BEIJING (TIP): China has linked up the two stock markets of Shanghai and Hong Kong, which will make cross border investment possible for people living in Mainland China and in Hong Kong. They were not permitted to do so earlier. But the real catch lies beyond the usual stock trading. China is trying to push forward its agenda of internationalizing the Yuan. Hong Kong and other overseas investors will now have to buy the Chinese currency in order to invest in the linked market. Worried that market behavior might go out of hand, authorities have imposed a ceiling on turnover amounting to $2.2 billion for investors in Hong Kong. The ceiling in the case of investors in Mainland China has been set at $1.8 billion.
The linking of stock markets will take the growth of offshore renminbi business business in Hong Kong to “new heights”, Norman Chan, chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said. China has taken several measures including offering soft loans and aid to several countries in its own currency to make Yuan a widely used international currency. In turn, it offers a stable exchange rate because it is tightly controlled by the government. The official media quoted Lin Caiyi, chief economist with Guotai Junan Securities, saying that the linked market will act as a channel for the yuan to flow from the Mainland China to Hong Kong, be invested in the offshore market and flow back to the Mainland. This is essential for China because there is a lot more international currency trading in Hong Kong than in Shanghai
Month: November 2014
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China links Hong Kong, Shanghai stock markets
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TOYOTA TO LAUNCH FUEL CELL CAR NEXT MONTH
TOKYO (TIP): There will only be a few hundred, and they won’t be cheap, but Toyota is about to take its first small step into the unproven market for emissions-free, hydrogenpowered vehicles. The world’s largest automaker announced that it will begin selling fuel cell cars in Japan on Dec. 15 and in the US and Europe in mid-2015. The sporty-looking, four-door Toyota Mirai will retail for 6.7 million yen ($57,600) before taxes. Toyota Motor Corp hopes to sell 400 in Japan and 300 in the rest of the world in the first year. “In time, the fuel cell vehicle will become mainstream.
We wanted to take the first step,” said Mitsuhisa Kato, a Toyota executive vice president, at the vehicle’s launch Tuesday. “We want to be at the leading edge.” Fuel cell vehicles run on compressed hydrogen gas, which in the Mirai’s case is stored in two tanks mounted underneath the vehicle. They emit no exhaust, though fossil fuels are used in the production of hydrogen and to pressurize it. Both Honda and Hyundai are also experimenting with limited sales and leases of fuel cell cars. Besides the relatively high cost, buyers will have to contend with finding fuel.
Only a few dozen hydrogen filling stations have been built worldwide, though governments are subsidizing the construction of more. It’s an uncertain future that depends both on whether makers can bring down the price, and a wide-enough network of filling stations is built. Yoshikazu Tanaka, deputy chief engineer for Toyota’s next generation vehicle development, said he expects it will take 10-20 years for the Mirai to reach sales in the tens of thousands of vehicles a year. Asked if it’s a risk, he said yes, but Toyota views it as a challenge. Likening it to a chicken and egg situation, he said if you say it’s too risky and don’t move forward with production, the number of filling stations will never grow.
Toyota faced a similar scenario with its gasoline-electric hybrid, the Prius, which now sells in big numbers. “It was a big challenge when we first introduced the Prius, or hybrid car, in 1997,” he said in an interview in Tokyo. “And it’s an even bigger challenge this time because there is no infrastructure, and we’re trying to lead” the commercialization of fuel cell cars. Hoping to offset the inconvenience of finding fuel, Toyota gave the car a futuristic look inside and out _ Mirai means future in Japanese _ and made it peppy to try to attract buyers. It accelerates particularly quickly from about 40 to 70 kilometers (25 to 45 miles) per hour, Tanaka said. -
‘CONTACTLESS’ CARDS SOON TO EASE PAYMENTS
MUMBAI (TIP): NFC or ‘contactless’ payment cards, which can complete a payment transaction in one-tenth of the time traditionally taken to conduct electronic transactions, will soon be available in India. ICICI Bank has finalised launch of contactless debit and credit cards next month. NFC (Near Field Communication) cards allow payments can be made by merely waving the card in front of a scanner instead of requiring them to be swiped or dipped into a card reader.
Rajiv Sabharwal, ED, ICICI Bank said “We expect this to be one of the biggest game changers in the payment industry. The key advantage is that, this card can ensure the transaction gets completed in one tenth the time taken by an existing credit card. Also since the card need not leave the customer’s hand, the level of security is higher.” Present regulations require that all cards need to be authenticated by punching a pin to complete the transation and as of now ICICI Bank’s NFC cards will need to be authenticated with PIN. However, RBI has said that it will review this requirement for small transactions.
RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had said that the central bank was exploring the possibility of allowing small-value transactions on a simpler basis, provided the provider takes full responsibility of misuse beyond a certain point. ICICI Bank will introduce this cards in a Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. It has already tied up with 200 merchants in these cities and in Gurgaon. The shops include retail and restaurant chains. The bank will issue both debit and credit cards and will tie up with both Visa and MasterCard for their products payWave and s Paypass respectively.
“In Australia, where NFC was recently introduced, in a matter of months half the market converted to NFC cards because of the convenience. There is a strong pull for this kind of a product from the merchant side as they can service many more customers in the same time. Given our distribution capabilities we expect to make a big difference,” said Sabharwal. In markets where NFC is being used signature or pin validation is waived for low-value transactions making it the fastest form of payment. “Today many believe that cards are to used only for high value payments and they use cash for low value transactions. With NFC even small value payments can be made by card and these transactions can be brought into the formal channel,” said Sabharwal. -
GRAVITY SAVED UNIVERSE FROM COLLAPSE AFTER BIG BANG
LONDON (TIP): Gravity may have saved the universe from collapsing immediately after the Big Bang by providing stability needed to survive expansion during that period, a new study suggests. Studies of the Higgs particle – discovered at CERN in 2012 and responsible for giving mass to all particles – have suggested that the production of Higgs particles during the accelerating expansion of the very early universe (inflation) should have led to instability and collapse.
Scientists have been trying to find out why this did not happen, leading to theories that there must be some new physics that will help explain the origins of the universe that has not yet been discovered. Physicists from Imperial College London, and the Universities of Copenhagen and Helsinki, described how the spacetime curvature – in effect, gravity – provided the stability needed for the universe to survive expansion in that early period. Researchers investigated the interaction between the Higgs particles and gravity, taking into account how it would vary with energy. They show that even a small interaction would have been enough to stabilise the universe against decay.
“The Standard Model of particle physics, which scientists use to explain elementary particles and their interactions, has so far not provided an answer to why the universe did not collapse following the Big Bang,” said Professor Arttu Rajantie, from the Department of Physics at Imperial College London. “Our research investigates the last unknown parameter in the Standard Model – the interaction between the Higgs particle and gravity. “This parameter cannot be measured in particle accelerator experiments, but it has a big effect on the Higgs instability during inflation.
Even a relatively small value is enough to explain the survival of the universe without any new physics!” Rajantie said. The team plan to continue their research using cosmological observations to look at this interaction in more detail and explain what effect it would have had on the development of the early universe. -
MAN TO LIVE ANOTHER’S LIFE FOR 4 WEEKS
ALondon man is to live the life of another person for 28 days, in an experiment that he hopes will give him insight into the nature of human existence but which experts have called potentially `extremely disturbing’. Mark Farid is set to recruit an `avatar’ or `other’, who will video his whole life for 28 days, and watch all of that video through an Oculus Rift, while people feed him all of the food that his participant eats. Farid hopes that the experiment will allow him some insight into the debate over whether it is nature or nurture that causes a person to be how they are, accord ing to Vice.
By living as somebody else, Farid hopes to see whether he will start thinking like them, too. The 28-day period was chosen because of a common (though debunked) idea that new habits take 21 days to form, according to the Verge. Earlier in 2014, Farid ran a 24- hour test-run of the project, called ‘ Alone Together’, at the Arebyte Gallery in London. As in that run-through, the only contact Farid will have is an hour’s consultation with a psychologist, who will watch him in silence, and the volunteers who will help feed him the food that his surrogate eats. The other participant’s life will be recorded through a secret camera mounted in his glasses. Participants won’t be able to tell anybody but their partner that they are taking part. Applications to be the ‘other’ open on November 28.
Farid requires that the participant is a male, and in a relationship and living with someone who also agrees to take part. He also asks that potential participants consider whether they are comfortable with someone filming and watching a month of their whole life, and with that footage being used in a documentary . The successful participant will be given time with a psychologist before the task, to ensure he is up for it, and after. The project will be funded through a Kickstarter that is set to launch soon. Professor Barbara Sahakian, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at Cambridge, said, “I am concerned how such a long project which involves voyeurism on the part of Mark and also on the part of the public in regard to Mark will affect his mental health.” -
Nasa probe set to wake up for Pluto encounter
WASHINGTON (TIP): Nasa’s Pluto-bound probe New Horizons spacecraft comes out of hibernation for the last time next month in preparation for a six-month encounter, including a first-ever close flyby of the mysterious dwarf planet on July 14, 2015. Next month’s wake-up call was preprogrammed into New Horizons’ on-board computer in August, commanding it come out of hibernation Dec 6. Work on the Earth is well under way to prepare the spacecraft for a six-month encounter with Pluto that begins January next year, Nasa said in statement.
“New Horizons is healthy and cruising quietly through deep space – nearly three billion miles from home – but its rest is nearly over,” says Alice Bowman, New Horizons mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. “It is time for New Horizons to wake up, get to work, and start making history,” Bowman added. Since its launch in January 2006, New Horizons has spent 1,873 days in hibernation – about two-thirds of its flight time “spread over 18 separate hibernation periods from mid-2007 to late 2014 that ranged from 36 days to 202 days long”. In hibernation mode much of the spacecraft is unpowered; the onboard flight computer monitors system health and broadcasts a weekly beacon-status tone back to Earth. “The final hibernation wake up Dec 6 signifies the end of an historic cruise across the entirety of our planetary system,” added New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern from Southwest Research Institute. -
Scientists find new way to make drugs
MELBOURNE (TIP): In a breakthrough, researchers have developed a revolutionary new way to manufacture natural chemicals and used it to assemble a scarce anti-inflammatory drug with potential to treat cancer and malaria. The advance could lead to new and cheaper ways to produce rare drugs in large quantities. “We took small molecules and clipped them together like Lego,” said lead researcher professor Michael Sherburn, from the Australian National University (ANU).
“The building blocks are carefully designed in such a way that the first reaction generates a product perfectly primed for the second. It’s quite magical. This means you can efficiently build large and complex molecules,” said Sherburn. Medicines of this type have traditionally been made in a cumbersome way. Chemists take a related molecule and renovate it. This is a lengthy process, with unwanted structural features being ripped out and replaced. “This leads to a lot of waste,” Sherburn said. The group trialled their innovative new method by making pseudopterosin, a powerful antiinflammatory and analgesic drug, which is currently only available in tiny quantities extracted from fan coral found in the Bahamas.
The work began as blue-sky research, with the researchers trying to work out a way to make supposedly impossible molecules of crossconjugated hydrocarbons. Before trying the experiments the team ran simulations on the Raijin supercomputer, which indicated that their method had potential. “Ours is an empowering and enabling technique, allowing a smarter and faster way to make important substances,” said Dr Chris Newton, who did the research in the laboratory as a PhD student. “The pseudopterosin synthesis is the tip of the iceberg. We are well on the way to efficient syntheses of other important drugs. “There is a potential for industrial-scale manufacture, too, which will take the pressure off species which are being harvested for drugs,” Newton said. -
HERE COME THE AUTONOMOUS ROBOT GUARDS
The security guard of future is five feet tall, Wi-Fi-equipped and looks uncannily like a cross between a Dalek and EVE from Wall-E. This is the K5 Autonomous Data Machine, the first product from Californian start-up Knightscope designed to replace human guards everywhere from schools to offices. The K5 was first unveiled in 2014 but has now been deployed for the first time at the Microsoft campus in Silicon Valley. The K5 has been to be ‘shown around’ its environment by a human controller to build a basic map, but will then happily patrol on its own, reporting any anomalies back to base.
Each bot weighs about 136kg and is equipped with a whole array of sensors, measuring movement, sound, location temperature, carbon dioxide levels and barometric pressure. There’s no weapons on board however, and the K5 will merely sound an ear-splitting alarm and send for human back-up if it gets spooked. Speaking to MIT Technology Review, Knightscope co-founder Stacy Stephens said the K5 “takes away the monotonous and sometimes dangerous work, and leaves the strategic work to law enforcement or private security, depending on the application.” Stephens says Knightscope wants to start putting its robots in work from the beginning of next year (K5 bots are employed not bought) and the hourly ‘wage’ of $6.25 should be attractive to companies used to paying double that for security. -
GAVASKAR DENIES questioning Srinivasan’s silence on match-fixing
NEW DELHI (TIP): Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on November 20 expressed surprise at the “fabricated stories” about him questioning N Srinivasan’s silence in the match-fixing scandal while reacting to the Mudgal Committee report. Gavaskar was quoted in media reports as having said in Melbourne that Srinivasan needs to explain why he didn’t act against players if he knew their involvement in match-fixing, but the former captain stated that the report was not “based on what has actually been said”. “It was a memorable evening and the euphoria was still there next morning till I was jolted by totally erroneous headlines attributed to me about my reactions to Justice Mudgal report.
I spoke to several channels about significance and honour of the evening and even accommodated questions on just released Justice Mudgal report, though it had nothing to do with the event at the MCG,” Gavaskar said. Gavaskar was in Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend a special reception at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was hosted by his Australian counterpart Tony Abbot. “To wake up the next day to read fabricated headlines and stories was galling indeed. I did express my views that there should be zero tolerance with those involved in matchfixing. I do understand the need for sensational headlines and stories to attract eyeballs but surely they should be based on what has actually been said. It spoilt what had been an extremely memorable three days Down Under,” he said. -
Time running out for Viswanathan Anand
World Chess Championship:
Magnus Carlsen had to eschew his pride and taste the ‘draw medicine’ forced by Viswanathan Anand. But if the latter doesn’t find enough inspiration in the next two of the remaining three games, the thinking behind this half a point can always be questioned. Anand, a challenger at 44, trails Carlsen 4-5 in the World Chess Championship match in Sochi. The Indian, who plays with white pieces on Friday, is expected to trouble the reigning champion with sharper and more offensive play.
The ninth game on Thursday was over in just 20 moves lasting just an hour and Carlsen was left explaining how a player who believes in playing over the board much longer even for half a point allowed the Indian challenger gain the ‘black result’ so quickly. “Considering the match situation, I’m okay with the draw,” said Carlsen. “I won’t like to get into details about what surprised me. “Of course, it’s always better to be able to press with white.
But on the other hand, every half a point brings me closer to six and a half points needed to win the title. It’s not too bad… not a disaster. It’s a tough match. Right now, it looks like it is going the distance (12th game is on Tuesday). “It’s more comfortable to play these kind of endgames when you are leading the match. In general, I try to play positions which I consider to be good and suit my style. But he was better prepared today than I was.” When Anand, playing black, opted for the quieter Ruy Lopez as against the generally-sharper Sicilian, it was expected that he had prepared well in the main lines.
The queens were exchanged on the eighth move denying a chance to castle for Black. The Norwegian deviated first from their Game 7 on the 11th turn. Even that didn’t deter Anand much. Soon, it appeared that Carlsen was not ready for the ensuing positional struggle in the middle game. A couple of minor pieces were exchanged quickly. Though Carlsen had some activity in the centre files, he decided not to continue in rooks and knights vs rooks and bishops ending (six pawns each). The champion went for perpetual checks and attained a draw after a threefold repetition.
After getting what he wanted – an easy, no-sweat draw with black pieces – Anand was not ready to let media question his choice. “You have to play the positions you get, the situations you get. I can count, I know the score.” When asked on the subtleness behind the opening sequence of moves, he said: “This I would rather not explain.” Is being less prepared than world No. 6 Anand is a huge concern for Carlsen? “It has also been the opposite a couple of times,” said the world No. 1. “A disappointment of short draw with white pieces is easier to swallow when you are leading the match.” Anand said: “The game was quite reasonable. An easy draw with black. I just need to try harder with white.” Carlsen was more forthcoming on certain issues about his display. “My play has been quite inconsistent both in terms of preparation and over the board play. But we will see.” -
Virat Kohli confirms he is seeing Anushka Sharma, asks for privacy
MUMBAI (TIP): India’s top batsman Virat Kohli has asked the public to use common sense on his much talked about relationship with actress Anushka Sharma, saying they indeed are seeing each other and their privacy should be respected. “It is out in the open (Jo hai sabke saamne hai abhi). We are not hiding anything, we are not trying to hide anything. I don’t want to hide anything. But if you get repeatedly asked on the same thing and if it is made a matter of debate then both the individuals don’t feel it is right,” said Kohli at the launch of his fashion line on Thursday. Kohli said it was already obvious that he and Anushka were in a relationship and people should not be curious about them anymore.
“If you are seen together somewhere and still people ask ‘is it confirmed?’, then it is a matter of common sense. If you know then why ask the same question, that is our basic logic behind it. It is not something wrong apparently for people that we are doing. “We will not personally like to speak about it because it is something very personal for us and that should be respected by the media and everyone else as well,” Kohli said The 26-year old stand-in-skipper also batted for boxer Sarita Devi and felt that her decision to not accept the bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games wasn’t against the rule. “I know about the incident. I think sportsmen need the support of its association and I personally don’t think her decision is against modern rules. She felt something and took that decision that could have been solved in a different way. I don’t know what happened there, what I have seen from outside this is my idea,” he said. -
It’s advantage Saina as Wangs knocked out
Hong Kong Open:
HYDERABAD (TIP): Is Saina Nehwal cruising towards another Super Series title? Even as the third seeded Indian broke no sweat to get past unseeded Bei wen Zhang of the USA 21-16, 21-13 the women’s singles of the Hong Kong Open witnessed major upsets in Kowloon on Thursday. Little-known players ousted top seed Shixian Wang and second seed Wang Yihan.
The Chinese star shuttlers suffered unexpected defeats for the second week in succession. While Yihan lost to 23- year-old Malaysian Tee Jing Yi, Shixian suffered a three-game loss against compatriot Xin (F) Liu 16-21, 21-9, 15-21. Former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand was also shown the door by China Open finalist Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-19, 19- 21, 19-21. The exit of all these top guns and the absence of world No. 1 makes Saina, who moved to No. 4 on Thursday, as the overwhelming favourite to win the title. Making it a double delight for India, China Open men’s singles champion Kidambi Srikanth also made it to the quarters.
Srikanth defeated Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand 21-19, 23-21 in the second round. However, PV Sindhu looked clueless in her three-game loss against Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 17-21, 21 13, 11-21. “It was a little tough. I was actually leading in both the games but then he came back and I had to fight really hard for those crucial points,” Srikanth said. In the first game Srikanth was leading 14-5 before Saensomboonsuk caught him up at 14-14 but the Guntur lad moved ahead to 19-16 before securing the game at 21-19. In the second game Saensomboonsuk troubled Srikanth forcing the Indian to save a game point at 20-21. But Srikanth managed to sneak past the Thai by securing three straight points. The 21-yearold will now face Wei Nan of Hong Kong in the quarters. -
The Kerala Center Honors Malayalee Achievers
NEW YORK (TIP): The Kerala Center held its 22nd Annual Awards Banquet at the World’s Fair Marina in Flushing, New York city on November 15th. Attended by a sold out crowd of over 250 people eight Indian American Malaylees were honored at the banquet for their achievements in their fields or for service to the community. The keynote speaker was Prof. Geeta Menon, 11th Dean of the Undergraduate College at NYU’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and the Abraham Krasnoff Professor of Global Business and Professor of Marketing who was honored for her achievement in Education/ Other awardees are: Siby Vadekekkara, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Marlabs, New Jersey for Entrepreneurship; Suresh Nair, Head of Global Wealth and Investment Management Technology, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, New York for Corporate Leadership; Abraham Pannikottu, Principal and Operations Manager, American Engineering Group, Akron, OH in Engineering; Dr. Gabriel D. Roy – ONR Global, Fairfax, VA for Service to Government; Dr. Thomas John Colacot, Global R&D Manager of Homogeneous Catalysis at the Johnson Matthey Catalysis and Chiral Technologies (JMCCT), West Deptford, New Jersey in Applied Sciences; Thelma Kizhakedan (Kollam Thelma), Dickinson, TX for Literature and Writing; Baby Uralil, former President, FOMAA Centereach, NY for Community Service; and Dr. Teresa Antony, Woodmere, NY with a Special Award.
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Shots hit ambulette, injuring an elderly woman inside
Mohammed Jaffer NEW YORK (TIP): Shots were fired on an ambulette in Flatland, Brooklyn,Wednesday , November 19 afternoon and one of the bullets struck an ambulance – injuring an elderly woman inside.As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reported, home security video captured the suspects in the incident on Flatlands Avenue near East 51st Street. One man was seen running along the street,while a second was seen following close behind and holding what appeared to be a gun. Police believe the second man fired several times, and one shot went into an ambulance carrying senior citizens.
A second security camera angle shows the men running and the ambulette as its driver hits the brakes.The shot went through the windshield of the ambulette, and inside, a woman was injured.Witnesses said the wound appeared to be a gash caused by either a bullet fragment or broken glass.”An innocent bystander gets hurt for no reason,” said neighbor Jerry Thompson. Seconds earlier, a man whose name is not being released said he was outside his house and saw the two men and the gun up close. The suspects looked right at him. “Young guys – they’re not past 19 or 18, 17,” the witness said. “A light-skinned guy looked at me and the other guy said,went like that, ‘Forget it.’” As 1010 WINS’ Al Jones reported, the 71-yearold woman in the ambulance was hospitalized at Kings County Hospital. Doctors said they expect her to make a full recovery.Police were questioning a person of interest in the incident late Wednesday, and were looking for a second suspect. -
Message of UN Women Executive Director on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
UNITED NATIONS (TIP): Every year, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), we are reminded how every day, women and girls experience violence in their lives. Women are beaten in their homes, harassed on the streets, bullied on the internet. Globally, one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence at some point in her life. More often than not, violence against women is committed by an intimate partner. Of all women killed in 2012, almost half died at the hands of a partner or family member.
It is no exaggeration that the overall greatest threat to women’s lives is men, and often the men they love. Yet we know how violence against women can be eliminated. In 1995, close to 20 years ago, 189 governments came together in Beijing. They adopted a Platform for Action that spelled out key strategies to end violence against women, empower women, and achieve gender equality. This includes effective prevention strategies that address the root causes of gender inequality. This includes better services for women surviving violence, such as hotlines, shelters, legal advice, access to justice, counselling, police protection, and health services.
This includes more accurate reporting rates, better data collection, and strengthened analyses of risk and prevalence factors. This includes greater support for women’s organizations, which are often on the frontline of the response. This includes having more men and boys standing up against violence, denouncing it, and stopping it. Male leaders, including traditional and religious leaders,must show the way. UN Women has launched HeForShe, a global campaign to engage men and boys as advocates and agents of change for the achievement of gender equality and women’s rights.We need men who believe in gender equality to take action now. A global review of progress and gaps in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action is underway.
Preliminary data show that many countries have introduced laws to prohibit, criminalize, and prevent violence against women. Yet implementation and enforcement of these laws are inadequate. Reporting of violence remains low and impunity for perpetrators remains high. Not enough resources are targeted at provision of quality services and effective prevention strategies. Next year, after the endpoint of the Millennium Development Goals, a new roadmap for development will be adopted by the international community. Ending violence against women and girls must have a central place in this new framework. The promises from 20 years ago are still valid today. Together we must make 2015 the year that marks the beginning of the end of gender inequality. Now is the time for action.
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President Obama Announces Immigration Reform Plans
“Our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it”: Obama
I.S. Saluja
WASHINGTON (TIP): Ignoring dire warnings of Republicans to “Emperor Obama” that his planned executive action to grant deportation relief to millions of undocumented immigrants would “poison the well” in Congress, Obama announced his immigration reform plans to the country on Thursday, November 20 to help build a system that “lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.” Stating “Americans are tired of gridlock”, Obama offered to “work with both the parties” to fix the “broken system”. However, he said that he had tried to work with Congress, and blamed the House of Representatives for a bipartisan Senate bill never seeing a yes-no vote.
Still, the president said, he hopes to eventually “pass that kind of common sense law.” “This plan, which will be enacted by executive action, “will help secure the border, hold nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants accountable, and ensure that everyone plays by the same rules,” the White House said in a press release. Obama announced the actions on immigration in an address from the White House. He is expected to sign the actions at a rally in Las Vegas on Friday, November 21. “Our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it,” he said, later adding that his critics call the plan a form of amnesty. “Well, it’s not.” Obama said. “Amnesty is the immigration system we have todaymillions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time.” Obama emphasized in his address that he is instead pushing for the accountability of undocumented immigrants.
“That’s the real amnesty-leaving this broken system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I’m describing is accountability-a commonsense, middle ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law,” the president said. “If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.” The three main elements of the actions will be cracking down on illegal immigration at the border; deporting felons, but not families; and establishing criminal background checks and taxes for undocumented immigrants.
“By registering and passing criminal and national security background checks, millions of undocumented immigrants will start paying their fair share of taxes and temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation for three years at a time,” the White House release said. If undocumented immigrants submit to these background checks, register with the government, pay fees and show they have a child born in the U.S., then they “will have the opportunity to request temporary relief from deportation and work authorization for three years at a time.” These reforms will actually make it more difficult to enter the country without documentation, Obama said, but some did not agree.
Texas Governor Rick Perry said in a statement that Obama’s “decision tonight will lead to more illegal immigration, not less.” Obama addressed critics of the plan, explaining that “tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise isn’t being straight with you.” “By providing individuals with an opportunity to come out of the shadows and work legally, we will also help crack down on companies who hired undocumented workers, which undermines the wages of all workers, and ensure that individuals are playing by the rules and paying their fair share of taxes,” the release said. The president’s executive actions will also expand the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The rule currently offers temporary relief from deportation to children who had been in the country for at least five years and meet certain criteria.
Now, anyone who came to the U.S. as a child can apply if they entered before Jan. 1, 2010-no matter how old they are now. The White House also said that DACA relief will be granted for three years in the country going forward. Obama’s reforms will also cover a wide swath of issues related to immigration such as shifting more resources to the border, streamlining the immigration court process, and implementing a new Priority Enforcement Program that removes criminals. Additionally, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson will issue a memorandum making “clear that the government’s enforcement activity should be focused on national security threats, serious criminals, and recent border crossers,” as opposed to families.
In his address, Obama cited scripture: “We shall not oppress the stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger.” He went on to add “We were strangers once, too”. He said that this country is a country of immigrants, no matter what ocean they had crossed. He also quoted his predecessor Bush who had said about illegal immigrants, ” They are a part of American life”. The president’s actions will also cover several other facets of immigration and naturalization, including “enhancing options for foreign entrepreneurs” and “streamlining the process for foreign workers and their employers.” -
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan calls for early Reforms to UNSC
UNITED NATIONS (TIP): “The Security Council is, undoubtedly, one of the most important institutions of global governance,” Sumitra Mahajan, speaker of Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, stated. “If its legitimacy is in doubt then so would be the legitimacy of the United Nations. And, in fact, of the notion of global governance itself.” Mahajan was speaking Tuesday, November 18, at a session of the Preparatory Committee for the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments on the subject of key challenges to world peace and democracy.
She pointed out that the Council’s composition was based on UN’s structure in 1945 and she asked in a series of rhetorical questions to drive her point home, “Is that composition still representative of the international community? The United Nations then had 51 members. The figure now is 193.” At the founding of the UN, there were only three African members, including South African apartheid regime, Mahajan pointed out. “Today it has 54,” she said.
The delegates at the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments. Sumitra Mahajan is seated fourth from the right.
“How many permanent members of the Security Council are from Africa?” After a briefing by Liechtenstein Ambassador Christian Wenaweser on the work of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group, which brings together 22 nations working on UN reform, Mahajan said she would like to know what it proposes to do to “bring more legitimacy to the permanent membership of the Council.” Pressing the case for changing the composition of the Council, she asked, “While improvement in working methods, or a code of conduct on use of the veto, are important, can they substitute for reform of the composition? Can improvement in working methods legitimize a structure that is not legitimate? To say that is anachronistic is only an understatement.”
In 2010 during the 65th Anniversary of the United Nations, world leaders had committed themselves to the early reform of the Council. She asked, “When would early be?” Although the membership of the Council was increased from 11 to 15 in 1965 with addition of four elected members, permanent membership continues to be restricted to the original five who wield veto powers. In any expansion of the permanent membership, India, Germany, Brazil, Japan and an African nation would be the top contenders. -
THE RAMAYANA
continued from previous issue
Tears of joy and mingled sorrow filled the Queen Kausalya’s eye, As she marked the faithful Sita true in heart, in virtue high, And she wept the tears of sadness when with sweet obeisance due, Spake with hands in meekness folded Rama ever good and true: “Sorrow not, my loving mother,
trust in virtue’s changeless beam, Swift will fly the years of exile like a brief and transient dream, Girt by faithful friends and forces, blest by righteous Gods above,
Thou shalt see thy son returning to thy bosom and thy love! Unto all the royal ladies Rama his obeisance paid, For his failings unremembered, blessings and forgiveness prayed,
And his words were soft and gentle, and they wept to see him go,
Like the piercing cry of curlew rose the piercing voice of woe, And in halls where drum and tabor rose in joy and regal pride, Voice of grief and lamentation sounded far and sounded wide!
Then the true and faithful Lakshman parted from each weeping dame, And to sorrowing Queen Sumitra with his due obeisance came, And he bowed to Queen Sumitra and his mother kissed his head,
Stilled her anguish-laden bosom and in trembling accents said: Dear devoted duteous Lakshman, ever to thy elder true, When thy elder wends to forest, forest-life to thee is due,
Thou hast served him true and faithful in his glory and his fame, This is Law for true and righteous,—serve him in his woe and shame, This is Law for race of Raghu known on earth for holy might, Bounteous in their sacred duty, brave and warlike in the fight! Therefore tend him as thy father,
as thy mother tend his wife, And to thee, like fair Ayodhya be thy humble forest life, Go, my son, the voice of Duty bids my gallant Lakshman go, Serve thy elder with devotion and with valour meet thy foe
CITIZENS’ LAMENT
Spake Sumantra chariot-driver waiting by the royal car, “Haste thee, mighty-destined Rama, for we wander long and far, Fourteen years in Dandak’s forest shall the righteous Rama stray, Such is Dasa-ratha’s mandate,
haste thee Rama and obey.” Queenly Sita bright-apparelled, with a strong and trusting heart,
Mounted on the car of splendour for the pathless woods to part,
And the king for needs providing gave her robes and precious store, For the many years of exile in a far and unknown shore, And a wealth of warlike weapons to the exiled princes gave,
Bow and dart and linkéd armour, sword and shield and lances brave. Then the gallant brothers mounted on the gold-emblazoned car, For unending was the journey and the wilderness was far,
Skilled Sumantra saw them seated, urged the swiftly-flying steed, Faster than the speed of tempest was the noble coursers’ speed. And they parted for the forest; like a long unending night,
Gloomy shades of grief and sadness deepened on the city’s might,
Mute and dumb but conscious creatures felt the woe the city bore, Horses neighed and shook their bright bells, elephants returned a roar! Man and boy and maid and matron followed Rama with their eye, As the thirsty seek the water when the parchéd fields are dry,
Clinging to the rapid chariot, by its side, before, behind, Tlironging men and wailing women wept for Rama good and kind: “Draw the reins, benign Sumantra, slowly drive the royal car,
We would once more see our Rama,
banished Iong and banished far, Iron-hearted is Kausalya from her Rama thus to part, Rends it not her mother’s bosom thus to see her son depart? True is righteous -hearted Sita cleaving to her husband still, As the ever present sunlight cleaves to Meru’s golden hill, Faithful and heroic Lakshman! thou hast by thy brother stood, And in duty still unchanging thou hast sought the pathless wood, Fixed in purpose,
true in valour,
mighty boon to thee is given, And the narrow path thou choosest is the righteous path to heaven!” Thus they spake in tears and anguish as they followed him apace, And their eyes were fixed on Rama, pride of Raghu’s royal race, Meanwhile ancient Dasa-ratha from his palace chamber came, With each weeping queen and consort, with each woe-distracted dame! And around the aged monarch rose the piercing voice of pain,
Like the wail of forest creatures when the forest-king is slain, And the faint and feeble monarch was with age and anguish pale, Like the darkened moon at eclipse when his light and radiance fail! Rama saw his ancient father with a faltering footstep go, Used to royal pomp and splendour,
stricken now by age and woe, Saw his mother faint and feeble to the speeding chariot hie, As the mother-cow returneth to her young that loiters by, Still she hastened to the chariot, “Rama! Rama!” was her cry, And a throb was in her bosom and a tear was in her eye! “Speed, Sumantra,” uttered Rama,
“from this torture let me part. Speed, my friend, this sight of sadness breaks a much-enduring heart, Heed not Dasa-ratha’s mandate, stop not for the royal train, Parting slow is lengthened sorrow like the sinner’s lengthened pain!” Sad Sumantra urged the coursers and the rapid chariot flew,
And the royal chiefs and courtiers round their fainting monarch drew, And they spake to Dasa-ratha: “Follow not thy banished son, He whom thou wouldst keep beside thee comes not till his task is done!” Dasa-ratha,
faint and feeble, listened to these words of pain, Stood and saw his son departing,–saw him not on earth again!
CROSSING THE TAMASA: THE CITIZENS’ RETURN
Evening’s thickening shades descended on Tamasa’s distant shore, Rama rested by the river, day of toilsome journey o’er, And Ayodhya’s loving people by the limpid river lay,
Sad and sorrowing they had followed Rama’s chariot through the day, “Soft-eyed Sita, faithful Lakshman,” thus the gentle Rama said,
“Hail the first night of our exile mantling us in welcome shade, Weeps the lone and voiceless forest,
and in darksome lair and nest, Feathered bird and forest creature seek their midnight’s wonted rest,
Weeps methinks our fair Ayodhya to her Rama ever dear, And perchance her men and women shed for us a silent tear, Loyal men and faithful women, they have loved their ancient king,
And his anguish and our exile will their gentle bosoms wring! Most I sorrow for my father and my mother loved and lost, Stricken by untimely anguish, by a cruel fortune crost,
But the good and righteous Bharat gently will my parents tend,And with fond and filial duty tender consolation lend,
to be continued -
SRI GURU GRANTH SAHIB
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE
|| 1 || Pause || The Lord Himself, the Life of the World, is the Giver. He Himself forgives, and unites us with Himself. What are these poor beings and creatures? What can they speak and say?
God Himself grants glory to the Gurmukhs; He joins them to His Service.
|| 2 || Beholding your family, you are lured away by emotional attachment, but when you leave, they will not go with you. Serving the True Guru, I have found the Treasure of Excellence. Its value cannot be estimated. The Dear Lord God is my Best Friend. In the end, He shall be my Companion and Support. || 3 || In this world of my father’s home, the Great Giver is the Life of the World. The self-willed manmukhs have lost their honor. Without the True Guru, no one knows the Way. The blind find no place of rest. If the Lord, the Giver of Peace, does not dwell within the mind, then they shall depart with regret in the end.
|| 4 || In this world of my father’s house, through the Guru’s Teachings, I have cultivated within my mind the Great Giver, the Life of the World. Night and day, performing devotional worship, day and night, ego and emotional attachment are removed. And then, attuned to Him, we become like Him, truly absorbed in the True One. || 5 || Bestowing His Glance of Grace, He gives us His Love, and we contemplate the Word of the Guru’s Shabad. Serving the True Guru, intuitive peace wells up, and ego and desire die. The Lord, the Giver of Virtue, dwells forever within the minds of those who keep Truth enshrined within their hearts.
|| 6 || My God is forever Immaculate and Pure; with a pure mind, He can be found. If the Treasure of the Name of the Lord abides within the mind, egotism and pain are totally eliminated. The True Guru has instructed me in the Word of the Shabad. I am forever a sacrifice to Him.
|| 7 || Within your own conscious mind, you may say anything, but without the Guru, selfishness and conceit are not eradicated. The Dear Lord is the Lover of His devotees, the Giver of Peace. By His Grace, He abides within the mind. O Nanak, God blesses us with the sublime awakening of consciousness; He Himself grants glorious greatness to the Gurmukh. || 8 || 1 || 18 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: Those who go around acting in egotism are struck down by the Messenger of Death with his club. Those who serve the True Guru are uplifted and saved, in love with the Lord.
|| 1 || O mind, become Gurmukh, and meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord. Those who are so pre-destined by the Creator are absorbed into the Naam, through the Guru’s Teachings. || 1 || Pause || Without the True Guru, faith does not come, and love for the Naam is not embraced. Even in dreams, they find no peace; they sleep immersed in pain.
|| 2 || Even if you chant the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, with great longing, your past actions are still not erased. The Lord’s devotees surrender to His Will; those devotees are accepted at His Door. || 3 || The Guru has lovingly implanted the Word of His Shabad within me. Without His Grace, it cannot be attained. Even if the poisonous plant is watered with ambrosial nectar a hundred times, it will still bear poisonous fruit. || 4 || Those humble beings who are in love with the True Guru are pure and true. They act in harmony with the Will of the True Guru; they shed the poison of ego and corruption.
|| 5 || Acting in stubbornmindedness, no one is saved; go and study the Simritees and the Shaastras. Joining the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, and practicing the Shabads of the Guru, you shall be saved. || 6 || The Name of the Lord is the Treasure, which has no end or limitation. The Gurmukhs are beauteous; the Creator has blessed them with His Mercy. || 7 || O Nanak, the One Lord alone is the Giver; there is no other at all. By Guru’s Grace, He is obtained. By His Mercy, He is found.
|| 8 || 2 || 19 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: The soul-bird in the beautiful tree of the body pecks at Truth, with love for the Guru. She drinks in the Sublime Essence of the Lord, and abides in intuitive ease; she does not fly around coming and going. She obtains her home within her own heart; she is absorbed into the Name of the Lord, Har, Har. || 1 || O mind, work to serve the Guru. If you walk in harmony with the Guru’s Will, you shall remain immersed in the Lord’s Name, night and day.
|| 1 || Pause || The birds in the beautiful trees fly around in all four directions. The more they fly around, the more they suffer; they burn and cry out in pain. Without the Guru, they do not find the Mansion of the Lord’s Presence, and they do not obtain the Ambrosial Fruit. || 2 || The Gurmukh is like God’s tree, always green, blessed with the Sublime Love of the True One, with intuitive peace and poise. He cuts off the three branches of the three qualities, and embraces love for the One Word of the Shabad. The Lord alone is the Ambrosial Fruit; He Himself gives it to us to eat.
|| 3 || The self-willed manmukhs stand there and dry up; they do not bear any fruit, and they do not provide any shade. Don’t even bother to sit near them – they have no home or village. They are cut down and burnt each day; they have neither the Shabad, nor the Lord’s Name. || 4 || According to the Lord’s Command, people perform their actions; they wander around, driven by the karma of their past actions. By the Lord’s Command, they behold the Blessed Vision of His Darshan. Wherever He sends them, there they go. By His Command, the Lord, Har, Har, abides within our minds; by His Command we merge in Truth.
|| 5 || The wretched fools do not know the Lord’s Will; they wander around making mistakes. They go about their business stubborn-mindedly; they are disgraced forever and ever. Inner peace does not come to them; they do not embrace love for the True Lord. || 6 || Beautiful are the faces of the Gurmukhs, who bear love and affection for the Guru. Through true devotional worship, they are attuned to Truth; at the True Door, they are found to be true. Blessed is their coming into being; they redeem all their ancestors.
|| 7 || All do their deeds under the Lord’s Glance of Grace; no one is beyond His Vision. According to the Glance of Grace with which the True Lord beholds us, so do we become. O Nanak, the Glorious Greatness of the Naam, the Name of the Lord, is received only by His Mercy. || 8 || 3 || 20 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: The Gurmukhs meditate on the Naam; the self-willed manmukhs do not understand. The faces of the Gurmukhs are always radiant; the Lord has come to dwell within their minds. Through intuitive understanding they are at peace, and through intuitive understanding they remain absorbed in the Lord.
|| 1 || O Siblings of Destiny, be the slaves of the Lord’s slaves. Service to the Guru is worship of the Guru. How rare are those who obtain it! || 1 || Pause || The happy soul-bride is always with her Husband Lord, if she walks in harmony with the Will of the True Guru. She attains her Eternal, Ever-stable Husband, who never dies or goes away. United with the Word of the Shabad, she shall not be separated again. She is immersed in the Lap of her Beloved.
|| 2 || The Lord is Immaculate and Radiantly Bright; without the Guru, He cannot be found. He cannot be understood by reading scriptures; the deceitful pretenders are deluded by doubt. Through the Guru’s Teachings, the Lord is always found, and the tongue is permeated with the Sublime Essence of the Lord. || 3 || Emotional attachment to Maya is shed with intuitive ease, through the Guru’s Teachings. Without the Shabad, the world wanders lost in pain. The self-willed manmukh is consumed. Through the Shabad, meditate on the Naam; through the Shabad, you shall merge in Truth.
|| 4 || The Siddhas wander around, deluded by Maya; they are not absorbed in the Samaadhi of the Lord’s Sublime Love. The three worlds are permeated by Maya; they are totally covered by it. Without the Guru, liberation is not attained, and the double-mindedness of Maya does not go away. || 5 || What is called Maya? What does Maya do? These beings are bound by pleasure and pain; they do their deeds in egotism. Without the Shabad, doubt is not dispelled, and egotism is not eliminated from within.
|| 6 || Without love, there is no devotional worship. Without the Shabad, no one finds acceptance. Through the Shabad, egotism is conquered and subdued, and the illusion of Maya is dispelled. The Gurmukh obtains the Treasure of the Naam with intuitive ease. || 7 || Without the Guru, one’s virtues do not shine forth; without virtue, there is no devotional worship. The Lord is the Lover of His devotees; He abides within their minds. They meet that God with intuitive ease. O Nanak, through the Shabad, praise the Lord. By His Grace, He is obtained. || 8 || 4 || 21 || SIREE RAAG, THIRD MEHL: Emotional attachment to Maya is created by my God; He Himself misleads us through illusion and doubt.
TO BE CONTINUED -
Time to celebrate, honor and respect Guru Nanak
“Guru Nanak remains as vital and relevant today, as the day he left home to become what he became. His message of inclusion, warmth, compassion, justice, forgiveness, principled stance, love of friend and enemy alike, speaks to our world’s most dangerous problems – such as ISIS. Of course, all the Gurus that followed him, none more than Guru Gobind Singh, were needed to “flush out” Guru Nanak’s meaning, message and purpose even as each Guru and their sacrifices, personal and worldly, added much needed nuance to complete Guru Nanak’s teachings. Is it any wonder that over 1 billion Hindus love, adore and cherish Guru Nanak and his successive Gurus – so much so – that its unfair to limit his loving public and followers, known and unknown, to a mere 25 million self-identifying Sikhs. Just as non-Christians can adore, respect and cherish Jesus Christ, same is also true of Guru Nanak, and by that additional definition, you have 7 billion lovers and followers of Guru Nanak – even if not by rituals. Fact is that God-loving people, of every faith, close and not so close, love other faithworshipers. What is most curious, and a total mystery is when people hate others of a different faith, because they are of a different faith. This virulent virus of the soul, more powerful than Ebola, mutated over time is best seen today when looking at ISIS. That faith-haters exists, is why our hallowed Constitution has separation of church and state, while guaranteeing freedom of religion – to worship and protect, but not to hurt and kill in name of God. So, like every person of good will toward others, and as one who holds Guru Gobind Singh as a hero, its always time to celebrate,
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GURU NANANK’S 545TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS – HAPPY GURPURAB
It’s the 545th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism. Let’s pray that this Gurpurab nurtures goodwill and removes ill-will between people of all faiths. That would be the highest tribute we can pay to the Guruji, indeed that was one of his missions for people to live in harmony with each other. Guru Nanakji’s birthday has a special significance to me. Indeed, the religion we called Sikhism started out as an interfaith movement, in which Guru Nanak primarily brought people from different religions together and taught common sense goodness, serving humanity and caring for the neighbors.
On this auspicious day of Guru Nanak Devji’s birthday, on behalf of World Muslim Congress and the Foundation for Pluralism, we wish peace and blessing to the world. As a Pluralist, I have been writing about the “Festivals of the world” for the last twenty years, I write the essence of every major Festival of every religion and a message to go with it for the common man of other faiths to get a gist of it and a special message on the occasion. Last month, I wrote an article on Gandhi’s birth celebrations – the best tribute to Gandhi; do not poison your children at http://www.foundationforpluralism.blogspot. com/2014/10/mahatma-gandhi-do-not-poisonyour. html and also wrote a message about the Sikh Genocides, Muharram, Diwali, Rosh Hashanah and other festivities and commemorations.
This Month, I hope to contribute my message is dedicated to ease the relationship between Sikhs and Muslims, the discomfort is not on the surface, but lurking deep inside their psyches, perhaps not with the 2nd generation after independence. Guru Nanak Jayanthi is the birth celebration of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, and one of the most sacred festivals in Sikhism. The festivities in the Sikh religion revolve around the anniversaries of the 10 Sikh Gurus.
These Gurus were responsible for shaping the beliefs of the Sikhs. Their birthdays, known as Gurpurabs, are occasions for celebration and prayer among the Sikhs. The Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of guidance in poetry composed by Hindu and Muslim spiritual teachers. Indeed, the land for the Golden Temple was a grant by King Akbar and the first brick for the Golden Temple was laid out by a Muslim fakir. Happy Gurpurab to all the Sikhs and to everyone who is a well-wisher of the ideals of Sikhism. I hope, on this auspicious occasion of Gurpurab, that Muslims and Sikhs make a genuine effort to pay tribute to the spirit of Guru Nanak Devji and remove the misunderstandings that erupted from a wrong translation of Quran that happened 350 years ago and has rightfully etched in the psyche of Sikhs.
In an article in The Huffington Post about Kentucky Senator David William’s bigotry expressed against Hindus, I wrote, “No one has a right to belittle other’s faiths. If Senator Williams has a problem let it be his problem and no one should malign Christianity for his bigotry.” Likewise, King Aurangzeb’s bigotry should not be slapped on Muslims. I have nothing to do with it, nor does any Muslim has anything to do with him. Sadly there was a lot of bloodshed during the partition of India that has deepened the ill-will among a few Muslims and a few Sikhs.
It is time to forgive for our own sake, as it will release the tension and apprehension within us and free us to deal with each other as free individuals. May the noor (divine light) of Guru Nanankji brighten the world. Amen! Sikhism was one of the first formal religions that began as a reconciliatory goodwill nurturing faith and let’s give the full value to it. -
North Texas transportation planners shift away from toll projects
DALLAS (TIP): The Regional Transportation Council on Thursday, November 13, excluded a controversial rural toll road from its long-range plan and dropped efforts to involve the state Transportation Department in financing the divisive Trinity Parkway toll project. Those votes highlight a shift away from the planning entity’s years-long practice of using tolls to finance road construction as state lawmakers repeatedly failed to solve transportation funding shortfalls. The moves also come amid mounting public opposition to toll roads in North Texas, where virtually every major highway project under construction includes tolling.
The region will soon be home to the nation’s largest network of managed toll lanes, which are being added to existing highways to help add capacity and finance renovations or expansions. “It’s been by force of nature, really, from Austin,” said RTC vice chairman Mark Riley, who also is Parker County judge. “We’ve been given a task but no funds.” Texas voters last week agreed by a nearly 4- 1 ratio to give TxDOT about $1.7 billion a year in additional funding, with the caveat that the new money could not be used on toll projects.
That still leaves TxDOT with an estimated $3.3 billion shortfall that the agency says it needs to maintain existing roads and build more to keep up with expected population growth. RTC member Jungus Jordan called the election results a mandate. “If the Legislature didn’t get a message out of that, I don’t know what it will take,” he said. Lawmakers have already begun filing bills aimed at further shoring up TxDOT’s funding gap during the legislative session that begins in January. House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, said he expects transportation funding to be a top issue in the upcoming session.
Northeast Gateway
The North Central Texas Council of Government’s transportation department, which executes the RTC’s policies, originally recommended putting the divisive Northeast Gateway toll road into a long-range transportation plan. NCTCOG staffers rescinded that recommendation amid massive opposition to the project and criticism over how the agency managed public information about it. The road was planned to run from Garland to Greenville. Residents criticized NCTCOG for basing its support for the road on traffic estimates that far outpaced population growth projections. The project remains an “area of study” in the plan, but the chairman of the private company developing it said he’s not likely to move forward. Texas Turnpike Corp.
chairman John Crew said he’s already spent $5 million developing the project. He said he has other deals to try to move forward with. “Until you can get the leadership to say we really do need this, it’s not worth using my capital to fight the politics,” he said in an interview last month. The portion of the project that remains a subject to be studied does not include a potential leg that could have run from Garland into Dallas. That phase of the project was identified as a potential extension in an oversight agreement between Texas Turnpike and TxDOT. A Texas Turnpike spokeswoman said that extension was added to the agreement at the behest of NCTCOG officials. NCTCOG spokeswoman Amanda Wilson said the extension would have replaced State Highway 78 through Garland and would not have been tolled. “So, the [agreement] shows it as an extension of the toll road, but if this project would have moved forward, the concept would have been a nontolled arterial to facilitate moving traffic off the toll road in the direction of LBJ,” she said.
Too cozy?
Northeast opponents also accused NCTCOG officials of working too closely with the private company and sometimes on its behalf. Many of those complaints centered on emails between NCTCOG senior program manager Tom Shelton and Texas Turnpike executives. NCTCOG transportation director Michael Morris announced Thursday that Shelton is leaving the agency to take a job in the private sector. Morris defended the agency’s traffic estimates and dealings with Texas Turnpike during the Northeast Gateway development. He said Shelton’s departure was unrelated to the project. “Tom did exactly what I asked him to do,” Morris said.RTC members and NCTCOG staffers praised Shelton’s work for the agency and applauded his tenure.
Trinity Parkway
NCTCOG staffers had also recommended lobbying state lawmakers to give TxDOT the authority to find a private developer to help finance the Trinity Parkway tollway. They backed away from that proposal after Texas Transportation Commission member Victor Vandergriff said he didn’t want the agency involved in the controversial project. Dallas and North Texas Tollway Authority have an agreement to build that road, which would mostly run inside the Trinity River’s levees.
But more than $1 billion in funding needed for the $1.5 billion project has yet to be identified. Traffic estimates used to justify that road have also been criticized. But many Trinity opponents also say that the project will further subsidize suburban sprawl to the detriment of Dallas’ downtown core. And they say it is incompatible with planned lakes, parks and recreational areas the city plans to put along the road and the Trinity River. Nonprofit Trinity Commons Foundation is raising money for a design summit aimed at alleviating those concerns. The group wants to have urban planners make tweaks and additions to plans so the road has more landscaping and inviting features.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, a toll road supporter, said Thursday that he will present ideas about better designing the road at a breakfast next week. “This project is critical to the future of our city, and how the design is finalized is one of the most important things we can do,” he said. “I believe this project should be studied and reviewed by recognized experts using the best urban design principles that exist as we move to our next phase.” -
Texas sets a new wind power record in November
DALLAS (TIP): Wind power set a new record in Texas in November with 10,301 megawatts of power generated, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Wind turbines set the record at 10:39 a.m. Nov. 2, providing 33.4 percent of the power within ERCOT, which covers 85 percent of Texas. The state of Texas currently has 11,500 MW of installed wind power so the grid used nearly 90 percent of the power available when it set the record. The previous record was 10,296 MW set on March 26. Wind power produced 23.9 million MWh so far in 2014, or 9 percent of the power in the state. Texas has by far the most wind power of any state and produces more wind power than many countries. Still, wind power has faced criticism from politicians in Austin who say it relies too much on subsidies and should stand on its own. Supporters say all types of energy, including coal, oil and natural gas, receive their share of incentives and tax breaks. One Dallas company has a unique take on building community wind farms in West Texas and the Panhandle
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Texas Leads Best States For Future Job Growth
DALLAS (TIP): Rick Perry ascended from Lieutenant Governor to Governor of Texas in December 2000 when thengovernor George Bush resigned after being elected the 43rd President of the United States. Perry will retire in January with the tenth longest gubernatorial tenure in U.S. history. Perry made job creation one of his principle mantras, and he has overseen remarkable employment gains under his watch with 2.1 million jobs added during his tenure.
The total represents 30% of the jobs added in the U.S. since 2000 and more than twice as many as any other state. The so-called “Texas miracle” does not show any signs of slowing either with 413,000 jobs added over the last 12 months. Texas is expected to have the nation’s fastest annual job growth rate at 2.7% over the next five years, according to data from Moody’s Analytics. Texas has low taxes and light regulation, but Perry’s record also has benefited from the headwinds at his back regarding energy. Oil prices hovered around $30 a barrel between 1986 and 2002 before a stunning climb that peaked at $145 in 2008. Prices plummeted during the Great Recession and over the past month, but oil is still trading around $80 a barrel. The higher prices have propelled massive investments in Texas both financially and in regards to human capital. “Texas has done well primarily because it is an energy center.
You really can’t get around that,” says Edward Friedman, an economist who tracks Texas for Moody’s Analytics. “Every major energy and oil company has realized over the last 15 years that the only place to be is Houston.” Texas’ prosperity and pro-business environment have led companies outside of the energy sector to flock to the state in recent years. Toyota announced plans to move its North American headquarters from California to a new campus in Plano that will create 4,000 jobs. The Texas Enterprise Fund granted Toyota $40 million to sweeten the pot.
San Francisco brokerage firm Charles Schwab is moving hundreds of jobs out of California with Austin and El Paso targeted for company expansion. Apple is undergoing an expansion that will roughly double its Austin workforce by hiring 3,600 new employees. Texas ranks first for both its current economic climate and growth prospects in our annual study on the Best States for Business. There are 118 of the largest companies in the U.S. based in Texas, including heavyweights like AT&T ,Exxon Mobil and Dell . -
New York Emmy Nominated Filmmaker Tirlok Malik’s New Film ‘On Golden Years’ Premiered in New York
NEW YORK (TIP): New York Premiere of Tirlok Malik’s new film On Golden Years was hosted by Indian American Forum, SVA Theater (School of Visual Arts), the filmmaker Tirlok Malik and the team of On Golden Years. Most of the 500 audiences who were at the event had witnessed the journey of Tirlok Malik as a filmmaker: from Lonely in America to On Golden Years. Malik’s films deal with the issues and conflicts, which come with the migration.
L to R: Actress Jyoti Singh, Actress Kamlesh Gupta, Filmmaker Tirlok Malik, Filmmaker Mira Nair, Indu Jaiswal
At the event, Manhattan Borough President Ms. Gale A. Brewer presented a proclamation to the filmmaker Tirlok Malik for his work in films proclaiming Saturday November 1, 2014 “Tirlok Malik Appreciation Day”. Tirlok Malik acknowledged some of his friends who have played important part in his journey as a filmmaker, which included his brother Chander Malik and his friend Ashok Wahi. H.R. Shah CEO of TV Asia spoke very highly of Tirlok Malik and his continued efforts to make movies about NRI’s. Many prominent guests attended the premiere.
Cast and Crew of On Golden Years, on set.
Mira Nair the Film-maker congratulated Tirlok Malik on his new film. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona , Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to UN also expressed his appreciation for Tirlok Malik’s film. Deputy Consul General of India, Dr Manoj, Kumar Mohapatra congratulated Tirlok Malik and the host committee. Indra Nooyi, the chairperson of Pepsico, sent a message with best wishes to Tirlok Malik for the premiere of his film On Golden Years. The Chair of the Film Division of the School of Visual Arts (SVA) Mr. Reeves Lehmann spoke about the school and the film. SVA is one of the most prestigious film schools in America and a great supporter of Tirlok Malik’s work.
The film On Golden Years portrays the complex emotions, which come at the time of retirement for immigrants. Through various characters, who are residents of an Indian retirement community, the film deals with the conflicts such as India vs. America, contentment vs. regrets and places to retire etc. This is the story about the retirement of the American Dream. The film stars RANJIT CHOWDHRY who was also the lead of Lonely In America, JYOTI SINGH, REEVES LEHMANN, SHETAL SHAH, NOOR NAGHMI, TIRLOK MALIK, SHRUTI TEWARI, FAROKH DARUWALA, INDU GAJWANI, PROF. INDRAJIT S. SALUJA, LOVLLIEN KAURR, SANDEEP SURI, IGGY IGNATIUS, KAMLESH GUPTA and many more. There are some new talents making their debut in the film.
Cast of On Golden Years with friends
The film On Golden Years is written and directed by Tirlok Malik. The film is co produced by Iggy Ignatius who is also the codirector of the film. The film has been shot at the only Indian retirement community Shantiniketan in Florida. Other credits of the film are Director of Photography Christo Bakalov B.A.C., Music by Peter Lobo, Art Direction by Sunita Babber, Editing by Tom Knight and others. Singer Falu makes her film debut doing the item number song ‘Raba Raba’ in the film On Golden Years. Falu has sung at Carnegie Hall and has sung twice in the White House in the presence of President Obama and Oprah Winfrey along with the composer of Slumdog Millionaire A.R. Rahman.
The opening song of the film ‘Gayatri Mantra’ is sung by Sumitra Iyer who is an award winning Bollywood singer and who now lives in America. She has performed all over the world with top names of Indian music industry such as Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Hariharan. The film On Golden Years is in English language and is made for NRIs and an international audience. It is a romantic emotional comedy. Its length is 85 minutes.
