Op Ed 14 Fashion 18 Humor 28 Spiritual Awareness 30 NEW YORK EDITION Vol.5 No. 23 September 22-28, 2012 60 Cents Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info In the age of online Kiran makes a Ranbir starrer Suu Kyi receives shopping, it’s splash with ‘Barfi’ wins hearts US Congressional Amazon vs Google ‘ChoKolate’ single with great content Gold Medal US Affairs, The Arts, Bollywood, Subcontinent, Page 10 Page 15 Page 16 Page 21 Romney tries to sidestep remark disparaging 47% Americans amid eroding support By Parveen Chopra who is fighting to retain his seat) have College majority, given that Romney is lag- expressed disagreement with Romney’s ging behind in two of the largest battle- New York: For Mitt Romney, September view of Americans or the world. New polls grounds, Ohio and Virginia. has caught the October chill. Usually, a suggesting that there was a narrow path to Given the challenges when Romney presidential candidate is felled by a mis-step victory for the former Massachusetts gov- should have been out campaigning vigor- or scandal breaking out in October. For the ernor is all the more unfortunate for the ously and refocusing on federal spending Republican nominee 2012, this month may party which had a good shot at presidency and slow economic recovery, he was yet put paid to his long cherished dream to in a year when economic uncertainly and embroiled this week trying to explain away enter the White House. high unemployment persisted. his 47% remark or state it more elegantly. A Romney’s remarks dismissing 47% of The point is lost on nobody that President poll released Wednesday indicated that the Americans as parasites dependent on gov- Barack Obama has opened an eight percent- video’s release Monday has had a moderate- ernment in a surreptitiously recorded video age-point lead in Iowa and maintains a five- ly negative effect on registered voters. The from a May fundraiser have not gone down point edge in Colorado and Wisconsin, poll, taken Tuesday, showed 36% of regis- well with anybody. Add to that his foreign according to Wall Street Journal/NBC tered voters indicating they would be less policy gaffes on Israel-Palestine peace or News/Marist Poll surveys of the three presi- likely to vote for Romney after the tapes On Thursday the blogosphere was abuzz US ambassador’s killing in Libya and the dential battlegrounds released Thursday. were released by Mother Jones magazine. with speculation that Mitt Romney dyed inevitable political fallout had begun. The results are significant because the Twenty percent said they were more likely his face brown for his appearance on Some of Romney’s own party leaders Romney campaign considers these three to vote for Romney, and 43% said the tapes Spanish language TV network Univision (like Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown states as steppingstones to an Electoral made no difference. Continued on page 4 Wednesday to appeal to Latino voters. India allows FDI in multi-brand retail amid opposition Trinamool pullout threatens UPA govt; Congress unfazed New Delhi: On a day when parts government says are vital for the Left and the Bharatiya Janata of India shut down in response to economy. Party (BJP) and its allies barring an opposition-sponsored strike It capped a day of nationwide the Shiv Sena. against economic reforms, a deter- protests against FDI in multi- In Tamil Nadu, even Congress mined government Thursday night brand retail, a hike in diesel prices, ally DMK joined the show. announced it was operationalizing and cap on cooking gas cylinders In West Bengal, where the ruling FDI in multi-brand trade. that evoked a mixed response Trinamool Congress opposed the "The government today notified across the country. strike, the shutdown called by the the cabinet/CCEA decisions on The general strike crippled nor- Left and BJP virtually paralyzed FDI in single brand retail, multi mal life in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, life. brand retail, civil aviation, broad- West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Against the backdrop of wide- casting sector and power Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, spread uproar over decision on exchanges," an official statement Chhattisgarh, Assam and Tripura. FDI, Prime Minister Manmohan said. Shops and businesses in these Singh is likely to explain to the The unexpected announcement states were universally shut. Rail nation on Friday the reason behind came a day before the Trinamool and road transport was also badly the step and the benefits it would Congress was set to quit the hit, inconveniencing millions. entail. An activist shouted slogans in Allahabad Thursday during a daylong Congress-led UPA in protest Thursday's protest was spon- The thrust of the Prime strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and allowing foreign against economic measures the sored by the Samajwadi Party, the Continued on page 4 capital in multibrand retail. TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 22-28, 2012 Real College- Real close to Home. 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Currently the chief of strategy fundraiser organized by Vidya Daanam, an organization and media at the advertising agency focused on educating underprivileged students especial- Hill Holliday, he starts his new role ly girls in southern India, featured violinists Lalgudi Vi- in October. The company made the jayalakshmi and Kala Ramnath together. The Hindus- announcement Wednesday. tani-Carnatic jugalbandi titled Raaga Rendezvous had ac- "We collaborated on our very suc- companists Bangalore Praveen and Abhijit Banerjee on cessful Newsweek Mad Men issue mridangam and tabla respectively. Attended by classical together and forged a terrific creative music enthusiasts, it was held in Merkin Concert Hall at relationship," editor-in-chief Tina Kaufman Center in New York. Brown said in a statement. "He is ex- Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi (Carnatic) and Started seven years ago, Vidya Daanam is supporting tremely gifted at brand and digital Kala Ramnath (Hindustani) at the concert to scores of underprivileged children, especially in southern strategy, is a strong leader, and is the raise funds for Vidya Daanam. India - Chikmagalur, Coimbatore and Tondavali - through perfect partner for the next phase of its supplementary education program. “Some of the pro- centers to support them,” said Chitra Bhaskar, director of The Newsweek Daily Beast Compa- The India-born’s full name is Baba grams and initiatives engineered and supported by Vidya Vidya Daanam. ny and our expanding live events Shivaram Shetty Daanam include non-formal education centers for over Chitra added, “Vidya Daanam also gives special atten- business." Harman family, which previously 35 Tsunami affected villages in Nagapattinam and tion to girl child, educating and helping in issues includ- Shetty will take over from Stephen owned a 50 percent stake in the two Vedaranyam districts in Tamil Nadu. We support children ing hygiene. We are trying to lower number of girls drop- Colvin, who was president of the publications, withdrew much of its with nutrition and stable residential environment. Along ping out of schools and give them special coaching, es- Daily Beast and later became CEO funding earlier this year. Shetty’s ca- with partner Bharat Heritage Foundation, we have pecially during 10th and 12th grade exams.” when the site merged with reer has included a stint at BMW as adopted panchayats and trained teachers to give extra Swami Dayananda Saraswati is the guiding force be- Newsweek. Newsweek/Daily Beast manager, marketing communications coaching to children. We have also set up six computer hind Vidya Daanam. is trying to chart a new course. The (1993-2000). Mukherjee NOT to MTA could not stop this address GIBM via satellite anti-Jihad ad from running New York: After months of court Pamela Geller, the executive di- battles, a heavily debated anti-Ji- rector for the AFDI, sued on the had ad, sponsored