WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): President Joe Biden has nominated Deven J. Parekh, a leading Indian American global venture capitalist, to the Board of Directors of the US International Development Finance Corporation for a fresh term of three years.
The White House sent the nomination of Parekh, a Managing Director at Insight Partners, a growth equity investment fund based in New York City, to the Senate Thursday. Parekh was initially nominated as a member of the IDFC board for a term of three years by President Donald Trump in June 2020.
Since joining Insight in 2000, Parekh has made more than 140 investments in enterprise software, data, and consumer internet businesses globally, including in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Australia, according to his White House profile.
In addition to his work at Insight and for the Development Finance Corporation, Parekh serves as a Board Member for the Council on Foreign Relations, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, NYU Langone, the Tisch New York MS Research Center, and the Economic Club of New York.
He has previously served on the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Advisory Board of the US Export-Import Bank, and the Technical Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission.
He is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Publicolor, a non-profit organization focused on New York City public schools. In 2021, Parekh received the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award. He is also a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Prior to joining Insight, Parekh was a Principal at Berenson Minella & Company, a New York-based merchant banking firm, where he served on the M&A Committee.
He also worked for Blackstone on M&A and other investment activities. Parekh has a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
By statute, the Development Finance Corporation Board of Directors includes four members recommended to the President from Senate and House leadership. Parekh is the nominee recommended by the Senate Majority Leader.
Tag: President Joe Biden
-
Indian American Global venture capitalist Deven Parekh nominated to IDFC board
-
US President Biden touts administration’s economic policies in State of the Union address
- Asserts that his administration is building an economy where no one is left behind
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): America today is in a much better shape than it was two years ago when its economy was “reeling”, President Joe Biden has asserted, touting his administration’s economic accomplishments in his State of the Union address as he laid the groundwork for his 2024 White House run.
The economy is coming back, even if there’s more to do on inflation, Biden told Americans on Tuesday, February 7, in his primetime address to the nation, his second since assuming the presidency in 2021.
The economy was reeling two years ago, he said, adding that today the unemployment rate is at a 50-year low.
“We’ve been sent here to finish the job,” Biden said, a phrase he used repeatedly as he laid out his agenda for the next two years.
In his 72-minute speech, 80-year-old Biden, the oldest sitting US President, touted areas of bipartisan agreement, telling Republicans that “there’s no reason we can’t work together” after the Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. His remarks amounted to the opening of a re-election campaign he plans to announce by this spring, The New York Times Newspaper reported.
“Two years ago, our economy was reeling. As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years,” he said before the joint session of the US Congress.
“Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives. And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken,” Biden said.
Confronting a divided Congress for the first time since taking office, Biden talked back as Republicans heckled him from the floor of the House of Representatives they now control.
Biden told the lawmakers that as they gather at the US Capitol they are writing the next chapter in the great American story, a story of progress and resilience.
“When world leaders ask me to define America, I define our country in one word: Possibilities. You know, we’re often told that Democrats and Republicans can’t work together. But over these past two years, we proved the cynics and the naysayers wrong,” he said.
“Yes, we disagreed plenty. And yes, there were times when Democrats had to go it alone. But time and again, Democrats and Republicans came together. Came together to defend a stronger and safer Europe,” he said.
“Came together to pass a once-in-a-generation infrastructure law, building bridges to connect our nation and people. Came together to pass one of the most significant laws ever, helping veterans exposed to toxic burn pits,” he said amidst applause from the Congressmen. Biden told Congress that the State of the Union is strong.
“As I stand here tonight, I have never been more optimistic about the future of America. We just have to remember who we are,” he said. Biden used the phrase “finish the job” 13 times in his address — calling on Congress to do everything from capping the price of insulin at USD 35 per month to imposing new taxes on the wealthiest Americans to passing a ban on assault weapons.
He said he would not let Republicans “take the economy hostage” over the debt ceiling,
Biden asserted that his administration is building an economy where no one is left behind.
“Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back, because of the choices we made in the last two years. This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives,” he said.
Biden asserted that manufacturing has been one of the top priorities of his administration.
“For too many decades, we imported products and exported jobs. Now, thanks to all we’ve done, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs,” he said.
“Inflation has been a global problem because of the pandemic that disrupted supply chains and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war (against Ukraine) that disrupted energy and food supplies,” Biden said.
But the United States is better positioned than any country on Earth, he insisted.
Acknowledging that his administration has more to do, “but here at home, inflation is coming down”, he said.
Gas prices are down USD 1.50 a gallon since their peak. Food inflation is coming down, he said.
Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months while take-home pay has gone up, he added.
Biden said that his administration is making sure the supply chain for America begins in America.
“We’ve already created 800,000 manufacturing jobs even without this law. With this new law, we will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the country,” he said.
“That’s going to come from companies that have announced more than USD 300 billion in investments in American manufacturing in the last two years,” Biden said.
He said that “Made in America” is the top priority of his administration and announced that bridges, roads and highways in the country will be made with American construction materials.
To maintain the strongest economy in the world, the US also needs the best infrastructure in the world.
The US used to be number 1 in the world in infrastructure, but then it fell to number 13th, he said.
“Now we’re coming back because we came together to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the largest investment in infrastructure since President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System,” he said.
He said ‘Buy American’ has been the law of the land since 1933.
“But for too long, past administrations have found ways to get around it. Not anymore,” Biden said in his joint address to the US Congress. “Tonight, I’m also announcing new standards to require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America. American-made lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cables,” he said.
He said under his watch, American roads, bridges and highways will be made with American products.
(With inputs from PTI)
-
September 24 New York & Dallas E – Edition
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Dual Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2FTIP-September-24-Dual-Edition.pdf|||”][vc_single_image image=”114934″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIP-September-24-Dual-Edition.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
-
Modi holds first bilateral meeting with President Biden; discusses Indo-Pacific, climate and COVID
US – India relationship is destined to be “stronger, closer and tighter”, says Bide
TIP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON, DC (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, September 24, described as “outstanding” his first bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden who said the Indo-US relationship is destined to be “stronger, closer and tighter” as the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including combating COVID-19, climate change, trade and the Indo-Pacific. President Biden, who welcomed Prime Minister Modi in the Oval Office of the White House said that today they are starting a new chapter in US-India relationship.
Observing that he has long believed that the US, India relationship can help them solve global challenges, Biden in his opening remarks before a battery of India and American media said they are now “are launching a new chapter in history of India US ties, taking on some of the toughest challenges we face together.”
And this starts with a shared commitment to end COVID-19, he said. Prime Minister Modi, who is visiting the US for the 7th time after assuming office in 2014, described Friday’s bilateral meeting with Biden that lasted more than 60 minutes as “important” as they’re meeting at the start of the third decade of this century.
“Your leadership will certainly play an important role in how this decade is shaped. The seeds have been sown for an even stronger friendship between India and the US,” Prime Minister Modi told Biden.
“Had an outstanding meeting with @POTUS @JoeBiden. His leadership on critical global issues is commendable. We discussed how India and USA will further scale-up cooperation in different spheres and work together to overcome key challenges like COVID-19 and climate change,” Modi tweeted after the meeting. Biden said the relationship between India and the US, the largest democracies in the world, is “destined to be stronger, closer and tighter.” “I’ve long believed that the US-India relationship can help us solve a lot of global challenges. In fact, back in 2006, I had said that by 2020 India and the US will be among the closest nations in the world,” Biden told Modi. “Today, we’re launching a new chapter in the history of US-India ties, taking on some of the toughest challenges we face together, starting with a shared commitment,” he said.
Biden said he and Prime Minister Modi would talk about what more they can do to fight COVID-19, take on the climate challenge that the world face, and ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific, including with their quiet partners.
India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military maneuvering in the region.
“Of course, our partnership is more than just what we do. It’s about who we are in our shared responsibility to uphold democratic values, our joint commitment to diversity, and it’s about family ties, including four million Indian-Americans make the United States, stronger every single day,” he said.
Noting that the world would celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday next week, Biden said, “We’re all reminded that his message of non-violence, respect, tolerance, matters today maybe more than ever had.”
On this, Modi said, “Gandhi Ji spoke about trusteeship, a concept which is very important for our planet in the times to come.” Noting that trade will be an important factor in the Indo-US ties in the coming decade, the Prime Minister said that there is much to be done in the area.
Modi said this decade will be shaped by talent and people-to-people linkages. “I am glad the Indian diaspora is making an active contribution towards the US’ progress.” He said that technology is becoming a driving force. “We have to utilize our talents to leverage technology for greater global good.”
Modi recalled his interactions with Biden in 2014 and 2016, saying “that time you had shared your vision for ties between India and US. I am glad to see you are working to realize this vision.”
He said that each of the subjects mentioned by the president are crucial for the India-US friendship. “His efforts on COVID-19, mitigating climate change and the Quad are noteworthy,” Modi added.
“This morning I’m hosting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House for a bilateral meeting. I look forward to strengthening the deep ties between our two nations, working to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific, and tackling everything from COVID-19 to climate change,” President Biden had tweeted minutes before the meeting. While the two leaders have met earlier when Biden was the Vice President of the country, this is for the first time that Biden is meeting Modi after he became the 46th president of the US in January.
Both Biden and Prime Minister Modi have spoken over the phone multiple times and have attended a few virtual summits, including that of the Quad in March hosted by the US president. The last telephone conversation between them took place on April 26.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said that India US relationship is a partnership of trust. “Globally we will make a difference!” he tweeted.
“Vibrant discussions between” Modi and Biden. “Joseph Biden on global, regional & bilateral issues. An expansive agenda including defense, security, health, education, trade, IT, economic, Science and Technology energy and People to People ties,” Bagchi said. The Prime Minister also signed the visitor book in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. “Registering the spirit of India United States friendship in ink,” the spokesperson tweeted. The Indian delegation included S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs; Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor; Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India’s Ambassador to the United States.
The American delegation included Antony Blinken, Secretary of State; Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor; John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate; Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs; Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and Sumona Guha, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director for South Asia at National Security Council.
Visit www.theindianpanorama.news for more stories on PM Modi’s US visit
-
Egypt-brokered Truce between Israel and Hamas comes into Effect
Fears linger of a renewed flare up
JERUSALEM / GAZA (TIP): An Egyptian-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas began on Friday, May 21, but Hamas warned it still had its “hands on the trigger” and demanded Israel end the violence in Jerusalem and address the damages in Gaza Strip after the worst fighting in years.
US President Joe Biden pledged to salve the devastated Gaza. Aerial bombardment of the densely populated area killed 232 Palestinians, while rocket attacks killed 12 people in Israel during the conflict.
Palestinians, many of whom had spent 11 days huddled in fear of Israeli shelling, poured into Gaza’s streets. Mosque loud-speakers feted “the victory of the resistance achieved over the Occupation (Israel).” Cars driving around East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah at dawn flew Palestinian flags and honked horns, echoing the celebratory scenes in Gaza. In the countdown to the 2 am ceasefire, Palestinian rocket salvoes continued and Israel carried out at least one air strike.
Each side said it stood ready to retaliate for any truce violations by the other. Cairo said it would send two delegations to monitor the ceasefire.
The violence erupted on May 10, triggered by Palestinians’ anger at what they saw as Israeli curbs on their rights in Jerusalem, including during police confrontations with protesters at Al- Aqsa mosque during the Ramadan fasting month. The fighting meant many Palestinians in Gaza could not mark the Eid al-Fitr festival at Ramadan’s conclusion. On Friday, throughout Gaza, postponed Eid al-Fitr meals were held instead.
In Israel, radio stations that had carried around-the-clock news and commentary switched back to pop music and folk songs. Death toll Gaza health officials said 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, had been killed and more than 1,900 wounded in aerial bombardments. Israel said it had killed at least 160 combatants.
Authorities put the death toll in Israel at 12, with hundreds of people treated for injuries in rocket attacks that caused panic and sent people rushing into shelters. Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza, cast the fighting as successful resistance of a militarily and economically stronger foe.
“It is true the battle ends today but (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and the whole world should know that our hands are on the trigger and we will continue to grow the capabilities of this resistance,” said Ezzat El-Reshiq, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau.
He told Reuters in Doha that the movement’s demands also include protecting Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and ending the eviction of several Palestinians from their home in East Jerusalem which Reshiq described as “a red line”. “What comes after the battle of ‘Sword of Jerusalem’ is not like what came before because the Palestinian people backed the resistance and know that the resistance is what will liberate their land and protect their holy sites,” Reshiq said.
In Israel, relief was bittersweet. “It’s good that the conflict will end, but unfortunately I don’t feel like we have much time before the next escalation,” Eiv Izyaev, a 30-year-old software engineer, said in Tel Aviv. Amid growing global alarm, Biden had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek deescalation, while Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations sought to mediate.
In a televised address on Thursday, Biden extended condolences to bereaved Israelis and Palestinians and said Washington would work with the United Nations “and other international stakeholders to provide rapid humanitarian assistance” for Gaza and its reconstruction. Biden said aid would be coordinated with the Palestinian Authority – run by Hamas’ rival, President Mahmoud Abbas, and based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank – “in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal”.
Hamas is deemed a terrorist group in the West and by Israel, which it refuses to recognize. Power struggle Analysts saw a key goal of Hamas’s rocket campaign as being to marginalize Abbas by presenting itself as the guardian of Palestinians in Jerusalem, whose eastern sector they seek for a future state. Making the link explicit, Hamas named the rocket operation “Sword of Jerusalem”.
Abbas, 85, remained a marginal figure during the 11-day conflict. He secured a first telephone call with Biden during the crisis – four months after Biden took office – but his western-backed Palestinian Authority exerts little influence over Gaza, and he made no public comment after the truce was announced. Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, an Abbas appointee, said “We welcome the success of the international efforts led by Egypt to stop the Israeli aggression against our people in Gaza Strip,” in comments published by Palestinian media.
In perhaps a worrying sign for Abbas in his West Bank heartland, some Palestinians waved green Hamas flags in Ramallah, the seat of his government. Hamas previously demanded that any halt to the Gaza fighting be accompanied by Israeli drawdowns in Jerusalem. An Israeli official told Reuters there was no such condition in the truce.
The State Department said that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken planned to travel to the Middle East, where he would meet with Israeli, Palestinian, and regional leaders to discuss recovery efforts. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israeli and Palestinian leaders had a responsibility beyond the restoration of calm to address the root causes of the conflict,” he told reporters with serious dialogue.
“Gaza is an integral part of the future Palestinian state and no effort should be spared to bring about real national reconciliation that ends the division,” he said. Reuters
-
President Biden Signs into Law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
WASHINGTON (TIP): Following overwhelming support from both chambers of Congress, President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday, May 20, that addresses hate crimes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular emphasis on the increase in violence against Asian Americans.
At an event in the East Room of the White House, Biden thanked lawmakers for coming together to pass the legislation. He said standing against hatred and racism, which he called “the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation,” is what brings Americans together.
“My message to all of those who are hurting is: We see you and the Congress has said, we see you. And we are committed to stop the hatred and the bias,” he said.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, aims to make the reporting of hate crimes more accessible at the local and state levels by boosting public outreach and ensuring reporting resources are available online in multiple languages.
It also directs the Department of Justice to designate a point person to expedite the review of hate crimes related to COVID-19 and authorizes grants to state and local governments to conduct crime-reduction programs to prevent and respond to hate crimes.
Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Biden ahead of the signing and reflected on the increase in violence against Asian Americans.
“This violence — it did not come from nowhere, and none of it is new. In my life, my lived experience, I have seen how hate can pervade our communities,” she said. Harris, who is the first Asian American vice president, added, “I have seen how hate can impede our progress. And I have seen how people uniting against hate can strengthen our country.”
Harris noted the work to combat racism doesn’t end with the signing of the bill.
“Here’s the truth: Racism exists in America. Xenophobia exists in America, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia — it all exists. And so, the work to address injustice wherever it exists remains the work ahead,” she said.
The signing comes two days after the House of Representatives passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act by a vote of 364-62; all 62 votes against the bill were from Republicans. The Senate approved the legislation last month, with near-unanimous support; Missouri Republican Josh Hawley was the sole senator to vote against the bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attended Thursday’s ceremony along with a number of Democrats, advocates, families of victims of hate crimes and others. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who helped co-author a key provision that paved the way for the bill’s passage, was also in attendance.
Asian Americans have faced a dramatic spike in violence throughout the pandemic. The organization Stop AAPI Hate documented 6,603 hate incidents from March 2020 to March 2021, and leaders said the true number is much higher as many hate crimes go unreported. Democrats have pointed to former President Donald Trump’s frequent use of racist phrases such as “kung flu” to describe the coronavirus as a link to the increase in anti-Asian sentiment in the country.
Stop AAPI Hate praised the legislation for investing in “community-centered solutions and provisions to mitigate anti-Asian rhetoric” but said further legislation is needed to address the “root causes of systemic racism and oppression.”
“Because the Act centers criminal law enforcement agencies in its solutions, it will not address the overwhelming majority of incidents reported to our site which are not hate crimes, but serious hate incidents,” the coalition said in a statement after the House passage.
Attorney General Merrick Garland called the bill signing an “important step toward protecting everyone in our country from acts of hate and intolerance.”
“The Department of Justice is proud to play a central role in implementing this legislation,” he said in a statement following the signing. “Investigating and prosecuting hate crimes is a top priority, deeply rooted in the department’s founding. We will use the new law to enhance the aggressive measures we are taking to combat crime motivated by bigotry and discrimination.”
(Source: MPR NEWS)
-
Letter to President Biden and his cabinet about Israel and Palestine conflict
Monday, May 17, 2021
President Joseph Biden
Vice-President Kamala Harris
Secretary of State Tony Blinken
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
Senator Minority leader Mitch McConnel
Congressional Majority leader Nancy Pelosi
Congressional Minority leader Kevin McCarthy
Middle East Peace Plan – Justice to Palestinians and Security for Israel
It is time we work for the security of Israel and Justice to the Palestinians. We have to take bold steps to bring about peace in the Middle East.
The United States can become a peacemaker if it votes with the world for the Israeli leaders to act according to the norms established by the United Nations. 191 Countries out of 195 pass resolutions in the United Nations against Israel’s reckless actions, and the United States Vetoes it in the security council. It amounts to slapping hard on the face of 191 (98%) Nations. Israeli leadership (not Israeli people) gets away with the violations that others don’t, resulting in resentment towards Israel.
It is in the interests of Jews around the world to speak up against the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Every action taken by Netanyahu provokes the people around the world to be agitated against Israel, which is incorrectly dubbed as Anti-Semitism.
It is disappointing to hear the President and the Secretary of the state justifying the Israeli retaliation against Gazans as “Israel has a right to defend itself,” without giving the same right to Hamas. Had Israeli soldiers not desecrated the Holy Mosque Al-Aqsa, Hamas would not have lobbed the rockets. It pains me to see the Israeli soldiers defile the Mosque and Biden administration justify it.
As an Indian American, I recall the violations by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by defiling the Sikh Holy Place, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India. It followed by her assassination leading to the genocide of over 3000 Sikhs in a few days. I feel their pain; hundreds of parents are still waiting for accountability of their children.
Netanyahu is creating anger amongst the Palestinians by his uncouth policies; he is also causing 98% of the world to resent his actions on behalf of the Jewish people.
Long term solutions that will bring security and peace to Israelis and Palestinians.
- It is time we bring absolute security to Israel and Justice to the Palestinians. Shame on all of us for dumping our problems onto the next generation as we have done for the past three consecutive generations.
- Recognize Hamas as a duly elected government of the people of Gaza. Had President Bush acknowledged their legitimacy and invited them to the conference in Annapolis in 2006 with the Palestinian Authority and Israel, they would have been a part of the team for peace building. Instead, Bush made a big mistake by excluding Hamas, the critical party to the dialogue. They would have been a part of the civil society, and solutions would have come through. We condemned them as a terrorist organization, and they became one. It is time to reverse the course and correct the mistake.
- Immediately appoint an Ambassador to establish a US Embassy to Palestine in Gaza or East Jerusalem. Then ask the American Ambassadors to Palestine and Israel to cease the hostilities. It is in our interest to do so. We have lost many nations from our orbit, and we should reverse that before they go into Russian or Chinese influence.
- Invite the Israeli, Gazan, and Palestinian leaders to a summit, and do what President Carter successfully did, lock them up (as he did with Begin and Sadat) in a room until they came out with a peace plan.
- Get the United Nations to pass a resolution to punish any nation or a group who bombs the civilians or defiles the sanctity of any holy place from here forward. Let’s rebuild a wall around the Al-Aqsa compound and place United Nations forces to protect it until we build cohesive relationships between the residents of Jerusalem.
- Rebuild Gaza and invest in their prosperity; they have plenty of talent. When people have hope to live freely, they will become benevolent to the community of nations.
- Match the $3.3 Billion in aid to Israel to invest in Palestine and Gaza to rebuild their infrastructure protected by the United States.
References
Ali Velshi of MSNBC – https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RDIVtKKsPs0
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar – https://fb.watch/5uM1QvOEtD/
Rashida Tlaib Blasts U.S. Aid for Israel & Attack on Gaza
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/5/14/rashida_tlaib_israel_palestine_gaza_war
US Backing has given Israel a license to kill and Maim Palestinians
https://www.democracynow.org/2021/5/14/israel_palestine_hanan_ashrawi_rashid_khalidi
Senator Bernie Sanders – https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/opinion/bernie-sanders-israel-palestine-gaza.html
Dr. Mike Ghouse, President
Center for Pluralism, Washington, DC
Cell – (214) 325-1916 O – (202) 290-3560
Email – Mike@CenterforPluralism.com
Or SpeakerMikeGhouse@gmail.com
We appreciate the support of the following organizations.
Dr. Basheer Ahmed, Chairman, Muslim Community Center, Dallas
Dr. Indrajit Saluja, Chief Editor, The Indian Panorama, New York
Mr. Syed Ali, President, Indian American Muslim Council, Chicago
Muhsin H. Shaheed, Institute to Understand Islam, Dallas
Dr. Maqsood A. Chaudhary, DDS, Trustee, McLean Islamic Center
Imam Daayiee Abdullah, MECCA Institute, Washington, DC
Aliyah Khan, Founder, Virginian Muslim Political Action Committee
Dr. Ram Punyani, Chairman, Center for Study of Society and Secularism, India
Imam Faizul R Khan, Imam, Islamic Society of Washington Area
Imam Ali Siddiqui, Muslim Institute, Washington Area
Dr. Tharackandathil O. Shanavas, Trustee, Malayalee Muslims Network
-
“Open Letter” – PM Narendra Modi- Covid 19 Tsunami ravages India
MAY 6, 2021
RAVI@RAVIBATRALAW.COM
FAX: 212-545-0967
H.E. Narendra Modi Prime Minister of India
Re: “Open Letter” – in re as Covid 19 Tsunami ravages India, the need for the “raw truth” of this lab-created biowarfare agent is now necessary to fabricate more-accurate vaccines that can disarm the ever-mutating strains of SARS-CoV2, which if not disarmed, this virulent ever-more deadly mutating-disease can eliminate humanity globally.
Honorable P.M. Modi:
As an un-conflicted American, having migrated from India at the age of seven (7), I spent four plus years in Hong Kong and learned to love and admire the Chinese culture, although, Confucius has gotten wiser as I have aged as a happy NewYorker. Your early leadership with a strong “Lockdown” of India was a global example of a government honoring it’s duty toprotect the public health. Given the sudden Covid19-mutated strain’s tsunami ravaging India, I write to you, because now, protecting and curing all the people across the world must be Job 1.
It is not a time for political advantage or even seeking compensatory damages, as it is now becoming clear that this lab-created virus can become an existential threat to humanity globally, and those who dream of building newempires will have nothing to dominate or rule over.
Instead, India’s experience – a year after we were overwhelmed – speaks to a need for an international all-nations’ effort to disarm this biowarfare agent with President Xi’s help – using a form of Truth & Reconciliation Commission which grants legal immunity for “whole truth disclosure” – so scientists can get immediate access to all the creative knowledge,documents and lab variant-samples about this out-of-control PLA-Lab created weapon. This is much worse than a nuclear weapons threat, as its out of control, and its infection capability makes every person and animal on earth vulnerable, and rendering current vaccines potentially ineffective.
Disclaimer
As an open disclaimer, I see life thru an American Lens, given that human follies are well splashed across the pages of history, I am resoundingly certain of American Exceptional ism, structurally embedded in our founding Declaration and Constitution, with each American duty bound to help “form a more perfect union” – not shaken, until our insurrection of January 6th •
That I successfully intervened, as requested by India, in the shameful auction of Mahatma Gandhi’s items in New York and had the items respectfully returned to India; successfully defended Krittika Biswas’ honor and won in every federal court and won the highest award for a false arrest and for a night in jail – an effort I was supported in by the now-late great Queens D.A. Judge Richard Brown, Rep. Gray Ackerman and, most effectively, by Senator Chuck Schumer; and, interalia, successfully represented the Indian National Congress and the Hon. Sonia Gandhi in U.S. Federal courts regarding the painful “1984 Riots” and helped create a legal precedent, that India, like the United States with inter alia our unconstitutional Japanese-American Internment during WWII, has the right to fix her own mistakes without our meddling in her internal affairs. By so doing, I enhanced the bilateral relationship between our two great nations, which you later described in your pivotal Joint Address to Congress as “indivisible.” That exact relationship, I have alwaysseen as our “Joint Destiny,” given the pull and push of history: Indian tea starred in the 1773 Boston Tea Party, and LordCornwallis, after losing to General George
Washington, upon arriving as Viceroy of India ordered 5,000 Indian men, women and children be put to death for his American loss, and proceeded to rule with an “Iron Fist.” A Fist that never unclasped, until Mahatma Gandhi. And, Dr. Ambedkar, Columbia Law-educated, authored India’s Constitution, deeply informed by ours from 1787.
During the last decade, my incredible wife, Ranju, then-chair of the Diwali Stamp Project, spent seven (7) years seeking a United States Postal Service Diwali Stamp, and got help from many persons, but none more than Rep. Carolyn Maloney, then-Amb. Hardeep Singh Puri, then-ASG Lakshmi Puri, Rep. Grace Meng, then-Rep. Eliot L. Engel, Rep.Greg Meeks, and inter alia, then India’s New Yark-based CG Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay who wrote the Official poem for theDiwali Stamp Project. Indeed, Ranju asked and received from you – your support for the Diwali Stamp during your UNGA visit – as she did and received from then-President Obama. Ranju’s achievement was immortal, as the DiwaliStamp successfully dedicated on October 5, 2016 was a USPS “Forever” stamp, and Ranju made personal history byselling over 170,000 stamps for Day One, beating Batman, and making the Diwali Stamp #1 in USPS history. Indeed, your 2016 Diwali Message contained a clip of that Stamp Dedication, which serves to enhance our bilateral relations forever. Indeed, the United Nations has celebrated that achievement with 24 nations coming together to honor Ranju, and now, Ranju, as chair of the Diwali Foundation USA, bestows Power of One awards, aka Oscars of Diplomacy, on exceptional world class diplomats who personify the highest ideals of the United Nations Charter and enhance global peace & security.
More recently, I was invited by then-Chairman Eliot L. Engel of House Foreign Affairs Committee to testify on October 22, 2019 regarding Kashmir, and inter alia, issued: an apology for advocating “restraint” after India’s November 26th (akin to our 9/11); and India’s right to enact Section 370, and to restore normalcy as soon as public safety was secured. Indeed, on January 9, 2020, during our historic reception in the actual HFAC Room for strong US-India ties and celebrating Congress, your distinguished Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, with now-JointSecretary Sandeep Chakrovorty in attendance, showed pictures of a 16-nations’ strong ambassadorial visit to Kashmir earlier that day – a fact I celebrated then and there in Congress, which included, Rep. Brad Sherman and Chairman Eliot L. Engel participating.
SARS-CoV2 aka Covid-19 aka Wuhan Virus – Case Cracked on April 14, 2020: Lab-Created With that truncated disclaimer out of the way, and with God’s Grace, I and my family survived
Covid 19 on or about March 29, 2020. Treating this Virus as a cancer case that I needed to crack, and after learning biochemistry and epidemiology during an intense effort, I did so, and a year ago, on April 14, 2020, I wrote a 6-page”Open Letter” to then-President Trump, Speaker Pelosi and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (“OL”; copyenclosed, with uniform spelling of “Wuhan”), and for POTUS, emailed it to a former Marine: Deputy NSA Matt Pottinger at 8:31pm. In the OL, I had the science, the facts, and recommendations, including, bringing our “supply chains” home. The next day, April 15, 2020, about 1 p.m. the United States opened a preliminary investigation into inter alia the origin of SARS-CoV2 from PLA-run Wuhan Virology Lab, and the motives of CCP China in causing its global-spread without sounding a pandemic-alarm directly or thru the WHO. I remain grateful for the start of the April 15, 2020 “all hands on deck” Investigation. I have since, written an Open Letter to President Joesph R. Biden Jr. on April 13, 2021 (copy enclosed).
It remains an open secret that my analysis was and is correct, and that this is a lab-created Frankenstein that transplanted the “Spike Glycoprotein(S)” (“Spike”) from Bats – a unique feature in bats, as they are either “cold” or “warm” blooded, and still, a warm Bat can procreate with a cold Bat due to the “Spike.” OL at 3. I called “Covid19,” aka “WuhanVirus,” a Trojan Horse, as its Spike feature does not cause our immune system to sound an alarm upon infection (and the I-cells remain asleep). Disturbingly, China has not turned over, to this day, the genome of Patient Zero who was admitted in Wuhan hospital on or about December 1, 2019, while a different protein string-virus was released on or about December 31, 2019 at the Wuhan Wet Market. The animal farms about a 1000 miles away from Wuhan, did not experience a Covid19 outbreak, thereby decimating the WHO’s coddled-team’s report, after a 3-hour chaperoned visit to the Wuhan Virology lab, falsely asserting a zoonotic virus jump from animal to human.
Natural viruses mutate to become safe and on-hurtful. This Virus is mutating serially, as if it was a multi-stage ICBM, becoming more and more dangerous as it continues to exist.
WHO dishonored its high fiduciary obligations, and did not promptly alert the leaders of every nation that a pandemic was afoot and ask to lock-down China. President Trump said we were fighting an invisible enemy. I disagree. The Virus is surely invisible, but this string of protein, despite its lab-based default programing, has no animus towards us and does not benefit by causing death and destruction – and by my last count, our needlessly dead far exceed our losses at Pearl Harbor.
Despite Truth-in-Labeling laws, China, run by 100 years’ celebrating CCP, has succeeded in blocking this Virus from being origin-labeled by deeming origin-labeling to be racist. But, its not a fight over labeling.
Onlv Solution: Disarm Covid 19
I now write to you – as my views have changed and evolved – as even war will not stop this mutated-variant’s tsunami that is ravaging lndiafromjumping to other nations, even as travel restrictions are imposed on India, as we have gotten earlier variants despite best efforts to block travel. Indeed, re-visiting my prior conversation with China’s distinguished Foreign Minister Wang Yi suggests – that while I wanted a Little War in 2017 due to events in South China Sea, as in a stitch in time saves nine (a la nine dashes) – whereas he did not, as he clearly said. FM Wang, I believe, with President Xi’s change of heart, can be an asset for a new just and honorable peace for all: rejuvenate the world.
Diplomacy is always needed, even to arrange a surrender to end a war. Now, after India being ravaged by mutated-variants, with other nations to follow, this ICBM of a virus must be disarmed ASAP with Biowarfare Codes only China can share. It has been reported that President Xi, whom I consider to be at least as much an exceptional mastermind as Chairman Mao was, if not more, has asked his diplomatic corps to unsheathe their swords to be Wolf Warriors – a function or definition that defies diplomacy, even as it weaponizes it.
How to Disarm Covid19-Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s TRC
I urge you, as the champion of India’s sovereignty and chief protector of her citizens’ public health andsafety, as well as a vital member of the “Quad,” and SCO, run by a dear friend Dr. Vladimir Norov as its Secretary General, to change our geopolitical matrix from competitive, adversarial and crime and punishment, to arestorative formula from South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission – so we can move forward collectively as a human family, and disarm this Virus of an ICBM.
South Africa was critical in MKG becoming a Mahatma. Perhaps, if you can get President Xi to share “nuclear codes” of this virus-ICBM to disarm it, more than Nobel Peace prizes will be awarded; prayers and blessings of humanity across India and the globe will follow for saving millions of people, who will otherwise continue to die from this ever-mutatingDeath Virus. India has a reputation throughout many millennia of being the land of peace. China is currently President of the UNSC, charged with enhancing global peace & security. If you can get President Xi to join you in peace-building the future, the “Rejuvenation” he seeks, will come with Confucius’ ultimate blessed wish: “May you live in boring
Encl: April 14, 2020 Open Letter to POTUS ump, an April 13, 2021Open Letter to POTUS Biden, et al
CC: H.E. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States of America
H.E. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
H.E. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate
Leader Addison Mitchell McConnell, Jr., Leader Kevin McCarthy, Whip Liz Chaney, HFAC Chairman Greg W. Meeks, Ranker McCall, Chair Carolyn B. Maloney, Ranker Jim Jordan, SFRC Chairman Bob Menandez, Ranker Risch, Secretary Anthony Blinken, Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, NSA Jake Sullivan,FM Wang Yi, Amb. Zhang Jun.
-
Indian American Bhavya Lal Appointed Acting Chief of Staff of NASA
WASHINGTON (TIP): Indian American Bhavya Lal was appointed by NASA as the Acting Chief of Staff of the US space agency on Monday.
Ms. Lal served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency and oversaw the agency’s transition under the administration of President Joe Biden.
In a statement, NASA said Ms. Lal brings extensive experience in engineering and space technology, serving as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020.
There, she led analysis of space technology, strategy, and policy for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Space Council, as well as federal space-oriented organizations, including NASA, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence community.
Ms. Lal is an active member of the space technology and policy community, having chaired, co-chaired, or served on five high-impact National Academy of Science committees.
She served two consecutive terms on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Federal Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing and was an External Council member of NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Program and the Technology, Innovation and Engineering Advisory Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.
Before joining STPI, Ms. Lal was president of C-STPS LLC, a science and technology policy research and consulting firm. Prior to that, she was the director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Studies at Abt Associates, a global policy research consultancy based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She co-founded and is co-chair of the policy track of the American Nuclear Society’s annual conference on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies in Space (NETS) and co-organizes a seminar series on space history and policy with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
For her many contributions to the space sector, she was nominated and selected to be a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics, the statement said.
Ms. Lal earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in nuclear engineering, as well as a Master of Science degree in technology and policy, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and holds a doctorate in public policy and public administration from George Washington University. She is a member of both the nuclear engineering and public policy honor societies.