Understanding the US - Again

KL Dubey · Post by **KL Dubey** » 23 Dec 2020 10:52

DavidD wrote:
I'd say they rely on public education, not sure about the quality part. America is not like other developed countries, it relies instead on immigration to attract top talent.

.....

Your post describes "developed country" issues.

If public K-12 education in India, China, or other developing countries was even 30% of the quality of US public education, it would be a dramatic impact.

Again, in plain English, a large public education setup of decent quality has been an essential component of progress in any developed country. This needs to be emulated in India. The "average American" gets a publicly funded education of a quality that the average Indian doesn't yet get.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 23 Dec 2020 13:36

Yes, this is true. However, the lesson from the American public education system is that standards need to be lower in order to reach the "average" student. Taking 12 years to teach what is currently taught in 10 years in Indian schools would be a good start.

Another key difference is that the US constitution does not guarantee affirmative action aka reservation the way the Indian constitution does. That allows the Indian schools to operate on a dual track that is not available in US. US schools create a dual track by having universities teach material that otherwise would have been covered in the schools as that allows the universities to admit marginal students for the sake of social harmony.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 23 Dec 2020 22:33

CBI arrests one Niyaz Ahmed Mir from Srinagar for running a child sex abuse racket in the US
https://www.opindia.com/2020/12/cbi-arr ... in-the-us/
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a 35-year-old man based out of Srinagar for allegedly operating a child sex abuse racket along with his US-based wife.

Identified as Niyaz Ahmed Mir, the accused was running a sex racket to target minors living in the United States, the agency said. The accused has been booked under section 67 B of IT Act and Sec. 14 of Pocso Act, 2012. Mir was produced before a special court in Srinagar on Tuesday, which remanded him to CBI custody.

Mir’s wife, another accused in the case and identified as Tamara Stanley(34), hails from Grays Harbor County in southwest Washington. She was arrested by the US authorities on June 25 this year and charged with “production of child *****”, a press statement from the US Justice Department revealed.
....

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 23 Dec 2020 22:47

HR 1044/S386 fairness for skilled immigration bill failed to pass. It was not made part of the Omnibus spending bill that would’ve helped it pass but was not attached to it. USA has chosen its path, it will import pizza delivery boys over STEM professionals.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 23 Dec 2020 23:29

That's because no one from STEM background or scientist community or from big time schools is in charge in the current administration. Once that changes then STEM would be the priority in US.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 24 Dec 2020 00:35

Doubtful. Like in 2007, HR1044/S386 type proposals will have a chance if another immigration amnesty is considered.

U.S. Immigration Reform To Be A Biden Priority

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 24 Dec 2020 09:22

darshan wrote:That's because no one from STEM background or scientist community or from big time schools is in charge in the current administration. Once that changes then STEM would be the priority in US.

Dem's priority is family based and undocumented immigration because it creates a larger mass of dependent population that can be used as vote bank.They removed the H4 aging clause from DALCA bill and were against using family based visa spillover for employment based queue. The less I say about Pramila/Ro/Other desis the better it is.

Kashi · Post by **Kashi** » 24 Dec 2020 12:28

darshan wrote:That's because no one from STEM background or scientist community or from big time schools is in charge in the current administration. Once that changes then STEM would be the priority in US.

Please look up Amber G ji,s posts above where he spoke about many STEM professionals, especially of desi extraction who are a part of the new administration.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 24 Dec 2020 12:49

There are no agency level head "South Asians" proposed by the incoming administration aside from Kamala Didi. It remains to be seen who are appointed as heads within agencies. Vivek Murthy was being ballyhooed as Secretary of HHS, but instead went to that snake politician from CA - Xavier Becerra.

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 24 Dec 2020 20:31

A president advised by intellectuals like scientists would have never done this. Everyone knows that internet companies aren't biased and these companies stand for truth and are run by intellectuals unlike oranges which are round.

Trump's veto of massive defense bill sets up possible override vote next week
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/23/politics ... index.html
...
Trump had previously threatened to veto the defense bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, because it doesn't include a repeal of Section 230, a law that shields internet companies from liability for what is posted on their websites by them or third parties.
...
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had backed the President on his push to remove Section 230.
"I support President @realDonaldTrump's insistence Section 230 repeal be part of the defense authorization bill," he wrote in a three-tweet thread. "Big Tech is the only industry in America that cannot be sued for their business practices and are not meaningfully regulated. This must come to an end

."

ShyamSP · Post by **ShyamSP** » 24 Dec 2020 23:18

darshan wrote:A president advised by intellectuals like scientists would have never done this. Everyone knows that internet companies aren't biased and these companies stand for truth and are run by intellectuals unlike oranges which are round.

I'm not sure if the above post is serious or sarcastic. Platforms are censoring content beyond the original intent and have become media/publishers and don't deserve protection given. SC justice Thomas also made comments in that line.

Intellectuals are not just scientists and intellectualism should go beyond STEM people.

Coming to India, it should also seriously think and not give any blank loophole like section 230. It is worst for India as all social platforms are foreign and can be used as propaganda and brain-washing tools.

DavidD · Post by **DavidD** » 26 Dec 2020 00:47

Large explosion in downtown Nashville. Apparently an RV was parked there and it was broadcasting a message saying there's a bomb inside. The FBI is investigating it as an act of domestic terrorism. It's usually a heavily trafficked area, but it was early morning on Christmas in COVID times so no one was there and only a few injuries.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/25/us/nashv ... index.html

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 27 Dec 2020 10:17

https://twitter.com/BillyNRA/status/1341403728931418119

$10,000,000 for “gender programs” in Pakistan.

$600 for the hardworking American, who’s a waiter/waitress in DC, and who starting tomorrow will be out of a job until Jan. 15 — probably longer.

No words.

Raja · Post by **Raja** » 27 Dec 2020 16:40

That screenshot is so stupid and wrong at so many levels. I hate Twitter. Social media is going to destroy this planet, no doubt about it.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 28 Dec 2020 00:06

^^^Much of that budget is what the Trump administration asked for in early 2020 for FY21. Be thankful there is no military assistance for Pak and civilian assistance is limited to $25 million - enough for the Paki elite to make sight-seeing trips to the US and enjoy fine hotels and restaurants.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 28 Dec 2020 00:46

Raja wrote:...

field left open fo you saar. go ahead and hate Twitter as much as you want.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 28 Dec 2020 00:50

DavidD wrote:I went to public middle and high school in Central Florida. I learned fractions in 6th grade, then again in 7th grade, then again in 8th grade. It was puzzling to me why I kept being taught the same thing. Worse still, my 8th grade math teacher was very good, but he left in the middle of the year for a job at NASA. In the first class by his substitute, he was teaching how 1/50 + 1/50 = 2/100. Yeah. That's public school in America for you.

I have a lot more say. It would be off-topic here as it is more to do with K-12 mathematics education vis-a-vis other subjects, both here in the US of A and in bhaarat. We can take it to "Indian education system" thread, if anybody is interested.

@veera_k, @KL Dubey, ...

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 28 Dec 2020 01:27

Vayutuvan wrote:
Raja wrote:That screenshot is so stupid and wrong at so many levels. I hate Twitter. Social media is going to destroy this planet, no doubt about it.
Could you please elaborate or is it too much to ask?

The US figure is per capita. The aid and grant figures are gross numbers. Put the CARES Act for what it is - $2 trillion total, $570 billion to individuals - and things look at little different.

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 28 Dec 2020 01:34

I think the point is that there is a lot of non-pandemic relief funding that somehow got attached to the stimulus omnibus. Some of which is really silly like the Pakistan one.

Added later:

It's also telling that the S386/HR1044 Fairness for high skilled immigration did not make the cut in the same Omnibus. They have money to give to Pakis but for all the power of Indians they could not get the bill included in the Omnibus. Didn't expect Ro, Pramalla to do anything anyway.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 28 Dec 2020 01:52

"A billion here and a 500 million there and we are soon talking trillions" (modified from "A million here and a million there and soon we are talking billions" of the yore).

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 28 Dec 2020 01:54

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 28 Dec 2020 02:04

Vayutuvan wrote:
Suraj wrote: The US figure is per capita. The aid and grant figures are gross numbers. Put the CARES Act for what it is - $2 trillion total, $570 billion to individuals - and things look at little different.
I understand that point. That said, Trump asked for $2000 per capita. Why couldn't they have split the difference and settled on $1300 per capita?

"A billion here and a 500 million there and we soon talking trillions" (modified from "A million here and a million there and soon we are talking billions" of the yore).

This is not a thread to discuss US political news.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 28 Dec 2020 07:20

Suraj wrote:This is not a thread to discuss US political news.

Yes, of course. Mea culpa.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 28 Dec 2020 08:38

Vayutuvan wrote:
Suraj wrote:This is not a thread to discuss US political news.
Yes, of course. We are all talking about the $25 million to Pakistan at the cost of India, but our lord @Raja had to butt in and say whatever they wanted to say without any elaboration.

Let me quote the contentless post
Raja wrote: That screenshot is so stupid and wrong at so many levels. I hate Twitter. Social media is going to destroy this planet, no doubt about it.
We are all left to guess/argue/interpret what they (royal they) @Raja meant, hain ji!

Why are you being so difficult ? This isn’t the thread for Pakistan discussions either . There’s several Pakistan threads . The fundamental problem with the Twitter list is that is misstates scales .

Beyond a cursory picture of US funding priorities, it offers nothing useful.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 30 Dec 2020 04:43

Trigger warning. Don't read if you cannot bear child abuse. You have to really scrub your mind to function after this. This is middle America, cult and church country where parents allowed their neighbors to beat and sexually abuse their 4 year old to get a demon out. The child died a brutal death. This type of abuse is not unusual.
Next time they give us lectures on child rights, we should know that with significantly less resources we are mostly able to treat our kids as they sacred beings they are. We have problems but normalizing for poverty we are a far greater people.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/missouri- ... e?ref=home

Neighbors have been charged in the killing in a “religious-type event” that involved beating and dunking a 4-year-old girl in icy water to “remove demons” as the parents watched.

sooraj · Post by **sooraj** » 06 Jan 2021 23:39

This is NOT a thread for US politics

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 07 Jan 2021 02:37

US Capital Building has been invaded.... by the Trump supporters ....

Check the news

People have been shot inside the building

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 07 Jan 2021 03:11

Ironic that they look for divinity in a tribal desert totem, a projection of all that was barbarous in that primitive age, yet they don’t see that a four year little girl is the only angel humans will ever know.

The mainstream will no doubt think the parents white trash (a term not much used currently and never by non- whites) but what is it about the religion that so often involves innocent children being abused? I am yet to find a construct that satisfies the sexual deviance and perverse need for domination that are deep features of the religion.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 07 Jan 2021 05:22

We can soon close this thread for there isn't much to understand.
After 20 January.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 07 Jan 2021 05:56

Why wait until 20 January? It can close now.

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 07 Jan 2021 06:10

Time for India to export its democracy to USA.

vimal · Post by **vimal** » 07 Jan 2021 06:13

One of the most telling aspect of the pandemic is that it exposed USA’s entire healthcare system and economic model. Private/for-profit healthcare has catered only to the rich and is built on efficiency of execution. All out of the window once the surge started. Even the post pandemic recovery is predicted to be a K shaped one, where the chasm will only grow in the future between the have nots and haves. Trumpers taking over the Capitol Hill is just a sign of things to come for USA. Meanwhile there is no sign of relief for the working class, their outsourced jobs to China will never return and Biden will keep batting for the peaceful rise of China and Kamala will let 11 million undocumented in. Legal tax paying immigrants are treated with disdain as are working class people ruled over by the east and west coast elites.

Just in Twitter locks Trump’s account.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 07 Jan 2021 06:51

Now if the Trump supporters say they want to "protest" in the Capitol. And that they will "protest" for the foreseeable future.

After all, "protest" is a constitutional right...

In the spirit of understanding the constraints, under what law shall they be cleared?

m_saini · Post by **m_saini** » 07 Jan 2021 09:10

I like how most of the media are terming it as "trump protestors" or "mob". God forbid if this was in india, there would be chest-beatings world over about "hindu nationalists" or "hindu terrorism/RSS etc"

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 07 Jan 2021 09:59

vimal wrote:Time for India to export its democracy to USA.

Bandar Kya Jaane Adrak Ka Swaad?

disha · Post by **disha** » 07 Jan 2021 10:15

vera_k wrote:Now if the Trump supporters say they want to "protest" in the Capitol. And that they will "protest" for the foreseeable future.

After all, "protest" is a constitutional right...

In the spirit of understanding the constraints, under what law shall they be cleared?

The law of Pramila-AOC. With addendums from Justin. The law clearly states that:

My protests are protests. Your protests are insurrections. My protestors have a right to rage. Your protestors are a raging mob. It is correct for my protestors to protest. Your protest is incorrect.

Anyway, understanding the US is going to be easier now. Far far easier. What does this mean?

1. The loss in faith of American Exceptionalism. The concept of 'American Exceptionalism' lies shattered. It is just another India, just far less complex.

2. A divided polity, where the poor get poorer and the middle class gets squeezed. 1% of Americans will now have even greater share on the american wealth.

How you do in life is now largely determined by which class you are born

3. A complete alignment in the new world order. The oldest democracy has faltered. The largest democracy *has* to take over the reigns.

The capitals of the world over are watching this and hopefully learning the right lessons.

4. The death of globalization is hastened.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 07 Jan 2021 10:41

sanjaykumar wrote:Ironic that they look for divinity in a tribal desert totem, a projection of all that was barbarous in that primitive age, yet they don’t see that a four year little girl is the only angel humans will ever know.

sire please make sense, if you please. is it too much to ask, hain ji?!!!

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 07 Jan 2021 10:42

sooraj wrote:This is NOT a thread for US politics

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 07 Jan 2021 10:45

vera_k wrote:Now if the Trump supporters say they want to "protest" in the Capitol. And that they will "protest" for the foreseeable future.

what what sire?! seems like queen's angrez!!!

darshan · Post by **darshan** » 07 Jan 2021 11:32

m_saini wrote:I like how most of the media are terming it as "trump protestors" or "mob". God forbid if this was in india, there would be chest-beatings world over about "hindu nationalists" or "hindu terrorism/RSS etc"

Actually few headlines did run with the word terrorist in them while showing a guy with confederate flag in hands.