Khushwant Toor writes from Toronto

APRIL 20, 2010 a blast occurred underwater at an oil drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC. The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well 1500 m deep at about 19000 to 210,000 gallons per day. The slick from the oil spill has spread havoc on U.S. cost line.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has become the worst in US history. President Barack Obama has admitted to be personally responsible for the clean-up but is forced to rely on the know-how of the BP company. Slowness of the cleanup operation is being compared to as the Kartina for President Bush. Irritated at the slow progress to control the oil spill, lately President Obama announced an oil industry crackdown, suspending new deepwater well permits for six months and cancelling planned drilling off the coast of Virginia.

It is now clear that the gulf disaster is larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker, which struck a reef off Alaska, spilled a total of 250,000 barrels, or 41 million litres of crude oil, with devastation to the local wildlife and ecosystem. The impact of the gulf spill is already predicted to be worse. Earlier estimates that the BP well was gushing about 5000 barrels a day have been drastically revised to between 19,000 and 21,000 barrels a day - but could be much higher as is being evident from the latest pictures released by BP.

Obama insists that while BP is responsible for the "horrific disaster", the US government is in charge with the White House's National Incident Commander, Admiral Thad Allen, supervising the operation. The President also admitted that the White House had no choice but to depend on BP because the US government did not have superior technology needed to cap the gushing well.

Elizabeth Birnbaum, Mr Obama's director of the Minerals Management Service, the authority that regulates offshore drilling was forced to resign recently. Mr Bush's head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Michael Brown, was also forced out after Hurricane Katrina.

After exhausting various other efforts and exploiting technical know hows to contain the oil spill, BP’s latest containment operation named "top kill" is underway. In this effort the company is trying to pack the dense drilling mud from the well back into the gushing well. It is estimated that it may take a few more days to fully contain the leak. In the mean while estimates for total oil recovery costs and potential liabilities continues to rise.

It is being estimated that it will cost BP $11 billion to account for higher spill containment costs, potential liabilities and civil penalties. Daily costs per day are estimated to be about $42 million per day presently with operation “top kill” underway. Longer term, environmental costs are exceedingly difficult to estimate, and will depend on a number of factors such as how much oil makes it to shore, and extent of the oil spread across the Gulf of Mexico.

Methane bubble which erupted from the well is being blamed for the explosion. Way beneath the sea floor methane is in crystalline form and at any given time while drilling, the oil companies could hit that nasty gas. That's just the chance they take with the Eco system. In this case the methane expanded very promptly as it blasted through several of the main oil pipe seals and an explosion occurred. According to one interviewer a gas cloud surrounded the rig causing the drill head to run to fast, which caused it to explode and catch fire, with all that gas that was around the rig it was by Gods grace that everyone wasn't killed and yet precious 11 lives were lost.

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Hillary Clinton criticizes Pakistan when it's convenient

Gurpreet Singh writes from Vancouver

THE doublespeak of the U.S. administration has been exposed by the tough talk against Pakistan by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the Times Square episode in New York City. As soon as it was revealed that the Pakistani Taliban may have been involved in the failed plot to bomb Times Square early this month, Clinton warned Pakistan of severe consequences.

Faisal Shahzad, the main suspect, is a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin.

In addition, three more Pakistanis were arrested in the U.S. in connection with the plot, and several suspects have also been held in Pakistan.

It is no secret that the Taliban were created by the spy agencies of the U.S. and Pakistan.
The Pakistani spy service, the Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI, trained Taliban fighters with the backing of the CIA to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Back then, the U.S. establishment described the Taliban as freedom fighters who fought communist expansionism. The same people have become terrorists after 9/11.

Now, the Taliban is locked in a bloody war in South Asia with the U.S. and its allies, including Pakistan.

Former Pakistani President Parvez Musharaff, who visited Seattle in March, acknowledged that the U.S. and Pakistan were together in this fight.

Meanwhile, India, which has endured terrorism for years, has been complaining about military training camps on Pakistani soil that gave refuge to not only Islamist Kashmiri separatists, but also to Sikh separatists.

However, these complaints fell on deaf ears while the subversive activities of the Pakistani-trained insurgents continued in India.

The U.S. stood like a rock behind Pakistan and not only ignored these complaints, but also gave political asylum to Indian separatists, despite protests by India.

The post 9/11 scenario and the changing face of the world economy have altered the U.S. outlook. Suddenly, terrorism in general and the Taliban in particular have become common enemies of the two democracies.

On November 26, 2008, the financial capital of India, Mumbai, was attacked by Pakistani extremists, leaving more than 170 people dead.

It's no coincidence that a prominent suspect, David Headley, is of Pakistani heritage and was charged in the U.S.

Headley, an American who was charged as a conspirator in the 26/11 carnage, has been accused by some Indian analysts of being a "double agent" of the ISI and the CIA.

While the CIA has denied this, a former officer of India’s Intelligence Bureau, Maloy Krishna Dhar, doesn't accept the U.S. explanation. Indian investigators have been denied access to Headley, which has been greeted with widespread suspicion in India.

Then there are efforts by the U.S. to try to trap India into a war against terror in Afghanistan, which may actually bring the two neighbouring countries into direct conflict.

Instead of Clinton making hollow statements and enticing India into its dirty war, the U.S. revise its foreign policy and press Pakistan to stop its misadventures in India.

The U.S. could also ask Pakistan to extradite Indian fugitives hiding in that country. In addition, the U.S. should encourage Pakistan to stop providing financial aid to the people in that country who are at the epicentre of terrorism.

[Gurpreet Singh is the host of a popular yet provocative program on Radio India. He's working on a book tentatively titled Canada's 9/11: Lessons from the Air India Bombings.]

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Crisis of western capitalism calls for alternate model of development

Dr Sawraj Singh

AMERICA is going through a serious economic crisis for the last couple of years. It appeared that Europe was relatively less affected by the crisis and was likely to recover sooner than America. However, the severity of crisis in Greece has raised questions about those assumptions. Many people also felt that the American rightist tilt and sticking to traditional capitalism were responsible for the crisis and a shift to the European style utilitarian capitalism could help America to come out of the crisis. This feeling was responsible for the election of President Obama because he could help with this transition from the American style to the European style of capitalism.

The crisis in Greece and in rest of the Europe has shown us that not only the American capitalism is facing severe crisis but the whole western capitalism is crumbling. It is very difficult to save the western capitalism by making some minor changes such as increasing the tilt towards the social welfare state. In America, tilt to the extreme right and racism are primarily the causes of the crisis but in Greece the more liberal policies were responsible for the crisis. The European Union has come up with an economic package of about a trillion dollars to help save Greece’s economy. Most of the money has been contributed by Germany who wants Greece to undo the liberal changes and take away the benefits given to its working class.

We can conclude from the developments in America and Europe that the western capitalist model of development cannot work much longer and has failed. Therefore, we need an alternate model of development. The alternate model of development will come from the East. Guru Granth Sahib is not only the religious holy book of the Sikhs, but is the essence and zenith of the eastern thought and spirituality. It has the alternative model of development. Why can the eastern model of development succeed when the western model is failing? The answer to this question lies in the fact that the western model of development is based upon selfishness and greed. Capitalism, traditional or liberal, is based upon the principle of maximizing profits rather than fulfilling needs of the society.

The eastern model of development in Guru Granth Sahib is based upon the principles of universal concern and universal well being. Whereas the western capitalist model of development is based upon the principle of promoting desires so that people become bigger consumers, the eastern model emphasizes the principle of fulfilling needs of the society. The desires can never be defined and fulfilled. Therefore, there is no end point or satisfaction. The needs can be defined and fulfilled thus leading to satisfaction and contentment. The principle of meeting needs of the society leads to harmony with nature, while living to fulfill desires puts man in confrontation with nature.

The severity of crisis calls for pooling of the eastern and the western wisdom to come out of the crisis. Guru Granth Sahib represents the eastern wisdom and Marxism can be considered representative of the western wisdom. Confluence of the eastern and the western wisdom can help the mankind to come out of the crisis. It can start with a dialogue between the Sikh ideology and Marxism. Whereas, Guru Granth Sahib can provide us with the ideological basis for the alternate model of development, Marxism can help us to understand the structure and functioning of the western capitalist system. The historical experience of Marxism is relevant and can be a useful resource in the transformation of the present uni polar world to a multi polar world. In the new world order we can learn from the positive experience of different cultures. So far we have only seen the dominant western culture imposing its values on the others and suppressing the other cultures. This arrogant western behavior has done tremendous damage to the world. Time has come to give up arrogance and adopt humility. Arrogance leads to ignorance and humility leads to knowledge.

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First turbaned Sikh officer of Canadian Air Force

Jagpal Singh Tiwana

HALIFAX Gurdwara Sangat gave a very warm welcome to 2nd Lieutenant Jasbir Singh Tatla when he, accompanied by 2nd Lieutenant Gurpreet Singh Bajwa, visited the Gurdwara on Sunday, May 23, 2010. He was invited by his friends Mr Sukhjinder Singh Dhillon and Mrs. Manvinder Kaur Dhillon. Mrs. Dhillon is the secretary of the Gurdwara Management committee this year.

Mr Tatla was introduced by Jagpal Singh Tiwana as a committed soldier who belonged to a family with long military history. His great-grandfather, Inder Singh, was a vetern of the First World War, his grandfather, Mall Singh, fought in the Burma War, and his father, Gurdarshan Singh, retired as an Honorary Flying Officer. An uncle of his, Sukhdev Singh, was a brigadier in the Indian Army.

Mr Tatla created history in Canada in 2008 when he, as a turbaned Sikh, became a commissioned officer in Canadian Air Force.

Mr. Tatla's attachment to Guru Ghar was evident when he volunteered to play tabla in the Gurdwara in the absence of the regular tabla player and surprised every one with his highly developed musical skills.

Mr. Satnam Singh Randhawa, a senior member of the Maritime Sikh Society, presented a Siropa, a robe of honor, to Mr. Tatla on behalf of the Sangat. It was received by a resounding Jaikara of Bole So Nihal.

Later Mr. Tatla was interviewed by Mr. Tiwana at Mr. Dhillon's residence.

Tatla wears a special light-blue turban when in his dress uniform. Actually light-blue color of the turban was recommended by him which Air Force authorities accepted and prescribed as the color of the turban of Sikh officer's uniform. Mr. Tatla is a vegetarian, a teetotaler and doesn't carry a kirpan.

Wearing a helmet proves a challenge but a manageable one. "I wear a small turban on my head and tie my hair around my head instead of in the centre," said Tatla. "It is a little uncomfortable, but there is no option."

Tatla was born in Dhothar village in Ludhiana district of Punjab, India. He attended Central School, Halwara, and G.H.G Khalsa College, Gurusar Sudhar. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering from G.N.E. Engineering College, Ludhiana, and Master of Technology from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Mr. Tatla immigrated to Canada in June, 1999.

With that academic background and the military tradition of the family always on his mind, Mr. Tatla, passed the Canadian Forces entrance examination in 2003, and waited four years for a security background check from India. He was detailed to undergo training at Venture Naval Officers Training Center Esquimalt, Victoria, in April. His graduation ceremony was held on July 12, 2008.

When speaking about the rigors of hard and hazardous training, Mr. Tatla that he often thought of quitting, but carried on. He had to lose about 30 lbs before the graduation ceremony. His father's push and family's military tradition kept him going. After a struggle of five years, Tatla not only achieved his goal, but also brought honor to his community. Keeping that in view, several Sikh societies have honored him.

Tatla gives all the credit to his mother Hardial Kaur and father Gurdarshan Singh Tatla for their dedication. He has two sisters, Jasvinder Kaur Mann and Kamaljit Kaur. He is married to Pawandeep and the couple has two sons, Sahib and Jugr.

[The writer is Director Communications ,Maritime Sikh Society Halifax, Canada]

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