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IACPA ||
Candidates ||
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Immigration ||
Many Faces of Outsourcing
Delhi Durbar ||
Diplomacy
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Honors ||
Civil Rights ||
On the Hill ||
Election 2004
H1-B Visa ||
Profiling
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Capitol Journal ||
Miscellaneous ||
Organizations
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CAPITOL JOURNAL
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WHITE HOUSE
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Jindal among 11 legislators invited to the White House
As the only Indian American in the U.S. Congress, Congressman Bobby Jindal (R - Louisiana) is the focus of attention for the community in this country. So the Congressman has decided to send a weekly or bimonthly account to all those interested in knowing what the Freshman is up to.
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DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE
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Dean promises higher participation of Asian Pacific Americans in DNC
Representative Mike Honda of California made history when he was elected Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) a week ago. And the newly-elected Chair of the DNC, former Governor of Vermont, Howard Dean, said he will make sure Asian Americans participate at every level of the party. This is the highest office ever held by an Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) in a major political party and Rep. Honda and Gov. Dean indicated it was a result of the high turnout of Asian American voters last November.
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LEGISLATIVE AIDE
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Nial Patel is Rep. Bobby Jindal’s right hand man in Louisiana
Nial Patel, 25, caught the political bug in school and hasn’t let go. He says he absolutely “loves” public service. Today, he takes care of Rep. Bobby Jindal’s home base in Metairie township in the 1st District of Louisiana, making sure the Freshman Congressman maintains his links with the people who sent him to office.
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RUNNING FOR OFFICE
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Supriya Christopher to run for Virginia House of Delegates
For Supriya Christopher, 35, this is the “right time” to run for the Virginia House of Delegates. For the professional, mother of two, wife of a Navy fighter pilot, and church parishioner, the 84th District Virginia Beach seat hasd up at the right time in her life.
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SENATE DELEGATION
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McCain on trip to Afghanistan calls for permanent U.S. base
It seems like deja vu all over again in Afghanistan where Great Powers have, for centuries, tried to keep a foothold in an effort to protect their strategic interests. Senator John McCain of Arizona, on a trip to Afghanistan called for a permanent American base in the country, according to press reports. President Hamid Karzai did not make any reference to that however, in his speech.
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CAPITAL DEBATES
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Part of Capitol Debates presented by IACPA on TV Asia; focus on gender gap
Welcome to Capitol Debates. Once again we are going to be discussing gender gap, a controversial issue but this time the male perspective. We have with us Shivani Nath, a psychologist in private practice; Sameer Kumar, attorney; and Nikhil Kamkolkar, a filmmaker who just finished a film, ‘Indian Cowboy,’ which he wrote, directed, produced and acted in. And he is a stay-at-home dad.
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DELHI DIARY
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Sen. Clinton on India visit; calls on PM and Sonia Gandhi
NEW DELHI: U.S. Senator and former first lady Hillary Clinton (D-NY) met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Feb. 25 to discuss a wide range of issues like health care and India-U.S. ties. She was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador David C. Mulford.
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Investigation begins after NASA denied teenager’s award claim
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government started gathering information about teenager Saurabh Singh as the country came to terms with the fact that his claim of an award from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was a hoax.
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Karzai assured of Indian assistance in Afghan reconstruction
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks here on Feb. 24 on India’s continued assistance to Kabul for its reconstruction program and a proposed pipeline project to transport gas from Central Asia to India. The pipeline project envisages linking Turkmenistan with India via Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Simplified form for dual citizenship soon, says official
New Delhi : Indian missions abroad will soon circulate a simplified one-page form to facilitate trouble-free grant of dual citizenship to qualifying members of its 25-million diaspora in 110 countries, a top official has said. “We will soon have a one page form for applicants that has been vastly simplified,” said S. Krishna Kumar, secretary in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. “The necessary clearances and notifications for the simplified form are being secured from sections of the government and they will be made available at Indian missions overseas in a couple of months,” Kumar said.
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IMMIGRATION
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U.S. says significant reduction in visa processing achieved
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) last week said visa processing times had been significantly improved with new regulations put in place by the joint efforts of the State Department and the Homeland Security Department.
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Immigrant driver’s card is approved by Utah Senate
The Utah Senate voted on Feb. 18 to take driver’s licenses away from people who cannot prove they are legal residents and issue them a driving “privilege” card instead, the Associated Press reported.
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Asian Americans have the highest incomes and education among foreign-born in U.S.
Americans born in Asia are the highest earners in the foreign-born population in this country, according to 2004 data just released by the Census Department. The data does not give a breakdown by nation of origin but does give some figures on world regions of origin.
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NEWSMAKERS
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Charles R. Kaye elected chairman of U.S.-India Business Council
The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), an organization of 125 top American companies investing in India, announced the election of Charles R. Kaye as the chairman of its board on Feb. 22.
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Aishwarya Rai invited to present Oscar, first for Indian cinema
Mumbai : Aishwarya Rai’s certainly out for the kill abroad –– sources say the Oscar organizers invited her to present a trophy at the awards ceremony on Feb. 27!
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Miraculousheart surgery on 700 g week-old infant
Stanford pediatric surgeon V. Mohan Reddy, who performed a “miraculous”heart surgery on a 700 gram week-old infant, says the general thought that small babies are “inoperable” is “a myth.”
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Jyoti Randhawa finishes second at Malaysian Open
Kuala Lumpur : India’s Jyoti Randhawa finished second behind Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee at the Carlsberg Malaysiangolf tournament here on Feb. 20.
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F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan gets new Jordan team mate
Silverstone, Britain : Nicky Pastorelli, who borrowed Narain Karthikeyan’s tri-colored helmet for a Formula One test drive a few days ago, has been signed as a test driver, Jordan announced on Feb. 22.
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UNDER 30
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Vivek Kamath, 30, is 7-year veteran of N.Y. Philharmonic, a rarity
It is not everyday that an Indian American gets chosen to be part of the prestigious New York Philharmonic (NYP). Thirty-year-old Vivek Kamath is that rarity. A violist with a degree in music, Kamath is a seven-year veteran of the NYP. He studied with former Cleveland Quartet first violinist Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. In 1997, he was a prizewinner in the Washington International String Competition as well as the Irving Klein International String Competition.
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I was born in Scotch Plains, N.J.; My parents shipped me off to India to gain Indian values
Every one knows that the eastern and western cultures are totally different. But how does the Indian American youth find the balance between the virtues offered by these totally different worlds, one that they are born with, and the other that they are born into? I’ve always been a big fan of Shakespeare. I am extremely fond of this piece where he compares life to a stage and all of us merely actors, just playing our parts in the play of life. For me, a large portion of my time on the stage of life has been spent just trying to find my identity.
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