India-US Strategic News and Discussion

[Dipanker]

I think after US failed to apply Vienna Convention standards ( or used its own interpretation ) in case of our two previous Consul officials namely Prabhu Dayal, and Neena Malhotra, perhaps DK and/or GOI was counting on surely Uncle will not do it three in row. Big miscalculation?


PS: Dummy, thanks for restoring some sanity to this thread.

[Gus]

The fact that India is the country with the highest number of human trafficking related visas

--- is this a fact?

[chaanakya]

Well look slike, once the small errors of promised monthly salary vis a vis minimum wages paid, as per New York Laws and wages promised in the Contracts , which apparently conforms to the local wages laws , and the alleged misreading of Visa form or filing of wrong information , have come to light, people wo were blaming DK etc are now slowly turning their focus on USD and USDA.
Devyani Khobragade case: Did US state department overplay heavy hand?
Chidanand Rajghatta,TNN | Dec 25, 2013, 07.42 PM IST

Devyani Khobragade case: Did US state department overplay heavy hand?

Over the past few days, the overall narrative of the story has begun to veer towards the motive and modus operandi of Devyani Khobragade's maid Sangeeta Richard. (via PTI)



WASHINGTON: If the US state department's unnamed mandarins who tattled to a Foreign Policy blog are to be believed, Gregory Starr's impressive resume is marred by an incident in which he shot himself in the foot, literally, when drawing an unauthorized small caliber weapon out of his ankle holster. The alleged mishandling of firearms, "a big no-no in the foreign service," didn't derail Starr's confirmation earlier this year as the state department's chief of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the agency whose sealed complaint enabled US attorney Preet Bharara to launch prosecution of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on charges of visa fraud and misrepresentation.

However, the question being asked now is whether the state department and the bureau have shot themselves in the foot by misinterpreting or misreading information furnished by housekeeper Sangeeta Richards when she applied for the A-3 dependant visa. According to Khobragade's attorney Daniel Arshack, the special agent (Mark Smith) who drew up charges against his client made "a key error" in reading a form submitted on behalf of nanny Sangeeta, mistaking Khobragade's listed base salary of $4,500 per month for what she intended to pay her housekeeper.

Here is how the flub could have occurred. Sangeeta Richard was required to submit a form DS-160, along with her visa application [see sample here (pdf file)]. The application seeks the applicant's work/education/training information. It asks for the present employer's name and then asks for month salary in local currency. Who's month salary? The obvious answer is the visa applicant's monthly salary.

But here is where Sangeeta Richard put in her employer Devyani Khobragade's monthly salary, which is approximately $ 4500 per month, whereas she should have put in $ 1560 per month — the negotiated $ 9.95 per hour for a 40-hour work-week which works out to $ 390 per week x 4 weeks = $1560.

"It's incredibly unsexy kind of information, but it does go right to the heart of what this is about," says Khobragade's attorney Daniel Arshack, adding that it became apparent as he and others closely reviewed the forms Khobragade was required to submit to arrange for the hiring of her housekeeper that the information she had submitted had been misunderstood. ( Reported earlier here)

"It is clear that Mark Smith, the Diplomatic Security Services agent who handled the investigation and arrest of Dr Khobragade and who drew up and swore to the accuracy of the formal complaint in this case, simply made an error in reading the DS 160 form which supported the visa application for the domestic worker, Sangeeta Richard. He erroneously and disastrously believed that the $4,500/month salary entry on the form was Ms Richard's expected salary when, in fact, it was clearly a reporting of the base salary to be earned by the employer, Dr Khobragade, in the United States," Arshack explained in an email to ToI.

On his part, the diplomat's father Uttam Khobragade had told this correspondent very early on in the fracas that there was no way his daughter could have promised the housekeeper $4500 a month when that was approximately her own salary. The agreed amount was $9.75 per hour for a 40-hour work week (amounting to $1560 for four weeks) of which Rs 30,000 was paid in Indian rupees to her family in India and the rest to the housekeeper in New York as living expenses.

"Devyani did not submit a single document or made any statement to the US authorities for the visa of Ms Sangeeta Richard," Uttam Khobragade said in an email to this correspondent soon after the controversy erupted. "The said agreement/employment contract which is being referred to, is not a statement under oath. It is a proper contract signed between two Indian citizens in Delhi, between two parties, and any violation thereof is in domain of civil law and no criminality is involved. Moreover it is an accepted principle of the law that person who submits the document is responsible."

If the case goes to trial — and it might never come to that — then the housekeeper Sangeeta Richard herself could be under the lens for misrepresenting and claiming a $4500 per month salary, which is way beyond the $9.75 per hour for 40 weeks she contracted with the diplomat. There could also be questions about how she was paid Rs 30,000 per month in India through her family, although such arrangement is said to be common among domestic staff attached to diplomats so that they bankroll their families in India and also avoid taxes, wire transfer fees etc.

But even more, as more inconsistencies come to light, the spotlight will be on the state department, its Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the US attorney Preet Bharara for the haste with which they initiated the arrest of the Indian diplomat.

Over the past few days, the overall narrative of the story has begun to veer towards the motive and modus operandi of the housekeeper, with the Indian diplomatic corps charging that she used her contacts in the US Embassy in Delhi to trump up false charges against Khobragade to emigrate to the US with her family.

"There is simply no case here of her being underpaid, much less mistreated," one Indian official who has studied the case closely insisted on background. "This is a domestic help who planned the move to the T by abusing the diplomat's trust and naivete." As for the housekeeper's complaint that she was overworked, the official maintained that working hours was hard to compute in a live-in situation with a diplomatic household, and many domestic staff were misrepresenting this to make a case for immigration.

"The children walk into her room at 6am to play with her. Does that constitute work? Or the family is away on vacation for a week leaving the nanny at home. Is that work?" the official asked.

Beyond all that, the Indian foreign service fraternity is still in shock and outrage at the treatment meted out to Khobragade by the US Marshals Service, and the state department's insistence that it was "normal procedure" notwithstanding secretary of state John Kerry's qualified regret.

The ham-handed manner in which the state department handled the issue, as much as the heavy-handed way the cops handled Khobragade, has soured equations between the two sides in a way that will not be easily repaired for a long time, several officials who have spoken to this correspondent in recent says have said

[svinayak]

the nub of the problem is like someone said, the bureaucracy (SD) on American side wants their law to dominate Indian law and thereby enlarge their empires without a fight. Obviously, it is not going to be accepted.

No country allows a foreign country law to dominate in their country. Even commenting on other country judiciary is not allowed.
Separate treaty is created to handle cases which overlap jurisdiction.

[svinayak]

Was talking to a coworker - non-desi, non-massa person, whose land of origin has
a huge trade surplus with massa. After hearing the DK episode the coworker wondered why the desis are getting so emotional. The coworker told point blank to have a quiet resolve at a personal level not showing any mercy or weakness to mass people. Don't donate to massa charities, give every paise to deshi charities (without massa link). Use massland just as a market to dump own goods to make money, - nothing more, nothing less.... But, time will be on our side. Quiet retaliation needs to be taken - whether it takes one week, or one month or one year (just as the coworker's land of origin does).
The coworker warned that the biggest blunder will be to forgive and forget the matter.

[Rony]

The amount of US rakshaks this forum has is surprising to me and makes me puke.These people can justify any US action and if they can't justify use "since US is powerful we can't do much", "India's relations with US are too important" kind of arguments.

Offensive language deleted - go easy on the way you express your dislike of others. The above is strong enough. Don't get into invective territory. Take this as an informal warning - rohitvats.

[Lilo]

1. Use Article 377:
This is probably the ugliest and most condemn-able idea. Article 377 is a colonial appendage that should have been rectified long long ago. Indian civilization (and Hindu culture which forms a major part of Indian culture) has recognized transgenders and gays. Eminent Hindu leaders like Sri Sri Ravishankar-ji or modern interpreters of Hinduism such as Devdutt Patnaik are against this law. Unfortunately Ramdev is not an example of the inclusive mindset of Indian / Hindu culture. Our culture is very inclusive. While our culture does not promote transgenders or gays, it does not treat them as less than human either. There are examples from Puranas and Mahabharat w.r.to. transgenders and gays. There are multiple ancient sculptures and Indian paintings that clearly indicate what Article 377 calls as "sex against natural order" which is an euphemism for oral or anal sex by homogeneous or heterogeneous couples.

Major party leaders such as Mr. Sinha publicly making such suggestions has made India laughing stock of liberal world. The last thing we want is to convert our society with its inclusive, tolerant ethos into a fundamentalist, narrow dictatorial societies like those in middle east. As both Indian and Hindu, I am strongly against such suggestions. Lot of PR harm has been done to the International perception about Indian culture with this uncultured suggestion getting wide coverage in media and no major public condemnation of this suggestion by Indian media or governmen

Note that I am not justifying US actions. I think automatic strip search for non violent, non-drug related crimes is a very inhuman practice that deserves severe condemnation by every right thinking person. I hope DK's case acts as a wake up call for US to do some introspection and correct such a barbaric practice.

Dumy ji,
Why phor a mere lipservice on strip and cavity search part , in contrast to the lengthy argument against picking up one massa diplomat under art 377 as a reciprocative measure for humiliation subjected on DK ?
I am myself not advocating the measure but why phor chaddies in twist for "liberal" types in massa on a mere threat ?

When you mention epics like Mahabharata for your argument above, why do you forget the fate that befell those who disrobed Draupadi and humiliated her in open court ? Lord krishna himself led the charge of protecting her and later destroying Kauravas, when "eminences" like Bhishma and Drona forgot their real duty to stop such a humiliation citing "procedural compulsions" just as many "Hindu Indians" are condoning stripping and cavity search as "procedural compulsion".

Look, I am also a bleeding heart liberal (ready to sing kumbaya with massa liberals at the drop of a hat) in the inside of my hardened rough nationalistic exterior. But the fact is, if a human(a woman diplomat nonetheless) can be made to feel subhuman by stripping by a group of USMs and then inspecting her cavities.... yet no liberal of massaland is outraged enough to condemn this act (citing the sanctity of massa "procedures") yet in contrast the same liberals in massaland are collectively outraged just from a mere threat by Mr Sinha of full implementation of Indian law in the specific instance of a random massaland diplomat picked up for the being criminally gay (according to Indian law)- strictly as a matter of reciprocity if DK matter is not brought to an acceptable conclusion...
Then I wonder where does this liberalism end and where does the liberalism begin... ?

If one considers your arguments regarding the number of t-visas issued by massa land and your conclusion that it "proves"that India is repeat offender when it comes to maid business (which basically ignores the wealth disparity and ratio of t-visas to total population, and most importantly the meddling of massa in turd world (for its own ends) citing human rights "violations"- ineffect treating rest of the world to be sub-human when it comes to capability of implementing(justiciating) basic humanist principles on their populations as opposed to massaland which has guide books on strip searches, digital cavity searches attested by Professors in human rights (like Martha nussbum et al) who keep "discovering" newer and greater philosophies on "being more human" than the next day and bring them under the ever expanding interpretations of human rights violations as printed in massa guide book.
Regarding this maid business itself one wonders what is the fate of maids employed by Massa embassy folks in dilli(is it the same fate as the maid who came to pick up the shit of Nobel "laureate" Neruda ?- his literary efforts being a toast of many a "liberal" dinner parties I suppose..), is it also the the same fate as the other maids in Manhattan(grabbing of bums within reach by Strauss Kahn types in NY hotels) or maids in GCC (left hand processions) or other trafficked human slaves to the oiropean and massa capitals as left hand possessions and into the dustbowl as farm hands or into the concrete jungles as janitors and toilet cleaners ?

So let me give my own guess what those t-visas (and other nonwork visas) are - they represent flesh trafficked form turd world by twisted western diplomatic types in the mold of Neruda.

[chaanakya]

The amount of US rakshaks this forum has is surprising to me and makes me puke.These people can justify any US action and if they can't justify use "since US is powerful we can't do much", "India's relations with US are too important" kind of arguments. Ac thoo on such people.

Deleted in the interest of keeping thread discussions level.

[Gus]

massa is already "post modern"...having solved racial prejudice, economic inequality and police brutality issues.

u see, it is india that has to be subjected to all sorts of study and "needs to change".

not massa. no sir.

it is either that or "it is how it is, deal with it" and be "pragmatic and not emotional".

[nvishal]

@chinna

The Kobragade is very unusual. My guess is that it was either done under the leadership of the obama administration or someone in the govt played a trick on the side and claimed ignorance to their superiors.

Indian leaders have no desire to wage war on china. Indian leaders won't do that job for the americans and some leaders in the american political system themselves are aware of it but they still try. It gets confusing for them. They get the pakistanis to contain india and then they see that china is flexing its muscles, challenging american influence and claiming its share on global natural resources.

My argument has always been this:

If india is unwilling to challenge the hegemony of the western world, what is wrong when someone else(islamic world and china) does it?

I have always been in favour of islamization of the western world(I don't understand all the racket going on in the indo-uk thread about pakis etc). And I favour the involvement of china in the middle-east and beyond.

[member_28336]

I arrive at two possibilities (reality could be a combination of both) all of which are very straight forward and nothing fancy like the conspiracy theorists would like to believe:

1. Maid abuse by DK:

2. Maid is a blackmailer and exaaggerated to gain Immigration status for her and her family:

Dear dummy,

You seem to have completely missed out the most likely third option - which is that, neither was the maid abused under the terms of the Vienna Convention which DK regarded as the defining law, and neither is the maid a blackmailer - but that the US is simply unwilling or incapable of understanding the terms of the Vienna Convention.

Any reason why this third possibility got entirely missed out by you ?

Possibly. I didn't include it because the maid complained legally that she was abused and claimed protection under some of the stringent of US laws. That is the trigger for this whole saga. Interpretation of Vienna convention is murky under this case as DK does not enjoy full diplomatic immunity that ambassadors enjoy and as per NY laws the maid should be paid US minimum wages (which DK and GOI in a way agreed to by submitted her salary information to get her visa). If US local laws violated international convention and we are in grey area, our US consulate should have sought clarification from State department before bringing in maids to US. This is arguably a miss by our IFS personnel in US.

While DK's case with maid was the root cause, the actual issue was the high handedness of local law enforcement officials in US and mis-judgment of US state department officials in not recommending that DK be expelled instead of being prosecuted in US.

India is protesting (and rightly so) against this above treatment. US laws not in conformance with international conventions if that indeed is the issue as you say, is not really news to India as India already went through a similar case with Malhotra. We should have closed the loop then so to speak.

[member_28336]

The fact that India is the country with the highest number of human trafficking related visas

--- is this a fact?

It was my surprising find when I went though US visa statistics by country and visa type. You can see for it yourself. Check page 10 of http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12Ann ... leXVII.pdf

[Arjun]

Possibly. I didn't include it because the maid complained legally that she was abused and claimed protection under some of the stringent of US laws. That is the trigger for this whole saga. Interpretation of Vienna convention is murky under this case as DK does not enjoy full diplomatic immunity that ambassadors enjoy and as per NY laws the maid should be paid US minimum wages (which DK and GOI in a way agreed to by submitted her salary information to get her visa). If US local laws violated international convention and we are in grey area, our US consulate should have sought clarification from State department before bringing in maids to US. This is arguably a miss by our IFS personnel in US.

While DK's case with maid was the root cause, the actual issue was the high handedness of local law enforcement officials in US and mis-judgment of US state department officials in not recommending that DK be expelled instead of being prosecuted in US.

India is protesting (and rightly so) against this above treatment. US laws not in conformance with international conventions if that indeed is the issue as you say, is not really news to India as India already went through a similar case with Malhotra. We should have closed the loop then so to speak.

Exactly, in the Neena Malhotra case there is the precedence of an Indian court ruling which stated that the US has no right to determine what the pay of the maids of Indian diplomats should be (based on Vienna convention).

So it is ultimately a differing interpretation of Vienna convention from both sides. Why should the responsibility of 'closing the loop' like you say rest only on India and not the US ? India feels it is in the right in this case and will continue to do what it thinks is legal as per the Vienna convention.

[Yagnasri]

Does goats make their droppings in the middle only or in the side? I don't know. Some points these US rakshaks.
1. Richard is uneducated etc and least likely spy.
But is it not how the supposed to be?
2. Sec 377 is barbaric. We will lose support of liberals.
Does the liberals have support of masses in India? Or in U.S.? Almost never. CHURCH NEVER SUPPORTED this conduct. Further why we need to justify our laws to gora world which anyway treats US like ignorant barbarians.
3. No indirect messages by U.S.
Really? Walking unto outside, dinner, rose garden meet, joint press meet, ? Every one of these acts intended to convey a message.
By the way return of Churchill half statue by Obama? What does it indirectly convey?

Does anyone believe the entire set of actions done without clear coordination between multiple agencies including CIA?

[member_28336]

Lilo-ji,
I am also outraged at what I consider as inhuman / barbaric practices of US judicial system. It was clear in my post even though I tried to take a full balanced view of the whole saga. I am also surprised as to why no US media personnel took up the issue of mandatory strip search to introspect and change laws. I guess US population has become too immune to it due to watching ***** or excessive nudity in movies as someone suggested.

My view there is whether diplomat or no diplomat strip search for non violent, non-drug related complaints is inhuman. Period. For now, we got a regret from US Secretary of State. We should get DK to India where we should investigate if she really abused her maid. If she did, she should face music as our laws don't condone maid abuse either and the maid is also an Indian citizen at-least when the supposed abuse happened.

While I support Indian government taking a strong stance, we have done lot of mistakes in our reaction by behaving like TSP in floating wild unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, suggesting super crude responses such as using article 377 while there are better, effective ways to do Tit-for-tat in a calm, determined way, if that is what the right response is.

In diplomatic circles, it is better to always follow reciprocal measures with all countries. Even the current measures taken against US embassy officials are fuzzy. We seem to allow import of duty free booze for other countries with whom we may not have similar reciprocal agreements. I could be very well wrong here, but wonder why not use this opportunity to enforce reciprocity with all countries. Not just Massa.

[Arjun]

The fact that India is the country with the highest number of human trafficking related visas

--- is this a fact?

It was my surprising find when I went though US visa statistics by country and visa type. You can see for it yourself. Check page 10 of http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12Ann ... leXVII.pdf

The relevant statistic we need to look at would be "country of origin of traficker" and not "country of origin of trafickee".

Next, one needs to normalize this figure by dividing by the total number of maid visas issued by country. ie percentage rather than gross figure. Only then can one get to the countries most in violation on this count.

[member_28336]

Some fellows it seems cannot take a contrary view point and resort to name calling of anyone that has a contrary viewpoint. I am going to ignore those as it serves no purpose.

[saip]

When I go through the form DS160 I do not find where you can put the salary of the Diplomat There is only one column for the salary and it says 'Month Salary in Local Currency: '. So the figure 4500 would mean Rs 4500 and it would be the salary of Sangeetha at the time application being filled and not of Kobergade as the form DS160 would have been signed by Sangeetha.

http://www.immihelp.com/visas/sample-ds ... cation.pdf

[member_28336]

Exactly, in the Neena Malhotra case there is the precedence of an Indian court ruling which stated that the US has no right to determine what the pay of the maids of Indian diplomats should be (based on Vienna convention).

So it is ultimately a differing interpretation of Vienna convention from both sides. Why should the responsibility of 'closing the loop' like you say rest only on India and not the US ? India feels it is in the right in this case and will continue to do what it thinks is legal as per the Vienna convention.

I seem to have missed that part of India court ruling. Thanks for the info.

Still my argument stays. I would argue that we should have pressed hard against US until both sides had clarity on this issue. India should have continued to make a strong consistent argument for it ever since Neena Malhotra case. It is a colossal blunder on part of our MEA / IFS folks to wade into a murky grey area again and again which exposed Indian diplomatic staff and MEA to potential arm twisting by foreign countries.

[saip]

Whether S377 is barbaric or not for us to judge. It is for the Indian courts and the highest court of the land spoke and decided it is constitutional . I consider Cavity searches by US are barbaric but upheld by US supreme court. In some states only after a judicial order a cavity search can be performed and that too if there is a reasonable suspicion exists about hidden weapons or drugs etc. But that does not apply to fed marshals. So some of the US states have more civilized laws than they have at federal level. US executes on average 100 or so per year and India executed may be three this century. So who is barbaric? Who decides? White man?

[sraj]

Interpretation of Vienna convention is murky under this case as DK does not enjoy full diplomatic immunity that ambassadors enjoy ......

Really? Not when the US is arguing in the International Court of Justice about US consular officers. Please see below.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/br ... onventions

Iran case

Instead, the U.S. claims that its laws were broken, and since a consular officer does not have the full immunity of an accredited diplomat, Ms. Khobragade was not immune from either arrest or subsequent prosecution. This, though, is not what the U.S. argued as the applicable international law when its diplomatic and consular staff were taken hostage in Iran in 1979, and the government in Tehran threatened to prosecute them for acts that were, in its view, crimes in Iranian law. The U.S. moved the International Court of Justice and in its submission, claimed inter alia that: “Pursuant to Articles 28, 31, 33, 34, 36 and 40 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Government of lran is under an international legal obligation to the United States to ensure that … the consular personnel of the United States be treated with respect and protected from attack on their persons, freedom, and dignity; and that United States consular officers be free from arrest or detention. The Government of Iran has violated and is currently violating the foregoing obligations.”

The court ruled in favour of the U.S. on all points, by a large majority on most, but unanimously on the U.S. contention, examined at length in its judgment, that the Iranian threat to prosecute diplomatic and consular staff was a violation of the Vienna Conventions. The court held that: “no member of the United States diplomatic or consular staff may be kept in Iran to be subjected to any form of judicial proceedings or to participate in them as a witness.”

The U.S. therefore does not really have a case, on either moral or legal grounds. What is surprising is that it was prepared to offend a country that is now of some strategic and commercial interest to it, and so blatantly breach the Vienna Conventions that protect its diplomatic and consular agents as much as they do all others. Except, it seems, in Iran in 1979 and in the U.S. in 2013.

[Lilo]

Another point of view one can take is that India being the top country in terms of maid abuse (I am talking only about public perception and actual case of complaints which may or may not be reflective of facts on ground) has US justice department looking for a high profile Indian to make an example of.

Re: US govt need for making examples with respect to diplomats and maids especially targeting Indian community.. as explained by chinna ji

1)Is it same when Rajat Gupta was made an example in insider trading (which in massa stock brokering industry is to this day as common as STDs in p*rn industry) ?
2)Is it the same when juvenile Dharun Ravi was made an example to satisfy the LGBT lobby(whose "liberal" outrage against Mr Sinha ,you are projecting into this thread) with regard to gay "discrimination" based on his juvenile prank by the WASP establishment in massaland ?
3)Is it same as when Krittika Biswas was made an example against motivated sexual blackmailing when she as a daughter of Indian diplomat was handcuffed in front of her school mates, arrested and then released after the days dog and pony show when it was revealed that it was another massa girl who blackmailed her teacher ?
4)Is it same as Narendra Modi is still being made an example by massa establishment(on guise of 2002 riots) for his anti-conversion bill implementation in Gujarat ?
5)Is it same as when SSwamy was made an example and hounded out of Harvard for having a contrarian view when it comes to Islamist problem of India ?

Ohh by the way regarding the true scale of maid abuse in american diplomatic corps please to refer below account of the otherwise benign "T-visa granting" American diplomats (as explained by Chinna ji) preying on the helpless in turdworld.

Diplomatic Abuse of Servants: Not Just for Indians
By: Peter Van Buren Wednesday December 18, 2013 6:57 am


A federal judge awarded $3.3 million to an Ethiopian woman who accused U.S. diplomat Linda Howard and her husband of raping and enslaving her. Howard subsequently retired with full benefits.

News reports out of New York highlight the arrest of an Indian consular official for allegedly underpaying her domestic servant, and for misrepresenting the salary on a U.S. visa application. The U.S. State Department assisted in the arrest, claiming for itself a “victory” in the war on human trafficking. Not paying a fair wage is wrong. What is also wrong is for the State Department to be following a double-standard in what it expects from foreign diplomats, and what it expects from its own.

Rape

According to court documents, a U.S. Department of State diplomat and her husband tricked an Ethiopian woman into accompanying them as their domestic servant to Japan, where they held her virtually as a prisoner in their home and forced her to work for them for less than $1 per hour and where the husband repeatedly raped the woman with his diplomat wife’s consent. A Virginia federal judge awarded the victim $3.3 million in damages on a default judgment against the couple. The diplomat retired from the State Department with full pension and then fled the country.

The victim, identified only as “Jane Doe,” told the court she was hired by the Howards in 2008 as a live-in housekeeper at the couple’s home in Yemen, where Linda Howard worked at the U.S. embassy. Doe says she agreed to move with the couple to Japan after Linda Howard was transferred to the embassy there and that she was promised wages of $300 per month, time off each week, health insurance and a safe place to live and work.

Once in Japan, Doe says, Russell Howard repeatedly raped her, forced her to perform oral sex and sexually assaulted her. Doe says Linda Howard was complicit in her husband’s sexual abuse, telling Doe that she should gratify her husband and make him happy. Doe, who speaks little English and no Japanese, says the Howards also used nonphysical force, such as isolation and threats of deportation, to coerce her into servitude.

Justice?

After five months in Japan, Doe says, she fled the Howards’ home in the middle of the night. She says that after she reported the abuse, the State Department removed Linda Howard from her overseas post and launched an investigation into the Howards.

Once back in Washington and while the so-called investigation took place, Howard, according to her LinkedIn profile, worked among other places as a recruiter and assessor for people seeking jobs with the State Department. She tells us on LinkedIn that she received a Superior Honor Award, with cash bonus, from State in June 2011, which would have been well after any investigation commenced. Her LinkedIn profile also references Cleared Connections, an employment site for government workers, suggesting she retained her security clearance from State.

Linda Howard acted in bad faith by telling the court that she was unaware of any upcoming overseas job-related travel and then two weeks later retiring and leaving the country, the magistrate judge said. She also refused to appear for a deposition as ordered by the court and refused to communicate with Doe’s attorneys to facilitate discovery as ordered by the court, Magistrate Judge Jones said.

Now, a question: if the allegations are true– and a Virginia court says they are– Mr. and Mrs. Howard committed felonies on federal property. Mr. Howard is an Australian citizen, so maybe it is a huge guess to wonder if they are outback there. Has the FBI been called in by State, as the FBI has jurisdiction over crimes on federal property.

Murder

Earlier this year in Kenya, an American diplomat who police say was speeding crossed the center line in his SUV and rammed into a full mini-bus, killing a father of three whose widow is six months pregnant. The embassy then rushed the American and his family out of Kenya the next day, leaving the crash victims with no financial assistance to pay for a funeral and for hospital bills for the eight or so others who were seriously injured.

“It is difficult for me to handle this matter because my kids need to go to school. They need everything, basic needs,” the widow said. “And we have no place to stay because we have to pay the rent. We have no money. … Even if my kids are sick I have no money to take them to hospital.”

The U.S. embassy commented “The embassy is fully cooperating with the Kenyan authorities as they investigate the accident and work to aid the victims.”

Abuse and Visa Fraud

Harold Countryman, along with his spouse Kimberly, was a U.S. diplomat assigned to Seoul, Korea. Before leaving the country, he and his wife hired a Cambodian woman to work for them in the U.S. Harold falsified the necessary U.S. visa application to get the Cambodian woman into the U.S., falsely claiming he would pay her minimum wage. Instead, once in the U.S., the Countrymans “Held her passport,” says Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Her wages came out to roughly a dollar an hour.” The woman was berated and sometimes assaulted. She was not allowed to leave the Countrymans’ house. Luckily, a neighbor noticed something wrong and called the cops, who luckily took it all seriously. This story has a semi-happy ending of sorts: The couple pleaded guilty to visa fraud, and are paying the Cambodian woman $50,000 in restitution. Harold Countryman, the diplomat, only received probation, however.

Alleged Forced Abortions and Inter-Office Sex

Ms. Kerry Howard, the community-liaison officer at the U.S. Consulate in Naples, claims she was run out of her job with the State Department after complaining about the consul general’s alleged office trysts with subordinates and hookers. One subordinate was allegedly forced to have an abortion.

Ms. Howard stated she had been bullied, harassed and forced to resign after she exposed U.S. Consul General Donald Moore’s alleged security-threatening shenanigans in the Naples, Italy, office. She explained that when she revealed allegations about her boss, State Department officials swept it under the rug, according to an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint she filed with the Department’s Office of Civil Rights. State tried to disappear the issue by transferring Moore out of the country, but now the FBI is allegedly involved.

Sexual Assault

Chuck Lisenbee, a former State Department Beirut security officer who was being probed for allegedly sexually assaulting local guards, is now a special agent in Washington for the Office of Diplomatic Vehicles, Enforcement and Outreach, according to a State Department phone directory. Agents were only given three days to investigate the allegations against him, according to a memo seen by the Post. It is alleged that Lisenbee first got into trouble when he tried to make out with a fellow (male) security officer in Baghdad. His depredations against local guards in Liberia were then discovered. Lisenbee started every lunch with prayer because “Jesus Christ, my lord and savior, is the most important thing in my life” (exact quote heard by this source on at least 50 occasions).

U.S. Embassy Prostitution

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has had its share of problems. In the early part of this decade, the embassy paid-for-dormitory for domestics (so they did not have to live with their diplomatic masters) was found full of women not connected with the embassy, some of whom were prostituting themselves on and out of U.S. government property. The public restroom just outside the dorm was a known quickie spot for night time taxi drivers looking for sex. Things were handled nice and quietly by State and the story stayed out of the news and out of the taxpayers’ attention.

Sexual Solicitation of a Minor

Former U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman was allowed to retire in July of this year. A State Department investigator believed Gutman solicited “sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children.” Gutman and members of Clinton’s security detail were also accused of hired prostitutes.

Sex Tapes and Affairs

Brett McGurk — a former senior adviser to the ambassador to Iraq — was appointed the deputy assistant secretary for Iraq and Iran in August, according to the State Department Web site. He was President Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Iraq but withdrew after his extramarital affair with a Wall Street Journal reporter was exposed, alongside saucy emails sent from his official government account and an alleged sex tape. Apparently, investigators never interviewed McGurk because Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, intervened.

Economic Enslavement?

A bit further back, one Tokyo embassy U.S. diplomat identified here as Thurmond Borden, had domestic troubles. The story is that in 1993, 40 year-old Lucia Martel was working as a domestic in Manila. In March of that same year, Mr. Borden was visiting the Philippines on vacation with his Filipino wife, and the couple was looking for a woman. Mr. and Mrs. Borden offered Lucia a monthly wage of about Y30,000 (USD300). To comply with the Japanese immigration regulations, a written contract was signed that contained very different language. The contract stated her working conditions as six days/week, eight hours/day, a monthly salary of Y150,000 (USD1500), and an overtime pay of 125%. The contract papers were submitted both to the U.S. Embassy and to the Japanese Immigration Bureau.

Lucia started working at Borden’s residence October 16, 1993. Despite her contract, she was forced to work from six in the morning to ten in the evening, and was not allowed to rest even on Christmas and New Years according to reports.

On May 22, 1994, reports were that Lucia complained to Mrs. Borden and the latter confiscated Lucia’s original contract, return air-ticket and Alien Registration Certificate. This Certificate is very important for expatriates in Japan. It must be carried at all times and if caught without it, one may end up being taken into custody by the police. Lucia went to the Naka-ward municipal office to have a new card issued. The shocked office staff who heard her story contacted the police. A Japanese cop visited the Borden’s residence to take Lucia’s Registration Certificate back from Mrs. Borden. Mr. Borden, returning from his work, was said to have become enraged. He allegedly shouted, “Go back to the Philippines!” to Lucia. Lucia feared that she might be assaulted. She fled the residence taking none of her belongings except the clothes she was wearing.

Lucia eventually tried to sue the Borden’s, and organized protest marches outside the U.S. embassy. The State Department, however, claimed diplomatic immunity on Borden’s behalf and the Japanese legal system dropped the case. State Department records list Borden now as the head of the Consular Section in Jakarta where, among other tasks, he has responsibility for issuing maid visas to U.S. diplomats’ domestic help bound for the U.S.

—————————————-

Peter Van Buren blew the whistle on State Department waste and mismanagement during Iraqi reconstruction in his first book, We Meant Well, and writes about current events at his blog. Van Buren’s next book, Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99Percent, will be available April 2014 from Luminis Books

[chaanakya]

When I go through the form DS160 I do not find where you can put the salary of the Diplomat There is only one column for the salary and it says 'Month Salary in Local Currency: '. So the figure 4500 would mean Rs 4500 and it would be the salary of Sangeetha at the time application being filled and not of Kobergade as the form DS160 would have been signed by Sangeetha.

http://www.immihelp.com/visas/sample-ds ... cation.pdf

Options might change if select A-3 Visa category. What was shown in the example was tourist/Personal Travel (B-2) Visa
See the page 32 of this presentation. There is every possibility of confusion. Whose salary to be written: Employee's or Employer's. Since the information largely pertains to Employers one can very well fill up Employer's salary whereas it could be that of Employee's salary.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/jamai ... ctions.pdf

If what Lawyer stated is correct then it seems someone goofed up big time.

[chaanakya]

Really? Not when the US is arguing in the International Court of Justice about US consular officers. Please see below.

All these have been discussed in earlier pages. I don't see the need to restate the same. We can move forward to newer facts that are emerging or may emerge later.

[member_28336]

sraj
Yes. There is double standard in US argument. Indian argument / narrative got diluted with all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories and multiple arguments. India is right in pointing out the inconsistency in US stand where their local laws supersede international conventions which they expect accorded to their embassy officials. However, I feel we should have insisted on it from the time of Malhotra's case and shouldn't have let it drag along this far. Our officials got themselves into a wrong area without driving to clarity on this with US before.

The way to win an argument or make a point is stick to the key issue (which for us seems to be true reciprocity in diplomatic relations with USA based on our interpretation of Vienna convention) where we have strong ground and go with full strength. Provide examples of all cases where USA had double standard (ex: Raymand Davis episode, the US embassy fellow in Kenya and the above Iran case you mentioned). Use lobbyists in USA to write op-eds, etc., driving home this point. Irrational clamoring for measures such as using article 377 or floating all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories without evidence doesn't help and actually hurt our argument and cause damage to longer term strategic Indo-US relations. TSP and China should be enjoying this episode.

Whatever we do, if it is done in a calm determined way, it is easy to do the right thing and still contain harm to this crucial relationship. Getting emotional in public by our government and key officials such as Sinha will achieve nothing and matters of diplomacy and national security should not be done in an emotional irrational manner.

saip -
Agreed that strip search is barbaric for non-violent, non-drug related cases and so is article 377. So are capital punishments except in rarest or rare cases. I stay in India and consider it my civic duty to protest against laws that are not civilized in India. Should I live in US currently, I would vehemently protest against their inhuman practices as well regardless of what Supreme court decides at any point in time. Let us not make this an issue of white man vs brown man.

[chaanakya]

One of the immediate need is to establish one office under MEA which should be responsible for ensuring Reciprocal Treatment to its Diplomats and Consular staff. No benefit should be extened unless vetted by this office.It should act as clearing hoiuse as well and not like if Tejinder decides then he confers higher security just because he controls Delhi police. US has one such office.

Office of Foreign Missions
Lot of pain would go away if clearing house is established rather than leaving it to Quid pro quo ad defined earlier in these pages.It would also avoid knee jerk reaction.It should have its own Diplomatic Security Wing instead of depending on some pandus all the time.

The Foreign Missions Act (22 U.S.C. 4301-4316) provides the legal foundation to facilitate secure and efficient operations of U.S. missions abroad, and of foreign missions and international organizations in the United States. Congress mandated the creation of the Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) in the Act to serve the interests of the American public, the American diplomatic community abroad, and the foreign diplomatic community residing in the United States ensuring that all diplomatic benefits, privileges, and immunities would be properly exercised in accordance with federal laws and international agreements.

The Office of Foreign Missions has four missions:

1. Ensure equitable treatment for United States diplomatic and consular missions abroad and their personnel through reciprocity;

2. Regulate the activities of foreign missions in the United States in a manner that will protect the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States;

3. Ensure compliance of diplomatic privileges and immunities for foreign diplomats and officials residing in the United States to enhance U.S. security;

4. Provide appropriate privileges, benefits, and services on a reciprocal basis to the foreign mission community in the United States.

As an advocate for reciprocal agreements, OFM presses for fair treatment of U.S. personnel abroad while assuring foreign diplomats based in the United States receive the same treatment that each respective government provides in return. Additionally, OFM assists foreign missions in dealing with local government offices in the United States.

OFM also provides a range of services to the foreign diplomatic community, including issuance of vehicle titles, vehicle registrations, driver's licenses, and license plates; processing of tax exemption and duty-free customs requests; and facilitation of property acquisitions through local zoning law procedures. By assisting, advising, and regulating services for foreign diplomats, their dependents, and their staffs while residing in the United States.

Finally, OFM establishes and maintains relationships with U.S. law enforcement and security communities at the national, state, and local levels to educate them about diplomatic privilege and immunity issues. OFM personnel conduct outreach and training seminars with these constituencies in conjunction with other Department of State representatives, e.g., Diplomatic Security, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of the Chief of Protocol.

Office of Diplomatic Security

As the Department of State's security and law enforcement arm, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security does not formulate foreign policy. It serves another essential yet behind-the-scenes role: To provide a safe and secure environment for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. Not only is Diplomatic Security a unique organization in the foreign affairs community--it is the only law enforcement agency with representation in nearly every country in the world.

In essence , we need to overhaul our MEA.

[Lilo]

sraj
Yes. There is double standard in US argument. Indian argument / narrative got diluted with all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories and multiple arguments. India is right in pointing out the inconsistency in US stand where their local laws supersede international conventions which they expect accorded to their embassy officials. However, I feel we should have insisted on it from the time of Malhotra's case and shouldn't have let it drag along this far. Our officials got themselves into a wrong area without driving to clarity on this with US before.

The way to win an argument or make a point is stick to the key issue (which for us seems to be true reciprocity in diplomatic relations with USA based on our interpretation of Vienna convention) where we have strong ground and go with full strength. Provide examples of all cases where USA had double standard (ex: Raymand Davis episode, the US embassy fellow in Kenya and the above Iran case you mentioned). Use lobbyists in USA to write op-eds, etc., driving home this point. Irrational clamoring for measures such as using article 377 or floating all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories without evidence doesn't help and actually hurt our argument and cause damage to longer term strategic Indo-US relations. TSP and China should be enjoying this episode.

Whatever we do, if it is done in a calm determined way, it is easy to do the right thing and still contain harm to this crucial relationship. Getting emotional in public by our government and key officials such as Sinha will achieve nothing and matters of diplomacy and national security should not be done in an emotional irrational manner.

saip -
Agreed that strip search is barbaric for non-violent, non-drug related cases and so is article 377. So are capital punishments except in rarest or rare cases. I stay in India and consider it my civic duty to protest against laws that are not civilized in India. Should I live in US currently, I would vehemently protest against their inhuman practices as well regardless of what Supreme court decides at any point in time. Let us not make this an issue of white man vs brown man.

Chinna ji,
Its the duty of Indian establishment ( led by MEA) to respond in a calm measured and diplomatic way. They are doing that.

Then i also consider its my duty (as one of the turdworld unwashed Indian hoi polloi) to respond with irrational rage (not in brf, but there are suitable forums) on humiliation of National Honor in DKs case.

Both are required as a part of a carrot and stick approach .
A carpet seller demands 10 times the rate to the one he is actually satisfied with. Massa land has coached this instinct through the (so called) redneck catering foxy tv outlets (and radio channels) but in contrast Indian media is a sellout .
So it pays to behave as an idiot in some situations (like in burning down dominoes or with threats of 377 implementation). So need not fret over such, have some iced tea.

[member_23692]

MMS should just call Obama on the phone and let him have it. He should make it clear that he is no longer in the mood to humor a dying super power. Furthermore, he should threaten to ban all imports from the US.

[member_22733]

^^^^ I can imagine how that would play out given how "vocal" our PM is.

TOILET would spin it the next day like so: "PM gives a missed call to Obama to express disappointment at how DK was treated"

[member_28336]

1)Is it same when Rajat Gupta was made an example in insider trading (which in massa stock brokering industry is to this day as common as STDs in p*rn industry) ?
2)Is it the same when juvenile Dharun Ravi was made an example to satisfy the LGBT lobby(whose "liberal" outrage against Mr Sinha ,you are projecting into this thread) with regard to gay "discrimination" based on his juvenile prank by the WASP establishment in massaland ?
3)Is it same as when Krittika Biswas was made an example against motivated sexual blackmailing when she as a daughter of Indian diplomat was handcuffed in front of her school mates, arrested and then released after the days dog and pony show when it was revealed that it was another massa girl who blackmailed her teacher ?
4)Is it same as Narendra Modi is still being made an example by massa establishment(on guise of 2002 riots) for his anti-conversion bill implementation in Gujarat ?
5)Is it same as when SSwamy was made an example and hounded out of Harvard for having a contrarian view when it comes to Islamist problem of India ?

Lilo-ji,
I am afraid we are mixing random cases with valid ones. Rajat Gupta was a special case who got in the net that was spread for the Sri-ankan Raj Rajaratnam. Insider trading may be done widely but Rajat Gupta got caught by openly giving tips on phone to Rajaratnam who was under surveillance. If anything one would argue that Rajat came out well at the end despite being caught red handed. Most of Wall St including Bill Gates stood by Rajat and only Raj Rajaratnam faced harsh punishment. It was an Indian origin Barara who spear headed this case, and he also booked other white-collar white criminals and is not a friend of Wall street.

Cases like Krittika Biswas and Dharun Ravi happen for caucasian Americans all the time as US legal system and media are not perfect just as ours is not perfect. Definitely not something to be generalized. One can provide so many examples to the contrary but that doesn't lead us anywhere in this issue.

Regarding SSwamy's case, it was actually Indian students and student bodies of Harvard who made such a hue and cry. Some influential Hardvard professors were behind SSwamy but Harvard had to act unwillingly due to student protests as it has a good number of muslim donors and muslim students. SSwamy's comment was not politically correct and any American prof who made a similar comment would have met the same fate at Harvard. SSwamy was/is well connected in US and some in India even accused him of being a CIA spy. Not clear what you are trying to interpret here.

The one case I full agree with is that of Modi's. I share your view regarding US government not giving visa to Modi. Same time, I am more shocked and outraged by (non) response of Indian government to that. Some cabinet ministers couldn't contain their glee when one of India's elected chief ministers (and potential PM candidate) was denied visa and accused of fostering religious intolerance.

Regardless of my political view on Modi, I believe that it is for Indian courts to decide on Modi and when our judicial system didnt find him personally responsible for the riots and people elected him again, it was not a business for US to pass judgement on him. That showed a contempt for Indian legal system and democracy by US which deserved strong condemnation by Indian media and MEA which did not happen.

Had India demonstrated strong reaction at that time by barring some fundamentalist US politicians from visiting India and made lot of noise, probably state department would have learnt to respect Indian officials more. Think what Putin would have done in a similar situation. I would have respected MEA / IFS if they showed more spine then. Now they show all this outrage when one of their own (that too of questionable integrity) is impacted and expect 100% support from all Indians. Many Indians are not amused as MEA didn't stand for 100% of Indians till now.

That said, I am for ensuring that DK is granted immunity and we restore reciprocity in our diplomatic relations with US and other countries. We can hold IFS accountable outside of this episode and shouldn't let IFS past mistakes cloud our judgment. I am speaking only against over hawkish and emotional chest thumping and floating of laughable conspiracy theories and suggesting crude responses like S377 in place of valid tit for tat moves.

Last but not least: Our IFS officials should face music in India if they abused their maids. The impacted maids are Indian citizens as well, and should get the fullest protection of Indian laws. It is time we abolish the practice of one rule for powerful and one rule for common folk. Diplomatic immunity should protect IFS only outside of India, but should not stand in them facing legal music in India. Let there be no doubt about it. I would like to see an official statement on this from government that we will inquire into maid abuse allegations and take strict action against officials found to be abusing their maids. Maid abuse (which is a form of slavery) is even more barbaric practice than strip search or cavity search.

[shyamoo]

Chinna Saar,

You talk of reciprocity. That's fine and I believe most agree with that. However, you qualify the reciprocity by picking and choosing what to implement and what not to. You oppose the 377 issue because it considered barbaric by the US but US doesn't consider cavity search as barbaric and proceeds to implement the same. How come the double standard Saar?

I agree that 377 should be done away with. But as long as it's a law on the books, India should have an option of exercising the right to enforce the same.

US cannot/should not pick and choose what international laws it agrees with and it doesn't agree with.

Regarding the maid abuse allegation, her letters suggest that there wasn't any. It's more a case of 'he said/she said'

[Lilo]

1)Is it same when Rajat Gupta was made an example in insider trading (which in massa stock brokering industry is to this day as common as STDs in p*rn industry) ?
2)Is it the same when juvenile Dharun Ravi was made an example to satisfy the LGBT lobby(whose "liberal" outrage against Mr Sinha ,you are projecting into this thread) with regard to gay "discrimination" based on his juvenile prank by the WASP establishment in massaland ?
3)Is it same as when Krittika Biswas was made an example against motivated sexual blackmailing when she as a daughter of Indian diplomat was handcuffed in front of her school mates, arrested and then released after the days dog and pony show when it was revealed that it was another massa girl who blackmailed her teacher ?
4)Is it same as Narendra Modi is still being made an example by massa establishment(on guise of 2002 riots) for his anti-conversion bill implementation in Gujarat ?
5)Is it same as when SSwamy was made an example and hounded out of Harvard for having a contrarian view when it comes to Islamist problem of India ?

Lilo-ji,
I am afraid we are mixing random cases with valid ones. Rajat Gupta was a special case who got in the net that was spread for the Sri-ankan Raj Rajaratnam. Insider trading may be done widely but Rajat Gupta got caught by openly giving tips on phone to Rajaratnam who was under surveillance. If anything one would argue that Rajat came out well at the end despite being caught red handed. Most of Wall St including Bill Gates stood by Rajat and only Raj Rajaratnam faced harsh punishment. It was an Indian origin Barara who spear headed this case, and he also booked other white-collar white criminals and is not a friend of Wall street.

Cases like Krittika Biswas and Dharun Ravi happen for caucasian Americans all the time as US legal system and media are not perfect just as ours is not perfect. Definitely not something to be generalized. One can provide so many examples to the contrary but that doesn't lead us anywhere in this issue.

Regarding SSwamy's case, it was actually Indian students and student bodies of Harvard who made such a hue and cry. Some influential Hardvard professors were behind SSwamy but Harvard had to act unwillingly due to student protests as it has a good number of muslim donors and muslim students. SSwamy's comment was not politically correct and any American prof who made a similar comment would have met the same fate at Harvard. SSwamy was/is well connected in US and some in India even accused him of being a CIA spy. Not clear what you are trying to interpret here.

The one case I full agree with is that of Modi's. I share your view regarding US government not giving visa to Modi. Same time, I am more shocked and outraged by (non) response of Indian government to that. Some cabinet ministers couldn't contain their glee when one of India's elected chief ministers (and potential PM candidate) was denied visa and accused of fostering religious intolerance.

Regardless of my political view on Modi, I believe that it is for Indian courts to decide on Modi and when our judicial system didnt find him personally responsible for the riots and people elected him again, it was not a business for US to pass judgement on him. That showed a contempt for Indian legal system and democracy by US which deserved strong condemnation by Indian media and MEA which did not happen.

Had India demonstrated strong reaction at that time by barring some fundamentalist US politicians from visiting India and made lot of noise, probably state department would have learnt to respect Indian officials more. Think what Putin would have done in a similar situation. I would have respected MEA / IFS if they showed more spine then. Now they show all this outrage when one of their own (that too of questionable integrity) is impacted and expect 100% support from all Indians. Many Indians are not amused as MEA didn't stand for 100% of Indians till now.

That said, I am for ensuring that DK is granted immunity and we restore reciprocity in our diplomatic relations with US and other countries. We can hold IFS accountable outside of this episode and shouldn't let IFS past mistakes cloud our judgment. I am speaking only against over hawkish and emotional chest thumping and floating of laughable conspiracy theories and suggesting crude responses like S377 in place of valid tit for tat moves.

Last but not least: Our IFS officials should face music in India if they abused their maids. The impacted maids are Indian citizens as well, and should get the fullest protection of Indian laws. It is time we abolish the practice of one rule for powerful and one rule for common folk. Diplomatic immunity should protect IFS only outside of India, but should not stand in them facing legal music in India. Let there be no doubt about it. I would like to see an official statement on this from government that we will inquire into maid abuse allegations and take strict action against officials found to be abusing their maids. Maid abuse (which is a form of slavery) is even more barbaric practice than strip search or cavity search.

Only difference here is that the maid abuse is alleged not proven- yet the rape of Indian diplomat (according to Nirbhaya law passed last year) already happened. I don't care about the perceptions created by western MSM not in DK's case nor in Neena Malhotra's case or in any case of one of the 10 maids who illegally jumped their visa in US (in last decade excluding Sangeeta Richards while working under Indian diplomats - as much as I am concerned these cases are symptoms of diplomatic shadow boxing between Indian and Massa. If examples of exploitation need to be made some IAS officers already got convicted for such practices. So if Neena Malhotra was not convicted in Indian court , it onlee means that she was seen to be innocent.
So yes Indian law will prevail anyway no question of special treatment anywhere and Indian govt need not resort to public theatrics like preet bahara (when he proclaimed that in massa land law treats all equally - I for one guffawwed at the suggestion ) incomparision Indians netas generally say Indian law will take its own course .

Re: Rajat Gupta and the Massa Justice system, much has been said in brf ,(u can use search) - but conclusion was same that he was made an "example" and treated as a placeholder for WASP's in Goldmansachs
http://m.firstpost.com/investing/why-ra ... 18117.html
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 048_1.html
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 082_1.html

Re: Kritika Biswas (an Indian diplomat's daughter)
Why was she(a kid) arrested and handcuffed in front of her schoolmates , while the actual perpetrators(a massa girl and her teach) were never charged with any thing nor arrested and the issue was buried ?

Re: SSwamy
I don't care for rumors and when do Professors suddenly become subject to the political correctedness which hither to onlee politicians were supposed to uphold. Do you know what kind of stuff massa profs in Humanities departments daily utter against Hinduism and yet get away unscathed using the fig leaf of freedom of expression ?
There is one Michael Witzel in Harvard itself.
http://folks.co.in/blog/2011/12/26/swam ... ry-part-1/
http://folks.co.in/blog/2011/12/28/swam ... ry-part-2/

Re: Dharun Ravi
Didnt you follow the one sided crucification of the poor kid egged on by the "untouchable"(as in Untouchables movie) LGBT lobby through out his trial (in the massa media) ? Its a total mistrial with the WASP jury influenced by the media trial and conviction before the actual trial can even begin.

[member_22733]

I wonder why people are so ready to believe that the maid was abused. There is no evidence of verbal, sexual or physical abuse. That much is clear. It is also clear that its a flimsy case where the prosecutor misread the Visa application of the maid, which is a big eff up. I believe DS-160 form for a sponsored visa (unlike H1B) has a section for the sponsor's financial details.

[svinayak]

Devyani Khobragade (left), 39, leaves Manhattan Federal Court after her arrest on Thursday, December 12, 2013. Khobragade, an Indian diplomat, was charged with cheating her housekeeper/babysitter by paying her less than $3.31 an hour and lying on her visa application. She pleaded not guilty and her lawyer says the agent simply did not understand her visa application.


Feds ‘disastrously’ misread her visa application

Peter Mavin
Might explain why Americans are loosing allies faster than they can make...
The whole BBC has time lines of legal case against the maid since May - 3 High Court petitions against the maid... blackmailing for 10k USD, Consular services and more over the social social work group evacuated the family of the maid and flew them to the US under pretext of they might be in danger - like India is banana republic..
This is a mockery by Americans - whole BBC news has timelines and deeds of the maid... her father had network in US consolate back in India and trying the whole family to shift to the US..
For a Indian with family of 2 kids - 30K INR per month, she getting per diem for expenses in the US, Insurance both life and medical is not a bad deal ... and she is still under paid? not even average white collar workers get that kind of salary and perks in India.. so plz..
Its amazing its the same Americans who sent a diplomat with private jet to flew Warren Anderson out of bars in India... even he was not treated in this manner after what happened in Bhopal and US flew him back because he was US citizen..
Well there is no comparision between Warren Andrew and this Diplomat... but yea America under Obama is a joke - and plz d ont preach the world about Maid rights and laws and discimination and human rights.. comeon... dont blatantly do it...


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/b ... z2oWSNevnk

[Dipanker]

I wonder why people are so ready to believe that the maid was abused. There is no evidence of verbal, sexual or physical abuse. That much is clear. It is also clear that its a flimsy case where the prosecutor misread the Visa application of the maid, which is a big eff up. I believe DS-160 form for a sponsored visa (unlike H1B) has a section for the sponsor's financial details.

Have you read this?

The Other Side Of The Story

[Gus]

It was my surprising find when I went though US visa statistics by country and visa type. You can see for it yourself. Check page 10 of http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12Ann ... leXVII.pdf

my guess is that people are gaming this visa.

[Rudradev]

I'm curious. The words "conspiracy theory" seem to be thrown around in reckless abundance of late, especially by posters who tend to take a certain US centric view of the Khobragade matter. What exactly, in the view of these esteemed posters, qualifies an idea, a statement, or a collection of statements to fit the description of a "conspiracy theory"? Is there any benchmark, any given set of conditions that we on BRF have generally accepted as defining this category?

Or indeed, is the term "conspiracy theory"- like the terms "fascist" or "Communal"- being used to bulldoze and hegemonize discourse so that it excludes points of view, lines of argument, or even whole realms of thought that are somehow inconvenient to the people throwing it around? Specifically- is any attempt to connect dots between Khobragade's arrest and other recent events, any effort to explore how this affair fits into the broader construction of narratives (and the motive behind those narratives), any speculation that progresses an inch beyond the tunnel-vision of endlessly repeated minutiae that are ultra-specific to this case alone, being referred to as a "conspiracy theory" here?

If that is the case, maybe the more sincere participants of this "Strategic Issues" forum need to take a closer look at what the posters who incessantly cry "conspiracy theory" are doing to the quality of discourse here. And whether, in fact, the term is being employed simply as a more gentrified form of trolling.

[Gus]

Chinna Saar,

You talk of reciprocity. That's fine and I believe most agree with that. However, you qualify the reciprocity by picking and choosing what to implement and what not to. You oppose the 377 issue because it considered barbaric by the US but US doesn't consider cavity search as barbaric and proceeds to implement the same. How come the double standard Saar?'

to identify it as double standard, one has to really look at it differently. the thing is, many indians in massa do buy into the massa myths wholesale without even pausing to realise the ridiculousness of it.

cavity search is thus a 'standard intake procedure' done 'for your own safety'. get it? it is for your own safety, so it is in your interests to comply. and the law is the same for all. except if you are a banker. then the law does not apply to you. how many bankers have been to jail for financial crimes that caused the crash? not one.

[svinayak]

massa is already "post modern"...having solved racial prejudice, economic inequality and police brutality issues.

u see, it is india that has to be subjected to all sorts of study and "needs to change".

not massa. no sir.

it is either that or "it is how it is, deal with it" and be "pragmatic and not emotional".

This has to change completely
This colonial narrative has to be abolished once for all

This is shown in this article

Terra Incognita: Honor, humiliation and the third world mentality

The Indian government demanded an apology from the US and claimed the diplomat had been “humiliated.” Within a week, the rhetoric increased. National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menom claimed the US was behaving in a “despicable and barbaric” manner. Foreign Minister Salman Khursheed argued that India’s “dignity” must be restored, and told parliament that he was giving a “direct” message to Washington. Arun Jaitley of the opposition BJP said India must “insist on being treated like equals.”

Protesters from all the parties, including the opposition BJP, came out to the streets. One man was shown burning a cross with Barack Obama’s head on it. In another a half-naked man wears a US flag to cover his genitals while donning an Obama mask. Another man is bound with a rope and others demand the US change its attitude, while wearing the red communist scarves of a major political party. An organization called the India Peace and Solidarity Organization held a banner claiming “Shame! Shame! America still racist with Obama as President” and “Uncle Sam don’t act ugly with Indians.”

This extraordinary outpouring of rage says much more about India than about the US. The American investigation was by the book and India was made aware of it months ago. The incitement and extremism is entirely manufactured by India’s political and media elite. The people out with banners calling Obama “racist” and burning him in effigy are part of the normal political process of India. When opposition leader Narednra Modi claimed he snubbed a US delegation in revenge and “in solidarity with out nation, protesting ill-treatment meted out to our lady diplomat in USA ,” he sowed this nationalistic ignorance.

The thousands of people marching with banners “big brother, don’t humiliate our sisters” are encouraged by the prime minister, national security advisor and parliamentary leaders. No top- tier leaders advise responsibility.

Instead they drum up ideas of women being “humiliated” and of “undignified treatment,” as if the nation were somehow “dishonored” because a diplomat was detained.

There are clear signs of patriarchy behind this, and also clear references to class. The US prosecutor was struck by the fact Indians seem to have “precious little outrage” for the treatment of the Indian maid; who was underpaid and whom the Delhi government tried to bully into silence by requesting her arrest for fleeing her work.

Instead there is outrage that Khobragade was kept with “common criminals,” a reference to her being next to people below her caste and class in India. In India, abuse and underpayment of maids are a major problem among the wealthy; there is an implication that “who is this maid to dare complain?” The ironies of this case are legion. Nath claimed “times have changed,” yet in India Yashwant Sinha, a BJP politician, claimed that any same-sex companions of homosexual US diplomats should be rounded up as retaliation, a reference to a recently reimposed colonial-era ban on homosexual relations in India. Has India changed? The masses ransacking US chain stores, burning effigies of Obama and claiming that the US is racist and then claiming that India is equal to the US all show that India is not equal to the US.

The racist claim is particularly ridiculous, since the US prosecutor, Preet Bharara, is Indian and was born in Punjab.

Rather than Indians being proud of his success and defending the rights of the maid, they have allowed themselves to be encouraged in ignorant protests. The irresponsible political leadership of India proves that, rather than addressing the legal aspect, their own diplomat is an embarrassment to them for lying on a visa application, they prefer to use “pride,” “humiliation” and “dignity” as a shield.

This jingoism of “women defiled” by “big brother” are throwbacks to a colonial era, when any rumor about a British colonial official could be used as an excuse to bring out the masses for a riot. The idea was that ignorance and being “colonized” was also a shield to any excuse for the behavior of people. Can anyone imagine Germans burning Obama in effigy or always falling back on “racism” and “our dignity was harmed” because a German diplomat lied on a visa application? The essential difference in equality is behavior; behave like an equal and one will be treated like an equal

[A_Gupta]

The fact that India is the country with the highest number of human trafficking related visas

--- is this a fact?

It was my surprising find when I went though US visa statistics by country and visa type. You can see for it yourself. Check page 10 of http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12Ann ... leXVII.pdf

India's "lead" begins in 2010.