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Cpl. Bulger leaves behind his wife and two daughters. He was in Afghanistan fighting for the Canadian forces who were constantly bombarded by IED’s by the Taliban. We should be proud of Cpl. Bulger and our Canadian forces who are fighting to not only make this world a safer place from the threats of terrorists, but also they are fighting to hold our flag and honor high. In your prayers, don’t forget Cpl. Bulger for his supreme sacrifice to Canada and his proud family whom Canada will and should take care. -30- In all honesty, I never thought that this will happen in India before my grandchildren came, but amazed and delighted that while some of the so called developed countries are still debating and discriminating, India, a land of multiple religions, cultures, social stigma and religious conservatism has moved forward. Gay sex has been decriminalised in India by a court, which is a big step forward. There will be opposition to it, challenges both legal and cultural, but this is a great step forward for India and the rest of the world to learn from. In a decade that I have been away from India, things have been rapidly changing, thanks in part to the growth of the economy that has created millions of new tech jobs and invasion of western culture through call centres, IT and R&D centre, but also credit should be given to the changing attitude among the political brass who are trying to keep pace with a young India. The biggest cultural shock to me when I came to Canada in 1999 was the prevalence of homosexuality in Canada. It was something that was rarely talked about and never seen in public during those days in India atleast in the conservative south India. In a decade things have fast changed, for the good with cities like Mumbai , Calcutta having pride week celebrations and even a popular TV channel in the south has a transsexual as host. To me it is a simple factor. As a visible minority, I know and feel racism and discrimination. You can’t fight against discrimination by colour, origin and then discriminate against people by sexuality. There are no two ways to it. If you want fair treatment, be ready to give fair treatment to everyone. This is good news that four Universities are stepping up to provide free education for our fallen soldiers children . It is stupid and shameful that only a handful of universities are doing it in Canada. In fact I think education should be made free for children of all law enforcement officers who lost their life in the line of duty. There is no greater sacrifice than a Canadian, be it an army officer being killed by a land mine in Afghanistan or a police officer shot by gangsters in Surrey. We as Canadians need to step up to the plate for them their families and children. I think the federal government should step in and create a scholarship that will cover the education needs of our fallen soldier’s family members including spouse. Canadians in general can always donate to support on an individual basis to the Military Families Fund .I do. Since many of them have been coming to my blog searching for UTCC, posting this will help them get more information on the event. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 17, 2009 United Tamil Council of Canada (UTCC) launches fundraiser to support Tamil children in Sri Lanka United Tamil Council of Canada (UTCC) is hosting a cocktail reception to raise funds in support of Tamil children affected by the conflict in Sri Lanka. The project will be executed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and is recommended by the Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka. In order to ensure full public accountability, all of the funds donated will be going directly to the project. UTCC will draw upon the support of many special guests invited to the event including parliamentarians and leaders from diverse communities in Canada. The event details are below:
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2009 Time: 6:30PM- 9:30PM Venue: Holiday Inn- Markham 7095 Woodbine Ave Markham. L3R 1A4 “Our goal is to raise $60,000 this year to support specific children’s projects for the affected children in Sri Lanka and we will work with our Canadian officials and the UNHCR in Sri Lanka to ensure full accountability and transparency” says Dr.Pon Sivaji, Chair of the event. Adds, Kris Parthiban, co-Chair of the event, “as the Tamil community across the world works towards bringing awareness to the critical situation in Sri Lanka, UTCC would like to address the issue from humanitarian point of view and work to alleviate the suffering of the displaced Tamil population which has impacted the emotion of Canadian Tamils”. UTCC has been actively reaching out in the hopes of integrating all Tamil Canadians into Canada’s vibrant social, economic and political landscape. As it works to achieve these domestic goals, as a non partisan organization that is governed by respectable moderate Tamil members of the society, UTCC is also actively looking for means to coordinate actions that can lead Canada to play an active, appropriate role in the conflict in Sri Lanka. UTCC will present its five point recommendations for Canada’s role in Sri Lanka at this event. These recommendations will be presented to the Conservative government when they are ready to meet with moderate leaders from the Tamil community. UTCC is a non profit, non partisan organization that strives to unite and be inclusive of Canadian Tamils of all backgrounds. It aims to represent them in the broader community and to work towards the socio, economic and political empowerment of Canadian Tamils. Finally, the UTCC represents the aspirations of Tamils from a Canadian perspective on domestic and global issues. Its board consists of diverse Canadian Tamils from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Burma representing all Tamils in Canada. Should you require further details on UTCC and this event, please feel free to contact Mr. Vijay Sappani, V.P. Media and Public Relations at 416-716-1522 or vijay@unitedtamils.org -30- Markham Oakridges Consevative MP Paul Calandra wont allow me to follow him on Twitter. I added the MP from Markham Oak Ridges to the people I want to follow and Twitter says now that I can’t because he has blocked me. What does he have to hide. Do you think it is appropriate for a MP to block someone from following them on Twitter because of partisan reasons. Is he afraid that I will uncover his mistake and expose him. Something is very fishy here. Don’t you think ? I have a lot of Conservative friends on Twitter, Facebook and as true Canadians we use partisan politics to engage in a dialogue to make Canada and the world a better place. Is Paul Calandra afraid of a dialogue or he does not like Liberals. Well, I have collected a lot of information that I can use for campaign material that will be of interest to Canadians of diverse background in that riding including Tamils, Hindu, Muslims and I will definitely do it , if this is the attitude they want to follow. I have been upset with the CONservative government for a total lack of cooperation on the Sri Lanka file. On one side they are claiming on the media and now in the parliament that they are meeting Tamil community leaders, but in speaking to many groups, including those opposed to LTTE, nothing has happened. I have heard all kinds of excuses, but I think the reality is that they don’t care because it (Tamils) is not a voter group they are going to get any support. It is politics. What I don’t understand is how pathetic they are with their ethnic outreach. They don’t want to meet with people who have links with the Liberal party, people like me who have put aside personal partisan agenda to come out and support the government and engage them in a dialogue to advice on Canada’s role in Sri Lanka. They don’teven want to talk about it or listen to the ideas put forth by many moderate Tamils in Canada. how can you win new votes, if you dont even make an effor to reach out to the moderates. I just dont understand how they run their politics, but I cansee why GTA is red and will go full red again! So I get upset after months of trying to engage the government to do something credible on the Sri Lanka file and do a blog to defeat Paul, Bob and Peter. Guess what, I start getting emails from friends in the C party upset with me, like they don’t know I am a Liberal. Definitely gets attention when you do something like that but send tons of letters wanting to help the government on this file, never get a reply. Paul Calandra may want to block me or other Liberals, but I will not do it. He or other Conservatives can follow me on Twitter or be my friends on Facebook. I believe in all of us working together to make Markham Oak Ridges better, not just try to hold on to power. So folks in Markham Oak Ridges if you have stories to share, pass it on and I will add it to the campaign folder for Markham Oak Ridges. Got to admit that no matter what you say at least Peter Kent is a decent man. We may not agree with everything, but we at least agree to disagree respectfully, not doing things like blocking each other. Yuck! Stay tuned in this blog for updates on Markham Oak Ridges. I will attempt to follow Paul Calandra after a day or two to see if he will remove the block and allow me to follow him on Twitter, which is the right thing to do as an MP. Will keep you posted. US is pushing forward with emerging economies like China and India, while Harper has undone the good work of Paul Martin who initiated a new department for BRIC countries. Canada- India relationship was poised for a big takeover with Paul Martin as the Prime Minister, but as the Conservatives came to power, there has been a lot of talk , but little action in reality. It is true that some members of the Indo-Canadian, specifically Hindu Canadians voted for the Conservatives in the last two elections, through active engagement by the Conservatives with that community. However, there is a swift reversal since Ignatieff became the leader and started reaching out to all Canadians, including Indo- Canadians. There is also a big sense of disappointment among many with the lacklustre performance of the Conservatives on the India file and the failure to move forward on many important deals, including a proposed free trade agreement, that will significantly help Canadian businesses to expand to Indian market. Obama is going to play a big role in strengthening US- India relationship that can be a threat to Canada, as American companies are looking for greener pastures for sourcing their products and services. Canada needs a world travelled, visionary leader like Ignatieff to lead us into the next generation through strong relationship with India, China,Russia, Latin America and other emerging markets. This is a note sent to me by my friend Ram in the US, who is an active proponent of Indo- US relationship. He have provided the highlights of the speech. Addressing the U.S.-India Business Council’s 34th Anniversary “Synergies Summit” in Washington DC today (June 17, 2009), Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the Obama administration is “clearly committed to furthering and deepening our relationship with India in every way possible,” outlined “four platforms of cooperation in global security, human development, economic activity, science and technology” and affirmed that she planned to make the U.S.-India relationship “a personal priority.” The full tect and Video can be seen here in US dept of state website
**So four platforms of cooperation – global security, human development, economic activity, science and technology – can support us in launching this third phase of the U.S.-India relationship. The Highlights: **I will be visiting India next month, which I’m looking forward to. The new governments in Washington and New Delhi will build this future together, and we will be discussing the details of that partnership when I visit India next month. **When I was elected to the Senate, I co-founded and co-chaired the Senate’s India Caucus, the first time we had done that. **I want you to place me and where I stand as Secretary of State. It is in a position of deep commitment to building stronger ties with India, a commitment based on mutual respect and mutual interests. And I know that President Obama feels the same way. We see India as one of a few key partners worldwide who will help us shape the 21st century. **The nuclear deal, which was completed through the efforts of former President Bush, removed the final barrier to broader cooperation between us. **Today, I can tell you my hope and President Obama’s hope that the next stage in our country’s relationship will see a dramatic expansion in our common agenda, and a greater role for India in solving global challenges. We recognize the extraordinary progress that India has made already, and we know that many of these advances have not come easily, and we don’t take them for granted. As we pursue an enhanced bilateral partnership, we should recognize that compared to other metrics of our cooperation, our official ties are past due for an upgrade. **We need the bilateral cooperation between our governments to catch up with our people-to-people and economic ties. We need to make sure that the partnership between Washington and New Delhi, our capitals, will be as advanced and fruitful as the linkages that already exist between Manhattan and Mumbai, or Boston and Bangalore. **I hope that an expanded partnership between the U.S. and India will be one of the signature accomplishments of both new governments in both countries, and I do plan to make that a personal priority. To achieve the goal of stronger ties between our countries, we will have to confront and transcend the mistrust that has hampered our cooperation in the past, and address the lingering uncertainties in our relationship still today. **Some Americans fear that greater prosperity and partnership with India will mean lost jobs or falling wages here in the United States. Some Indians believe that closer cooperation with us runs counter to their nation’s very strong tradition of independence. **But as friendly democracies, in fact, as the oldest and largest democracies in the world, we should work through any issues in our relationship and differences in our perspective by focusing on shared objectives and concrete results. I want to put us into the solutions business. **We need to build on several natural platforms. The first is global security. India and the United States share an overriding interest in making the world more secure. The tragic attacks of 26/11 were a global event. They played out in slow motion on television screens across India, the United States, and the world. The violence inflicted on the people of Mumbai, and the loss of six American citizens in those attacks, was a reminder that terrorism represents a common threat to our nations and our people, and we must meet it with a common strategy. **As part of that strategy, we should expand our broader security relationship and increase cooperation on counterterrorism and intelligence sharing. And the President and I are committed to working with India in whatever way is appropriate to enhance India’s ability to protect itself. **We should also work to realize a vision articulated by generations of Indians, Americans, and recently by President Obama, of a nuclear-free world. The Civil Nuclear Agreement helped us get over our defining disagreement, and I believe it can and should also serve as the foundation of a productive partnership on nonproliferation. **We have a common interest in creating a stable, peaceful Afghanistan, where India is already providing $1.2 billion in assistance to facilitate reconstruction efforts. The United States is committed to the task ahead in Afghanistan, and I hope India will continue its efforts there as well. And of course, we believe that India and Pakistan actually face a number of common challenges, and we welcome a dialogue between them. **As we have said before, the pace, scope, and character of that dialogue is something that Indian and Pakistani leaders will decide on their own terms and in their own time. But as Pakistan now works to take on the challenge of terrorists in its own country, I am confident that India, as well as the United States, will support those efforts. **India’s moral stature and its long tradition of leadership among developing countries means that it is particularly well-suited to take on the challenges that multinational institutions face. I have always believed states should be awarded enhanced roles in international bodies not only on the basis of their power, but whether they use that power constructively to advance the common good and address global problems. India already is a major player on the world stage, and we will look to cooperate with New Delhi as it shoulders the responsibilities that accompany its new position of global leadership. **Human development – particularly in the fields of education, women’s empowerment, and health – is another platform for cooperation. **We should build on the goals articulated by India’s leadership to boost literacy, expand vocational training, and improve access to higher education. I hope we can partner with India to improve outcomes at all levels of education. Our countries should continue the tradition of intellectual exchange by increasing opportunities for interaction by American institutions of higher learning and their Indian counterparts as well. **We should continue working together to promote initiatives like micro-lending and provide training programs for rural women as tools to help lift them and their families out of poverty. **We can also work together to address health challenges including nutrition, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases, as well as the growing problem of chronic disease in both of our nations. We need to share knowledge and best practices to improve human development at home and around the world. And I appreciate all that is being done by this group and certainly this Council to promote economic and trade cooperation. We should begin negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty soon. And I’m confident that our Trade Representative and Minister Sharma will bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to help move the Doha Round negotiations to a successful conclusion. **President Obama has been clear that the United States has learned the lessons of the past. We will not use the global financial crisis as an excuse to fall back on protectionism. We hope India will work with us to create a more open, equitable set of opportunities for trade between our nations. **Encouraging greater agricultural cooperation should be a major focus of our economic agenda. India is ripe for a second green revolution. A significant expansion of India’s agricultural sector would have dramatic benefits for Indians, but also could help to spur agricultural revolutions in Africa and other parts of the globe where food security remains a persistent problem. **Our commitment to work with the business community means that in September we will re-launch the CEO Forum on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. We hope that effort, along with other initiatives, will channel the power of the private sector and entrepreneurs to build and improve the lives of both Indians and Americans. **Finally, we should bring together the best of our technological and scientific brains to encourage breakthroughs in both science and technology. This is particularly important on issues related to energy and climate. We are committed to working with India to see India’s economy continue to prosper, to create more economic opportunity, rising incomes. We want Indians to have a higher standard of living. And we hope our countries can work together to achieve that overriding goal, while avoiding the mistakes that were made by everyone in creating the climate crisis we face today. We think there is great promise in a clean energy cooperation strategy focused on adopting low carbon technologies, improving energy efficiency, forestation, and water management. And these efforts should be supported by new and existing high-level dialogues between representatives of our governments. **We can also learn from Indian doctors and companies that are pioneering low-cost solutions to many of the health challenges we face today. The Serum Institute’s groundbreaking work to reduce the cost of vaccine manufacturing is one example of this phenomenon. There are many others. Applying their discoveries to global health initiatives will help us save resources and lives. **Public-private partnerships between governments, industry, civil society will be vital to everyone of these platforms. This is very sad. former Liberal MPP and Markham regional councillor has passed away.
—– Original Message —–
From: Scarpitti, Frank To: Mayor & Councillors Sent: Wed Jun 17 20:51:15 2009 Subject: I was saddened to hear this evening that our friend and colleague Tony Wong passed away. We will all miss his presence and influence around the Council table. The community will miss a dedicated public servant who advocated for the less fortunate in our society and dedicated himself to bridging the many cultures of Markham in an effort to develop a better understanding and greater appreciation of our diversity. Frank Scarpitti Mayor
Twitter is complicated to many, unknown to the majority and yet a popular tool for the connected ones on the social networking groups. The best tweets I have been seeing are from Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal MP from Vancouver South . His tweets are a mix of personal, philosophical and political ones that are at times humorous and at other moments thought provoking. That is the coolest part of it; to see a politician be genuine and connect with people without any propaganda. You can follow Ujjal here on Twitter United Tamil Council of Canada (UTCC) cordially invites you to a Cocktail reception in support of Tamil children in Sri Lanka affected by the conflict. The project will be executed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), recommended by the Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka Date: Thursday, June 25, 2009 Time: 6:30PM- 9:30PM Venue: Holiday Inn- Markham 7095 Woodbine Ave Markham. L3R 1A4
Cost: $100 & over. This is a zero overheads event, with 100% of the funds donated going directly to the project. For more information and sponsorship opportunities contact: Vijay Sappani, 416-716-1522. vijay@unitedtamils.org UTCC is a non profit, non partisan organization that strives to unite and be inclusive of Canadian Tamils of all background and represent them in the broader community and to work towards the socio, economic and political empowerment of Canadian Tamils and represent their aspirations from a Canadian perspective on domestic and global issues Fundraising Committee: Dr. Pon Sivaji, Sugumar Ganeshan, Kula Sellathurai, Kris Parthiban and Vijay Sappani. |
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Cpl. Nicholas Bulger is Canada’s 121st soldier 
