In 1958, The Ugly American was a popular novel. The book told the story of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Sarkhan, a fictional country in Southeast Asia, who lost a battle against communism due to its narrow, chauvinistic American-centric approach to dealing with the culture and conditions of that country. In 2015, Donald Trump is playing The Ugly American. He is doing so by appealing to the darker side of the American citizenry and to our lesser angels. This is not a fictional work. But, it … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
Frank’s most recent blogs are highlighted on this page. To read other blogs or articles by Frank, click on the categories or publications links on the left.
Let Us Pave the Way for Meaningful Education
Let Us Pave the Way for Meaningful Education … [Read more...]
Donald Trump: The Sorcerer Not ‘The Apprentice’
Donald Trump was the star of the now-cancelled TV show The Apprentice. That show was misnamed in that it had nothing to do with apprenticeship. An apprentice is one who works under the direction of a mentor to develop the necessary skills to be proficient in a job. The classic progression for an apprentice is from a well qualified entry level worker to become a journeyperson and finally to become a master craftsperson. In his performance as a candidate for the Republican presidential … [Read more...]
Labor Day 2015: Workers Getting Organized
On this Labor Day 2015, there are nascent signs that workers may be gaining a little ground. These include: Companies like Walmart and T.J. Maxx increasing their minimum wage. Companies like Gap and Starbucks changing their job scheduling policies. And, companies like Google and Nestle improving their maternity leave benefits. These changes are occurring for a number of reasons including: Economics and the need for businesses to improve inefficient business practices that lead to … [Read more...]
American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin Honor Frank Islam With “Pride of India” Award
BURLINGTON, MA--American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin honored Frank Islam with its prestigious "Pride of India" award during its 25th annual convention at Burlington Marriott in Burlington, MA. Islam, a confident of President Obama and an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, donated $222,000 in May this year to Aligarh Muslim University in India. This is part of his $2 million commitment for the construction of a new management complex at the 140-year-old … [Read more...]
Indian-American Philanthropist Frank Islam: Do Well Here, To Do Good There
BURLINGTON, MA—In a speech to the 25th annual gathering of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Islam urged Indian diaspora to: “Do Well Here, To Do Good There.” He was also honored with AFMI’s prestigious “Pride of India” award. A close confident of President Obama, Mr. Islam donated $222,000 in May this year to Aligarh Muslim University in India. This is part of his $2 million commitment for the construction of a new … [Read more...]
BAPS launches Kalam’s book ‘Transcendence’ in the US
Glowing tributes were paid to the 11th President BELTSVILLE, MD: The final book of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Transcendence: My spiritual experience with Pramukh Swamiji, was launched at the BAPS (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) temple here on August 16. More than a thousand people attended the event, where the life of the 11th president of India was celebrated. Glowing tributes were paid to Kalam, who died of a heart attack on July 27, and his lifetime of … [Read more...]
Summer Reading: Meet Harper, Meet Theodor, Meet Walt, Meet America
As the summer of 2015 begins to wind down, from the media standpoint, it can be said unequivocally that it has been Trump Time. The attention given to and appeal of Donald Trump says something about who we are as Americans. We say more about that at the end of this blog. For now, as the time remaining for summer reading slips away, we'd like to turn our attention to and concentrate on three books -- two of which have just been discovered and one of which has been rediscovered -- that also … [Read more...]
Super Uber or Uber Stupor?
Is Uber taking us for a ride? That's the concern on a lot of folks' minds as this international company which is currently valued at more than $50 billion moves to transform and dominate the car-for-hire transportation business here in the United States and around the world. There is no question that Uber became the darling of tech savvy early adapters and millennials and is now earning rave reviews from a large group of cost-conscious individuals who want to get the best bargain for their … [Read more...]
Civic Engagement: The Key to Promoting Educational and Economic Opportunity For Indian Muslims
Narenda Modi’s election as prime minister of India in May of 2014 brought new hope to India’s underprivileged Muslim population. That’s because during his campaign Modi presented an ambitious agenda for improving the educational and economic condition of those Indian Muslims living in poverty. There was no doubt that Prime Minister Modi’s intentions were good then and they remain good now. Time will tell, however, the extent to which Modi’s agenda will be implemented. There is no question … [Read more...]