Nov 30, 2009 Portland Edition Vol. 5 No. 17 Events   There are 15 upcoming events listed in our Portland calendar. Click here for calendar. News Over 40% of all the food produced in the United States is tossed out, according to a recent report. The waste per person has risen by 50% since 1974. About 1400 calories per person is wasted each day. More... Rumsfeld's Folly As President Obama gets ready to spell out his Afghanistan policy, a Congressional report released this week says that the US military "could have captured or killed Osama bin Laden in 2001 if it had launched a concerted attack on his hideout in Afghanistan..." "On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area..." More... A Trial that will Indict Us All Unless you have been hiding out in the mountains of Afghanistan, chances are you would have heard that the highest ranking Al-Qaeda operative in US custody, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, is set to be tried by a civilian court in New York. Mohammad, the alleged mastermind behind 9-11, was in Guantanamo for several years, and waterboarded some 180 times. Paul Craig Roberts argues that the trial is liable to derail the US criminal legal system, setting in stone many irregular practices of recent years. More... A Night with Shining Obama That a gatecrashing couple stole the news does not detract from visiting Indian PM Manmohan Singh the honor of being President Obama's first state dinner guest. All the same, it is a different matter whether the Prime Minister had much to show for his troubles. In author and commentator Farzana Versey's view, slim pickings. The Chinese still loom far, far, larger in American calculations, paeans to democracy notwithstanding. More... A City State Built on Slave Labor For a few years -- or was it decades -- there, Decadence had an address - Dubai. The most fabulous and opulent structures on the planet, architectural extravaganzas many of them. A ski slope in the midst of the desert. Duty-Free this and Tax-Free that. A paradise for tourists and ex-pats. Last week it all came crashing, as the country's biggest real estate company, Dubai World, pleaded for extension on repayment of $59 billion in loan repayment commitments. Johann Hari on the truth behind the sleek mask of worry-free elegance. More... A 17-year Gestation - What to do with the baby? Justice Liberhan had a three month timeframe to deliver his report on the demolition of the Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992. After some 40 extensions, in June he submitted his report to the Singh government, where it gathered dust until a leak prompted its release. The entire Sangh Parivar stands indicted in detail. Will they pay for their crimes? Siddharth Varadarajan writes. More... Movies     There is one Indian movie playing in Portland. Details... Joke Sabha Dot Com? How to Explain the Bindi. For centuries, Hindu women have worn a red dot on their foreheads. Most of us have naively thought this was connected with tradition or religion, but the Indian Embassy in D.C. has recently revealed the true story. When a Hindu woman gets married, she brings a dowry into the union. On herwedding night, the husband scratches off the dot to see whether he's won; aconvenience store, a gas station, a donut shop, a taxi cab or a motel in America. If nothing is there, he must remain in India to answer telephones and provide the United States with technical computer support. --From Usha in Philadelphia About us |Submit articles |Advertise | Contact us |Subscribe FREE |Privacy Policy |Archives Copyright© indogram - the global Indian village in your neighborhood™