India welcomes obama...@desirulez

[Caasanova]

HI
FRIENDS
WHAT YOU THINK
ABOUT OBAMA's VISIT

share your views
remarks
thoughts...

......DESIRULEZ ALWAYS SEARCH
FOR NEW THINGS .......

[Caasanova]

Ahead of the presidential visit beginning November 6 White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, said that, "Anybody that would go would love to go to (India)...to spend a lot more time there."


"We're afforded a short trip to a very important country in a very important region of the world because the trip obviously is also anchored by the important economic meetings later on in the trip," Gibbs said in response to a question.

When asked why Obama is not visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar or the Taj Mahal in Agra, Gibbs, said: "I said even before we started these briefings, we are in India for three days. There's -- you could spend a lot longer than that, and obviously anybody would. We picked our schedule based on what we wanted to get accomplished, and that focus was on New Delhi and Mumbai , and that's going to be the focus of our trip."

Obama would be arriving in Mumbai on November 6, a day after Diwali . He would stay in Mumbai on November 6 and would reach New Delhi on November 7. The official meetings are scheduled for November 8 and he is scheduled to leave for Jakarta on November 9.

[Caasanova]

Ahead of United States President Barack Obama's visit to India , hundreds of Sikhs from different parts of the US protested in front of the United Nations, demanding that he raise the issue of 1984 anti-Sikh riots when he addresses the Parliament.


"He (Obama) must raise this issue in his speech to the India parliament," said Gurpatwant Pannun, lawyer for Sikhs for Justice, a US based group that organised the rally.


"We also want the UN to intervene to bring the perpetrators to justice," he said. In September, Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, coordinator of Sikhs For Justice had met Obama briefly to describe the events of 1984 and asked him to take up the matter in New Delhi , when he visits, according to the group.



Pannun noted that despite several attempts made by the Sikhs to bring the matter to the attention of the Obama administration, the president had not included any discussion of the anti-Sikh Riots on his agenda.

"Obama cannot trade dollars with blood; we want him to pay tribute to the Sikhs who died," they said.

[Caasanova]

This is the second time an American President will address Parliament.




During his visit to India in March 2000, President Bill Clinton addressed Parliament to a rousing reception.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was keen that President George W Bush address Parliament, but the government had to abandon the plan when the Communists and other constituents of the Left Front threatened to protest the US invasion of Iraq during the speech.

Bush ended up making a speech at Purana Qila, where he also interacted with a cross-section of important Indian dignitaries.

During his stint as Russian president, Vladimir Putin addressed Parliament. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the last leader given the honour of addressing Parliament. That was three years ago.

[neeraj2217]

Ahead of United States President Barack Obama's visit to India , hundreds of Sikhs from different parts of the US protested in front of the United Nations, demanding that he raise the issue of 1984 anti-Sikh riots when he addresses the Parliament.


"He (Obama) must raise this issue in his speech to the India parliament," said Gurpatwant Pannun, lawyer for Sikhs for Justice, a US based group that organised the rally.


"We also want the UN to intervene to bring the perpetrators to justice," he said. In September, Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, coordinator of Sikhs For Justice had met Obama briefly to describe the events of 1984 and asked him to take up the matter in New Delhi , when he visits, according to the group.



Pannun noted that despite several attempts made by the Sikhs to bring the matter to the attention of the Obama administration, the president had not included any discussion of the anti-Sikh Riots on his agenda.

"Obama cannot trade dollars with blood; we want him to pay tribute to the Sikhs who died," they said.

u know that sikhs are habitual mad persons and starts protests anywhere.
justice has already been given to them

[Caasanova]

Barack Obama is careful to portray himself as a vigorous Christian. That is a political necessity given the fact that his father was a Kenya-born Muslim, and the recent attempts by sections of the Opposition Republican Party to question his Christian faith and project him as a Muslim.

When he is Washington DC, the American President and his wife Michelle, with their young daughters Sasha and Malia in tow, worship at the Saint John's Episcopal Church.

If they are staying at Camp David, the presidential weekend retreat, they pray at the Camp David chapel.

On his travels Obama has visited churches like the Byzantine beauty, the Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul, and Dresden's classic Frauenkirche Church, that was bombed in World War II and rebuilt.

On November 7, his first Sunday in India, where will Barack and Michelle Obama go to church in Mumbai?

The Afghan Church, also known as The Church of Saint John the Evangelist, would be an obvious choice.

Located within the tidy military quarter of Navy Nagar in Colaba, south Mumbai, the basalt and limestone monument, with exquisite stained glass, is the city's most elegant church.

Built in 1838 in traditional Gothic style, to commemorate the martyrs of the three Afghan Wars, the Afghan Church has always attracted international celebrities and tourists like pop diva Madonna in 2008.

Church service begins at 0830 hours sharp. But Obama is an early riser and could easily make it in time for Reverend Graham Engineer's sermon and to hear the famous Sunday morning eight-bell toll that has bewitched Colaba residents for nearly two centuries.



Things were rather sleepy when we dropped in at the Afghan Church to see if they were getting ready for the American President.

Martin, who has been the 'verger' for 25-odd years, knew that Obama would visit some of Mumbai's colleges, but did not think he would coming to pray at the Afghan Church

.

[Caasanova]

United States President Barack Obama would have loved to spend more time in India during his November visit but time constraints are preventing him from visiting Agra's Taj Mahal and the Golden Temple in Amritsar , the White House has said in an effort to dispel reports that said the requirement of a headgear prompted him to shelve plans to go to Amritsar.
Ahead of the presidential visit beginning November 6 White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, said, "Anybody that would go would love to go to India to spend a lot more time there"


"We're afforded a short trip to a very important country in a very important region of the world because the trip obviously is also anchored by the important economic meetings later on in the trip." he added.

Asked why Obama is not visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar or the Taj Mahal in Agra, Gibbs, said, "I said even before we started these briefings, we are in India for three days. You could spend a lot longer than that, and obviously anybody would."

"We picked our schedule based on what we wanted to get accomplished, and that focus was on New Delhi and Mumbai , and that's going to be the focus of our trip."

Obama will be arriving in Mumbai on November 6, a day after Diwali . He will stay in Mumbai on November 6 and will reach New Delhi on November 7.

[Caasanova]

Seeking to downplay the Headley controversy, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday, that the access given by the US to the Pakistani-American terrorist was "unprecendented", saying such cooperation may not have been possible five years ago.




Menon's remarks seeking to clear the air ahead of the visit of US President Barack Obama , came within days of Home Secretary G K Pillai voicing disappointment over the US not sharing specific information on David Headley [ Images ], a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks .
"In India , (there is a debate on) how much did the US knew about Headley at what time and how much did they tell us. If you look at the broader picture, the kind of access we got to Headley is unprecedented. This is not what many states do very easily," he said at a function organised by FICCI in New Delhi .


Menon wondered whether this kind of cooperation would have been possible about five years ago. He said the dissatisfaction over certain aspects of the ties was because people expect "much more" out of this growing relationship. "People expect much more out of this relationship. So, a lot of dissatisfaction we hear, whether it is outsourcing or counter-terrorism, (it is because) we expect this relationship to do much more," Menon said.

[Caasanova]

The US would be spending a whopping 0 million (Rs 900 crore approx) per day on President Barack Obama's visit to the city.

"The huge amount of around 0 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit," a top official of the Maharashtra government privy to the arrangements for the high-profile visit said.

About 3,000 people including Secret Service agents, US government officials and journalists would accompany the President. Several officials from the White House and US security agencies are already here for the past one week with helicopters, a ship and high-end security instruments.

"Except for personnel providing immediate security to the President, the US officials may not be allowed to carry weapons. The state police is competent to take care of the security measures and they would be piloting the Presidential convoy," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Navy and Air Force has been asked by the state government to intensify patrolling along the Mumbai coastline and its airspace during Obama's stay. The city's airspace will be closed half-an-hour before the President's arrival for all aircraft barring those carrying the US delegation.



The personnel from SRPF, Force One, besides the NSG contingent stationed here would be roped in for the President's security, the official said.

The area from Hotel Taj, where Obama and his wife Michelle would stay, to Shikra helipad in Colaba would be cordoned off completely during the movement of the President.

[Caasanova]

President Barack Obama will stay focused on expanding American export opportunities and creating jobs at home during his four-nation trip starting with India this weekend regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's mid-term elections, US officials said on Monday ahead of a widely predicted defeat for the Democratic Party.

As agitated American voters streamed into vote on Tuesday in an election that threatens to undermine the President's domestic and foreign policy agenda, his aides put on a brave face, insisting that the exercise "is a testament to the great American experience that we conduct elections in the way we do and we bring about electoral change in a peaceful way."

"Regardless of the outcome of this election, of the previous elections, or elections in the future, it demonstrates once again the most powerful example for the world to see the American people exercising their constitutional responsibilities and living up to the framework of government by the people," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on the eve of the polls.

Pre-election forecasts point to Democrats losing their majority in the 435-member House of Representatives while narrowly retaining the 100-member Senate.