Tag: JoeBiden

Dr. Anthony Fauci To Step Down In December After More Than 50 Years Of Public Service

Staff ReporterTechnology, Money 0

Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the president and longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said he will be leaving those positions to “pursue the next chapter in my career.” Fauci, 81, has led the NIAID for 38 years, and has advised every president since Ronald Reagan.

“While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring,” Fauci said in a statement Monday. “After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field.”

Fauci has become a household fixture during the Covid-19 pandemic, battling back misinformation — sometimes from the highest levels of government. His steadfast commitment to science, challenging former President Donald Trump on everything from the use of hydroxychloroquine to mask mandates, made him a quasi-celebrity in the process.

The 81-year-old has advised seven U.S. presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan through the HIV/AIDS epidemic, West Nile virus, the 2001 anthrax attacks, pandemic influenza, various bird influenza threats, Ebola, Zika and, most recently, Covid and monkeypox.

In a statement, President Biden praised Fauci as a dedicated public servant with a “steadying hand” who helped guide the country through some of “the most dangerous and challenging” public health crises.

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Fauci has been at the forefront of every new and re-emerging infectious disease threat the country has faced over the past four decades, including HIV/AIDS, West Nile virus, the 2001 anthrax attacks, pandemic influenza, Ebola and Zika, and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Because of Dr. Fauci’s many contributions to public health, lives here in the United States and around the world have been saved. As he leaves his position in the U.S. Government, I know the American people and the entire world will continue to benefit from Dr. Fauci’s expertise in whatever he does next,” Biden said.

Biden worked closely with Fauci during the Zika and Ebola outbreaks when he was vice president, and has leaned heavily on Fauci’s expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden noted one of his first calls as president-elect was to ask Fauci to become his chief medical advisor.

Fauci previously said he does not plan to stay beyond the end of President Biden’s first term in 2025, but had yet to give a formal announcement.

“I want to use what I have learned as NIAID Director to continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats,” Fauci said.

Fauci said he would use his remaining time in government to “continue to put my full effort, passion and commitment into my current responsibilities” and to help prepare his institute for a leadership transition.

Fauci has been one of the leading infectious diseases researchers for decades, but he became a household name at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic during the Trump administration as part of the White House pandemic response team.

It was in this role that Fauci became a political lightning rod. He fell out of favor with Trump after numerous public disagreements over unproven COVID-19 treatments as well as the level of danger posed by the virus.

Fauci’s embrace of mitigation measures like masks and temporary business closures early in the pandemic made him a villain to conservatives, who view him as a symbol of government overreach and “lockdown culture.”

Threats from the public led to Fauci needing a security detail. Fauci has clashed repeatedly with Republicans in Congress, who are are eagerly floating investigations into the Biden administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic if they win back control of the House or Senate in November’s midterm elections.

Fauci’s fiercest clashes have come against Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian ophthalmologist who has repeatedly antagonized Fauci over the benefits of masks, vaccinations and the origins of COVID-19.

“Fauci’s resignation will not prevent a full-throated investigation into the origins of the pandemic. He will be asked to testify under oath regarding any discussions he participated in concerning the lab leak,” Paul tweeted Monday.

Following Fauci’s announcement Monday, House Republicans also indicated Fauci’s decision to leave government won’t shield him from any potential investigations.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement Monday Fauci needs to answer questions about what he knows about the origins of the coronavirus, including whether the National Institutes of Health helped fund controversial research that led to the virus’s creation in a lab in Wuhan, China.

“Retirement can’t shield Dr. Fauci from congressional oversight,” Comer said. “The American people deserve transparency and accountability about how government officials used their taxpayer dollars, and Oversight Committee Republicans will deliver.”

The U.S. intelligence community has ruled out the possibility that COVID-19 was a bioweapon developed by China, but beyond that the origins of the virus are unclear.

Some scientists have said the idea that it escaped from a lab needs further investigation but acknowledge that won’t happen without China’s help. Many others think that it spilled into the human population from animals sold in a Wuhan market. Still, there is little evidence to suggest it was created in a lab or with funding help from the National Institutes of Health or Fauci.

Why FBI Searched Trump’s Home?

Staff ReporterNews 0

Former President Trump could be facing mounting legal troubles as new details emerge about the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that prompted an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Trump has called for the release of more information tied to the search, an effort that corresponds with bashing the agency for what he claims is a politically motivated attack.

Meanwhile, the DOJ has fought to limit how much information will come out about an ongoing investigation with Trump as its target.

Here’s what we’ve learned this week.  Trump eyed for “willful” violations of the Espionage Act

Although the most highly sensitive materials underlying the Mar-a-Lago search warrant remained under seal this week, the judge presiding over the case did make one court record newly available to the public. That document, known as a criminal cover sheet, provided additional insight into the nature of the crime under investigation, according to some legal experts.

It was already known that investigators believed the materials housed at Trump’s residence were linked to a likely violation of the Espionage Act, a WWI-era statute designed to help safeguard the country’s vital national security secrets. What the criminal cover sheet revealed, after it was unsealed Thursday, is that law enforcement had probable cause to think a “willful retention of national defense information” occurred.

That new detail appeared to lend further support to the theory — one that was already widely assumed — that Trump himself is the target of the investigation.

“This aligns with what we know so far from public media reporting, as well as the minimal information we have derived from the unsealed court filings,” Bradley Moss, a national security lawyer and partner in the law office of Mark S. Zaid, told The Hill in an email.

“All indications are that the government’s argument will amount to three things: (1) Trump took the properly marked classified records with him to Florida; (2) he left them in boxes in the basement; (3) when confronted about it, he willfully held onto records despite demands from NARA and later the FBI to return them,” he added, referring to the National Archives and Records Administration, which takes custody of White House records when a president leaves office.

DOJ appears to be investigating Trump’s claims around a “standing order”

In a sign the Department of Justice is not content to have simply secured the return of classified materials, its investigators appear to be contacting former Trump-era officials about his claims of having declassified the contents removed from his Florida home.

According to reporting from Rolling Stone, the FBI has thus far been conducting voluntary interviews with those who could have knowledge of such an order, including former staff on the National Security Council.

Shortly after the warrant was executed, Trump claimed the documents removed from his home were “all declassified.” He later elaborated in a statement to Fox News that he had “a standing order” to declassify any documents.

“If the DOJ was really focused on recovering the classified material and was not criminally investigating the former president, they would not be calling in former NSC officials to question them about Trump’s supposed “standing order” declassifying documents,” Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on Twitter.

National security law experts who previously spoke with The Hill noted that while Trump would have broad powers as president to declassify documents, such a practice is usually done on a  case-by-case basis, and also triggers notification to other agencies that hold classified information, so that they can reclassify them appropriately in their own system.

“Realistically, no one actually believes that Trump had such an order.  It was not written down anywhere, doesn’t make a lot of sense (as some of his own appointees have pointed out), and was never raised by Trump’s lawyers during their communications with DOJ,” Mariotti continued.

Even if Trump did declassify documents, that isn’t a defense for the Espionage Act, one of the three statutes cited in the warrant. That law only requires mishandling national defense information to trigger a violation.

Trump wants it all released

Former President Trump and his allies have responded to the government’s desire for redactions with calls for the release of the full document.

“Pres. Trump has made his view clear that the American people should be permitted to see the unredacted affidavit related to the raid and break-in of his home. Today, magistrate Judge Reinhard rejected the DOJ’s cynical attempt to hide the whole affidavit from Americans,” Taylor Budowich, a spokesperson for the former president, said Thursday.

Trump separately posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, calling for the “immediate release” of the unredacted affidavit, citing the need for transparency. He also called for Reinhart to recuse himself from the case without giving a clear reason.

The former president and his allies have attacked the credibility of the FBI and DOJ ever since the search was executed earlier this month, pointing to the handling of the Russia investigation to allege it is the latest politically biased attack on Trump.

By calling for the unredacted affidavit to be released when the government opposes such a move, Trump will likely further fuel distrust in the Department of Justice among his supporters.

DOJ is working through redactions

The Department of Justice, however, does not want its affidavit for the warrant fully released.

The department argued that the affidavit should remain under seal in its entirety, saying the information it contained laid out a “roadmap” to its ongoing investigation, “highly sensitive information about witnesses,” and “specific investigative techniques.”

But a federal magistrate judge on Thursday dismissed efforts by the DOJ to maintain the affidavit entirely under seal.

“I find that on the present record the Government has not met its burden of showing that the entire affidavit should remain sealed,” Judge Bruce Reinhart said in a brief order.

According to The New York Times, Reinhart said there were parts of the affidavit that “could be presumptively unsealed.”

The DOJ has until noon Thursday to submit their proposed redactions, after which Reinhart, who approved the initial warrant, will review them — meaning a redacted version of the affidavit could be released as early as next week.

What it means for Trump and 2024

Casting a cloud over the entire proceeding is the fact that Trump is likely to announce a 2024 White House bid in the coming months, though he may wait until after the midterm elections.

Trump denied in an interview last month with New York Magazine that any presidential run would be a way to insulate himself from criminal consequences as he faces investigations over election interference in Georgia, business dealings in New York, the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and now his handling of classified information.

And while some experts believe it’s unlikely Trump will ultimately be indicted over the documents he kept at Mar-a-Lago, the political consequences could still loom large over his desire to return to the White House.

A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted this week found that 54 percent of Republicans believe the FBI behaved irresponsibly following the Mar-a-Lago search, compared to 23 percent who said the agencies behaved responsibly.

Comparatively, 71 percent of Democrats felt law enforcement had acted responsibly, as did 50 percent of independent voters. It is the latter category that bears watching in determining how the search could swing Trump’s political fortunes.

Former President Trump has shifted his defenses for taking classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago residence in the wake of the FBI search of the estate last week, when agents seized 33 items including nearly a dozen sets of classified items.

Trump has ripped the FBI and Department of Justice while giving varying explanations for why he did nothing wrong.

On Monday, in an interview with Fox News he said the “temperature has to be brought down” but then added that his supporters would not “stand for another scam,” repeating his criticisms. Those statements came amid worries that law enforcement could come under attack given the fierce criticism of the FBI coming from some voices on the right.

An unsealed warrant shows the FBI executed the warrant while investigating whether the Espionage Act had been violated. Agents seized 11 sets of classified documents from the estate. The warrant was approved by a federal judge.

Here’s what Trump has said about the FBI’s actions and his shifting explanations about the documents. Trump told the world that the FBI had executed a search warrant at his Mar-a-Lago home, calling it “not necessary or appropriate.”

He said at the time he had been “working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies” and described his home as “under siege” by FBI agents.

Investigators had provided Trump’s attorneys with their own copy of the search warrant and a receipt that would have itemized the materials seized during the search, which follows standard practice.

Trump at the time also decried the search as “political persecution” and included a link for donations to his political action committee in his statement. The investigation comes amid growing speculation over how soon the former president might announce he’s running again in 2024.

Trump and his supporters also in the days that followed floated a conspiracy theory that the FBI had planted evidence at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump’s initial reaction led to a flurry of finger-pointing from his supporters, including Republican lawmakers who blamed President Biden and claimed the president had used the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) to go after his political opponent.

Attorney General Merrick Garland made his first public appearance since the search to say he personally made the decision to seek a warrant and that it was not done “lightly.” He announced at the time that the DOJ would move to unseal the warrant authorizing the search.

The Trump camp put out a statement later, saying “everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time” and that Trump would take documents, including classified documents, to his residence to “prepare for work the next day.”

“He had a standing order that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them,” the statement said.

The 33 items that were seized from the property included the executive order of clemency for longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, information regarding the “President of France,” binders of photographs, and a handwritten note. The FBI reportedly sought documents containing information about nuclear weapons in the search, but it’s unclear if such records were seized.

Voices From The Non-Resident Indians

Staff ReporterEditorial/Opinion, India 0

Thousands of miles away from India, our hearts long for India, our motherland. A land with rich traditions, history and culture. A land that gave to the world so much and welcomed everyone with open arms. The generosity and spirit of warmth that we all inherited for centuries from generation to generation, with its unparalleled glorius past makes us all stand tall.

Today, after centuries of enslavement, plundering, destruction and marginalization, India has begun to raise its head, seeking and finding its rightful seat among the nations of the world. We are an young nation, full of energy and power; talent, skills and education; future-oriented and willing and able to accomplish our goals.

India Today gives us hope. In India, transfer of power happens peacefully through ballots at local, state and federal levels. And, not by force and intimidation. The vibrant and the largest democracy makes us all proud even though it has its own limitations, with certain groups trying to abuse power and threaten the very foundation of democracy and personal freedom and liberty.

The people of Indian origin are rising. They have made a name for themselves in India across the globe, wherever they are today, and wherever they made their homes. They are appreciated for what they are and what they bring to their adopted lands. They are much sought after for their integrity and caliber.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden on the occasion of India’s 75th anniversary of India’s Independence Day hailed India as an “indispensable partner” He said, “The United States joins the people of India to honor its democratic journey, guided by Mahatma Gandhi’s enduring message of truth and non-violence.” Biden expressed his commitment to further strengthen the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership that is formed on the ideals of law and democracy and most importantly on their people-to-people ties. I echo these positive sentiments and hope foir better future for all Indiuans, and peoples of all nations, all faiths and all humanity,

Happy 75th Anniversary of India’s Glorious Independence Day!

Sharing here with our readers reflections from some eminent Indian Americans on India and what they perceive India to be “Today – Tomorrow:”

Ajay Ghoish

Chief Editor, Theunn.com

Reflecting On How The Great Accomplishments Of India Are Impacting The Rest Of The World

“As the first elected AAPI Legislator in Middlesex County, representation has always been important to me. It reflects achievements made here in America as well as in India. On the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence Day, we celebrate how far we have come as a community and a nation. It is our job to look back and reflect on all of the great accomplishments India has made to impact the rest of the world and remember we are always moving forward.”
Assemblyman Sterley Stanley

New Jersey General Assembly

18th Legislative District, New Jersey

India – Past – Present – Future

India is an exceptional nation with a rich civilizational history dating back over 5,000 years, and includes a rich tapestry of cultures, religions, peoples, and a strong economy. India’s glorious past and profound diversity make it unique. Its robust economy, having almost one-third of the total world’s GDP, despite its infancy as an independent nation speaks volumes of the determination of its people. India continues to be advanced in almost all fields of the Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, Architecture, Literature, and Public Administration. It is noted that the engineering skills of its people were “remarkable”, with great achievements in measurement, accuracy, and craftsmanship. The subcontinent boasts the longest history of jewelry making in the world, stemming back 5,000 years.

However, with the invasion and subsequent rule by Islamic and British forces, India’s richness in society and wealth was plundered away over the last 1000 years. People were murdered, Temples were destroyed. The freedom and the lifestyle along with the remarkable advancements in science and technology was stalled.

India became the 1st nation in the world to attain freedom by peaceful means, or Satyagraha, from the British empire. While India made gradual and moderate progress over the past seven decades, the pace of advancement accelerated under the dynamic leadership of Shri Narendra Modi. India is today stronger than ever, and well respected among the nations of the world. India’s economy is growing faster than ever, and many programs and initiatives are benefiting the people of India even more. India has earned its rightful place in the world. We are proud of our mother nation of India and what it has accomplished in the span of 75 years. India’s contributions to the world will continue to make our planet a better one and I look forward to a brighter and stronger India, a nation that will be looked upon as a world leader in the years to come.

By Dr. Vinod K Shah

Founder, Medstar Shah Medical Group

Past President of AAPI

The Ancient Indian Values Of Respect For Diversity, Peaceful Coexistence, And Respect For Nature Are Needed More Urgently Than Ever

On the 75th anniversary of India, so many Indian American organizations and the Consulate General of India in New York, organized a series of programs showcasing India’s cultural diversity, antiquity, and contemporary relevance. Participants in New York or online anywhere in the world, are able to enjoy music concerts, literary gatherings and dance performances throughout the year as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Seventy-Five years ago, when India became an independent country after centuries of colonial rule, all eyes were on India. As a new society, the Gandhian message of Ahinsa, freedom through to non-violence, and its ancient message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, that the world is one family became the new Mantra.

Today, in our world of polarization, increasing tribalism, new conflict and extreme environmental degradation, the ancient Indian values of respect for diversity, peaceful coexistence, and respect for Nature are needed more urgently than ever.

These activities aim at bringing the Indo-American bonds closer, with cultural exchanges.

Please participate in the programs like the parade along with family and friends and experience the wondrous imagination and inspiring dynamism of the Indian arts to the fullest. Please join us in wishing India a joyous 75th birthday and a bright future ahead. Jai Hind

  • Anil Bansal, President of First National Realty Management; Founder of Bansal Charitable Foundation; BOD Member of IAAC; Past President of FIA NY/NJ/CT

India Today and Tomorrow

As we celebrate this year India@75, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, India as a multi cultural, diverse nation has emerged as a significant respected player on the world stage. With its highly successful vaccination program, more than 2 billion doses of vaccines have been administered in the last 18 months. India is the third largest energy consuming country in the world and also ranks third as the world’s largest renewable energy producer. It hopes to meet fifty percent of its electricity requirements by 2070 from renewable energy. Like any other country, the pandemic has taken a severe toll on the economy along with rising inflation and unemployment crisis. But there is a silver lining and according to the projections by the economists at Morgan Stanley, India’s GDP growth is expected to be at 8%-8.5% for 2022-2023 making it as Asia’s strongest economy. However, unless there is gender parity, there can be no sustained economic growth. and India has one of the worlds’ lowest female workforce participation.

Fast forward to India 2040 and beyond we will see it as one of the world’s largest working age population with growing urbananization.  Some of the crucial challenges will be to address gender inequities, sustain the momentum of its economic development and trade, accelerate expansion of higher education and build smart cities with digital technologies. I dream of India that resonates with Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of   Truth and Non Violence— where there is peace, harmony and justice for all. Happy 75th anniversary India.

  • Renee Mehrra, Eminent Journalist, TV Anchor, Community Leader

A Dream For the Medical Fraternity

Enhancing national unity and democracy are amongst the great achievements of the people of India. To augment medical education, patient care and research the Government of India should take services of the willing US doctors of Indian origin, who are over 100,000 practicing US Physicians are of Indian origin.

I have lobbied fa or such program for many years. Hope the Health Ministry will initiate and funds for such a project. It will help all parts of india, as these US Doctors hail from all parts of India and they want to effectively serve their motherland, India.
Navin Shah  MD
Founder and former President, AAPI

My Small Hope For India

Independence Day is a reminder of the sacrifices for valiant freedom fighters. We have come a long way in the last 75 years. However, to fulfill the dreams of our founding fathers and see a prosperous India, we will need to work hard and contribute towards most successful and vibrant India.

Vishweshwar Ranga MD

Chairman, BOT, AAPI

The Inflation Reduction Act Is A Huge Victory In Climate Fight

Staff ReporterUSA 0

How important is the climate bill — named, for Joe Manchin-related reasons, the “Inflation Reduction Act” — that just passed the US Congress? Huge.

To get the disclaimers out of the way: it doesn’t, by any means, solve the whole climate problem. We still need to do plenty more to get to zero carbon emissions. And we’re still in for more warming regardless. The heat waves, wildfires, floods and the rest of what we’re starting to see as routine will still get worse for decades more, at least. The bill also has some negatives from a climate perspective, like its new offshore oil leases, presumably added to appease Sen. Manchin, whose vote was crucial to the legislation’s passage.

But still: HUGE!

Consider the history here. For almost the entire 30-year history of international climate negotiations, the US has been more of a problem for the rest of the world than the leader we should have been.

Congress couldn’t find its way to ratify the Kyoto Protocol or any other agreement that mandated actual emissions reductions. The Waxman-Markey bill, the last major climate legislation to come before Congress during a time when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House, passed in the House and failed in the Senate in 2010, in the face of a challenging economic climate, intense fossil fuel industry lobbying and GOP opposition (sound familiar?).

Then, in 2015, when Obama reversed the trend and got the Paris Agreement through, it specified only voluntary contributions from participating nations, because that’s the only way he could skip Congressional approval, which would surely have killed it too. (Then-President Donald Trump’s statements of intent to pull us out of the agreement are hard to see as anything but climate- and treaty-hating spite, since one could in fact abide by the agreement while doing nothing to reduce emissions.)

It has always seemed possible, even likely — depending where one falls on the optimism/pessimism spectrum — that some nations would fail to meet their Paris commitments, or simply decide to reduce them by insignificant levels. The US has looked like one of the most likely candidates for such failure, given our dysfunctional political system and the deep allegiance of the Republican Party to the fossil fuel industry.

Then, starting in early 2021, it seemed like maybe we’d actually live up to the Paris Agreement after all… then, not. The last year and a half have been a painful roller-coaster ride for those of us who care about the future of human beings and other species on planet earth, and who accept the global scientific consensus about how climate change threatens us.

When the Democrats narrowly took both the Presidency and both houses of Congress in 2021, there was a period of hope that the “Build Back Better” bill might pass, representing a major triumph for the climate movement as well as addressing many other social justice goals. But after a long period of inscrutable dithering, Manchin pulled the rug out from under BBB, and seemingly any hope for meaningful climate legislation.

Why did Manchin finally change his mind and decide to support the Inflation Reduction Act? I don’t know, and I don’t care. The IRA may have lost much of the non-climate content of BBB, but it has most of the climate stuff. It is expected to deliver somewhere in the vicinity of a 40% reduction in the nation’s carbon emissions by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, most of the way towards President Biden’s pledge of 50-52% over the same time period.

This is the real thing.

There has never — never — been climate legislation anywhere near this substantial passed in the United States. Not only do these emissions reductions truly matter on their own, but they show that it’s politically possible — that enough people care about the climate problem that it can be addressed by our political system. And they allow us to look other nations in the eye as we ask them to do their parts too.

With regards to politics, the IRA does its work to fight climate change mostly through investment, rather than regulation or taxes. It gives people and businesses money — some directly and some through tax breaks — to spend on electric cars, heat pumps, wind and solar electricity generation, and many other emissions-reducing measures.

It will stimulate growth and good jobs in the private sector. They will make further emissions reductions possible, as technologies improve more quickly than they otherwise would. Maybe the industries that grow out of this will even gain political power comparable to that of the fossil fuel industry, creating a countervailing force. (One can dream.)

The US is currently responsible for about 11% of global emissions, according to a report by research and consulting firm Rhodium Group. Cutting 40% of that by 2030 is a meaningful contribution on its own. But to get to zero emissions globally, we will need the rest of the world, including countries like China and India, to agree to cuts as well. Until now, our credibility in climate negotiations has been weak, due to our own poor record (including our status as the nation responsible for the most emissions historically, when we add up all past years rather than just considering the most recent ones).

The IRA transforms the US from ineffective negotiators to leaders by example. And the technological development the IRA’s investments will induce will make the necessary global emissions cuts easier, in the same way that past investments in solar panels, for example, have driven down the costs of the necessary technologies and increased their effectiveness.

This investment approach reflects a change in thinking in recent years among some climate policy experts — not least those in the Biden administration — away from carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems like the one that failed to become law in Waxman-Markey. This rethinking places increased emphasis on overcoming real-life political constraints, including the failure of Waxman-Markey itself and the increasing partisan polarization since then, with a decreased emphasis on doing what economists’ models (which don’t generally account for politics) say is optimal. The passage of the IRA seems to have proven this right.

There has been a huge focus on Manchin, for obvious reasons, but this should be said: every Republican who voted against the IRA — which is all of them — should be profoundly ashamed of themselves.

Their repeated claims about taxes and inflation can’t disguise where they really stand: somewhere between flat-out denial that the climate problem exists and grudging acknowledgment of it, coupled with delay tactics and a total lack of interest in doing anything about it. It may have moved a bit away from the denial in recent years, but the practical result is still inaction. Manchin wouldn’t have mattered nearly so much if any GOP senator had shown any inclination whatsoever to be constructively engaged.

No, the real change is that the Democratic Party, which has for many years been either unwilling or unable to do much about climate change, has finally placed it at the top of its agenda and mustered the will to pass the historic legislation against difficult odds.

This cannot be taken for granted for one microsecond. In my view, the youth climate movement — along with its older allies — should get the lion’s share of the credit for turning up the pressure and bringing the issue to the forefront of people’s minds. (And, perhaps, let’s acknowledge the contributions from my colleagues, the hard-working scientists, who have spent decades doing research, writing papers, and compiling them into IPCC reports and National Climate Assessments to spell out the ever-grimmer facts.)

But in a time when the twin, slow-moving catastrophes that are US politics and the global climate crisis make it so painful for so many of us to read the news every day, it’s important to take a moment and celebrate when something good happens. This is such a something. It really is. Well done, President Biden and team — even Joe Manchin, who was for many months reluctant to support such a bill — and everyone else who pushed it to this point

Biden Has Appointed More Federal Judges Than Any President Since JFK At This Point In His Tenure

John GramlichUSA 0

President Joe Biden has appointed more judges to the federal courts at this stage in his tenure than any president since John F. Kennedy, and his appointees include a record number of women and racial and ethnic minorities, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Federal Judicial Center.

As of Aug. 8, the first day of the U.S. Senate’s August break, Biden has successfully appointed 75 judges to the three main tiers of the federal judicial system: the district courts, appeals courts and U.S. Supreme Court. That’s far more than the number appointed by Donald Trump (51) and Barack Obama (42) at the same stage in their presidencies, and slightly more than the number appointed by several other recent presidents – including George W. Bush (72), Bill Clinton (74) and Ronald Reagan (72) – by this point in their tenures.

Among all presidents going back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, only Kennedy had appointed more federal judges than Biden at the same stage of his tenure. Kennedy had appointed 102 judges by then, far outpacing the total of every other modern president in the same amount of time. (This analysis begins with Eisenhower because he was the first president to be inaugurated to a first term on Jan. 20.)

How we did this

Most of Biden’s appointed judges to date (57 out of 75, or 76%) have been district court judges, who preside over criminal and civil trials. A much smaller share (18 out of 75, or 24%) have been appeals court judges – the powerful jurists who are a level above district court judges, hear federal legal appeals and often have the last word on interpretations of federal law. Biden has also appointed one justice to the nation’s highest court: Ketanji Brown Jackson, who formally joined the Supreme Court in June. Biden had previously appointed Jackson to an appeals court position.

Trump, by comparison, had appointed a much smaller share of district court judges at this point in his presidency than Biden (26 of 51, or 51%), but a much larger share of appeals court judges (24 of 51, or 47%). Like Biden, Trump had also successfully appointed one Supreme Court justice by this point in his tenure: Neil Gorsuch. Over the full course of his presidency, Trump reshaped the federal judiciary – particularly the higher courts – by filling a large number of vacancies on the appeals courts and the Supreme Court.

Federal judicial appointments are consequential not only because of the important rulings that judges issue, but because federal judges have lifetime tenure and typically serve for many years after the presidents who appointed them have left office. The average Supreme Court justice, for example, has served on the court for nearly 17 years, according to a 2017 Center analysis of all former justices at the time.

Biden’s fast pace of judicial appointments to date partly reflects the fact that Democrats control the U.S. Senate, which considers and confirms presidential appointees. It also reflects the fact that judicial nominees can now be confirmed with a simple majority vote in the Senate – unlike in the past, when such nominees needed 60 votes to overcome the threat of a filibuster. The current Senate is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, but Democrats control the chamber due to the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.

There are currently 72 vacancies for judgeships in the nation’s district and appeals courts (including some territorial courts), according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, suggesting that Biden still could fill dozens of seats in the months ahead. But the pace of his judicial appointments will depend on several factors, including whether Republicans take control of the Senate next year.

Most of Biden’s appointed judges have been women, racial and ethnic minorities

In addition to the large overall number of judges Biden has appointed so far, the 46th president stands out for the many women and racial and ethnic minorities he has appointed to the bench.

As of Aug. 8, around three-quarters of Biden’s confirmed federal judges (57 of 75, or 76%) have been women. Biden has appointed by far the highest number and share of women judges of any president at this point in his tenure.

Biden has also appointed the highest number and share of non-White federal judges of any president at this stage in his administration (49 of 75, or 65%). His confirmed judges so far include a record number who are Hispanic (13) and Asian (10), but he has appointed slightly fewer Black federal judges than Bill Clinton had at the same point in his tenure (18 vs. 20).

Most of the Black judges Biden has appointed to date (14 of 18) are women. That includes Jackson, who is the first-ever Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. So far, only four of Biden’s 75 judicial appointees (5%) have been White men, by far the lowest share among all presidents analyzed.

In addition to demographic diversity, Biden has emphasized professional diversity in his judicial appointments to date. An analysis by the Brookings Institution in January found that Biden had appointed a record number of former public defenders to federal judgeships in his first year in office.

Biden has appointed around one-in-ten currently active federal judges

Another way of looking at the effect that each president has had on the federal judiciary is to evaluate the share of currently active judges who were appointed by each chief executive.

As of Aug. 8, there are 790 active federal judges serving in the 91 district courts and 13 appeals courts governed by Article III of the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Supreme Court. Biden appointed 9% of those judges, a relatively small figure that reflects the fact that he has only been in office for about a year and a half.

Other recent presidents have appointed larger shares of currently active judges. Trump appointed 28% of active federal judges, while Obama appointed 35% and George W. Bush appointed 17%. Not surprisingly, relatively few judges who are still active today were appointed by presidents who served more than two decades ago – including Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Reagan.

The current federal judiciary is closely divided between appointees of Democratic presidents, who comprise 52% of all active judges, and of Republican presidents, who account for 48%. But that breakdown varies by type of court. More than half of currently active district court judges were appointed by Democratic presidents (53%), while a smaller share (47%) were appointed by GOP presidents. The reverse is true in the appeals courts, where 53% of active judges were appointed by Republican presidents and 47% were appointed by Democrats. The Supreme Court consists of six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three justices appointed by Democrats, a 67%-33% split in favor of GOP appointees.

Biden Denounces Wisconsin Gurdwara Shooting On Its Tenth Anniversary

Staff ReporterReligion 0

Seven people died when a white supremacist opened fire at Oak Creek‘s Sikh Temple on Aug. 5, 2012, and the community continues to remember the victims a decade later. For some, the journey to mark the anniversary began thousands of miles away. Thousands of people from across the nation came together to remember and honor those who lost their lives on that tragic day in Wisconsin.

United States President Joe Biden on Friday observed the 10th anniversary of the Oak Creek shooting which is considered the most brutal attack on Sikh Americans in the US history by issuing a statement. Mourning the loss of the six individuals who lost their lives during the attack and one more who survived but died a few years after, the President said, “Jill and I know that days like today bring back the pain like it happened yesterday, and we mourn with the victims’ families, the survivors, and the community devastated by this heinous act.

“When generations of Sikh-Americans in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, constructed their own place of worship after years of renting local halls, it was a sacred place of their own and a connection shared with the broader community. That sense of peace and belonging was shattered on the morning of August 5, 2012, when a white supremacist wielding a semiautomatic handgun arrived at the Gurdwara and began shooting,” President Joe Biden stated in a statement issued by the White House.

“It’s a chance to reflect on the Sikh-American experience and how the Sikh community has responded to these sort of events,” said Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal, who was part of the Sikh Motorcycle Club left Stockton, California.

On the morning of Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, the gurdwara (a Sikh house of worship) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was attacked by a white supremacist and U.S. Army veteran. The gunman killed six worshippers and injured several others, including Baba Punjab Singh, a community elder who was paralyzed (and ultimately died from his injuries in 2020), and Lt. Brian Murphy, a heroic responding police officer who was shot some 15 times in an exchange of gunfire.

The assault remains the worst-ever attack on Sikhs in our country, and at the time, it was the deadliest attack on a U.S. house of worship of any kind in decades.

After US Senate Passes Historic Inflation Reduction Act,  Congress To Take Up The Bill

Staff ReporterUSA 0

Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin clinched an unexpected deal on the massive over $485 billion bill that would combat climate change, reduce prescription drug prices and lower the federal deficit

The US Congress moved much closer to the passage of President Joe Biden’s much articulated but modified Build Back Better (BBB) initiative on climate, healthcare and tax spending as bleary-eyed Senators worked through a series of amendments to a wide-ranging bill that was eventually adopted by the Senate with 50 votes plus the tie breaking ballot by Vice President Kamala Harris.

For Democrats, the long hours paid off when the Senate on Sunday, August 7th eventually passed the inflation reduction bill originally proposed by Biden and adopted with several amendments, including those by Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema on the financial provisions, media reports said. The Senate saw a rare weekend session for the Democrats push hard to pass their ambitious bill known before leaving Capitol Hill for their traditional August recess.

According to media reports, Democrats advanced the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, through the budget reconciliation process, which means they had to clear a few procedural hurdles to send the bill to the House for expected passage and eventually the President’s desk. “The Democrats in our Senate caucus have stayed unified throughout the night,” Senator Chris Coons told ABC News during a break between votes.

“Every single amendment vote of the dozens we’ve taken so far we’ve defeated Republican efforts to knock down this important, even landmark piece of legislation that will reduce prescription drug prices, reduce health care costs, reduce the deficit and make a big down payment on combating climate change.”

Also speaking to ABC News, South Dakota Republican Mike Rounds said party members would keep fighting passage of the bill. “It’s not going to do much to help inflation. We’re still going to have a problem there,” he also said on the Sunday show. “And yet at the same time, they’re going to be collecting about real close to $740 billion in new tax revenue over the next supposedly 5 to 10 years, but most certainly it’s not going to help get us through a tight time in which we’re worried about coming out of a recession.”

What’s the budget reconciliation process?

Senate Democrats used the budget reconciliation process to move the bill, allowing them to avoid the 60-vote threshold to overcome a Republican filibuster. The process allowed the bill to pass with 50 votes, meaning all they needed was a strict-party line vote with their 50-50 majority (Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote). No Republicans supported the final version.

The process had one major caveat — provisions in the bill must be related to the budget in some capacity. Any bill that is on track to reconciliation must first go through the Senate Parliamentarian, who combs through the bill for any violation of what’s been dubbed the Byrd Rule. It was named after Virginia Democratic Senator Harry F. Byrd, considered a fiscal hawk.

On Saturday morning, Democrats got a good start with the good news when Parliamentarian Elizabeth Macdonough deemed that reconciliation could be applied to large parts of the bill regarding climate initiatives and allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug costs for seniors.

“We are one step closer to finally taking on Big Pharma and lowering Rx drug prices for millions of Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Last week, Schumer and Senator Joe Manchin clinched an unexpected deal on the massive over $485 billion bill that would combat climate change, reduce prescription drug prices and lower the federal deficit.

The New York Times described the Democrats’ victory as being within a shouting distance of getting the climate change bill endorsed which has wide ranging provisions on carbon emissions and tax breaks for using non fossil fuels and electric vehicles instead of gasoline driven cars.

On Saturday evening, the Senate agreed by a party-line vote of 50-50 with Harris breaking the tie and starting what could have been up to 20 hours of debate, equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. But leaders of both parties opted to move straight to votes on amendments after only a few hours of debate.

Later in the night, Democrats received more welcome news as Schumer’s office announced that the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 meets reconciliation instructions, allowing the bill to move forward on the Senate floor.

The bill will “lower costs for American families. It’s going to address some of the basic need’s families have been having for generations in terms of daily costs of life that are too expensive that are going to be lowered because of this work”, Harris told reporters after casting the tie-breaking vote.

Once debate ended, a “Vote-a-Rama” on amendments to the bill began. Independent Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, a former presidential candidate, had called the voting process a circus of “Vote-a-Rama” after he was disappointed that Schumer had made the BBB initiative tepid with the amendments of Manchin and Sinema.

What’s a “Vote-a-Rama”?

In a “Vote-a-Rama”, Senators can offer up an unlimited number of amendments to a bill but the process is expedited. There is only one minute allocated for debate, equally divided between both sides. Then, Senators are given 10 minutes to vote. This process repeats for every single amendment. The first amendment was offered by Sanders, shortly after 11.30 p.m. Saturday. His proposal would have sped up Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower pharmaceutical costs and expanded the list of drugs on which they could impose price caps. It failed 99-1.

The Senate last held a “Vote-a-Rama” a year ago when it adopted a budget resolution for fiscal year 2022. In that instance, Senators offered up 43 amendments for a vote, leading to a session that lasted around 14 hours.

This weekend’s “Vote-a-Rama” was even longer, lasting nearly 16 hours before a final vote was held. The majority of amendments were proposed by Republicans, on issues like the IRS, energy production, and immigration. Many failed 50-50 with no Senator crossing party lines.

Sanders proposed the most amendments on the Democratic side of the aisle. None of the amendments overnight passed. Republicans blocked a proposed $35 cap on insulin copays on Sunday morning, arguing the scope of the cap didn’t fall under reconciliation. The amendment only targets the insulin cap on private insurers; Democrats’ plan to lower insulin costs under Medicare remains intact.

Ten Republican Senators needed to vote with Democrats to protect the cap, but only seven voted to keep the cap in place: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Dan Sullivan of Alaska.

Just when the end of amendment votes became imminent on Sunday afternoon, Senate Minority Whip John Thune began negotiations with Sinema to exempt some businesses owned by private equity from the 15 per cent corporate income tax. Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Raphael Warnock of Georgia joined Sinema and all Republicans senators in support, with the amendment passing 57-43.

The exemptions eliminate $35 billion in revenue from the bill — which has been a sticking point for Manchin, who has prioritized deficit savings throughout months of negotiations. To offset the lost revenue, Senator Mark Warner offered an amendment to extend loss limitations that some businesses can use for tax deductions. The amendment passed by a party-line vote before the bill moved for final passage.

What’s the point of it? Most amendments from Republicans, who were furious over the deal which was negotiated without their input.

Republican-proposed amendments mostly failed, with the exception of Thune’s amendment exempting some businesses from the 15 per cent corporate tax rate. But the “Vote-a-Rama” allowed Republicans to make Democrats vote on tough issues that could be used for ads on the campaign trail this fall.

The deal also incited the anger of some on the left, who have criticized the bill’s investment in new fossil fuel development a concession likely due to the importance natural gas and coal are to the economy of Manchin’s home state.

Sanders on the Senate floor last week had urged lawmakers “to do everything possible to take on the greed of the fossil fuel industry”, and promised to offer an amendment nixing fossil fuel investments in the bill. ((IANS)

Shailen P. Bhatt Named As Administrator Of The Federal Highway Administration

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Shailen P. Bhatt has been nominated as the administrator of the Federal Highway Administration of the US Department of Transportation, according to a White House press release. If Bhatt’s nomination is confirmed, he will become one of over 50 Indian Americans who are serving in the Biden administration, which is a record for any US administration.

U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, applauded President Biden’s nomination of Shailen Bhatt to serve as Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Bhatt is Senior Vice President of Global Transportation Innovation and Alternative Delivery at AECOM, a  consulting firm.  Bhatt previously served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, and as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to a White House release,  “Bhatt spearheaded innovative solutions, collaborations, and partnerships to support the delivery of safe, sustainable, and cost-effective transportation systems for the 21st century. He previously worked as the CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE), Chair of the Executive Committee of the I-95 Corridor Coalition, and was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Automotive and Personal Transport.”

“From the day he took office, President Biden has made rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure—and doing so in a way that reduces emissions, boosts resilience, improves safety, and connects communities—a top priority. After much consideration, I’m delighted to see him nominate such a thoughtful, accomplished person to be the Administrator of the FHWA.

“Shailen Bhatt’s resume is nearly perfect for leading a transportation agency with such a critical infrastructure mission. In addition to serving as a presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Transportation, he has also experience at the state level, leading the Colorado and Delaware Departments of Transportation. I have a long history of working with Shailen, and he is an outstanding choice. I’m confident that he won’t need any on-the-job training and look forward to doing my part to expeditiously advance his nomination and confirm him for this important role.”

Bhatt was one of a number of people brought in by the administration of Gov. Jack Markell, who departed from the usual pattern of governors not looking outside the state for administrative talent. Markell’s predecessor John Carney has mainly relied on current state employees to fill cabinet posts.

Bhatt shared Markell’s love of bicycling that, along with Congressional action, led to the continuing expansion of the trail system in Delaware.   Bhatt dealt with numerous  issues at   DelDOT, which had seen its share of scandals and controversies that included a questionable real estate transaction in Milford involving a wholesale beer distributor during the tenure of the late Gov. Ruth Ann Minner.

Al Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri Killed In US Strike

Staff ReporterGlobal 0

The United States killed the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman Al Zawahri in a “successful” counterterrorism operation in Afghanistan over the weekend that senior Biden administration officials say “deals a significant blow” to the terror network and degrades its ability to operate, including against the U.S. homeland, media reports stated.

The operation marks a major milestone for the U.S. Al-Zawahiri succeeded Osama bin Laden as the leader of the terror group in 2011 and helped lead the September 11, 2001, terror attacks against the U.S.

President Biden spoke to the American people to announce the strike, saying Monday: “the United States continues to demonstrate our resolve and our capacity to defend the American people against those who seek to do us harm. You know, we make it clear again tonight that no matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide, if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out.”

Biden said U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out on Sunday.

Al-Zawahiri, who was 71, had been rumored to be dead but appeared in a video on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 last year.  The Associated Press first reported that a U.S. operation had killed al-Zawahiri.

“Over the weekend, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation against a significant al Qaeda target in Afghanistan,” a senior administration official said Monday, without naming Zawahiri as the target. “The operation was successful and there were no civilian casualties.”

The news was particularly notable coming so close to the one-year anniversary of the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri’s killing represents a major success for the U.S. government and Biden is likely to point to it as an illustration that the U.S. does not need to be engaged in combat in order to take down threats to the homeland.

The United States government, on July 30 at 9:48 p.m. ET, and 6:18 a.m. Kabul time, undertook a “precision counterterrorism operation,” killing Al Zawahiri, who served as Usama bin Laden’s deputy during the 9/11 attacks, and as his successor in 2011, following bin Laden’s death.

A US official said that the U.S. government identified Zawahiri at a location in Kabul. “The Al Zawahiri family exercised longstanding terrorist tradecraft that we assessed was designed to prevent anyone from following them to Zawahiri,” the official explained, noting that the government identified Zawahiri’s wife, daughter and her children at a safe house in Kabul this year.

The official explained that “only a very small and select group of officials at key agencies were brought into the process and the deliberations at the early stage” and briefed on the developing intelligence.

“The president convened over the course of the last few weeks several meetings with his key advisers and cabinet members to carefully scrutinize the intelligence and evaluate the best course of action for targeting Zawahri,” the official explained, noting that Biden received updated on the developments of the targets throughout May and June.

“We are confident through our intelligence sources and methods, including multiple streams of intelligence, that we killed Zawahiri and no other individual,” the official said, noting that members of his family were present “in other parts of the safe house at the time of the strike and were purposefully not targeted and were unharmed.”

All Eyes On Sen. Kyrsten Sinema  After Manchin-Schumer Deal On Bipartisan Bill On Tax Reforms, Climate

Ajay GhoshUSA 0

After several months being in limbo, and constantly criticized for lack of action on crucial items on Biden’s election manifesto, Senate Democrats are aiming to pass a major spending bill

While the most comprehensive deal on Climate, Tax Reforms was the primary points of agreement in a deal by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the focus is on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who remains the biggest wildcard to passing a Democrat-only spending bill ahead of the midterm elections.

After several months being in limbo, and constantly criticized for lack of action on crucial items on Biden’s election manifesto, Senate Democrats are aiming to pass a major spending bill this week that includes funding for climate change, health care and tax increases on corporations.

Last week, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a surprise deal with conservative West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin on a 10-year, $739 billion domestic policy package that seeks to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by roughly 40% by the end of this decade. All eyes are now on Arizona Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who has yet to announce whether she’ll support the legislation.

Sinema’s vote could make or break the bill. Democrats, with no hope of winning Republican support, need every member of their caucus to be present and voting — not guaranteed given recent absences of senators infected with Covid — for it to clear the Senate.

“Kyrsten Sinema is a friend of mine, and we work very close together. She has a tremendous, tremendous input in this legislation,” Manchin said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “She basically insisted [on] no tax increases, [we’ve] done that. And she was very, very adamant about that, I agree with her.”

Manchin has stated that he will talk to fellow centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) about supporting a broad tax reform and climate bill he’s negotiated with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.   Sinema has kept silent about whether she will support the deal, which needs the votes of all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus to pass.

The Arizona senator expressed opposition last year to closing the carried interest tax loophole for asset managers, something that Manchin insisted be part of the deal.

Manchin said last week that he was “adamant” about keeping a proposal to close the carried interest loophole, which lets money managers pay a capital gains tax rate on the income they earn from profitable investments.  Sinema’s staff said the senator is reviewing the legislation.

“Rather than risking more inflation with trillions in new spending, this bill will cut the inflation taxes Americans are paying, lower the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs, and ensure our country invests in the energy security and climate change solutions we need to remain a global superpower through innovation rather than elimination,” Manchin said.

Manchin indicated that he would likely vote to protect the budget reconciliation package from amendments that would alter it significantly, arguing that he and Schumer have struck the right balance after months of difficult negotiations.

“I’m just saying, we have a good balanced piece of legislation. It’s taken me eight months to get here. We’ve listened to everybody along the way,” he said when asked whether he would vote for amendments to change the bill, which would raise $739 billion in new revenue and reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion.

An analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation, for example, shows people earning between $50,000 and $75,000 would see their taxes increase by 0.8 percent in 2023.

Bloomberg reported that the bill would increase a lapsed tax on crude and imported petroleum products to 16.4 cents per barrel.   “We have to agree to disagree. My Republican colleagues are my friends and I’ve worked with them tremendously and I’ll continue to work with them in any way, shape or form,” he said. “But these are things we have all talked about in bipartisan groups. How can we start paying down our debt and take our finances seriously?”

Details of the New Proposal

  • The provisions would invest $369.75 billion in Energy Security and Climate Change programs over 10 years.
  • Proponents said the package would cut about 40% of the country’s carbon emissions by 2030.
  • Package would raise a total of $739 billion in revenue through programs including a 15% corporate minimum tax, prescription drug pricing reform and IRS tax enforcement. The bill would impose a 15% corporate minimum tax, while raising taxes on carried interest, and raising another $124 billion through IRS tax enforcement. Families making less than $400,000 per year would not be affected. Democrats say it would reduce the deficit by $300 billion.
  • Besides climate spending, the bill will also spend $64 billion on extending the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) subsidies through the 2024 election and the first term of Biden’s presidency, taking a big political headache off the table for Democrats. Manchin said that “helps people because you just can’t throw [increases] on them during inflammatory times like this.”
  • For the first time, Medicare would be empowered to negotiate drug prices, something Democrats say would raise $288 billion, and it would cap out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for drugs.
  • Manchin said the final deal does not leave out new incentives for electric vehicles, which he’d resisted in what became a major sticking point in the negotiations. Manchin said the bill gives incentives to make new car batteries in America “and not only be able to assemble them but be able to extract the minerals that we need, critical minerals, in North America.” The deal includes a methane fee as well as a $4,000 tax credit for the purchase of used electric vehicles. The bill also includes efforts to make fossil fuels cleaner, Manchin said, and to increase production to help American allies amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has limited European fuel supplies.

Assault On The Media Continues Across The Globe

Ajay GhoshEditorial/Opinion, Media 0

There are many forces that are assaulting journalism around the world: misinformation, intimidation, pressures on revenue models, and a growing trend of autocrats attacking press freedom

“Finally it is also an important right in a free society to be freely allowed to contribute to society’s well-being. However, if that is to occur, it must be possible for society’s state of affairs to become known to everyone, and it must be possible for everyone to speak his mind freely about it. Where this is lacking, liberty is not worth its name,” Peter Forsskål, a philosopher, theologian, botanist and orientalist wrote in his pamphlet, Thoughts on Civil Liberty, published in Stockholm in 1759.

And, it’s noteworthy that The World Press Freedom Day in Helsinki in 2016 adopted the Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms, which is the right of every human being around the world, and its three perspectives: freedom of information as a fundamental freedom and a human right; protecting press freedom from censorship and surveillance overreach; and ensuring safety
for journalism online and offline.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and a prerequisite for several other democratic rights. It is a right, but it implies responsibility and respect for the rights of others. The role of media has been changing rapidly, especially in recent times, with the advent of social media platforms where not only the news and views of the trained and well-established journalists are published, but anyone has the right reports, post a comment and be appreciative or critical of people, programs and policies for their worth.

The media is expected to be the “watchdog” of the other three branches of the government. Promoting the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for those who attack them are central elements within UNESCO’s support for press freedom on all media platforms. Media is described as the Fourth Estate after the executive, legislature, and judiciary and

However, media has been constantly criticized, intimidated and their rights taken away for being the “watchdog.’ There are many forces assaulting journalism around the world: misinformation, intimidation, pressures on revenue models, and a growing trend of autocrats attacking press freedoms. Journalists are attacked, and imprisoned and their rights to disseminate news and views taken away in numerous countries across the globe.

According to UNESCO, on average, every five days a journalist is killed for bringing information to the public. Attacks on media professionals are often perpetrated in non-conflict situations organized crime groups, militia, security personnel, and even local police, making local journalists among the most vulnerable. These attacks include murder, abductions, harassment, intimidation, illegal arrest, and arbitrary detention.”

The 2020 UNESCO Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger Impunity stated that with 22 killings each, Latin America and the Caribbean, together with Asia and the Pacific, registered the highest number of fatalities among journalists.

These organized crimes and strategies to prevent journalists, media and media platforms are not unique to the Third World or autocratic/tyrant rule d states alone. They are occurring on a daily basis well-established democracies, using so called “democratic laws” as well as in those nations and their rulers who have no regards for freedom of speech and do not tolerate dissent or criticism.

It’s noteworthy, after four years of contestant attacks on the media by his predecessor, President Jose Biden of the United States has kept the media at arm’s length while being decidedly less combative than his predecessor with reporters, an approach that was on display when he attended the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this year.  It’s an approach that administration officials say is deliberate, and that Democrats say is part of Biden’s effort to return the White House to a more normal rapport with the media.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Trump and Biden administrations are now going after tech giants in antitrust lawsuits, based on deals that were solidified under Obama’s watch. The FTC’s case against Facebook seeks to undo the company’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram that were approved under the former president.

Filipino American media executive and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, founder of the digital media outlet Rappler in the Philippines in 2012, has become the target of a series of attacks. Ressa has been arrested several times. This month, with the new administration of Bongbong Marcos in place, Rappler was ordered to shut down, for being the voice of the people.

Rana Ayyub, a senior journalist summarized the state of today’s journalistic fraternity: “The burden of bearing witness and speaking truth to power comes at great personal risk for journalists in many countries around the world. They live a relentless struggle, slapped with lawsuits and criminal cases for sedition, defamation, tax evasion and more. Their lives, and too often the lives of their families, are made miserable.”

Ayyub points to the heinous crimes inflicted on “Gauri Lankesh, Daphne Caruana Galizia and Jamal Khashoggi—all journalists with a profile, all brazenly killed in broad daylight. Their murders dominated the front pages of international publications. But their killers, men in power, remain unquestioned not just by the authorities but often by publishers and editors who develop a comfortable amnesia when meeting those in power. They do not want to lose access to them.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Termed the recent murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous issues expert Bruno Pereira, whom police suspect were killed by people with ties to illegal fishing in the Amazon, amounted to a “nightmare” come true. “Central African Republic authorities should investigate the threats made against journalist Erick Ngaba and ensure his safety,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in Durban, South Africa. “The security situation in the Central African Republic is worrisome enough for media professionals without additional online harassment.”

India’s record on violations against Journalists has been among the worst in recent times. A nation, said to be the “beacon of hope” and the “largest democracy” in the world dropped eight laces to 150 — out of 180 countries — on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) for 2022. The index’s report notes that “with an average of three or four journalists killed in connection with their work every year, India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media.” In the current year alone, it states, while one journalist has been killed, another 13 are behind bars.

In fact in the last 20 years, India, which was ranked 80th on the index in 2002, has seen its press freedom ranking progressively plummet. The country profile by RSF on India also says that “the Indian press used to be seen as fairly progressive but things changed radically in the mid-2010s, when Narendra Modi became prime minister and engineered a spectacular rapprochement between his party, the BJP, and the big families dominating the media.”

Twitter’s latest transparency report, for July-December 2021 says that the country made the highest number of legal demands to remove content posted by verified journalists and news outlets on Twitter. Of the total 326 legal demands Twitter received globally, against 349 accounts of verified journalists, India sent in 114 legal demands. India in fact also raised the second highest number of information requests, after the US, accounting for 19% of global information requests and 27% of the global accounts specified. Information requests seek details about an account and are issued by law enforcement or government agencies.

Terming the Indian press as “a colossus with feet of clay”, RSF adds that Indian “journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials” by “supporters of Hindutva” with the situation “very worrisome in Kashmir where reporters are often harassed by police and paramilitaries.”

If the powerful rulers of the countries use their power to intimidate the media world, the public are not immune to such ill thought out and narrow views. For some it’s their ideology that motivates them, for others it’s the belief in their “leader” who spreads lies and the flock follow them blindly, and for some who are so called well educated and well informed, it’s their goals to attain power, position and prestige in the society.

Recently, I came across on a WhatsApp media posting, where a picture of half a dozen veteran, well respected and award-winning journalists meeting with a Justice of the Supreme Court of India were called as “traitors of India” because they criticize and point to the the ruling party for its policies that do not benefit the people of India, but the members of the ruling regime.

Speaking at a Stanford University event, former US President Barack Obama called the present as “another tumultuous, dangerous moment in history,” where social media platforms are well-designed to destroy democracies. “Disinformation is a threat to our democracy, and will continue to be unless we work together to address it,” he said.

According to analysts, while free speech is protected by both the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, these legal instruments offer governments much greater leeway than the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it comes to defining categories, such as hate speech, that can be regulated.

Reports state. the European Union is in the midst of finalizing the Digital Services Act (DSA), an ambitious legislative attempt to create a “global gold standard” on platform regulation. After five trilogues, on April 23, the European Parliament and European Council reached a provisional political agreement on the DSA. As such, the DSA is likely to affect the practical exercise of free speech on social media platforms, whether located in Silicon Valley or owned by American tech billionaires.

Freedom of expression is a vital part of democracy, considering it does not cross the “Lakshman Rekha” of public order and morality, said former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
Gogoi, while expressing his views on action against individuals over social media posts, said, “Now on social media — is a critical part of healthy democracy, so long as it does not cross the Lakshman Rekha of public order and morality, be it against an individual or an institution. If the opinion is within the line (of public order), it should not be restrained…,” said Gogoi.

Adding that such an opinion should be based on facts and bonafide information, the former CJI said, “If it is an opinion not based on facts and disturbs public order and transgresses morality or creates distrust among the public for the institution, posing a threat to national interest, action needs to be taken. Nothing can be bigger than national interest.”

Gogoi also said that the present generation youth in the country are fortunate to have the power of social media. “It is a powerful tool, but it can be misused, which is unfortunate… Youth today, who wish to enter public life or politics must be aware that they cannot be successful unless they work hard and base their journey on facts. This is because it is very easy for misinformation to be spread…”

Media reports pointed out that in the first quarter of 2018, Facebook removed 2.5 million pieces of content for the transgression of community standards on hate speech. By the third quarter of 2021, the number had increased almost tenfold to 22.3 million. This was mainly the result of increased reliance on AI-based content-filtering algorithms. In 2018, AI caught 4 out of 10 transgressions before any user complaint, but in the third quarter of 2021, this rose to 96.5 percent.

“We’ve come a long way towards realizing freedom of expression, and other fundamental freedoms. The right to access to information is entrenched in law in over a hundred countries,” said Secretary-General Guterres of the United Nations during the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Association of UN Correspondents (ACANU). “But despite these advances, in recent years, civic space has been shrinking worldwide at an alarming rate.”

In the midst of all these, some recommend a model that would “encourage the implementation of human-rights standards as a framework of first reference in the moderation practices of large social media platforms. This would result in a social media environment that would be both more transparent and protective of users’ free speech on categories such as hate speech and disinformation. Using human rights law as the standard of content moderation would also provide platforms with norms and legitimacy to resist demands to censor dissent made by authoritarian states keen to exploit the well-intentioned but misguided attempts by democracies to rein in harmful online speech.”

Stating that Journalism and the media are “essential to peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights for all – and to the work of the United Nations,” Guterres noted, paying tribute to reporters who “go to the most dangerous places on earth, to bring us important information, to give a voice to people who are being ignored and abused, and to hold the powerful to account. Your work reminds us that truth never dies, and that our attachment to the fundamental right that is freedom of expressions must also never die… Informing is not a crime.”

Frank Islam Appointed By Biden To Be On The Commission On Presidential Scholars

Staff ReporterProfile 0

Indian American Frank Islam will be one of the 21 members of the Commission on Presidential Scholars. Islam will be a part of the 21-member commission which includes prominent Americans from different walks of life. According to the White House press release, the commission will be led by Margaret Aitken Haggerty, a communications professional who served as the spokesperson and press secretary for Biden during his Senate days.

The Commission on Presidential Scholars is responsible for selecting 161 Presidential Scholars from academics, the arts, career, and technical education.

Islam is currently the head of the FI Investment Group which is a private investment holding company. Previously, he owned an information technology firm called QSS Group which he sold in 2007. He has also served on several boards and advisory councils such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.N. Foundation, the US Institute of Peace, and the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Moreover, Islam has been a part of the boards and councils at different universities including John Hopkins, American University, George Mason University, the University of Maryland, and Harvard University, according to the White House press release.

A prolific writer, Islam has also written about American politics for The Quint. In an interview with the American Bazaar, Islam expressed that the new appointment was an honor. “I look forward to serving on the Commission with the other members and collaborating with them to choose Scholars who will use this experience and already impressive accomplishments in order to build an even stronger and better America,” Islam said.

Islam has authored books on the American political landscape, including: Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again and Renewing the American Dream: A Citizen’s Guide for Restoring Our Competitive Advantage

He is a regular blogger on Medium and has been contributing to the Huffington Post for almost a decade. In 2018, Islam created the Frank Islam Institute for 21st Century Citizenship which tackles the civic engagement deficit and challenges to democracy within the US and on a global scale through its website and monthly newsletter.

Born in Aligarh, India, Islam moved to the United States in early 1970s to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Colorado, in Boulder. After earning a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the university, he worked for different companies for 20 years before creating his own, the QSS Group.

After exiting from the QSS, Islam and his wife, Debbie Driesman built a philanthropic foundation with an aim to promote education, art and culture, and peace and conflict-resolution.

Currently residing in Potomac, Maryland, just outside of Washington DC, Islam is a popular Democratic donor, and has raised millions of dollars for Democratic presidential nominees including Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, and Joe Biden. (Courtesy: The Quint)

Most People Have Confidence In Kamala Harris Across 18 Surveyed Countries

Staff ReporterUSA, Women 0

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris draws mostly positive reviews across 18 countries surveyed by Pew Research Center this spring.

A median of 55% of adults in these countries have confidence in Harris to do the right thing regarding world affairs, including half or more who hold that view in 14 countries. Confidence in Harris is particularly high in Sweden, where 77% of adults view her positively.

Trust in Harris is lowest in Hungary, where only 23% say they have confidence in the vice president to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Hungary is also the country where the greatest share did not answer the question (36%).

Confidence in Harris is roughly comparable to international confidence in U.S. President Joe Biden, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. A median of about six-in-ten have confidence in each of those three leaders to do the right thing regarding world affairs – slightly more than the median of 55% who have confidence in the U.S. vice president. Harris’s ratings far outpace those of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is seen positively by a median of 18% of adults, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is seen positively by a median of just 9% across the surveyed countries.

Harris has taken on a variety of internationally focused responsibilities during her time as vice president. Those responsibilities have included a high-profile trip to Europe at the beginning of the war in Ukraine and coordination of relations with Central American leaders to stem the flow of migrants coming to the southern border of the United States.

Confidence in Harris is tied to gender in some countries, with women significantly more likely than men to express confidence in her handling of world affairs. For example, 68% of Canadian women have a positive view of Harris, while only about half of Canadian men (51%) say the same. Significant differences between men and women also appear in Singapore, Australia, Italy, Malaysia, Sweden and the Netherlands.

In some countries, older people are more likely to have confidence in Harris than younger people. This age gap is largest in Belgium, where 73% of those ages 50 and older have confidence in Harris, compared with just 51% of 18- to 29-year-olds. Older people are also more likely to have confidence in the U.S. vice president in Canada, France, Germany and Greece. In Singapore, Poland and Malaysia, the opposite is true: Younger people report more confidence in Harris than older people. Older adults in Malaysia are also less likely to provide a response to the question.

Ideology is also related to views of Harris in some places. In six countries, those who place themselves on the ideological left are significantly more likely than those on the right to have confidence in Harris. Greece is the only country where the reverse is true: 54% of Greeks on the ideological right are confident in Harris, compared with just 32% of those on the left.

In addition to gender, age and ideological differences in some places, views of Harris are closely related to views of the U.S. president.

For example, people in Sweden, the Netherlands and Poland report some of the most positive views of Harris, with around seven-in-ten or more saying they’re confident in her to do the right thing regarding world affairs. People in these countries also report some of the highest levels of confidence in Biden. On the opposite end of the spectrum, people in Hungary are the least likely to express confidence in both Harris and Biden.

Trump ‘Chose Not To Act’ As Mob Terrorized The Capitol

Staff ReporterUSA 0

The prime-time hearing revealed that the president resisted using the word ‘peaceful’ in a tweet even as Mike Pence’s Secret Service agents feared for their lives.

(AP) — Despite desperate pleas from aides, allies, a Republican congressional leader and even his family, Donald Trump refused to call off the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, instead “pouring gasoline on the fire” by aggressively tweeting his false claims of a stolen election and celebrating his crowd of supporters as “very special,” the House investigating committee showed Thursday night.

The next day, he declared anew, “I don’t want to say the election is over.” That was in a previously unaired outtake of an address to the nation he was to give, shown at the prime-time hearing of the committee.

The panel documented how for some 187 minutes, from the time Trump left a rally stage sending his supporters to the Capitol to the time he ultimately appeared in the Rose Garden video that day, nothing could compel the defeated president to act. Instead, he watched the violence unfold on TV.

“President Trump didn’t fail to act,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a fellow Republican but frequent Trump critic who flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. “He chose not to act.”

After months of work and weeks of hearings, the prime-time session started the way the committee began — laying blame for the deadly attack on Trump himself for summoning the mob to Washington and sending them to Capitol Hill.

The defeated president turned his supporters’ “love of country into a weapon,” said the panel’s Republican vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

Far from finishing its work after Thursday’s hearing, probably the last of the summer, the panel will start up again in September as more witnesses and information emerge. Cheney said “the dam has begun to break” on revealing what happened that fateful day, at the White House as well as in the violence at the Capitol.

“Donald Trump made a purposeful choice to violate his oath of office,” Cheney declared.

“Every American must consider this: Can a president who is willing to make the choices Donald Trump made during the violence of Jan. 6 ever be trusted in any position of authority in our great nation?” she asked.

Trump, who is considering another White House run, dismissed the committee as a “Kangaroo court,” and name-called the panel and witnesses for “many lies and misrepresentations.”

Plunging into its second prime-time hearing on the Capitol attack, the committee aimed to show a “minute by minute” accounting of Trump’s actions with new testimony, including from two White House aides, never-before-heard security radio transmissions of Secret Service officers fearing for their lives and behind-the-scenes discussions at the White House.

With the Capitol siege raging, Trump was “giving the green light” to his supporters by tweeting condemnation of Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to go along with his plan to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory, a former White House aide told the committee.

Two aides resigned on the spot.

“I thought that Jan. 6 2021, was one of the darkest days in our nation’s history,” Sarah Matthews told the panel. “And President Trump was treating it as a celebratory occasion. So it just further cemented my decision to resign.”

The committee played audio of Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reacting with surprise to the president’s inaction during the attack.

“You’re the commander-in-chief. You’ve got an assault going on on the Capitol of the United States of America. And there’s Nothing? No call? Nothing, Zero?” he said.

On Jan. 6, an irate Trump demanded to be taken to the Capitol after his supporters had stormed the building, well aware of the deadly attack, but his security team refused.

“Within 15 minutes of leaving the stage, President Trump knew that the Capitol was besieged and under attack,” said Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va.

At the Capitol, the mob was chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” testified Matt Pottinger, the former deputy national security adviser, as Trump tweeted his condemnation of his vice president.

Pottinger, testifying Thursday, said that when he saw Trump’s tweet he immediately decided to resign, as did Matthews, who said she was a lifelong Republican but could not go along with what was going on. She was the witness who called the tweet “a green light” and “pouring gasoline on the fire.”

Meanwhile, recordings of Secret Service radio transmissions revealed agents at the Capitol trying to whisk Pence to safety amid the mayhem and asking for messages to be relayed telling their own families goodbye.

The panel showed previously unseen testimony from the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., with a text message to his father’s chief of staff Mark Meadows urging the president to call off the mob.

US Denies 61% of Employer‐Sponsored Immigrant Visas

Staff ReporterImmigration 0

U.S. consulates deny a large majority (61 percent) of employer‐​sponsored immigrant visas for prospective legal permanent residents because it claims to have found a problem with their job offers. The denials reverse labor certifications and petitions approved by the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) and contrast with rare denials by DHS (4 percent) for workers applying for green cards while already inside the United States. Although this astounding denial rate has existed for decades, the State Department has never publicly explained it, and no one has previously reported on it.

It appears that the denials are so high partly because the department grants so little weight to earlier approvals by DOL and DHS. The much greater difficulty in obtaining a green card abroad has important consequences for U.S. immigration. It encourages many immigrants to apply for easier‐​to‐​obtain temporary visas, which unnecessarily uses limited cap spots under those programs, while others may give up on legal immigration and seek to enter illegally.

Legal immigrants to the United States have two ways to receive a green card (denoting legal permanent residence). The first way is to obtain an immigrant visa from the State Department authorizing travel to the United States at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad. The other approach is to adjust from temporary to permanent status in the United States. Employer‐​sponsored immigrants usually obtain a temporary work visa and only then proceed through the employer‐​sponsored green card adjustment of status process in the United States.

In 2021, 161,451 employer‐​sponsored immigrants adjusted status in the United States, while just 15,026 (9 percent) received immigrant visas abroad. The ease of obtaining temporary work visas over difficult immigrant visas certainly contributes to this huge disparity. Employer‐​sponsored green cards typically require a permanent labor certification from the DOL, a process that currently takes more than 500 days to complete at great expense and risk. Then employers submit a petition to DHS requesting approval for the worker to apply, either domestically or abroad.

Since the green card or immigrant visa application is the final step and follows vetting by two different departments, denials should be rare, and they are for workers in the United States. DHS denied just 4 percent of employer‐​sponsored immigrants seeking adjustment of status to permanent residence in 2021. But it’s a completely different story at consulates abroad. The State Department does not report the total denial rate for employer‐​sponsored immigrants under every ground of ineligibility. It only reports denials under the labor certification ground of ineligibility. The labor certification ground only applies to employer‐​sponsored immigrants in the EB‑2 and EB‑3 categories (which excludes the EB‑1 category that has a lesser number of outstanding researchers, executives, and people with extraordinary ability). Immigrants are only denied under this ground if the State Department claims to have found a problem with their job offers.

As per reports, denials shot up in 1995 and stayed extraordinarily high through the present. Another significant spike occurred in the 2000s when denials eventually reached an all‐​time high of 79 percent in 2009. It has come down somewhat since then, but both in 2019 and 2020, 61 percent of applicants were denied. These denials occurred because the State Department claimed to have found a problem with their job offer. If all the different grounds for denial were included—such as misrepresentation, public charge, and criminal bars—the denial rate would be even higher.

According to reports, new official numbers show that the U.S. government failed to issue a quarter of the available employment‐​based green cards for legal immigrants in fiscal year 2021. Despite about 1.4 million immigrants waiting for an employment‐​based green card in 2021, the government only used 195,507 of the 262,288 available green card numbers, wasting 66,781 green cards.

The official, final number of wasted green cards is somewhat more than the 62,000 number government officials told the press at the end of FY 2021. Table 1 shows the cap for each of the five employment‐​based categories and the number of green cards wasted in each category. With 84 percent unused, the EB‑5 investor category had the most green card waste in FY 2021 as a percentage of available green cards. In absolute terms, the greatest waste came from the EB‑3 category for (mostly) bachelor’s degree holders, which wasted 19,774 green cards last fiscal year.

If any EB‑4 and EB‑5 numbers are going to go unused, those numbers are supposed to be used by EB‑1, and if EB‑1 doesn’t use all of them, they can be used by EB‑2, and then any unused for EB‑2 can be used by EB‑3. This means that EB‑2 could have used as many as 107,000 green cards, and EB‑3 as many as 122,000 (assuming all the other categories failed to use the same amount).

This cap system that flows unused numbers from one category to the next is supposed to guarantee that all the numbers are used every year, but last fiscal year, the system broke down. For reasons that I explained in the Washington Post last year, the U.S. government simply failed to make the necessary changes fast enough to ensure that every green card was issued, so those green cards were wasted.

Green card waste affects Indian immigrants far more than any other group of immigrants because they make up 82 percent of the immigrants waiting as a result of the caps. This is because the law limits immigrants from any single birthplace to no more than 7 percent of the green cards available in a year, and for many years, Indians have made up about half of all the new applicants. New Indian applicants enter the backlog, while immigrants from other countries get to pass them in line and receive a green card as soon as their applications are adjudicated.

But there’s a very important exception to this “per‐​country cap”: if the rest of the world will not use all the green cards, Indians can receive more than 7 percent of the total. In 2021, the employment‐​based cap was increased by more than 120,000 because the law dictates that any unused family‐​based green card numbers should be reassigned to the employment‐​based categories in the following year.

The influx meant that Indians could finally bypass the country caps and get green cards far in excess of the 7 percent limit, and they did. For the EB‑2 and EB‑3 categories in which most Indian applicants are waiting, issuances went from 5,793 in FY 2020 to 43,200 in FY 2021. The additional employment‐​based green cards in FY 2021 effectively provided Indians with six and a half years’ worth of issuances in a single fiscal year.

But that’s exactly what makes the waste of nearly 67,000 green cards so frustrating for anyone in the backlog. The failure to process these green cards basically means that the administration has (illegally) added 11.5 additional years of waiting for Indian immigrants. I say “illegally” because the government is required to implement the laws that Congress enacts, and it has violated the law. Unfortunately, courts failed to hold them accountable, so Congress must step in and force the agencies to follow the law.

The employment‐​based cap is even higher in FY 2022 than it was in FY 2021: 281,430. Based on numbers from the first quarter of FY 2022 as well as statements from agency officials and attorneys, it seems clear that the agencies will duplicate their poor performance in FY 2021. As of January 2022, the agency was on pace to waste more than 100,000 employment‐​based green cards in FY 2022. The Biden administration must show its commitment to legal immigration by making sure that every available green card is used this year.

In Gun We Trust! Booming Guns Make US Unsafe

Staff ReporterUSA, Opinion 0

Would it be an exaggeration to say that the US is a more dangerous place for living than Afghanistan? It may sound absurd but the abnormal is becoming the normal in a proud ‘civilised’ democratic nation like the US. President Biden vows to end ‘the gun violence’ time after time. Maybe before that the US needs to shed its Gun Blindness. His rival Donald Trump and the Republicans are hell bent on continuing the mayhem as they depend for their political prosperity on the massive funds from the gun lobby. The juvenile cowboy mentality of yesteryears continues to rule the national psyche in the US prioritising the right to carry arms in public over the lives of its citizens.

Two factors contribute potently to this assault on the lives of citizens. One, practically anyone over the age of 18 can bear arms in America, even military grade assault rifles, in public. Two, there are enough depressed and mentally deranged citizens in the US who will use the guns to cool their rage.  So, we have almost week after week chilling reports of some mass shooting or other in a mall or school or any other crowded place. The USA has become no doubt, a crazy ‘never never land’ where a former President recently organised an armed attack on the Capitol. Could you believe your eyes as they witnessed the violent and shocking visuals on our TV screens with security men running for cover like hunted-down rats? Has killing become a national obsession in the US?

It is a country that is terribly upset over a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding so-called abortion rights for killing unborn humans. A cloud can only cover the sun, not wipe it out. The hidden behind-the -scene killings of the unborn could be at the root of all this national malaise. Maybe the offended spirits of the slain innocents have invaded the minds of deranged US citizens. Perhaps, this is a parallel to the boiling cauldron scene of the three witches in the tragedy of Macbeth.

The latest episode in this mayhem was the July 4 mass shooting in Chicago during the Independence Day Parade. Maybe all the crazy citizens of the US are celebrating their independence with shooting at anyone in sight. And their remorseless inner demons find some solace   in the pitiful shrieks and wailing of scampering fellow citizens. You are comparatively safer in Afghanistan because at least civilians cannot carry arms there. You need to watch out only for the typically clad Taliban fighters. In the US, all can carry weapons  and use them at will  as we all carry  cell phones everywhere nowadays. In such a scenario, why do you need armed state police at all? Disband them and save money for the nation.  Citizens can administer whimsical cowboy justice themselves.

The remedies suggested for this most worrying situation are still more baffling. To buffer up security in schools convert them into armed fortresses where you can carry more guns than school books. School masters have to turn into armed guards, maybe. Perhaps they should turn all their schools into military academies right from the KG and learn to shoot instead of getting shot.

Who can advise this advanced world leader of nations about the absurdity of everyone bearing arms in public?  If you carry arms you must use them sometimes or else they grow rusty. If you are crazy you need them any time. It will sound cynical to say so, but it is the truth that frequent national lamentations over mass killings seem to be the current national occupation in the US. The rest of the world is wondering how such a great nation which considers itself the policeman of the world has regressed to being a callow political novice in keeping domestic peace.

In such a self-created situation news of mass shootings in the US is no more news for the rest of the world. It is something like the ever-increasing petrol price notifications which have become routine exercise. This great nation is paradoxically wasting its time and energy monitoring freedom index in other nations when it has no clue as to how to protect its own citizens from maniacs. When your own house is in chaos preaching homilies to the rest of the world is a pointless waste of breath which will fall on deaf ears. What a fall for such a great nation, fellow citizens of the world!

Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey

SUMITRA BADRINATHAN,  DEVESH KAPUR,  MILAN VAISHNAVCommunity, India 0

U.S. President Joe Biden remarked in a March 2021 phone call with Swati Mohan, an Indian-origin scientist charged with overseeing the highly anticipated landing of the Perseverance Mars rover for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: “It’s amazing. Indian—of descent—Americans are taking over the country: you, my vice president [Kamala Harris, whose mother was born in India], my speechwriter, Vinay [Indian American Vinay Reddy]. . . . You guys are incredible.”1

While some in the media interpreted Biden’s off-the-cuff remark as an unfortunate gaffe, others viewed it as affirmation of the growing influence of the Indian American diaspora. In the same exchange, Biden later added: “One of the reasons why we’re such an incredible country is we’re such a diverse country. We bring the best out of every single solitary culture in the world here in the United States of America, and we give people an opportunity to let their dreams run forward.”

Indian Americans are the second-largest immigrant group in the United States. As the number of Indian-origin residents in the United States has swelled north of 4 million, the community’s diversity too has grown.

Today, Indian Americans are a mosaic of recent arrivals and long-term residents. While the majority are immigrants, a rising share is born and raised in the United States. Many Indian immigrants might have brought with them identities rooted in their ancestral homeland, while others have eschewed them in favor of a nonhyphenated “American” identity. And despite the overall professional, educational, and financial success many Indian Americans enjoy, this has not inoculated them from the forces of discrimination, polarization, and contestation over questions of belonging and identity.

There is surprisingly little systematic data about the everyday social realities that Indian Americans experience. How do Indian Americans perceive their own ethnic identity? How do they respond to the dual impulses of assimilation and integration? And how might their self-conception influence the composition of their social networks?

These are not merely academic questions. As the profile of the Indian American community has grown, so too has its economic, political, and social influence. But how Indian Americans choose to deploy this influence remains an open question. To what extent do people of Indian origin encounter discriminatory behavior—on what grounds and by whom? As the United States witnesses a resurgence of violence and hate speech targeting Asian Americans, how might it affect Americans of Indian origin?

This study draws on a new source of empirical data to answer these and other questions. Its findings are based on a nationally representative online survey of 1,200 Indian American residents in the United States—the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS)—conducted between September 1 and September 20, 2020, in partnership with the research and analytics firm YouGov. The survey, drawing on both citizens and non-citizens in the United States, was conducted online using YouGov’s proprietary panel of 1.8 million Americans and has an overall margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.

This study is the third in a series on the social, political, and foreign policy attitudes of Indian Americans. The major findings are briefly summarized below.

  • Indian Americans exhibit very high rates of marriage within their community. While eight out of ten respondents have a spouse or partner of Indian origin, U.S.-born Indian Americans are four times more likely to have a spouse or partner who is of Indian origin but was born in the United States.
  • Religion plays a central role in the lives of Indian Americans but religious practice varies. While nearly three-quarters of Indian Americans state that religion plays an important role in their lives, religious practice is less pronounced. Forty percent of respondents pray at least once a day and 27 percent attend religious services at least once a week.
  • Roughly half of all Hindu Indian Americans identify with a caste group. Foreign-born respondents are significantly more likely than U.S.-born respondents to espouse a caste identity. The overwhelming majority of Hindus with a caste identity—more than eight in ten—self-identify as belonging to the category of General or upper caste.
  • “Indian American” itself is a contested identity. While Indian American is a commonly used shorthand to describe people of Indian origin, it is not universally embraced. Only four in ten respondents believe that “Indian American” is the term that best captures their background.
  • Civic and political engagement varies considerably by one’s citizenship status. Across nearly all metrics of civic and political participation, U.S.-born citizens report the highest levels of engagement, followed by foreign-born U.S. citizens, with non-citizens trailing behind.
  • Indian Americans’ social communities are heavily populated by other people of Indian origin. Indian Americans—especially members of the first generation—tend to socialize with other Indian Americans. Internally, the social networks of Indian Americans are more homogenous in terms of religion than either Indian region (state) of origin or caste.
  • Polarization among Indian Americans reflects broader trends in American society. While religious polarization is less pronounced at an individual level, partisan polarization—linked to political preferences both in India and the United States—is rife. However, this polarization is asymmetric: Democrats are much less comfortable having close friends who are Republicans than the converse. The same is true of Congress Party supporters vis-à-vis supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
  • Indian Americans regularly encounter discrimination. One in two Indian Americans reports being discriminated against in the past one year, with discrimination based on skin color identified as the most common form of bias. Somewhat surprisingly, Indian Americans born in the United States are much more likely to report being victims of discrimination than their foreign-born counterparts.
  • To some extent, divisions in India are being reproduced within the Indian American community. While only a minority of respondents are concerned about the importation of political divisions from India to the United States, those who are identify religion, political leadership, and political parties in India as the most common factors. (Courtesy: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Will Biden ’S Visit To Middle East Help Revive US Partnerships In The Region?

Daniel L BymanGlobal 0

President Joe Biden prepares to travel to the Middle East, his administration faces several challenges in its relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other regional (non-treaty) allies. At the most basic level, the United States and these allies do not share the same priorities. Part of why Biden is traveling to Saudi Arabia is to convince the country’s leaders to pump more oil as global prices soar. In addition, the United States seeks to maintain pressure on the Islamic State group (IS) to prevent the terror organization from rebuilding. Yet both the Russia-Ukraine war and the struggle against the remnants of IS are ancillary concerns for regional states, and they are concerned that the U.S. focus on Asia and Europe will make the United States a less useful security partner.

Iran, the foreign policy priority for Israel, Saudi Arabia, and many other regional states, is a major sticking point. Indeed, most regional allies oppose the Biden administration’s efforts to restore the Iran nuclear deal, seeing it as making too many concessions to Tehran and fearing that the United States in general will not stand up to Iranian aggression and subversion. With regular Iranian missile strikes on Iraq and missile strikes from Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, this fear is quite strong. Nuclear talks appear to be floundering, and the Biden administration will need to decide whether to try to revive them at the risk of further alienating regional states or abandon them only to work on the next challenge — how to create other diplomatic —  and military — options that will stop the Iranian bomb and ensure regional security. Iran, for its part, will interpret the Biden visit as the United States further siding with its regional enemies.

Russia is another sticking point. The United States is trying to create a global coalition to oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine. Middle Eastern states, however, see Russia as a source of wheat, while their populations question why Ukraine should be the subject of global solidarity while Syria was not. Many are more anti-American than pro-Ukraine. Regardless of regime views on Ukraine, Russia is also a military player in Syria, and Israel works with Moscow to ensure that Israel can strike Iranian assets in Syria without interference from Russian forces.

In order to win over regional leaders, Biden will also need to curtail some of his critical rhetoric. This is especially true with his condemnation of the Saudi murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the brutal Saudi and UAE war in Yemen. These are the right stances from a human rights perspective, but Riyadh and its allies will not be accommodating in other areas if they are the subject of regular, public criticism.

Actually walking back his comments on these grave human rights issues would be politically difficult even if Biden were inclined to openly abandon the moral high ground. In practice, refraining from future criticism, the legitimacy bestowed by the trip itself, and other steps that make it clear that Riyadh is being embraced, not shunned. As in the past, the United States is again emphasizing that pragmatic concerns like oil prices and Iran, not human rights, will drive U.S. policy toward the kingdom.

Making these problems more difficult, the Biden administration inherited a weak hand from its predecessors. U.S. engagement with the Middle East has declined dramatically since the George W. Bush administration, when 9/11 and the Iraq War put the region at the center of U.S. foreign policy. President Barack Obama tried to reduce U.S. involvement in the Middle East, and President Donald Trump, while more sympathetic to autocratic Arab allies, also favored limited U.S. involvement in the region. The Biden administration has emphasized great power competition, with the war in Ukraine and the rivalry with China dominating strategic thinking. Biden’s trip is thus occurring with a regional perception that the United States is focused on other parts of the world and at home, with little appetite for resolving regional disputes and leading regional allies as it sought to in the past. Indeed, Biden’s understandable focus on energy and Russia will reinforce this, making it clear that it is non-regional concerns that are driving his visit rather than shared interests. The Biden administration also claims the trip is to encourage Saudi Arabia to formally make peace with Israel, though U.S. officials almost certainly recognize a formal peace is highly unlikely even though Riyadh and Israel have stepped up their security partnership.

Making the job even harder, Middle Eastern allies have preferred Republican presidents. Gulf state rulers believe Republican leaders are more anti-Iran and less concerned about human rights. Israeli leaders too believe Republicans are more pro-Israel and more likely to stand up to Tehran. In addition, regional allies rightly recognize that Trump or another disruptive leader may again assume the U.S. presidency. The United States, in other words, will be considered an erratic ally, with policies and interest in the Middle East varying wildly by administration.

One goal that may have more success is encouraging U.S. allies to work together. The United States historically has preferred bilateral cooperation, with countries working with Washington more than with one another. As the U.S. limits its involvement, however, it will want regional states to step up and combine their efforts, whether this is to counter Iran or to resolve regional wars like those in Yemen and Libya. Israel, with its formidable military and intelligence services, can play an important role here, offering high-end capabilities, such as providing radar systems to Bahrain and the UAE, when the United States is reluctant to do so for political reasons.

The United States is also likely to have help from partners in sustaining the fighting against IS and other dangerous jihadi groups. Although this struggle is less of a priority for allies, they too worry about violent jihadism and will continue longstanding intelligence and military cooperation. Jihadi groups also remain weak compared with their past selves, limiting the effort required.

Regional partners will be aware of U.S. pivoting to focus on Asia and Europe, and Biden’s visit will not change this perception. The best the administration can hope for is to make clear, both in private and in public, that the United States will remain diplomatically and militarily involved in the Middle East, whether it be to counter IS or deter Iran. The president’s visit is thus a useful signal, even if regional states will remain unsatisfied.

Perhaps the best that can be hoped from this trip is simply to restart the U.S. engagement with its allies in the region. Such a goal doesn’t promise big wins — there may at best be modest concessions like a Saudi announcement it will pump a small amount of additional oil — but it offers the hope of future improvements. For now, the U.S. relationship with regional allies is transactional, with little trust or respect on either side. Repeated visits by high-level officials will make them more likely to listen to Washington and consider U.S. interests rather than see U.S. concerns as irrelevant, or even opposed, to their day-to-day problems.

Fearing Imminent Russian Invasion, India Asks Citizens To Leave Ukraine

Staff ReporterNation India, Nation USA, World 0

Concerns over Russia’s intentions in Ukraine mounted after talks in Geneva between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO security alliance ended last week without success. Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops and moved heavy weapons along its border with Ukraine in recent weeks and has begun positioning forces along the Belarus-Ukraine border.

The Pentagon accused Moscow of deploying armed saboteurs into Eastern Ukraine to start violence as a pretext for moving its troops into the country, a tactic Russia used in 2014 during its invasion and occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. The Russians said they would withdraw if NATO agreed to a series of security measures, including permanently banning Ukraine from the Western military alliance, a proposal that has been flatly refused. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ’84 will meet with Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, Friday in an attempt to find a resolution to the standoff.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he was convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a decision to invade Ukraine, and though there was still room for diplomacy, he expected Russia to move on the country in the coming days. Russia has repeatedly denied preparing to invade Ukraine.

Acknowledging the “real possibility” of war, US Vice President Kamala Harris Harris tried to make the case to American allies that rapidly spiraling tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border meant European security was under threat and there should be unified support for economic penalties if the Kremlin invades its neighbor, Reuters reported.

As Western leaders warn of an imminent Russian invasion, Belarus defense minister Sunday said that in a step that further intensifies pressure on Ukraine, Russia and Belarus are extending military exercises that were due to end on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine, meanwhile, advised all Indian nationals, whose stay is not deemed essential, to temporarily leave Ukraine. Indian students were also advised to also get in touch with respective student contractors for updates on chartered flights.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has posed the question that’s kept the world on edge for weeks: will Russia attack Ukraine? Not even those in the Russian government — besides President Vladimir Putin — appear to know the answer, but the fact remains that there has been a steady buildup of Russian troops and military hardware near the Ukraine border; the largest since the end of the Cold War.

“They have all the capabilities in place, Russia, to launch an attack on Ukraine without any warning at all. No one is denying that Russia has all these forces in place,” Stoltenberg told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. “The question is, will they launch an attack?”

Over 150,000 Russian troops are stationed at various points along the border with Ukraine. Russian forces have also been posted in Belarus, an ally that lies to the north of Ukraine.

According to reports, multiple explosions could be heard late Saturday and early Sunday in the center of the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The origin of the explosions was not clear. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC that the plans that the West is seeing at Ukraine’s border suggest that a Russian invasion could be “the biggest war in Europe since 1945 in terms of sheer scale”.

Almost 2,000 ceasefire violations were registered in eastern Ukraine by monitors for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Saturday, a diplomatic source told Reuters Sunday. The Ukrainian government and separatist forces have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014. An upsurge in shelling has thrust the region to the center of tensions between Moscow and the West over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.

“The fact is that this directly leads to an increase in tension. And when tension is escalated to the maximum, as it is now, for example, on the line of contact (in eastern Ukraine), then any spark, any unplanned incident or any minor planned provocation can lead to irreparable consequences,” he added. So all this has – may have – detrimental consequences. The daily exercise of announcing a date for Russia to invade Ukraine is a very bad practice,” a report by Reuters, quoting Biden stated.

Repeated Western predictions of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are provocative and may have adverse consequences, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday. Putin takes no notice of such Western statements, Peskov told Rossiya 1 state TV.

Moscow has insisted it has no plans to invade Ukraine and its forces in Belarus are there for military drills set to take place in the coming days. The U.S. and its Western allies have warned of severe economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia should an invasion go ahead.

How A Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Could Affect The World?

Staff ReporterNation India, Nation USA, World 0

The number of Russian troops along Ukraine’s borders have continued to build in recent days, with U.S. officials estimating that 169,000 to 190,000 personnel are in place near Ukraine or in Russian-occupied Crimea.

President Biden spoke about the situation on Friday, saying that U.S. intelligence now believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to proceed with an invasion.

“We have reason to believe the Russian forces are planning to and intend to attack Ukraine in the coming week, in the coming days,” Biden said. “We believe that they will target Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million innocent people.”

Biden has signaled to the American public that it, too, may feel effects if Russia invades Ukraine.

“If Russia decides to invade, that would also have consequences here at home. But the American people understand that defending democracy and liberty is never without cost,” he said in a speech Tuesday. “I will not pretend this will be painless.”

Russia says it is not preparing to invade, and it is not a certainty that Putin will decide to do so. World leaders are continuing diplomatic talks in a high-stakes effort to avoid that outcome.

Still, the possibility of an invasion has raised the specter of consequences — sanctions, countersanctions, energy supply issues, a flood of refugees — that would be felt far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Here’s what to know.

The U.S. has promised severe sanctions if Russia invades — and Russia could retaliate

“If Russia proceeds, we will rally the world and oppose its aggression. The United States and our allies and partners around the world are ready to impose powerful sanctions and export controls,” Biden said Tuesday.

Those sanctions could include restrictions on major Russian banks that would dramatically affect Russia’s ability to conduct international business. Severe U.S. sanctions could drive up prices for everyday Russians or cause Russia’s currency or markets to crash.

Because the U.S. does not rely much on trade with Russia, it is somewhat insulated from direct consequences. Europe is more directly affected. But certain sectors of the U.S. economy rely on highly specific Russian exports, primarily raw commodities.

“The premise of sanctions is to hurt the other guy more than you hurt your own interests. But that does not mean there will not be some collateral damage,” said Doug Rediker, a partner at International Capital Strategies.

Energy prices could soar

Russia is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, especially to Europe. As a result, officials have reportedly shied away from severe sanctions on Russian energy exports.

But there are other ways the energy market could be disrupted. Nearly 40% of the natural gas used by the European Union comes from Russia. President Biden has said the not-yet-operational Nord Stream 2 pipeline would not move ahead if Russia invaded Ukraine.

For one, Russia could choose to cut off or limit oil and gas exports to Europe as retaliation for sanctions. Nearly 40% of the natural gas used by the European Union comes from Russia — and no European country imports more than Germany, a key ally of the United States.

Even if Russia chooses not to limit exports, supplies could still be affected by a conflict in Ukraine because multiple pipelines run through the country, carrying gas from Russia to Europe. “They could simply be casualties of a military invasion,” Rediker said.

Either way, if Europe’s natural gas supply is pinched, that could cause energy prices — which have already been climbing — to rise even further. And even though the U.S. imports relatively little oil from Russia, oil prices are set by the global market, meaning local prices could rise anyway. On Tuesday, Biden promised to work with Congress to address “the impact of prices at the pump.”

Other industries, from food to cars, might also be hurt

Russia is a major exporter of rare-earth minerals and heavy metals — such as titanium used in airplanes. Russia supplies about a third of the world’s palladium, a rare metal used in catalytic converters, and its price has soared in recent weeks over fears of a conflict.

And a major conflict in Ukraine would disrupt Ukrainian industries too. Ukraine is a major source of neon, which is used in manufacturing semiconductors.

As a result, U.S. officials have warned various sectors to brace for supply chain disruptions, including the semiconductor and aerospace industries.

Fertilizer is produced in major quantities in both Ukraine and Russia. Disruptions to those exports would mostly affect agriculture in Europe, but food prices around the world could rise as a result.

The shock to international stability could hit global markets

Beyond sanctions and countersanctions, global financial markets would likely have a negative reaction to a European military invasion of a scale not seen since World War II.

Americans with exposure to the stock market — like those with 401(k)s and other retirement accounts — could feel an effect, though it would most likely be short term.

“Markets are fundamentally not prepared for a land war in Europe in the 21st century,” Rediker said. “It’s something people just have not contemplated.”

The U.S. stock market has already been unusually volatile in recent weeks, churning over inflation, possible moves by the Federal Reserve and the possible conflict in Ukraine.

Historically, the market has bounced back relatively quickly after geopolitical events. That’s what’s most likely today too, analysts say.

But if a major Russian invasion and subsequent conflict cause long-lasting disruption of energy markets and other exports, investors could rethink that conventional wisdom.

“You’re potentially at a point where not only are we looking at Russia potentially invading Ukraine and sanctions and countermeasures, but you are also looking at a rise of China that doesn’t necessarily agree with the American perspective on the world anyway,” Rediker said. “Are we looking at a point in which some of the major premises that people take for granted have to be reassessed?”

Russia might respond with disruptive cyberattacks on U.S. targets

Another way Russia could respond to U.S. sanctions is through cyberattacks and influence campaigns.

Various federal agencies, including the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security, have warned of possible cyberattacks on targets like big banks and power grid operators. And just last week, U.S. cybersecurity officials held a tabletop exercise to ensure that federal agencies are prepared for possible Russian retaliation, The Washington Post reported.

“They have been warning everyone about Russia’s very specific tactics about the possibility of attacks on critical infrastructure,” Katerina Sedova, a researcher at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, told NPR.

Russian cyberattacks have targeted Ukraine relentlessly in recent years, including attacks on the capital city of Kyiv’s power grid in 2015 and 2016. But a major escalation could shift focus to U.S. targets.

Sedova pointed to the Russian state-backed attack on the IT software company SolarWinds and a ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline for six days as examples of how major Russian cyberattacks could disrupt U.S. operations. (The Biden administration said it does “not believe the Russian government was involved” in the pipeline attack.)

Power grids, hospitals and local governments could all be targets, she said. For now, Sedova said she is more worried about subtler attacks — like influence campaigns that aim to “sow discord between us and our allies in our resolve” to act jointly against Russia.

“Oftentimes, cyber-operations go hand in hand with influence,” she said. “They’re targeting a change of decision-making, a change in policy in that direction, a change in public opinion.”

A major invasion would likely spark a refugee crisis

A full Russian invasion could send 1 million to 5 million refugees fleeing Ukraine, U.S. officials and humanitarian agencies have warned.

“It will be a continent-wide humanitarian disaster with millions of refugees seeking protection in neighbouring European countries,” Agnès Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said last month in statement.

Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine and is already home to more than a million Ukrainians, would likely see the most refugees. Over the weekend, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said his country was preparing for an “influx of refugees” from Ukraine.

The U.S. military says that the thousands of soldiers deployed to Poland this month are prepared to assist with a large-scale evacuation.

“Assistance with evacuation flow is something they could do, and could do quite well. They are going to be working with Polish authorities on what that looks like and how they would handle that,” Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said this week.

At the largest scale, a refugee crisis would not be contained to Europe — the U.S. would likely see refugees seeking asylum too.

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AAHOA Applauds Lifting of Travel Restrictions with Canada and Mexico

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America’s hoteliers applauded the Biden administration’s announcement that it will allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals from Canada and Mexico to enter the United States starting in early November after a 19-month freeze. For air travel, the policy would require travelers to be fully vaccinated and to test negative for the virus. No testing will be required to enter the country by land or sea, as long as travelers meet the vaccination requirements.

AAHOA is working with the administration to promote vaccine awareness in the hospitality industry and called for new measures to restart international travel safely earlier this year. “This is a big win for our Members, families, business, and tourism industries, especially those living in Texas and in the states bordering Canada,” said AAHOA President & CEO Ken Greene. “Cross-border operations were halted at the start of the pandemic, and AAHOA pressed the administration on the financial toll the travel ban took on small businesses.”

Travel industry studies estimate that international travel spending in the U.S. fell 76% year-over-year compared to 34% for domestic travel in 2020. “Lifting the COVID-19 restrictions on foreign travelers from Mexico and Canada is a significant step in the right direction and signals yet another phase of recovery for the hotel industry,” said AAHOA Chair Vinay Patel. “This decision from the Biden Administration will help return two significant sources of travel and tourism to the U.S., visitors who have historically visited by the tens of millions annually.”

AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the nation, with Member-owned properties representing a significant part of the U.S. economy. AAHOA’s 20,000 members own 60% of the hotels in the United States and are responsible for 1.7% of the nation’s GDP. More than one million employees work at AAHOA member-owned hotels, earning $47 billion annually, and member-owned hotels support 4.2 million U.S. jobs across all sectors of the hospitality industry. AAHOA’s mission is to advance and protect the business interests of hotel owners through advocacy, industry leadership, professional development, member benefits, and community engagement.

U.S. To Allow Vaccinated International Travelers From Nov. 8th

Staff ReporterTourism, Travel 0

After a nearly 19-month pause, the U.S. has announced that fully vaccinated international travelers will be able to enter the country as of November 8. This follows a Wednesday announcement from the White House, saying the U.S. would open its land borders and ferry ports of entry from Canada and Mexico for non-essential purposes—but only to those who have completed their approved vaccination doses.

That means travelers looking to enter the country, whether it’s to reunite with family and friends or as a tourist, will be able to do so again for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The policy will start November 8, “in alignment with the new international air travel system,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, referring to the newly announced date given by the White House for when all international plane passengers coming into the U.S. will need to be vaccinated.

The reopening of the Canadian and Mexican land borders will happen in two steps. First, international travelers with non-essential business will be able to enter starting November 8 by showing documentation that they are fully inoculated with an approved vaccine, while those who haven’t been vaccinated still won’t be able to enter the country for non-essential reasons. Then, in the second phase starting in January 2022, even those who do have essential travel purposes—like students, truckers, and health care workers—will also need to have proof of full vaccination to cross the borders.

“These new vaccination requirements deploy the best tool we have in our arsenal to keep people safe and prevent the spread of [COVID-19] and will create a consistent, stringent protocol for all foreign nationals traveling into the United States whether by land or air,” a senior administration official told reporters, according to CNN.

While international travelers coming in by plane will also need to show a negative COVID test in addition to being fully vaccinated, those crossing the borders by land will only need proof of vaccination, The New York Times explained. Any of the vaccines that have been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization will be accepted, including Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, Astrazeneca-SK Bio, Serum Institute of India, and Sinopharm. The procedure for those who received doses of different vaccines —which was commonplace in Canada—is still being determined, according to the Associated Press.

Since both the northern and southern borders were sealed off in March 2020, the timeline for reopening had been continually pushed back, most recently in 30-day increments, with the latest one in effect until October 21. But the reciprocal policy hadn’t been the same, as Canada reopened to American travelers August 9, while Mexico never shut down its border.

The reopening news is being lauded by the travel industry, with many expecting the relaxed restrictions to rev up leisure tourism. “U.S. Travel has long called for the safe reopening of our borders, and we welcome the Biden administration’s announcement of a set date to welcome back vaccinated international travelers,” U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow said in a statement on Friday. In a previous statement, Dow noted that the closed borders have meant losses of about $700 million per month to the U.S. economy, totaling an estimated $250 billion in lost export income and likely more than a million lost jobs in the U.S.

The news is especially welcome at border cities, where restrictions have had a serious impact on their bottom line for the last 19 months. “Cross-border travel creates significant economic activity in our border communities and benefits our broader economy,” Mayorkas said. “We are pleased to be taking steps to resume regular travel in a safe and sustainable manner.”

Those steps have been slowly coming, as news of the November welcoming of vaccinated air passengers first was limited to those in the U.K. and European Union, but started to become more general as a White House senior administration official said in September, “We’ll be moving to a consistent requirement for all international air travelers coming to the United States,” explaining that “strict protocols” would be put into place in early November “requiring that adult foreign nationals traveling here be fully vaccinated.”

As of now, vaccination requirements for domestic travel aren’t on the books, though they have been talked about. President Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN Sunday: “It’s always discussable, we always wind up discussing it, but right now I don’t see that immediately.”

AAHOA Applauds Biden Administration & SBA On New Enhancements To The EIDL Program

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AAHOA’s enhanced advocacy and education efforts are continuing to help AAHOA Members and the industry get back on track. The Small Business Administration (SBA) just announced more help is on the way for the hotel industry. Over the past several months, AAHOA has worked with the SBA and the Biden Administration to advocate for expansion and improvement of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and the SBA heard AAHOA and our Members loud and clear that help is still needed.

The announcement of the program’s changes and improvements represent a significant step toward meaningful and tangible COVID-19 relief and our industry.

The EIDL program provides economic relief to small businesses and nonprofit organizations that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. These loans help businesses meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred.

For months, AAHOA has worked with the SBA, the Small Business Committees, and Members of Congress to push for more relief when it comes to an increase in EIDL caps and parity between the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and EIDL with regards to a waiver of the affiliation rules. This week, AAHOA cohosted a webinar with the SBA to walk through the soon-to-be-announced revisions to the EIDL program that mirror AAHOA’s asks – a huge win for our nearly 20,000 Members and the industry at large.

The expected enhancements and expansion of the EIDL program include:

  • Raising the threshold up to $2 million per property
  • Raising the aggregate loan cap up to $10 million
  • A waiver of affiliation rules (that mirrors that of the Paycheck Protection Program)
  • A waiver of the credit-elsewhere requirement
  • Priority for NAICS Code 72 businesses
  • A 30-year fixed amortization period with a low 3.75% interest rate
  • Funds can now be used to pay down prior commercial debt and make monthly payments towards federal debt (including principal and interest payments)

It is anticipated that SBA will officially announce and begin accepting new applications and increase requests for existing EIDL holders as soon as next week. Hoteliers who are interested in applying for a loan can review EIDL FAQ here, and more information on how to apply here. Note that AAHOA will keep hoteliers informed on updated documents to reflect the expanded program.

“AAHOA applauds the Biden Administration and the SBA for their work in making the EIDL program more accessible and helpful for America’s hoteliers,” said AAHOA Interim President & CEO Ken Greene. “The EIDL program’s enhancements break down barriers for hoteliers to access critical funds that are needed as hoteliers still struggle to deal with the ramifications of the pandemic.”

AAHOA recently hosted the 2021 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show, which was the first major convention in Dallas since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re grateful for SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, who addressed attendees and highlighted the importance of small businesses getting back on their feet to help our economy.

“Coming together as an industry is paramount to economic recovery, especially as new variants threaten to inhibit the reopening of the country,” said AAHOA Chair Vinay Patel. “Industry estimates continue to project a full recovery some time in late 2023 or 2024, and until then, AAHOA is committed to continuing its advocacy efforts and outreach to the Biden Administration and lawmakers as we lead the way on the road to recovery.”

AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The nearly 20,000 AAHOA Members own 60 percent of hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and over one million employees, AAHOA Members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.

US To Continue Travel Restrictions As Covid Spreads

Alexandra Jaffe And AamerMadhaniHealth, Tourism, Travel 0

The United States served notice this week that it will keep existing COVID-19 restrictions on international travel in place for now due to concerns about the surging infection rate because of the delta variant. It was the latest sign that the White House is having to recalibrate its thinking around the coronavirus pandemic as the more infectious variant surges across the U.S. and a substantial chunk of the population resists vaccination.It was also a reversal from the sentiment President Joe Biden voiced earlier this month when he said his administration was “in the process” of considering how soon the U.S. could lift the ban on European travel bound for the U.S. after the issue was raised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to the White House.

The United States said it would maintain restrictions on international travel into the country, sidestepping European pressure, pointing to a surge of cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant at home and abroad. “We will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. “The more transmissible Delta variant is spreading both here and around the world.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the restrictions would continue for now. “Driven by the delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated, and appears likely to continue in the weeks ahead,” she said.

The rising cases also are causing the administration to take a closer look at policies on wearing masks. On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs became the first major federal agency to require its health care workers to get COVID-19 vaccines. And over the weekend, U.S. health officials acknowledged they’re considering changing the federal government’s recommendations on wearing masks. The delta variant is a mutated coronavirus that spreads more easily than other versions. It was first detected in India but now has been identified around the world. Last week, U.S. health officials said the variant accounts for an estimated 83% of U.S. COVID-19 cases, and noted a 32% increase in COVID hospitalizations from the previous week.

The rise in cases has prompted some state and local officials to reinstate masking guidance, even for vaccinated Americans.The White House follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance released in May, which states those who are unvaccinated don’t have to wear masks indoors. They’ve thus far made no changes to Biden’s public events, and the president is still traveling the country and participating in events unmasked.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said on CNN’s State of the Union this Sunday that recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials. “We’re going in the wrong direction,” Fauci said, describing himself as “very frustrated.” The surge in the delta variant poses a major political challenge for Biden, who called it a “great day” for Americans when the CDC released its relaxed masking guidance in May and on July 4 declared that “the virus is on the run and America is coming back.” He’s spent the past few months shifting his focus from dire warnings to Americans to get vaccinated to public events pitching his infrastructure, education and jobs proposals, which are currently in the middle of fevered negotiations on Capitol Hill.

The administration has touted strong economic growth as fears about the pandemic waned, states relaxed their coronavirus restrictions and their economies opened back up. But the surging delta variant risks undermining that economic progress and drawing Biden’s attention away from his domestic agenda and Democratic Party priorities like gun, voting and policing reforms, back to the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic. It could also highlight one of the administration’s greatest struggles thus far: The sluggish vaccination rate nationwide. As of Sunday, 69% of American adults had received one vaccination shot, according to the CDC — still slightly below the 70% goal Biden had set for July 4. Sixty percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated.

When asked Monday if he had confidence he could get unvaccinated Americans to get the shot, Biden said, “we have to,” but ignored a follow-up question on how. And prior to the VA’s announcement, White House press secretary Jen Psaki skirted questions from reporters on why the administration hadn’t yet issued its own vaccination mandates for healthcare workers, deferring to the CDC for guidance and hospitals and healthcare associations on the ultimate decision.

Psaki acknowledged that the administration runs the risk of undermining its vaccination goals by further politicizing an already fraught issue if the president becomes the face of vaccine mandates. “The president certainly recognizes that he is not always the right voice to every community about the benefits of getting vaccinated, which is why we have invested as much as we have in local voices and empowering local trusted voices,” she said. Still, it’s clear the administration is taking steps to address the continued impact of the pandemic. Biden announced Monday that those Americans dealing with so-called “long COVID” — sometimes debilitating side effects caused by the illness that last for months after the initial infection — would have access to disability protections under federal law.

“These conditions can sometimes, sometimes, rise to the level of a disability,” he said, adding they’d have accommodations in schools and workplaces “so they can live their lives in dignity and get the support they need.”And the CDC advised Americans against travel to the United Kingdom this past Monday given a surge in cases there. Most of continental Europe has relaxed restrictions on Americans who are fully vaccinated, although the United Kingdom still requires quarantines for most visitors arriving from the U.S. Airlines say, however, that the lack of two-way travel is limiting the number of flights they can offer and seats they can sell. But the rise and prevalence of COVID-19 variants in Europe, especially the delta mutation, has caused the Biden administration to tread slowly about increasing transatlantic travel.

Canada Extends Border Restrictions To July 21

Staff ReporterTourism, Travel 0

The Canadian government has announced that the Canada-US border agreement on travel restrictions will be extended for another month to July 21. “In coordination with the US, we are extending restrictions on non-essential international travel and with the US until July 21st, 2021,” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a tweet on Friday.
Blair also said the government is planning measures for fully vaccinated Canadians, permanent residents, and others who are currently permitted to enter the country and will provide further details on June 21.

The new extension comes a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial premiers met to discuss the possibility of opening the land border between the two countries, which has been closed for non-essential travel since March 2020. The restrictions, which do not cover trade or travel by air, has been extended several times. he current restrictions were to expire on June 21.

Trudeau said on June 13 he had spoken with US President Joe Biden about how to lift the restrictions, but added that no breakthrough has been achieved. The Trudeau government closed its borders to non-essential travellers in March 2020. Since then, it has adjusted the rules to require Covid-19 testing before and after arrival, as well as a period of mandatory quarantine. Canada also limited international flights to just four airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary. In the fall of 2020, Canada expanded the list of travellers who were exempt from travel restrictions.

International students going to a Designated Learning Institution with a Covid-19 readiness plan were allowed to come to Canada to study. The exemptions also included extended family members, as well as travelers coming to Canada for compassionate reasons such as a funeral. In February 2021, Canada also added the mandatory hotel quarantine on incoming international travelers. New airport arrivals were to go immediately to wait for the results of a Covid-19 test at a government-approved hotel at their own expense.

 

U.S. Restricts Travel To & From India

Staff ReporterImmigration, Tourism, Travel 0

The U.S Embassy in India encourages U.S. citizens who wish to depart India to take advantage of currently available commercial flights. Airlines continue to operate multiple direct flights weekly from India to the United States; additional flight options remain available via transfers in Paris, Frankfurt, and Doha.

President Joe Biden has issued a proclamation restricting entry into the United States of certain nonimmigrant travelers who have been physically present in India. These restrictions will go into effect on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 12:01 AM EDT. The full text of the proclamation is available here.

The U.S Embassy in India encourages U.S. citizens who wish to depart India to take advantage of currently available commercial flights. Airlines continue to operate multiple direct flights weekly from India to the United States; additional flight options remain available via transfers in Paris, Frankfurt, and Doha.

The policy will not apply to American citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPR), or other people with these specific exceptions:

  • Any immigrant who has an unused or unexpired immigrant visa;
  • Any non-U.S. citizen spouse of a U.S. citizen or LPR;
  • Any non-U.S. citizen who is the parent or legal guardian of a U.S. citizen or LPR, provided that the U.S. citizen or LPR child is unmarried and under the age of 21;
  • Any non-U.S. citizen who is the sibling of a U.S. citizen or LPR, provided that both the non-U.S. citizen and the U.S. citizen or LPR sibling are unmarried and under the age of 21;
  • Any non-U.S. citizen who is the child, foster child, or ward of a U.S. citizen or LPR, or who is a prospective adoptee seeking to enter the United States pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications;
  • Any holders of nonimmigrant visas in the following categories: C-1, D, C-1/D air and sea crew, A-1, A-2, C-2, C-3, E-1, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1 through NATO-4, or NATO-6; or
  • Students who already possess a valid student (F or M) visa and who will begin their studies on or after August 1, 2021. (Note that direct travel to the United States from India with a student visa may begin no more than 30 days prior to the start date of a student’s classes.)

Visa holders with definite plans to travel who can demonstrate qualification for a National Interest Exception (NIE) may contact the U.S Embassy or  Consulate that issued their visa to request a national interest exception prior to travel. (The contact email for the Embassy in New Delhi is NewDelhiNIE@State.gov.) Your request must include the following information to seek an exception: last name, first name, date of birth, place of birth, country of citizenship, passport number, visa Number and category, travel dates, travel purpose, and national interest category–including a clear justification for receipt of a NIE.

Qualifying family members do not need a NIE or any pre-approval from the embassy or consulates. Travelers should bring proof of relationship when initiating travel to the United States. More details on NIEs are available here.

If you currently have a flight booked, or plans to travel to the United States but do not fall into an exception category, contact the embassy or consulate that issued your visa before departing, as you may not be allowed to travel at this time. General travel information between India and the U.S as well as information about COVID-19 within India, is available via the U.S. Embassy here.

This proclamation will remain in effect until terminated by President Biden. Thirty days after the proclamation, and then at the end of every calendar month, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra will recommend whether the president should continue, modify, or terminate this proclamation.

Note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice and the Department of State has issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory recommending against all travel to India. Level 4 is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. U.S. citizens who must travel to India are strongly urged to get fully vaccinated before travel and to continue to take personal health safety measures to protect themselves, including practicing social and physical distancing, cleaning hands with soap/hand sanitizer frequently, wearing masks, and avoiding crowded areas with poor ventilation.

The CDC’s broader guidance for fully vaccinated people–including information about when you should still wear masks and maintain social and physical distancing–is here; be sure to review our other vaccine availability and safety resources as well.

The U.S. told its citizens to get out of India as soon as possible as the country’s covid-19 crisis worsens at an astonishing pace.

In a Level 4 travel advisory — the highest of its kind issued by the State Department — U.S. citizens were told “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.” There are 14 direct daily flights between India and the U.S. and other services that connect through Europe, the department said.

Indian authorities and hospitals are struggling to cope with unprecedented covid infections and deaths. Official data on Thursday showed new cases rose by a staggering 379,257 over the prior 24 hours, another record, while 3,645 additional lives were lost. More than 204,800 people have died.

“U.S. citizens are reporting being denied admittance to hospitals in some cities due to a lack of space,” the website of the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India said in a health alert. “U.S. citizens who wish to depart India should take advantage of available commercial transportation options now.” All routine U.S. citizen services and visa services at the U.S. Consulate General Chennai have been canceled.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anyone returning to the U.S. from overseas must have a viral Covid-19 test between three and five days after travel. Individuals who haven’t been vaccinated should also stay at home and self-quarantine for a week.

The South Asian nation now has the world’s fastest-growing caseload with 18.4 million confirmed instances. The virus has gripped India’s populace with a severity not seen in its first wave. Mass funeral pyres, lines of ambulances outside overcrowded hospitals and desperate pleas on social media for oxygen underscore how unprepared India’s federal and state governments are to tackle the latest outbreak.

The unfolding tragedy is prompting some of the world’s biggest corporations to organize aid. Amazon.com is harnessing its global logistics supply chain to airlift 100 ICU ventilator units from the U.S., and the equipment will reach India in the next two weeks. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said he was “heartbroken” by the situation and the tech behemoth is using its voice, resources and technology to aid relief efforts and help buy oxygen concentrators.

Blackstone Group Chairman Stephen Schwarzman said his private equity firm is committing $5 million to support India’s covid relief and vaccination services to “marginalized communities.” Local companies, too, are wading in, with the philanthropic arm of India’s most valuable company — Reliance Industries Ltd., controlled by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani — pledging to create, commission and manage 100 ICU beds that will become operational mid next month.

As thousands of doctors, nurses and non-medical professionals work around-the-clock to save what patients they can, countries around the rest of the world are drawing up their bridges.

Within Asia, Hong Kong banned flights from India, as well as Pakistan and the Philippines, for 14 days from April 20. Singapore has barred long-term pass holders and short-term visitors who have recently been in India from entering. Indonesia is also denying entry to people traveling from India.

Further afield, the U.K. has added India to its travel ban list, and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have halted passenger flights from India. Canada last week banned flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days. Australia banned flights from India this week.

Tourism in USA Looks Towards A Brighter 2021

Staff ReporterTourism 0

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it, severely affecting businesses across various industries. While some were able to survive with a shift to online sales and services, not every sector was as fortunate.

One of the most affected industries was tourism, and in the past year, it has struggled to bounce back from a dismal 2020, which saw a massive decline in tourist arrivals in and out of America. However, tourism in the U.S. may be on the rise again sooner than previously thought.

Limitations on travel have severely affected our pandemic-stricken country. The statistics are astounding, surpassing even the impact on the travel industry after 9/11, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). As a result, tourism across the country is affected across different levels and state lines.

Popular destinations like California and New York have polarized projections. While California is expected to recover more quickly than the rest of the country thanks to strong fiscal relief and the waning pandemic, tourism in New York paints a very different picture. Highly anticipated events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, and the New Year’s Eve ball drop saw a significant reduction in spectators, leading to a glum outlook. This leaves many wondering when pre-pandemic levels will be restored.

Las Vegas is another major tourist spot that was not spared from the effects of COVID-19, susceptible to the same sudden drop in visitors between 2019 and 2020. Fortunately, things are starting to look up for the city and its hotels a year after the pandemic gripped the country. As the number of COVID-19 cases drops and more people are vaccinated, fewer restrictions address much of the pent-up demand. Casino floors and restaurants can now operate at 50% capacity as large gatherings capped at half the limit can also take place.

The newfound attraction to Las Vegas is not only due to the confidence in lower COVID-19 cases and its respective recovery. It also helps that there’s a diverse range of tourist attractions here, to begin with, as highlighted by this list of things to do in Sin City by Poker.org. The Strip is home to resorts like the Aria, Bellagio, and the Venetian – all iconic destinations in their own right. You’ll also find well-loved restaurants like Peppermill that are absolutely worth the visit. Exploring Vegas goes beyond the city lights as tourists can also take in the majestic views of Red Rock Canyon. These attractions are just some of the highlights that visitors can enjoy when in Nevada as the COVID-19 outlook continues to look even more promising in the coming months.

As some tourist hotspots like Vegas boast a positive path to recovery, others are still very much clouded in uncertainty. States such as Florida and equally sunny Hawaii fall somewhere in the middle, with more than half of Hawaiians opposing the return of tourists while others seek to encourage more movement in tourism.

What’s Next for Tourism in the U.S.?

The varying states of progress in these tourist hotspots illustrate how the fight against COVID-19 still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to the tourism industry. However, there is one fact present in all these examples: Progress is well underway. The Biden administration’s goal to vaccinate 100 million people in the first quarter provides much needed support for local businesses, especially smaller-sized enterprises. Whether you’re a local hotel hoping for guests or a restaurant that needs diners, there is a silver lining yet to be reached akin to Vegas’ impressive and optimistic trajectory.

America’s Hoteliers Welcome New CDC Travel Guidelines

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism 0

AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton issued the following statement in response to new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that greenlight fully vaccinated people to resume travel. Over 100 million Americans have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and evidence of the vaccine’s efficacy continues to grow:

“The new CDC travel guidelines are welcome news for America’s hoteliers and the millions of Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For more than a year, lockdowns, curfews, and quarantines in response to the pandemic decimated the travel and tourism industry as people simply stopped traveling.

The Biden administration’s aggressive vaccination goals and recent studies on the different vaccines’ real-world effectiveness are giving people the confidence they need to safely resume pre-pandemic activities like travel. It could not have come at a better time for hoteliers, for the gradual reopening of America now could lead to significant increases in occupancy and revenue during the summer season. The hotel industry’s road to economic recovery is long. A full recovery remains unlikely until at least 2023, but this news is a shot in the arm to the hotel owners and hospitality professionals who are eager to welcome guests back into their hotels and communities.”

HOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The nearly 20,000 AAHOA members represent almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.

U.S. Tourism Sets Sights on a Hopeful 2021

Staff ReporterBusiness, Tourism, Travel 0

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it, severely affecting businesses across various industries. While some were able to survive with a shift to online sales and services, not every sector was as fortunate.

One of the most affected industries was tourism, and in the past year, it has struggled to bounce back from a dismal 2020, which saw a massive decline in tourist arrivals in and out of America. However, tourism in the U.S. may be on the rise again sooner than previously thought.

Tourism in Pandemic-Stricken America

Limitations on travel have severely affected our pandemic-stricken country. The statistics are astounding, surpassing even the impact on the travel industry after 9/11, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). As a result, tourism across the country is affected across different levels and state lines.

Popular destinations like California and New York have polarized projections. While California is expected to recover more quickly than the rest of the country thanks to strong fiscal relief and the waning pandemic, tourism in New York paints a very different picture. Highly anticipated events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, and the New Year’s Eve ball drop saw a significant reduction in spectators, leading to a glum outlook. This leaves many wondering when pre-pandemic levels will be restored.

Las Vegas is another major tourist spot that was not spared from the effects of COVID-19, susceptible to the same sudden drop in visitors between 2019 and 2020. Fortunately, things are starting to look up for the city and its hotels a year after the pandemic gripped the country. As the number of COVID-19 cases drops and more people are vaccinated, fewer restrictions address much of the pent-up demand. Casino floors and restaurants can now operate at 50% capacity as large gatherings capped at half the limit can also take place.

The newfound attraction to Las Vegas is not only due to the confidence in lower COVID-19 cases and its respective recovery. It also helps that there’s a diverse range of tourist attractions here, to begin with, as highlighted by this list of things to do in Sin City by Poker.org. The Strip is home to resorts like the Aria, Bellagio, and the Venetian – all iconic destinations in their own right. You’ll also find well-loved restaurants like Peppermill that are absolutely worth the visit. Exploring Vegas goes beyond the city lights as tourists can also take in the majestic views of Red Rock Canyon. These attractions are just some of the highlights that visitors can enjoy when in Nevada as the COVID-19 outlook continues to look even more promising in the coming months.

As some tourist hotspots like Vegas boast a positive path to recovery, others are still very much clouded in uncertainty. States such as Florida and equally sunny Hawaii fall somewhere in the middle, with more than half of Hawaiians opposing the return of tourists while others seek to encourage more movement in tourism.

What’s Next for Tourism in the U.S.?

  • The varying states of progress in these tourist hotspots illustrate how the fight against COVID-19 still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to the tourism industry. However, there is one fact present in all these examples: Progress is well underway. The Biden administration’s goal to vaccinate 100 million peoplein the first quarter provides much needed support for local businesses, especially smaller-sized enterprises. Whether you’re a local hotel hoping for guests or a restaurant that needs diners, there is a silver lining yet to be reached akin to Vegas’ impressive and optimistic trajectory.SAG top honours for ‘Chicago 7’ sets up intriguing Oscar raceThe Trial Of The Chicago 7 — Aaron Sorkin’s 1969 courtroom drama for Netflix — was judged the year’s best performance by a motion picture cast at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for film and television on Sunday. Starring the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Frank Langella and Mark Rylance, it marked the first time a film from any streaming service won the guild’s ensemble award.
  • The win now strengthens the film’s case for the Oscars (April 25). This even as modern recession-era movie Nomadlandgrabbed many of the pre-Oscar awards, including the Golden Globes.
  • The SAG awards though remain a key predictor of Oscar glory, where actors form the largest voting bloc. FYI: Last year, South Korea’s Parasitebegan its historic charge to the Best Picture Oscar by winning SAG’s top prize.
  • Also:For the first time in SAG awards’ 27-year history, all four of the winning film actors were people of colour. The late Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis picked up the best actor and best actress awards, respectively, for jazz period film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
  • And while Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for portraying Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah, South Korea’s Yuh-jung Youn won best supporting actress for Minari, an immigrant tale set in 1980s Arkansas.

Hoteliers Optimistic About Biden Administration’s Small Business Priorities

Staff ReporterEditorial/Opinion, Tourism 0

WHASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 20 – AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton issued the following statement today following the inauguration of President Joseph Biden as the 46th President of the United States:

“America’s hoteliers congratulate President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on this historic day for our nation. We look forward to the vision and leadership offered by the Biden administration as our nation works to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and get our economy back on track. The ambitious plan to vaccinate 100 million people in the next 100 days, if achieved, would give a much-needed boost to consumer confidence that could lead to a resumption of travel, tourism, and in-person events. Such a significant increase in vaccinations and testing will go a long way towards alleviating the uncertainty that surrounds the viability and safety of resuming these pre-pandemic activities. Small business owners are struggling with the pandemic’s economic fallout, and the plan outlined by President Biden looks to target those industries, such as hospitality, that are experiencing a disproportionate amount of hardship. We are optimistic that the new administration’s focus on the public good will speed along our recovery, and we look forward to working with President Biden and his team to do right by America’s small businesses.”

About AAHOA:
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The over 19,500 AAHOA members represent almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.

AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. AAHOA’s 20,000 members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.

Ajay Jain Bhutoria Elected As Joe Biden’s Delegate For August Convention

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0
Indian-American entrepreneur from Silicon Valley Ajay Jain Bhutoria has been elected as a delegate for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for the party’s national convention in August.
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Wisconsin in August would formally nominate Biden, 77, as the party’s candidate for the November 3 presidential elections.
In the presidential elections, Biden will challenge Republican incumbent Donald Trump, 73, who is seeking re-election.
On the National Finance Committee for the former vice president, Bhutoria is a prominent national bundler for the Democratic Party.
He was elected as a Biden Delegate for the California District 17th National Convention District-Level Caucus this week. The election was held through online ballot.
As a strong supporter of Biden, Bhutoria has been instrumental in bringing together the issues of Asian Americans to forefront. He is working with the DNC to have the Democratic Party website translated into Asian American languages.
Also on Asian American Pacific Islander Leadership Council for Biden, Bhutoria is bringing together the Asian Americans to vote for him, primarily South Asians.
He worked on the National Finance committee for Hillary Clinton’s election in 2016, raising between USD 500 to USD 1 million.
Bhutoria has also worked with the Obama-Biden administration on many issues, including free community college initiative around the country.
The veteran Democrat served as the 47th vice president of the United States from 2009 to 2017 during the presidency of Barack Obama.

The Future of India-U.S. Relations: Trump Versus Biden

Staff ReporterIndia, Politics, U.S. 0

As the coronavirus pandemic dominates global news in the United States, progress toward the next presidential election scheduled to be held on Nov. 3 moves slowly forward. President Donald Trump had no real opposition in the Republican party and is running for re-election. And it has now become apparent that former Vice President Joe Biden will be his opponent as the Democratic candidate for president.

What would a Trump victory bode for the future of U.S.-India relations? What would a Biden victory bode? Let me answer each of those questions in turn.

Given the love fests of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, Texas, in which Trump participated in September of 2019, and Trump’s ‘Namaste Trump’ event hosted by Modi in India in February of this year, it might be assumed that the future for U.S.-India relations is a splendid one. This would be an incorrect assumption.

Both of these events were more symbolic than substantive. Trump’s participation in them undoubtedly helped to persuade some – perhaps many – Indian American Modi supporters who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 to cast their ballots for Trump in 2020. Trump’s campaign team took steps to ensure this by holding an event at his Mar-a-Lago resort in which a group of prominent Indian Americans announced their plans to work for his re-election and to mobilize Indian Americans on his behalf.

To understand the future potential of India’s relations with the U.S. with Trump as president, however, it is necessary to look beyond these political moves and to examine the present state of those relations and Trump’s personal style.

In a word, the best way to characterize the current relations between the U.S. and India is “functional.” The relationship was relatively good for the first two years of Trump’s presidency. In fact, near the end of 2018, Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, was quoted in the media as saying: “This has been a landmark year for U.S.-India ties as we build out stronger relationships across the board.”

Then, in 2019, the relations went off the track in the first half of the year after the U.S. and India got into a tit-for-tat tariff war after the U.S. terminated India’s Generalized System of Preferences which allowed India to send certain goods to the U.S. duty-free. There have been continuing efforts to structure a “modest” trade deal since then. It was thought there might be some type of deal done in September of 2019 while Modi was in the U.S. by year’s end, and then during Trump’s India visit. But, as of today, there is still no deal.

This inability to get any meaningful trade agreement in place speaks volumes about India’s potential future relations with India with Trump as president. So, too does Trump’s style.

Trump’s campaign slogans this time around are “Keep America Great” and “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” Trump is not a policy wonk and most of his effort will go toward “America First.” This involves making the U.S. more isolated by withdrawing from international agreements, restructuring trade agreements, emphasizing building walls to stop immigrants at the border, using tariffs to block trade with countries who are taking away American jobs, and confronting businesses who are allegedly stealing American trade secrets.

This perspective suggests what India can expect for its relations with the U.S. if it has to deal with Trump for a second term as president. The relations will stay functional at best. As I have said before, that’s because the words partnership, cooperation and collaboration are not in Trump’s vocabulary. Nationalism, isolationism and protectionism are.

Joe Biden stands in stark contrast to President Trump both professionally and personally. Biden is a strategic thinker and doer with a solid eight-year track record of leadership experience as vice-president in forging alliances that have made a difference around the world and he has also been a long-standing friend of India.

He was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a leading advocate for the Congressional passage of the Indo-US civic nuclear deal in 2005.

At a dinner convened 10 years later in 2015 by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Vice President Biden discussed the tremendous joint progress that had been made by the two countries in the past and declared, “We are on the cusp of a sea change decade.”

Early in his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in July of 2019, in laying out his foreign policy vision, Biden stated that the U.S. had to reach out to India and other Asian partners to strengthen ties with them. The items on Biden’s foreign policy agenda for strengthening which are of importance for India include climate change, nuclear proliferation and cyberwarfare.

During his vice presidency, Biden worked side by side with President Barack Obama to do things that would contribute to achieving Obama’s vision stated in 2010 of India and America being “indispensable partners in meeting the challenges of our time.” In 2020, those challenges are even greater than they were a decade ago.

That is why it is so essential that India and the U.S. develop a strategic relationship that enables them to become those indispensable partners. That can happen if Biden assumes the presidency on January 20, 2021. It cannot happen if Donald Trump remains as president for a second term.

The results of this upcoming election in the U.S. matter greatly for the future of the United States. They matter greatly for the future of India-U.S. relations as well. Time and the American electorate will tell what that future will be.

(Frank F. Islam is an Indian American entrepreneur, civic and thought leader based in Washington, DC. The views expressed here are personal.)

Amit Jani from New Jersey joins Joe Biden Presidential Campaign Team

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

Amit Jani, an Indian-American has been hired by the Biden campaign to head its outreach to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Amit Jani, currently in Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy’s administration, is quitting to join Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign Sept. 16, 2019. (Photo njlead.org)

Amit Jani, currently with the New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s administration, is going to join former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign as his National Asian American Pacific Islander director. Jani told News India Times he starts in his new position Sept. 16.

In an interview with this writer immediately after the first round of presidential candidate debates, Jani saw Biden as a front runner. “I like Joe Biden because he is more centrist. A lot of folks are going far left. Biden is more in line with the South Asian community which tends to generally be more centrist,” Jani said at that time.

In a press release from South Asians for America, Jani says, “It’s an honor to join a candidate in Vice President Joe Biden, with whom the Asian American Pacific Islander community can trust to represent and reflect the community’s values and principles.”

Jani has also served as the Director of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach for the Murphy-Oliver Gubernatorial Campaign, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. This is a significant step up as Jani will be working on a national level in a front-runner’s race. Biden continues to lead the pack of more than 10 presidential contenders for the Democratic Party primaries in various states concluding with the national convention.

“It is encouraging that campaigns like that of Vice President Joe Biden are making the Asian American Pacific Islander community a priority, given the community’s rapid growth and success in the United States,” said Neha Dewan, co-chair of South Asians For America, adding, “We are proud that Amit Jani will be representing the community at this level and know he will do a tremendous job at making sure the community is visible and it’s input is considered at the grassroots level nationally.”

Jani previously served as a Congressional aide for Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., in the state’s 6th Congressional District. He is also savvy about matters inside the Beltway, having worked in a legislative capacity for Congresswoman Judy Chu in Washington, D.C., as well as the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

He has also served as Committeeman for the Middlesex County Democratic Committee and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Hudson County Schools of Technology Foundation.

Jani helped establish the  New Jersey Leadership Program (njlead) in 2015, a non-profit that helps place South-Asian youth in local government summer internships, and schools them on government, politics and community engagement.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Jani was named as a “30 Under 30 in New Jersey Politics” by Observer Magazine. He also hosts a podcast called Politics and Spice.

Biden leads 2020 Democrats by 5 points, followed by Warren, Harris

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

Joe Biden leads the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race, according to the first NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of the contest.

The former vice president draws the support of 26% of voters nationally who plan to vote in 2020 Democratic nominating contests, the survey released Thursday found. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., trails him at 19%.

Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., each get 13% of support, according to the poll. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg rounds out the top five contenders at 7%. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and entrepreneur Andrew Yang both garner 2% of support, and no other candidate in the field of about two dozen draws more than 1%.

The survey largely squares with what recent polls have found about the contenders in the race to challenge President Donald Trump next year. While Biden jumped out to a more substantial lead in early polls, surveys suggest a tighter contest after the first Democratic debate last month introduced more voters to the field.

Much can change before Democratic voters start choosing their nominee. The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus sits about seven months away.

Only 12% of respondents to the NBC/WSJ poll say they definitely made up their minds about who they will support next year. Asked about their second choices for president, 14% of respondents chose Harris. She was followed by Warren at 13% and Sanders at 12%. Meanwhile, 10% of respondents picked Biden as their second choice, and 8% chose Buttigieg.

The former vice president comfortably leads the field among African-American Democratic primary voters, according to the NBC/WSJ poll. He garners 46% of support, trailed distantly by Harris at 17%. Among non-white primary voters, Biden draws 33% of support, followed by Harris at 16%, Sanders at 15% and Warren at 14%.

Biden leads among primary voters who consider themselves moderate or conservative. Warren has an edge over Sanders among liberal respondents.

Do voters want big or small changes?

One core issue that will define the Democratic primary is whether voters want sweeping overhauls or incremental change. For example, Sanders and Warren have backed a single-payer “Medicare for All” system and massive student debt forgiveness. Biden and others have cautioned against Medicare for All or widespread debt cancellation, calling the plans too expensive.

More than half, or 54%, of Democratic primary voters said they want a candidate who “proposes larger scale policies that cost more and might be harder to pass into law, but could bring major change” on issues such as health care, climate change, college affordability and economic opportunity. Meanwhile, 41% responded that they prefer a candidate who “proposes smaller scale policies that cost less a Among all registered voters, 44% support a single-payer health care system, versus 49% who oppose it.

Harris, one of three black candidates in the field, created the debate’s most discussed moment when she targeted Biden’s record on race and his stance on school busing policy. She told a story about getting bused to school in a newly integrated California school as a child.

The poll also questioned voters about whether they back a candidate based more on ideology or their ability to deny Trump a second term in the White House. Among Democrats primary voters, 51% said they want a candidate who comes close to their views on issues. Meanwhile, 45% responded that they want a candidate with the best chance to defeat the president.

Out of those who consider beating Trump most important, 34% choose Biden, followed by Warren at 21% and Harris at 16%. Among respondents who say they prefer to agree on issues, Biden and Warren are tied at 18%, while Harris garners 17% of support.

The survey was taken after the first Democratic debate in Miami, which appeared to reflect well on Harris and Warren. Nearly half — 47% — of Democratic primary voters who watched at least some of the debates or paid close attention to news coverage of them said Harris most impressed them. About a third responded that Warren impressed them most.

Suspicious package sent to Sen. Kamala Harris discovered

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

A suspicious package addressed to California Senator Kamala Harris was intercepted Friday morning in Sacramento, Senator Harris’s office confirmed to CBS13. The package is similar to 13 others addressed to other elected officials and political figures this week.

Sen. Kamala Harris’ office said Oct. 26 that authorities in Sacramento, California, are investigating a suspicious package mailed to her.  The office of the Indian American U.S. senator says the package was similar to those that have been sent to other prominent Democrats.

The senator’s office says it was informed that the package was identified at a Sacramento mail facility. The FBI responded to the facility in a South Sacramento neighborhood that’s been blocked off by caution tape.

News of the package comes as authorities arrested a Florida man suspected of sending more than 10 mail bombs in recent days. Harris is a Democrat serving her first term in the U.S. Senate.

“Our understanding is a trained postal employee identified the package at a Sacramento mail facility and reported it to the authorities,” a statement from Sen. Harris’ office read. A heavy law enforcement presence, including FBI, US Postal Inspector, postal police, and the sheriff’s department personnel was visible at the facility throughout the morning. Firefighters from Sacramento Metro Fire Department also responded to the report. CNN first reported the incident.

FBI special agents have arrested Cesar Altieri Sayoc, 56, in connection with the packages. Federal officials say these were “improvised explosive devices” made with PVC pipe, clocks, batteries, wiring, and explosive material. None of the bombs detonated.

The Sacramento Sheriff’s office says the package addressed to Harris resembled the other suspicious packages sent this week. A postal employee at a Sacramento mail facility identified the package and reported it to authorities. No one was injured.

Justice Department officials revealed that a latent fingerprint found on one package helped them identify their suspect as Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Florida. The criminal complaint charges Sayoc with illegally mailing explosives, illegally transporting explosives across state lines, making threats against former presidents, assaulting federal officers and threatening interstate commerce.

Court records show Sayoc, an amateur body builder with social media accounts that denigrate Democrats and praise Trump, has a history of arrests for theft, illegal steroids possession and a 2002 charge of making a bomb threat.

The development came amid a nationwide manhunt for the person responsible for at least 13 explosive devices addressed to prominent Democrats including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. The case continued widening Oct. 26 even as Sayoc was detained.

In Washington, Attorney General Jeff Sessions cautioned that Sayoc had only been charged, not convicted. But he said, “Let this be a lesson to anyone regardless of their political beliefs that we will bring the full force of law against anyone who attempts to use threats, intimidation and outright violence to further an agenda. We will find you, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

In Florida, law enforcement officers were seen on television examining a white van, its windows covered with an assortment of stickers, outside the Plantation auto parts store. Authorities covered the vehicle with a blue tarp and took it away on the back of a flatbed truck.

The stickers included images of Trump, American flags and what appeared to be logos of the Republican National Committee and CNN, though the writing surrounding those images was unclear.

Trump, while calling to take strict actions against political violence, complained that “this ‘bomb’ stuff” was taking attention away from the upcoming election and said critics were wrongly blaming him and his heated rhetoric.

Law enforcement officials said they had intercepted a dozen packages in states across the country. None had exploded, and it wasn’t immediately clear if they were intended to cause physical harm or simply sow fear and anxiety.

Earlier in the day, authorities said suspicious packages addressed to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former National Intelligence Director James Clapper — both similar to those containing pipe bombs sent to other prominent critics of Trump— had been intercepted.

Investigators believe the mailings were staggered. The U.S. Postal Service searched their facilities 48 hours ago and the most recent packages didn’t turn up. Officials don’t think they were sitting in the system without being spotted. They were working to determine for sure. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Online court records show that Sayoc in 2002 was arrested and served a year of probation for a felony charge of threatening to throw or place a bomb. No further details were available about the case.

Most of those targeted were past or present U.S. officials, but one was sent to actor Robert De Niro and billionaire George Soros. The bombs have been sent across the country – from New York, Delaware and Washington, D.C., to Florida and California, where Rep. Maxine Waters was targeted. They bore the return address of Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

The common thread among the bomb targets was obvious: their critical words for Trump and his frequent, harsher criticism in return.

Sen. Kamala Harris’ Book to Be Published Next Year: Penguin Press

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

Sen. Kamala Harris, a rising star in the Democratic Party who is sometimes cited as a possible presidential contender in 2020, has a book deal.

Penguin Press announced that Harris’ “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey” will come out Jan. 8, 2019. According to Penguin, Harris will write about “the core truths” in American life and how to learn what they are.

The 53-year-old Harris was formerly California’s attorney general. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.

For politicians, books have long been a standard part of developing a national profile, from John F. Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage” to Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope.”

Scott Moyers, vice president and publisher of Penguin Press, according to the Times praised Harris’s “authentic” voice, and said her back story was especially compelling, including her “fascinating and formidable” mother.

The memoir and current-events primer, in a mixture well-known to campaign books, will include sketches of both Ms. Harris’s upbringing and her governing principles.

It’s the second book by Harris. The first, “Smart on Crime,” was published in 2009 — the year before she was elected California attorney general. Harris won her Senate seat in 2016.

Publishing books is a rite of passage for presidential prospects. Harris is the latest possible Democratic contender to publish a book since the 2016 presidential election. She joins former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro’s book is expected this fall, and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who published a book last year, has another one — titled “Where We Go From Here” — due after November’s midterm elections.

Penguin said that in the book Harris is “reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her.”

“Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values,” Penguin said. “In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.”

Is Kamala Harris, a Presidential candidate for 2020

Ajay GhoshPolitics 0

There are several hopefuls who want to beat Trump in the next presidential elections, but one of the leading candidates is none other than, a first-term U.S. Senator from California, considered a rising star, hoping to lead the party in the 2020 presidential race. The newly-minted California senator is avoiding any talk about her future ambitions. But her history-making Senate bid — she’s the first Indian American and first black senator from California — and the state’s size and massive Democratic dominance makes her appealing, CNN commented last month.

She is Kamala Harris who, according to her Senate bio, “was the first African-American and first woman to serve as Attorney General of California and the second African-American woman to be elected to the United States Senate in history.”

And in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s failure to become the first female president, the Huffington Post has suggested Harris could be “the next best hope for shattering that glass ceiling.” Both outlets compared her rise to that of former President Obama who also ran with just one Senate term under his belt.

Kamala Harris, the first Indian-American to be elected to the US Senate, is a potential Democratic presidential candidate for 2020 elections, Washington Post, a leading American newspaper stated last week. Harris, 51, whose mother was from Chennai and father from Jamaica, is one among the six Democratic leaders, whom The Washington Post said are the top contenders to bag the party’s nomination for the 2020 presidential elections.

Interestingly four of these are women. The other three being outgoing First Lady Michelle Obama, Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York. Other two potential Democratic presidential candidates according to the US daily are Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey and Governor John Hickenlooper from Colorado.

“Harris will not officially become a US senator from California for more than a month, but she is already regarded as national-candidate material in four years,” Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza had written in his article last year.

“It is not hard to see why. She is the first African American woman elected to the Senate since Carol Moseley Braun in 1992. Harris also represents the largest and most Democratic state in the country, a huge financial launchpad to a presidential bid,” he said, noting that through mid-October, she had raised more than $13 million for her Senate candidacy.

“Her law-and-order background – she was elected and reelected attorney general in California – also will appeal to many Democrats. Whether Harris wants to – or will be ready to run for national office so soon after being elected to the Senate remains to be seen,” Cillizza said.

Harris is a two-term popular Attorney General of California. She was elected to the United States Senate from California in a landslide. She was endorsed by outgoing US President Barack Obama, in her Senate race.

“No matter how many people said I couldn’t do it, I won my races for District Attorney and Attorney General,” Harris said. “I’m a fighter – I’ve fought for the people of California, especially those most in need. This campaign for Senate has ended, but the work is just beginning. And now I’m ready to take that fight to Washington.” For now, Senator-elect Kamala Harris will take the oath of office as the US Senator representing California on January 3, 2017.

There are over two years and the 2020 presidential election. But, with Donald Trump in the White House, Democratic politicians are already eagerly jockeying for position with the expectation that the party’s nominee will have a very good chance of ousting the incumbent — if his poll numbers stay anywhere as low as they are at the moment.

While she has denied interest in running in 2020, she appears to making the moves that a potential candidate would, including speaking to key groups and on high-profile panels, fundraising for fellow Democrats, and connecting with journalists.

As Democratic political adviser Bob Shrum told the news outlet, “From everything I’ve seen of her she’d be an attractive candidate, she could be a compelling candidate, and I think she’d have a lot of appeal for primary voters.” Others have agreed, with the Washington Post calling her “formidable” due to her “California fundraising and activist base coupled with her historic status in the party…”

Even if she decides to join the race in 2020, she may have some tough competition for the Democratic nomination in the form of former Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Andrew Cuomo, a two-term governor of New York with a record of liberal accomplishments and a famous last name.

However, when the Los Angeles Times‘ Patt Morrison asked her about running for the top job a few months ago, Harris deflected the question, saying, “I don’t know why my name is in that context. I’m focused on being the junior senator from California and very proud to be representing our beautiful state.”

Five Indian Americans sworn into US Congress/Senate

Ajay GhoshPolitics, U.S. 0

By Ajay Ghosh

A record five Indian Americans were sworn into office in Washington, D.C., om January 3rd. making it a truly a memorable year for people of Indian origin in the United States. The election of these six is a historic symbol of the rightly recognizable Indian American community’s growing political influence in the mainstream American politics.

Kamala Harris, D-Calif, a former state attorney general who had won the U.S. Senate election on November 8 in a landslide became the first Indian American U.S. senator. Harris, 52, joined by friends and family in the Capitol Building, was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., looking on. “I am humbled and honored to serve you and the people of California. Let’s get to work,” Harris tweeted following her swearing-in ceremony. The new senator, one of seven new senators sworn in, replaces Barbara Boxer, who retired after 24 years in office.

Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., representing the state’s 7th Congressional District; Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., representing the 8th Congressional District; Ro Khanna, D-Calif., representing the 17th Congressional District; and Ami Bera, D-Calif., representing the 7th Congressional District, were the Congressmen of Indian origin who were sworn into office last week.

Krishnamoorthi won in the November election in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, which includes some Chicago suburbs. The Indian American entrepreneur — president of Sivananthan Labs & Episolar Inc. — served as a policy adviser to President Barack Obama in 1999 when the community organizer ran for Congress. The relationship continued as Obama ran for the U.S. Senate in 2002. Krishnamoorthi was endorsed by the president leading up to the election.

“I will continue to focus on the middle class and our commitment to ensure that hard work is rewarded. I am ready to join and lead the efforts to make sure that working families who play by the rules are not left off the agenda in Washington,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “I am humbled by the trust the people of our district have placed in me to fight for them in Congress.”

Jayapal, the first Indian American woman in the U.S. House of Representatives, the first person of color in the state’s Democratic delegation and the first woman to represent the seventh Congressional District, said this position is all about the community, not just her.

“Today is not about me. It’s about we,” said Jayapal in a statement. “It’s about the movement of hundreds of thousands of people in Washington’s 7th Congressional District, a diverse coalition of people from all walks of life, who want to ensure we continue to provide opportunity for all. Jayapal, who takes over for Jim McDermott, is one of only 23 members of Congress born in another country.

Ami Bera has been voted to Congress in California’s 7th Congressional District since 2013. “Today I’m honored to be sworn in to the 115th Congress — grateful to serve and ready for the work ahead,” Bera, the only 3rd term Indian American ever to be in the US Congress, tweeted moments after being sworn in.

Ro Khanna won in California’s 17th Congressional District after a very bitter fight against longtime Rep. Mike Honda. The Indian American lawyer won by more than 20 points in the 2016 election. “Even as the nation continues to heal from the political divisiveness of the past year, I am proud to begin 2017 by representing Silicon Valley in Congress,” Khanna said in a statement. “We need bold ideas and sound policies that provide opportunities to those our changing economy and technological revolution has left behind, and invest in policies that support working families to better prepare all children for the future.

“As a son of immigrants and grandson to a freedom fighter during India’s independence movement,” Khanna added, “the protection of civil rights no matter a person’s gender, race, or sexual orientation, will always be side-by-side with my commitment of economic fairness for all.”

Neera Tanden appointed member of Hillary Transition Team

Ajay GhoshPolitics 0

Neera Tanden is among a four-member transition team appointed by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The team — called the Clinton-Kaine Transition Project — will be based in Washington and will be led by longtime Clinton confidants and supporters.

Neera Tanden, a Clinton policy advisor who has been with Clinton since her time as first lady, Maggie Williams, Clinton’s chief of staff in the first lady’s office, Tom Donilon, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm are the three members of the team. Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is the chair of the team which has the critical job of building a government -in-waiting during the 73 days between the Nov. 8 election and the presidential inauguration.

Among other massive tasks before it, the transition team has to find candidates for some 4,000 political appointments, and draft a budget for the $4 trillion federal government,Neera Tanden, head of the Washington, D.C. – based think tank, Center for American Progress, has been working with Hillary Clinton for decades. As per reports, Tanden’s visibility in the Clinton campaign has been rising, specifically her nationwide involvement in turning out the vote during the primaries. She also connected more closely with Indian-Americans as the community geared up for a more visible role in swing states and formed several ‘Indian-Americans for Hillary’ organizations.

Neera Tanden is the President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Tanden has served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, as well as presidential campaigns and think tanks. Most recently, Tanden served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Center, where she oversaw strategic planning, operations, and fundraising.

Tanden previously served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, working on President Barack Obama’s health reform team in the White House. In that role, she developed policies around reform and worked with Congress and stakeholders on particular provisions of the legislation.

Prior to that, Tanden was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, where she managed all domestic policy proposals. Tanden had also served as policy director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, where she directed all policy work, ranging from domestic policy to the economy to foreign affairs, and managed day-to-day policy announcements. In that role, she also oversaw the debate preparation process for then-Sen. Clinton (D-NY).

Before the presidential campaign, Tanden was Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at CAP. Prior to that, she was one of the first senior staff members at the Center, joining as Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy when CAP first opened its doors. In between, Tanden was legislative director for Sen. Clinton, where she oversaw all policy and legislation in the Senate office. In 2000, she was Hillary Clinton’s deputy campaign manager and issues director for her Senate campaign in New York. Tanden also served as associate director for domestic policy in the Clinton White House and senior policy advisor to the first lady.

Tanden has appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’s “Face the Nation,” “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” MSNBC, CNN, and Fox. She was named one of the “Most Influential Women in Washington” by National Journal and received the India Abroad Publisher’s Award for Excellence in 2011. Tanden was recently included on Elle magazine’s “Women in Washington Power List” and recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Politics.” She received her bachelor of science from UCLA and her law degree from Yale Law School. A longtime supporter of and advisor to Hillary Clinton, Neera Tanden is expected by many to play a key role in any future Clinton administration—maybe even as Hillary’s White House Chief of Staff.

Kamala Harris endorsed by Obama, Biden in Senate race

Ajay GhoshPolitics 0

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, July 19, announced they are backing California state Attorney General Kamala Harris, a longtime political ally of the president, in the historic Democrat-on-Democrat U.S. Senate race.

The president praised Harris as a “lifelong courtroom prosecutor” who fought international gangs, oil companies and the big banks responsible for the mortgage crisis. “Kamala’s experience has taught her that if you’re going to give everybody a fair shot, you’ve got to take on the special interests that too often stand in the way of progress,” Obama said.

“Kamala Harris fights for us. That’s why I’m so proud to endorse her for United States senator,” the president said in a statement released by the Harris campaign and Democratic National Committee. “And if you send her to the Senate, she’ll be a fearless fighter for the people of California — all the people of California — every single day.”

President Obama is popular in the Democratic-leaning state, and his involvement could provide a boost for Harris in a race that represents a historic first in California — two minority women, both Democrats, in a runoff to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Biden said the Senate “needs people like her — leaders who will always fight to make a difference and who never forget where they come from.” The dual endorsements represent a political coup for the Indian American candidate, who faces fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez, a 10-term congresswoman, in November.

The president’s nod caps a string of major endorsements for Harris, the candidate of choice among the Democratic Party’s power barons and some of the left’s most influential interest groups. It also sends a clear signal to Democratic donors, many of whom have stayed on the sidelines this election.

Harris already has won the support of Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Democratic Party, along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a favorite of the left.

Sanchez supporters expressed dismay that the administration would attempt to tip the scales in this intra-party contest. “In this historic Democrat versus Democrat race, we have two strong, qualified women of color and it is unfortunate that instead of letting the voters decide, the Democratic party along with President Obama are picking sides,” said Martín Diego Garcia, Director of Campaign for Latino Victory Fund, a political action committee that supports Latino candidates.

Lori Cox Han, a political science professor at Chapman University in Orange, said the endorsements by Obama and Biden just solidified the message that Harris was the Democratic Party’s chosen one from the get-go. “It just kind of says that it’s really not going to be that competitive going forward,” Cox Han said.

The matchup marks the first time since voters started electing senators a century ago that Republicans will be absent from California’s general election ballot for the Senate. Under California election rules, only two candidates — the top vote-getters — advance to the November election, regardless of party affiliation.

If elected this fall, Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, would set historical marks. She would become the first Indian American woman to be elected to the Senate.

Raj Shah Leads Research On Hillary For Use In Possible General Election Campaign Against Her

Ajay GhoshPolitics 0

Raj Shah, an Indian American entrusted with the Republican National Committee’s opposition research arm, a beehive of two dozen tech-savvy idealists who have already spent two years searching through decades of government documents, tax filings, TV footage and news archives, has been leading research on Hillary Clinton, the possible Democratic Party candidate in the US General Elections this year.

Searching in the Clinton presidential library to probe the Clintons’ accumulated past, and requesting more than 330 Freedom of Information Act, the teamhas netted 11,000 pages of records, and counting. Clinton “may not like those of us willing to hold her accountable, but she only has herself to blame,” Shah says. “We’re simply citing her own past words, positions and actions.”

“In this political cycle Republican investigators have been given a rare gift: a clear front-runner with a long and public history,” The New York Times wrote of Hillary Clinton. The Republicans boast that their research shop is bigger and better than the Democratic National Committee’s, but in fact the Republicans’ biggest advantage is Mrs. Clinton herself. Over 40 years of public life, she has changed roles, funding mechanisms, policy positions, even regional accents.

“We’ve got all sorts of fun and interesting things that reinforce” Clinton’s image as “untrustworthy, dishonest … whether its policy flip-flops, secret emails, and things about her life story,” Raj Shah, the deputy communications director at RNC, who wrote an operational handbook on GOP strategy against Clinton, said on the nationally syndicated “The Alan Colmes Show” on Fox News Radio April 19.

Clinton, Shah said, was the “architect” of seemingly unpopular policies relating to Libya and the nuclear deal with Iran and other Obama administration policies she staunchly supports even after leaving office. Add to that, her administration of the State Department which he said, showed “failure after failure” revealed in reports such as those routinely issued by the Government Accountability Office, on various government operations. “Donor and special interests rather than those in need … get in the front of the line,” those reports show, Shah contended.

Denying that his work digging the dirt on Clinton supported her contention of a “right wing conspiracy” Shah countered all parties have “professionalized opposition research.”
While admitting that Republican candidates such as billionaire Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz had negatives, he said, “But Hillary Clinton is extremely well defined, and defined in a negative way.

Shah also said the GOP has a big file on Sen. Bernie Sanders, and explained why the GOP plans to focus on the negative aspects of the Iran nuclear deal. “We are prepared for several scenarios including the potential ‘White Night’ scenario with (Vice President) Joe Biden stepping in,” Shah said, “But we are most prepared for Hillary Clinton.”

These revelations can be very damaging to any candidate who is running for public office. For instance, when Mrs. Clinton said recently that she is opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a trade pact she called a “gold standard” when she was secretary of state — they were able to send out her contradictory quotes on social media almost instantly. They did the same thing when she introduced a broad plan for gun control after largely opposing it in her last presidential run.

In New Hampshire this month, when Mrs. Clinton repeated a questionable story about wanting to join the Marines in her youth, the Republicans could catalog the times she made that claim in the past and the shifting reasons she gave. Recently they compiled a list of all the groups with ties to the financial sector and other industries with business before the federal government that paid Bill and Hillary Clinton millions in speaking fees well before the Clintons released lists on their own.

Americans may hate what this dredging enterprise says about modern campaigning, but it’s a legitimate part of the process, and any seasoned politician is likely to have inconsistencies, failures and embarrassments. What really keeps the opposition research machine humming are efforts by the candidates themselves to be all things to all voters, sacrificing their credibility.

Neil Makhija, Candidate For Pennsylvania State Assembly Plans Grassroots Campaign

Ajay GhoshPolitics 0

Neil Makhija, a young Indian-American is running for Pennsylvania state Assembly from District 122, and as a son-of-the-soil born and raised in Carbon County, he hopes to build a grassroots campaign. Neil Makhija, 29, is a first-generation American, a Harvard Law School graduate and former aide to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and to Vice President Joe Biden.

“Neil is a stellar candidate in his own right, but he’s also from an incredibly competitive district that Democrats can win,” according to Manan Trivedi, an Iraq War veteran who has tried twice to win a seat in the U.S. Congress. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party has identified Makhija’s hometown region as a top pickup opportunity in 2016, Trivedi notes.

The 122nd district, just north of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, was held for decades by the former Democratic Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Keith McCall. When Speaker McCall retired, the GOP won the seat in the Republican wave of 2010. “The county still is Democratic and 2016 is the right time to take back this seat,” Trivedi says.

On his election website neilforPA.com, Makhija says his parents witnessed the power of the American Dream in just one generation. “My father worked in a thread factory in India for under a dollar a day, and was determined to provide his children with a better way of life,” His parents left India and moved to a small town in Pennsylvania thirty five years ago, the place where he was born and brought up.

Makhija says he learnt the values of hard work, empathy, and resilience from his parents, and growing up worked small jobs and rose up the ladder – from scooping ice cream at Leiby’s Restaurant and washing bikes at Pocono Whitewater, to working for the Office of Vice President Joe Biden and in the United States Senate.

He attended Harvard on a scholarship endowed by a Carbon County coal magnate. “That gift – a reminder of our region’s role powering America’s Industrial Revolution – inspired me to use my education to fight for a new vision of economic prosperity in Carbon County,” he says, and he is now ready to give back.

His priorities he says are to invests in the people and harness 21st-century innovation, fight for the middle class, and for world-class education for children, helping seniors, as well as for protecting the environment.

Indra Nooyi, Shobhana Bharatia Receive USIBC Global Leadership Award

Ajay GhoshBusiness, Finance/Economy, Profiles 0

PepsiCo chairman Indra Nooyi and Hindustan Times Group chairperson Shobhana Bharatia were honored with the 2015 Global Leadership Award by the U.S. India Business Council Sept. 21 at its annual gala for their commitment to driving a more inclusive global economy and their roles as women leaders. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry were among those who spoke at the gala.

Noting that USIBC plays an important role in strengthening the India-U.S. relationship, Nooyi said there are tremendous opportunities ahead to work together in new ways that capitalize on their collective strengths, paving the way to shared prosperity.

In other news, a venture capital fund backed by Reliance Industries Ltd. and a United States-based technology firm have signed an agreement to bring cutting-edge software technologies to India. Reliance-backed GenNext Ventures and Ecorithm’s partnership was announced on the sidelines of the inaugural India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.

Ecorithm’s powerful suite of technologies can be applied to build systems and various other enterprise solutions to improve operations, optimize systems, and minimize energy use, a media release said.

“As we bring Ecorithm into India, we are keen to deploy the technology to optimize the energy efficiency of our buildings and raise the standard of environmental design and operation for buildings and enterprises to global levels,” said Vivek Rai Gupta, managing director of GenNext Ventures. Asserting that India offers immense opportunities, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought investments from United States industry leaders in public and private sectors.

In her address at U.S. India Business Council’s 40th annual gala Sept. 22, Swaraj said U.S. businesses are “best placed” to make their business decisions. “But it would help if I underline here the scale of India’s economic ambition and the size of economic opportunity that it represents for both our countries,” she said.

“We have plans to boost urbanization, and we are determined to provide affordable power and housing for all. We want to connect manufacturing in India with global supply chains… to develop product-based and service-based industrial and governance platforms around Digital India,” she said.

All of these initiatives and plans present commercial and business opportunities for U.S. industries to partner with India’s public and private sectors for a “win-win outcome,” the minister said. Meanwhile, John T. Chambers, executive chairman of Cisco, has been elected as the new chairman of the U.S. India Business Council.

Joe Biden, John Kerry, & Sushma Swaraj Renew Commitment to Grow U.S.-India Trade Relations

Ajay GhoshIndia, Politics, U.S. 0

Washington, D.C., September 21, 2015 – Kicking off the inaugural U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue and commemorating the 40th anniversary of the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), the annual USIBC Leadership summit featured addresses by Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, and other high-ranking officials from both governments and industry leaders.

Continuing the dialogue established by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi in the last year, Vice President Biden delivered an address highlighting the importance of the U.S.-India trade relationship and the U.S. commitment to growing bilateral trade to $500 billion over the next few years. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to the importance of building stronger U.S.-India ties and reinforcing India’s position as an ally in the region.

USIBC Chairman Ajay Banga – who is President and CEO of MasterCard – delivered the State of the Council address. “The eyes of history remain fixed on India and the United States as they move closer to ushering in what could be a whole new era.  A new era for India.  A new era for India-U.S. Relations. It’s a new era that could see global trade accelerate and increase with Indian membership in organizations like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum,” said Banga.

The summit welcomed addresses from Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State, Independent Charge, for the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy.

The summit also featured a panel discussion on “Why Make in India?” moderated by CNBC anchor Seema Mody, featuring Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Amitabh Kant; Emerson President Ed Monser; Chairman of HDFC Deepak Parekh and Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal.

USIBC presented its prestigious Global Leadership Awards to Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo

USIBC presented its prestigious Global Leadership Awards to Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director of HT Media, one of India’s largest publicly listed media companies. Both were honored for their contributions and commitment to driving a more inclusive global economy and for their roles as women leaders.

The awardees were introduced by Purna Saggurti, Chairman Global Corporate & Investment Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch who also serves as one of USIBC’s board of directors.

“These extraordinary leaders have made a lasting impact on their industries and on U.S.-India relations,” said Saggurti. “They have been a true inspiration to business and leaders across the globe and have raised the bar for all of us.”

 

“The USIBC plays a critically important role in strengthening the relationship between two great nations,” said Indra Nooyi. “There are tremendous opportunities ahead to work together in new ways that capitalize on our collective strengths and pave the way to shared prosperity for our countries, our companies and our citizens. PepsiCo is deeply committed to being part of this dialogue, and it is humbling to be honored at this year’s historic celebration.”

“As the representative of a media group that realizes the importance of looking at both India Shining, and the Other India to get a real picture of what is happening in our country, and as a woman leader in a nation where women are finally coming into their own, I am delighted to receive this award. Our two countries, both democracies, have a strong and free media and I see increasing opportunities for collaboration as media and technology companies from India and the U.S. navigate the evolving digital landscape,” said Shobhana Bhartia.

Renowned Indian-American artist, Natvar Bhavasr who is known for his abstract expressionism and “color-field” painting was awarded the Artistic Achievement Award. “My work aims to transcend boundaries and I am honored to receive this award that recognizes my Indian roots and my training in arts that took place in the United States. I would not be the artist I am today had it not been for the inspirations that have guided me in my absorbing the gifts offered by both cultures, my birthplace India and my half a century’s participation in the creative life of New York City,” said Natvar Bhavsar.

USIBC President Mukesh Aghi said, “In a world filled with complex security and economic challenges, the U.S.-India relationship matters more now than ever before. It is no surprise that Prime Minister Modi’s next stop is in Silicon Valley, the bedrock of entrepreneurship and innovation – those are the areas that will grow our economies, but also an area that requires strong talent and a continual commitment to foster a strong business environment. To achieve this end a crucial step is being taken to launch U.S. Business Centers in India to support the entry of U.S. small and mid-sized companies, universities, and skills’ providers into the market.”

Attending companies included leaders from MasterCard, PepsiCo, Bank of America, Boeing, American Tower Corp, Amway, Cigna, Dow, Pfizer, and UST Global.

Pope Francis Arrives in the U.S. To A Rousing Welcome

Ajay GhoshCommunity 0

The popular 78-year-old Argentina-born Pope Francis, who has softened the church’s tone, focused on climate change and the poor, and seized a spot on the global stage, launched his maiden visit to the United States with a characteristic gesture of humility on Tuesday, September 22, 2015 and sent a conciliatory message to the world’s wealthiest nation about his frequent criticism of capitalism. He plans to visit the White House and address Congress and the United Nations.

Obama, his family and Vice President Joe Biden greeted the pope in an honor given only to a select world leaders. The pope took off his white skullcap as he walked down the steps from the jet to the windy tarmac to greet first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden, Jill Biden and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, among others. After a red carpet welcome by President Barack Obama at an air base near the capital, the 78-year-old Argentine headed off to Washington not in a limousine as is customary but in a modest Fiat. According to reports, schoolchildren cheered the pontiff as his Alitalia plane landed, chanting “We love Francis, yes we do. We love Francis, how about you?” In a news conference held in the District after the pope’s arrival, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, called the visit a “new encounter.” Francis “has an attitude of one to receive, not just to give,” he said.

Pope Francis Arrives in the U.S. To A Rousing Welcome
Pope Francis Arrives in the U.S. To A Rousing Welcome

On Wednesday, the pope is scheduled to visit the White House and Washington’s Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. On Wednesday afternoon, the pope is scheduled to celebrate a Mass with 25,000 people to canonize Junípero Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan priest who founded historic missions in California. The Mass is scheduled to take place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington.

He will also greet tens of thousands of people during a pope-mobile parade around the Ellipse, south of the White House. Large crowds from across the region are expected to gather early, and streets will be thronged and periodically cordoned off across the city as the pope crisscrosses the District on Wednesday. On Thursday, Francis will make the first address by a pope to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, in the Capitol. Afterward, he is scheduled to appear on the balcony of the West Front of the Capitol to greet a crowd of about 50,000 that is expected to gather.

The pope has drawn attention with recent statements about the dangers of global warming. He softened the tone of the church on its opposition to homosexuality and recently moved to ease the granting of marriage annulments. He is scheduled to leave for New York on Thursday, then travel Saturday to Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall, where he will speak at the lectern used by Abraham Lincoln for the Gettysburg Address, and celebrate Mass on Sunday at the World Meeting of Families. He will return to Rome on Sunday evening.

Joe Biden, John Kerry, Sushma Swaraj to Address USIBC 40th Annual Leadership Summit

Ajay GhoshPolitics 0

Washington, D.C., September 15, 2015 – Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, and other high-ranking officials from both governments, along with captains of industry from both countries, will address the U.S.-India Business Council on the occasion of its 40th anniversary on September 21 in Washington, DC, to kick off the first U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.

“It’s a privilege for USIBC to host government and business leaders from both countries on the eve of the U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue and on the occasion of the council’s 40th anniversary. The founding principle of the council four decades ago – which grew out of the vision of then-U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger – remains even more true today:  the world’s largest democracies share a love of freedom and an entrepreneurial spirit that – if nurtured – can help realize the full potential of India-U.S. relations,” said USIBC Chairman and MasterCard President and CEO, Ajay Banga.

“The U.S. business relationship with India is one of the most valuable in the world, and we have seen great progress over the last 40 years,” said President of USIBC Mukesh Aghi. “We are honored to welcome these distinguished speakers from both countries – from both public and private sectors – on the occasion of this milestone anniversary.  This level of bilateral engagement and commitment to furthering trust and cooperation has been one of USIBC’s hallmarks for the past four decades and will be for decades more to come,” said USIBC President, Mukesh Aghi.

The government to government dialogue at this year’s summit will also include U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal.

The Council also honors business and government leaders for their commitment towards building a more inclusive global economy. This year’s honorees include CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi and Chairperson and Editorial Director of the Hindustan Times Group, Shobhana Bhartia.

Formed in 1975 at the request of the U.S. and Indian governments, the U.S.-India Business Council is the premier business advocacy organization, comprised of top-tier U.S. and Indian companies advancing U.S.-India commercial ties. USIBC is the largest bilateral trade association in the United States, with liaison presence in New York, Silicon Valley, and New Delhi.

US committed to take partnership with India still higher: Joe Biden

Ajay GhoshFinance/Economy, India, Politics, U.S. 0

“We are committed to take this relationship further” for the well being of both the US and India as also for the advancement of the international community, Joe Biden said suggesting that the world was “at the cusp of another sea change decade.” To seize this “historic moment, Biden said “the US was pursuing a strategy of rebalancing to the Asia Pacific region” and “America’s deepening friendship with India is an indispensable part of our Asia rebalance strategy.”

“US-India partnership has reached a new level” under President Barack Obama, he said last week in keynote speech on the future of the US-India partnership to mark the tenth anniversary of the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal. The nuclear deal “removed the single largest irritant in the relationship between the two greatest democracies,” he said on the conclusion of a conference hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“Together we transformed the bilateral relationship into a global partnership based on shared values, interests, responsibilities,” he said. “All of these will go to shape the next century if we stay the course. India’s Act East and US Rebalance in Asia is good news for the region as well as good news for the partnership,” he said.

The joint strategic vision for the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region that Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had issued in January “serves as a beacon,” Biden said. “And every day we are working to try to make this vision a reality,” he said recalling that Obama had during his January visit to India had “declared that the US can be India’s best partner.”

“That’s our goal,” he said. “Change is taking place,” Biden said. “It’s a historic moment in the world, let’s seize it. We have a chance to bend history just a little bit,” he said. “This is one of those moments when our common interests are going to continue to converge and our countries have the potential to reach new heights.”

Earlier, addressing the Conference, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal recalled that “Ten years ago, access to nuclear, space, and other forms of high technology were among the most contentious issues between India and the United States.”

“Today those issues are part of the foundation on which we’re building a lasting partnership,” she said.

“In defence, the US is now India’s largest supplier, and we are launching new co-development and co-production projects that will expand our ties and advance Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India initiative,” she noted.

“Clearly, our relationship with the US has transformed rapidly in the last ten years to become a full-spectrum relationship, covering virtually all fields of human endeavour,” said the Indian ambassador Arun Singh.

Indian ambassador Arun Singh
Indian ambassador Arun Singh

“It is now embedded in the larger vision of a global strategic partnership,” he said asserting “that no relationship between India and another country can today match the range, depth, quality and intensity of the India-US partnership. Going forward, I see the US continuing to play a role in India’s transformation, and see India and the US joining hands to make the world a better place for our two nations and the rest of the world,” Singh said.

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