Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

Two men on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Amsterdam were arrested by Dutch authorities on Monday on suspicion of attempting a "dry run" for a terror attack. According to media reports, authorities identified the pair as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezam al-Murisi, both of Yemeni descent.

The men were reported to have carried a range of "suspicious but not illegal" items in their checked-in baggage, including a mobile phone taped to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, three mobile phones taped together, several watches taped together, a box cutter and three large knives.

Further $7,000 in cash was said to have been discovered within the baggage of Mr. al-Soofi as he checked in for a prior flight from Birmingham, Alabama, to Chicago, on Sunday.

A law enforcement officer was quoted by CNN as saying that the men who flew out of Chicago’s O’Hare airport may have been trying to test whether bottles of liquid attached to electronic devices could make it past airport security. Ever since a 2006 liquid explosives plot was foiled in the United Kingdom, both U.K. and U.S. authorities have banned passengers from carrying all but small quantities of liquids on board.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, "The items were not deemed to be dangerous in and of themselves, and as we share information with our international partners, Dutch authorities were notified of the suspicious items... This matter continues to be under investigation."

The terror-dry-run hypothesis gained further currency given that Mr. al-Soofi obtained a ticket for a flight to Washington’s Dulles International Airport, with further stops in Dubai and Yemen — and yet both he and Mr. al-Murisi flew on an entirely different sector via the Chicago-to-Amsterdam flight.

Possible embarrassment

In a development that is likely to cause embarrassment to the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. al-Soofi’s luggage reportedly travelled from Chicago to Washington without him – a potentially serious violation of U.S. safety protocols.

A parallel but possibly unrelated incident concerning airline security occurred at Dulles International Airport on Monday night, when a nine-member delegation of Pakistani military officers travelling to U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, was offloaded from its flight after one officer made "what a flight attendant considered to be an ‘inappropriate remark".

The New York Times reported that members of the delegation, led by a two-star general, were offended by their treatment and cancelled the Central Command meeting. Department of Defence officials were said to have apologised for the incident.

Labels: Hezam al-Murisi, Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi, terrorism

From The Hindu

United States President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a major policy speech today, to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq and underscore his administration’s fulfilled promise in that regard.

In a relatively rare televised speech from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama will argue that since he assumed office, the White House has brought nearly 100,000 U.S. troops home from Iraq, and “millions of pieces of equipment have been removed, and hundreds of bases have been closed or transferred to Iraqi Security Forces”.

However in a curtain-raiser to his speech he emphasised that although the U.S.’ combat mission in Iraq was ending, its “commitment to an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant continues”. Mr. Obama added that as the mission in Iraq changed from combat to “advise and assist”, 50,000 U.S. troops would remain in Iraq even as Iraqi Security Forces assumed full responsibility for the security of their country from September 1 onwards.

Seeking to dispel any fears that the U.S. would be washing its hands of the country, Mr. Obama said, “We will forge a strong partnership with an Iraq that still faces enduring challenges.”

“Nation at war”

Admitting that for nearly a decade, the U.S. had been a “nation at war” and that the war in Iraq had “at times divided us”, he however added that one thing all Americans could agree upon was that “our brave men and women in uniform... have put their lives on the line and endured long separations from their family and loved ones”.

With the November Congressional elections around the corner, Mr. Obama may seek to capture some of the political capital that the return of troops and the end of an expensive military campaign will afford. However, critics have pointed out that Iraq is still rocked by waves of political violence and insurgent networks have been “battered but not defeated”.

In this context, James Phillips and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation argued that in order to prevent further deterioration in the situation the President “should signal that the U.S. remains firmly engaged as a dependable ally of Iraq and dispel the growing perception that Washington is intent on a quick exit regardless of the dangerous consequences of such a gamble”.

They further said that the President should make every effort to avoid squandering the hard-won security gains of the surge by withdrawing too many troops too fast. “Iraq still needs substantial U.S. military, diplomatic, and political support to defeat various insurgent groups, stave off a possible return to civil war, and contain Iran’s expanding influence,” they noted.

Labels: Iraq combat operations, Iraq war, President Barack Obama

From The Hindu

“I can't spend all my time with my birth certificate plastered on my forehead,” U.S. President Barack Obama has said, making clear his disdain for responding to a “network of misinformation” — a reference to the “birther movement”.

Mr. Obama rejected allegations he is either Muslim or not born in the U.S., saying he “trusted in the American people's capacity to get beyond all this nonsense”.

When asked on the NBC Nightly News television show about 20 per cent of Americans saying he is Muslim, he said he had to deal with such issues when he ran for the Senate.

Funny name

“There were those who said I couldn't win as U.S. Senator because I had a funny name. And people would be too unfamiliar with it. And yet, we ended up winning that Senate seat in Illinois,” he said.

Even as he denounced the rumours about his religion, Mr. Obama reiterated his support for the right of groups to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 attacks.

Mr. Obama said: “I think my statement at the Iftar dinner in the White House was very clear... that if you can build a church... synagogue... or a Hindu temple on that site, then we cannot treat people of the Islamic faith differently, who are Americans, who are American citizens.”

Core value

Despite coming in for heavy criticism, including from some in the Democratic Party, following his Iftar speech earlier this month, Mr. Obama insisted such tolerance was “a core value of our Constitution.” He said it was his job as President to ensure that the U.S. was upholding its Constitution.

He said he had not retracted his position on the mosque issue following criticism. Mr. Obama said:

“I didn't walk it back at all. What I said was I was not endorsing any particular project. I was endorsing our Constitution. And what is right.”

He noted that Muslim Americans had been in uniform fighting in Iraq, some having served over 20 years. “How can you say to them that somehow their religious faith is less worthy of respect under our Constitution and our system of government?” he asked, adding he would defend their right to express their feelings just as fiercely.

Labels: Barack Obama, birther movement, Ground Zero mosque, Islam

From The Hindu

After many months of official silence on the matter, the United States has finally revealed some of its plans for overhauling its export control regime, which Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao described earlier this year as “anachronistic.”

In remarks made via videoconference to the U.S. Department of Commerce Annual Export Controls Update Conference, President Barack Obama said, “For too long, we have had two very different control lists, with agencies fighting over who has jurisdiction. Decisions were delayed, sometimes for years, and industries lost their edge or moved abroad.”

To rectify these problems Mr. Obama said that going forward there would be a single, tiered, positive list – “one that would permit allow us to build higher walls around the export of our most sensitive items while allowing the export of less critical ones under less restrictive conditions.”

It was unclear whether the Indian government would view the changes made as resolving the major anomalies within the export control regime given the mention of “higher walls.” Key among the list of objections that Indian officials such as Ms. Rao have brought to the attention of the Department of Commerce has been the fact that U.S. entities have been banned from trading sensitive, dual-use high-tech items with India.

Further it was also not clear whether government-run institutions such as the Indian Space Research Organisation would be removed from the Entities List of the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security.

Referring in particular to the troubles faced by “allies” as a result of inconsistent or outdated rules, the White House said in a statement, “The control list criteria are based on transparent rules, which will reduce the uncertainty faced by our Allies, U.S. industry and its foreign partners, and will allow the government to erect higher walls around the most sensitive items in order to enhance national security.”

The White House further clarified that U.S. agencies would apply the criteria and revise the lists of munitions and dual use items that are controlled for export so that they are “tiered” to distinguish the types of items that should be subject to stricter or more permissive levels of control for different destinations, end-uses, and end-users.

Further, U.S. agencies would seek to create a “bright line” between the two current control lists to “clarify jurisdictional determinations and reduce government and industry uncertainty about whether particular items are subject to the control of the State Department or the Commerce Department”.

Finally the application of criteria would be structurally aligned so that they potentially could be combined into a single list of controlled items, the White House noted.

Labels: Department of Commerce, export controls, High Technology Cooperation Group, Nirupama Rao

From The Hindu

The United Nations' top institution for climate change policy, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, has come in for sharp criticism from an independent review, which has recommended “fundamental reform of IPCC management structure.”

The IPCC had earlier found itself embroiled in a controversy over whether some of its members had deliberately overstated the case for climate change, prompting calls for such a review.

The review was conducted by the Inter-Academy Council and was “completely independent of the U.N.”, according to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The IAC's report criticised the leadership of the IPCC, which is chaired by Indian scientist Rajendra Pachauri, and its procedures and operational guidelines for research, areas such as governance and management, review process, characterising and communicating uncertainty and transparency.

The IAC said the IPCC should encourage review editors to “fully exercise their authority to ensure reviewers' comments are adequately considered by the authors” and that “genuine controversies” are adequately reflected in the report.

The review report said the current limit of two six-year term for the IPCC chairman was too long. The terms for the IPCC top leadership should be limited to one assessment in order to maintain a variety of perspectives and fresh approach to each assessment, the IAC noted.

According to reports Mr. Pachauri said the decision about the duration of his tenure would have to be made at the full meeting of the IPCC in Korea in October.

The IAC said stronger enforcement of existing IPCC review procedures were required to minimise the number of errors.

The use of so-called “gray literature” from unpublished or non-peer-reviewed sources has been controversial and the guidelines for the use of such literature were currently “too vague,” the IAC Committee was reported to have said.

Criticising the IPCC's “slow and inadequate response to revelations of errors”, in previous assessments and complaints that its leaders had gone beyond mandate to be “policy relevant, not policy prescriptive” in their public comments, the IAC said the climate body's communications had become a “critical issue.”

Overall the IAC committee noted the quality of the assessment process and results depended upon the quality of the leadership at all levels, adding: “It is only by engaging the energy and expertise of a large cadre of distinguished scholars as well as the thoughtful participation of government representatives that high standards are maintained and that truly authoritative assessments continue to be produced.”

The IAC stressed that because intense scrutiny from policymakers and the public was likely to continue, the IPCC “needs to be as transparent as possible in detailing its processes, particularly its criteria for selecting participants and the type of scientific and technical information to be assessed.”

Labels: climate change, global warming

From The Hindu

The United States State Department has condemned extreme remarks made by a rabbi in Israel on the cusp of direct peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

Reacting to the offending statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who called for Palestinians to "perish from this world", U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said, "We regret and condemn the inflammatory statements by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef."

He added that the U.S. duly noted an official Israeli statement that the Rabbi’s comments did not reflect the views of the Prime Minister.

According to reports the Rabbi was also quoted as alluding to Palestinians as "evil, bitter enemies of Israel", during his speech on Saturday.

Mr. Crowley said, “These remarks are not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace. As we move forward to re-launch peace negotiations, it is important that actions by people on all sides help to advance our effort, not hinder it."

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. would be hosting talks between the leaders of Palestine and Israel in Washington in September. Prospects for peace ground to a halt in March this year when, even as Vice-President Joe Biden was in the region to facilitate direct talks, Israel’s Interior Ministry announced that permission had been granted for 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem.

At the time, a war of words ensued between Israel and the U.S., with Mr. Biden saying, "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem."

Labels: Israel Palestine relations, Philip Crowley, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, U.S.

From The Hindu

It would appear that controversy, and not fiscal conservatism, is the Tea Party’s primary philosophy.

Earlier this year, during the most heated phase of the healthcare debate, for example, there were ugly incidents of Tea Party members spitting on African-American Senators and chanting racist slurs.

Next, there were numerous instances of Sarah Palin, former Alaska Governor and right-wing icon, telling Party members to put Democratic Congressmen in their “crosshairs” a move that dangerously stoked violence.

And this weekend, the Party has again grabbed headlines for holding a “Restoring Honour” rally at the Lincoln Memorial here in Washington, the very same spot on which Martin Luther King stood exactly 47 years ago when he made his epochal “I have a dream”, speech.

With over 130,000 people signing up to the Facebook site of the rally and authorities saying they expect at least 100,000 people to turn up, the rally organised by far-right commentator Glenn Beck has come in for sharp criticism from former leaders of the American civil rights movement.

Al Sharpton, a prominent African-American leader and President of the National Action Network, described Mr. Beck’s event as an “outright attempt to flip the imagery of Dr. King... and circumventing him and distorting him”.

The National Action Network was also said to be planning the “Reclaim the Dream” march on the same day, and culminating at the very same location as the Tea Party rally.

Rally criticised

Other leaders also attacked the plan to hold the Tea Party rally. Carlton Veazey, of the National Baptist Convention and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, was quoted by ABC News as saying, “What they are trying to do is divert the nation from the agenda of Martin Luther King to their agenda, and I think that’s hijacking his legacy.”

However Mr. Beck claimed that his rally coinciding with the anniversary of Dr. King’s speech was not planned, and was “divine providence”. Ms. Palin is expected to be one of the speakers at the rally.

Yet in a move that left few doubts that he was aware of the coincidence, Mr. Beck announced that one of the speakers at the rally would be Dr. King’s niece Alveda King, who was slated to discuss Dr. King's work and legacy. She was said to have written in an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor that “Uncle Martin’s legacy is big enough to go around.”

In a rare move to contain the explosive potential of the rally, however, Mr. Beck requested Tea Party members not to bring placards and signs, “political or otherwise”. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, the mainstream umbrella group for minorities which has also been at odds with the Tea Party over questions of racism, commended this display of restraint.

In a statement, NAACP president Ben Jealous said, “We commend Beck for heeding the NAACP’s call for civility by banning extreme signs and guns at his event.”

In a statement NAACP president Ben Jealous said, “We commend Beck for heeding the NAACP’s call for civility by banning extreme signs and guns at his event.”

Labels: Martin Luther King, Sarah Palin, Tea Party rally

From The Hindu

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has announced that he has launched a raft of patent infringement lawsuits against some of the giants of the Internet search space, including Google, Apple, Yahoo, eBay, Facebook, YouTube and AOL.

Although Mr. Allen departed from Microsoft in 1983, the lawsuit, filed in a Seattle federal court on Friday, did not name the company that he and Bill Gates founded back in 1975.

According to reports, the lawsuit filed by Mr. Allen's company, Interval Research, focussed on four patents related to consumers' website interface during Internet searches, which it said it had patented over a decade ago.

One patent was said to enable the navigation of audiovisual data, another facilitated quick location of information related to a specific subject, and two further patents enhanced websites' presentation of images or data on “users' peripheral attention.”

Google reacted angrily to the suit, with one of its spokespersons quoted as saying, “This lawsuit against some of America's most innovative companies reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace.” The company further said that innovation and not litigation was the way to bring to market the products and services that benefitted millions of people around the world.

Facebook also attacked the lawsuit, saying, “We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously.”

Besides Microsoft, the other notable absentee from the list of companies sued was Amazon, the online retailer. Mr. Allen's Vulcan Inc. investment firm was noted to have developed Amazon's new headquarters in Seattle.

Among the other firms sued by Mr. Allen are Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples, all engaged in online retailing.

Labels: Microsoft, Web technology patents

From The Hindu

Compounding heightened insecurity on the prospect of a double-dip recession, the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday released a gloomy second-quarter report that showed economic growth had remained flat at 1.6 per cent.

The rate was significantly lower than the 2.4 per cent that a majority of surveyed economists had expected, and combined with an unemployment rate stuck stubbornly at 9.5 per cent, it has cast serious doubts upon the prospects for a sustained recovery under the Obama administration.

However, in a speech on Friday, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that he expected the economy “to continue to expand in the second-half of this year, albeit at a relatively modest pace.”

Mr. Bernanke added that the Fed stood ready to undertake policy measures to support what growth was there, noting that additional purchases of longer-term securities, should the Federal Open Market Committee choose to undertake them, would be effective in further easing financial conditions.

The Fed Chairman also underscored that the employment situation had not shown adequate improvement. He noted that data on the labour market remained “disappointing,” and private sector employment grew only sluggishly.

He further said that the small decline observed in the unemployment rate was attributable “more to reduced labour force participation than to job creation, and initial claims for unemployment insurance remain high.”

Emphasising the flexible approach of the Fed to deal with a variety of possible economic outcomes he said that the central bank was already supporting the economic recovery by maintaining an “extraordinarily accommodative monetary policy, using multiple tools.” Should further action prove necessary, Mr. Bernanke added, policy options were available to provide additional stimulus.

Labels: Bernanke, U.S. economy, U.S. Federal Reserve

From The Hindu

Three individuals were arrested on terrorism-related charges in Canada this week, in an operation dubbed “Project Samosa”, which focussed on home-grown terror cells.

Announcing the arrests on Thursday, Serge Therriault of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, "At this time, investigators have grounds to believe that Hiva Mohammad Alizadeh, Misbahuddin Ahmed and Khurram Syed Sher, formed part of a terrorist group, as it is defined in the criminal code of Canada, and were participating in terrorist activity in relation to that group within Canada."

Of the three, Mr. Ahmed was reportedly born in India. An RMCP officer was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying that the men were "months" away from exploding bombs on Canadian soil. Sean May, defence attorney for the suspects, said that the charges they faced were conspiracy, committing an offence for a terrorist group and providing or making available property for a terrorist organisation.

Mr. Therriault described the plans that the suspects were making to execute a terror attack, saying that they were in possession of "schematics, videos, drawings, instructions, books and electrical components designed specifically for the construction of improvised explosive devices".

Further, he said, the RCMP had evidence to support the fact that a member of the group had obtained training on how to construct explosive devices and investigators had seized more than 50 electronic circuit boards, designed specifically to remotely detonate IEDs.

International links

Citing international links that the men had, officials said that there were grounds to believe that Mr. Alizadeh was "a member of, and remains in contact with, a terrorist groups with links to the conflict in Afghanistan".

They noted that part of the decision to make the arrests at this time was to prevent the suspect from providing financial support to terrorist counterparts for the purchase of weapons, which might "in turn be used against coalition forces and our troops".

Touching upon the reality of terror threats in Canada Raymond Boisvert, of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said, "The threat of terrorism is very real and Canada is certainly not immune to attacks. This country has been identified on several occasions as a legitimate target by various individuals who espouse a violent Islamist ideology."

In an odd twist to the story, reports surfaced that Mr. Sher had entered and auditioned for the Canadian Idol show on television, although, according to reports "the video now circulating suggests he was not taking a future career in entertainment too seriously".

Labels: al-Qaeda plot, Operation Samosa, RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Toronto-18

From The Hindu

Francis Ford Coppola, director of cult classic films such as the Godfather series, will be awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, it was announced.

In a statement the Academy said that its Board of Governors had voted to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to Coppola and also honorary awards to historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow, director Jean-Luc Godard and actor Eli Wallach.

The Academy said that the four awards would be presented at its Second Annual Governors Awards dinner on November 13.

For the 71-year-old Coppola this will be a record-breaking sixth Academy award following four that he won for the Godfather films and one for original screenplay in Patton.

Speaking after the announcement Academy President Tom Sherak said, “Each of these honourees has touched movie audiences worldwide and influenced the motion picture industry through their work... It will be an honour to celebrate their extraordinary achievements and contributions at the Governors Awards.”

Coppola embarked on his film career in the early 1960s when he produced a number of low-budget films. However even by the end of the 1970s he had won five Oscars. Other notable films that he is credited with include American Graffiti, Gardens of Stone, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Jack and, most recently Tetro.

Coppola further established himself in the film industry when he created the American Zoetrope, an independent film studio that played a key role in launching the careers of other greats such as George Lucas. Since its inception in 1969 the studio has produced more than 30 films, including The Black Stallion, The Outsiders and The Good Shepherd.

His daughter, Sofia Coppola, is an Academy-award-winning director of movies such as Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides. His nephew is Nicolas Cage, an actor and also Academy award winner.

Labels: Francis Coppola

From The Hindu

Reliance Power has won a $917 million loan from the United States Export-Import Bank for the purpose of building a coal-fired power plant in India

USEIB reportedly reversed an earlier decision to reject the financing request when its Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve the loan for the 3,960 megawatt Sasan power plant in Madhya Pradesh.

According to reports the USEIB’s earlier refusal to finance the project stemmed from criticism of the power plant by environmental groups, which argued that the project would elevate carbon dioxide emissions levels and contribute to global warming.

Although financing decision had been made, reports said, approval for the project would still have to be obtained from the U.S. Congress.

Speaking to The Hindu, a senior staffer at USEIB said that the approval given at the bank was preliminary and after Congress had passed the loan the bank would issue final approval. He said that he expected both approvals to be provided.
Yet the bank’s President Fred Hochberg expressed optimism, saying in a earlier statement, “We are pleased that Reliance is making this commitment to renewable energy, which allows us to sustain U.S. jobs and promote both conventional and renewable energy exports.” The company further noted that this project was the largest funding supported by USEIB to any Indian corporation.

In terms of the purpose of the loan USEIB said that Reliance Power would use the loan guarantee to “support the sale and export by Wisconsin-based Bucyrus International of mining equipment.”

Labels: Exim Bank, Reliance Power, USEIB

From The Hindu

The continued detention of Vijay Kumar, the Indian arrested in Houston, Texas, last week, for possessing Jihadi literature and a set of brass knuckles, is "quite disturbing", his lawyer said, worrying in particular that he may remain in immigration custody for months on end awaiting a formal trial.

In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Kumar’s attorney, Grant Scheiner, said that while he did not want to accuse the Federal Bureau of Investigation of overreacting, he wanted them to "connect the dots" in Mr. Kumar’s case.

Mr. Kumar, a documentary film-maker stopping in the United States en route to Canada, was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport last Friday after officials were said to have noticed him "fidgeting" and "sweating" in the line for a security check. Regarding even these circumstances Mr. Scheiner pointed out that Houston had seen a spell of unusually hot weather in recent days and it was hardly surprising that Mr. Kumar was sweating.

However, according to Mr. Scheiner the more worrying developments in Mr. Kumar's case occurred this week when although Mr. Kumar posted the bond and was about to leave, the authorities "took him into immigration custody". Mr. Scheiner said that the federal authorities had stepped in and he did not know why, especially as Mr. Kumar was definitely not on any FBI list or the no-fly list.

No clarity or guarantees

Further, there appears no clarity on the length of the immigration custody that Mr. Kumar would face, there are "no guarantees that the immigration judge would free him" after his bail hearing which is scheduled to be held by Thursday. Even if he were freed at that point, Mr. Kumar would be unable to travel, as he had been asked to surrender his passport. Given that it often takes months to set a trial date, Mr. Kumar faces the possibility of remaining in the United States for much longer, though he knows no one in this country, Mr. Scheiner said.

On the question of Mr. Kumar’s arrest and the subsequent posting of bail, his attorney said the very fact that the "extremely high bond for a third degree felony offence" — set at $50,000 initially — was reduced on Monday to a much lower $5,000, suggested that the judge believed that Mr. Kumar meant no harm. He said, "The judge would not have reduced bail if he’d thought Mr. Kumar was a terrorist."

Regarding Mr. Kumar’s behaviour at the airport prior to his arrest, Mr. Scheiner pointed out that when taken away and interrogated by authorities Mr. Kumar’s reaction was confusion and concern because "he does not speak English very well, he speaks Hindi. Therefore he was confused when questioned".

Labels: FBI, Indian arrested, Jihad, Vijay Kumar

From The Hindu

In stark contrast to the powerful anti-incumbency mood during the primaries held in May this year, political incumbents won resounding victories across several states this week.

In Arizona, Senator and former Presidential candidate John McCain defeated his closest rival, former Congressman and conservative radio talk-show host J.D. Hayworth. Mr. McCain won 52 per cent of votes compared to 32 per cent for Mr. Hayworth.

Mr. McCain was reported to have out-spent his rival, pumping close to $20 million into his re-election campaign. Mr. Hayworth, by comparison was said to have spent a paltry $3 million.

In the same state Jan Brewer, the Republican Governor — now famous for the controversial immigration law giving police wide-ranging powers to stop and search anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant — was also victorious.

Democrats also taste victory

Democratic incumbents too tasted victory in states such as Vermont and Florida. In Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy garnered a whopping 89 per cent of the vote, leaving his rival Daniel Freilich, a Navy veteran and doctor, far behind.

In Florida, Kendrick Meek, Congressman of Miami and one of the few African-American candidates for the Senate, scooped up 57 per cent of the vote. In doing so, he trounced Jeff Greene, a real estate magnate and billionaire who had vowed to spend “whatever it takes” to win.

In Alaska the contest in a sense pitted one incumbent against a newcomer with incumbent backing. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose family media reports said held a “decades-long grip on one of the state’s two Senate seats”, was locked into a close fight with Joe Miller, a candidate backed by both the Tea Party and by former Governor and political heavyweight Sarah Palin.

Although Ms. Murkowski significantly out-spent her rival, early results suggested that Mr. Miller was ahead by almost 3,000 votes and, according to reports, had captured over 51 per cent of the total votes cast.

With the Congressional elections less than three months away, Republican and Democratic candidates alike have taken up increasingly polarised positions on the two main burning issues of the day — the jobs crisis and the budget deficit. The tenor of the rhetoric has correspondingly become more strident, a trend that may well intensify as November approaches.

Labels: J.D. Hayworth, John McCain, U.S. primaries

From The Hindu

In a continuing crackdown on top al-Qaeda operatives, the United States and the United Nations have applied terrorism sanctions against Abdallah Hasan Abu-al-Khayr, Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law.

The U.S. Treasury Department said this week that it had “designated” Mr. al-Khayr, widely acknowledged to be a key leader of the al-Qaeda’s finance section. With this designation, the Treasury has the right to freeze any assets that Mr. al-Khayr has under U.S. jurisdiction and it will also prohibit U.S. entities and individuals from engaging in any transactions with him.

Additionally, the UN Sanctions Committee took similar action against Mr. al-Khayr for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts... on behalf or in support of” al-Qaeda.

In a statement, the UN said that as the head of al-Qaeda’s finance section, Mr. al-Khayr transferred many thousands of dollars in preparation for a terrorist attack and also played leadership role on the terrorist organisation’s media committee.

Further, a UN official said, Mr. al-Khayr engaged in recruitment for al Qaeda on at least one occasion. Also as the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden he was thought to have acted as a bodyguard to bin Laden and a “caretaker of his wives.” Mr. al-Khayr’s relationship with al-Qaeda was said to have begun when he underwent military training with the group in the mid-1990s.

In applying the designation to Mr. al-Khayr, the Treasury noted that he also appeared on a 2009 list of 85 persons wanted by the government of Saudi Arabia, “in part, because of his role as an al-Qaeda financial facilitator”.

Issuing comments on the occasion, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey explained that after the death of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid — who served as al-Qaeda’s chief financial officer — in May this year, the U.S. government had shifted its focus to target individuals such as Mr. al-Khayr “who could step into al-Yazid’s shoes”.

Mr. Levey added, “Today’s designation of al-Khayr by the United States and the United Nations will help to ensure that that al-Qaeda remains in severe financial straits.”

Labels: Abdallah Hasan Abu-al-Khayr, Osama bin Laden, terrorism sanctions, U.S Treasury

From The Hindu

There is little doubt that insecurity about all things Islamic has gripped the United States. First it was the fierce war of words over the mosque to be built near the site of the 9/11 attacks. Then it was the startling revelation that nearly one in five Americans believed that President Barack Obama was a Muslim.

And now, in a tale dripping with irony, an Indian on his way to Houston, Texas, to deliver a lecture to the Hindu Congress of America has been arrested for possessing what has been described by authorities as “Jihadi material.”

Vijay Kumar (40), a documentary film-maker, was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport last Friday after officials noticed him behaving oddly in the line for a security check.

According to reports, when Mr. Kumar was taken aside for secondary screening, his baggage was found to contain books and diagrams on espionage, information on U.S. military weaponry, and numerous publications mentioning on the subject of Jihad, including the mention of “infidels.” When a set of brass knuckles, approximately $8,000, and more cash in other foreign currencies was uncovered in his bags, he was immediately arrested.

The Houston Examiner quoted one law enforcement officer as saying, “He had a ton of books," including publications written in Arabic, adding, “It definitely raised our concerns... Not your everyday passenger would have this sort of stuff and it definitely poses a concern for anyone involved in airport security.”

Local media also reported that in Texas, brass-knuckles were prohibited by law so Mr. Kumar was booked on a felony charge of possessing a prohibited weapon in a prohibited place.

Further unconfirmed reports suggested that a machine for testing explosive materials was set off by Mr. Kumar’s bags, prompting a scare that he was carrying a bomb. However that turned out to be a false alarm, with a second and third test of his bags both showing negative results.

After his arrest Mr. Kumar’s bond was initially listed as $50,000. That was reduced to $5,000 after a hearing on Monday at a Harris County District Court.

Texas media quoted Mr. Kumar’s attorney Grant Scheiner confirming that Mr. Kumar had surrendered his passport while considered the bail offer. Mr. Scheiner said, “I think that everybody realized that he is not a threat. He's a peaceful man.”

Mr. Scheiner added that Mr. Kumar was in Houston to deliver a lecture to the Hindu Congress of America on an interfaith discussion between Hindus and Muslims about the harms of terrorism.

Labels: Hindu Congress, Jihadi material

From The Hindu

The Obama administration on Tuesday confirmed that a major bilateral initiative for shale gas exploration in India was set to make important advances over the coming months.

At a briefing on the Global Shale Gas Initiative Conference here in Washington David Goldwyn, the administration’s Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, said, “Coincident with Prime Minister [Manmohan] Singh’s visit to the United States, we launched a memorandum of understanding with India on shale gas. And we have proposed... that the U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] do a resource assessment of certain shale basins in India.”

Noting that such joint shale gas exploration exercises would fall within the purview of the umbrella of cooperation under the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, Mr. Goldwyn however cautioned that the very same shale sites that were producing gas now were uneconomic because of the technology even six or seven years ago and in that regard, he said, “it’s new for India also.”

When asked whether the India-U.S. discussions touched upon the fact that shale extraction techniques could be endanger aquifers and groundwater Mr. Goldwyn said that safe water and safe regulation played a “huge part” in the discussions.

He said that while hundreds of thousands of wells had been drilled successfully in the U.S. thus far, the lesson that the U.S. wanted other countries like India to understand was that there had to be technically competent people operating the shale gas projects and “you have to have laws and regulations in place first.”

However Mr. Goldwyn also hinted that the U.S. might prefer that any shale gas obtained through such a joint initiative was not subsidised: “You have to have a market price, because if there isn’t a market price for natural gas, no one wants to produce that gas. No one will finance a pipeline, no one will produce a gas-gathering system to remove the impurities, and no one will purchase it on the end,” he said.

The administration also said that in its assessment of shale potential in India the USGS would employ sophisticated models which could that could use analogies to shale in the U.S. to project the “sweet spots,” and the “most prolific places to drill,” were.

However Mr. Goldwyn said that given the variability of shale across India, a rapid pace of source development would probably come only after successful explorations in the first basins. Thus, he said, further surveys by the USGS would not be completed in time for the auctions of shale leases in three Indian states planned for September 2011.

Mr. Goldwyn underscored the importance of Indian companies developing shale gas exploration and extraction technologies. He said, “Reliance has made an investment in a U.S. company to learn the technology.”

Labels: shale gas exploration

From The Hindu

A group of large corporations in the United States this week petitioned the U.S. government to block the year-end expiry of the Bush-era tax breaks for households earning over $250,000 per annum and also continue to provide dividend and capital gains tax concessions.

In a letter to Congress, the Tax Relief Coalition (TRC), an umbrella group consisting of the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, as well as companies such as Wal-Mart and Lockheed Martin, pleaded, “We urge you to include the extension of the dividend and capital gains tax rate provisions in your Reconciliation legislation this year.”

When the Senate reconvenes next month, it will take up the issue of the expiration of tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush. The debate is expected to be vociferous, as Republicans and businesses have argued that increasing taxes on the top income classes would “choke the economic recovery”.

While most polls of public opinion on the subject have shown divisions, a CNN poll last week said that 51 per cent of Americans backed the Obama plan to let rates for the wealthier rise, whereas 31 per cent preferred to have the lower tax rates renewed for all income groups. Under the plan backed by Democrats, the rates for the top two tax brackets would rise from their current levels of 33 and 35 per cent to 36 and 39.6 per cent respectively.

In the letter the TRC emphasised that while it was aware of the concerns about the costs of relief efforts and rising deficits, failing to extend the lower tax rates would “seriously worsen the economic outlook”. The group noted that the tax cuts of 2003 had created $4 trillion in stock market wealth and $10 trillion in total wealth, making the rebuilding efforts affordable.

Further, the business groups contended that tax revenues had in fact increased by over 15 percent in 2010, the largest annual increase in history, and prior to recent hurricane relief measures, the deficit was in fact being steadily reduced by the “solidly growing economy and increased tax revenues”. The preponderance of this historical increase in revenues is attributable to the capital gains and dividend tax rate reductions, the TRC added.

Most observers agreed that the debate would have a significant impact on the mid-term Congressional elections in November. Given that some conservative Senate Democrats have said they prefer to extend the lower tax rates, Mr. Obama’s backers may struggle to find the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster on the bill.

Labels: Barack Obama, tax break, tax rate reduction, TRC

From The Hindu

President Barack Obama’s support for embryonic stem cell (ESC) research suffered a serious setback this week when a federal judge ruled that a Presidential order permitting such research clashed with a Congressional ban on the use of government money for such purposes.

In a judgement that could result in the government-run National Institutes of Health (NIH) being barred from issuing funding grants for ESC research, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia said that he had granted a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs in the case, including the Christian Medical Association and Nightlight Christian Adoptions.

In doing so, Judge Lamberth argued that the will of Congress, as expressed in the 1996 Dickey-Wicker Amendment, was to prohibit federal funding of research in which human embryos were destroyed. Accordingly, the Judge said, it was in the public interest to stop the government from implementing its current policy on ESC. Under this policy NIH “may support and conduct responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem research, to the extent permitted by law”.

The latest ruling however held as invalid the distinction that the government sought to make between the process of embryonic destruction and the results of that destruction. In particular, Judge Lamberth said, “Despite defendants’ attempt to separate the derivation of ESCs from research on the ESCs, the two cannot be separated... Simply because ESC research involves multiple steps does not mean that each step is a separate “piece of research” that may be federally funded, provided the step does not result in the destruction of an embryo.”

He added that if even a single step or “piece of research” of an ESC research project resulted in the destruction of an embryo, the entire project ought to be precluded from receiving federal funding under the Dickey-Wicker Amendment.

Injunction preserves ‘status quo’

In terms of its immediate impact, Judge Lamberth however said that the injunction would not seriously harm ESC researchers because the injunction would simply preserve the status quo and would not interfere with their ability to obtain private funding for research. Further, he downplayed the impact that the stoppage of such research could have on individuals suffering from illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, saying that the possibility of the research leading to their treatment was “speculative”.

Meanwhile the ruling sent shockwaves through the ESC research community with George Daley, director of the stem cell transplantation program at Children’s Hospital Boston, quoted as saying, “This ruling means an immediate disruption of dozens of labs doing this work since the Obama administration made its order.” In a response to the ruling sent to the New York Times Tracy Schmaler of the United States Justice Department said, “We are reviewing the decision.”

Labels: embryonic stem cell research, ESC, Judge Royce Lamberth, stem cell research

From The Hindu

The Obama administration has put in place the final provisions for a new financial regulation law, called the CARD Act, which will bring unprecedented controls to bear upon the heretofore lightly regulated credit card industry in the United States.

Speaking after the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act was finalised, United States President Barack Obama said, "Yesterday, the final reform provisions of the CARD Act took effect. As of today, consumers will be protected against unreasonable fees and penalties for late payments, as well as unfair practices involving gift cards."

Many advantages

Arguing that this law would put a stop to deceptive credit card practices and hold credit card companies accountable to their customers, Mr. Obama noted that it would also make the terms of credit cards more understandable and put a stop to practices designed to trap consumers. Further, the CARD Act would restrict rate increases that apply retroactively to old balances and would prevent companies from increasing rates within the first year an account is opened.

Touching upon the broader context of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that the President signed into law in July, he said a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be empowered to look out for consumers in the U.S. financial system.

“In the wake of a terrible recession, these reforms and this independent consumer watchdog will not only protect consumers, they’ll strengthen our economy as a whole, levelling the playing field for responsible lenders and ensuring that families and small business owners are better able to make financial decisions that work for them,” he said.

Labels: CARD Act, credit card industry, financial reforms

From The Hindu

It has emerged that Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior operational commander of the Taliban, was arrested in January by Pakistani authorities because they feared being left out of a deal that the Taliban was striking with the Hamid Karzai government in Kabul.

The New York Times quoted an unnamed Pakistani security official as saying, “We picked up Baradar and the others because they were trying to make a deal without us... We protect the Taliban. They are dependent on us. We are not going to allow them to make a deal with Karzai and the Indians.”

While early descriptions of Mr. Baradar’s arrest suggested that it was unexpected and fortuitous, suspicions were aroused regarding the role of Pakistani intelligence agencies in the arrest, particularly after Kai Eide, former special representative in Afghanistan for the United Nations Secretary General, said that secret UN discussions with the Taliban in Dubai were destabilised by the arrest of Mr. Baradar.

Regarding the most recent reports confirming the aims of Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence in arresting Mr. Baradar, the New York Times also quoted an anonymous NATO official who said, “We have been played before... That the Pakistanis picked up Baradar to control the tempo of the negotiations is absolutely plausible.”

However U.S. intelligence officials reportedly disputed this account, arguing that although the Central Intelligence Agency may have been unaware of the identity of the person that the ISI had captured, the ISI did not initially know it either. One U.S. official reportedly said, “We are not convinced that that was why Baradar was picked up,” in a reference to the Taliban-Karzai-UN, however conceding, “But maybe that was why he was held.”

In the context of the arrest and the stalled talks the NYT report also quoted sources saying that Mr. Baradar and other arrested Taliban leaders were warned against carrying out future negotiations without their permission. In particular a former Western diplomat with long experience in the region was reported to have confirmed that the ISI sent a warning to its Taliban protégés that the Taliban should not engage in “flirting” with the Karzai government or other parties in Afghanistan.

Labels: Afghan Taliban, Baradar arrest, Inter-Service Intelligence

From The Hindu

After months of stalling, the Middle East peace process received a shot in the arm this week when the United States announced that it would be hosting talks between the leaders of Palestine and Israel in Washington in September.

In a statement Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “After proximity talks and consultations with both sides, on behalf of the U.S. government, I have invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to meet on 02 September in Washington, D.C., to re-launch direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues, which we believe can be completed within one year.”

Prospects for peace ground to a halt in March this year when, even as Vice-President Joe Biden was in the region to facilitate direct talks, Israel’s Interior Ministry announced that permission had been granted for 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem. At the time, a war of words ensued between Israel and the U.S., with Mr. Biden saying, “I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem.”

Optimistic over negotiations

However, expressing optimism regarding next month’s negotiations, Ms. Clinton said that President Barack Obama and she were encouraged by the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas and shared their commitment to a two-state solution.

Secretary Clinton also emphasised that President Obama had invited President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan to attend the talks in Washington, given their critical role in this effort. She said that Mr. Obama would hold bilateral meetings with the four leaders followed by a dinner with them on 01 September.

Blair to join dinner

Further, Ms. Clinton said, Quartet Representative Tony Blair had also been invited to the dinner in view of his important work in helping Palestinians build the institutions of their future state, “an effort which must continue during the negotiations”.

Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas are then scheduled to join Ms. Clinton at the State Department on 02 September for a trilateral meeting to re-launch direct negotiations. On that effort, Ms. Clinton noted that there had been difficulties in the past and there would be difficulties ahead and, “without a doubt, we will hit more obstacles”.

Yet, she pleaded, “I ask the parties to persevere, to keep moving forward even through difficult times, and to continue working to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.” These negotiations should take place without preconditions and be characterised by good faith, she said.

Labels: Gaza, Hillary Clinton, Isarel-Palestine conflict, Palestine Israel peace talks

From The Hindu

First it was the United States army turning to mindfulness meditation and now even members of the U.S. Congress are seeking alternative means of attaining a peaceful state of mind.

Marking a renewed interest in Eastern philosophy in this country, this time it was Senator John Millner of Illinois who, along with his entire office, sought lessons in “anger-management, stress-management, and freedom [from] vices with techniques of meditation and yoga”, from His Holiness Acharya Lokesh, a Jain teacher.

Hosting a conference in honour of HH Lokesh, Senator Millner said that India was an economic power, and future world economic power, yet both India and the U.S. were affected by violence and terrorism.

Senator Millner said to the assembled audience that HH Lokesh had helped establish non-violence, peace, and harmony worldwide and he had seen “so many different forms of violence growing that he believes everyone needs to unify to find more effective methods against violence and terrorism”.

On the occasion, Senator Millner also accepted the position of Chairman of the Reception Committee for the International Interfaith Convention, which will be hosted by the Jain Centre of Chicago in 2011.

Labels: Acharya Lokesh, Jain teacher, Senator John Millner, yoga

From The Hindu

A top Obama administration official has told Israel that Iran’s “dash”, or timeline for developing an atomic bomb, is at the very least one year rather than a few months, contrary to what Israeli intelligence officials believed.

Gary Samore, President Barack Obama’s senior adviser on nuclear issues, told the New York Times, “We think that they have roughly a year dash time... A year is a very long period of time.”

The NYT also quoted unnamed administration officials as saying they believe that Mr. Samore’s assessment has “dimmed the prospect that Israel would pre-emptively strike against the country’s nuclear facilities within the next year”.

Iran’s “breakout”

At the heart of the matter is a question about the length of Iran’s “breakout”, or the time it would take to convert its stocks of low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade material. According to the NYT report, the latest U.S. assessments regarding Iran’s breakout were based on “intelligence collected over the past year, as well as reports from international inspectors”.

However, the newspaper also noted that it was not clear whether the problems that Iran faced in enriching uranium resulted from poor centrifuge design, difficulty in obtaining components or accelerated Western efforts to sabotage the nuclear programme.

The comments follow similar remarks by Robert Gates, Secretary of Defence, in April. In a television interview alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr. Gates cast doubts upon the ability of Iran to produce nuclear weapons when he said, Iran was “not yet... nuclear capable”.

At the time Mr. Gates also said, “If their policy is to go to the threshold but not assemble a nuclear weapon, how do you tell that they have not assembled? So it becomes a serious verification question, and I do not actually know how you would verify that.”

During the interview, Ms. Clinton however avoided a direct question on whether Iran was nuclear capable or not. She said, “That’s an issue upon which intelligence services still differ. But our goal is to prevent them from having nuclear weapons.”

Labels: Gary Samore, Iran nuclear programme, nuclear issues, nuclear weapon

From The Hindu

India and the U.S. on Friday formally signed an agreement for cooperation on a joint Clean Energy Research Development Centre.

The agreement follows from the discussions held between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama during the former's visit to Washington in November 2009.

At the time the countries signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation on energy security, energy efficiency and climate change.

Discussions on the same saw further progress during the Strategic Dialogue held in June this year.

An official statement noted that priority initiatives under the MoU included the setting up of a joint research centre to “foster innovation and joint efforts to accelerate deployment of clean energy technologies.”

The agreement was signed by Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar and Deputy Secretary of Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy Daniel Poneman.

The Centre aims to facilitate joint research and development by teams of scientists and engineers from the U.S. and India on clean energy, officials here said. Under the arrangements, the areas of cooperation would include energy efficiency of buildings, smart grids, unconventional natural gas, second-generation bio fuels, clean coal technologies and solar energy.

Both governments would provide funding for the activities “to help ensure long-term and stable financial support to achieve the objectives of the Centre,” a statement confirmed.

The Indian embassy here said that the agreement was a “significant step forward” in bolstering bilateral cooperation in an area of growing national and international priority.

Embassy officials further said to The Hindu that the research centre would be ‘virtual,' and not have any fixed physical locations.

Labels: clean energy, climate change, green technology

From The Hindu

The persistence of a giant plume of oil in the Gulf of Mexico suggests that the long-term impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill may be worse than earlier assumed, a new scientific study has revealed.

In the latest issue of Science magazine, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) discussed their investigations of a plume of hydrocarbons at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface. According to Christopher Reddy, a WHOI marine geochemist and oil spill expert, “The plume was not a river of Hershey’s Syrup... But that’s not to say it isn’t harmful to the environment.”

Doubts on earlier claims

Their discovery has cast doubt upon earlier claims by government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which said that 74 per cent of the oil that gushed into the Gulf between April and August was either captured directly at the Macondo well site, had naturally evaporated or had been dispersed by operations at the surface and dissolved into microscopic droplets.

According to the most recent study, the 1.2-mile-wide, 650-foot-high plume of trapped hydrocarbons provided at least a partial answer to recent questions asking where all the oil had gone as surface slicks shrank and disappeared. Mr. Reddy said, “These results indicate that efforts to book-keep where the oil went must now include this plume.”

The WHOI study also disputed official estimates of the speed at which deep-sea microbes were degrading the plume. The plume has shown that the oil already “is persisting for longer periods than we would have expected”, according to Richard Camilli, Chief Scientist at WHOI and lead author of the paper. He added, “Many people speculated that subsurface oil droplets were being easily biodegraded. Well, we didn’t find that. We found it was still there.”

The WHOI study was based on approximately 57,000 discrete chemical analyses undertaken during a June 19-28 scientific cruise. The expedition entailed the use of two highly advanced technologies: the autonomous underwater vehicle and an underwater mass spectrometer.

While the WHOI scientists noted that they had found no “dead zones”, or regions of significant oxygen depletion within the plume where marine life could not survive, WHOI geochemist Benjamin Van Mooy, said this finding could have significant implications.

“If the oxygen data from the plume layer are telling us it isn’t being rapidly consumed by microbes near the well,” he said, “the hydrocarbons could persist for some time. So it is possible that oil could be transported considerable distances from the well before being degraded.”

Labels: BP oil spill, Deepwater, Deepwater Horizon, NOAA, oil plume

From The Hindu

The United States’ troubles in Latin America took a new turn this week as Colombia, fresh from electing a new President, brought a defence agreement between Bogota and Washington to a grinding halt.

The crisis for American military interests in the region was precipitated on Tuesday when Colombia’s Constitutional Court suspended an agreement that provided U.S. troops with greater access to Colombian bases. The Court said it was suspending such access on the grounds that the agreement had not yet won Congressional approval.

The agreement, aimed at boosting anti-drug and counter-insurgency operations, was signed last October and permitted U.S. forces to use seven bases within Colombian territory.

According to reports, the Constitutional Court said that it, “resolves to refer to the President the supplementary agreement for cooperation and technical assistance in defence and security between the governments of Colombia and the U.S..” As per this judgement, the agreement would now go back to the desk of the new President, Juan Manuel Santos, whose government has said it would abide by the court’s decision and study the ruling further.

While the government of President Santos enjoys a strong majority in the country’s legislature and may not have trouble passing the agreement, it is unclear whether this will happen. In its decree, the Constitutional Court however clarified that it had not ruled on the legality of the agreement, rather it had commented on the process by which the pact had been approved.

The defence agreement had sailed through relatively smoothly under former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who did not deem Congressional approval necessary for it to be implemented. Numerous groups, including neighbours Ecuador and Venezuela, subsequently criticised the accord for granting the U.S. military immunity from criminal prosecution within Colombian jurisdiction.

While Mr. Uribe was one of the U.S.’ staunchest allies in a continent increasingly hostile to American regional dominance, Mr. Santos, is less so, according to observers. After being sworn in earlier this month Mr. Santos was quick to mend fences with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who had severed ties with Colombia in July after a border dispute.

Labels: Juan Manuel Santos, U.S. Colombia defence agreement, U.S. Colombia ties

From The Hindu

The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations has won a key legal battle against the City of New York, and as a result has obtained an exemption from a federal appeals court from paying millions of dollars in property taxes to the City.

In the judgment on Tuesday, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan Appeal said it had reversed an earlier judgment by a District Court that had ruled in favour of the plaintiff, the City of New York. The ruling will exempt the Mission from paying $45.7 million in back taxes and interest accrued since 2008.

As per the latest ruling, the Appeals Court found that a State Department notice was a lawful exercise of the Department's authority under the Foreign Missions Act. Thus, the Court ruled, the notice operated in this case to exempt the Appellants from the property taxes imposed by the City, and so “nullifies the City's existing tax liens against Appellants.”

Media reports quoted Aaron Stiefel, a lawyer representing India and Mongolia in the litigation as saying, “Certainly, we're thrilled with the result... It is a complete victory, we got everything we wanted.”

Opposing counsel city attorney Michael Cardozo said, “We are extremely disappointed... This provides a free ride for foreign countries owning certain properties in New York City while unnecessarily burdening local taxpayers.”

The State Department notice that the Court alluded to was issued during the appeals process, in June 2009, and held that pursuant to the Foreign Missions Act, it was designating as a “benefit” an exemption from property taxes on property owned by foreign governments and used to house the staff of permanent missions to the U.N.

That notice, the Court said, pre-empted “all inconsistent state and local laws,” and also applied to all property taxes that have been or will be assessed on such property.

The latter ruling would save the Indian Mission from having to pay past taxes as well. It was unclear whether New York City's had the right to tax other countries' U.N. mission properties,

With the argument principally turning on the jurisdiction of the State Department to provide such exemptions under the Foreign Missions Act, the Appeals Court added, “Under the circumstances of this case, the State Department acted within its power in designating this benefit as effective retroactively.”

Labels: Indian Mission, New York, tax exemption, United Nations

From The Hindu

Milorad “Rod” Blagojevich, former Illinois Governor and Democrat, got away with a guilty verdict on only one of 24 charges, in a federal corruption case against him. Mr. Blagojevich was found guilty of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a trial that has witnessed two weeks of “tense deliberations”, according to a juror in the case.

The jury failed to reach a clear verdict on other, more serious charges, including conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit bribery — all relating to what the Justice Department described as Mr. Blagojevich’s attempts “to obtain personal gain ... through the corrupt use” of authority to fill President Barack Obama’s vacated United States Senate seat.

Under the present laws, Mr. Blagojevich could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the single guilty count. However some legal experts said that the he may serve "a few months to a year". In any case, Mr. Blagojevich was freed on a bond pending a retrial and has said he would appeal the guilty verdict.

Blagojevich claims victory

Claiming victory shortly after the verdict was read, Mr. Blagojevich was quoted saying, “This jury shows you that the government threw everything but the kitchen sink at me... They could not prove I did anything wrong — except for one nebulous charge from five years ago.”

One juror in the case, Erik Sarnello (21), said to a television channel earlier that a lone female juror would not be swayed by the overwhelming majority and kept the jury deadlocked at 11-1 on three major charges relating to the Obama Senate seat.

Mr. Blagojevich was arrested on December 9, 2008, and charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. For months before his arrest police, investigators had tapped his phones and, according to reports, “recorded profanity-laced conversations between the governor and his advisers about their alleged plans to profit from his authority”.

Labels: conspiracy case, conspiracy charges, Obama Senate, Rod Blagojevich

From The Hindu

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …,” wrote Charles Dickens. Today those could well be the words of the captains of Indian industry and the government that represents them. For even as the drum rolls have begun early this summer in anticipation of Barack Obama's visit to India in November, the record of the United States' 44th President on deepening economic ties with India does not inspire confidence.

Look at the facts. The economic dimension of the bilateral relationship has grown significantly in size and complexity since the pre-1991 era. Even more so since India decisively emerged from the fog of post-Pokhran nuclear isolation and sanctions were lifted by former President George W. Bush in 2001. Indeed it was the very same man who then went on to give the burgeoning relationship its biggest breakthrough in the form of the civilian nuclear deal.

Yet some in India's private sector, and perhaps in the Industry and External Affairs Ministries as well, would argue that that was where it ended. To be sure, the current U.S. administration has not spoiled the party entirely; if anything it has been at pains to sustain the image of not rocking the boat. Thus there have been veritable cascades of bonhomie during such encounters as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's much-touted “first state visit” of the Obama Presidency last November, and the India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue of May 2010.

The concerns

While these events and the behind-the-scenes Track I and Track II dialogues have certainly kept the boat from rocking, there is little doubt that the two countries are charting a course through troubled waters and that storm clouds loom on the horizon. To those following the comments of visiting Indian leaders in Washington, one thing is clear: sections of Indian industry, from the high-tech and space sectors to IT giants, are deeply unhappy with the U.S. intransigence on a range of issues at the very heart of their operations.

Some of the most serious concerns are the following.

First, export control restrictions, particularly on dual-use, high-tech items, have been brought up time and again by senior officials such as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. In March, as Ms. Rao co-chaired a meeting of the India-U.S. High Technology Cooperation Group, she described the restrictions and related constraints as “anachronistic.”

Second, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security has inexplicably retained government organisations such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the Entities List, thereby banning U.S. corporations from trading with them. Although Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs and other U.S. officials promised several months ago that the list was being revised, ISRO has not officially been taken off it yet.

Third, the “totalisation” conundrum has led to Indian professionals paying “huge amounts” as social security contributions in the U.S. and yet they are unable to draw any benefits on the basis of such contributions. Senior Indian Ministers such as Labour and Employment Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot spelled out the nature of the problem to their U.S. counterparts in Washington in March and April. Yet in an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Blake said that the U.S. social security administration had “really grappled with this but thus far not found a way to be responsive.”

Visa fee hike

The most recent salvo came last week when Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Clair McCaskill sponsored — and got passed — a border security bill entailing an H1-B- and L-visa application fee hike of $2,000 for firms with a higher proportion of non-American employees.

No prizes for guessing which firms would be most adversely hit by this bill. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) sharply criticised the bill, and its president Som Mittal warned it was an “indirect form of protectionism and runs contrary to the Obama administration's oft-repeated goal of opening markets and doubling U.S. exports.”

To some, these worrisome barriers to an open economic relationship are symptomatic of the old stereotype of Democratic administrations — that they are less concerned about economic proximity to India than Republican administrations are.

Others worry specifically about the Obama government's penchant for protectionist policies, a trend that is certainly validated by the emerging rhetoric in Washington.

So far as Mr. Obama himself is concerned, it began long before he became President. As a Democratic Senator and rising star on the domestic political scene, he gained notoriety in India for backing several “killer amendments” to the India-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement. Although pro-deal lobbies dodged that bullet and the Feingold Amendments were defeated in the Senate, Mr. Obama has done little in his Presidential avatar to shake off the reputation that his actions created.

And the future looks even bleaker. The President and his Democratic colleagues are increasingly adopting a tunnel-vision approach, focussing on the one challenge that could make or break the next few years for them — the November Congressional elections. Thus India should expect that this administration will, for the next few months at least, be driven only by the adage: “It's the economy stupid!”

With the unemployment rate stabilising at 9.5 per cent and over 130,000 jobs being shed each month, even a juggernaut of a political issue such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may trail behind job creation.

So might immigration reform. So might even the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are in any case set to slowly wind down. Imagine, then, how low on the priority list the woes of Indian industry must be. Nay, consider in fact the possibility that the battle of cry of “Stop jobs getting Bangalored!” may actually serve as a handy rallying point in the barren wasteland that is the American job market.

Given the compelling power of protectionist politics on the eve of a major round of elections, there will be little point in arguing that Indian industry is actually helping to create jobs for American citizens — though in fact it is.

Over time the only hope for those within Indian industry seeking to do business with the U.S. may be the U.S. private sector itself. History would corroborate this theory. It was in many ways the bonds between the Indian government, on the one hand, and the Indian-American community and the U.S. nuclear lobbies, on the other, that helped shepherd the civilian nuclear deal through Congress.

Indian companies with global ambitions may find that this is the only way to stop the spring of hope from giving way to the winter of despair.

Labels: Barack Obama, India-U.S. ties

From The Hindu

The latest political casualty of the sizzling controversy around the Ground Zero mosque, as it has come to be known, might be none other than President Barack Obama.

After he broke months of silence on the issue last week and threw his weight behind the proponents of the Cordoba House community centre, planned two blocks away from the site of the 9/11 attacks, he has found himself lacking the support of Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, and watched as Republicans began to attack his position on the subject.

Last week at a White House Iftar dinner Mr. Obama had said, “As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.”

However, Jim Manley, a spokesman for Nevada Senator Reid said shortly thereafter, “The First Amendment protects freedom of religion... Senator Reid respects that but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else.”

Further, Republicans alleged that the President was no longer aware of what a majority of Americans felt about the mosque being constructed in the proximity of the worst terrorist attack on United States soil.

The New York Times quoted James Renacci, a Republican candidate from Ohio, saying, “It is very troubling to see President Obama again turning a deaf ear to the thoughts and concerns of a majority of Americans,” and that people at a recent public meeting “were furious about the mosque proposal”.

Mr. Obama also rephrased his own words over the weekend when he said, “I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there... I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.” Those rights, according to him, related to the broader principle that government ought to “treat everybody equally”, regardless of religion.

Labels: Barack Obama, Ground Zero controversy, Ground Zero mosque

From The Hindu

Reflecting a new impetus for work in the area of climate change by non-governmental organisations, the India Development Coalition of America (IDCA), a network of non-profit organisations based in the United States, held a regional conference here on the mitigation of climate change and inclusive development in India.

During the conference, held this week at the Johns Hopkins University, discussants covered a range of relevant development policies urgently needed in India. These included education, healthcare, and welfare services as well as grassroots capacity-building that was essential to mitigate the impact of climate change on the poor.

One of the main speakers was P.V. Indiresan, Professor Emeritus, Former Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and a Padma Bhushan awardee, who argued that although the Government of India promoted inclusive growth through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and waivers of farm loans, there was a risk that the resultant increase in incomes may vanish if the schemes were withdrawn.

Professor Indiresan noted that therefore, there was a need to give the poor the right to employable skills, modern shelter with running water, sanitation, electricity and affordable modern transport. This would lead to better access to schools, hospitals, markets and jobs for the poor, he said. He further urged that government policy “should be to establish where land is available cheap for businesses to create “export” jobs plus modern housing as well as mass transport”.

Participants share experiences

Participants and practitioners also shared their experiences across a range of organisations. Neha Misra, IDCA Renewable Energy Programme Advisor, discussed insights from IDCA’s community solar project, aimed at bringing the benefit of solar light to over 40 villages near the town of Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh.

Experts from other NGOs, such as Kewal Likhyani of Crush Poverty Now, discussed a bottom-up approach to creating self-sustaining communities and local capacity in rural areas. The focus on capacity building was also underscored by Jay Sehgal of the Institute of Rural Research and Development, who touched upon efforts to undertake rural research and improve village governance.

Labels: climate change conference, IDCA, India Development Coalition of America, P.V. Indiresan

From The Hindu

Breaking months of silence, President Barack Obama waded into the controversy over the "Ground Zero mosque" this week, when he said at a White House Iftar dinner, "As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances."

The plans to build the mosque two blocks away from the site of the 9/11 attacks caused a furore when they gained the approval of a local community board in Manhattan a few months ago. When the board gave the final go-ahead for the mosque, to be called Cordoba House, earlier this month, there were anguished outpourings by those who opposed as well as support for the plan.

In particular, a right-wing group won approval to run an advertisement on NYC buses that showed a photograph of a hijacked airplane flying into one of the twin towers on 9/11 and, suggestively, a high-rise building with an Islamic crescent and the words “Why There?” Further, critics of the mosque plan also raised questions about the State Department sponsoring a faith dialogue trip to the Middle East by the man behind Cordoba House, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

However President Obama this week indicated his strong support for the mosque despite these protests when he said, "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."

Arguing that America was a nation of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and non-believers, he however underscored that those who were tragically lost on 9/11, must never be forgotten. Mr. Obama said that the pain experienced by those who lost loved ones was unimaginable and he understood the emotions that the issue engendered. "Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground," he said.

Yet he emphasised that al-Qaeda's cause was not Islam but rather a "gross distortion" of the religion, and in reality, the terrorist group had killed more Muslims than people of any other religion.

Touching upon the importance of the contributions of American Muslims, the President said they excelled in every walk of life, serving as police, fire-fighters and first responders. "Muslim-American clerics have spoken out against terror and extremism, reaffirming that Islam teaches that one must save human life, not take it," he said.

Labels: 9/11 attacks, Ground Zero mosque, U.S. Muslims

From The Hindu

Distancing itself from the brewing controversy on the possible banning of Blackberry mobiles in India, the United States State Department said that the matter had to be worked out between the company behind the Blackberry and Indian regulators.

In a media briefing the Department Spokesman said, “While we have been in touch with our foreign partners, this is a matter for Research in Motion to work out directly with Indian officials.”

Blackberry mobiles have been at the centre of a recent debate in India, which has seen the Indian Home Ministry warn that it might halt BlackBerry electronic mail and messaging services if Research in Motion Ltd. did not make them accessible to security agencies by August 31. The prime concern of the government is the potential use of BlackBerry encryption as cover for terrorist activity.

Labels: Blackberry controversy, Blackberry mobiles

From The Hindu

With the upcoming Obama visit to India in the backdrop, the State Department has confirmed that discussions held this week with Government of India representatives were focussed on the next round of the United States-India Strategic Security Dialogue to be held in Washington this fall.

According to a statement by the Department Spokesman, Under Secretary Ellen Tauscher and Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had discussed preparations for round two of the Strategic Dialogue following its kickoff in early June.

Further it was confirmed that Robert Hormats, Under Secretary for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs, had met with Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Meera Shankar, K. Kasturirangan and V.S. Senthil, Minister (Economic) on August 12.

The statement noted in particular that Dr. Kasturirangan was leading the Government of India delegation for the “Increasing Meteorological and Agricultural Cooperation between the Government of India and the Government of the U.S.” event, hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Touching an optimistic note on the meetings the State Department said that the U.S. and Government of India delegations were “enthusiastic about the continued cooperation on crop and weather forecasting and discussed areas for advancing our cooperation such as agriculture, space and economics.”

Labels: India-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue, India-U.S. talks