Nshima & Curry

Report: Obama wins prestigious prize

In a stunning decision that caught many observers by surprise, President Barack Obama was awarded baseball’s 2009 American League MVP Award.

The Baseball Writers Association of America selected Obama for the award for his “dignity and poise” in throwing out the opening pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game.

“He doesn’t play in the Major Leagues, but he’s a Major League figure in the world,” said Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci.

Obama wore jeans and a Chicago White Sox jersey for his ceremonial pitch at the All-Star Game in July. Video of his pitch was seen by more people around the world than any baseball game.

“His pitch was low and didn't make it to home plate, but he showed immense potential,” Verducci said. “We believe that if he hadn’t gone into politics, he could have been a great baseball player. So why not go ahead and give him the award?”

Obama became the first sitting president in the world to win an MVP award in a professional sport. The president said he was “surprised and deeply humbled” by the honor.

"I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," Obama said.

Reaction to Obama’s MVP Award was mixed, with some welcoming the news and others calling it the biggest mistake since Sanjaya was voted off American Idol.

Rev. Al Sharpton called it an “inspiring choice,” saying that Obama, with a single pitch, had shown the world that it’s possible for anyone to succeed in baseball, not just young men who have spent years taking steroids.

But others said it was far too early in the Obama presidency for him to receive the award. “He hasn’t done much to deserve it,” said baseball analyst Rush Limpball. “It would have been better to give it to him after he has served two terms and thrown out the opening pitch at a dozen games.”

Baseball fan Pedro Pena agreed, saying it made no sense to give the award to a pitcher who had failed to strike out anyone, not even the Republicans.

“How can they give the MVP award to a part-time player?” Pena asked. “It’s unfair to the real professional players, especially to my brother Carlos.”

Carlos Pena, who hit 39 home runs for the Tampa Bay Rays, said he wasn’t surprised that the Baseball Writers Association would pick a winner so arbitrarily.

“They’re just baseball writers –- what do you expect?” Pena said. “They aren’t the Nobel Prize Committee or something.”

Report: Taxi drivers expelled from association

Two cabdrivers have been expelled from the New York City Taxi Drivers Association (NYCTDA) for being too honest.

The drivers, Gulam Mustafa of Queens and Haron ur Rashid of the Bronx, were among more than 20 cabbies from across North America honored recently for their humanity, heroism and integrity by the International Association of Transportation Regulators. Mustafa was recognized for returning a wallet containing several thousand dollars to its owner, while Rashid was honored for returning wedding gifts to a couple.

Soon after accepting their awards, they received letters stating they were no longer members of the taxi association. "To be honest, we were very shocked," Mustafa said. Added Rashid: "It was honestly the last thing we expected."

Raoul Ramirez, president of the taxi association, said the drivers had broken a membership pledge to try their best to meet the public's expectations. "Let's face facts," Ramirez said. "The public doesn't expect taxi drivers to be honest. They expect us to take them for a ride."

He said the men had committed several other offenses, such as making sure their meters were accurate and always taking the shortest route. "Being honest once or twice is fine," Ramirez said. "But it has become too much of a pattern."

He acknowledged the possibility that the men are addicted to honesty, saying, "That's why we've recommended that they join the HCA (Honest Cabbies Anonymous) program."

Asked if the public wasn't better served by honest taxi drivers, Ramirez shook his head. "Sometimes yes, sometimes no," he said. "Do you know what happened to the customer whose wallet Gulam returned? He had a heart attack. Almost died."

Photo by Adrian8_8

Report: Obama in big trouble over "jackass" comment

WASHINGTON -- President Obama is in trouble for calling Kanye West a "jackass" after the rapper interrupted singer Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards.

"Obama should not have called Kanye a jackass," said Donna Rivers, an African-American woman who marched outside the White House with hundreds of others Wednesday. "It's insulting and unfair to all jackasses."

Rivers and the other protesters, mostly members of the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), held up signs demanding that Obama apologize to jackasses.

"Poor creatures," said Matt Johnson, a Baltimore accountant. "What have they done to deserve being compared to Kanye? Have they ever stepped on a stage uninvited? Have they ever interrupted a speech by a horse or cow?"

He added that he has heard West's music on his teen-aged son's iPod and, if given a choice, would prefer to listen to a jackass braying.

Julia Flowers, a lifelong Democrat, said she found Obama's comment particularly upsetting because the symbol of the Democratic Party happens to be a jackass. "Obama should be more respectful to jackasses," she said. "The least he could have done was compare Kanye to some other animal, such as a rat."

But Maurice Davis disagreed with her, saying no animal deserved to be compared with West. "Why do animals need to be insulted?" Davis said. "Why couldn't Obama just say that Kanye West is a turnip?"

Davis' words did not sit well with fellow protester Lucas Rove of Hagerstown, Md., who happens to be a turnip farmer. "Leave turnips out of this," he said. "They're good vegetables."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs released a statement saying that the President was speaking off-the-record and used the term "jackass" not to refer to the animal but as a synonym for "imbecile."

Gibbs' statement drew objections from another quarter. "We're insulted that the president believes that imbeciles are like Kanye West," said Glenn Beck, president of the American Association of Imbeciles.

Report: Shah Rukh Khan boycotts America

MUMBAI -- Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, still miffed about being questioned for more than an hour at Newark's Liberty International Airport, has said that he will not visit America again under any circumstances that do not involve making money.

"I will go there only for movies, concerts and paid appearances," King Khan said. "But other than that, I am totally boycotting America."

Khan, 43, said he will also try to minimize the number of days he stays in America, even on business trips. "If I have a concert in New York on Monday and another in Chicago on Wednesday, I will try to spend Tuesday in Canada."

He added that many of his American fans would be willing to travel to Toronto to see him perform. "I have had no trouble at the airports in Canada," Khan said. "The only question I have been asked by Canadian immigration officials is, 'Can we have your autograph?'"

Khan, who has appeared in more than 70 movies and is arguably the biggest movie star in India, was questioned for 66 minutes at Newark airport. He called the incident "embarrassing," saying he had not been questioned so aggressively since 1991, when he first met his future father-in-law. "The surprising thing is that he asked me some of the same questions," he said. "What do you do for a living? Do you belong to any terrorist organization?"

Khan thanked his fans for supporting him, saying he had received thousands of letters and emails. "One fan said he will boycott American products for the rest of his life," Khan said. "I don't know how he's going to do it, because he lives in New Jersey."

Some of his fans have urged Indian officials to detain Hollywood stars when they visit India, to give them the same treatment that Khan received in America. "I hope they will call me if they do that," Khan said. "I am more than willing to frisk Jennifer Aniston and Megan Fox."

Report: Gupta Girls Inconsolable After Sanjay Gupta Withdraws

SAN FRANCISCO -- A dozen women spent Thursday night on the Golden Gate Bridge, threatening to jump to their deaths, distraught over the news that Dr. Sanjay Gupta will not be the next surgeon general.

Gupta, the neurosurgeon and CNN medical correspondent, withdrew his name from consideration, purportedly to spend more time with his family.

The news disappointed many Indian-Americans and was particularly distressing to the Gupta Girls, a group of women who have been maintaining a fan site for Dr. Gupta, whom they've dubbed the "Sexiest Doctor on the Face of the Planet."

"We're utterly devastated," said the group's leader, an Atlanta woman who prefers to be known just as a Gupta Girl. "We thought he would definitely go to Washington. Some of us had even bought homes there."

More than 5,000 Gupta Girls had planned to attend Dr. Gupta's swearing-in ceremony, she said. "The Obama inauguration was big, but for us, this would have been bigger. We were going to dance all night at the Gupta Girls Ball. We were excited about taking our photos with Dr. Gupta and had already ordered several cutouts of him."

She could not confirm if any of the women on the bridge were Gupta Girls, but said it was highly likely. "Our email discussion list has more than 100,000 subscribers. Most of them have taken the news very hard. We're trying to arrange counseling for them. It's been a tough year. First the economy and now this."

Police cars blocked one lane of the bridge as an unidentified officer used a bullhorn to try to persuade the women not to jump. “Think about your children,” he said. “How are they going to manage without you?”

“Children?” one woman shouted back. “You think if I had children, I’d be filling my hard drive with pics of Dr. Gupta!”

"Tell Dr. Gupta to reconsider," another woman yelled. "He's thinking about his family, but what about us?"

A spokesman for CNN said Dr. Gupta could not comment, as he was busy preparing a segment for CNN called "Ten ways to keep yourself from going into depression."

Report: Obama Approval Rating Shoots Up Again

WASHINGTON D.C. -- After a mere 12 hours in office, President Barack Obama's approval rating shot up from 79 percent to 98 percent.

A CNN/USA TODAY/Gallup poll conducted at midnight on Inauguration Day found that almost all Americans and most Mexicans approved of Obama's performance.

"What's not to like?" said John Whitaker, 79, of Miami. "The man hasn't done anything but smile and wave."

Mary Walters, 28-year-old from Philadelphia, disagreed. "He dances real fine," she said. "I totally approve of his ballroom dancing."

For others, it was Obama's inauguration speech that gave them reason to approve. "I very much approved the speech," said Suresh Gupta, an immigrant from India. "Did you know that he mentioned 'Hindus' in it?"

Carson Williams, editor of Style magazine, said he approved of Obama's suit. "Style is obviously important to him," Williams said. "That's why we're giving him a free subscription."

Some Democrats noted that Obama, in his first 12 hours in office, kept America safe from terrorist attacks. "I approve of that," said Cindy Peters, 45, of Cleveland. "So far, so good."

Others were pleased that he hadn't declared war on any country. "He seems like a man who truly believes in peace," said William James, 60, of Chicago. "Just look at how many hands he shook on his first day in office."

Republicans were just as enthusiastic about Obama's performance. "I didn't vote for him, but I can't help approving of his performance," said Rhonda Graham, 48, of San Francisco. "He didn't just pick Rev. Rick Warren to pray at the inauguration, he even kept his eyes closed during the entire prayer."

Several Mexicans working at a farm near Dallas said they approved of Obama, too. "Very good president," a man named Miguel said.

Asked to explain, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "The speech. The speech, of course. Our boss go to listen to speech and we get to take a break."

Meanwhile, the approval rating of Obama lookalike Ilham Anas of Indonesia rose from 92 percent to 99 percent. Many Indonesians approved of what he did during the first 12 hours: waving, shaking hands and smiling.

"Our Obama was great," said Hamid Yusuf, 24, of Jakarta. "He did almost the same things as their Obama."

New poll: McCain leads in 39 states

NEW YORK -- A new poll shows that John McCain leads Barack Obama in 39 states, but unfortunately for McCain, most of those states are outside America. In the Indian state of Gujarat, McCain holds a commanding 59-38 lead over Obama, thanks largely to an endorsement from Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The poll, conducted by the right-leaning advocacy group, Global Think, and released less than a week before the presidential election, indicates that McCain enjoys pockets of popularity around the world. Though the vast majority of the 3,461 people polled can't vote in the Nov. 4 election, the results surprised political analysts, many of whom believed that Obama would be more popular than McCain in almost every country.

The McCain Campaign, searching desperately for any glimmer of hope that the Arizona senator can pull off an upset next Tuesday, touted the poll results as a sign that McCain was finally breaking through.

"Our message is reaching every corner of the world," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds. "We believe that the good people of Pennsylvania and Ohio will support Senator McCain on Tuesday as strongly as people in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh do."

In addition to the two Indian states, McCain enjoys strong support in China, Russia, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Antarctica.

The Obama campaign downplayed the poll results, accusing Global Think of deliberately surveying people in countries or states where McCain was likely to be popular. "There are 54 countries in Africa," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "but somehow the only one surveyed was Central African Republican. I mean, Republic."

While no Africa-wide polls have been conducted, the Kenyan newspaper, Daily Nation, surveyed 1,000 people in early October and found that 999 supported Obama. The sole McCain supporter was a man named Josiah Mbacho, who had once been involved in a fight over homebrewed beer with Obama's second cousin Suleiman Obama.

Report: Obama tells voters not to objectify him

NEW ORLEANS -- Frustrated that female voters aren't taking him seriously enough, presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered a special message to a group of young women who came to a campaign rally with signs that said "Oh mama, I'm in love with Obama" and "Stand Back! I want Barack!"

"Please pay attention to the issues, ladies," Obama said, waving a finger at them. "I am not a sex object."

The women, all students at LSU, seemed undeterred. "I can't believe he spoke to us," one of them gushed to a reporter. "He's so cute!"

Said another: "I don't know what he said to us, but he looked good doing it."

As he attempts to win the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama must convince female voters that he can represent their interests better than Hillary Clinton. Polls show that the majority of women support Clinton, but Obama scores high among young women, who consider him a good candidate partly because of his "great smile," as well as women in their sixties and seventies, who say they want to "pinch his cheeks."

"It's a race between a man and a woman," said political analyst Joel Klein, "but who would have thought it would be the man who's being objectified?"

The extent to which Obama is being objectified is unclear, but CNN reporter John King did get some answers during a focus group with several female voters.

"Do you think Barack Obama is electable?" King asked a 60-year-old Illinois woman named Marge Brensinger.

"Electable?" she said. "He's not just electable, he's delectable."

"Do you think Obama is qualified to be president?" King asked a 25-year-old Maryland woman named Neeta Gulati.

"Of course," she said. "He looks good in a suit. Damn good."

"But what about the issues?" King asked.

"Well, he voted against the war in Iraq and he's cute."

"He's cute? Why is that important?"

"Well, if we elect him president, my friends and I are actually going to watch the State of the Union address. He's very watchable."

"Very true," Brensinger said. "I could watch him all day."

"What about experience?" King asked a 40-year-old Iowa woman named Jill Stewart.

"I'm sure he's very experienced," she said. "But you'll have to ask his wife about that."

Photo by Peter Howe

Report: Indian-Americans make their mark in another field

The Indian-American community has finally arrived, says a leading sociologist, and it’s not because Bobby Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana or Sanjaya was a finalist on American Idol. Nor is it because Indian-Americans have excelled in fields such as medicine, engineering and business.

The true sign that the Indian-American community has arrived is that it’s making a mark in a field that gets plenty of media exposure: crime. “More Indian-Americans are involved in criminal activity than ever before,” says Jacob George, sociologist at Harvard University. “Obviously, it won’t be seen as a positive sign, but it shows that Indian-Americans are not just sitting back and allowing other communities to grab all the empty spaces in prison.”

As a result, Americans are now seeing more Indian names in newspapers, he said. “It’s not just names like Vick and Peterson in the crime stories,” George said. “It’s also names like Crookmansingh and Embezzleraman.”

In the ’70s and ’80s, when an Indian-American was involved in crime, it was often unintentional, George said. “It was usually a new immigrant who didn’t know the laws of the land,” he said. “Perhaps it was an office worker who thought it was okay to take the stapler home. Or maybe it was an office manager who thought it was okay to take the secretary home.”

These days, Indian-Americans are more deliberate about their crimes, George said. “They work very hard at planning and executing it,” he said. “I’m sure no one is surprised to hear this, but when it comes to criminal activity, Indian-Americans are very ambitious. They don’t bother with petty crimes like shoplifting and burglary. They commit crimes that will put them in either financial security or maximum security for the rest of their lives.”

He cited the example of Balram Chandiramani, a director in New York City’s transportation department who’s been charged with soliciting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. “It may seem like a terrible crime,” George said, “but how many Indian-Americans can say they’ve been on the front page of the New York Post?”

Even leaders of the Indian-American community are not exempt from committing crimes, George said, noting that Maryland state legislator Kumar Barve has been charged with driving under the influence. “Don’t forget that George W. Bush committed the same crime  many years ago,” he said. “So perhaps Barve is just preparing himself for higher office.”

Report: Indian-American couple arrested for suspicious activity

CHICAGO, Dec. 20 -- Chicago police have arrested an Indian-American couple on suspicion of being terrorists after they turned each other in for suspicious activity.

Police Superintendent J.P. "Jody" Weis announced the arrest at a press conference in City Hall, calling it a "victory" for the Bureau of Strategic Deployment. The bureau had issued a Winter Holiday Public Awareness Bulletin that urged citizens to call 911 if they spotted "suspect activities," including "Physical Surveillance (note taking, binocular use, cameras, video, maps)".

Balaji "Bill" Parameswaran and his wife, Beena, were picked up on Devon Avenue by the bureau's Fast Response Tactical Unit after Beena called 911 to report that her husband had been using his binoculars to look at buildings. According to a police report, Balaji denied he was looking at buildings and said his wife was angry because he was "scoping babes."

While being handcuffed, Balaji told officers that they should arrest Beena too, because she had been using a map to find "important buildings." Officers searched Beena and found a map of Chicago in her possession, with a section of Devon Avenue highlighted and the word "dosa" penciled in. Police believe that the couple are members of a militant organization called DOSA (Desis Organized for Secret Attacks). The group has been tied to several attacks on restaurants in Washington D.C.

"We do not know what caused them to turn each other in," Weis said. "Perhaps they were having a domestic dispute. But there's no doubt in my mind that without the bulletin, we wouldn't have reeled them in." He added that Devon Avenue, known for its many ethnic stores and restaurants, was a potential target area because "it's as populated as India on weekends."

He denied a CNN report that the couple would be turned over to the CIA and might be in danger of being waterboarded, saying that since it was winter, they were more likely to be "snowboarded." He said they might also be deported to India. But the Parameswaran's attorney, John Gilliam, said that deportation was unlikely because "if that happens, they would become the first U.S.-born citizens to be deported to a foreign country."

Meanwhile, hundreds of people marched down Devon Avenue to protest the arrest of the Parameswarans. The leader of the group, a young Indian-American man, called the arrest a "security perversity" and demanded that the Parameswarans be released immediately. "They are not a threat to anyone," said the man, who declined to give his name, citing security concerns. "We think this is another example of ..."

Our reporter on the scene could not write down the entire quote, as he was arrested himself for note-taking.

Report: George Allen embroiled in monkey controversy

Former Virginia Senator George Allen is in trouble again, after a security camera inside a Dunkin' Donuts store caught him saying to a friend, "€œIndia is full of unruly monkeys."

Buddhadev "œBuddy" Patel, owner of the store in Charlottesville, Va., said he had been reviewing the video on Nov. 20 to see if customers were taking too many napkins when he spotted Allen in the store. "I recognized him immediately -“- the man who called one of us a macaca," said Patel, referring to the racial slur that derailed Allen's bid for re-election in 2006. "€œThe audio wasn't clear, so I took it to one of my friends who is a lip reader. And sure enough, Allen was calling us unruly monkeys."

Allen'€™s words sparked an uproar in the Indian-American community, as well as scattered protests in India. "€œHow dare he call us monkeys?" Atlanta resident Rajan "œRoger" Sankaraman said. "œDo monkeys know how to program computers? Do monkeys know how to prescribe medicine? Do monkeys know how to prepare chapatis?"

Niraj Joshi, president of the National Federation of Indian-American Federations, demanded that Allen apologize on national TV. "œWe would call for his resignation,"€ Joshi said, "œbut he has nothing to resign from."

Report: Musharraf imposes penalty on himself

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN, Nov. 14 -- President Pervez Musharraf, in a move that he says reinforces his commitment to restoring democracy in this embattled nation, on Tuesday put himself under house arrest.

"I am not above the law," Musharraf said, standing behind barbed wire that had been placed around his house in Rawalpindi.  "I am just like Mrs. Bhutto, but without all the cosmetic surgery."

Musharraf had faced criticism on Monday after he addressed a gathering of supporters in Lahore. "Why don't the rules of emergency apply to him?" opposition leader Benazir Bhutto said. "I have been under house arrest twice and on another occasion, the police threatened to confiscate my makeup kit. Why must we have double standards?"

Musharraf brushed off the criticism Monday evening, saying, "We may have double standards, but we are at least trying hard, under my leadership, to achieve triple standards."

But on Tuesday morning, after receiving a phone call from President George W. Bush, Musharraf decided to punish himself. He denied that Bush had twisted his arm. "There was no arm-twisting," he said, raising his voice in anger at a reporter's question. "No leg-twisting either. Please do not ask me about any other appendage."

President Bush praised Musharraf's action. "It shows that President Musharraf has a conscience," Bush said. "That's why he's a friend of America. He's a good, honorable man, who just happens to be a dictator."

Musharraf appeared to violate the house arrest Tuesday afternoon when he took off in a helicopter from the roof. But Ibrahim Khan, a police constable standing guard in front of the house, said the president had technically not done anything wrong.

"It is house arrest," Khan said, pointing at the barbed wire. "The house is still under arrest."

Report: Musharraf bares it all for Rice

Islamabad, Nov. 5 -- In a move that shocked Muslim clerics and others in this conservative country, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf appeared naked Monday night on the state-run Pakistan Television, calling it a "goodwill gesture" to appease the United States and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Earlier that day, Rice had called for Musharraf to "take off his uniform" and return the country to civilian rule.

"I've taken off my uniform, Condi," Musharraf said. "I'm waiting for instructions from you on what I should wear."

While the camera scanned his body, Musharraf laughed and said, "I am a general and these are my privates." He paused, looked down and shouted, "Attention!"

Pakistanis expressed shock at their president's nudity. "I knew he was a small man," said one woman, who requested anonymity. "But I didn't realize he was that small."

"Three of my children were watching," said another woman. "They are in utter shock. One of them shouted, 'The general has no clothes.' I had to take them all to a doctor. I had told them television is bad for them, but I didn't know how bad."

Some political observers speculated that Musharraf was drunk, while others believe he was merely stressed out about the political crisis in his country.

"He just declared a state of emergency," said Shahid Ismail, a political science professor at the University of Texas. "And now, because of his nudity, many women and children are undergoing emergency treatment."

Several Muslim clerics called for the president's resignation, one of them referring to him as "President Pervert Musharraf."

"He has brought shame upon the whole nation," said Sheikh Abdul Saeed. "In Pakistan, we are used to being in a state of unrest, but definitely not a state of undress."

Political opponents also called for the general to step down.

"We have seen him naked," former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said, "and we are saying to him, 'So long, General Musharraf.' And we don't mean that as a compliment."

Meanwhile, in the province of Sindh, the headline in a local newspaper -- "Musharraf bares it all for Rice" -- prompted thousands of people to go on a riot, demanding that they be allowed to get naked for rice, too.

Report: Indians prepare for Jindal victory

Residents of Malerkotla, Punjab, are buying fireworks and preparing sweets, getting ready to celebrate Rep. Bobby Jindal’s likely victory in the Louisiana gubernatorial primary on Oct. 20.

“We will dance and party all night long,” said Kumar Jindal, first cousin of the Indian-American Congressman, whose parents hail from Malerkotla. “We have not been this excited since we got cable TV.”

The sole Republican candidate in Louisiana’s unique all-candidate primary, Jindal needs more than 50 percent to win the governorship and become the first Indian-American to head a state. He has such a large lead in the polls that analysts believe he will win the election even if President Bush comes to Louisiana to campaign for him.

“Louisiana doesn’t need any more disasters,” said one Democratic analyst, “but I have a feeling this is going to be a landslide.”

Added another analyst: “Thirteen people are challenging him in the election, but their chances of beating him are equal to Lou Dobbs’ chances of being appointed the ambassador to Mexico."