|
 |
| |
| |
| THIS
OUR NORTH AMERICA |
| King of Pop- a
troubled soul, dies at the age of 50 |
Khushwant Toor writes from Toronto
MICHAEL Jackson – black turned white
“King of Pop” who once married Lisa Marie
Presley, daughter of King of Rock ‘n’ Roll -
Elvis Presley, and who pushed American pop music
beyond rock and roll ruling the hearts of this
fans for years around the world died on June 26,
2009 at the age of 50 in his Holmby Hills estate
in Los Angeles, California.More
|
|
| Mystery of Air India bombing
in Canada continues |
|
Gurpreet Singh writes from Vancouver
AS the 25th anniversary of the
Air India bombing approaches, the Canada government
should do more to assuage the wounds of the victims’
families. It took years for the Canadian government
to recognize the bombing as its own tragedy, while
it remained the most horrific incident in the
history of aviation terrorism before 9/11.More
|
|
| A day [June 19 2009]
in the life of a crooked West |
|
Billionaire Stanford
IN Richmond , Virginia the Texas
billionaire Allen Stanford, three associates and
a top Caribbean regulator were indicted on
fraud, conspiracy and obstruction charges in an
elaborate $7 billion pyramid scheme to bilk
investors, U.S. Justice Department officials
said.More |
| Freedom fighters
remembered |
|
Gurpreet Singh writes from Vancouver
THE annual community fair dedicated to the freedom
fighters of India ended successfully at the
Langley’s Millennium Park on June 20. Organized by
the Indo Canadian Workers’ Association and Shaheed
Bhagat Singh Foudation, every year, this year’s
fair was in remembrance of Late Comrade Harkishan
Singh Surjeet, a towering Communist leader of
India, who passed away last year.More |
|
| ANALYSIS |
|
A shattered BJP losing its moorings |
Gobind
Thukral
WAY back during the first Janata government in
India during 1977-1980, a dilemma struck the
present day leadership of the Bharatiya Janata
Party; whether to retain the membership of its
mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or adopt
the semi secular grouping of Janata Party
unreservedly.More |
|
| On a wing and a prayer |
Chaitanya Kalbag
 LAST
week I called up a friend. She was on the train from
Bangalore to Chennai. I was surprised. She is not
the kind of person who travels by train. I asked her
how long the train journey takes. Four and a half
hours, she replied.More |
|
| Lack of capital means longer recession |
THE world's poorest countries will see $1 trillion drain from their
economies this year according to the first
detailed analysis of how the global recession is
hitting developing nations.More |
|
| ART, MEDIA & LITERATURE |
| Ajmer Singh retells
the 1984 Unimaginable Tyranny |
|
Dr. Amrik Singh writes from
Sacramento
HARMANDIR
Sahib (Golden Temple) occupies a special place
in the Sikh psyche. It is an exclusive territory
of the Sikhs open to people of all persuasions.
Disturbing its reigning peace and harmony with
artillery fire led to utter shock and disbelief.
1984 invasion came after 219 years.More
|
| Heritage
of Nankana Sahib |
|
Harjap Singh Aujla writes from
New Jersey
 WE
all know that since the days of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh’s empire “Gurdwara Janam Asthan Sri Nankana
Sahib” and “Sri Darbar Sahib Amritsar” have been
acknowledged to be the two shrines where the
Sikh musical heritage was preserved at its
pristine and sophisticated best.More
|
|
|
|
No fare, freight hike; Mamata unveils slew of
goodies for passengers | Blast in Rawalpindi;
6 dead, 25 injured | Punjab govt expected to levy
taxes in 2009-10 budget | CIL seeks tax exemption
for workers on housing perks | Serena, Venus reach
Wimbledon final again
|
|
|
| No fare, freight hike; Mamata
unveils slew of goodies for passengers |
| True
to her promise of presenting a ‘pro poor’
budget, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee announced
a slew of passengers friendly amenities while avoiding
fare hike. She also did not hike freight rates.More
Updated on July 3, 2009 at 01:00 p.m.
|
- Blast in Rawalpindi; 6 dead,
25 injuredMore
- Punjab govt expected to levy
taxes in 2009-10 budgetMore
- CIL seeks tax exemption for
workers on housing perksMore
- Serena, Venus reach Wimbledon
final againMore
|
| E D I T O R I
A L |
| Terrorism and drug mafia:
Why the West is silent |
| UNITED
Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in its
report for 2009 estimated that the international
drug mafia is estimated to be involved in a business
whose total transactions cross $600-800 billion
year. As everyone knows, a good part of this money
goes to fund terrorism. This helps arms trade
to flourish.More |
|
|
| FOCUS |
| A tipsy government in
Punjab
|
Gobind
Thukral
NO one doubts that Mr. Parkash Singh Badal is the
senior most political figure leader in Punjab. Yet
how come his skills in managing the affairs of the
state or coalition politics falter so often. His
tenure this time is full of such instances and
begins with the very formation of the Akali BJP
government.More |
|
|
|
Iran election results, a
big
setback for America" |
| Dr
Sawraj Singh
 THE victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a conservative, over Mir
Hossein Mousavi, a reformist, in the Iranian
presidential election is a big setback for
America. President Obama’s policy of reaching out to the
Muslims was supposed to help the reformists and the
pro-American elements in Iran. This did not happen.More |
| The forthcoming budget July 2009 |
| Vinod Anand
 THE vote-of account (VOA) - interim (mini) budget
was presented in February this year because of the
Lok Sabha elections. It had brought about a major
hike from last year’s allocations in the outlay
for many ministries. It boosted the realty sector
in terms of (1) raising the tax deduction on
interest payments on housing loans (2) exempting
corporates from tax on profits earned by building
small dwelling units, and (3) reduction in the excise duty
on “big” cars.More |
| CIA secrecy on Drone attacks
hides abuses |
| Gareth Porter
 THE
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s refusal to share
with other agencies even the most basic data on the
bombing attacks by remote-controlled unmanned predator
drones in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region, combined
with recent revelations that CIA operatives have been
paying Pakistanis to identify the targets.More |
| From the India Gate: An
unusual entrant in the Indian Foreign Service |
|  Bal
Anand
I have narrated in the previous column how I had undertaken
my maiden journey to the capital of India in June 1969
primarily to equip myself for the preparation of Indian
Administrative Service Etc., Examination, now more popularly
called the Civil Services Examinations.More |
| FEATURES |
| Sarkozy attacks Islam?
|
|
Dr Sawraj Singh
 SARKOZY,
the French President attacked Burqa which is a
religious symbol for the Muslim women and said
that it was not acceptable in France. He
is trying to enforce the western concepts of woman’s
liberation on the other cultures.More
|
|
|
|
Time for ‘Heavy Lifting' To Begin |
| AT a bipartisan meeting with
congressional lawmakers yesterday, President Obama pledged
"that he would push for a sweeping overhaul of
the nation's immigration system by early next year."
"It's going to require some heavy lifting,"
Obama said.More |
|
Trouble for Indian students in Australia |
|
Rupinder Gill
INDIAN students are going through a rough time at the
moment. At least 17 Indian students have fled Australia
following a rise in the number of violent attacks against
the community in the past month and many others are being
asked by their worried parents to return home.More
|
| LAW & JUSTICE |
| Canada’s The Justice
for Victims of Terrorism Act |
|  Joginder
Singh Toor writes from Toronto
FIGHTING terrorism is supposed on the top of agenda of
every country bitten by it; in ways different, means
varying, goals less achieved than claimed. The world
is ripped apart, people horrified, politicians puzzled
and political thinkers standing on different podiums
miles away from each other.More |
| COMMENT |
| India: Hiring activity down
|
| THE overall Job Index declined by 1.9% from 677 in
April 2009 to 664 in May 2009
Telecom and Pharma saw a drop by 12% and 14% in
hiring activity in May'09 as compared to Apr'09
FMCG, Foods and Beverage up by 9%, in May'09 as
compared to Apr'09.The Naukri JobSpeak index at 664,
indicates a fall of 1.9% as compared to 677 in Apr'09.More
|
|
|
A Marxist-Leninist
passes away |
| Professor Chaman Lal
PROFESSOR Harbhajan Singh
Sohi, Central Committee member of Communist Party
Reorganizing Centre of India (CPRCI)-ML is no
more. He passed away on 15th June unnoticed
without getting much medical help at Bhathinda. He
was cremated on 16th June morning in the presence of
family, friends and comrades.More |
|
Bikini-clad
activists crash Israeli beach party in Manhattan |
| IN Bethlehem
on June 22, at least five young women crashed a so-called
beach party organized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry
in New York City's Central Park.
Clad in bikinis and holding signs reading "Free
Gaza" and "Sand won't cover your war crimes,"
the women were quickly removed by police.More |
|
First letter to
PM, Sonia calls for food security law |
| IF the national
job guarantee law was the flagship scheme of the first UPA,
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has, in her first letter
to re-elected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asked him to
fulfil the party’s poll promise of a law to ensure food
security and has even provided him the detailed contours
of the scheme.More |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
