First Lady Talks Military Family Support on 'Letterman'

First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged Americans 
By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2012 - First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged Americans to rally in support of military families during an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" last night.
The first lady shared a few laughs with Letterman, but then grew serious when the topic turned to her Joining Forces campaign. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the vice president's wife, launched this initiative last year to boost support to troops, veterans and their families.
Service members and their families have served and sacrificed for more than a decade, the first lady noted, yet most Americans are unaware of the extent of their challenges. "We take it for granted because we have 1 percent of this nation serving and protecting the rights of the other 99 percent of us," she said.
Growing up in south Chicago and with limited exposure to the military, the first lady said, she wasn't aware of these challenges either until recently. "It wasn't until I started campaigning and traveling around to military bases where I got to meet these very resilient, proud, disciplined, smart individuals," she said. "I thought, 'Most Americans have no clue about the level of sacrifice they're making so we can live in freedom.'"
The Joining Forces campaign is intended to ensure every service member, veteran and family member understands "they live in a grateful nation," she said.
Obama cited the progress she's seen in military family support since Joining Forces launched last spring, particularly in the area of employment. Organizations have been hosting veteran job fairs across the nation, and President Barack Obama has launched programs and incentives to encourage private-sector employers to hire veterans.
Due to these efforts and others, she said, the unemployment rate among veterans is decreasing at a faster pace than the broader unemployment rate. As of last week, the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was down from last year's high of 12.5 percent to 7.6 percent, below the national rate of 8.3 percent.
While this progress is a "great thing," the first lady said, she also called attention to military spouses' employment challenges. In this decade of war, military spouses have moved forward despite the challenges of frequent moves and deployments -- all while caring for children and a household.
But when it comes to moving forward in their own careers, she said, military spouses often run up against a brick wall as they're forced to kick-start their careers at each new location.
"These men and women are just as trained, they are just as prepared, they are just as competent" as their civilian-life counterparts, Obama said. "They're some of the best this country has to offer."
The first lady encouraged people to find military families in their midst and then "do whatever they do best," whether it's offering to mow a lawn or babysit for a family with a deployed loved one, or providing pro bono accounting or attorney services.
Obama also noted the importance of caring for children from military families. It's hard to imagine what they're going through, she said, as they move from base to base every couple of years. She recalled meeting children attending their 12th school in nearly the same number of years.
Still, they're keeping their grades up and are "still managing to keep it all together," she said. "Just imagine what these kids need."
Military families need to be on the forefront of Americans' minds, she told the audience. And, through Joining Forces, "we'll do everything we can to rally support for them so that they never feel that they're alone in this." 

Related Sites: Special Report: Military Family Support Joining Forces Campaign Related Articles: Veteran Job Prospects Brighter, Panetta Says First Lady, Panetta Unveil Effort to Aid Spouse Employment

A 30 years old Punjabi farmer got a new life from CMC

Bypass on a beating heart the risk of the repair is reduced:Dr.Bedi

A happy Mr Baljinder and family with Dr Harinder Singh Bedi 

Ludhiana, 17th March, 2012 (Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria) Mr Baljinder Singh – a 30 year old farmer of Nakodar – was in a difficult situation. This young man had suffered 2 massive heart attacks 4 and 2 years back due to which his heart pumping was very weak and he was unable to breathe. He was investigated at heart hospitals in Chandigarh where it was diagnosed that besides blockage of his heart arteries he also had a severe leakage of his main heart valve (the mitral valve). He was in imminent danger of another heart attack but because of his double pathology (blockage + valve leakage) he was refused surgery. He then came to Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Surgery at the Christian Medical College & Hospital in Ludhiana. Dr Bedi realized that the valve leakage was not due to an intrinsic defect or tear of the valve but was due to the heart size becoming big (dilating) leading to failure of the valve to close properly. Contrary to popular Punjabi belief – Dr Bedi said – a ‘large’ heart is not really a healthy heart. The leakage led to a vicious cycle wherein the leak caused a further enlargement which in turn leads to more leakage. Till now the treatment was a complicated valve repair which was not always successful or a valve replacement which had its own problems.  A new repair technique is now being used all over the world – it is called a mitral valve repair using a McCartney-Carpentier-Adams Edwards IMR ring. This has been designed by Edwards company of USA in collaboration with world leaders in valve repair techniques – Dr McCartney and Dr  Adams from USA and the legendary Dr Carpentier from Paris . This technique was taught to Dr Bedi by the inventor Dr McCartney himself. Dr Bedi added his own modification by doing the bypass first on a beating heart - Dr Bedi is credited with having done the world’s first series of beating heart surgery and has a Limca World Record for the same. Dr Bedi explained that by doing the bypass on a beating heart the risk of the repair is reduced. The heart was then put on an imported heart lung machine for a very short time and stopped with ice. The heart chambers were opened and the valve repaired successfully with this new ring. The operation was successful and the valve leakage immediately stopped.

Baljinder is now doing well. The other members of the Heart team are Dr A Joseph, Dr S Garg, Dr Melchi, Dr Paul, Dr Deepak, Dr Vaishu, Dr Amruta, Dr Sarah, and Mr Jairus, and Mr William. Dr Bedi explained that if the valve had been changed Baljinder would have required life long close supervision and expensive medications. Dr McCartney has congratulated Dr Bedi and CMC on the excellent result and complimented him on his skills.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – said that the CMC was committed to bringing International level expertise and equipment to the people of the region.

A discussion by Punjab Manch

Punjab Election:Poll % has considerably declined

Chandigarh// March 18, 2012//Bureau Report: 
Recent Punjab assembly polls witnessed highest ever turnover of around 79 per cent voting which could be projected as an evidence that Punjabis have a firm faith in the democratic system based on universal suffrage. But, at the same time poll percentage has considerably declined in the case of both the Akali-BJP combine which returned to power for the second time in a row and its main rival party, Congress- a runner-up in the election fray. As compared to the 2007 assembly elections, the winning alliance secured 3.49 per cent lesser votes and Congress’s share came down by 0.79 per cent. This trend indicates the Punjab voters have not swung in favor of either of the two main contenders. And they wanted a change in the regime which eluded them because of various reasons and factors. As statistics vouchsafe that the winning alliance, at least, could not claim the people have voted in favor of them overwhelmingly and have recorded their appreciation for “ better governance and development works undertaken by the last Akali-BJP regime”.    
    Thus, the election results have surprised and puzzled many about how the vote-arithmetic have worked and what factors played their decisive role in sealing the fate of an overconfident Congress. In their attempt to crack the puzzle; thinkers, academicians, journalists and social activists assembled in Kisan Bhawan here today and deliberated for about three hours on the undercurrents that brought Akalis-BJP back to power.
Participating in the discussion, organized by the Punjab Manch, former Baba Farid Medical University Registrar Dr Piayre Lal Garg said it is interesting that the Akari-BJP comes to power in Punjab even by getting 3.49 per cent less votes as compared to the 2007 election. Dr. Garg said there should be an alternative agenda to rally around recurring dissent among the people against the corporate and neo-liberal policies being pursued by the mainstream parties. There is an urgent need of dismantling a myth being orchestrated by the media that Akal-BJP combine won the election because of the best management by Sukhbir Singh Badal. 
Commenting on defeat of Congress, Senior journalist Hamir Singh said the Congress had failed to project itself as strong opposition to the Badal government, hence it could not cash upon on apparent wide-spread resentment among the people on some anti-people policies of the outgoing regime. As the Akali-BJP regime followed the same model of development in Punjab which was being pursued by Congress led UPA government at the Centre, the Punjab Congress could not gather the moral strength to oppose those policies. Visibly upset over such developments, the people wanted a change in the state’s governance and voted for the PPP getting a sizeable 5.17 per cent votes. Whereas Samajwadi Party swept the polls by gaining the same per cent of votes over its nearest rival BSP in Uttar Pradesh.
Senior columnist-writer Jaspal Singh Sidhu said the Punjab Congress lost election because its Delhi-based high command invariably adopts a patronizing attitude towards its state units and acts as a balancing force for different pressure groups instead of resolving their differences for strengthening them. Such top-down command structure of Congress and other all-India party, BJP are fast ceasing to work in the era of reasserting regionalism that has already forced the ‘national parties’ to form coalition governments with regional political parties.
Senior journalist Jagtar Singh said that the Akalis who were loosing six months before the polls, However managed to refashion their image, through skillful management. Despite the Election Commission’s strict vigilance, candidates freely exercised use of money and drinks through some innovative ways to buy votes.
Prof Manjit Singh from Punjab University said the common man stands nowhere in the electoral system which has virtually been hijacked and seized by those who have a hold on political, money and muscle power. And the democracy is no longer a participatory exercise for the people to choose their own representatives rather it has been turned out to be a ‘convenient tool’ in the hands of a political class to usurp power. 
Another columnist Karmajit Singh said the panthic agenda from religious point of view was totally ignored in the election but cultural strains too become a casualty perhaps because of globalization and corporate dominance has succeeded in spreading the Western culture and English language.
Another journalist Yadwinder said the politics has been corporatized leaving a shrunk space for alternate people’s agenda. 
But Malwinder Singh Mali said that people’s search for 3rd alternative could be seen as they refrained from voting the two mainstream parties resulting in decline in their vote share.
CPI(ML-Liberation) activist Kanwaljit Singh said the masses has to be motivated and politicized to make them vote for the alternative agenda of change as the masses in placid situation tend to be driven by their vested interests and short-sightedness. 
Former Punjab Mandi Board chairman Jugraj Singh Gill said congress lost elections because of wrong allocation of tickets.
Karnail Singh Jakhepal and several others participated in the discussion. 

College Of Nursing, CMC, Ludhiana

Alumni Day celebrated

Ludhiana, College of Nursing, CMC, Ludhiana celebrated Alumni Day. The induction ceremony was started by word of prayer followed by presentation of mementos and badges to the new members. Prof. (Mrs) Ponnamma R. Singh, Principal, College of Nursing welcomed and introduced the Chief Guest Prof. (Mrs.) H. Asha Emmanuel.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest laid importance on the association. Senior members of the profession felicitated the new alumni members. Alumni news letter was also released at this occasion. The program was ended with a variety of entertainment.
It was a home coming for many of the senior alumni members. The scientific session on "Evidence Based Practice” was chaired by Prof.Mrs Triza Jiwan 

CPI, AITUC and PPP on budget

The Union Budget:A strange string of announcements: PPP
In his budget speech, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee quoted a line from William Shakespeare’s seminal play, Hamlet- The Prince of Denmark. , “ I must be cruel only to be kind,” he said, suggesting that it is time for the government to take tough actions to ensure a better future. But his actions were in dissonance to his words. The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was a strange string of announcements that made all the right noises about the problems faced by Indian economy, but was woefully inadequate in terms of policy measures to control these problems. Let us start from inflation. Over the past many months, almost all the top leaders of UPA government have admitted that common man deserve relief from the unconscionable levels of inflation that we have seen in the past 3-4 years. But despite this, the Finance Minister, increases the Excise duty by 2 per cent. Not only this, he extends the scope of service tax. All these enhancements are going to be passed on to the final consumer, and will fuel the inflation to further heights.  Amidst such circumstances, the minor income tax reliefs that the finance ministers seems to have offered appear to be a cruel joke.
By not controlling inflation, the government wants the common man to struggle to eke out a living, but on its own it continues to live at unconscionably high expenditure as is shown by the humungous government debt which close to 46 per cent of country’s GDP. Even when saddled with this monstrosity, there is no attempt to mend by the UPA government to mend its ways. The fiscal deficit is in excess of 5 per cent, way beyond the permissible limit of 2 per cent. Once you include the fiscal deficits of our profligate states, than we are staring at a figure that would reveal that India is on a precipice of debt disaster that can have catastrophic consequences for the economy. So basically India is facing a situation where we are saddled with the two most critical problems of a modern economy i.e. high inflation and high deficits. Add to it the political pusillanimity which has become a hallmark of the UPA government. With such a deadly cocktail in offering, it is obvious that foreign investors are not going to savour the prospect of coming to India (leave aside the Foreign Institutional Investors). With no investment coming in green field projects, I fail to see, how can the finance minister be hopeful of attaining GDP growth levels of 7.8 per cent.
Such talk is nothing but political sophistry aimed at diverting attention from government’s own inadequacies. The UPA government seems to develop cold feet on many of the initiatives it itself had pursued with great gusto initially. Mr Mukherjee’s speech today was resoundingly silent on Direct Tax Code as well as on any road map to implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Increase in disbursal of credit to agriculture is welcome but government has again been found wanting in ensuring the proper distribution of this credit. Independent researchers have shown the politicians have used this agriculture credit scheme to further their own objectives. Data shows, that the agriculture credit is disproportionately high in the constituencies of influential politicians and inadequate in areas where there is a dire need of funding.
There have been no reliefs or incentives for small scale manufacturers and even the sunrise sectors of biotech, IT, telecom and media- which have largely fuelled India’s growth in the last few years. There is in incentive for capacity expansion, which means, that fewer jobs would be created but that India’s economic growth would continue to buoyed by consumption. While consumption is an important facet of economic growth, an overlying importance of consumption instead of investment to fuel economic growth can be problematic. This problem is further exacerbated if the country is passing through a crisis of high inflation. Unfortunately, we are witnessing both consumption led growth as well as high inflation. It is staggering that the government led by an eminent economist, has chosen to do nothing about it.
This is against the interests of the workmen-AITUC
Com O P Mehta Secretary All India Trade Union Congress, Ludhiana and Com D P Maur – Secretary Joint Council of Trade Unions Ludhiana has criticized the union finance minister for decreasing the interest rate on the Employees Provident Fund from 9.5 to 8.25%. This is against the interests of the workmen who have minimum saving from this. He warned the government to revoke this decision otherwise face stiff opposition from the working people.
CPI Ludhiana unit termed the budget to be inflationary 
The Communist Party of India Distt. Ludhiana has termed the budget to be inflationary as increase in the service tax and the excise duty will lead to increase in the burden on the people. Marginal increase in the tax slab exemption is a mockery with the people as it no where meets the price rise during the last year. There is marginal increase in the health budget which will not meet the health care needs of the people as a minimum of 6% of the GDP is needed from the public spending to give basic minimum health care to all. No policy in employment generation and security of jobs has been defined. Agriculture section has not got the attention due to it. Decision to raise Rs. 30,000 crore  through disinvestment is against the interest of the nation and the working people. statement was issued by Asstt. Secretary Dr Arun Mitra and City Secretary Ramesh Rattan.                      

NARAIN KATARIA from New York

Reasons for the disasterous decimation of 
Nehru-Gandhi dynasty in UP elections   
March 13, 2012
Anti-Hindu attitude of the UPA Government led by Sonia Gandhi, their blind appeasement of the Muslims in India, torture and arrests of Hindu  saints and leaders and the multi-billion dollar scams of its key ministers in government -  all these factors contributed heavily to the humiliating defeat of The Dynasty this month in the Utter Pradesh state elections.
Now the details:
1.     Sonia Gandhi’s insidious attempt to draft the “Communal Violence Bill 2011” with help of the Islamists and Leftists was clearly viewed by the country’s large Hindu population as malicious in content and designed to destroy the Hinduism in India.
2.     Home Minister P. Chidambaram had openly equated the dangerous Islamic terrorism in country with the patriotic efforts of Hindu groups, which he labeled the “Saffron terrorism” or “Hindu terrorism.” Such mindless efforts from the government side deeply antagonized the one billion Hindus who had quietly decided to get even at the election time.
3.     The openly undemocratic and blatantly highhanded crushing of the Baba Ramdev’s peaceful protest at Delhi’s Ram Leela grounds with a brutal force of 5000 Delhi policemen on orders of the Congress Party leaders had angered many Hindus. The arrest and tortures of patriotic Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Colonel Purohit, Swami Aseemanand and others had convinced the Hindu leaders to take action and get rid of the perpetrators of the injustice. UPA Government’s obstinate refusal to come up with a fair and effective Lokpal Bill for catching corrupt politicians in country also added fuel to the fire.
4.     The UPA government is so terribly frightened of the Islamic terrorism in country that it dare not take any strong action against. Additionally, it has ignored the sufferings of seven lakh Kashmiri Hindus and overlooked their genocide, ethnic cleansing and expulsion from the land of their ancestors.
5.     Hindu girls are kidnapped everyday not only in Pakistan but also in India and are converted to Islam. They are then forcibly married to Muslim men and the Congress Party government watches it all shamelessly. Minority Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh are already living in a state of Islamic subjugation and savagery. In December last year, 250 Hindus had left their homes and hearths in Pakistan and sought asylum in India.
6.     On the top of that, the UPA government’s sinister attempt to arbitrarily increase the quota of government jobs for Muslims taking away a share of OBC has angered the Hindu Society. In order to appease the Muslims for votes, the government avoids taking action on Afzal Guru who was ordered to be hanged by Supreme Court of India for his heinous crime of attacking the nation’s Parliament in 2001. All these crimes against the country made Hindus very unhappy.
7.     UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son Rahul Gandhi is known to nurse a deep hatred against the Hindus. He considers the patriotic, peaceful and law abiding Hindus to be more dangerous for India than the internationally known Pakistani terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The young crown prince is reported to have told the United States ambassador Timothy Roemer that the growth of 'radicalized Hindu groups' could pose a bigger threat to the country.
8.     Under the UPA dispensation, the term secularism has turned into an euphemism for Hindu-bashing and Muslim-appeasement. Even though the country’s Hindu population is over 83%, Hindus are treated as the second class citizens and their voice is gagged.
9.     Thank goodness that the great men like Baba Ramdev, Dr. Subramanian Swamy and the freedom-fighter Anna Hazare are currently playing a big role in exposing the corruption in high places. They have taken up the important task of educating the masses and bringing back the billions of dollars of Indian money stashed in the foreign and Swiss accounts.
10.                         -The Congress party leaders like Digvijay Singh, Salman Khurshid, Rahul Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi are busy protecting the criminals in government and covering their sins. These people have proved to be ineffective and totally uninspiring to the masses.  They probably believe that just by doing the Bhashan-bazi (giving lectures), they would be able to fool the country’s voters.
With the huge electoral loss of the Sonia-Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party in the UP elections, an old popular Bollywood song has once again come alive, “ jhumka gira re Bareli ke bazar mein.” It points out that the Dynasty has lost in a big way in the market place of Rai Bareli where their party was badly routed even though the region was their stronghold in the past.
We believe, in the upcoming national elections of year 2014, the world will witness the spectacle of rapid and inexorable rout of Sonia Gandhi and her cronies. In those elections, the corrupt ruling politicians and their buddies will suffer cataclysmic consequences for their egregious violations of Hindu Human Rights. 

Family Matters Blog: Military Vets Aid Families' Pets

By Navy Lt. Theresa Donnelly American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 13, 2012 - Active duty service members and military retirees who own a pet and live near a military installation have a great service at their disposal: veterinary clinics. Army Capt. Dixie Burner and Army Spc. Carol Albino examine a stray cat that recently gave birth to kittens. U.S. Army photo by Kathy Eastwood  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Clinic providers ensure the health of our furry friends by providing preventive care and wellness checks. These clinics are run by the Army's Veterinary Corps, a special group of dedicated soldiers who have a host of missions. They care for pets stateside, handle veterinary medical and surgical care, food safety and defense, and biomedical research and development.Caring for pets is beneficial not only for the pet owners, but also for the veterinarians, explained Army Col. Robert Vogelsang, program manager for clinical veterinary medicine for U.S. Army Public Health Command. "Along with the primary animal-care mission for military working animals, providing some care to authorized beneficiaries' pets helps veterinarians and technicians sustain skills they need for wartime and contingency operations," he said. Animal doctors travel to conflict-affected areas around the world to administer vaccines and other treatments for farmers' livestock in rural areas and underserved communities where care for animals is limited or unavailable. In many countries, the veterinarians are part of the Army's civic action teams, meeting with government leaders and helping them with sustainable agricultural programs. These "soft power" programs help build rapport in the community and can help weaken support for insurgent activity, officials said. Most service members' primary interaction with the Army's veterinarians is through the military's 160veterinary treatment facilities, which provide wellness checks, preventive medicine and outpatient services. Veterinary care is funded by nonappropriated funds generated through services charged to pet owners, Vogelsang explained, which limits how much care can be offered. However, clinics try to keep pet owners' costs reasonable while still covering the expense of clinic operations. Vogelsang pointed out some common issues Army veterinarians experience when working with military families, including a lack of knowledge of the import and entry requirements when moving to a new installation. He recommended service members contact the Army VTF at their prospective duty stationand find out the base's requirements. He also addressed the stray animal issue. "Though the vast majority of pet owners consider their pet as a member of the family and take very good care of them, some installations have experienced increases in stray animals assumed to have been abandoned by owners," he said. "We encourage service families who can't move their pets to find homes for them." To stay informed on the latest developments in their field, military veterinarians have a working relationship with the American Veterinary Medical Association, a nonprofit organization representing veterinarians working in private and corporate practice, government, industry, academia and uniformed services. The AVMA website has numerous videos, pamphlets, and other frequently asked questions on pet care. The website also lists resources for understanding symptoms affecting animals and information on other topics such as disaster preparedness for pets, pet food safety, heartworm prevention, pet first aid and animal dental care. Taking on the lifetime responsibility to care for an animal is a huge commitment for any family, especially a military family who deals with regular moves. A pet should be a carefully thought-out decision, taking into account alternative homes of care and what pets are able to travel with the family. Our Army veterinarians can provide another great resource to answer your questions and to ensure your pet stays healthy. Guest blogger Navy Lt. Theresa Donnelly, of U.S. Pacific Command, is the owner of Hawaii Military Pets, which provides pet resources for military families. She's offered to share her pet-related knowledge in a series of blogs for Family Matters.

Related Sites: Family Matters Blog