Silicon Valley One World – Page 8 – Demographics, Culture & Life

Judge Tells Federal Government: You Can’t Have Cake, Eat It Too

30Jul

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Judge Tells Federal Government: You Can’t Have Cake, Eat It Too

By Sharon Simonson A U.S. magistrate judge has warned the U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security that he would recommend dismissal of criminal charges against Chinese Professor Hao Zhang if federal immigration authorities sought to detain Zhang again in relation to alleged visa violations. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins said the federal government could pursue immigration charges at a later time. But, relying on a July 23 ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Cousins said that during Zhang’s preparations for trial for conspiracy, trade-secret theft and spying to benefit the Chinese government, immigration authorities could not detain him with a stated goal of deportation even as the U.S. Justice Department proceeded toward trial. “If the go...

Reaching for a Higher Self, Finding Better Technology

25Jul

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Reaching for a Higher Self, Finding Better Technology

By Sharon Simonson SAN MATEO—A Silicon Valley tech executive who exited the corporate fast lane in 2011 to study yoga in The Himalayas has returned bearing new insights that she believes can enhance worker productivity, creativity, innovation and happiness. Samya Boxberger-Oberoi never expected to write a book on yoga, to spend three-and-a-half months in an ashram or to see her life come full circle when she left Lab126, the research and development arm of Amazon, where she helped develop the Kindle e-reader for international buyers. But four years after her departure, she published “The Philosophy and Science of Yoga: The Power of Self-Expression 5,000 Years in the Making” exclusively on the Kindle. Friends say it is the doctoral dissertation she never finished. She...

15Jul

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Hao Zhang Back in Federal Custody

By Sharon Simonson Not so fast. A Chinese professor accused of conspiracy, economic espionage and theft of trade secrets is facing a second turn in government custody after being released only days ago following six weeks in the Santa Clara County Main Jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins on July 8 ordered Hao Zhang released based on a $500,000 secured bond despite objections from federal prosecutors that he remained a flight risk. Cousins confined Zhang to a Mountain View home and ordered his movements be electronically monitored. But on July 13, U.S. immigration authorities served Zhang with a “Notice and Order of Expedited Removal” authorizing his deportation based on the revocation of his visitor’s visa by the U.S. State Department. The Department of Homeland S...

8Jul

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Demographics

Living and Letting Live

By Sharon Simonson In 1993, at a south London bus stop in England UK, a racist gang stabbed and killed Stephen Lawrence, an 18-year-old black man. A bungled police investigation, marred by institutional racism, followed. Not until 2012 were two white men convicted of the crime. To help re-train 1,800 police officers and civilian workers on institutional racism, the British government hired a team of diversity professionals. Bijay Minhas, a licensed master’s social worker and Cornell University certified diversity professional, formed part of this team. Sharon: What do the murders in Charleston say to you about race relations in the U.S. today? Bijay: This is a very tragic event and yet another reminder of where we are as a society. The murders in Charleston reflect the harsh t...

8Jul

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Judge Releases Zhang

By Sharon Simonson SAN JOSE — A Chinese professor accused of espionage and trade-secret theft should smell the sweet air of freedom later today after spending nearly eight weeks imprisoned at the Santa Clara County Main Jail. But Hao Zhang’s reprieve could be short and is definitely limited. He remains under threat of re-detention by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has rescinded his tourist visa, and so long as he remains out of jail must stay all day every day at a monitored Mountain View home. Over the objections of federal prosecutors, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins ordered Zhang freed on a $500,000 bond. The bond is secured by $225,000 in U.S.-located retirement savings and other financial assets belonging to Zhang and his wife, as well as the equi...

25Jun

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Zhang Sights Freedom

By Sharon Simonson SAN JOSE — A U.S. magistrate judge is likely to grant the pre-trial release of a Chinese professor who has been held without bail in the Santa Clara County jail, accused of espionage and trade-secret theft. Judge Nathanael Cousins said during a June 24 detention hearing that he was inclined to allow 36-year-old Hao Zhang to leave confinement so long as the right mix of incentives and safeguards could be set in place. Defense attorneys told the court that they could offer assets valued at roughly $500,000, including $225,000 in U.S. retirement accounts benefitting Zhang and his wife, to assure the professor would not flee in the face of the federal charges. They are also offering the equity in a Florida house owned by a Zhang relative. Zhang would live in ...

24Jun

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Events

All Together Now

By Sharon Simonson SAN FRANCISCO—Vivekanand T Choudhry arrived early June 21 at Marina Green Park in San Francisco for International Yoga Day. It was a milestone for the 38-year-old Silicon Valley resident and Bihar, India, native. Something in him changed when he heard Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden speech to the United Nations in September and Modi's call for the global embrace of yoga as a force for good, Choudhry says. He has dabbled in yoga for many years. His wife, grandfather and father-in-law are dedicated to it. But he has never been able to practice consistently, until now. Though he started in earnest a mere 10 days earlier, he admits with a laugh, his life’s trajectory has changed, he insists. “(Yoga) was not a priority; now it is,” he says. Ap...

San Francisco, Silicon Valley Yogis Join International Yoga Day

19Jun

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San Francisco, Silicon Valley Yogis Join International Yoga Day

By Sharon Simonson Can yoga help solve the world’s biggest problems? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks so. Thousands more people in the San Francisco Bay Area seem to agree — or perhaps yoga in the California sun and sea breeze just sounds like a pretty good time. Five thousand people — each bearing yoga mat — are expected at San Francisco’s Marina Green Park on Sunday for the first International Day of Yoga, an event proposed by Modi before the United Nations last fall. Hundreds, perhaps thousands more yogis are expected to gather in Silicon Valley, at San Jose City Hall, Sunnyvale’s Baylands Park and at events in Morgan Hill, Cupertino and Pleasanton. In all, more than 100,000 yogis in 160 cities across the globe are expected to share the experience, according to...