India-US Strategic News and Discussion

[TSJones]

Don't get me wrong, the US establishment is going to make nice with India but they've drawn the line on women's issues. They're not going to back down on this issue.

This is the CT, not the revelation of the attempt by the US to recruit Ms. DK. The US has learnt in the process that India has also drawn some lines and it is unwise to step on them.

News to the world. The US tries to recruit *everybody*. From dictators to street sweepers. They doesn't mean that they arrest them if they choose not to be "recruited". Think about it. Most people turn them down.

I've had an offer to be part of the FBI's civilan volunteer group on IT issues. I was somewhat flattered I must admit. But I thought it over and turned them down. I am pleased to report no problems so far.

[member_22733]

^^^ sanjaykumar.

Yep. All this while we have been smoking some potent high grade stuff to believe it was anything other than women's issues.

[SSridhar]

News to the world. The US tries to recruit *everybody*. From dictators to street sweepers.

Oh, suddenly the CT is no longer CT but an everyday, well-accepted event. What a twist !

They doesn't mean that they arrest them if they choose not to be "recruited". Think about it. Most people turn them down.

I've had an offer to be part of the FBI's civilan volunteer group on IT issues. I was somewhat flattered I must admit. But I thought it over and turned them down. I am pleased to report no problems so far.

Yeah, but not only did she turn it down but also promptly reported the attempt to MEA which, we can only guess here, confronted the US with facts and SR is either a witness or has a role in it. Hence SR had to be taken care of and DK humiliated and expelled and to make her look less credible if she ever chose to reveal her story. Standard practice.

[ramana]

The problem is, you guys are so addicted to CTs that you are unwilling to accept why all this happened:

It happened because of a wave of political correctnes over women's issues.

You think that there has to be some ulterior deep, dark, secret why this all happened when the truth is staring you right in the face. This US historically has done this many times, banning alcohol - prohibition, the Vietnam war, etc. There was no ulterior motive to these events, it was a wave of political hysteria that sometimes over takes the US. I recommend the book "What's the Matter with Kansas" where low income rural whites support conservative causes that are ultimately detrimental to them. It examines closely how hot button issues are used for political purposes such as abortion, etc.

Women were a major portion of the US electorate that got Obama elected. Women's issues rule with this administration. They accuse the Republicans, rightly or wrongly of committing a "war on women".

So they don't care what the ultimate cost of realtionship is with India. It could be trillions. It could drive India into permanent aliance with Russia. Right now, they. don't. care.

Don't get me wrong, the US establishment is going to make nice with India but they've drawn the line on women's issues. They're not going to back down on this issue.

TSJ, If I were in the audience I would clap so hard in derision I would hurt myself.

US has a big human trafficking problem according to genuine activists that I know. The whole run away children led into sex slavery, drug trade, immigrants brought over for domestic and agricultural labor, and the subsequent levels of crime is horrendous. The run away childern press ganged into sex slave trade are around 150,000 a year. These children are then put into drug peddling once they are not useful any more. The violent ones among them become gang leaders and move up the criminal chain. Its about annual $20 Billion trade. So give me a break when diplomats are targeted for bringing domestic servants on legal isas issued by SD. Its transfer of guilt plain and simple. Lets not hang US guilt on dirty furriners. US has a bigger problem than

Look up Global Horizons case when dual citizenship holders engage in agricultural labor trafficking.

[vic]

Then the issue is what has Munna Govt done till date in actual retaliation for abduction, striped nude, photographed and gang rape of Indian Diplomat who refused to be recruited? It seems Munna Govt was ok with recruitment and rape but DK father threw a Spanner in works. If US Govt knew it would face a hostile Govt, they would not have gone so far but probably did so on the understanding that Munna is their man. Note, May couple were not even declared person non grata. Munna rewarded USA with One Billion Dollar Order of non essential defense imports when the issue was still burning with DK in USA. Indian Govt has not said a word against Nirupama who seems already recruited and paid for by State Govt.It could only be underMunna instructions that Delhi Police repeatedly failed to act inspite of Court orders. it seems DK was raped as pressure tactic for forced recruitment as she went against the present pattern of Present Munna Govt that Uncle is their lord and master.

[Mahesh_R]

Thanks, Mr. MKB.

SS sir....MKB is known to come up with his usual theories in almost every high profile issue India faced...whether its with TSP or China ...and we all know how much true they are...the famous one being the old women theory with TSP...
My question is how credible he is this time...may be he might be true but imho he lost the credibility ...

any reason sir you believe he is making sense this time and not just pushing his so called theories...?

[pankajs]

The Associated Press ‏@AP 2m

Report: #NSA has implanted software in 100,000 computers around world that allows U.S. to conduct surveillance: http://apne.ws/1aE8OlJ

[vina]

I have to agree with TSJ here that the US is in the grip of a mass hysteria (sorry to cheapen it, but that is what it currently is) /crusade/jihad/ - choose your pick, about "Slavery and Human Trafficking" , Obama's recent "Proclamation" about it for eg.

Trouble is, it is easier to always look outside to make the other guy bear the cross and look dirty and horrible, and not flagellate yourself for the problem that is essentially yours. For e.g., I remember in YumBeeYea, the all students address about ethics talked gratuitously about how a large global company got into trouble in MEXICO in bribery and the conversation was really steered towards oh .. how horrible Mexico was, the crime , the scene in Tijuana for e.g., and how corruption ridden and the poor global giant had to do what it did to even get business, . how sad... while the correct thing to have been picking up a couple of the corruption scandals blowing up everyday in the US and talk about them, but oh no, that would burn the bridges with the company which comes to recruit on campus, funds chaired professorships, research in other departments in a big way, has a big hand in the local politics.. you get the message ?

Exactly similar thing happened with this. They attempted to hang their dirty linen on India and tried to make it bear the cross of guilt. It boomeranged spectacularly on them and left them with egg on their faces and their asses kicked really hard. Come on, this episode will be known for the strip search of the diplomat and the handle that the Indians got from the Mays to conveniently beat the Americans (put up big billboards of the gardener and dog in front of the embassy for e.g.), anytime the US opens it's mouth against the Indians on any of these issues.

All in all, I repeat,the YumBeeYea giri of the Americans got out YumBeeYead by the Indians, both in the MEA and then later here. The MEA basically left the Americans with no choice when they made the transfer to the US. They lost this war right then, after that, it was all rear guard action trying to organise a retreat, that turned into a rout when the Wayne and Alicia facade was ripped up and the ugliness shown up in the mirror.

[Gus]

I wonder why India does not yet have a "right wing" media a la Faux News.

we have a bizarre problem where our 'conservatives' - the establishment elites, hanger-ons and the ecosystem, the ones who have it good now and want it to not change and continue as is (the definition of conservative) - are actually of left/commie/secular (pseudo secular, if you will) types. And thus, it is their media, which is what is mainstream (because of this group's complete dominance of everything in India until now) that keeps pushing this fox news like worldview where everything is played up as a 'war on secularism' etc and every threat to them is to be demonised as hitler to be put down.

[Gus]

my non-CT CT is this - maid gets smitten by massa. figures she can make much more, bring family in etc..the usual green card dreams. gives sob story to wayne and whatzhername wife of his..plan is drawn and sold to appropriate people playing up things that will get them interested.

[SSridhar]

any reason sir you believe he is making sense this time and not just pushing his so called theories...?

Well, we in BRf know MKB quite well. But, I have two reasons to believe what he says. One, DK's is an India-issue, no doubt, but is as much an IFS issue as well and they have all closed ranks in this case. MKB certainly has access to inside information. Two, the issue involving a maid is actually a she said-she said case which no sane government would take it to an extent where relationships, that were painstakingly built over 1½ decades would come under enormous strain, unless there was a much deeper reason. We discussed many reasons here but nothing looked convincing, at least to me. We even have the most bizarre 'women's issue' theory. Looking at the past US behaviour, and the discounting of other theories that we have discussed, MKB's looks most plausible.

[pankajs]

Devyani Khobragade row: US wants restoration of diplomatic privileges

With Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade back in country, the US embassy in Delhi is trying to get back the privileges it lost as part of India's retaliatory measures.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is in no mood to oblige the Americans.

Delhi is thoroughly miffed with Devyani's indictment by a US grand jury and is unlikely to budge unless charges are dropped against the diplomat in a visa fraud case.

Sources told Mail Today that the US embassy has sought a meeting with the MEA officials to seek restoration of airport passes for its diplomats, besides a review of the government directive to shut down American Club.

However, the MEA is still waiting for a detailed reply from the US embassy about the salaries it pays to Indian staffers. MEA has also asked the Indian mission in Washington D.C. to list the privileges accorded to it by the US. India will use the ' reciprocity' test to decide the privileges to American diplomats. "The Americans will be told that reciprocity will be the norm now. We will also remind them to furnish the information we had wanted about the American Club and school," a source told Mail Today. As part of reciprocity, India recently asked US diplomat Wayne May to leave the country.

May was reportedly instrumental in getting maid Sangeeta Richards's family ' evacuated' from India to the US. It was because of Richards's allegation of underpayment and harassment that Devyani was charged with visa fraud, and arrested in New York.

Meanwhile, a different kind of trouble seems to be brewing, with diplomats of other foreign countries in Delhi asking for similar privileges that were once accorded to the US diplomats.

However, it is unlikely that the MEA will open up a Pandora's Box. So far there have been just murmurs.

But on Tuesday when the Republican Party (Athavale) activists welcomed diplomat Devyani Khobragade in Mumbai, the buzz grew stronger that her father Uttam Khobragade is exploiting the spat with US for his political ambitions.

Even if the case against DK is dropped and (if) apology issued, I see no reason to grant unilateral privileges.

[member_28352]

.....the in-person registration of domestic help of diplomats.....

I suggest we change the classification at our end to say that they are sahayaks and not domestic servants. So these rules don't apply to us. Under no circumstance should we let domestic help be registered independently at SD. If the SD wants to apply rules well we too can apply lots of reciprocal rules.

[chaanakya]

and why is that posted here? I am reporting all these three posts, including mine as OT.

That is to illustrate the point regarding response from Indian Law enforcement system and views of other countries which becomes relevant in the current context. EU is also flexing muscles even when there is no immunity involved. Italy on its own could not move GOI despite waitresses working in India.

Now see the response of NIA and MHA and contrast this with USDA Preet Bharara and what US citizens talked of and wonder why legal system of India is not much respected by other countries.

However you are right that it should also be in EU Thread so cross posting.


Decision Soon on NIA's Move to Prosecute Marines

The Home Ministry is likely to decide in the next few days on NIA's move seeking sanction to prosecute two Italian marines accused of killing two Kerala fishermen under a law which provides only death penalty.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought the Home Ministry's nod to prosecute them under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act (SUA) for killing the fishermen off Kerala coast on February 15, 2012.

Sources said the Ministry is in a fix over the NIA move as under SUA, if anyone causes death, he or she will be awarded with only death penalty but India has already assured Italy that the offence would not warrant death under established jurisprudence.

Faced with the peculiar situation, the Home Ministry is examining various provisions of law but is yet to take a

The NIA completed its probe after questioning four Italian marines, who were witness to the incident, through video conferencing after their refusal to come to India.

The Supreme Court had shifted the case to Delhi, saying Kerala Police has no jurisdiction over it and backed the government's decision to hand over the case to NIA.

[pankajs]

Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost 24m

Marijuana prohibition was racist from the start. Not much has changed http://huff.to/1d137xT
------------------------------>>
In a column for The Fix, Maia Szalavitz reminds us that Harry Anslinger, the father of the war on weed, fully embraced racism as a tool to demonize marijuana. As the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Anslinger institutionalized his belief that pot's "effect on the degenerate races" made its prohibition a top priority. Here are just a few of his most famous (and most racist) quotes:

"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

“Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."

..
Meanwhile, states throughout the south began implementing drug laws as part of the explicitly racist Jim Crow system, with southern lawmakers being quite open about the racist motivations behind the laws.

Sure, this was more than 75 years ago, but how much has actually changed today? The feds have stripped Anslinger's offensive language from their official mission statements, but we are left with anti-drug policies that are hardly less racist in their application.

According to a 2013 study by the American Civil Liberties Union, blacks across the nation were nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, despite data that suggested they use the drug at about the same rate.
----------------------------------------------------------->>
Some comments on the post

Like most American wars (spoken and unspoken) people-of-color are always in 99.9% of the cases the scapgoats.

It is not only marijuana prohibition that is racist! Traffic enforcement is racist. All law enforcement is racist! The judicial system is racist! How on this Earth can the prison population be mostly African American while whites are still in the majority? You do not need any more proof than that. ( I am white by the way. )

Heroin, cocaine, weed, alcohol etc. All perfectly acceptable to use, provided that you were rich and white. The minute the "others" started to use it was all of a sudden a menace. Fast forward to 2014 and you have the same mentality.

[SaiK]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 810571.cms "My daughter refused plea bargaining and refused to pay any fine. This is a common scam in the US where criminal charges are pressed for permanent resident status and money extorted. This is then split between the so-called victim and those who aid them. My daughter refused to pay," said Khobragade.

[RCase]

A toast (with duty free booze from ASCA) to Anmol and BRFites ....

Minimum Wage in NYC ... $9.25
Cost of tax free air tickets for 3 family members from DEL to NYC ... $5000
Extortion demand for settling out of court ... $10,000 plus Green Card
Bail amount .... $250,000
Attorneys Fees for defense ... Gawd aweful lots
Proposed fine in plea bargain ... $1


Picture of scrawny Indian gardner with protein fed US dog, outing racists ... PRICELESS!!!!

[SSridhar]

Even if the case against DK is dropped and (if) apology issued, I see no reason to grant unilateral privileges.

Unilateral privileges must be gone for good forever irrespective of the outcome on the DK issue. However, Salman Kurshid made it ambiguous by saying 'for now' in his TV interview. This is a matter of grave concern.

[Gus]

Good thing all these withdrawal of unilateral privileges are well publicised and opponents can whip up a crowd to protest rollback. 'Rent a crowd' is very effectively used by our paki and cheeni birathers.

[KLP Dubey]

Even if the case against DK is dropped and (if) apology issued, I see no reason to grant unilateral privileges.

200% agree. The MEA is talking tough, but what is needed are for proper rules to be frozen and uniformly implemented.

Secondly, does anyone know if this type of information falls within RTI or other similar public information rights? I.e. ,information on what privileges are given to foreign diplomats and officials of other countries, and what privileges Indian diplomats are given in those countries? What reciprocity is being enforced ?

Third, since when have the US diplomats enjoyed such privileges in India? Did they really have such privileges in the 1970s and 1980s cold war era, and in the 1990s after slapping sanctions on India ? Are these "free run" privileges a post-2004 UPA concession ?

The Indian government needs to be held accountable. Otherwise, it is stupid of the Indian government to expect accountability from the US if its own procedures are random, haphazard, uncoordinated, slavish to western interests, and utterly incompetent.

[SSridhar]

Good thing all these withdrawal of unilateral privileges are well publicised and opponents can whip up a crowd to protest rollback.

Gus, but the trouble is we shall never know when they are rolled back surreptitiously. See, these have been given at the whims and fancies of a few probably as baksheesh for something else. Such a behaviour lowers Indian image in the eyes of the US (already low bacause of the racist attitude) and leads to ugly situations. One concession is all that it takes to exponentially increase the American sense of 'entitlement'. This then becomes a defacto arrangement and a fait accompli to demand even more and get them too.

[chetak]

Good thing all these withdrawal of unilateral privileges are well publicised and opponents can whip up a crowd to protest rollback.

Gus, but the trouble is we shall never know when they are rolled back surreptitiously. See, these have been given at the whims and fancies of a few probably as baksheesh for something else.

They were certainly installed surreptitiously by bootlicking politicos and babus for personal favors and you can bet anything that they will all be rolled back again.

[pankajs]

Third, since when have the US diplomats enjoyed such privileges in India? Did they really have such privileges in the 1970s and 1980s cold war era, and in the 1990s after slapping sanctions on India ? Are these "free run" privileges a post-2004 UPA concession ?

Read somewhere but don't remember. It all started after 1962 and things kept piling up. Even BJP is guilty on that count.

[SSridhar]

Even BJP is guilty on that count.

I won't be surprised if many of them were introduced by Jassoo Mithaiwalaah.

[Vayutuvan]

One cant be named Devayani and be something else.
...
There is power in the name.

So dad Mr. UK is Shukraacharya? Guru to asuras.

[Vayutuvan]

Just like the Iraqi mission statement of the US: "We will bomb you for peace". You are saying that in the US, we now have the official mission statement of the war for 'Protection of Women' : We will rape you for women's rights.

1984 came to US 30 later.

[chaanakya]

The problem is, you guys are so addicted to CTs that you are unwilling to accept why all this happened:

It happened because of a wave of political correctnes over women's issues.

You think that there has to be some ulterior deep, dark, secret why this all happened when the truth is staring you right in the face. This US historically has done this many times, banning alcohol - prohibition, the Vietnam war, etc. There was no ulterior motive to these events, it was a wave of political hysteria that sometimes over takes the US. I recommend the book "What's the Matter with Kansas" where low income rural whites support conservative causes that are ultimately detrimental to them. It examines closely how hot button issues are used for political purposes such as abortion, etc.

Women were a major portion of the US electorate that got Obama elected. Women's issues rule with this administration. They accuse the Republicans, rightly or wrongly of committing a "war on women".

So they don't care what the ultimate cost of realtionship is with India. It could be trillions. It could drive India into permanent aliance with Russia. Right now, they. don't. care.

Don't get me wrong, the US establishment is going to make nice with India but they've drawn the line on women's issues. They're not going to back down on this issue.

What kind of logic is this?? You are clubbing alcohol, Vietnam War and DK issue in one bunch and surmise that there is no ulterior motives in any of these. And now this war on women issue while disrespecting Woman of a friendly country in most insulting manner is how you say US draws lines across on various issues. What US and you as well failed to see is that India has just shown a middle finger to US. US has lost good friend and gained a Maid. The words of Americans aad their diplomutts would not be believed . Right now we don't care. You might see this in how your views are not getting traction here. Don't you get the point.

[pankajs]

Firstpost ‏@firstpostin 24m

‘Vegetarians are rapists’: US diplomat expelled in Devyani row on India http://dlvr.it/4j8DNc
--------------------------->>

New York: The US State Department should stop posting diplomats to India who are more interested in denigrating the country than building ties. The American diplomat and his wife who were expelled in tit-for-tat action last week in the Devyani Khobragade case were clearly racist.

Wayne May, who headed the US embassy's security team in New Delhi, and his wife Alicia Muller May, who worked as the embassy's community liaison officer, posted several unflattering comments about India on Facebook.

..
“The implication that an Indian diplomat in a wage dispute with her maid is guilty of human trafficking understandably riles Indian diplomats as much as the treatment of Khobragade after she was detained. The American habit of imposing its worldview self-righteously on others is deeply unwelcome,” wrote Shashi Tharoor in Project Sydicate. {To quote from "The Black Experience in America" "Besides teaching the slave to despise his own history and culture, the master strove to inculcate his own value system into the African's outlook."}

Given the American couple’s general disdain of India and Indians, one wonders whether they were trying to champion Richards, or embarrass India by dragging one of its senior diplomats into a scandal.

..
Without listing all their nauseating Facebook threads, it is suffice to say that their utterances smack of disdain for India and its culture. With the US trying to restore damaged ties, the State Department tried hard to distance itself from the disparaging comments.

"Those comments absolutely do not reflect US government policy, nor were they made on any official US government social media account," said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf.

Sadly, this is not the first time we are seeing this sort of thing. In August 2011, US diplomat Maureen Chao enrolled in a cultural sensitivity class after she gave a speech in SRM University in Chennai that was interpreted by some as deeply racist and by others as an unfortunate gaffe.

..
“The zealous (Preet) Bharara seems to have slipped up, because Khobragade was arrested at a time when she enjoyed full diplomatic (not just consular) immunity as an adviser to India’s United Nations mission during the General Assembly. The State Department’s handling of the matter – which included approval of Khobragade’s arrest – has been, to say the least, inept,” added Tharoor.

[chaanakya]

Meanwhile this episode has unearthed MUTUs MUTIs and assorted anti India Indians, media masters and what not. Let them be noticed for what they are.

From MKB article

The Americans got the impression that the Indian establishment was impotent and highly vulnerable to US pressure and the elites were lacking in integrity and a sense of honor. Delhi must be one of the few capitals where minor flunkeys of the American embassy take undue freedom to backslap cabinet ministers at public receptions. Arguably, a point has been reached where it has become difficult to lend credence to media reporting – from Delhi or Washington-based reporters alike – on matters affecting the US-Indian “defining partnership”.

Meanwhile , it is good to see that spy angle has been confirmed in Media by Ex IFS. That is what many of BRFites believed and posted. However I think this could be a family affair as whole bunch left behind by SR ( his and her in-laws ) are also employed by US embassy and other embassies. They need to be interrogated and whole conspiracy to recruit one IFS officer be made public.

[g.sarkar]

So dad Mr. UK is Shukraacharya? Guru to asuras.

Are you saying he is one eyed?
Gautam

[sanjaykumar]

In August 2011, US diplomat Maureen Chao enrolled in a cultural sensitivity class after she gave a speech in SRM University in Chennai that was interpreted by some as deeply racist and by others as an unfortunate gaffe.


Maureen Chao had demonstrated her bona fides and commitment to India, having travelled extensively in India when younger. She has been committed to social causes-a do gooder in the best sense of the term I think she just made a clumsily worded comment-which rightly was construed as being deeply offensive. She voluntarily enrolled in a sensitivity awareness program. I think she would be welcome to return to India including Tamil country.

This present incident is in no way similar.

[Vayutuvan]

Are you saying he is one eyed?

--- Changing the tack a bit

As for Ms. Harf's assertion that (paraphrasing) "US and India have to get back to Arms Control, Non-proliferation, ..." I am a little mystified. Is she confusing India with Pakistan? TSJ, Is this a horrible mistake in that the US wanted to teach a lesson to Pakistan? All look SDRE anyway. Who has time to read up on the history?

[Kati]

Things are getting more and more pickle......

Ed Snowden worked at New Delhi US Embassy
http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-worked-us ... 47853.html

[KrishnaK]

So give me a break when diplomats are targeted for bringing domestic servants on legal isas issued by SD.

I'm not comparing diplomats bringing maids along the same as sex trafficking you refer to ramana, but misrepresenting on the visa application form would not constitute acquiring one by legal means. You can go through G. Parathasarathy claiming "it is a charade, every SD official knows precisely what we pay..." from 8:20 onwards. Even if there was no misrepresentation in this particular case, clearly it has been known to happen. G. Parathasarathy is a former diplomat and hopefully not considered a MUTU traitor. I have trouble believing the conspiracy theory, shifting guilt, racism etc. We were under the assumption we wouldn't be targeted and those assumptions turned out to be false. Given this isn't the first damn case to have happened, kinda hard to understand what our brilliant MEA was up to since then. Having caught with our pants down it's only par for the course to resort to conspiracy theories, sociology, etc.

That the US shouldn't have arrested and strip searched our diplomat, or that labour laws don't apply to such cases (as was highlighted by Suraj ?) are all a different arguments altogether. Clearly the US intends to enforce its local laws unless the diplomats belong to countries willing to play a ruthless game.

[Amber G.]

Even if the case against DK is dropped and (if) apology issued, I see no reason to grant unilateral privileges.

Unilateral privileges must be gone for good forever irrespective of the outcome on the DK issue. However, Salman Kurshid made it ambiguous by saying 'for now' in his TV interview. This is a matter of grave concern.

I think SK's statement was quite clear (and I think US understands it too) that privileges will come back when the reciprocity will be insured. Even before DK's case this was a big issue for Indian consulates. In any case sooner or later, IMO, US will get all the reasonable privileges but not before India's consulates get the same. This, IMO will be a good outcome for India as well as US.

Case against DK, IMO, has very little chance to proceed. We will see withing a few weeks the outcome but DK has formally submitted a motion (today) to the court for dismissal of the case. I don't thin PB will oppose the motion and the case will be dismissed.

The motion is something to the effect:

... moves this Court to dismiss the instant proceeding, to rescind the conditions of her release, and eliminate her bail conditions as she is immune from criminal prosecution in the United States as she was obligated, by the United States government, to leave the jurisdiction,..a court order to dismiss the indictment and proceeding against the Indian diplomat, terminate any and all conditions of bail previously imposed by the court during Khobragade's initial appearance on December 12 and exonerate any bail or bond previously posted on her behalf. The motion is also seeking termination of any open arrest warrants against Khobragade , requests for extradition with regard to the case .... this affirmation in support of Khobragade's motion to dismiss the instant proceeding as a nullity because both at the time of her arrest, as well as at the time of her subsequent indictment, defendant was cloaked in diplomatic immunity and has absolute immunity from any criminal prosecution in the United States... etc..,

PB, who is generally never to shy away.. has not commented on this motion up till now.

BTW, the he filing states that because of Khobragade's diplomatic status, the court did not have personal jurisdiction over her at the time of her arrest and indictment, but it still has jurisdiction to rule over her motion to dismiss the case.
(IMO, if in the court's opinion DK had full immunity, which I believe she has a very strong case because of her UN position, dismissal of the case is only logical choice - PB's mistake that he did not know about this at the time of arrest)

Let us see what the hon. Judge rules.

[KLP Dubey]

The American habit of imposing its worldview self-righteously on others is deeply unwelcome,” wrote Shashi Tharoor in Project Sydicate. {To quote from "The Black Experience in America" "Besides teaching the slave to despise his own history and culture, the master strove to inculcate his own value system into the African's outlook."}

Its absolutely rich for Shashi Tharoor to be pontificating on Americans and extolling the virtues of indigenous cultures. This UPA/Congress idiot:

1) Went to beg for, uh....American support for his UN candidacy but was turned down.

2) Spends a good amount of time honing his stupid "British" accent, which is so irritating that one wants to slap him.

3) Ran shamelessly after white women for many years while enjoying life in, uh...America, and cheating on his, uh...Indian wife.

4) Is unfortunately the MP from Trivandrum, and has done exactly nothing for his constituency except making speeches and empty promises that he would convert Tvm into a city modeled on Barcelona (he touted some MOU and nothing came of it thereafter). Somehow the gullible citizens were duped by him, perhaps a faute de mieux effect.

This man is a charlatan and a pretender. Shameful that these sold-out "men of straw" are professing indignation at the very kinds of things their ilk helped to promote.

[Karan Dixit]

By being against foreign multi-brand retailers, Aam Aadmi Party upsets Umrikans.
http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2014/01/14/aa ... nvestment/

I think the most practical policy for the US government would be to leave India's internal affairs to Indians. I doubt that the US will ever find any political party with whom it can make deals solely based on the US interests. It is not possible because political parties have to win elections. And, they cannot win elections if they are labeled traitors.

[Roperia]

N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers | NYT

... N.S.A. has increasingly made use of a secret technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they are not connected to the Internet, according to N.S.A. documents, computer experts and American officials.

The technology, which the agency has used since at least 2008, relies on a covert channel of radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards inserted surreptitiously into the computers.

...
But the program, code-named Quantum, has also been successful in inserting software into Russian military networks and systems used by the Mexican police and drug cartels, trade institutions inside the European Union, and sometime partners against terrorism like Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan, according to officials and an N.S.A. map that indicates sites of what the agency calls “computer network exploitation.”

...

One, called Cottonmouth I, looks like a normal USB plug but has a tiny transceiver buried in it. According to the catalog, it transmits information swept from the computer “through a covert channel” that allows “data infiltration and exfiltration.” Another variant of the technology involves tiny circuit boards that can be inserted in a laptop computer — either in the field or when they are shipped from manufacturers — so that the computer is broadcasting to the N.S.A. even while the computer’s user enjoys the false confidence that being walled off from the Internet constitutes real protection.

[Lilo]

By being against foreign multi-brand retailers, Aam Aadmi Party upsets Umrikans.
http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2014/01/14/aa ... nvestment/

Maya

[member_28352]

^^^^^ We should have a law that makes it mandatory for manufacturers selling computers in India to certify that electronic equipment is free of such devices on the pain of criminal charges being levied against them. In the longer term we need to have our own manufacturers.