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DELHI
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US
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ASHWIN MADIA, the young Democratic candidate, lost to his Republican rival thanks to some distrubingly negative tactics by the GOP. The Republican Party both figuratively and literally darkened the tone in their
cam paign rhetoric against the US Congressional candidate. A GOP attack ad, which invited TV viewers to “Meet the Real Ashwin Madia”, used noticeably darker photos of the Iraq war veteran, who ran against Republican Erik Paulsen. At least three of the photos of Madia were obviously darkened, using one method or another.
A Republican spokesperson replied: “We stand by the ad.”
Madia campaign spokesman Stuart Rosenberg said, “It’s just deplorable the Republicans have chosen to sink to this level. I’ve seen negative campaigns but nothing as deplorable as, or disgusting as, this ad.” Minnesota senator Satveer Chaudhary lamented a “new low in character assassination”. “Is there a recurring theme here? When a darkened effect is put on an ethnic minority’s face, the outcome is far different than any other negative ad, and they know it. These ads portray Madia as a dark, sinister intruder at best, and at worst a terrorist. It’s the race card,” Chaudhary said.
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RAJASTHANI
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US
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NICHOLAS RATHOD, South Asians for Obama (SAFO) co-founder and National Outreach director, is the third Indian American to join Barack Obama’s transition team.
Rathod currently works as the political director for New York governor Eliot Spitzer. For governor Spitzer, he helps develop policy for New York State on immigration, civil rights, stem cell research, labor and
electio n reform. In addition, Nicholas works with senators Hillary Clinton, Charles Schumer and New York’s Congressional Delegation in political and policy decision-making to assure New York’s interests are represented in Federal legislation.
Rathod hails from Nebraska where he attended Nebraska Wesleyan University. He worked for state senator Dan Fisher and was the founder of the first NAACP chapter in the state. He is a 2000 graduate of American University Law School. As an attorney, he successfully litigated matters relating to discrimination in lending claims on behalf of African American, Native American, Muslim, Asian and Latino communities, including a $1 billion settlement on behalf of African American farmers.
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MARWARI
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US
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PREETA BANSAL, former Solicitor-General of New York and now partner at the international law firm of Skadden Arps, is among Barack Obama’s 15-member transition board.
Bansal is expected to play a  significant role in terms of staffing of the new Obama administration on the personnel side. She will be one of five key advisers who will be doing the personnel operations for the new administration in terms of getting people placed.
While Bansal will be working on personnel operations beyond January 20, her name is also been thrown up for a senior level position in the Department of Justice, and speculation is rife that she could be the new Solicitor General.
Following private practice in Washington, D.C., Bansal worked in the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1996 as a Counselor in the Department of Justice and as a White House special counsel. At the Justice Department, she assisted Joel Klein, assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, on United States vs Microsoft and other matters. In the counsel’s office, her duties incluided vetting and guiding President Clinton's Supreme Court and judicial nominees.
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UK
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LAKSHMI MITTAL, steel baron, was hit by a US$50 billion decline in the value of his shares in ArcelorMittal after the global financial crisis.
Mittal who owns 45 per cent of the stock in Arcelor Mittal has seen the value of his personal shareholding fall since June from $66 billion to $16 billion in November.
Mittal, when he presents his third quarter results from his HQ in Luxembourg, will face the biggest test of his career when he tries to convince investors his vision of the steel industry still has merit, inspite of the battering the sector has received recently.
Mittal will do his best to put a brave face on the 72 per cent decline in share prices of the world's biggest steel maker.
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PARSI
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KOREA
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SAROSH ZAIWALLA, a leading London-based NRI solicitor has been elected arbitrator on a panel of Korean Arbitration Board under Korean Laws. The Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, which is the prime Dispute Resolution Board of Republic of Korea has picked him for the job.
"This is the first time a person of Indian origin has been elected to the panel under Korean Laws," a release said. A senior partner of Zaiwalla & Co Solicitors London, which is a specialist international arbitration law firm, received India's Law Day Award in 2002 for his outstanding contribution in the field of International Arbitration Law.
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