Liberal Racism

10

Tweet

Most observers of American politics will expect the Democratic Party to have arrived at a post-racial modernity. After all, it is the party that espouses equality and racial justice, the party that attracts the vast majority of the African American vote. But, if it has done nothing else, the 2008 race for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination has proven that bigotry is alive and well within the party that claims liberal moorings. And that bigotry flows from the top. Former President Bill Clinton, campaigning for his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, described her rival, Senator Barack Obama's drive to clinch the nomination as a "fairy tale", a term with loaded meaning for blacks. Having been the Governor of the southern state of Arkansas, Bill Clinton would have been well aware of that. Clinton didn't stop there at obliquely race-baiting Obama. As Obama comfortably triumphed in the crucial South Carolina Democratic primary,....

John McCain Wins Big

0

Tweet

During the winter of 2007 I spoke to several Republicans (as I did to Democrats) to gauge the mood within the party with regard to the US Presidential elections which were to be held just about a year later. There was one word to describe their reaction - dejection. They expected a blowback from the voters on the Iraq war, on the economy, on the George W Bush Administration. Just about three months later, everything has changed for the Republicans. Groans have changed to chuckles; frowns to smiles. And that's exactly why Arizona Senator John McCain won big on March 4, 2008. First, McCain captured the Republican party nomination. Now he has plenty of time to revitalize the party, forge a strategy on the principal issues that will confront him in the November election, build a coherent team; create a grassroots network throughout America and raise tens of millions....

The Great American Tamasha

5

Tweet

The cycle for the US Presidential elections starts in January with the Iowa caucus. So, there we were in Des Moines, the State's capital on New Year's Day, 2008. It was lovely day if you enjoy frostbite weather. The temperature was perhaps around - 12 degree Celsius. That's minus. Around midday, I found myself standing on the sidewalk opposite the campaign office of Mike Huckabee looking for Iowans to interviews on their views on the election. Just one woman was visible on the streets. So, I stopped her. She laughed and said she was a journalist too, from Texas. And stated the obvious, that only journalists would be stupid enough to be out in this weather. She was wrong because minutes later two more women walked towards us. They turned out to be Huckabee's sister and niece. So, add political workers to the list of those dumb enough to....

Sir Salman Sounds Right

11

Tweet

I should begin this with a disclaimer: I'm a huge fan both of Salman Rushdie the author and Salman Rushdie the person. I applaud when his contribution to intellectual life is recognized as it has been by the British Government in deciding on a knighthood for him. My rationale? Let me begin with the author. Rushdie brought magic realism into the mainstream as he did Indo-Anglian writing, setting the stage (and a market) for the likes of Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai, who succeeded him as Indian (or at least Indian-born) Booker Prize winners. He started all that off with the magnificent Midnight's Children. Of course, his first book was the neglected work of fantasy/science fiction Grimus, but Midnight's Children was the one that got him noticed. He's written many books since then, mostly amazing literature. Among them are Shame, Haroun And The Sea Of Stories.....

Conflict Worse Confounded

5

Tweet

It's very possible you aren't aware of this story. The United Nations' Office of Internal Oversight Services is undertaking an investigation into apparent irregularities in its peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congo has a fragile democracy, one that is threatened by armed militia in the country. It was to bolster democracy that the UN commenced a strong peacekeeping mission there. Then came the revelation from the BBC that the mission may itself be somewhat responsible for keeping the militia armed! According to that report, a peacekeeping contingent in The Congo was under investigation for allegedly disarming militants, then returning the weaponry to them in exchange for gold. The contingent in question was from Pakistan. Now, Pakistan provides the largest contingent of peacekeepers to the UN: 10,619 out of a total of 83,312. Those numbers are for May 2007. And diplomats in New York say a message....

Colours of Racism

0

Tweet

Shilpa Shetty has emerged as an unlikely icon against discrimination and the United Kingdom is grappling with the issue of racism that persists there despite its large population of Indians. Of course, this incident occurred within the realm of entertainment. In the West, the entertainment industry and its stars are believed to be pillars of liberalism. The Celebrity Big Brother episode in the UK proves that's not quite true. Now, the United States entertainment industry, Hollywood and its cousins, is known for far-left, ultra-liberal views and stances that are extremely politically correct. Now, Indians in America are a minute minority when compared to their counterparts in England, so you'd think they get special treatment in Hollywood. They do. But not in the way you'd think. Racism exists in Hollywood even if it may not be overt or even intentional. Take for instance the case of Kal Penn, who....

The Season for Weird Weather

2

Tweet

When you are really bored, you discuss the weather. But, over the last couple of years, this cliche has been upended, simply because the weather has become a fascinating topic of conversation. In fact, New Yorkers can't stop talking about it and the New York media can't resist reporting on it. That's because the weather in the City has been strange this winter. Actually, to describe this as a winter is a stretch as the mercury has barely dipped. Stranger still, during the first week of January, when I compared the temperature in New York to that in New Delhi, I found that it was actually colder in the latter! So, the tenor of my conversation with family in India has changed. In previous years, they'd ask how I was surviving the New York freeze. This year, I've been asking them about the New Delhi cold. Even stranger,....

Confessions of a (Former) Cricket Addict

28

Tweet

Let me admit: I was once a cricket junkie. I needed my regular 22-yard fix. No more. The last time I watched a live cricket match was in 2003. That was the final of the World Cup. I watched that game at a Bangladeshi restaurant in New York, along with about 30 others Indians and one Australian. I watched in hope for a few minutes as Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath appeared charged up. You know what happened next. Around 7.30 am, after the Australians had slaughtered the Indian bowling (or whatever it was), I decided to go home and get some sleep. I haven't watched a live match since then. Since I am in New Delhi in November, I did think about watching the ODIs between India and South Africa. I was at home in time for the first, which never took place because of rain. I wasn't before....

The Macaca Vote

10

Tweet

S R Sidarth deserves a medal from the Democratic Party. S R Sidarth who? Sidarth is the young volunteer who trailed Republican Senator from Virginia George Allen for the campaign of his challenger, Democrat Jim Webb. Sidarth, who was born in Fairfax, Virginia, videotaped Allen's campaign. He was doing that in August when Allen still enjoyed a substantial lead over Webb, when the Republican singled Sidarth out and called him a 'macaca'. You can watch that video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r90z0PMnKwI. Now, Macaca was originally used by Belgian colonizers of the Congo to describe the native. The word is derived from the macaque monkeys and was obviously a racial slur. Actually, for lovers of comics, Captain Haddock uses that term in Tintin in the Congo. Allen apologized to Sidarth, gave interviews to the Indian-American media, but he couldn't recover. Sidarth is symbolic of the strong political participation among second generation Indian-Americans....

All Terrorism in Global, Stupid

9

Tweet

When terrorists struck Mumbai's train system on July 11 this year, the reaction in the US media was predictable. It was virtually dismissed as a "local" attack, in the sense of being peculiar to India, and attributed to factors such as Kashmir. This "local" mantra was repeated ad nauseam on television newscasts and in newspapers such as the New York Times. In fact, since the Indian media called it the 7-11 attacks, there was also a measure of sniggering here, especially in the blogosphere. After all, 7-11 is associated with convenience stores in the US, often run by Indian Americans. And caricatured in the form on Apu on The Simpsons. So, really, it happened in India, it couldn't be taken that seriously in terms of impacting the world, especially America. Think again. The plot to blow up airliners from London to the United States has highlighted the manner in which....