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Hamas Caucus wants July to be Muslim American Heritage Month by violating first amendment

After Somalia-born naturalized American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called for a special envoy to fight Islamophobia, she and fellow Congresswomen the Palestinian American Rashida Tlaib who are called the “Hamas Caucus” with the support of several other Democratic lawmakers want to turn July into Muslim American Heritage Month.

The month of July is very sacred to Americans as they celebrate their independence (July 4) during this month. According to Omar who said, “As we continue to see an uptick in anti-Muslim hate, it is important we recognize the resiliency and accomplishments of Muslim Americans with a formal resolution,” 

According to Tlaib, they would like it to be about honoring “the achievements, contributions, and sacrifices of Muslim Americans in the face of rising anti-Muslim hate.” Or, according to Tlaib, it will “provide an opportunity to foster religious tolerance nationwide and combat misinformation directed at the Muslim community.”

Democratic Congressman Andre Carson who converted to Islam said, “Muslim-Americans have played a major role in shaping our nation for centuries,” which exceeds the imagination and is historically inaccurate.

The fact is Muslims played little role in America until the 1970s and only after Black nationalists embraced Islam which led to violent terrorist attacks like the Hanafi Siege in D.C. 

This is not the first time Muslims in America tried to appropriate things, after the 9/11 terror attack in 2001 when Islamic jihadists brought down the twin towers in New York City, the construction of a “Ground Zero Mosque” near the site of the greatest impact Islam that shaped American history was strongly pushed and now efforts are being made for a Muslim Heritage Month to take over July.

It must be noted that July is celebrated as National French-American Heritage Month and it is an affront to 12 million French-Americans whose ancestors played an important role in the American revolution.

In the United States of America, there is a separation of Church and State and the constitution is the supreme authority.

In fact, if one actually reads the first amendment which is the bedrock of freedom and free speech, the demand for a Muslim heritage month falls flat in its argument because it is against the spirit of the constitution that was written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

The first amendment clearly states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,”, ergo religion cannot be considered as heritage.

In America, there is black history month (October), Scottish American Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), National Disability Employment Awareness Month (October), Native American/American Indian Heritage Month (November), African American/Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May).

All these heritage celebrations are based on the ethnicity of people and not their religion and calling for a Muslim American heritage month is an act of imposing religion on people and is against the very root of the first amendment and the fundamental democratic ethos of the separation of church and state.

But the most important question one must ask Congresswomen Omar and Tlaib is what will be taught to the Americans and the millions of students if this resolution is passed.

Already Rashida Tlaib with the support of Reps. Donna Shalala, Debbie Dingell, and Bill Pascrell, Jr., introduced a resolution honoring Arab American Heritage Month, which will be a month-long celebration held in April to recognize the incredible contributions Arab Americans have made in the United States.

But the Arab American Heritage Month is based on ethnicity and not religion as there are Christians, Jews and other Arab minorities who fled Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and other parts of the Arab world to escape persecution.

One thing is clear, Islam is a religion and those who follow Islam are Muslims and one cannot define religion based on ethnicity. 

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Madras HC directs HR&CE dept to file a report in four weeks listing out the details of cattle under the custody of temples in the State

Noting that religious beliefs must be respected and cattle must be treated humanely and dignifiedly, the Madras High Court bench, comprised of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu, sought a report on the number of cattle at the temples as well as details of any standard operating procedures in place for the cattle’s well-being.

The bench also urged the government to treat such animals ethically and in accordance with the donors’ intentions until the issue was resolved in a wholesome manner.

The case was adjourned for six weeks, and the bench also recorded petitioner Rangarajan Narasimhan’s submission that cows that stopped producing milk, male calves, and bulls that were no longer useful for breeding purposes were disposed of in an unethical manner by sending them to slaughterhouses, which went against the institutions’ and donors’ religious beliefs.

In his appearance as a party-in-person in the public interest litigation, the petitioner challenged the HR&CE Department’s GO transferring 100 cows donated to the Srirangam temple to undisclosed locations, which he claimed meant they were taken to slaughterhouses. He also claimed that such unethical cattle transfers have been going on for a long time at all of the temples in the state, and that the HR&CE Department took advantage of certain loopholes to issue such GOs for indirect transfer of animals to slaughterhouses.

The counsel for the Srirangam temple administration claimed that the cattle were simply transferred to other temples and that none of them were sent to slaughterhouses. The Indian Animal Welfare Board has also agreed to file a report on the matter.

Later, Madras HC directs TN HR&CE dept to file a report in four weeks listing out the number of cattle, with their age & sex, under the custody of temples in the State.

(with inputs from HinduTamil)

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1000 year old memorial of Tamil poet Kambar, who wrote Ramayana in Tamil, ignored by TN govt without maintanence

The epic Ramayana, translated by Kambar from Sanskrit to Tamil, is admired all around the world, but Kambar’s memorial, located near Nattarasankottai in the Sivagangai district, is in poor condition due to the Tamil Nadu government’s apathy.

Kambar’s true devotion to Tamil and his contribution to the Tamil language are fading over time, unknown to those even in those areas. Kambar is one of the few poets in India who was well versed in both Tamil and Sanskrit which were considered as the mother of all languages in India.

The memorial of Kambar, located near Nattarasankottai in the Sivagangai district, is found without maintenance. For many years, the road leading to the Kambar temple has been in disrepair. As a result, the number of tourists visiting the place has significantly decreased.

Tamil historians and activists demand that the memorial be preserved by the Tamil Nadu government because the poet Kambar is a national treasure who served as a link between India’s north and south through his writings.

Kambar was born in Therazhundur, Thanjavur district, and brought up in the household of a wealthy farmer named Sadaiyepa Vallal in Vennai Nellur in Tamil Nadu. The Chola king, having heard of this talented bard, summoned him to his court and honoured him with the title Kavi Chakravarty (The Emperor of Poets). Kambar flourished in Therazhundur, a village in the culturally rich Nagapattinam District in the modern state of Tamil Nadu in South India.

Kambar is generally dated after the Vaishnavite philosopher, Ramanuja, as the poet refers to the latter in his work, the Sadagopar Andhadhi. Kamban was a great scholar of both Tamil and Sanskrit—two of India’s oldest and richest languages in terms of literary works. In a scholarly biography, Kavichakravarty Kamban, Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar wrote in detail about Kambar.

Kambar spent his last days in Nattarasankottai (known for Kannathal temple) near Sivagangai town and his tomb is situated there. It is said that Kambar after having differences with the Chola king, left the Chola kingdom and moved from place to place. When he reached Nattarasankottai, he was very thirsty and asked for water in one house at Nattarasankottai. He was offered buttermilk in return and he became very happy and decided to stay there itself and spent his last days there. He lived there till his death.

(with inputs from News18 Tamil)

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DMK Govt closes temples but allows mosques, churches and TASMACs to be open

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin has imposed a ban on devotees visiting temples till August 9 apparently to prevent people from crowding at temples during special occasions like Aadi Perukku, Aadi Ammavasai, Aadi Kiruthigai, etc., that might lead to spurt in COVID-19 cases.

Two days back, on the occasion of Aadi Perukku, people were not allowed to pray to the Cauvery on the banks. The Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Azhagar Kovil, Pazhamuthir Solai Murugan Temple, Thiruparankundram Subramania Swamy Temple have been closed to prevent crowding and curb COVID-19 cases. The Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram which people visit on Aadi Ammavasai (new moon day) to offer oblations to departed souls has also been closed. Also in many of the districts, all small and big temples have been asked to close to prevent people from coming.

But if one were to look at the ground reality, people are returning to normalcy with traffic jams in cities as crowd has started hitting the roads. Many shops are seeing increase in footfalls. It is not that the government has imposed ban on all religious places from functioning. Mosques and Churches are open for people. It is to be noted that the DMK government placed no restrictions on Bakrid which was just a few days ago. On top of this, government liquor outlets TASMAC which sees huge crowd on a daily basis have been kept open where people can be seen not following COVID-19 behaviour like social distancing.

Many on social media pointed out the double standards of the DMK government and lashed out at selectively targeting Hindu festivals.

https://twitter.com/AskPradeepG/status/1422052092512935938

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Kerala ISIS module case: NIA raids several locations in J&K and Karnataka

On Wednesday (August 4), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at several locations in Jammu and Kashmir, and Karnataka as part of its investigation into the Kerala ISIS module case.

In Karnataka, the NIA carried out raids at the late Congress leader BM Idinabba’s residence in Mangaluru and interrogated the son and daughter-in-law of Idinabba.

“NIA raids late Congress leader BM Idinabba’s residence in Mangaluru, Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka. NIA is questioning his son and daughter-in-law in connection with an ISIS case. The raids are ongoing since morning,” the NIA said.

“This morning, NIA conducted raids at three locations in Jammu and Kashmir, including the residence of a hardware store salesman in Bandipora. The raids are still on,” the agency said. 

Last month, the NIA had carried out searches at multiple locations across J&K in connection with terror funding and conducted raids in the capital Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla districts in the Union territory and arrested five people for their alleged link with the terror outfit ISIS.

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DMK cadre nominates Udhayanidhi Stalin for Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan

In a comical incident, an over-enthused DMK cadre has nominated alleged ‘actor’ Udhayanidhi Stalin for the prestigious Padma Awards.

The cadre named Uma Mahesh/Uma Maheshwaran has nominated the DMK MLA from Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituency for all the three awards – Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "Padma Awards Ministry of Home Affairs Government ndia New Nomination My Nominations My Profile View Nomination भारत Nomination ID AAB212019131 Applied For Name Padma Shri Udhayanidhi Stalin Field Sub Field work,Public Affairs USWA Udhayanidhi Stalin Welfare Association Father's Name Age Mobile Number Profession State Address Stalin DOB Gender 27/11/1977 Male 8610552618 kirranmail@gmail.com ndM Member Legislative Assembly Country India TAMIL NADU District CHENNAI 25/9, Chittaranjan Road, Cenotaph Road, Alwarpet, Chennai 600018, Tamil Nadu, India"

May be an image of 1 person

May be an image of 1 person and text that says "Padma Awards Ministry Home Affairs Government of India New Nomination My Nominations Profile View Nomination 1 Nomination ID Applied For আद AAD212001386 Padma Vibhushan Name Sub Field Field USWA Udhayanidhi Stalln Welfare Association Udhayanidhi Stalin Social work,Public Affairs Father's Name Age Mobile Number Profession Stalin 8610552618 Address Member DOB Gender Email-Id Legislative Assembly Country 27/11/1977 25/9, Chittaranjan Road, Cenotaph Road, Alwarpet, kirranmail@igmail.com CHENNAT 600018, Tamil Nadu, India"

The profile of Uma Mahesh shows that he is an ardent supporter of Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi who is a close friend of Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Udhayanidhi Stalin started off his career producing films through the banner ‘Red Giant Movies’. His first production venture with actor Joseph Vijay was an utter failure at the box office. He made his debut as an actor through the movie Oru Kal Oru Kannadi which garnered lukewarm response due to the presence of Santhanam as the comic character.

Apart from this, he had tried to establish himself as a hero and had acted in several films like Gethu, Saravanan Irukka Bayamein, Nanbaen Da, all of which bombed at the box office. His recent release was Mysskin’s Psycho.

Udhayanidhi Stalin is being ramped up as the successor to DMK chief and present Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Earlier it was reported that DMK Law Minister S Raghupathy had hanged a portrait of Udhayanidhi Stalin along with several leaders of the Dravidian Movement.

Image

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Obama’s 60th birthday bash with 500 guests could turnout to be super-spreader event

On the 4th of August 2021 former US President Barack Obama will turn 60 and he is reportedly planning to celebrate by throwing a massive party over the weekend with about 500 guests and the venue for the party is reported to be the $15 million sea-fronted property at the exclusive Martha’s Vineyard that Barack and Michele Obama bought in 2019, reports New York Post.

The guests include Hollywood heavyweights like Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and George Clooney apart from friends and family apart of the Obamas including former staff as well.

As per CelebrityNetWorth, the combined net worth of Barack and Michele Obama stands is at $ 70 million in 2021 and this fortune was made from his first book royalty 3 years before Barack Obama became President in 2005. In 2017, Barack and Michelle Obama received a $60 million advance for the combined rights to their autobiographies.

However, this celebration has not gone well with the public and as per a New York Post article, “His birthday party is insane,” one of Obama’s caterers told The Post. “His bash is a nightmare to pull off this time of year on the tiny island — especially due to the lack of labor due to the coronavirus. What is he thinking?”.

His party has been labeled as a super-spreader event and after leaving office Obama has accumulated more wealth due to Netflix deals than lending his “halo effect” to any substantial, non-profit-making post-

According to the US National Taxpayers Union Foundation, a former US President’s annual pension is $221,400 in 2021, an annual travel allowance of $ 1Million, and also gets lifelong secret service protection.

Martha’s Vineyard is an island off the coast of Massachusetts and home to some of the richest people in America that includes businessmen and film and music stars. However, this event has been seen as one set of rules for me (Obama) and another for common people and this party is being viewed as egregious. 

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Low Organic Content Of Soil Is A Disaster Unfolding: Sadhguru During Cauvery Calling Press Meet

“Many scientists believe that by 2035 or 2040- if we don’t make serious changes now- there could be serious food crisis in India,” said Sadhguru, Founder-Isha Foundation, in an interaction with the media in Bengaluru yesterday. Sadhguru and Dr. A.S. Kiran Kumar, former Head of ISRO, who is also on the Rally for Rivers (RfR) Board met with the media after the RfR Board meeting earlier in the day.

“In nearly 42% of soil in agricultural land in India, the organic content is well below half a percent,” said Sadhguru adding that for soil to produce a bountiful and healthy yield, the organic content must be between 4 and 6%. “This is a disaster which is unfolding,” Sadhguru stated. He said that at one time the Cauvery Delta farmers were considered the richest farmers in the country because they were growing four crops in a year. “Today, they are doing only one (crop),” said Sadhguru, “because for over 5 months in a year, Cauvery is not even reaching the Delta. When there is no river, where is the Delta?”

Most people are unaware of the critical nature of soil degradation and its potential for disastrous consequences. Air and water pollution get greater attention because their impact is more readily seen and felt. Sadhguru said air, water and plastic pollution are not ecological problems but “civic problems” that can be fixed with the appropriate laws and their strict enforcement. “The biggest problem is the soil,” he said because it cannot be fixed in a few years. It is estimated that if all the soil in the land degrades to less than 0.5% organic content, it could take up to 150 years to restore its health.

“Bringing back organic content in the soil needs the cooperation of the farmers. This is for the first time that the farmer is involved in ecological activity,” he said. Though Indian farmers always knew how to do organic farming, we have reversed this in the last 40 years “and caused such huge damage in 35-40 years”, Sadhguru said. There are only two sources of organic content for the soil – animal waste and trees. Farmers, who have switched to machine-based ploughing, cannot be expected to go back to tilling the land in traditional ways with cattle. Planting trees on private farmlands is the only way to enrich soil nutrients in the Cauvery river basin because the largest portion of land in the region is in farmers’ hands.

“This is not an experiment. Over 100,000 farmers have done this and it has worked wonderfully well,” Sadhguru said referring to Isha’s on-ground work to prove the tree-based farming model for more than two decades. He said farmer income has gone up by 300% to 800% while also improving organic soil content and increasing groundwater tables.

He spoke about the abysmal nutritional value in chemically grown crop which is leading to community ill health. Sadhguru said that for the body to be well, the soil must be healthy.

Dr. A.S. Kiran Kumar spoke about the dangers of excessive use of chemical-based fertilizers and highlighted the need to reverse the trend urgently. Referring to Cauvery Calling, he said “If this program succeeds, it is going to become a model for the entire world.”

The Cauvery Calling team is unrolling a massive farmer outreach initiative in 57 talukas of 9 Cauvery river basin districts with the objective of popularizing tree-based farming. The outreach is expected to touch 1785 gram panchayats, home to 24 lakh farmers. 890 ‘Mara Mitras’ have been appointed in every two grama panchayat in these talukas and will enrol farmers into the tree-based farming model. They will generate demand for saplings and collect data with state-of-the-art technology to ensure accuracy and relevance. Data will include farmer details, farmholding details, sapling species preferred by farmer, location where saplings will be planted and other relevant data.

The multi-stakeholder Cauvery Calling mission is the world’s largest farmer-driven ecological movement.

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Indian Navy begins sea trial of Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant, to be commissioned by mid-2022

In a major boost to the Indian Navy, the country’s maiden indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant (IAC-1) began its long-awaited sea trials earlier today (4 August).

This sea trial of INS Vikrant comes at a very important time as it will prove to be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy’s might and an additional aircraft carrier will help India more in the Indian Ocean region.

The new ship is expected to be commissioned into service of the Eastern Naval Command by mid-2022. 

In November 2020, the carrier had completed its basin trial, and integration and testing of a number of other navigational, communication, and operational systems were also undertaken.

The ongoing sea trials of the new carrier are to test the ‘move’ component of the ship to see how the vessel fares in the water and even though due to Covid there were delays if all goes as per the schedule during the trials, the carrier will likely be commissioned by the middle of 2022.

The approximate cost of this ship is  Rs 24,000 crore, with a displacement of 40,000 tonnes and it has the capacity to carry as many as 35-40 aircraft on board which will include naval fighter jets (MiG-29K fighter), anti-submarine helicopters, and also naval UAVs.

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had stated last month that IAC has nearly 75 per cent indigenous content – from design to steel used in construction to key weapons and sensors in accordance by the Defence Acquisition Council for RFP of Project 75-I under the Strategic Partnership model, which will give further fillip to the indigenous development of niche manufacturing technologies.

Singh said the commissioning of IAC Vikrant would be a befitting tribute to 75 years of India’s independence.

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Liberal icon and self-styled feminist New York Governor Andrew Cuomo harassed 11 women: Reports

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who has been called one of the most liberal politicians and a self-styled feminist in the United States is now under a lot of pressure from his own Democratic allies including President Joe Biden and other senior party figures to resign after an investigation found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women followed by an aggressive strategy to retaliate against one of his accusers.

On Tuesday (August 4), President Joe Biden said, “I think he should resign,” and this was supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York’s US Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, all Democrats.

The news about Andrew Cuomo predatory behaviour towards women, including his staffers have been making rounds for a very long time but due to Covid and his influence within the democratic party, any action against him was thwarted, however, the situation is clearly untenable for this once aspirant of the highest office of his county.

The leader of the state Assembly who has the power to bring impeachment charges said it was clear Cuomo could no longer remain in office. Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said he would move to complete an impeachment inquiry “as quickly as possible.”

State’s attorney general Letitia James on Tuesday said, “The independent investigation has concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law,”.

James also said the investigation found that Cuomo, “Sexually harassed current and former New York state employees by engaging in unwelcome and non-consensual touching and making numerous comments of a suggestive sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women,”.

At least eight women, including former or current aides, have now come forward to what they said were inappropriate words and gestures from Cuomo, and one former employee said he slipped his hand under her blouse last year and a state trooper on his security detail who said he ran his hand or fingers across her stomach and her back.

The women who have now come out in the open also said they feared retaliation if they reported Cuomo’s behavior and told investigators his administration as a hostile workplace “rife with fear and intimidation”. The report also discovered that Cuomo’s staff took action against one accuser and tried to discredit and disparage her.

Lindsey Boylan, a former employee has publicly accused Cuomo of wrongdoing, including leaking confidential personnel files and drafting a letter attacking her credibility.

However, the Democratic Governor who has been hailed as the champion of women said, ” I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,”.

It must also be noted that his brother is CNN host Chris Cuomo and according to the AG report, Chris was also given secret and privileged information from the Executive Branch during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and he also helped draft at least one of his brother’s denials leading to a serious breach of journalistic ethics.

In fact, during one of his broadcasts, Chris made it very clear to his audience that he couldn’t cover the governor’s scandal because they were brothers, despite hosting his show at the height of the pandemic and privy to some sensitive information.

Governor Andrew Cuomo comes from political royalty as his father Mario Cuomo was also governor of New York and he was also once married Kerry Kennedy, the seventh child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy

Cuomo was appreciated for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis in New York early in the pandemic but later reports emerged that his administration covered up information pertaining to COVID-19 deaths among nursing home deaths.

It is estimated that 6,000 New York state nursing home residents had died of COVID as of June 2020 which Cuomo tried to cover up and according to AG Letitia James, Cuomo administration undercounted COVID-19-related deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50 per cent.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn had announced that they are investigating the incident and on March 19, 2021, the F.B.I. had reported that an investigation was underway on Governor Andrew Cuomo for improperly using the power of his office to shield nursing home executive political donors from Covid-19 lawsuits.

It is ironic that this disgraced liberal politician who was once seen as a possible future candidate for the office of the President of the Untied States was hiring an expert to reform sexual harassment training for state employees, including the governor.

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