Thursday, December 08, 2022



The Indian diaspora has arrived

Rishi Sunak’s ascent to the pinnacle of British politics has sparked celebrations across India.

But while a brown-skinned devout Hindu leading the United Kingdom is certainly remarkable, Sunak’s rise points to a broader, longer-term phenomenon: the growing prominence of the Indian diaspora across the Western world.

This trend has been evident for some time, especially in the private sector, where Indian-born executives have risen to leadership positions at major U.S.-based multinational corporations. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi are probably the best-known examples, but there are many others.

According to S&P Global Ratings, no fewer than 58 Fortune 500 companies are currently run by CEOs of Indian descent. This list does not include Nooyi, who stepped down in 2018, and former Twitter chief Parag Agrawal, who was fired last month by new owner Elon Musk. But it is still long and varied, ranging from technology powerhouses like Adobe (Shantanu Narayen) and IBM (Arvind Krishna) to coffee powerhouses like Starbucks (Laxman Narasimhan).

As Sunak’s promotion demonstrates, the phenomenon has crossed over into politics, too. United States Vice President Kamala Harris was born to an Indian mother and Nikki Haley — a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a potential presidential candidate in 2024 — is the daughter of Indian Punjabi Sikh parents. Antonio Costa, whose father was part Indian, has been Portugal’s Prime Minister since 2015. Ireland’s half-Indian former Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is expected to regain the premiership later this year, owing to a rotation agreement. The thorny post-Brexit negotiations between England and Ireland could soon be conducted by two leaders of Indian heritage.

What explains this trend? Why do Indian immigrants and their children often thrive in Western systems designed to benefit Western-born, Western-educated local talent?

One possible explanation is Indians’ familiarity with English, owing to two centuries of British colonial rule. But language alone hardly guarantees success. And in any case, this does not explain Indians’ accomplishments in non-Anglophone European countries. In Germany, for example, 58% of Indian-origin workers hold jobs that require university degrees or equivalent specialist skills.

Another explanation is that Indian immigrants are more motivated. That is true, but Indians seem to outpace other immigrant communities. Of the many nationalities and ethnicities in the U.S., people of Indian descent have long had the enviable record of earning and maintaining the highest per-capita income.

First-generation Indian emigrants have grown up without taking affluence for granted, overcoming adversities such as limited resources, heavy-handed government regulation and bureaucratic inertia. Most have either experienced deprivation or witnessed enough of it to try to escape it. They have the “fire in the belly” that many in the West, raised in freer, more affluent environments, may have lost.

Moreover, India’s history and pluralism have exposed Indians to people of different languages, religions and cultures. Adjusting to the “other” is a deeply ingrained practice. It follows that Indian emigrants would be very comfortable working in multinational corporations. Growing up in a democratic country has equipped Indian-born workers with habits and values such as individual initiative, critical thinking and free expression, which are typically considered assets in the business world. At the same time, respect for hierarchy enables Indians to be seen as original and creative but “safe,” rather than threatening or revolutionary — a combination that facilitates their acceptance in their new societies and their ascent within firms.

Likewise, India’s encouragement of diversity and discouragement of excess make it easier for Indians to adapt to competitive environments. A cultural emphasis on education and learning, close-knit families and a strong work ethic also serve Indians well. Most Indians from middle-class backgrounds probably have grown up seeing merit honored and seeking to earn such praise themselves.

While such characteristics are frequently noted among first-generation immigrants, the success of Sunak, Varadkar and Harris suggest that Indians have passed these traits to their offspring. Sunak, in particular, seems to embody the aspirations and values of many Indians who celebrate him as a poster boy for the “New India.”

Ironically, some of the traits that Indians celebrate when applauding the success of their diaspora are rooted in values and traditions that India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking to suppress. In BJP-ruled India, chauvinist Hindutva hypernationalism threatens diversity, and uniformity and obedience to the new national narrative have come to trump individual initiative and freedom of thought. It is sobering that the virtues being hailed in Indians around the world might soon be more apparent in the diaspora than they are at home.

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"Growing Pains" actor Kirk Cameron is banned from hosting readings of his children's Christian book at more than 50 publicly funded libraries - despite most hosting 'drag queen story times' for kids

Actor Kirk Cameron has repeatedly been denied the opportunity to share his new Christian children's book at community libraries because the publicly funded institutions have rejected the traditional messaging of the story or opted not to reply to requests on his behalf.

It is common for community libraries to run story-hour programs for kids and parents that correspond with the release of a new book

In recent years, libraries have come under fire for promoting drag queens and other LGBTQ+ centric story hours for young children. It now appears to be the case that those same libraries, which are largely funded by taxpayers, have decided there is no space in their programming lineups for more traditional and faith-based titles.

Cameron's book, As You Grow, 'teaches biblical wisdom and the value of producing the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control,' according to the author.

Cameron is himself a married father of six children, four of whom are adopted. He has recently spoken out about parts of the left-wing establishment attempting to indoctrinate children as early as possible with progressive ideology.

Several months back, he spoke out against the US public school systems, which he said had been taken over by radical progressives who wish to impart lessons about Critical Race Theory and gender ideology to young children.

'It's sad to say they're doing more for grooming, for sexual chaos and the progressive left than any real educating about the things that most of us want to teach our kids,' he said during a promotion for his film, The Homeschool Awakening.

Now, he is working with conservative children's book publisher Brave Books, which produces 'pro-God, pro-America and anti-woke values.'

Brave Books told Fox News that it had been denied a story hour slot at several libraries explicitly due to the ideology of Cameron's book.

In Providence, Rhode Island, the Rochambeau Public Library told the publisher over the phone, 'No, we will pass on having you run a program in our space.'

'We are a very queer-friendly library. Our messaging does not align,' the library employee added.

When asked about filling out paper work to apply for a story hour, the employee said, 'You can fill out the form to reserve space, to run the program in our space — but we won’t run your program.'

The Rochambeau Public Library regularly hosts a program it calls 'Queer Umbrella,' which is a 'club and safe space where teens can learn, discuss and connect over queer history, art, community resources, and more,' according to its website. It is available to all members of the LGBTQ+ community who are aged 12 and up.

The San Diego public library told Brave that the As You Grow story hour likely isn't 'something we would do.' 'Because of how diverse our community is, I don’t know how many people you would get,' said the library representative. The library, however, does host a teen queer book club and a range of other 'LGBTQIA events.'

The San Lorenzo public library in Alameda County, California is yet another venue that told Brave they were 'not interested' in his book.

That library recently hosted a legal clinic for individuals interested in 'completing name and gender marker change court paperwork and updating identity documents such as CA birth certificates, driver’s licenses/IDs, passports and Social Security cards.'

The event was part of its 'Every Month Is Pride Month Series.'

The San Lorenzo Public Library made headlines over the summer when its Drag Queen Story Hour was disrupted by five men who were described as members of the far-right Proud Boy organization.

The Indianapolis Public Library said Cameron's book did not comport with its 'strategic plan' to promote 'diverse' authors.

'Generally when we have author visits, those are coordinated through our departments. We really have a push. We have a strategic plan in place, so we are really looking at authors who are diverse. Authors of color. That’s really been our focus,' is what an employee told Brave Books.

When the Texas-based publishing house pointed out that Cameron's book contributes to a diversity of ideas, they were told the library is 'focusing on racial equity.'

In response to his inability to be booked at more than 50 libraries that Brave reached out to, Kirk said, 'This is proof that more than ever, we are getting destroyed in the battle for the hearts and minds of our children.'

'Publicly funded libraries are green-lighting ‘gender marker and name change clinics’ while denying a story time that would involve the reading of a book that teaches biblical wisdom. How much more clear can it get?

'We have to start fighting back, or we will lose our kids and this country,' he said.

Brent Talbot, Brave's CEO, said it is 'devastating to discover that many of our publicly funded libraries have now become indoctrination centers that refuse to allow biblical wisdom to be taught to our children.'

'The woke left understands that morality is instilled by the age of 10, and they want their morality to win, not the morality that the Bible teaches,' he added.

Though Cameron and Brave say they will continue pushing the title among America's roughly 9,000 public libraries, the start of their effort has been a series of disappointments.

Public libraries are primarily funded by local governments. A very small portion of library funds come from the federal government, grants and donations.

In general, public funding is dolled out by the local government and is generated by tax dollars, library fines, parking tickets and other ways the city or municipality generates revenue.

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While No One Was Looking, FCC Quietly Gave Soros-Linked Group Major Win Over Conservatives

In a rather alarming development, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has handed a major victory to a liberal group trying to buy out a conservative radio station.

On November 22, Fox News reported that the FCC cleared the Latino Media Network to purchase Miami’s Spanish-language conservative radio station, Radio Mambi, from Televisa Univision for $60 million.

Radio Mambi is associated with Miami’s large population of Cuban exiles and is known for bringing anti-communist and conservative viewpoints to Miami’s large Latino audience.

But now, it will be under the control of the Latino Media Network, a liberal group run by Jess Morales Rocketto and Stephenie Valencia, a former employee of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and a former President Barack Obama staffer respectively. Effectively, a conservative media outlet is being bought out by liberals and now Miami’s Latino population will be deprived of a prominent local conservative voice.

But here’s the kicker — Latino Media Network is in part financed by an investment group associated with financier George Soros!

Yes, this is the same Soros who famously donated millions in order to help Stacey Abrams in her 2018 and 2022 campaigns to become governor of Georgia.

Yes, this is the same Soros who this past summer used the Fourth of July as an occasion to talk about how American democracy was under attack by former President Donald Trump, the Republicans, and the judges he appointed to the Supreme Court.

Yes, this is the same Soros who has helped back extreme leftist candidates in key battleground elections.

Now, a conservative news network is under the control of a group associated with this radical leftist billionaire.

Unsurprisingly, many staffers at Radio Mambi are unhappy that their network is now being bought out by a Soros-affiliated group. According to Fox News, one host, Lourdes Ubieta, quit in July saying she would never accept any paycheck from Soros.

“America is a free country. Even an avowed global socialist with a clear radical political agenda can buy our media outlets to silence their opposition,” she said.

This is a development that should alarm conservatives for many reasons. First, there is the obvious fact that a radical leftist billionaire is buying media outlets seemingly with the intention of silencing any opposing voices.

But perhaps more importantly, this will make it harder for Republicans to win over one key demographic that could very well swing in their favor: Hispanics.

Hispanics, especially in Florida, have been trending right for the past few years. They played a major role in Gov. Ron De Santis’ landslide re-election victory a few weeks ago, in which he won many historically liberal counties thanks in no small part to the Hispanic vote.

Joe Biden’s approval rating among Hispanic voters has plummeted, with many Hispanics saying that they favored Trump’s border policy as opposed to the open-border policy of the current administration.

All this has been a sign of hope for the Republicans. Democrats, with their support for open borders, historically held a firm grasp on the Hispanic vote, but that all seems to be slipping away.

Yet the left will not give up so easily. They will go so far as to enlist the help of a radical leftist, foreign financier to use his deep pockets to crush Hispanic voices who dare dissent from the Democratic orthodoxy.

America is a free country where everyone has a right to voice their opinion without the fear of reprisal, but now it seems that the left is willing to use billionaire elites to crush the freedom of speech that we hold so dear.

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Virginia Restaurant Kicks Out Family Foundation Over Abortion, Traditional Marriage

A Virginia restaurant told the Family Foundation that it was no longer welcome to dine at the establishment because of the organization’s views on abortion and traditional marriage.

The Daily Signal spoke with Family Foundation President Victoria Cobb on Monday morning outside the Supreme Court as the justices heard oral arguments in 303 Creative v. Elenis, a case examining “whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment.”

Cobb shared that about an hour and a half before the Family Foundation party was scheduled to take place in a private dining room at Metzger Bar and Butchery located in Richmond, Virginia, the restaurant announced that was “unwilling to serve” the organization.

“They did a little research, found out who we are. We are unapologetically pro-life and stand for traditional marriage,” she explained.

Cobb said the owner of the restaurant then called and informed the Family Foundation that it was no longer welcome to hold an event at the establishment.

“They seem more than willing to defend their ability to deny access to food. That’s, I think, the stunning part about it, we’d like to think that in America, even though we have political differences, even though we don’t see the world the same day, we’d like to believe that we can all dine in the same places,” Cobb said.

“Metzger Bar and Butchery has always prided itself on being an inclusive environment for people to dine in. In eight years of service we have very rarely refused service to anyone who wished to dine with us,” the restaurant said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal.

“Recently we refused service to a group that had booked an event with us after the owners of Metzger found out it was a group of donors to a political organization that seeks to deprive women and LGBTQ+ persons of their basic human rights in Virginia,” the statement continued. “We have always refused service to anyone for making our staff uncomfortable or unsafe and this was the driving force behind our decision. “

Many of the restaurant’s staff are women or “members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the restaurant said.

“All of our staff are people with rights who deserve dignity and a safe work environment,” the statement continued. “We respect our staff’s established rights as humans and strive to create a work environment where they can do their jobs with dignity, comfort and safety. We hope you will understand our decision as we understand it is your choice to dine with us or not.”

Cobb said Americans should be shocked at such behavior.

“We all need to [have a] heightened sense of awareness that that is the polarized environment that is now created,” said Cobb. “We really need to simply be willing to be brave and still hold our views and not let this chilling effort take place for those who believe things that maybe aren’t mainstream in some secular circles.”

“Most Virginians are happy to sit down and have meals with people they disagree with. This just doesn’t reflect the heart of the freedom that we want to see in our culture and our society,” she added.

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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