Huge Victory! Thundering Spring OBAMANIA Brings Change in America. Mc Never Comes Back as Third term for the WAR Machinery Preempted! But the Question Remains Unanswered Whether Obama is BLACK Enough for the Dream of Martin Luther King! Would the American President Overcome AMERICANISM as well as Zionist Corporate Imperialism Unipolar! Indian FREEsenSEX Stumbles with NEWS Breaks form Washington as Ruling Hegemony is Uneasy with the BLACKLASH Ahead! Indian People Defy Brahminism worshipping SUN in CHHATHPUJA Welcoming the SPRING! How Long We Black Untouchable Indigenous and Minority Communities would Remain ENSLAVED with Inherent Inequality Injustice! Global Ruling Hegemony Could Not Digest the SHOCK so Easily as Markets Tumbled!
India greets Obama on extraordinary win
New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) India today greeted Barack Obama on his election as the 44th US President with the government and political parties hoping to further strengthen relations with the world's oldest democracy.
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent congratulatory messages to the 47-year-old Obama and invited him to visit India "as soon as possible".
Students, professionals and politicians welcomed the election of the US' first African-American President as "historic" and said they looked forward to heralding of an era of a "less confrontational" America.
The Indian industry, particularly the software sector, hailed the victory of the first-time Illinois Senator and played down fears of an adverse impact on the flourishing outsourcing business.
"Your extraordinary journey to the White House will inspire people not only in your country but also around the world," Singh said in his message to Obama, who rose from a small-time community worker to become the most powerful man in the world.
"We look forward to strengthening the partnership between India and the US and continuing the close engagement that we have developed in recent years both in bilateral cooperation and in addressing global issues of common concern," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.
Obama's extraordinary journey to the White House drew cheers from political parties of all hue, including the Left and the Right.
Congress, BJP and Left parties termed Obama's victory as historic. PTI
Markets tank, Sensex closes 511 pts down
Mumbai, November 5: Snapping its five-session winning streak, the benchmark Sensex on Wednesday dropped over 500 points in a volatile trading which saw brisk selling on oil & gas counter.
The barometer on the Bombay Stock Exchange opened higher by over 300 points, later came under selling pressure and closed the day lower by 511.11 points, or 4.81 per cent, at 10,120.01 points.
Brokers said profit selling at existing levels brought the bellwether index down.
During the day, the 30-share index just fell short of 11K level at 10,945.41 but it also dipped to almost below 10K level at 10,051.52 points, mirroring the high volatility.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also tanked 147.15 points, or 4.68 per cent, at 2,994.95 points.
Reliance Industries, the heaviest among the Sensex club, tumbled by 12.76 per cent to Rs 1,269.45 on reports that the firm has shut five of its polyester units. With RIL losing , the sectoral index suffered the most among all indices by shedding 637.40 points, or 9.44 per cent at 6112.11 points.
Markets retreat on day after Obama victory
Bizjournals.com - 35 minutes ago
US stock markets dipped Wednesday morning, only hours after Barack Obama made history by becoming the first African-American to be elected president of the United States.
Reaction to Obama elected 1st black US president The Associated Press
Obama victory signals new push for unity Christian Science Monitor
Washington Post - BBC News - Chicago Defender - San Diego Union Tribune
all 177 news articles »
Reuters Insight: Obama and India
(01:20) Analysis
Nov. 5 - India will look to Barack Obama, the newly elected President of the United States on issues of regional stability and more importantly the health of the US economy which directly affects India.
Greg Beitchman, Editor for Reuters Media gives us an analysis.
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How do you address being "black enough" or "woman enough"?
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=TfFUVK_OA-s
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YouTube Debate: Is Obama Black Enough? Hillary Woman Enough?
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=utf4-LPhUz0
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OBAMA CONVENTION SPEECH: Offers Policy Specifics, Goes on Offense v. McCain
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ0gxF869NE
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Sen. Barack Obama's Full Speech to the DNC
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ato7BtisXzE
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Chhath Puja Festival of Bihar India
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=mkfpIXpJAjY
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Ho Dinanath~ Chathh Geet, Sharda Sinha
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Sec5JeaDywg
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Chhath puja 2007
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=pXMhGfzVeaA
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The question remains unanswered whetehr Barrack Obama Hussein Obama is BLACK enough for the dream of Martin luther King! Smashing through the country's "colour line," Barack Hussein Obama was on Wednesday elected 44th president of the United States, a position that will vest unparalleled global power in the son of a Kenyan father and a white American mother. As the world watched in awe and admiration, Obama got an overwhelming mandate in the electoral college - 338 votes to Republican John McCain's 158 - exorcising the lingering ghosts of racism 145 years after the US abolished slavery.
Thundering OBAMANIA Spring brings Change in America and Mc would never return to fuel the Zionist facist Corporate Imperialist War machenry! The Pepole Of America, the heritage of Democracy ensured the Final KILL for the Racial Ruling Hegemony. It is rhetorically a Win against Apartheid and Manusmriti!Barack Obama swept to an historic election victory that made him America's first black president but pleaded for time to heal and transform the global superpower.Obama, 47, will be inaugurated as the 44th US president on January 20, and inherit an economy mired in financial crisis, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a nuclear showdown with Iran.
Despite all the things he's not, despite all the positions he will take that we will have to fight against, despite all the people he will bring to his administration who oppose all we stand for (along with some who will have open ears and be on the right side of many issues), this really is an historic victory that most of us never thought would happen in our lifetime. And it opens many doors for us, a space we haven't had in a very long time. Now we have to work to undo as much as possible all the horrors that the neo-cons have perpetrated and the ones Bush-Cheney will enact before they leave office...no easy task. Not to mention that this victory occurs when the economic structure of capitalism is falling apart, which may make this a pyrrhic victory in the end. We all have a lot of work cut out for us.While the country took a huge step forward in electing Barack Obama, Florida stayed mired in the muck with the reelection of all three of the most reactionary Cuban-American members of Congress, Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balart brothers, who all faced the first serious challenge to their careers. And in California, at bedtime, prospects did not look encouraging on some of the local elections and the state-wide measures regarding gay marriage, abortion rights for teens, and a few other local issues.
Gloab Ruling Hegemony could not digest the SHOCK so easily as markets Tumbed! Stocks are down in early trading, as Wall Street focuses on the troubled economy following Barack Obama's election to the White House. Although the
Analysts claimed the market expected an Obama victory, and Wednesday's selling was part of a trading pattern known as "buy on the rumor, sell on the news."
World leaders hailed Obama's historic triumph but there were also calls for the global superpower to change the way it does business.
Celebrations erupted in capitals around the world. A national holiday was declared in Kenya - where Obama's father was born - to welcome the first black US president.
European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called for the election to usher in a "new deal" between the United States and the rest of the world to tackle the global financial crisis and other troubles.
Investors were also cashing in some of their gains from Tuesday's big rally, which sent the Dow Jones industrials up more than 300 points on expectations that battered stocks would enjoy a traditional yearend rally. Analysts say investors are focused on the economy rather than the election. They're awaiting a report that's expected to show that the service sector, like the manufacturing sector, shrank in October.
The Dow is down about 152 points, or 1.59 percent, to the 9,472 level. Broader market indexes are also down more than 1.5 percent.
European stock markets endured heavy falls in early trading on Wednesday while Asian shares closed sharply higher after Democrat Barack Obama
was elected US president.
Less than an hour after the start of European trade, London was down 1.62 per cent, Frankfurt lost 1.29 per cent and Paris shed 1.69 per cent. Madrid fell 1.27 per cent and Zurich slipped 1.54 per cent.
"There is an element of 'buy the rumour, sell the news' that is driving some profit-taking to kick in," said Martin Slaney, head of derivatives at financial spread betting group GFT in London.
Earlier the Tokyo stock market ended the day up 4.46 per cent, Hong Kong jumped 3.2 per cent and Sydney won 2.9 per cent following an overnight Wall Street rally and on hopes that Obama's policies would help to overcome a global financial crisis, dealers said.
Forty-five years after civil rights icon Martin Luther King laid out his "dream" of racial equality, Obama's election broke new barriers and may have helped heal some of the moral wounds left by slavery and the US civil war.
When he launched his campaign on a chilly day in Illinois in February 2007, Obama forged a mantra of change which powered him throughout the longest, most costly US presidential campaign in history.
Senator Obama solidified traditional Democratic states and cut deep into the Republican territory which his rival needed to control to win the White House .
Obama's win was greeted with euphoria across the United States and reverberated around the world.
New York's Times Square exploded in joy at a moment of healing for America's racial scars and a crowd gathered outside the White House. In Kenya, where Obama's father was born, President Mwai Kibaki declared a national holiday.
Democrats also made huge strides in Congress, and will hold an unshakeable monopoly in power in Washington.
After a bilious campaign, McCain was gracious in defeat, and noted that his election was a moment to cherish for African Americans.
Would the American President Overcome AMERICANISM as well as Zionist Corporate Imperialism Unipolar! Indian FREEsenSEX Stumbles with NEWS Breaks form Washington as Ruling Hegemony is Uneasy with the BLACKLASH Ahead! Indian People Defy Brahminism worshipping SUN in CHHATHPUJA welcoming the SPRING! How Long We Black Untouchable Indigenous and Minority Communities would remain ENSLAVED with Inherent Inequality Injustice!
It is quite a Coincidence that United states of America smashed the racial Barriers created by age old apartheid. Barrack Obama left behind the History of Civil War and Assasinations while Indians worshipped the SUN GOD in Folk Rituals without any Priest. Sun the source of Energy and Life. Indigenous People worldwide worship Sun God!
Barrack Obama seems to be an Incarnation of SUN God! The Black Untouchables , Racial groups and generation Next consisted of the US People who brought the Change!Obama's inauguration will complete a stunning ascent to the pinnacle of US and global politics from national obscurity just four years ago and close an eight year era of turbulence under Bush.
Obama is promising to renew bruised ties with US allies, and to engage some of the most fierce US foes like Iran and North Korea. He has vowed to tackle climate change and provide health care to all Americans.
His presidency also marks a stunning social shift, with Obama, the son of Kenyan father and white mother from Kansas, the first African American president of a nation still riven by racial divides.
Is it the beginning of the much wanted CHANGE in Galaxy order!
Young and charismatic but with little experience on the national level, Obama smashed through racial barriers and easily defeated Republican John McCain to become the first African-American destined to sit in the Oval Office, America's 44th president. He was the first Democrat to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America," Obama told a victory rally of 125,000 people jammed into Chicago's Grant Park.
President-elect Barack Obama told ecstatic supporters on Tuesday that "change has come to America" and called on all Americans to unite and meet pressing challenges.Taking the stage in his home city of Chicago after defeating his Republican rival John McCain following a bitter election campaign, Obama told an enormous outdoor victory rally that the road ahead would be tough.
"Our climb will be steep," Obama said to the crowd of more than 200,000 supporters who crammed into the rally at Grant Park in his home city of Chicago.
"We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there."
On the other hand, in Pune of India, Fearing backlash from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), North Indians in the city have cancelled the Chhath Puja celebrations on Tuesday, and are now going to Mumbai to attend the rituals.
The Supreme Court had some strong words for governments on the failure to tackle violence arising out of the anti-north Indian campaign of Raj Thackeray saying political will was needed to combat it.
“Can it be done through an order of this court? It is a political question not a court issue. If there is a political will it can be tackled,” a bench of Justices B N Aggrawal and G S Singhvi observed on a petition seeking action against those indulging in the hate campaign.
Meanwhile, in line with RJD president and Union railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad's call for resignation of elected representatives from Bihar against the anti-north Indian violence by MNS in Maharashtra, the party legislators and parliamentarians have started submitting their resignation letters to the party leadership.
“75 per cent” of the RJD’s MPs, and 35 of its 55 MLAs and eight of 15 MLCs have submitted their letters of resignation, Mr Shyam Rajak, party spokesman, told .
He said that all RJD MPs and state legislators would submit their resignation by 15 November. Union ministers Mr Premchand Gupta and Mr Akhilesh Singh were among those who have put in their papers.
Meanwhile,Anger and ecstasy during Chhath Puja, devotees across the country offered puja and simultaneously the Marathi vs non Marathi debate got more and more violent.
A day after the Maharashtra Sadan was attacked in the national capital allegedly by Rashtrawadi sena, the Shiv Sainiks have now hit back. The office of the Rashtravadi Sena burnt down by angry Sainiks
“Some people came here and vandalised our office. Now we are going to show them what we can do,” says president, Rastrawadi Sena, Jai Bhagwan Goyal.
Concerned with the increasing rhetoric and lack of action by the political class, public interest litigation had been filed in the Supreme Court. The judiciary had some advice for the politicians.
``If there is political will then attacks can be stopped',” said the Supreme Court.
“Delhi, Mauritius and everywhere Chhath is celebrated and no body can stop it. Even in Mumbai people are celebrating Chhath,” says Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav.
On ground zero in Mumbai, where Raj Thackeray's shadow looms large during Chhath Puja, North Indians came out in large numbers in celebration. At all major venues there was heavy police presence.
The fact that a festival associated with North India has passed peacefully in Mumbai brings some hope to all those who are concerned about the change in the city's cosmopolitan character.
A Solar Deity (also Sun God(dess)), is a deity who represents the sun, or an aspect of it. People have worshiped these for all of recorded history. Hence, many beliefs have formed around this worship, such as the "missing sun" found in many cultures . Sun worship is a possible origin of henotheism and ultimately monotheism.
I was quite unaware of the Fol Tradition in Uttarakhand. In 1980, while I bagen my career as a professional journalist and based myself in the Coalfields of Jharkhand , I came to know all about Chhath Puja. But it was only after my marriage, when Sabita came into my life, I got a real opportunity to participate in the pure Indian folk festival. We stayed in the house of shrivasatvas in Water Board colony, Hirapur Dhanbad. The family had a Deaf and dumb teenager named Madhu. He used to be very close to us and cared very much for Sabita. The mother of the house convinced us to participate in Chhath Puja. We accompanied the family to Bekar Bandh Pond. We gave ARGHYA, the offerings to the setting Sun. Then again the we worshipped the rising SUN!
It was the first Ritual we completed without a Brahmin and there was no caste or class divide. It was free of untouchability. I got the gist that the Chhath puja is the best expression of our indigenous aborinal energy and life!
We witnessed the same thing in United states of America.
We may feel the warmth of DEMOCRACY and citizen`s empowerment which Enabled a Black Man with middle muslim name with a Black family entering the most Powerful House of this Universe. African americanism is the best thing emerged on the Election day which heralded a new age for the Black Untouchbles worldwide.
I still reside amongst a slum inhibited by the discarded labour Community belonging to a local Locked out factory Kanch Kal in Sodepur. The entire population belongs to either Eastern UP or Bihar. Every year, they celebrate Chhath puja and we may not remain aloof! it begins with lauki Bhat and Kharna.
Today we had a gret inflow of THEKUA and fruits at home from every home of the locality!
Chhath Pooja" a family festival for every Bihar born Hindus has its unique religious importance and reminds us of high cultural heritage of Bihar. It is a worship to "Sun God", who is a source of light to life of entire living being and abundance of energy to nature, The recompense of prayer to "Sun-God" has many profits in, human life and even Muslims and Christians are not left uninfluenced of the same. They also equally participate in this holy celebration in Bihar. This festival is celebrated with great austerity and penance. The people of Bihar and Eastern Utter Pradesh offer their prayer to "Sun-God" with highest devotion. It is no denying fact that not only this world but the entire universe has importance of existence of "Sun-God".
Chhath or Dala Chhath is a Hindu festival, unique to Bihar, Jharkhand state, India and Terai, Nepal. This festival is also celebrated in the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and some parts of Chhattisgarh. Songs for Chhath festival sung by Padma Shri Bihar Kokila Prof. (Smt) Sharda Sinha are very popular.The word chhath denotes the number 6 in Hindi and the festival begins on the sixth day of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik, which corresponds to months of October-November in the Gregorian calendar. The festival of Chhath begins a week after Diwali. Chhath is the holiest Hindu festival of Bihar and extends to four days. This festival has particular significance in Bihar, but it is also celebrated in Uttar Pradesh and nearby areas. Even in Tamilnadu, the migrants from the north celebrate Chhath beside the sea beach.
The study of "Rigved" "Atherved" and reference of "Ayurved" enlighten us of importance of worship to "Sun-God". The worship to "Sun-God" brings all desired fruits in life of the devotees. It relieves from many pains & grief of.the life* The leprosy and white spots on skin, i.e. "Charaka" are cured by worship of "Sun-God". Womens desirous of geting a "Son" is blessed with such expectation. Mother Kunti on worship of "Sun-God" was blessed with powerful son "Karna".
The prayer to "Sun-God" is a historical phenomenon in whole country. The famous temples of "Sun-God" in Multan, Kashmir, Chittod, Moghera & Konark are the evidence of the same. "Chhath Pooja" has very strict rules and procedures. The devotees cook their "Foods" and "Prasad" with dry wood on new oven made of brick and soil. Garlic & Onions are kept away from reach. Rock Salts, Pure Ghee, Sugar etc. are used. The devotees sing folk songs in groups. The observing fast for complete 3 days and strict rules of worship demonstrate innocence religious sentiment high faith and discipline in people of the region. The festivity, excitement & happiness are worth seeing and enjoyed by people of all walk of life
This celebration is made compulsorily at bank of river, pond, lake, canals etc* with great rejoicement. The whole family participates in carrying various materials to the above site. The women devotees stand in mid-water with oblation of Takua "Khaboni" Kasara-"Laddu of rice powder", Sugarcanes, Radish, Sprouted Gram, Kidney bean, Turmeric, Coconut, Orange, Sweet lime, Banana and other fruits in winnowing bamboo basket and relatives & visitors offer "Ist Libation" of raw Milk/Water to "Sinking Sun" and again at next morning at the same site the devotees and visitors offer prasad and "2nd Lidation" to "Rising Sun". Visitors touch the feet of devotees and get prasad. No one hesitate in demanding prasad from even a strangler.
Chhath is a festival dedicated to the Sun God, considered to be a means to thank the sun for bestowing the bounties of life in earth and fulfilling particular wishes. Worship of the sun has been practiced in different parts of India, and the world from time immemorial. Worship of sun has been described in the Rig Veda, the oldest Hindu scriptures, and hymns praying to the sun in the Vedas are found.
In the ancient epic Mahabharata, references to worshipping of the sun by Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, are found. It was believed that worshipping of the sun would help cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, and also ensure longevity and prosperity of the family members, friends, and elders. It is also believed that Chhath was started by the great Danveer (alms giver) Karna, sired by the Sun God, who became a great warrior and fought against the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war.
The Morning Worship Dala Chhath, Jamshedpur-JharkhandAlso called Dala Chhath - it is an ancient and major festival. It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winters (September-November)around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath being an arduous observance, requiring the worshippers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to undertake in the Indian winters.
Chhath being mainly a Bihari festival, wherever people from Bihar have migrated, they have taken with them the tradition of Chhath. This is a ritual bathing festival that follows a period of abstinence and ritual segregation of the worshiper from the main household for four days. During this period, the worshiper observes ritual purity, and sleeps on the floor on a single blanket. The main worshipers, called Parvaitin (from Sanskrit parv, meaning 'occasion' or 'festival'), are usually women. However, a large number of men also are the main worshiper. The parvaitin pray for the well-being of their family, for prosperity and offspring. They usually can perform Chhath only if it is passed on to them from their older generation. However, once they decide to do it, it becomes their duty to perform it every year, the festival being skipped only if there happens to be a death in the family that year.
Watercolour drawing showing theChhath festival being celebrated on the banks of the Ganges at Patna, by an anonymous artist working in the Patna style, c.1795-1800On the eve of Chhath, houses are scrupulously cleaned and so are the surroundings. One the first day of the festival, the worshiper cooks a traditional vegetarian meal and offers it to the Sun God. This day is called Naha-Kha (literally, 'Bathe and eat'!). The worshiper allows herself/himself only one meal on this day from the preparation.
On the second day, a special ritual, called Kharna, is performed in the evening after Sun down. On this day also, the worshiper eats his/her only meal from the offerings(Prashad)made to the Sun God in this ritual. Friends and family are invited to the household on this day to share the prashad of the ritual. From this day onwards, for the next 36 hours, the worshiper goes on a fast without water.
A Typical View of the Chhatt Ghat in a village in Bihar(Jagannathpur:Muzaffarpur).The evening of the next day, the entire household accompanies the worshiper to a ritual bathing and worship of the Sun God, usually on the bank of a river or a common large water body. The occasion is almost a carnival. Besides the main worshiper, there are friends and family, and numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and receive the blessings of the worshipper. Ritual rendition of regional folk songs, carried on through oral transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law, are sung on this occasion. The same bathing ritual is repeated on the following day at the crack of dawn. This is when the worshipper breaks his/her fast and finishes the ritual.Chhath being celebrated at the crack of the dawn on a river bank is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to his ancient cultural roots.
The folk songs sung on the eve of Chhath mirror the culture, social structure, mythology and history of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nowadays, modern Chhath songs, largely Bollywood filmy remixes have caught on, but the old tradition still goes strong with a great degree of sanctity. The three main linguistic regions of Bihar: the Maithili, the Magadhi, and the Bhojpuri, and all the various dialects associated with these, have different folk songs; but all dedicated to Chhath, they have an underlying unity. The minor nuances of the Chhath rituals, such as in the Kharna ritual, vary from region to region, and also across families, but still there is a fundamental similarity.
Unlike last year when North Indians in the city got together to celebrate the occasion, this year, about 200 of them, all members of the Maharashtrian Uttar Bharatiya Ekta Manch, are travelling to Mumbai. There are about 4 lakh North Indians in the city.
"We decided not to celebrate the puja in the city this year solely because we wanted to avoid any kind of tensions of problems. Last year, the occasion was something not many were aware about. This year, however, it has become a subject of constant discussions. So, we do not want to take any risks," Sangeeta Tiwari, president of the ekta manch, said. The association has about 3,000 active members.
Tiwari’s views are echoed by another member, Ravi Tiwari. "We want to keep the puja low profile. It’s a religious festival and we don’t want to politicise the issue. Hence, we are going to Mumbai," he says. The authorities have promised protection during the puja in Mumbai, where the occasion is celebrated on a larger scale.
Calling himself a Maharashtrian at heart, Tiwari said his great grandfather had moved to Pune before Independence. "This association is only to bring Hindi speaking people together. We are all Maharashtrians since we have been living here for a long time. The name of the association only proves that," he says.
Tiwari added that most members have travelled to their native places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to celebrate the puja. Chhath Puja is a festival celebrated about six days after the Diwali mainly in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal. "According to legends, Karna of the Mahabharata, who was sired by the sun god, first started the tradition of the puja. Performed mainly by women, the puja involves worshipping the sun god while standing in running water, a river or a lake, either during sunrise or sunset," explained Sangeeta.
Nowadays, the ritual is observed chiefly in the evenings, as it is a convenient time for people to get together.
"Earlier this year, the association had organised a programme at the Shaniwarwada on the occasion of Holi.
But, the event was disrupted. It was attended mainly by the poor people, especially hawkers, who had to bear the brunt, as they were beaten up," Sangeeta. "Therefore, this time we did not want to take any risks. Comparatively, going to Mumbai is a safer bet."
Another member of the association, on condition of anonymity, said, "We are absolutely clueless about why Raj Thackeray would oppose something like Chhath Puja, which is a religious festival like other. all At heart, we are all Maharashtrians having lived here for so long. Doesn’t this matter?"
Sanjay Nirupam a journalist by profession, a man of vision not less then any way from "Sanjay" of Mahabharata who can foresee every thing that would take place in times to come, an energetic youth with self built credibility in social and political arena. The entire world is self centered and only interested to recognize the importance of "Rising Sun" but it is the people of Bihar, who equally offer respect and homage to "Sinking Sun". It depicts-high cultural heritage of state to offer respect and service without any selfish motive. Shri Nirupam a Bihar Putra has proved this by his honest, selfless, sincere, tireless and dedicated service. I also have some duty for :people of Bihar and whole Nation at large. There are over 10 Lakhs people of Bihar in Mumbai. They are unorganised, their deteriorating living condition and employment position mostly worry him. In order to reduce the gap between each other and promote sense of co-operation at the hour of the need amongst them selves under the banner of "Bihar Front" he organised 1st "Chhath Pooja"a very popular festival in Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh for joint celebratation at "JUHU BEACH". The sanctity of worship to "Sun-God"i.e. "Chhath Pooja" is imported within him from his "Janma Bhoomi" which is also celeberated in own family with full righteous and devotion. It is a prayer to "Sun-God"for prosperity of man kind and blessings to the nature. The over whelming response and appreciation lead him to move further in his mission and celeberated Pooja since. The gathering Of over Two Lakhs people in the "Chhath Pooja" celeberation in the millenium year with several dignified non-resident Behari visitors from Russia, Holland, Malaysia, Mauritius and many other countries gives him hearty satisfaction and high encouragement to do more and more such activities, The sucesseful cultural progra. mme and folk songs by renowned singer a Lata Mangeshker of' Bhojpuri songs in Bihar, Smt. Sharada Sinha Smt. Vijaya Bharti, Dr. Neeta Singh and attendance of Cine-lion-Bihari Babu Shri. Shatrughan Sinha and several Bihar born dignitaries ftom educational cultural, social, constructive and political field, bureaucracy & judiciary etc. and food distribution to over 2 Lakhs people were the item of attraction at the occassion. This was a unique religious celeberation of people of Bihar participated and enjoyed by the people of various regions, Shri. Nirupam admits that this was possible only with help and support of functioneries of "Chhath Pooja"., Samanbaya Samity. Their past experience, tireless work, dedications and desire to do better, brought this eye catching success.
Shri. Nirupam an enthusiatic person by nature says he has million miles to travel in his mission and has desires to celeberate "Chhath Pooja" 2003 in still better manner and appeal all Bihar born devotees to register their names and Address with suggestions on short-comings in festivity and arrangements, which shall receive positive attentions and welcome participation of all in making the holy function of "Chhath Pooja" all success. The arrangement are also being made to make "Chhath Pooja"-Samagri" available in stalls of "Bihar Mela" demonstrating various products of Bihar proposed to be organised for Two days on the occasion. Those interested to send their contribution for the "Pooja" may send their cheque/P.O. /D.D. in the name of Bihar Front A/c. "Chhath Pooja"
Barack Obama captures the imagination of the world 5 Nov, 2008, 2235 hrs IST, ECONOMICTIMES.COM
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Obama, whose campaign was marked by moments of soaring rhetoric, took stock of what it meant to be elected the first black U.S. president.
"It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day," Obama said.
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," said the 47-year-old Illinois senator.
The atmosphere at the victory celebration was electric, as the crowd chanted Obama's election slogan"Yes, we can" and elated supporters and campaign staff hugged one another.
Obama paid tribute to his defeated rival as a patriot, hailing McCain's status as a former prisoner of war in Vietnam and saying he hoped to work with him.
"He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader," Obama said.
People in the crowd put their cameras up high to get a shot of Obama, or called friends and family on cell phones to share the moment.
"It is incredible that this is happening in my lifetime," said Julie Mierwa.
Some, however, voiced concern that maybe Obama had promised too much.
"I don't know whether he has over-extended himself and if he will be able to live up to the expectations of him. But today is his day. It was incredible," said Jass Hylton.
Outside the rally, there was bumper to bumper traffic and locals cranked up their radios to hear Obama's address.
Chicago officials put the crowd at the rally at more than 200,000.
His name etched in history as America's first black president-elect, Barack Obama turned Wednesday from the jubilation of victory to the sobering challenge of leading a nation worried about economic crisis, two unfinished wars and global uncertainty.
"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep," Obama cautioned.
After an acrimonious campaign, Obama and McCain were gracious in their moments of victory and defeat. "He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine," Obama said of the Vietnam war veteran McCain and called him "brave and selfless."
McCain, in turn, praised his rival's inspirational and precedent-shattering campaign. "We have come to the end of a long journey," he told supporters in Phoenix, Arizona. "I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next President our goodwill."
The disenchantment with Bush gave the Democrats a majority in the Senate and the party has picked up almost a score of seats in the House of Representatives, boosting Obama's capacity to promote his agenda.
Obama's extraordinary feat a mere 43 years after the blacks won full civil rights - and a long 138 years after they got the vote - in a large measure stemmed from what the New York Times called his "improbable, unshakable conviction that America was ready to step across the colour line".
It was a realisation of the dream of the assassinated civil rights leader, Martin Luther King. Forty-five years ago, he had declared his dream that one day people would be "judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character".
Images: Obama`s leap of faith fired by Mahatma
Obama acknowledged Mahatma Gandhi's inspiration just as King had done. "In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodied the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things," Obama wrote in an article. "That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate office; to remind me that real results will not just come from Washington, they will come from the people."
India and Obama - in a nutshell
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday congratulated Obama and said: "Your extraordinary journey to the White House will inspire people not only in your country but also around the world."
Column: Dangers of Indo-Pak re-hyphenation
News of Obama's win set off celebrations by supporters around the country and the world, from Times Square in New York to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, civil rights leader Martin Luther King's home church, and to New Delhi.
"Most Americans here that I spoke with expressed a sigh of relief," Sharon Lowen, an American danseuse who lives in India and practises Indian classical dance, said in New Delhi, where Indians joined Americans in celebration. "They were earlier shy to be branded as Americans - with Obama's victory we are proud now to be Americans."
African-Americans in the US wept and danced in the streets Tuesday night, declaring that a once-reluctant nation had finally lived up to its democratic promise.
The Rev Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader and onetime presidential contender, joined the celebrations in Chicago, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Polls special
"This is a great night. This is an unbelievable night," said US Representaive John Lewis of Georgia, who was brutally beaten by police in Selma, Alabama, during a voting rights march in the 1960s.
Others exulted in small towns and big cities. And white voters marvelled at what they had wrought in turning a page on the country's bitter racial history, the Times said.
President Bush, whose long shadow loomed heavily on the McCain campaign with the election becoming a kind of referendum on his eight-year rule, too called Obama to congratulate him on his victory.
"I promise to make this a smooth transition," the President said to Obama. "You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations, and go enjoy yourself."
Obama became the first Democrat since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to receive more than 50 percent of the popular vote, and made good on his pledge to transform the electoral map.
He overpowered McCain in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania - four states that the campaign had spent months courting as the keys to victory.
The Democrat easily won most of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states that normally back Democrats, including New Hampshire, and ran strong in states that are normally solid for Republicans, such as Virginia, Indiana and Florida
After an improbable journey that started for Obama 21 months ago and drew a record-shattering $700 million to his campaign account alone, Obama scored an Electoral College landslide that redrew America's political map. He won states that reliably voted Republican in presidential elections, like Indiana and Virginia, which hadn't supported the Democratic candidate in 44 years. Ohio and Florida, key to President Bush's twin victories, also went for Obama, as did Pennsylvania, which McCain had deemed crucial for his election hopes.
With most U.S. precincts tallied, the popular vote was 52.3 percent for Obama and 46.4 percent for McCain. But the count in the Electoral College was lopsided — 349 to 147 in Obama's favor as of early Wednesday, with three states still to be decided. Those were North Carolina, Georgia and Missouri.
With just 76 days until the inauguration, Obama is expected to move quickly to begin assembling a White House staff and selecting Cabinet nominees. Campaign officials said Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel was the front-runner to be Obama's chief of staff. The advisers spoke on a condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.
With these moves and many others to come upon him quickly, Obama planned a low-key, everyman day-after in his hometown of Chicago. The president-elect was taking his two young daughters to school, and then heading to the gym, with little else on his schedule.
The nation awakened to the new reality at daybreak, a short night after millions witnessed Obama's election — an event so rare it could not be called a once-in-a-century happening. Prominent black leaders wept unabashedly in public, rejoicing in the elevation of one of their own — at long last.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who had made two White House bids himself, said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that the tears streaming down his face upon Obama's victory were about his father and grandmother and "those who paved the fights. And then that Barack's so majestic."
"He's going to call on us, I believe, to sacrifice. We all must give up something," Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and leading player in the civil rights movement with Jackson, said on NBC's "Today" show.
Speaking from Hong Kong, retired Gen. Colin Powell, the black Republican whose endorsement of Obama symbolized the candidate's bipartisan reach and bolstered him against charges of inexperience, called the senator's victory "a very very historic occasion." But he also predicted that Obama would be "a president for all America."
Bush, whose public approval ratings have plummeted in the waning days of his presidency, was mostly behind the scenes in the last weeks of the historic campaign. He called Obama to congratulate him late Tuesday and scheduled a midmorning statement in the White House Rose Garden.
Democrats expanded their majority in both houses of Congress.
In the Senate, Democrats ousted Republicans Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John Sununu of New Hampshire and captured seats held by retiring GOP senators in Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado. Still, the GOP blocked a complete rout, holding the Kentucky seat of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Minnesota seat of Norm Coleman, who had been challenged by Democrat Al Franken, and a Mississippi seat once held by Trent Lott — three top Democratic targets.
In the House, with fewer than a dozen races still undecided, Democrats captured Republican-held seats in the Northeast, South and West and were on a path to pick up as many as 20 seats.
When Obama and running mate Joe Biden take their oath of office on Jan. 20, Democrats will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 1994.
"It is not a mandate for a party or ideology but a mandate for change," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said the American people "have called for a new direction. They have called for change in America." She scheduled a midday news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday to elaborate.
After the longest and costliest campaign in U.S. history, Obama was propelled to victory by voters dismayed by eight years of Bush's presidency and deeply anxious about rising unemployment and home foreclosures and a battered stock market that has erased trillions of dollars of savings for Americans.
Six in 10 voters picked the economy as the most important issue facing the nation in an Associated Press exit poll. None of the other top issues — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was selected by more than one in 10. Obama has promised to cut taxes for most Americans, get the United States out of Iraq and expand health care, including mandatory coverage for children.
Obama acknowledged that repairing the economy and dealing with problems at home and overseas will not happen quickly — alluding even in the first blush of victory to the possibility of a second term. "We may not get there in one year or even in one term," he said. "But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there."
McCain conceded defeat shortly after 11 p.m. EST, telling supporters outside the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, "The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly."
"This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and the special pride that must be theirs tonight," McCain said. "These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face."
Obama faces a staggering list of problems, that he called "the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century." He spoke of parents who worry about paying their mortgages and medical bills.
"There will be setbacks and false starts," Obama said. "There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem."
The son of a Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas, the 47-year-old Obama has had a startlingly rapid rise, from lawyer and community organizer to state legislator and U.S. senator, now just four years into his first term. He is the first senator elected to the White House since John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Bush called Obama with congratulations at 11:12 p.m. EST. "I promise to make this a smooth transition," the president said. "You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself." He invited Obama and his family to visit the White House soon.
Obama won California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
McCain had Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. He also won at least 3 of Nebraska's five electoral votes, with the other two in doubt.
Almost six in 10 women supported Obama nationwide, while men leaned his way by a narrow margin, according to interviews with voters. Just over half of whites supported McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004.
The results of the AP survey were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters.
In terms of turnout, America voted in record numbers. It looks like 136.6 million Americans will have voted for president this election, based on 88 percent of the country's precincts tallied and projections for absentee ballots, said Michael McDonald of George Mason University. Using his methods, that would give 2008 a 64.1 percent turnout rate.
"That would be the highest turnout rate that we've seen since 1908," which was 65.7 percent, McDonald said early Wednesday.
Is Obama Black Enough?
By Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates Thursday, Feb. 01, 2007
For all the predictable outrage Joe Biden's recent comments about Barack Obama elicited, the gaffe put a spotlight on one of the more unfortunate forces fueling Obamania. Ever since Barack Obama first ascended the national stage at the 2004 Democratic convention, pundits have been tripping over themselves to point out the difference between him and the average Joe from the South Side. Obama is biracial, and has a direct connection with Africa. He is articulate, young and handsome. He does not feel the need to yell "Reparations now!" into any available microphone.
But this is a double-edged sword. As much as his biracial identity has helped Obama build a sizable following in middle America, it's also opened a gap for others to question his authenticity as a black man. In calling Obama the "first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," the implication was that the black people who are regularly seen by whites — or at least those who aspire to the highest office in the land — are none of these things. But give Biden credit — at least he acknowledged Obama's identity.
The same can't be said for others. "Obama's mother is of white U.S. stock. His father is a black Kenyan," Stanley Crouch recently sniffed in a New York Daily News column entitled "What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me." "Black, in our political and social vocabulary, means those descended from West African slaves," wrote Debra Dickerson on the liberal website Salon. Writers like TIME and New Republic columnist Peter Beinart have argued that Obama is seen as a "good black," and thus has less of following among black people. Meanwhile, agitators like Al Sharpton are seen as the authentic "bad blacks." Obama's trouble, asserted Beinart, is that he will have to prove his loyalty to The People in a way that "bad blacks" never have to. Obama, for his part, settled this debate some time ago. "If I'm outside your building trying to catch a cab," he told Charlie Rose, "they're not saying, 'Oh, there's a mixed race guy.'" Obama understands what all blacks, including myself, know all too well — that Amadou Diallo's foreign ancestry could not prevent his wallet from morphing into a gun in the eyes of the police.
For years pundits excoriated young black kids for attacking other smart successful black kids by questioning their blackness. But this is suddenly permissible for presidential candidates. Beinart's good black/bad black dynamic is the sort of armchair logic that comes from not spending much time around actual black people. As the New Republic points out, Sharpton has an overstated following among black people. In 2004, when Sharpton ran for President, his traction among his alleged base was underwhelming. In South Carolina, where almost half of all registered Dems were black, both John Kerry and John Edwards received twice as many black votes as Sharpton. But this hasn't stopped media outlets from phoning Sharpton whenever something even remotely racial goes down. And it hasn't stopped writers from touting Sharpton's presumed popularity among black people, as opposed to "palatable" black people like Obama.
The black-on-black argument seemed to be bolstered by recent polls showing Obama significantly trailing Hillary Clinton among black voters. But reading into poll numbers that way is a clever device, hatched by mainstream (primarily white) journalists who are shocked — shocked! — to discover that black people aren't as dumbstruck by Obama as they are.
What they fail to understand is that African-Americans meet other intelligent, articulate African-Americans all the time. In almost every cycle since 1984, at least one of these brave chaps has run for President. Forgive us if we don't automatically pledge our votes to Obama and instead make judgments based on things besides skin color — like, heaven forbid, issues. Joe Biden may have misspoken — and in the process probably destroyed any remote hopes of winning the nomination — but he spoke truthfully for a lot of his ilk; Obamania is rooted in the belief that 50 Cent, not Barack Obama, represents the real black America.
Back in the real world, Obama is married to a black woman. He goes to a black church. He's worked with poor people on the South Side of Chicago, and still lives there. That someone given the escape valve of biraciality would choose to be black, would see some beauty in his darker self and still care more about health care and public education than reparations and Confederate flags is just too much for many small-minded racists, both black and white, to comprehend.
Barack Obama's real problem isn't that he's too white — it's that he's too black
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1584736,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587276,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar
From Hindi to Malayalam, no poll stone left unturned
K.P. NAYAR
Obama sheds a tear in North Carolina as he talks about his grandmother Madelyn Dunham who died on the eve of the election. (AP)
Washington, Nov. 4: Barack Obama’s decision during the presidential campaign to appeal to the native instincts of Indian Americans may have played a big role in the outcome of Tuesday’s election to the White House.
Such support proved crucial in states like Virginia where Obama hoped to benefit from changing demographics.
John McCain at Nevada on his way to his home state Arizona where he declared ‘I am going to be the President of the United States’. (AFP)
Last Sunday, the two Indian American girls were rewarded by Obama with standing room right behind him at a rally in Cleveland that was watched nationally on television because singer-song-writer-guitarist Bruce Springsteen and his wife sang at the event.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081105/jsp/frontpage/story_10065382.jsp
As a mixed-race child growing up in Hawaii, Barack Obama stood out from an early age. Toby Harnden goes there to meet the family friends and schoolmates of the man who would be America’s first black President
WONDER YEARS: (down from below) With mother Ann Dunham; playing with grandfather Stanley Dunham on a Hawaii beach; a young Barack with his grandparents on graduation day
As the sun sank over the Pacific Ocean behind him, Frank Marshall Davis looked up from his rickety front porch and saw his friend Stanley Dunham approaching. The grizzled old black man could see that Dunham was bringing along his grandson, whom he had been waiting to meet — a caramel-skinned boy of nine called Barry Obama. It was the autumn of 1970.
By Orlando Patterson Thursday, Feb. 08, 2007
But Obama’s memoir records a string of racial slights at Punahou, some minor and unintended, others more serious: a ruddy-faced boy who asked if his father was a cannibal; a 12-year-old whom he rewarded with a bloody nose after he had called him a coon; a tennis pro who warned him his colour might rub off if he touched the match schedule.
LIKE A STAR: Obama meets supporters on the campaign trail
‘We talked about the effects of race... Not out of a deep sense of pain — you know. In Hawaii, we were in a smaller minority but we weren’t a hated minority. There was a respect for black people because the Hawaiians felt a sense of kinship with us.”
The Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081102/jsp/7days/story_10050758.jsp
Solar barge / Sun chariot
Ra in his solar bargeA "solar barge" (also "solar bark", "solar barque", "solar boat", "sun boat") is a mythological representation of the sun riding in a boat. The "Khufu ship", a 43.6-meter-long vessel that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC, is a full-size surviving example which may have fulfilled the symbolic function of a solar barque. This boat was rediscovered in May of 1954 when archeologist Kamal el-Mallakh and inspector Zaki Nur found two ditches sealed off by about 40 blocks weighing 17 to 20 tonnes each. This boat was disassembled into 1,224 pieces and took over 10 years to reassemble. A nearby museum was built to house this boat. [1]
The many early Egyptian goddesses who are related as sun deities and the later gods Ra and Horus depicted as riding in a solar barge. In Egyptian myths of the afterlife, Ra rides in an underground channel from west to east every night so that he can rise in the east the next morning.
The Nebra sky disk, which (it has been speculated) features a depiction of a solar barge.
Nordic Bronze Age petroglyphs, including those found in Tanumshede often contains barges and sun crosses in different constellations.
A "sun chariot" is a mythological representation of the sun riding in a chariot. The concept is younger than that of the solar barge, and typically Indo-European, corresponding with the Indo-European expansion after the invention of the chariot in the 2nd millennium BC.
Greek Helios riding in a chariot,[3] (see also Phaëton[4])
Sol Invictus depicted riding a quadriga on the reverse of a Roman coin.[5]
Vedic Surya riding in a chariot drawn by seven horses
The sun itself also was compared to a wheel, possibly in Proto-Indo-European, Greek heliou kuklos, Sanskrit suryasya cakram, Anglo-Saxon sunnan hweogul (PIE *swelyosyo kukwelos).
[edit] Female and male
The warrior goddess Sekhmet, shown with her sun disk and cobra crownSolar deities are popularly[who?] thought of as male counterparts of the lunar deity (usually female); however, sun goddesses are found on every continent (e.g. Amaterasu in Japanese belief) paired with male lunar deities. Among the earliest records of human beliefs, the early goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon carried a sun above their head as a symbol of dignity. The sun was a major aspect of Egyptian symbols and hieroglyphs, all the lunar deities of that pantheon were male deities. The cobra, the lioness, the cow, the dominant symbols of the most ancient Egyptian deities, carried their relationship to the sun atop their heads; they were female and their cults remained active throughout the history of the culture. Later a sun god was established in the eighteenth dynasty on top of the other solar deities, before the "aberration" was stamped out and the old pantheon re-established. When male deities became associated with the sun in that culture, they began as the offspring of a mother. Feminist examination of some of the earliest religions of Western cultures concluded that a sun goddess, often, driving her chariot bearing it across the sky daily. Sól is the goddess after whom the sun and Sunday are named in English.
[edit] Missing sun motif
Amaterasu finally emerges from the caveThe missing sun is a theme in the myths of many cultures, sometimes including the themes of imprisonment, exile, or death. The missing sun is often used to explain various natural phenomena, including the disappearance of the sun at night, shorter days during the winter, and solar eclipses. Even the Greek myth of Gaia as Demeter and her daughter, Persephone or Kore, imply that the latter was a sun goddess who went missing, bringing on winter when her mother failed to keep the earth bountiful as she searched for her missing daughter.
[edit] Solar deities throughout cultures
The winged sun was an ancient (3rd millennium BC) symbol of Horus, later identified with RaIn different religions solarised supreme deities carry different names and are associated with different aspects of the cultural universe of the society, but for the most part its raw image remains identical.
[edit] Africa
The Munsh tribe considers the Sun to be the son of the supreme being Awondo and the Moon is Awondo's daughter. The Barotse tribe believes that the Sun is inhabited by the sky god Nyambi and the Moon is his wife. Even where the sun god is equated with the supreme being, in some African mythologies he or she does not have any special functions or privileges as compared to other deities.
[edit] Ancient Egypt
Isis, bearing her solar disk and horns nurses her infant, HorusSun worship was exceptionally prevalent in ancient Egyptian religion. The earliest deities associated with the sun are Wadjet, Sekhmet, Hathor, Nut, Bast, Bat, and Menhit. First Hathor, and then Isis, give birth to and nurse Horus and Ra.
[edit] Aztec Mythology
This article is about the god. For the conquistador, see Pedro de Alvarado.
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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)
Tonatiuh as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis.In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh (Nahuatl: Ollin Tonatiuh "Movement of the Sun") was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven. He was also known as the fifth sun, because the Aztecs believed that he was the sun that took over when the fourth sun was expelled from the sky. According to their cosmology, each sun was a god with its own cosmic era. According to the Aztecs, they were still in Tonatiuh's era. According to the Aztec creation myth, the god demanded human sacrifice as tribute and without it would refuse to move through the sky. It is said that 20,000 people were sacrificed each year to Tonatiuh and other gods, though this number is thought to be inflated either by the Aztecs, who wanted to inspire fear in their enemies, or the Spaniards, who wanted to vilify the Aztecs. The Aztecs were fascinated by the sun and carefully observed it, and had a solar calendar second only in accuracy to the Mayans'. Many of today's remaining Aztec monuments have structures aligned with the sun.
[edit] Chinese mythology
In Chinese mythology (cosmology), there were originally ten suns in the sky, and the world was so hot that nothing grew. A hero called Hou Yi shot down nine of them with bow and arrows. In another myth, the solar eclipse was caused by the dog of heaven biting off a piece of the sun. There was a tradition in China to hit pots and pans during a solar eclipse to drive away the "dog".
[edit] Hinduism
Surya at Konark TempleIn the Vedas, numerous hymns are dedicated to Surya deva, the Sun personified, and Savitr, "the impeller", a solar deity either identified with or associated with Surya. Even the Gayatri mantra, which is regarded as one of the most sacred of the Hindu hymns is dedicated to the Sun. The Adityas are a group of solar deities, from the Brahmana period numbering twelve. The ritual of sandhyavandanam, performed by some Hindus, is meant to worship the sun.
The Mahabharata describes its warrior hero Karna as being the son of Kunti and the Sun. The Ramayana has its protagonist Rama as being from the Surya Vansham or the clan of kings as bright as the Sun. The charioteer of Surya is Arun, who is also personified as the redness that accompanies the sunlight in dawn and dusk.
At Konark, a town in Orissa, a temple is dedicated to Surya. The Konark temple has also been declared a UNESCO world heritage site. Surya is the most prominent of the navagrahas or nine celestial objects of the Hindus. Navagrahas can be found in almost all Hindu temples.
[edit] Indonesia
The same swapping process is seen in Indonesia. The solar gods have a stronger presence in Indonesia's religious life and myth.
In some cases the Sun is revered as a "father" or "founder" of the tribe. This may apply for the whole tribe or only for the royal and ruling families. This practise is more common in Australia and on the island of Timor, where the tribal leaders are seen as direct heirs to the Sun god.
Some of the initiation rites include the second reincarnation of the rite's subject as a "son of the Sun", through a symbolic death and a rebirth in the form of a Sun. These rituals hint that the Sun may have an important role in the sphere of funerary beliefs. Watching the Sun's path has given birth to the idea in some societies that the deity of the Sun descends in to the underworld without dying and is capable of returning afterward. This is the reason for the Sun being associated with functions such as guide of the deceased tribe members to the underworld, as well as with revival of perished. The Sun is a mediator between the planes of the living and the dead.
[edit] Folklore
In folklore traditions there are many preserved archaic Sun cults which incorporate themselves into newer religions. For example, the burning wheels rolled down hills during sun equinox days, the ban on using jiggers on certain days of the year or the custom of tying a man to a wheel. The "sun-fertility-hero/representative of the underworld" cult complex is also evident in Japan where there is a custom that young people representing the Sun's ancestors (i.e. the dead) should paint their faces red and visit village homes, guaranteeing the land's fertility through this magical ritual.
Another important mythological complex is that of the "Sun Hero", typical of the nomad-herders. Such heroes are encountered among the African nomad tribes, the tribes from Central Asia (Gesen Khan), and among all Indo-European peoples. The Sun Hero always has a "dark" side - he has some sort of connection with the underworld, with the initiation ritual and with fertility. The Sun Hero myth contains many elements that link the Hero with the Demiurge. The Hero often saves the world, renews the world, opens a new epoch, and generally brings about some major renewal to the established cosmical order. These functions of the Sun Hero represent the demiurgical "legacy" left from the supreme celestial being. A typical example for such evolution is the god Mithras.
[edit] Solar myth
Three theories exercised great influence on nineteenth and early twentieth century mythography, beside the Tree worship of Mannhardt and the Totemism of J.F. McLennan, the "Sun myth" of Alvin Boyd Kuhn and Max Müller.
R.F. Littledale criticized the Sun myth theory when he illustrated that Max Müller on his own principles was himself only a Solar myth, whilst Alfred Lyall delivered a still stronger attack on the same theory and its assumption that tribal gods and heroes, such as those of Homer, were mere reflections of the Sun myth by proving that the gods of certain Rajput clans were really warriors who founded the clans not many centuries ago, and were the ancestors of the present chieftains.[7]
[edit] See also
Aditya
Belenos
Fire worship
Helios
Horus
Jesus Christ
July Morning
Konark Sun Temple
List of solar deities
Order of the Solar Temple
Phoenix
Ra
Sol Invictus
Solar symbol
Stonehenge
Surya
Thelema
Trundholm Sun Chariot
Winged sun
[edit] References
^ Siliotti, Alberto, Zahi Hawass, 1997 "Guide to the Pyramids of Egypt" p. 54-55
^ Egypt solar boats
^ theoi.com Helios
^ thanasis.com Helios & Phaethon
^ Probus Coin
^ The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
^ William Ridgeway , Solar Myths, Tree Spirits, and Totems, The Dramas and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915. pp. 11-19.[1]
[edit] Bibliography
Azize, Joseph (2005) The Phoenician Solar Theology. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 1-59333-210-6.
Olcott, William Tyler (1914/2003) Sun Lore of All Ages: A Collection of Myths and Legends Concerning the Sun and Its Worship Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 0543960277.
[edit] External links
The Worship of the Sun Among the Aryan Peoples of Antiquity by Sir James G. Frazer
"The Sun, A Universal Deity" from The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly Palmer Hall
The Sun God Ra and Ancient Egypt
The Great Myth of the Sun Gods by Alvin Boyd Kuhn
The Sun God and the Wind Deity at Kizil by Tianshu Zhu, in Transoxiana Eran ud Aneran, Webfestschrift Marshak 2003.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_deity"
Asian shares higher after Obama win ends uncertainty
5 Nov, 2008, 1111 hrs IST, REUTERS
HONG KONG: Asian shares hit a three-week high and the dollar extended gains after Barack Obama became the next U.S. president, ending uncertainty ab
out who will lead the world's largest economy in the midst of great financial peril.
U.S. Treasuries fell as investors became bolder in taking risk, though U.S. stock futures remained little changed and oil succumbed to profit-taking after signs of global production cuts had sent crude prices up 10 percent on Tuesday.
The new Obama administration, which takes office in January, will face the world's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and a potentially steep slowdown in the global economy that has pounded markets from Tokyo to Frankfurt to New York.
Unprecedented measures to rescue banks across the world, aggressive rate cuts by central banks, and the improvements in credit markets have in the last week given global markets a respite from a thrashing, but some still urged caution.
"The knee-jerk complacency rally in Asia to an Obama win is likely creating an opportunity to sell," said Kirby Daley, a senior strategist for Newedge Group in Hong Kong. "The bottom line is economic fundamentals in the U.S. are deteriorating faster than the market can keep up with.
And there is very little an Obama administration can do to shield Asia from the effects of this downturn." The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan rose for a seventh consecutive session on Wednesday, with its 3.2 percent gain as of 0450 GMT placing the index at the highest since Oct. 16. The gains came after U.S. stocks on Tuesday enjoyed their biggest election day rally ever.
Tokyo's Nikkei rose 2.6 percent, led by exporters such as Honda Motor Co that were bolstered by a softer yen, while energy-linked firms such as Mitsubishi Corp gained on the oil price rally. Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore rose more han 4 percent each, while stocks in Australia gained more than 2 percent. South Korea, India and Taiwan saw more muted gains.
DOLLAR ADVANCES In a measure that investors may be more willing to add risk, U.S. Treasury prices fell after Obama's win. The 2-year note's price traded down 3/32 for a yield of 1.44 percent. The dollar advanced following Obama's election, recovering some of the prior days losses that saw the currency suffer its biggest one-day slide in 13 years when investors went searching for higher yielding currencies.
"(Obama's win) is arguably likely to prove more positive for foreign markets given the perception that he will be stronger in terms of dealing with US economic problems, is seen more favourably by foreigners generally, and is less likely to follow the policies of President Bush," Calyon said in a report. The dollar rose 0.7 percent against a basket of major currencies to 85.187.
The euro hit the day's low of $1.2830 after the projection of a win for Obama, and was down 0.9 percent from late U.S. trade at $1.2868 at 0423 GMT. The dollar dipped 0.1 percent to 99.66 yen Oil remained lower after the U.S. presidential election, with crude down $1.50 to $69.05 a barrel as investors took profits after a spike the previous session following signs that Saudia Arabia and other OPEC members had made promised cuts in crude production.
China's shares open higher on Wall Street surge
5 Nov, 2008, 0821 hrs IST, AGENCIES
BEIJING: China's share prices opened 0.56 percent higher on Wednesday, echoing the largest overnight Wall Street rally on a US presidential election
day since 1984.
The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 1,716.22 points, up 0.56 percent, or 9.52 points from the previous closing.
The smaller Shenzhen Component Index opened at 5,721.52 points, up 0.93 percent, or 52.71 points.
World hopes for a less arrogant America
4 Nov, 2008, 2050 hrs IST, AGENCIES
BERLIN: A world weary of eight years of George W. Bush was riveted Tuesday by the drama unfolding in the United States. Many were inspired by BarackProfile: Barack Obama
Obama's focus on hope, or simply relieved that - whoever wins - the current administration is coming to an end.
From Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the small town of Obama, Japan, the world gears up to celebrate a fresh start for America.
In Germany, where more than 200,000 flocked to see Obama this summer as he moved to burnish his foreign policy credentials during a trip to the Middle East and Europe, the election dominated television ticker crawls, newspaper headlines and Web sites.
Hundreds of thousands prepared to party through the night to watch the outcome of an election having an impact far beyond America's shores. Among the more irreverent festivities planned in Paris: a "Goodbye George" party to bid farewell to Bush.
"Like many French people, I would like Obama to win because it would really be a sign of change," said Vanessa Doubine, shopping Tuesday on the Champs-Elysees. "I deeply hope for America's image that it will be Obama."
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Obama-mania was evident not only across Europe, where millions geared up for all-night vigils, but even in much of the Islamic world, where Muslims expressed hope that the Democrat would seek compromise rather than confrontation.
The Bush administration alienated Muslims by mistreating prisoners at its detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison - human rights violations also condemned worldwide.
"I hope Obama wins (because) of the need of the world to see the U.S. represent a more cosmopolitan or universal political attitude," said Rais Yatim, the foreign minister of mostly Muslim Malaysia.
"The new president will have an impact on the economic and political situation in my country," said Muhammad al-Thaheri, 48, a civil servant in Saudi Arabia. Like so many around the world, he was rooting for Obama "because he will change the path the U.S. is on under Bush."
Nizar al-Kortas, a columnist for Kuwait's Al-Anbaa newspaper, saw an Obama victory as "a historic step to change the image of the arrogant American administration to one that is more acceptable in the world."
Yet John McCain was backed by some in countries such as Israel, where he is perceived as tougher on Iran.
US voted for compassionate capitalism: Infosys
5 Nov, 2008, 1956 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: Software major Infosys Technology has hailed Barak Obama's victory in the US presidential election, calling it a victory of "compassionatJoys and woes of US Elections
e capitalism" over laissez faire capitalism.
"Today is an extraordinary day. The US has voted for compassionate capitalism over laissez faire capitalism. Besides, this election has shown that meritocracy matters most," Infosys chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy said in a statement.
Laissez faire is an ecnomic theory which advocates for minimum government interference in market.
Earlier in the day, the company's shares slipped 0.91 percent at the Bombay Stock Exchange over fears of the president-elect's protectionist policies. The industry fears the Obama administration may offer tax breaks to companies which do not outsource.
"We believe President-elect Obama to be a pragmatic leader who understands that American industry needs to be competitive not just in America but in third (world) countries as well. This election has also proved that the internet is a powerful medium for raising funds," Murthy added.
Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) scrip also dipped by half a percent during the day's trading.
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? NASSCOM congratulates Senator Barack Obama
? Indian IT sector welcomes Obama as US president
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the industry trade body, expressed optimism over his victory victory in the elections.
"The Nasscom looks forward to this opportunity of working with the president-elect and his administration on mutually beneficial policies that will boost the economies in both nations, enhance bilateral national security matters between India and the US," the body said in a statement.
The Nasscom said with the global economy stressed, it is more important than ever that India and the US find ways to partner together to spur innovation, foster economic growth, develop an educated and skilled workforce and create jobs for the modern global marketplace.
NASSCOM congratulates Senator Barack Obama
5 Nov, 2008, 1321 hrs IST, ECONOMICTIMES.COM
NEW DELHI: NASSCOM congratulated Senator Barack Obama on his historic victory and said that it looked forward to the opportunity of working with the
President-elect and his administration on mutually beneficial policies that will boost the economies in both nations and enhance bilateral national security matters between India and the United States.
"With the global economy stressed, it is more important than ever that India and the US find ways to partner together to spur innovation, foster economic growth, develop an educated and skilled workforce and create jobs for the modern global marketplace" , a press statement said.
NASSCOM said that it shared many of the same economic and diplomatic goals outlined by President-elect Obama during the course of his campaign and it supports expanding the H1B visa program aimed at highly skilled workers.
British law firms outsource to India in a big way
5 Nov, 2008, 0625 hrs IST, PTI
LONDON: Britain's biggest law firms are outsourcing jobs related to conveyancing, accident claims and due diligence investigations to India to cut co
sts.
Thousands of Indian lawyers and fresh law graduates have reportedly been employed by British firms for a fraction of the cost if the work were done in Britain.
Clifford Chance, reputed to be world's largest law firm, has set up its own offshore centre in New Delhi. Eversheds, another leading UK law firm, has confirmed it was making use of India-based legal resource centres.
Several other legal companies have expressed an interest in outsourcing hundreds of millions of pounds worth of high-volume work, a report in 'The Independent' said.
"The often negative image of call-centres is increasingly being replaced by more accurate perceptions of the quality of legal work available from professionals in India," it said.
Nearly 80,000 English-speaking law graudates pass out from Indian institutions every year. Young Indian lawyers are considered very competent and also Indian legal system is largely based on English law.
CPA Global, a legal process outsourcing company (LPO), said that more than 30 law firms and company legal departments were in talks to use its legal support base in India, which employs 450 graduates and lawyers.
CPA is one of the biggest providers of LPO services in India and counts Microsoft among its clients.
The downward pressure on legal costs in the economic downturn had forced the once-conservative legal profession to consider radical means for delivering legal services to clients who wanted fees to be fixed, rather than billed at an hourly rate, the LPO company said.
Indian firms have responded by offering US and UK law firms litigation support and compliance work at around 100 different legal outsourcing centres, the report said.
Obama Nama: Outsourcing firms may feel the jitters
2 Nov, 2008, 1624 hrs IST,Neha Dewan, ET Bureau
He might be the great American change agent. But US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s win could dash the career hopes of many Indians. His fierce antioutsourcing stance — the subject of many a debate in the past — could spell bad news for the BPO firms and the IT industry.
But strangely enough, the results of a recent poll by consulting and market research firm Tecnova shows that 82% of the respondents in India expect Obama to win. In fact, most respondents in India feel that Obama is the right representative for political stability , world peace and financial strength.
With the US going to polls next week, the last leg of the battle is currently on between Democrat presidential candidate Obama and Republican rival John McCain. And it’s not just India that is showing confidence in an Obama presidency, the sentiment is similar in other countries as well.
Market research network GlobalNR’s findings across 21 countries including India surveyed by Tecnova, indicates that Obama has more positive perceptions as compared to McCain. The recent survey conducted globally among 10,392 people found that on an average 73% were in favour of Obama.
Clearly, India Inc at present has other considerations on mind. The possible negative consequences of an Obama victory on the Indian subcontinent does not seem to be influencing their expectations.
Sujay Sen Gupta, president (global market research) at Tecnova India, says: “Obama has strong reservations on outsourcing and has made many statements during his election speeches that he would discourage this when he comes into power.
This is definitely not good news for the burgeoning Indian IT and ITeS sector. However, the research results still show very high support for Obama amongst the Indian respondents, which clearly indicates that common people are thinking of other aspects.”
Sure enough, Indian observers feel that Obama is more likely to improve international issues such as world peace, global poverty, environment, human rights and the economy. And the survey findings bear testimony to that.
According to the Tecnova research, 54% of the Indian respondents strongly feel that world peace will improve if Obama is elected as the president of the US. And 43% believe that financial stability in the world will improve if Obama comes to power as against only 24% who think the same if Republican presidential candidate McCain comes to power.
5 Nov, 2008, 1514 hrs IST, AGENCIES
5 Nov, 2008, 1357 hrs IST, IANS
auritius being the largest investor.
5 Nov, 2008, 0205 hrs IST,Rajeev Jayaswal, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: Fuel users may soon get to pay less at the pump, as the government looks to cut petrol prices by up to around Rs 2 a litre to drum up supp
ort with voters ahead of key state elections later this month.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Indicators/Govt_weighs_cut_in_fuel_prices_as_crude_retreats_polls_loom/articleshow/3674450.cms
5 Nov, 2008, 0102 hrs IST,Dheeraj Tiwari & Subhash Narayan, ET Bureau
ks have said they would not be in position to participate in bailing them out by waiving interests and infusing fresh capital.
5 Nov, 2008, 0443 hrs IST,Madan Sabnavis,
and Merrill Lynch. The Indian markets went into a spin and all segments got affected, which culminated with RBI stepping in to lower the CRR and repo rates as there was a liquidity crunch with repo subscriptions touching Rs 90,000 crore on a regular basis.
(The author is NCDEX chief economist. Views are personal)
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The Age of Obama
Obama will need the spirits of Kennedy, FDR and Lincoln, and also a patient public.
The Path to Victory
Obama's breathless race to the finish
By Jon Meacham | NEWSWEEK
Published Nov 5, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Nov 17, 2008
From the Editors (2) Highlights: Newsweek's Special Election Project Quindlen: What Obama Means to This Nation See All Recommended (6) Spread The Wealth? What’s New? Obama Leads Dem Takeover of National Politics Opinion: Lessons from the Election on U.S. Power Fineman: Obama's Supporters Must Be Reckoned With Ex-Bush Official: We Should Talk to Iran 'Wal-Mart Women' Won't Save McCain—Or the GOP See All Topics (3) Ronald Reagan Barack Obama The White House See All
http://www.newsweek.com/id/167598
Obama Is Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls
Damon Winter/The New York Times
Senator Barack Obama with his wife, Michelle, and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. with his wife, Jill, in Chicago on Tuesday night.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: November 5, 2008
Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.
Steve S, New York
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The election of Mr. Obama amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country.
Elisabeth Bumiller contributed reporting from Phoenix, Michael Luo and Marjorie Connelly from New York and Jeff Zeleny from Chicago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06elect.html?hp
PM Manmohan Singh hails Obama's 'extraordinary' win
5 Nov 2008, 1304 hrs IST, AFP
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his "extraordinary" victory on Wednesday and invited him
to visit India at the earliest opportunity.
Singh said the people of India and the United States were bound by a shared commitment to freedom, justice, pluralism, individual rights and democracy.
"These ideals provide a solid bedrock for friendship and strategic partnership between our two nations," he said, hailing Obama's "extraordinary journey to the White House."
Future India-US cooperation would be an "important factor for world peace, stability and progress," the prime minister added.
Mahatma Gandhi inspires Obama
5 Nov 2008, 1644 hrs IST, PTI
WASHINGTON: Barack Obama, who has scripted history by getting elected as the first black President of the United States, has always seen Mahatma
Gandhi as an inspiration who reminds him about the "real message of life".
Obama also flaunts his love for the apostle of peace by having a portrait of Mahatma at his Senate Office.
The Democrat, who favours US having close links with India, has told an Indian magazine that he was "fortunate" to have close Indian-American friends and recalled the rural development work his mother did in the country.
Through the power of his example and his own unshakable spirit, Gandhi inspired a people to resist oppression, sparking a revolution that freed a nation from colonial rule, the Democratic Presidential-elect had said.
"Gandhi's significance is universal. Countless people around the world have been touched by his spirit and example. His victory in turn inspired a generation of young Americans to peacefully wipe out a system of overt oppression that had endured for a century.
"And more recently led to velvet revolutions in Eastern Europe and extinguished apartheid in South Africa," the 47-year-old Senator from Illinois had said in his message on October 2, birth anniversary of Gandhi
Obama had said that he always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things.
"That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate office; to remind me that real results will not just come from Washington, they will come from the people," Obama, who won the historic presidential poll, had said.
He had said that while formulating his strategy to free India from the clutches of the then British rulers, Gandhi had a choice.
"He (Gandhi) chose courage over fear." Through the power of his example and his own unshakable spirit, he inspired a people to resist oppression, sparking a revolution that freed a nation from colonial rule.
Top Takes from the epicenter of the global crisis
5 Nov, 2008, 2037 hrs IST,Sudeshna Sen, ECONOMICTIMES.COM
Even as America's first black president took centre stage in all discussions, pressure mounted on the BoE to drop interest rates by a full percentage point as recent data pointed to further recessionary pressures in the UK. In a key survey, the UK services sector shrank to its lowest level since 1996 in October, while official figures show that manufacturing fell for the seventh month run. Experian, a leading credit information company showed that in the first 9 months of this year, business failures and insolvencies rose 22% annually, to 16,591 companies going bust.
In Q3 alone, the figure rose to 5,957, a 28.2 % increase over last year. Experian warned that now more than ever, businesses need to safeguard the supply of their goods and services ad ensure that their customers and suppliers have the means to pay. Key sectors hit include business services, building and construction, and property. The City of London, predictably, led the bankruptciesbut Northern Ireland and East Anglia beat the trend.
Arcelor Mittal to double production cuts
Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steekmakers, announced it would double production cuts to 30% of its production this year, even as it announced less than expected profits to report a 29% rise in Q3 profits to $ 3.8 bn. The Luxembourg based company joins its peers around the world as steel prices weaken, and also forecast earnings will drop almost 48% in the Q4. "Things have worsened in the last three weeks. We have had to accelerate" our cuts, the company's chief financial officer, Aditya Mittal, said in a conference call with reporters. Earlier the company had denied it was shutting down its Ukraine plant. It predicted. Arcelor Mittal also said that it was aiming to cut its debt burden by $10bn by the end of 2009.
Some UK companies to increase retirement age
As UK companies struggle with pension schemes under pressure, some companies are planning to increase their retirement age to 65, like BT and HSBC, and overhauling some elements of their usually generous pension schemes. Neither have yet finalized the changes with pension trustees or unions. The idea is that raising the retirement age will ease pressure on meeting shortfalls in the pension funds, and also give employees breathing time for them to recover.
One rising concern here, is that while the expected round of lay offs will be absorbed over time, employees who are on the verge of retirement will be hit the worst – EU regulations that allow companies to lay off people over a certain age, and those over 60 will be left holding pensions that are highly reduced in value, leaving them with much less to tide over the recession years.
US private sector cuts 157,000 jobs in Oct
5 Nov, 2008, 1918 hrs IST, AGENCIES
NEW YORK: US private employers cut a larger-than-expected 157,000 jobs in October, a report by a private employment service said on Wednesday.
ADP Employer Services also said it revised the number of jobs lost in September to 26,000 from the originally reported loss of 8,000. ADP said the private sector job losses in October were the highest since November 2002. The report comes ahead of Friday's key payrolls by the government, which is more comprehensive than the ADP data and is expected to show a drop of 200,000 in non-farm payrolls. Some are expecting an even bigger drop.
"The payroll number has been consistently weaker than ADP. We have a 250,000 decline for October payroll," said James O'Sullivan, economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. "Hopefully the absolute decline should bottom in the second quarter but there are a lot uncertainties."
On Wall Street, stock index futures added slightly to earlier losses. U.S. government bonds, which generally benefit from weak economic conditions, pared their earlier losses. Economists had expected the ADP report to show 100,000 private-sector jobs were lost in October, according to the median of forecasts in a Reuters poll. The 29 forecasts ranged from a drop of 210,000 to a decline of 50,000. The ADP Employer Services report was jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.
'Obama-Biden team will take India-US relationship to next level'
5 Nov, 2008, 1401 hrs IST, IANS
NEW YORK: An influential Democratic Indian American leader has asserted that the Obama-Biden team in the White House would take the India-US relatio
nship to the next level. Swadesh Chhatterjee has also discounted a recent Obama statement that he would help resolve the Kashmir dispute, which some in India saw as interference.
"Though there is a perception that the India-US relationship would go backwards (under Obama presidency), there is no reason to think that way," Chatterjee, national financial chair of Asian Americans for Obama, told IANS after the Illinois Senator was declared winner of the presidential election.
Chatterjee, who was bestowed with a Padmashri by the Indian Government in 2001 for playing a key role in rebuilding India-US relationship post-Pokhran II, is known to be a close friend of the Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
"I think, Obama-Biden team would look at India as one of the strongest allies of the United State in the 21st century," said Chatterjee, who played a lead role in galvanising the Indian American community to get the India-US nuclear deal passed by the US Congress.
Chatterjee said the Biden-Obama team feels India has a lot to offer to resolve the issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "I think the US needs the help of India, and no other country can help the US better than India," he said.
When asked about the recent statement of Obama that he would facilitate resolving the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, Chatterjee said people are reading much more into it than they should.
"Because Obama made the comment that Kashmir issue should be resolved does not mean that the US is going to interfere," he observed.
"I really believe that Obama would take exactly the same position as was told before by the Democratic Party, that Kashmir is an issue between India and Pakistan and they should resolve within themselves. No way is the US going to interfere on the Kashmir issue," Chatterjee said.
Referring to his close association with Biden, Chatterjee said the Vice President-elect would play the most influential role in shaping the foreign policy of the US in the Obama administration. Biden currently is chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Biden is a friend of India. He would play a very important role when it comes to having relationship with India," he said, adding: "You would see the relationship grow much deeper."
Full text of Barack Obama's victory speech
5 Nov, 2008, 1133 hrs IST, AGENCIES
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders
is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled ? Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics ? you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to ? It belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington ? it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime ? two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America ? I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you ? we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years ? block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
continued. pl see:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/US_POLL/Full_text_of_Barack_Obamas_victory_speech/articleshow/3676016.cms
Analysis: Next up after Obama win, governing
5 Nov, 2008, 1008 hrs IST, AGENCIES
WASHINGTON: Now comes the hard part for Barack Obama Obama essentially came out of nowhere, beat the Democratic establishment, conquered doubts abou
t his experience and overcame questions about his race to be elected the first black U.S. president after a grueling campaign that lasted nearly two years.
As president-elect, he faces three immediate challenges: confronting the worst economic conditions since the 1930s Great Depression, determining the next steps in two lingering wars, and leading his Democrats, including liberals expecting that the change he promises will come instantly. It won't.
On the heels of a campaign in which cash wasn't a concern, Obama must tackle all of those tasks with no room in the budget as the nation heads for a painful, perhaps long-lasting, recession.
No new president has faced so much since Franklin Delano Roosevelt _ and even he didn't have two wars on his plate.
Roosevelt had four months to come up with programs to address the Great Depression before he took office on March 4, 1933.
Obama gets just 2 1/2 to put together his government; inauguration is Jan. 20.
He will chart the country's course against this dreary backdrop: Unemployment is at 6.1 percent and predicted to rise as high as 7.5 percent next year; pessimistic consumers have curtailed borrowing and spending; home foreclosures are rampant; government health insurance and pension programs face huge financial problems; and, 152,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq more than five years after the initial invasion, while 32,000 are in Afghanistan in the sixth year of the war against terrorism.
With Democrats expanding their majorities in both the House and Senate, Obama will have to figure out how to lead a country that's more conservative than liberal while trying to satisfy the left wing of his party. He will face demands for a quick withdrawal from Iraq. He's promised withdrawal, but carefully.
From the outset, how Obama acts to deal with these conditions will set the tone for his presidency.
Voters got an early glimpse of his style last month when Wall Street collapsed, stocks fluctuated and the government intervened. He struck a cautious stance and deferred to lawmakers dealing directly with the problems. He was deliberative and careful in his response _ perhaps just the approach voters were seeking after eight years of what critics call President George W. Bush's cowboy approach.
Yet, Obama may be blamed for recession woes despite the fact that he inherited the mess from Bush. The troubles are on Obama's watch now even if there's little he can do about them. The president in power always suffers when the economy tanks. Just ask the first President George Bush in 1992.
Indeed, coming in with a big victory doesn't guarantee success. Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won with 61 percent of the vote in 1964. He won his Great Society programs in his first two years but his administration essentially collapsed in the final two with the escalation of the Vietnam War.
In choosing Obama as the 44th president, the nation took a historic leap beyond its legacy of slavery and toward healing racial tensions just four decades after the tumultuous Civil Rights movement.
Politically, Obama's election amounted to a wholesale rejection of the status quo after eight years of Bush and Republican rule.
Obama -- From a low-paid community worker to President
5 Nov, 2008, 1006 hrs IST, PTI
WASHINGTON: From a small-time community worker to the most powerful man in the world, Barack Obama's victory in the US Presidential polls marks a hu
ge political transformation in a country with a racist past that will have a Black occupy the top post for the first time.
A votary of strong ties with India, the 47-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer and a Democrat reached the White House exactly 45 years after the Black civil rights leader Martin Luther King challenged Americans to embrace his "dream" of equality.
Barack Hussein Obama, whose father was a Kenyan and mother a White American, himself has had no misgivings on the herculean task he faced in getting elected as President because of his race and name. This was reflected by his recent comment that getting elected to the White House would be a "leap".
Undertaking his campaign with a catchy slogan -- 'The Change We Need' -- Obama presented himself to America as a fresh face with the knowledge and mettle needed for the White House.
He emerged victorious after a gruelling and bitter 21-month-long campaign in which he overcame the challenge from high-profile fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton and Vietnam War veteran Republican nominee John McCain.
Born on August 4, 1961, in Hawaii, Obama will be the first Black President, a development that demonstrates a major change in America, which has witnessed bitter racism for centuries before the social evil was abolished about 200 years ago.
ABC News
Russia Warns of New Missile Deployment
New York Times - 31 minutes ago
By ELLEN BARRY and SOPHIA KISHKOVSKY MOSCOW - In a wide-ranging attack on the United States as it elected a new president, the Russian leader Dmitri A. Medvedev warned on Wednesday that Moscow might deploy short-range missiles in the Baltic region to ...
Russian president Dmitri Medvedev orders missiles deployed in Europe Times Online
Russia sets tough tone with new White House Reuters
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BBC News
Press Review | 05.11.2008 European Press Review: Welcome, Barack Obama
Deutsche Welle - 1 hour ago
Most international newspapers seemed happily surprised by Barack Obama's victory. The election was a lesson in democracy, one Paris commentator wrote while others said disappointment may be on the road ahead.
How Obama made it to the US President-elect IBNLive.com
A Moment in Time Washington Post
CIOL - Spiegel Online - New York Times - guardian.co.uk
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Malaysia Star
Democrats Increase Their Strength in the House
New York Times - 34 minutes ago
By CARL HULSE House Democrats expanded their numbers on Tuesday, giving Speaker Nancy Pelosi more maneuvering room as she seeks to forge ahead with the agenda of President-elect Barack Obama.
Democrats strengthen hold on congress after key victories guardian.co.uk
New Congress turns more -- much more -- Democratic The Associated Press
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MTV UK
Obama campaign blazes to victory
BBC News - 8 hours ago
By Kevin Connolly Chicago offered us its own spectacular countdown to the end of the longest presidential campaign in history. The setting sun sliding down the glass faces of the great downtown skyscrapers marked the ebbing of the final hours.
Obama owns election night in Chicago Xinhua
Obama says change has come to America Reuters India
Aljazeera.net - guardian.co.uk - The Associated Press - Voice of America
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Washington Post
Asian leaders voice hopes over Obama
AFP - 37 minutes ago
BEIJING (AFP) - Asian leaders spoke of their desire for closer ties with the United States and voiced hope that America will play a positive international role after Barack Obama's historic election triumph Wednesday.
Afghan president demands Obama end civilian deaths The Associated Press
US Military Investigates Reports of Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan Voice of America
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BBC News
Hope washes across Africa after Obama triumph
Reuters South Africa - 34 minutes ago
By Daniel Wallis KOGELO, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyans in Barack Obama's ancestral homeland danced with joy on Wednesday and the election of America's first black president sparked hope that he would tackle poverty and disease in Africa.
Obama's Kenyan relatives elated, holiday declared The Associated Press
Africans elated by first black US president CNN International
Voice of America - BBC News - Press Trust of India - AllAfrica.com
all 1,299 news articles » ?????? ??? »
House Dems win their biggest majority in 15 years
CNN - 32 minutes ago
(CNN) -- House Democrats are on track to gain at least 17 seats in the next Congress, according to CNN projections, giving Speaker Nancy Pelosi her party's most powerful majority since 1993.
Democrats Increase Their Strength in the House New York Times
Democrats Earn Larger Majority in Congress ABC News
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The State of Black America
Annual Report on Socio-economic Conditions in Black America
The State of Black America is the annual Urban League report that addresses the issues central to Black America in the current year. The publication is a barometer of the conditions, experiences and opinions of Black America. It examines black progress in education, homeownership, entrepreneurship, health and other areas. The publication forecasts certain social and political trends and proposes solutions to the community's and America's most pressing challenges.
Published since 1976, The State of Black America is released each year during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., at the Legislative Policy Conference.
March 2008
In the Black Woman's Voice
The 2008 edition of the State of Black America report is subtitled "In the Black Woman's Voice." As the subtitle suggests, the report provides the black female perspective of the challenges that currently confront women of color in America.
The 2008 State of Black America also presents the National Urban League's groundbreaking Opportunity Compact, a comprehensive set of principles and policy economic and social mainstream of this nation. The Compact is not only detailed The Opportunity Compact provides the framework for the 2008 edition, with several essays addressing the recommendations set out in the Compact.
"By uplifting black women, especially those struggling hardest to keep their families together and their dreams on track, we lift up every American community. I encourage you to read this year's edition of the State of Black America: In the Black Woman's Voice with special attention to the Opportunity Compact. Our country urgently needs a new vision to close the gaps between black and white Americans. The State of Black America and the Opportunity Compact will help guide the way."
-Marc H. Morial, National Urban League President & CEO
March 2007
Portrait Of The Black Male
According to the 2007 National Urban League Equality Index, although many black men are doing well, glaring gaps continue to exist between black men and their white counterparts. These gaps are caused and aggravated, in large measure, by the underperformance of a disproportionate number of black men in a variety of areas and for a variety of reasons.
Because of its devastating and far-reaching ramifications, this underperformance of the black male is the most serious economic and civil rights challenge we face today.
The 2007 State of Black America report takes up this challenge with a fresh and in-depth look at the current conditions affecting the black male. Based on this research and analysis by some of America's best minds, the National Urban League presents several targeted and comprehensive recommendations designed to eliminate the equality gaps and empower all black Americans, male and female.
The price of this issue is reduced substantially from $29.95 to $14.95. To order in advance, call Rose Jefferson at 212 558-5316.
Opportunity Compact
This year's report on The State of Black America continues to examine the equality gaps, as researched in the Equality Index, that remain virtually unchanged at 0.73 from last year (2005) between Black and White Americans.
To combat this gap in equality, the National Urban League Opportunity Compact addresses the scourge of poverty and lays the groundwork for economic empowerment of African Americans and others in four areas: homeownership, jobs, economic development and our children.
The State of Black America 2006 report opens with four essays addressing these four components. While each essay stands on its own as an independent policy analysis, together they present a cohesive and systematic approach for closing the nation's equality gaps. Also, included in this year's report are essays on Hurricane Katrina and poverty, race and healthcare disparities, racial disparity and prison boom, and the state of civil rights.
April 2005
Prescriptions for Change
The 2005 edition of the National Urban League's The State of Black America: Prescriptions for Change examines the equality gaps that continue to undermine African Americans' quest for parity in the American mainstream and, equally important, propose specific remedies to help eliminate disparities in particular areas. Once again, the National Urban League Equality Index included in the volume provides a statistical foundation for the wide-ranging discussion that must occur; and the essays, opinion articles, and reports on Urban League programs it contains will underscore the League's goal of stimulating progress for African Americans in its five areas of major effort: economics, education, health, civil rights and social justice, and civic engagement. Thus, the 2005 edition of The State of Black America joins its predecessors in making an important contribution to the campaign for justice and equality in America.
MARCH 2004
The Complexity of Black Progress
How much closer is America to achieving equality between blacks and whites since the Civil Rights Movement? Not close enough: black progress is precarious at best, according to the finding of The State of Black America 2004.
The 2004 Report also unveils the League's first "Equality Index,' a statistical measurement of the disparities that exist between blacks and whites in economics, housing, education, health, social justice and civic engagement. The report also includes a national survey of the attitudes of blacks, Latinos and Asian-Americans regarding quality of life, education, finances, discrimination and other issues.
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