on non-governmental organizations, calling out the “potentially chilling effect” on civil society in India (Economic Times, NYT, Hindustan Times). In a rare public rebuke, Verma said: “I read with some concern the recent press reports on challenges faced by N.G.O.s operating in India” (Hindustan Times). Verma’s comments coincide with reports that India is investigating the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is a major donor to central and state governments, local charities, and academic institutions.

Also on the “watch list” among many dozens are Greenpeace India and the Ford Foundation, who was added last month and is now required to request approval before making grants to Indian organizations. The Ministry of Home Affairs claimed it was acting to prevent donations from threatening national security. Last month, the ministry cancelled nearly 9,000 registrations on the basis of unfiled annual returns. According to the Economic Times, the Modi-led government has cancelled more than 10,000 NGO registrations, frozen the bank accounts of 34 associations, blocked 69 groups from foreign contributions, and has placed 16 foreign donor agencies under the ‘Prior Permission’ category (Economic Times).
Kudos to Modi Sarkar!

A Mark Lynas had written an opinion piece in the NYT extolling GMO foods.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/25/opini ... -food.html
It provoked this response:
To the Editor:

Mark Lynas’s profile of one farmer in Bangladesh does not represent the facts on the ground about genetically engineered eggplant there. The trials of the new variety of eggplant have actually had very poor results: Genetic engineering did not protect plants from most pests and have led to crop loss and debt for farmers.

On the other hand, across Bangladesh and the broader region, farmers who are using agroecological principles, working with farmer-to-farmer networks like Navdanya in India, are achieving high yields with little to no use of chemical pesticides.

In my own reporting on food and agricultural issues, I’ve met farmers in Bangladesh, India, Brazil, Poland, Kenya, Mali and other countries around the world who are reporting the powerful results of ecological farming, using conventional breeding and traditional seed saving and sharing. Farmers are seeing their yields go up, while learning a way of farming that doesn’t lock them into dependency on seed and fertilizer companies half a world away or expose them to harmful chemicals in the fields.

Mr. Lynas’s Bangladesh visit was organized by the new Cornell Alliance for Science, funded by a $5.6 million grant from the Gates Foundation, that is promoting biotechnology, not dispassionately reviewing the science.

ANNA LAPPÉ

Berkeley, Calif.

The writer is a founding principal of the Small Planet Institute.
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by SwamyG »

India and US should strike a deal; for every $1million coming into India via NGO, USA should give 10,000 Indians American citizenships and settle them in US of A. It is a win win onlee no? America needs young people in the workforce. Poor Indians need work onlee. Will Dick Verma strike such a deal? America took natives of Africa for free, this time why not buy people?
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by vishvak »

Or, grant US citizenship to 100,000 Pakistanisfor every 10$ since 1 paki = 10 Indians. Will not be Dick mister then be a glad patriot?
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Re: India-US Relations : News and Discussion- II

Post by chanakyaa »

x-posting from Nepal dhaga
SanjayC wrote: ....
The U.S. Consulate General, Chennai will host a year-long training program in South India that will focus on journalism ethics, standards, citizen journalism, and advocacy through reporting.
http://chennai.usconsulate.gov/training ... 12013.html
Looks like it is going to be very interesting training in the field of journalism. Does anyone know if it will include advanced topics such as "Perception Management"?
Actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and obj ective reasoning as well as to intelligence systems and leaders at all levels to influence official estimates, ultimately resulting in foreign behaviors and official actions favorable to the originator's objectives. In various ways, perception management combines truth projection, operations security, cover and deception, and psychological
operations
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