I listened to Sanjay Malakar's last performance and it was quite good. I found it entertaining. I am sure there were quite a few people who agreed with me.
I do not watch TV that much but due to all that publicity, I decided to view the clips on the internet. I cannot imagine how people find time to watch these shows and then pickup the phone and vote. I barely have time to keep up with the cricket. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I do not see anything wrong with being referred to as African American. It can be a case of mistaken ethnicity. Other than that, we are all humans.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That is my concern, why they have to use race or ethnicity to define somebody. It is discrimination. He is American Period, color of his skin should not matter.
03-30-2007, 09:11 AM (This post was last modified: 03-30-2007, 09:15 AM by Husky.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Kumar+Mar 30 2007, 09:01 AM-->QUOTE(Kumar @ Mar 30 2007, 09:01 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->I do not see anything wrong with being referred to as African American. It can be a case of mistaken ethnicity. Other than that, we are all humans.
[right][snapback]66330[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->I think Mudy meant that some Americans were so ignorant that they couldn't even bother referring to him as Indian. Like you say - 'mistaken' identity. But I think it might well be more than that. There are still quite a number of Americans who think the world's population consists only of three groups: Caucasians, Africans and 'Chinese'. And everyone who's not Caucasian or 'Chinese' is immediately labelled African. But I've seen some Americans reviewing films claim how lighter Indian people like Aishwarya 'must have some Oryan blood' only because they happen to find such Indians attractive. Thanks to AIT.
Similarly, attractive Africans are accused of needing to have had some 'white ancestry' - presumably because they 'could not have been so attractive otherwise'.
This is just racism.
In the case of this singer, it could be mere ignorance on the part of those referring to him as African American or may be they just can't be bothered finding out that there are many other human populations besides the three mentioned above, or perhaps they misidentify on purpose. ("You African." "No, I'm an Indian, you ignoramus." "Yeah, whatever, you're all the same anyway." Sounds silly? But such creatures do exist, or so I'm told.)
<b>Rioters target Indians in Uganda</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New Delhi: Indians and other Asians are being targeted as violent protests have broken out in Uganda over an Indian firm's plans to develop part of a rainforest reserve.
One man was stoned to death and two other people were also killed in Thursday's violence, during which military police in armored vehicles fired tear gas into the crowd.
Many Asian-owned shops were closed in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Friday and many Ugandan Asians had not reported to work and were keeping their children home from in school.
Troops have been deployed in central Kampala after police fired tear gas and live ammunition to stop rioters attacking Indian businesses and a Hindu temple.
Police rescued more than 100 Asian men besieged in a Hindu temple and elsewhere, and rushed them to a police station.
The protests are over a plan to cut down nearly a third of a rain forest reserve to expand the sugarcane plantations of a company owned by an Indian.
<b>The company is a subsidiary of the Mehta Group, which is run by Ugandans of Indian descent, and it wants to use 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) â nearly a third of the Mabira Forest Reserve â to expand the plantation</b>.
Critics say cutting part of Mabira would have grave ecological consequences, from increased soil erosion to the drying up of rivers and rainfall, and the removal of a buffer against polluting nearby Lake Victoria.
........<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
04-14-2007, 10:39 AM (This post was last modified: 04-14-2007, 10:43 AM by Husky.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The protests are over a plan to cut down nearly a third of a rain forest reserve to expand the sugarcane plantations of a company owned by an Indian.
The company is a subsidiary of the Mehta Group, which is run by Ugandans of Indian descent, and it wants to use 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) â nearly a third of the Mabira Forest Reserve â to expand the plantation.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->I don't support destroying rain forests. And this is some other people's country for goodness sake. It's their rain forest. Leave it alone. Mehta Group is run by 'Indian Ugandans', yes, but to be Ugandan one needs to respect the country's nature.
On the other hand, I wonder whether the converted Ugandans (they are christian now for the most part) only saw this as an opportunity to attack Hindu temple-goers. At least, such incidences are a commonplace occurrence in Fiji.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->HINDU COUNCIL OF NEW ZEALAND Incorporated
P.O. Box 6240, Whakarewarewa
Rotorua, New Zealand.
Email: hindu.nz@gmail.com
We are very pleased to inform you that the 1st New Zealand Hindu Conference, a historic event for the Hindu community in New Zealand, will be held at the Hindu Heritage Centre, Mangere East, Auckland on 12 and 13 May 2007. The preparations are going well.
Hindu Heritage Centre (HHC) is 8.5 acres of land and buildings (previously Te Wananga O Aotearoa campus) and is now run by Hindu Heritage Charitable Trust. The mission of HHC are to deliver services of education, self development, cultural development, sports development, and care for the elderly, youth and children; and to bring all like-minded organisations and institutions in New Zealand together to promote universal human value and co-existence.
Please note that the 1st NZ Hindu conference is not a religious or philosophical conference but a community conference. The number of delegates to the conference is LIMITED (to a maximum of 150). We are overwhelmed by the response we have received so far, and it appears that the conference has caught the imagination of the people. We have confirmed participation from various government agencies, professionals, university staff, business leaders, Maori elders, and community and youth leaders.
The theme of the 1st New Zealand Hindu Conference is "The contribution of Hindu community to the national life of New Zealand ". It will cover the economic, health, environmental, social and cultural aspects. This conference provides a platform for all the Hindu organisations/ temples/ like-minded groups to showcase their contributions to the New Zealand society. This will be in the form of exhibitions on 'Contributions of Hindus to New Zealand society' and also 'Contributions of Hindus to the World of Science'. There are 7 paper presentation sessions and 3 workshops. The workshops will focus on issues which are common to all Hindu organisations, and also to the wider community, such as "Health and wellbeing", "Education and culture" and "Social beliefs and family".
Please note that all the conference papers and workshop deliberations will be published and the copies will be available to the government agencies and community workers, and also to all participants of the conference.
Early-bird registration fee (before 15 April 2007) will be $100.00 per person. Normal registration fee (after 15 April 2007) is $150.00 per person.
Look forward to your participation and support.
With kind regards
Dr Guna Magesan
Conference Coordinator
General Secretary, Hindu Council of New Zealand Inc.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>32 killed in deadliest US campus shooting</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->No Indian was among those killed or injured, according to the Indian Students Association (ISA) of Virginia Tech. âBut we have not been getting any response from the cellphone of an Indian girl who was in the same building where the shooting took place,â said Chetan Mogal, ISA treasurer.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Gunman was Asian, not clear East west, north or South Asian?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Virginia Tech shooting: No Indian casualties</b>
rediff.com
A Correspondent | April 17, 2007 00:54 IST
There are no reports of Indian casualties so far in the Virginia Tech shooting, where 31 people were killed and as many injured, the president of the Indian Students Association said.
<b>"As of now, we haven't heard of any bad news about the Indian students. But the situation will be clear once the authorities release the list of the victims,"</b> Ajit Pal Singh Raina, the president of the Indian Student Association, told rediff.com over phone.
Raina said the communication was a problem as those students who are on campus aren't allowed to leave the university premises. "The situation is under control. We heard that whoever was responsible has been shot. But getting in touch with all the students is not possible just now.
"The only way information flows now is through our website. And thankfully, there hasn't been any bad news till now," Raina said. There are a lot of Indian students at the university.
According to news -
Gunman was 24 years old, on visa, Visa issue in Shanghai (China). Entered USA from San Francisco. He was angry with his girl friend, she is in critical condition.
Washington: The death toll in Mondayâs shootout in Virginia Tech University has risen to 33, including an Indian-origin professor G V Loganathan of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Loganathan was teaching in a class in the Norris Hall when the gunman went on rampage. According to news reports, his colleague Prof Raman Kumar confirmed Loganathan death. An Indian student is also missing after the killings.
A gunman opened fire in a university in Virginia state and then in a classroom building across campus two hours later on Monday, killing 33 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in US history. He then shot himself after spraying bullets on the students.
The gunman, said to be in the student age group, was not officially identified but media reports quoting law enforcement officials said he was an Asian American.
No motive was officially stated but some reports said he had grievance against a professor and others stated that he was trying to find his girl friend.
In the first incidents, two people were killed and questions are being asked as to why law enforcement officials and the University authorities did not take steps to evacuate the building or secure the classes.
The second incident - shooting in the classroom - came two and quarters hours later and it accounted for most of the casualties.
Addressing a press conference, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said that they thought the shooting at dorm was a domestic dispute and authorities had no reason to believe that the second incident was going to occur. They went by the assumption that the gunman has fled the campus.
Steger said they sent e-mails to the students warning them of the incidents but with 11,000 people driving into the University in the morning, "It is difficult to get the world out to all."
Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum did not give any details, saying that the investigations were still on.
But law enforcement officials were quoted in media as saying that the gunman had apparently planned the carnage meticulously and had two weapons and couple of bullet clips.
Students said that the gunman did not say anything and did not seem to be targeting anyone in particular. He appeared to be shooting at random, a student told a television network.
The first shooting occurred at in a co-ed dormitory that houses 895 students. The dormitory is of the largest residence halls on the 2,600-acre campus, is located near the drill field and stadium.
Two hours later, the gunman sprayed bullets in a classroom, which accounted for most the killings. Steger described the shooting as "tragedy of monumental proportions and said the University was horrified.
This was the worst shooting in an American school since Dylan Klebold and Eric Hams killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves in Columbine High School in Colorado State.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Indian killed in US gun rampage </b>
An Indian-born man was among those killed in the shooting at a US university which left 33 people dead, his family and colleagues say.
Professor GV Loganathan was teaching at Virginia Tech when a gunman went on the rampage on Monday.
His brother said he heard of the death from the professor's wife, who had identified the body.
Names of the dead have yet to be released. Fears are growing for a second Indian who is missing.
The authorities have yet to identify the gunman, who they say was a resident Asian student at the university.
<b>Prof Loganathan, 57, came from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.</b>
He joined Virginia Tech in the late 1970s and had remained there ever since, working in the department of civil and environmental engineering.
He is survived by his wife, Usha, and two daughters.
His brother, Palanivelu, told the BBC his elder sibling had been "a bright boy since birth".
"He was among the top five when he obtained his masters degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in northern India," he said.
Family members recall with pride the award he won for excellence in teaching.
The BBC's TN Gopalan in Madras (Chennai) says the professor's parents, who are both in their 70s, last saw him when he visited India in October 2004.
Colleagues of Prof Loganathan's also spoke of his death.
One, Prof Mallikarjun Kumar, told India's CNN-IBN channel his wife had called up trying to get word of her husband.
"So we tried the local hospitals and tried to locate whether he is there or not. We could not find him and after that... news broke out that he is among the victims."
Student missing
Indian consular officials were being sent to the university on Tuesday morning to liaise with Indian students there following the tragedy.
The university's Indian Students Association says it has about 700 members, making it the largest foreign body on campus.
Association president Ajit Pal Singh Raina told the Press Trust of India they had contacted most of the Indian student community.
"Right now we don't know of any Indian students being involved," he said.
But press reports quote friends of Minal Panchal, a student from Mumbai, saying she was in the building at the time of the shooting and they have been unable to contact her.
Virginia Tech remains closed while officials identify victims and notify next-of-kin. The university says it will not release names of those killed until that process is complete. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>MEA officer to visit Virginia Tech </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Indian professor G V Loganathan was among the 33 killed in the shootout and a student from Mumbai is feared to have met the same fate. An Indian student, Minal Panchal, who has been missing since the incident yesterday, was also feared to be among the victims.
Meanwhile an Indian student association in Virginia is coordinating the logistics even as worried parents inundate them with calls. âAll the worried parents are trying to get in touch with their children and if they are not able to do so, they contact us as we have set up a several counselling centres on campus. We have emergency numbers and parents can call up at those numbers, which are also available at Virginia Tech website. We did receive a phone call from the Indian High Commission in Washington DC asking for information. We are still trying to figure out the facts of the incident,â President of International Council, Saurabh Attarde told CNN-IBN from Virginia.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Profiles of victims in Virginia Tech massacre</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->
G.V. Loganathan, 51, an Indian-born lecturer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, his brother G.V. Palanivel told the NDTV news channel in India.
âWe all feel like we have had an electric shock, we do not know what to do,â Palanivel said. âHe has been a driving force for all of us, the guiding force.â
Loganathan, who was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai, had been at Virginia Tech since 1982.
Married with two daughters, he won several awards for excellence in teaching, had served on the faculty senate and was an adviser to about 75 undergraduate students.
"Dr. G. V. Loganathan was my favorite professor and was my graduate advisor when I was a civil engineering student at Virginia Tech in the late 80's and early 90's," Glenda La Rue said in a posting on MSNBC. "Dr. Loganathan was an excellent teacher and mentor ... I will always remember him for his kind heart and patience he displayed towards me and his other students. He truly had a passion for teaching and getting to know his advisees. He was a primary reason that I chose to pursue a career in the engineering specialty of water resources and I credit much of my success to him. He will be missed greatly."
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>Indian to plead guilty for stabbing professor</b>
Press Trust Of India
Washington, April 10, 2007
First Published: 15:08 IST(10/4/2007)
<b>An Indian student who allegedly stabbed his professor because he feared that his failing grades might lead to his return to India is now planning to plead guilty to the attack.</b>
Twenty-four year-old Nikhil Dhar, a student of the University of Massachussetts is accused of slashing his Clinical Lab Sciences Assistant Professor Mary Elizabeth Hooker's neck on December 22, 2005.
Dhar was to go to trial on Wednesday for stabbing Hooker, but will instead enter guilty pleas on April 17 to charges of armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, said his attorney Stephen Hrones.
"The evidence is basically pretty overwhelming," Hrones said.
Dhar is accused of following Hooker more than 20 miles from the Lowell campus and attacking her at her Cambridge home. She was admitted in a hospital for several weeks after the attack.
Hooker told police that Dhar initially wanted to talk about his failure, but later he dragged her into the yard and stabbed her.
Police said they found a note in Dhar's pocket, which read "I'm sorry I'm having to do this. But I have no options left. ... You look at me and I will kill you. I have nothing to lose".
Dhar, a resident of Kolkata, who is on a student visa is said to have felt pressure because of his fear of deportation.
<b>"His family is also very highly educated, and he wasn't doing well. It was a combination of those two things that exploded. This was completely out of character,"</b> his lawyer said.
Dhar, according to his attorney will be deported to India after completing his prison term.
<b>Virginia Tech's missing Indian student dead</b> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->New Delhi: Missing Indian student Minal Panchal who had not been contactable since the Virginia Tech University massacre on Monday was confirmed dead late on Tuesday night.
Minal, a Masters student in Building Sciences, was in the Norris Hall of the university when the shooting took place.
"The Indian Embassy has learnt with great sorrow that apart from Indian American Professor G V Loganathan, a first year student Minal Panchal is also among the victims," a senior official of the Embassy told PTI.
..........
Minal's mother, who incidentally arrived in the US two weeks back, reached the University campus only on Tuesday. She was accompanied by a relative.
Information about Minal's death came in late because no immediate family member was present on campus.
There were 32 bodies at the Regional Medical Centre and so identification of the bodies took time.
This is the second Indian casualty. Professor Loganathan was also shot at Norris Hall.
04-18-2007, 07:07 AM (This post was last modified: 04-18-2007, 08:30 AM by dhu.)
I think these amrikans believe that the world can end at any time, with takeover by the darkies. that is why their country is overflowing with semi-automatics at every corner and everyone is on edge 24 hrs a day.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The United States Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments limit the powers of the federal government, protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory. Among the enumerated rights these amendments guarantee are: the freedoms of speech, press, and religion; <b>the people's right to keep and bear arms;</b> the freedom of assembly; the freedom to petition; and the rights to be free of unreasonable search and seizure; cruel and unusual punishment; and compelled self-incrimination. The Bill of Rights also restricts Congress' power by prohibiting it from making any law respecting establishment of religion and by prohibiting the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. In criminal cases, it requires indictment by grand jury for any capital or "infamous crime," guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial and local jury, and prohibits double jeopardy. In addition, the Bill of Rights states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people,"[1] and reserves all powers not granted to the Federal government to the citizenry or States.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Cho - who arrived in the United States as a boy from South Korea in 1992 and was raised in suburban Washington, DC, where his parents worked at a dry cleaner - left a note that was found after the bloodbath.
A law enforcement official described Cho's note as a typed, eight-page rant against rich kids and religion.
Cho indicated in his letter that the end was near and that there was a deed to be done, the official said.
<b>Disappointed with religion</b>
<b>He also expressed disappointment in his own religion, and made several references to Christianity.</b>
The letter was either found in Cho's dorm room or in his backpack. The backpack was found in the hallway of the classroom building where the shootings happened, and contained several rounds of ammunition, the official said.
I suspected yesterday that there might have been abuse of some sort by some christian teachers or priest/pastor during his childhood that might have partly contributed to the mental illness of this troubled man, knowing something of the south korean christian community in the US and some christian sects in south Korea. This particular news report points in that direction.
What exactly was he was disappointed about christianity, and his history with the christian institution, that might have contributed to his troubled past and shaped his personality?
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
