Bibhu Ranjan Mishra & Praveen Bose
At dawn on October 22, a thousand staid scientists, all with alphabet soups of academic qualifications, will be braced to break out the bubbly. India’s first moon mission, Chandrayaan-1
(C-1) is scheduled to launch about 10 minutes after sunrise from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, on the little peninsula of Sriharikota, India’s spaceport on the Bay of Bengal.
Chandrayaan is the latest validation of India’s space programme which had its origins in 1963 when Vikram Sara-bhai laid the foundation for what has become one of the greatest success stories of India.
While India has put satellites galore into space, ISRO’s experience is thus far limited to operating assets at a distance of about 40,000 km. A moon mission is a whole new ball-game. It involves managing complex equipment at a distance of 400,000 km — enough to cause over a second’s lag each way in the radio signals that control those systems.
The sylvan green of Sriharikota with its vast acres of mangrove swamps and its winter arrivals of flamingos and other migratory birds is a charming, if apparently incongruous, setting for a high-tech space centre. However, although the 1,000-odd scientists and technicians camped there claim their surroundings help them relax, the location was chosen for hard-headed, practical reasons.
There is always an element of uncertainty in a rocket launch. If it fails here, it will land in the sea. In case of deviations from the proposed path or other malfunctions, the launch vehicle can be blown up. “Once the vehicle lifts off, nothing can be done. We won’t simply destroy because of a marginal deviation or malfunction. We destroy it only when there is a chance of it causing catastrophic damage,” says
V Krishnamurthy, general manager (safety) of the mission.
However, C-I is unlikely to fail — at launch at least. The PSLV is tried and tested, it has put 12 payloads into space. The objective of C-1 is to put a 1.5 metre cube into orbit, about 100 km above the lunar surface, for two years. Various experiments will be run and data of all sorts acquired. The unmanned, 11-payload mission also incorporates a moon impact probe that will crash into the moon itself and drop a tricolour on the surface, staking India’s claims to the moon.
The making of C-1 has involved very complex systems integration. The mission head of the project, M Annadurai, has had his fingers crossed since July 21 when the integration of the launch vehicle started. His team is “charged-up”. “People from the lowest to the top level are working round the clock with great excitement. All of them are self-motivated and don’t need to be set a target. We have not seen this kind of team spirit with any other project in the past,” says M C Dathan, director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR.
At a distance of 384,000 km, the moon is the most visited celestial body. A few dozen manned and unmanned missions have been undertaken by Russia (then the USSR), USA, China and Japan. Russia and the US have landed robotic spacecraft on the moon; the US has landed astronauts as well. But no man has walked on the moon for over 30 years.
In May 1999, Atal Behari Vajpayee evaded the question of a possible moon mission while he was watching the launch of PSLV-C2. He took refuge in poetry, saying, “When man reached the moon, he did not find anything beautiful there.” ISRO did eventually get clearance for the missions and, at Vajpayee’s behest, it was named Chandrayaan. The numeric “1” suggests that it is the first of several missions and indeed C-2 is already in the pipeline.
C-1 is an exercise in developing technical expertise for ISRO as well as in global scientific cooperation. It carries six payloads and experiments devised and contributed by UK, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria and the US (two payloads), apart from five designed by Indian scientists. If all work, it will send back enough data to generate 3-D maps, check for the presence of water and other chemicals and minerals, assess background radiation levels, measure the (tenuous) lunar atmosphere, study solar wind interaction, et cetera.
It will acquire unprecedented amounts of data and answer many questions about the evolution of earth’s mysterious satellite. “In spite of several missions to the moon, the origin of the moon is not fully understood. The theory that the moon originated due to a catastrophic collision of the earth with a Mars-sized body over 3 billion years ago is unproven. In this context, the data collection about the lunar surface and its chemical composition by C-1 may provide us insights into its origin,” says
G Madhavan Nair, chairman, ISRO. With luck, it will also throw up more questions that later missions can attempt to answer.
“The present unmanned mission from India is unique. Most moon missions so far have tried to unravel one side of the moon. We are now concentrating on the polar orbit, and wish to prepare a three-dimensional atlas which is unique and will help in mapping the topography,” says V K Srivastava, a senior scientist working with the project.
The moon impact probe aims at providing ISRO with technologies for future soft landings including possibly manned missions. Another target is to investigate the abundance of Helium-3, which is vital for fusion energy generation experiments. He-3 is very rare on earth and supposedly present in much larger quantities on the moon. While it may not be cost-effective in energy terms to mine it, its presence would spark new interest in lunar resources. “The moon has 2-3 million tonnes of Helium-3. This would be enough to produce energy for us on earth for about 8,000 years,” says U R Rao, former director of ISRO.
For ISRO, which runs a large and ambitious communication and remote sensing satellites programme, C-1 is a crucial mission. While ISRO chairman
K Kasturirangan had been lobbying since 1999, it was in November 2003, after G Madhavan Nair took over, that the project gained approval. Work started about four years ago. The C-1 spacecraft has been built using the indigenous capabilities of ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore with contributions from the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, Thiruvananthapuram, Space Application Centre (SAC), Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and Laboratory for Electro-optic Systems, Bangalore. As mentioned, the 1,380 kg spacecraft to be launched with the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) carries 11 scientific experiments.
Around November 8, when the satellite is in a polar orbit about 100 km above the moon’s surface, the moon impact probe will be ejected to hit the lunar surface. It will take a series of “close-ups” as it crashes and the instrumentation will transmit that data back. Other payloads will execute their functions over two years on the solar-powered satellite. The telemetry and data relay will be managed at the Deep Space Network Station in Byalalu near Bangalore.
The satellite has a mass of 550 kg (the weight on the moon is one-sixth that on earth due to lower gravity, but mass remains the same). “When it is in the moon orbit, our satellite will be about 550 kg, despite carrying 11 payloads on board. This is satisfactory,” says Srivastava. (Famously, astronauts eat caviar because it has the highest calorie to weight ratio, and weight is key to space missions.) Chandrayaan-1 will be launched using a PSLV variant. PSLV-C11 consists of four stages along with six strap-on rockets.
It is very cost-effective, with a price-tag of less than Rs 400 crore. A space shuttle mission from NASA, which only goes to 40,000 km (and comes back) costs about five times as much. The project cost of Rs 386 crore includes Rs 100 crore towards the cost of the launch vehicle, another Rs 100 crore for the Deep Space Network, which controls the mission, and Rs 185 crore for satellite and operations. “Actually, the moon mission’s cost of less than Rs 400 crore is just 10 per cent of the annual budget of ISRO. The money we have invested on DSN will help us with all future planetary missions including Chandrayaan-II,” a spokesperson for ISRO says.
ISRO, like any other public sector organisation, has to work under tight constraints. Insiders say it was really tough for the space research agency to accomplish the project on schedule within the given budget. ISRO outsourced non-core work to private vendors to minimise costs and speed up schedules. The major hurdle was post-Pokhran II sanctions that prevented technology transfer. As a result, the Indian payloads were developed indigenously. The failure of Insat 4C in July 2006 also slowed things down. Thankfully, all that is in the past.
ISRO and the Indian scientific establishment have a lot riding on C-1. It would make India a serious player in outer space and make it easier to attract and retain high quality scientists and engineers. The moon could eventually serve as a launch-pad for missions to other planets such as Mars. India would definitely like a seat in that game. The countdown begins on Wednesday.
Oct 18, 2008
Business - India;Jet to restructure cabin crew flying hours
Manisha Singhal
Jet Airways is working on a plan that will entail a reduction in flight duty hours of its unconfirmed cabin crew (that will reduce their take-home salary), withdrawing some perks and downgrading entitlements like hotels as part of a package to reduce manpower costs. Perks on the block include a weight allowance (given to cabin crew if they maintain a certain body weight) and allowances for staying abroad amongst others.
This plans follows Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal’s announcement at a drama-filled late night press conference yesterday that the airline would reinstate all 800 employees, mostly cabin crew, retrenched the day before.
The broad parameters of a compromise solution were discussed between Goyal and the reinstated staff at Mumbai's Trident Hotel today. Goyal had hinted at yesterday's press meet that he would sit around with the reinstated staff to see how they could work together to improve the efficiency of the airline.
The package might also include downsizing the number of expatriate cockpit crew who get 40 per cent higher salaries than their Indian counterparts. Jet Airways has over 700 expatriate pilots. A Jet Airways spokesperson, however, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts.
The broad plan also entails shifting experienced senior cabin crew from international operations to domestic routes, thereby reducing the number of the flying hours beginners would be clocking. The carrier has decided to withdraw many international destinations and also cut capacity 15 per cent.
Around 80 per cent of cabin crew salary is linked to the number of flying hours they put in, unconfirmed crew will obviously get a much lower overall take home salary. "The airline recruited cabin crew in hoards when it was expanding, now it does not know what to do with them," said a source in the airline.
Jet has at least 3,800 cabin crew currently. A general ratio between the aircraft and cabin crew is 1:5 or 1:7, depending on the aircraft type. For Jet, currently this ratio is 1:9. 7
Roughly 40 per cent of the cabin crew consists of members with over four years of service, about 1100 are beginners who were unconfirmed (and whom the airline planned to retrench) and around 1000 have eight months to a year-and-a-half of experience.
Although Goyal yesterday hinted that he had no role to play in the decision to lay off 800 staffers, the chairman met senior cabin crew twice, say sources, once on October 6 and then October 7 at Mumbai's Intercontinental and Mirage Hotel.
The senior cabin crew protested to the chairman about the substantial cut in their salaries because of reduced flying hours owing to a cut in capacity, the reduction in international flights and the presence of surplus non-confirmed cabin crew.
Sources say the move to lay off Jet's unconfirmed cabin crew was taken to primarily meet the growing opposition of the senior crew.
"Goyal was not happy about the fact that experienced staff was not getting paid enough because of the entry level staff," said a source.
The source added that the chairman was also apparently unhappy that the quality of service on the domestic sector was deteriorating.
Jet Airways is working on a plan that will entail a reduction in flight duty hours of its unconfirmed cabin crew (that will reduce their take-home salary), withdrawing some perks and downgrading entitlements like hotels as part of a package to reduce manpower costs. Perks on the block include a weight allowance (given to cabin crew if they maintain a certain body weight) and allowances for staying abroad amongst others.
This plans follows Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal’s announcement at a drama-filled late night press conference yesterday that the airline would reinstate all 800 employees, mostly cabin crew, retrenched the day before.
The broad parameters of a compromise solution were discussed between Goyal and the reinstated staff at Mumbai's Trident Hotel today. Goyal had hinted at yesterday's press meet that he would sit around with the reinstated staff to see how they could work together to improve the efficiency of the airline.
The package might also include downsizing the number of expatriate cockpit crew who get 40 per cent higher salaries than their Indian counterparts. Jet Airways has over 700 expatriate pilots. A Jet Airways spokesperson, however, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts.
The broad plan also entails shifting experienced senior cabin crew from international operations to domestic routes, thereby reducing the number of the flying hours beginners would be clocking. The carrier has decided to withdraw many international destinations and also cut capacity 15 per cent.
Around 80 per cent of cabin crew salary is linked to the number of flying hours they put in, unconfirmed crew will obviously get a much lower overall take home salary. "The airline recruited cabin crew in hoards when it was expanding, now it does not know what to do with them," said a source in the airline.
Jet has at least 3,800 cabin crew currently. A general ratio between the aircraft and cabin crew is 1:5 or 1:7, depending on the aircraft type. For Jet, currently this ratio is 1:9. 7
Roughly 40 per cent of the cabin crew consists of members with over four years of service, about 1100 are beginners who were unconfirmed (and whom the airline planned to retrench) and around 1000 have eight months to a year-and-a-half of experience.
Although Goyal yesterday hinted that he had no role to play in the decision to lay off 800 staffers, the chairman met senior cabin crew twice, say sources, once on October 6 and then October 7 at Mumbai's Intercontinental and Mirage Hotel.
The senior cabin crew protested to the chairman about the substantial cut in their salaries because of reduced flying hours owing to a cut in capacity, the reduction in international flights and the presence of surplus non-confirmed cabin crew.
Sources say the move to lay off Jet's unconfirmed cabin crew was taken to primarily meet the growing opposition of the senior crew.
"Goyal was not happy about the fact that experienced staff was not getting paid enough because of the entry level staff," said a source.
The source added that the chairman was also apparently unhappy that the quality of service on the domestic sector was deteriorating.
Business - India;M&M to launch Ingenio by year end
The much awaited multi purpose vehicle (MPV) from Mahindra & Mahindra will hit the road end of the year. The MPV, named Ingenio, will be produced out of Nashik plant and will be a completely new platform. The company is considering a few brand names to christen Ingenio and will be finalising the brand name very soon. Further, the launch of seven seater variant of Logan has been indefinitely postponed given the tight credit squeeze in the market.
Pawan Goenka, President (automotive sector), M&M, said the MPV will be launched end of December and the name Ingenio which is the project name will be shortlisted soon.
“We have a few brand names in mind along with the name Ingenio. The name will be frozen shortly,” said Mr Goenka. He added that it could well go ahead with the name Ingenio, similar to what M&M did when it launched Scorpio. Mr Goenka refused to elaborate on the configuration of Ingenio.
On whether the current turbulence in the market will affect M&M's expansion plans and the planned product launches, Mr Goenka said that there is no deviation in the long term plans. “The Chakan plant work is on full swing and all product development is on schedule. The short term concerns are not stopping us from achieving the long term objectives.”However, the short term pressures definitely have got the company to tweak its planned foray into the US, taking its MPV and SUV into what is the world's largest automobile market. Mr Goenka said while there's no re-think on the US foray, the situation has prompted some re-adjustment. “One might have to take a call on the pricing position keeping in mind the input costs and lack of credit available to consumers," he said.
On an optimistic note, Goenka said that as market out there shifts from large gas guzzling SUVs to more fuel efficient SUVs, M&M, with its product offering, stands to gain. "We are looking at 10,000-15,000 units which are miniscule portion of overall auto market, but it's a big number for us," he stated.
Meanwhile, the seven seater variant of Logan launch has been deferred indefinitely. The variant (R 90 variant) was supposed to be the second offering under the Logan platform, but Mr Goenka said that it has been put on hold till market conditions improve.
“The right volume-investment mix is not justified. The volume we estimate in the current market conditions is not giving us the confidence of launching the variant," he said.
Even as Logan variant under the Mahindra-Renault (51:49) JV has been deferred, Goenka said that another variant (B 90), out of the Logan platform will come out of the Chennai plant been set up by Renault-Nissan for which M&M is in discussion with Renault for distribution of B 90. "Talks are still on," he remarked.
Pawan Goenka, President (automotive sector), M&M, said the MPV will be launched end of December and the name Ingenio which is the project name will be shortlisted soon.
“We have a few brand names in mind along with the name Ingenio. The name will be frozen shortly,” said Mr Goenka. He added that it could well go ahead with the name Ingenio, similar to what M&M did when it launched Scorpio. Mr Goenka refused to elaborate on the configuration of Ingenio.
On whether the current turbulence in the market will affect M&M's expansion plans and the planned product launches, Mr Goenka said that there is no deviation in the long term plans. “The Chakan plant work is on full swing and all product development is on schedule. The short term concerns are not stopping us from achieving the long term objectives.”However, the short term pressures definitely have got the company to tweak its planned foray into the US, taking its MPV and SUV into what is the world's largest automobile market. Mr Goenka said while there's no re-think on the US foray, the situation has prompted some re-adjustment. “One might have to take a call on the pricing position keeping in mind the input costs and lack of credit available to consumers," he said.
On an optimistic note, Goenka said that as market out there shifts from large gas guzzling SUVs to more fuel efficient SUVs, M&M, with its product offering, stands to gain. "We are looking at 10,000-15,000 units which are miniscule portion of overall auto market, but it's a big number for us," he stated.
Meanwhile, the seven seater variant of Logan launch has been deferred indefinitely. The variant (R 90 variant) was supposed to be the second offering under the Logan platform, but Mr Goenka said that it has been put on hold till market conditions improve.
“The right volume-investment mix is not justified. The volume we estimate in the current market conditions is not giving us the confidence of launching the variant," he said.
Even as Logan variant under the Mahindra-Renault (51:49) JV has been deferred, Goenka said that another variant (B 90), out of the Logan platform will come out of the Chennai plant been set up by Renault-Nissan for which M&M is in discussion with Renault for distribution of B 90. "Talks are still on," he remarked.
Business - Car market decline spurs fresh Big Three Merger talk
Renault on Friday denied it was in talks to buy Jeep from Chrysler as record low auto sales and the financial crisis spur fresh merger talk a bout the Big Three US automakers in a new global consolidation round.
General Motors Corp, Ford and Chrysler, seeking to maximize cash returns while battling with a declining home market due to high petrol prices and an economic recession, are expected to put brands both in the United States and overseas for sale or to seek tie-ups to slash production costs.
People familiar with the talks said private equity firm Cerberus was in talks to sell all or part of Chrysler LLC's operations to Renault SA and General Motors Corp as it considers a range of deals that could break up the No. 3 U.S. automaker. But a Renault spokeswoman denied this.
"There are no discussions. We are focusing on dealing with the current market situation," spokeswoman Frederique Le Greves said.
Renault last week appointed Patrick Pelata has chief operating officer to leave more time to chief executive Carlos Ghosn to focus on strategy, including mergers and acquisitions.
Ghosn is also chief executive at Renault's 44 percent Japanese subsidiary and alliance partner Nissan Motor .
Ghosn has never hidden his desire to see Renault return to the United Sates but the focus of expansion was on emerging markets such as China.
He said recently that the situation on the U.S. car market meant that "something will have to happen" and that any big deals would be opportunity driven.
The sources said that Renault had expressed an interest in Chrysler that has spanned possibilities from an alliance to an acquisition of Jeep, widely considered to be Chrysler's most valuable brand.
Any deal with Renault to buy Jeep would put the world's first and best-known sport utility brand back in the hands of the French automaker that sold it to Chrysler along with American Motors in 1987.
Chrysler assets under consideration for purchase by GM include its top-selling minivan line, a market segment Chrysler pioneered almost 25 years ago, and its truck production facilities in Mexico, one of the sources said.
Cerberus' talks with GM also have included the possibility of Chrysler buying GM's remaining 49 percent share of GMAC. In one scenario, GM would swap its GMAC stake for Chrysler's auto operations, sources have said.
The Wall Street Journal said that potential lenders were providing strong support for merger talks between GM and Chrysler as major banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co are eager to cut their exposure to the auto sector.
Japanese media said that Ford was finalizing plans to sell shares in Mazda Motor Co to about 20 Japanese firms including insurers. Ford is considering selling some of its 33.4 percent stake in Mazda.
General Motors Corp, Ford and Chrysler, seeking to maximize cash returns while battling with a declining home market due to high petrol prices and an economic recession, are expected to put brands both in the United States and overseas for sale or to seek tie-ups to slash production costs.
People familiar with the talks said private equity firm Cerberus was in talks to sell all or part of Chrysler LLC's operations to Renault SA and General Motors Corp as it considers a range of deals that could break up the No. 3 U.S. automaker. But a Renault spokeswoman denied this.
"There are no discussions. We are focusing on dealing with the current market situation," spokeswoman Frederique Le Greves said.
Renault last week appointed Patrick Pelata has chief operating officer to leave more time to chief executive Carlos Ghosn to focus on strategy, including mergers and acquisitions.
Ghosn is also chief executive at Renault's 44 percent Japanese subsidiary and alliance partner Nissan Motor .
Ghosn has never hidden his desire to see Renault return to the United Sates but the focus of expansion was on emerging markets such as China.
He said recently that the situation on the U.S. car market meant that "something will have to happen" and that any big deals would be opportunity driven.
The sources said that Renault had expressed an interest in Chrysler that has spanned possibilities from an alliance to an acquisition of Jeep, widely considered to be Chrysler's most valuable brand.
Any deal with Renault to buy Jeep would put the world's first and best-known sport utility brand back in the hands of the French automaker that sold it to Chrysler along with American Motors in 1987.
Chrysler assets under consideration for purchase by GM include its top-selling minivan line, a market segment Chrysler pioneered almost 25 years ago, and its truck production facilities in Mexico, one of the sources said.
Cerberus' talks with GM also have included the possibility of Chrysler buying GM's remaining 49 percent share of GMAC. In one scenario, GM would swap its GMAC stake for Chrysler's auto operations, sources have said.
The Wall Street Journal said that potential lenders were providing strong support for merger talks between GM and Chrysler as major banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co are eager to cut their exposure to the auto sector.
Japanese media said that Ford was finalizing plans to sell shares in Mazda Motor Co to about 20 Japanese firms including insurers. Ford is considering selling some of its 33.4 percent stake in Mazda.
Health - Got a rash?Blame your cellphone
LONDON: Doctors baffled by an unexplained rash on people's ears or cheeks should be on alert for a skin allergy caused by too much mobile phone us
e, the British Association of Dermatologists said.
Citing published studies, the group said a red or itchy rash, known as "mobile phone dermatitis," affects people who develop an allergic reaction to the nickel surface on mobile phones after spending long periods of time on the devices.
"It is worth doctors bearing this condition in mind if they see a patient with a rash on the cheek or ear that cannot otherwise be explained," it said.
The British group said many doctors were unaware mobile phones could cause the condition.
Safety concerns over mobile phones has grown as more people rely on them for everyday communication, although the evidence to date has given the technology a clean bill of health when it comes to serious conditions like brain cancer.
"In mobile phone dermatitis, the rash would typically occur on the cheek or ear, depending on where the metal part of the phone comes into contact with the skin," the group said in a statement.
"In theory it could even occur on the fingers if you spend a lot of time texting on metal menu buttons."
Nickel is a metal found in products, ranging from mobile phones to jewelry to belt buckles and is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, according to the Mayo Clinic in the United States.
Earlier this year Lionel Bercovitch of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and colleagues tested 22 popular handsets from eight different manufacturers and found nickel in 10 of the devices.
e, the British Association of Dermatologists said.
Citing published studies, the group said a red or itchy rash, known as "mobile phone dermatitis," affects people who develop an allergic reaction to the nickel surface on mobile phones after spending long periods of time on the devices.
"It is worth doctors bearing this condition in mind if they see a patient with a rash on the cheek or ear that cannot otherwise be explained," it said.
The British group said many doctors were unaware mobile phones could cause the condition.
Safety concerns over mobile phones has grown as more people rely on them for everyday communication, although the evidence to date has given the technology a clean bill of health when it comes to serious conditions like brain cancer.
"In mobile phone dermatitis, the rash would typically occur on the cheek or ear, depending on where the metal part of the phone comes into contact with the skin," the group said in a statement.
"In theory it could even occur on the fingers if you spend a lot of time texting on metal menu buttons."
Nickel is a metal found in products, ranging from mobile phones to jewelry to belt buckles and is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, according to the Mayo Clinic in the United States.
Earlier this year Lionel Bercovitch of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and colleagues tested 22 popular handsets from eight different manufacturers and found nickel in 10 of the devices.
World - Ignoring Pak protest,US general visits Siachen
Chidanand Rajghatta
WASHINGTON: Washington's response to Pakistan's complaint about the visit to Siachen Glacier in India by the US Army Chief General George Casey? Cold
Hours after Islamabad loudly remonstrated about General Casey's reported programme to the highest battlefield in the world, which Pakistan considers a disputed territory, a senior US official in Washington confirmed the outing, while pointedly ignoring the Pakistani protest.
"As you all know, Gen Casey is in India and he was up in Siachen today," Evan Feigenbaum, deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, told an Indian media round table on Friday on US-India relations. "Exciting things are happening in defense."
The remarks followed an unexpected protest from Islamabad over Casey's journey to the region to study Indian expertise and tactics in high-altitude battlefield conditions which could come in handy for US troops in Afghanistan's front with Pakistan.
A Pakistani foreign office spokesman said on Thursday that "any such visit to an area which is disputed and which is under discussion between Pakistan and India will certainly cast a shadow on the ongoing composite dialogue between the two neighbours."
The Pakistan objection seems to be more pro-forma than a meaningful one considering India has taken several foreign diplomats and generals to Kashmir, and even conducted military exercises in the region. It is now widely accepted in Washington that the boundaries between India and Pakistan, including the Line of Control, will not be redrawn, and any solution to the Kashmir issue will be within the ambit of the current boundaries.
While the Kashmir issue as a "dispute" has gradually receded into the background, saner voices are suggesting that the time is ripe for India and Pakistan to settle the matter broadly along existing lines.
"The Government of India has stated that maps cannot be redrawn. The Government of Pakistan has stated that the status quo is unacceptable. One way to proceed toward a settlement would be to accept both positions and devise new regional bodies that would overlay the current map of a divided Kashmir. These regional bodies could deal with trade, tourism, power generation, pilgrimages, and other matters," the Washington think-tank Stimson Center said in a recent paper on confidence building measures between the two sides.
For a section of the Pakistani establishment though, not redrawing the maps would amount to a status quo. But under pressure from Washington and the international community, Islamabad is being persuaded to move towards a solution on the existing lines, particularly in view of Pakistan's parlous situation that makes continued confrontation with India untenable.
The Stimson paper approvingly noted that a delegation of business leaders from Muzaffarabad recently has crossed the Line of Control dividing Kashmir to discuss the modalities of expanded trade. Pakistan's top peacenik rock band, Junoon, which arguably has a larger fan following in India than in its own home, was allowed by the Indian government to perform at Srinagar in the biggest musical event in the disputed valley in decades.
The objection to Gen Casey's Siachen visit is seen here as part of a series of confused responses from the out-of-kilter Pakistani establishment that seems to be working at cross purposes. While Pakistan's newly elected president Asif Ali Zardari has been pushing for peace with New Delhi, going to the extent of saying India has never been a threat to Pakistan, the military establishment, whose budgets depend on a confrontational posture with India, had been chafing at the bit.
WASHINGTON: Washington's response to Pakistan's complaint about the visit to Siachen Glacier in India by the US Army Chief General George Casey? Cold
Hours after Islamabad loudly remonstrated about General Casey's reported programme to the highest battlefield in the world, which Pakistan considers a disputed territory, a senior US official in Washington confirmed the outing, while pointedly ignoring the Pakistani protest.
"As you all know, Gen Casey is in India and he was up in Siachen today," Evan Feigenbaum, deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, told an Indian media round table on Friday on US-India relations. "Exciting things are happening in defense."
The remarks followed an unexpected protest from Islamabad over Casey's journey to the region to study Indian expertise and tactics in high-altitude battlefield conditions which could come in handy for US troops in Afghanistan's front with Pakistan.
A Pakistani foreign office spokesman said on Thursday that "any such visit to an area which is disputed and which is under discussion between Pakistan and India will certainly cast a shadow on the ongoing composite dialogue between the two neighbours."
The Pakistan objection seems to be more pro-forma than a meaningful one considering India has taken several foreign diplomats and generals to Kashmir, and even conducted military exercises in the region. It is now widely accepted in Washington that the boundaries between India and Pakistan, including the Line of Control, will not be redrawn, and any solution to the Kashmir issue will be within the ambit of the current boundaries.
While the Kashmir issue as a "dispute" has gradually receded into the background, saner voices are suggesting that the time is ripe for India and Pakistan to settle the matter broadly along existing lines.
"The Government of India has stated that maps cannot be redrawn. The Government of Pakistan has stated that the status quo is unacceptable. One way to proceed toward a settlement would be to accept both positions and devise new regional bodies that would overlay the current map of a divided Kashmir. These regional bodies could deal with trade, tourism, power generation, pilgrimages, and other matters," the Washington think-tank Stimson Center said in a recent paper on confidence building measures between the two sides.
For a section of the Pakistani establishment though, not redrawing the maps would amount to a status quo. But under pressure from Washington and the international community, Islamabad is being persuaded to move towards a solution on the existing lines, particularly in view of Pakistan's parlous situation that makes continued confrontation with India untenable.
The Stimson paper approvingly noted that a delegation of business leaders from Muzaffarabad recently has crossed the Line of Control dividing Kashmir to discuss the modalities of expanded trade. Pakistan's top peacenik rock band, Junoon, which arguably has a larger fan following in India than in its own home, was allowed by the Indian government to perform at Srinagar in the biggest musical event in the disputed valley in decades.
The objection to Gen Casey's Siachen visit is seen here as part of a series of confused responses from the out-of-kilter Pakistani establishment that seems to be working at cross purposes. While Pakistan's newly elected president Asif Ali Zardari has been pushing for peace with New Delhi, going to the extent of saying India has never been a threat to Pakistan, the military establishment, whose budgets depend on a confrontational posture with India, had been chafing at the bit.
Tech - Windows 7
The successor to Windows Vista now has a name: Windows 7. Although the new operating system is not due to hit store shelves until late next year, Microsoft felt that now was the time not only to unveil the name of the next version of the world's most-used operating system but, more importantly, the rationale for the abandonment of the "aspirational" naming scheme of recent versions of Windows.
But if you use Vista now, you don't need to wait over a year to get a Vista-like version of Windows that's leaner, less obnoxious, and indeed even snappier. There are steps you can take whip Vista into shape right now. What you end up with won't exactly be Windows 7, but it will be a whole lot more livable than the Vista you use now.
Tame User Account Control
UAC is the feature of Vista that users love to hate, and with good reason. It's responsible for those dialog boxes that read "An unidentified program wants to access your computer" any time that you try to open a file or run a program that could install itself or change files on your computer. The trouble is that 95 per cent of the time, you know exactly what you're doing when this dialog box pops up, and therefore it amounts to just another annoyance on your way to getting something done.
It's possible to disable UAC altogether, but if you do, you'll be removing an important security component from Vista, leaving yourself more vulnerable. Instead, you could turn to a new, free tool from Symantec called Norton UAC Tool (http://www.nortonlabs.com/inthelab/uac.php), which gives you more control over which types of actions UAC prompts you about.
The Norton UAC Tool adds some important options to the standard UAC dialog box. For example, after installing Norton UAC, if you double-click an "exe" file to install a program, UAC will prompt you as usual, but you'll also have the option to disable that type of prompt in the future by clicking a "Don't ask me again" check box.
Norton UAC also provides more information than the standard UCA about what's about to happen as a result of an action you just took. For instance, a UAC prompt that opens after you click some Control Panel applets lets you know that actions you perform might make changes to a protected directory. Again, the Norton UAC offers you the option to disable such prompts in the future.
Tone Down Aero
Aero - the Vista interface feature that enables semi-transparent windows - is pretty, but it's also a major resource hog. It's so demanding, in fact, that the edition of Vista called Windows Vista Basic, which is designed to run on less powerful machines, doesn't even include it.
Even if your copy of Vista does, you might want to disable it in order to regain some performance. To do so, right-click a blank area of your desktop, and select Personalise from the pop-up menu. Then click Windows Colour and Appearance. From the resulting Appearance Settings dialog box, select Windows Vista Basic from the "Colour scheme" list box, and click OK. You'll still have the look and feel of Vista. But without the Aero transparency effects, your PC will seem more responsive.
You can get another performance bump by disabling some other interface niceties that aren't necessarily tied to Vista. To do so, open the Vista Start menu, right-click the word Computer, and then select Properties from the pop-up menu. From the resulting System dialog box, click Advanced System Setting from the left-hand pane. The Performance Options dialog opens.
From there, deselect those interface options - such as "fade or slide menus into view" - that you can live without. Or simply click the option button labeled "Adjust for best performance," and click OK.
Turn off unneeded features
You'd be amazed at the number of optional features that Vista starts up by default, slowing down your computer in the process. Some of these features you likely will never need or use.
For instance, do you ever print documents over the Internet? Vista thinks you may want to, so it loads an Internet printing feature. Or do you ever use Windows Meeting Space? If you're not even sure what it is, you probably don't use it. But Vista loads drivers for it every time the operating system starts.
To get rid of the Internet printing feature, open Vista's Control Panel and click Programs and Features. Then click the "Turn features on or off" link in the left-hand pane. The Windows Features dialog box opens. Expand the Print Services section, and remove the check mark from the Internet Printing Client check box. Disable the Windows Meeting Space service in the same way.
And while you're in the Windows Features dialog box, spend some time looking at the other features that are enabled. Anything with a check mark next to it is. Not using games? Remove the check mark next to Games. Click OK when you're done, and Windows will spend some time deactivating the features you have de-selected
Disable services you don't need
Vista comes with a host of system-level services - enhancements tied closely to the operating system - that few people ever use. Yet the existence of these services means that resources are being wasted - and your computer is being slowed.
ReadyBoost, for example, is a service that allows you to use a USB flash drive to give Vista more memory, thereby helping the operating system to do more - theoretically. In practice, few people seem to notice much difference when a flash drive is inserted, and even fewer seem to use ReadyBoost.
Disable it by clicking Start, typing "services," without the quotation marks, and pressing Enter. In the resulting Services dialog box, find ReadyBoost, and double-click the entry. From the "startup type" drop-down menu, select Disabled, and click OK.
Removing Indexing
Vista comes with a host of system-level services - enhancements tied closely to the operating system - that few people ever use. Yet the existence of these services means that resources are being wasted - and your computer is being slowed.
ReadyBoost, for example, is a service that allows you to use a USB flash drive to give Vista more memory, thereby helping the operating system to do more - theoretically. In practice, few people seem to notice much difference when a flash drive is inserted, and even fewer seem to use ReadyBoost.
Disable it by clicking Start, typing "services," without the quotation marks, and pressing Enter. In the resulting Services dialog box, find ReadyBoost, and double-click the entry. From the "startup type" drop-down menu, select Disabled, and click OK.
Indexing, too, is a service that is resource-intensive and may either be foregone entirely or replaced by a less resource-intensive indexing application, such as Google Desktop or Copernic Desktop. To turn off indexing, remain in the Services dialog box, and locate the Windows Search entry. Double-click it. From the "startup type" drop-down list box, select Disabled. Click OK, and you're done.
Undoubtedly Windows 7 will amount to a lot more than simply the disabling of features, services, and interface elements. But if Microsoft has absorbed anything from the feedback it has received about Windows Vista, it's that users want less, not more, when it comes to things that get in the way of productivity. Take the steps outlined here to make Vista less intrusive, and you're likely to be a good bit closer to what Microsoft hopes to give you in Windows 7.
Courtesy: DPA
But if you use Vista now, you don't need to wait over a year to get a Vista-like version of Windows that's leaner, less obnoxious, and indeed even snappier. There are steps you can take whip Vista into shape right now. What you end up with won't exactly be Windows 7, but it will be a whole lot more livable than the Vista you use now.
Tame User Account Control
UAC is the feature of Vista that users love to hate, and with good reason. It's responsible for those dialog boxes that read "An unidentified program wants to access your computer" any time that you try to open a file or run a program that could install itself or change files on your computer. The trouble is that 95 per cent of the time, you know exactly what you're doing when this dialog box pops up, and therefore it amounts to just another annoyance on your way to getting something done.
It's possible to disable UAC altogether, but if you do, you'll be removing an important security component from Vista, leaving yourself more vulnerable. Instead, you could turn to a new, free tool from Symantec called Norton UAC Tool (http://www.nortonlabs.com/inthelab/uac.php), which gives you more control over which types of actions UAC prompts you about.
The Norton UAC Tool adds some important options to the standard UAC dialog box. For example, after installing Norton UAC, if you double-click an "exe" file to install a program, UAC will prompt you as usual, but you'll also have the option to disable that type of prompt in the future by clicking a "Don't ask me again" check box.
Norton UAC also provides more information than the standard UCA about what's about to happen as a result of an action you just took. For instance, a UAC prompt that opens after you click some Control Panel applets lets you know that actions you perform might make changes to a protected directory. Again, the Norton UAC offers you the option to disable such prompts in the future.
Tone Down Aero
Aero - the Vista interface feature that enables semi-transparent windows - is pretty, but it's also a major resource hog. It's so demanding, in fact, that the edition of Vista called Windows Vista Basic, which is designed to run on less powerful machines, doesn't even include it.
Even if your copy of Vista does, you might want to disable it in order to regain some performance. To do so, right-click a blank area of your desktop, and select Personalise from the pop-up menu. Then click Windows Colour and Appearance. From the resulting Appearance Settings dialog box, select Windows Vista Basic from the "Colour scheme" list box, and click OK. You'll still have the look and feel of Vista. But without the Aero transparency effects, your PC will seem more responsive.
You can get another performance bump by disabling some other interface niceties that aren't necessarily tied to Vista. To do so, open the Vista Start menu, right-click the word Computer, and then select Properties from the pop-up menu. From the resulting System dialog box, click Advanced System Setting from the left-hand pane. The Performance Options dialog opens.
From there, deselect those interface options - such as "fade or slide menus into view" - that you can live without. Or simply click the option button labeled "Adjust for best performance," and click OK.
Turn off unneeded features
You'd be amazed at the number of optional features that Vista starts up by default, slowing down your computer in the process. Some of these features you likely will never need or use.
For instance, do you ever print documents over the Internet? Vista thinks you may want to, so it loads an Internet printing feature. Or do you ever use Windows Meeting Space? If you're not even sure what it is, you probably don't use it. But Vista loads drivers for it every time the operating system starts.
To get rid of the Internet printing feature, open Vista's Control Panel and click Programs and Features. Then click the "Turn features on or off" link in the left-hand pane. The Windows Features dialog box opens. Expand the Print Services section, and remove the check mark from the Internet Printing Client check box. Disable the Windows Meeting Space service in the same way.
And while you're in the Windows Features dialog box, spend some time looking at the other features that are enabled. Anything with a check mark next to it is. Not using games? Remove the check mark next to Games. Click OK when you're done, and Windows will spend some time deactivating the features you have de-selected
Disable services you don't need
Vista comes with a host of system-level services - enhancements tied closely to the operating system - that few people ever use. Yet the existence of these services means that resources are being wasted - and your computer is being slowed.
ReadyBoost, for example, is a service that allows you to use a USB flash drive to give Vista more memory, thereby helping the operating system to do more - theoretically. In practice, few people seem to notice much difference when a flash drive is inserted, and even fewer seem to use ReadyBoost.
Disable it by clicking Start, typing "services," without the quotation marks, and pressing Enter. In the resulting Services dialog box, find ReadyBoost, and double-click the entry. From the "startup type" drop-down menu, select Disabled, and click OK.
Removing Indexing
Vista comes with a host of system-level services - enhancements tied closely to the operating system - that few people ever use. Yet the existence of these services means that resources are being wasted - and your computer is being slowed.
ReadyBoost, for example, is a service that allows you to use a USB flash drive to give Vista more memory, thereby helping the operating system to do more - theoretically. In practice, few people seem to notice much difference when a flash drive is inserted, and even fewer seem to use ReadyBoost.
Disable it by clicking Start, typing "services," without the quotation marks, and pressing Enter. In the resulting Services dialog box, find ReadyBoost, and double-click the entry. From the "startup type" drop-down menu, select Disabled, and click OK.
Indexing, too, is a service that is resource-intensive and may either be foregone entirely or replaced by a less resource-intensive indexing application, such as Google Desktop or Copernic Desktop. To turn off indexing, remain in the Services dialog box, and locate the Windows Search entry. Double-click it. From the "startup type" drop-down list box, select Disabled. Click OK, and you're done.
Undoubtedly Windows 7 will amount to a lot more than simply the disabling of features, services, and interface elements. But if Microsoft has absorbed anything from the feedback it has received about Windows Vista, it's that users want less, not more, when it comes to things that get in the way of productivity. Take the steps outlined here to make Vista less intrusive, and you're likely to be a good bit closer to what Microsoft hopes to give you in Windows 7.
Courtesy: DPA
Lifestyle - Coffee can shrink women's breasts
LONDON: Ladies, please note -- drinking coffee in moderation may be okay, but downing more than three cups daily can shrink the size of your breasts,
a new study has revealed.
Researchers in Sweden have carried out the study and claimed that women who take more than three cups of the caffeine-fuelled drink a day could see their bra size drop, the 'Daily Star' reported.
Tests by cancer researchers found half of all women have a gene linking breast size to coffee intake.
Nearly 300 women were quizzed but Helena Jernstroem, of Lund University, said women should not worry too much.
She explained: "Coffee-drinking women do not have to worry their breasts will shrink to nothing overnight. They will get smaller, but the breasts aren't just going to disappear.
"Anyone who thinks they can tell which women are coffee drinkers just from their bra measurements will be disappointed. There are two measurements for a bra -- the cup size and the girth, so you wouldn't be able to tell."
The study showed regular hits of caffeine reduce the risk of women developing breast cancer.
a new study has revealed.
Researchers in Sweden have carried out the study and claimed that women who take more than three cups of the caffeine-fuelled drink a day could see their bra size drop, the 'Daily Star' reported.
Tests by cancer researchers found half of all women have a gene linking breast size to coffee intake.
Nearly 300 women were quizzed but Helena Jernstroem, of Lund University, said women should not worry too much.
She explained: "Coffee-drinking women do not have to worry their breasts will shrink to nothing overnight. They will get smaller, but the breasts aren't just going to disappear.
"Anyone who thinks they can tell which women are coffee drinkers just from their bra measurements will be disappointed. There are two measurements for a bra -- the cup size and the girth, so you wouldn't be able to tell."
The study showed regular hits of caffeine reduce the risk of women developing breast cancer.
Columnists - Khushwant Singh;The next PM ?
Manmohan Singh did well in saying that it was not yet time to decide whether or not he would run for a second term. There are still a few months to go before the next general election and the political scenario may change. He did even better by saying that there were others in his party as well, if not better-qualified than he to be Prime Ministers. He is a modest man not given to boasting. There are Pranab Mukherjee, Chidambaram, Kamal Nath, Arjun Singh and Kapil Sibal who have as much right to stake their claims to the top post as he. There are also outsiders like Digvijay Singh who have to be taken into reckoning. We are all aware that the final decision will rest with the President of the Congress Party. She knows our countrymen are not yet willing to have a foreign-born Indian at the helm of affairs. This is unfortunate but true. It is more than likely that she will choose Manmohan Singh for a second term because she can trust him and values his construction to the country. She will have to find him a safe constituency from where he can be elected to the Lok Sabha.
Manmohan Singh has his plus and minus points. A comparison with Pandit Nehru, our first and best Prime Minister, are pertinent. Nehru had a rich father who sent him to Harrow and Cambridge university. Manmohan comes from a poor family and won his way to Cambridge on scholarships and got the highest academic distinction. Nehru had no experience of administration. Manmohan Singh is a distinguished economist, has been a teacher, worked for the World Bank, was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, head of the Planning Commission and Finance Minister. Nehru made some miscalculations in planning his economic policies. Manmohan had a clear vision of what the country needed and put them into effect. Nehru indulged in nepotism and cronyism. He imposed men like Krishna Menon on the country, appointed his sister Vijaylakshmi Pandit as governor and ambassador. He appointed Padmaja Naidu as governor. Manmohan has shown no favour to his relations or friends; he has no cronies. Most people don’t even know that he has three daughters, all highly educated. There is not a breath of scandal of financial skulduggery associated with his name.
Singh’s minus points should also be kept in mind. He has no constituency or political base. He will have to rely heavily on Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to win votes for the Congress Party to put him back in the Prime Ministerial chair. He has little charisma. He is not the paradigm of a martial sardar. He is not a great orator. He is very measured in his speech, never shoots his mouth, shouts slogans or indulges in rhetoric as most politicians do.
The principal contender for the post of the Prime Minister will be ex-Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani of the BJP. Since the time his party lost the last election, he has been prophesying Manmohan Singh’s imminent downfall, called him nikamma (useless). His record as far as money-making and kunbaprasthi (nepotism) is concerned is above reproach. He is also a good debater. The one thing I have against him is fouling the communal atmosphere in the country. He was the principal architect of the destruction of the Babri Masjid. All that has followed — bomb blasts in public places, attacks in trains, the pogrom of Muslims in Gujarat can be traced back to the horrendous crime committed in Ayodhya, and the fact that none of those who took part in it were punished. I have said many times and say it again: crime unpunished breeds criminals. The fall of the Babri Masjid has bred criminals, both Hindu and Muslim. Advani has to atone for his sins.
Of the BJP leaders the only other possible contenders for the post of Prime Minister that I can think of are Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, Vasundhara Raje, Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha. All of them will have to cope with the minority animosity against Advani.
The Left parties are not likely to have a candidate of their own, but in combination with other parties may pick on Somnath Chatterjee, as the most acceptable candidate.
And finally there are the two ladies, Mayawati and Jayalalitha, with ambitions and firm political bases. Both ladies have ego problems and lack national vision: their willingness to be deified may be their undoing.
At the moment, it seems the cards are stacked in favour of Manmohan Singh to pre-eminence and his performance as the leader of the nation, one rarely hears sardarji jokes which portrayed them as simple-minded buffoons and the only culture they knew was agriculture or soldiering. In his own quiet and unassuming manner he has gained respect for his community as well.
Manmohan Singh has his plus and minus points. A comparison with Pandit Nehru, our first and best Prime Minister, are pertinent. Nehru had a rich father who sent him to Harrow and Cambridge university. Manmohan comes from a poor family and won his way to Cambridge on scholarships and got the highest academic distinction. Nehru had no experience of administration. Manmohan Singh is a distinguished economist, has been a teacher, worked for the World Bank, was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, head of the Planning Commission and Finance Minister. Nehru made some miscalculations in planning his economic policies. Manmohan had a clear vision of what the country needed and put them into effect. Nehru indulged in nepotism and cronyism. He imposed men like Krishna Menon on the country, appointed his sister Vijaylakshmi Pandit as governor and ambassador. He appointed Padmaja Naidu as governor. Manmohan has shown no favour to his relations or friends; he has no cronies. Most people don’t even know that he has three daughters, all highly educated. There is not a breath of scandal of financial skulduggery associated with his name.
Singh’s minus points should also be kept in mind. He has no constituency or political base. He will have to rely heavily on Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to win votes for the Congress Party to put him back in the Prime Ministerial chair. He has little charisma. He is not the paradigm of a martial sardar. He is not a great orator. He is very measured in his speech, never shoots his mouth, shouts slogans or indulges in rhetoric as most politicians do.
The principal contender for the post of the Prime Minister will be ex-Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani of the BJP. Since the time his party lost the last election, he has been prophesying Manmohan Singh’s imminent downfall, called him nikamma (useless). His record as far as money-making and kunbaprasthi (nepotism) is concerned is above reproach. He is also a good debater. The one thing I have against him is fouling the communal atmosphere in the country. He was the principal architect of the destruction of the Babri Masjid. All that has followed — bomb blasts in public places, attacks in trains, the pogrom of Muslims in Gujarat can be traced back to the horrendous crime committed in Ayodhya, and the fact that none of those who took part in it were punished. I have said many times and say it again: crime unpunished breeds criminals. The fall of the Babri Masjid has bred criminals, both Hindu and Muslim. Advani has to atone for his sins.
Of the BJP leaders the only other possible contenders for the post of Prime Minister that I can think of are Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, Vasundhara Raje, Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha. All of them will have to cope with the minority animosity against Advani.
The Left parties are not likely to have a candidate of their own, but in combination with other parties may pick on Somnath Chatterjee, as the most acceptable candidate.
And finally there are the two ladies, Mayawati and Jayalalitha, with ambitions and firm political bases. Both ladies have ego problems and lack national vision: their willingness to be deified may be their undoing.
At the moment, it seems the cards are stacked in favour of Manmohan Singh to pre-eminence and his performance as the leader of the nation, one rarely hears sardarji jokes which portrayed them as simple-minded buffoons and the only culture they knew was agriculture or soldiering. In his own quiet and unassuming manner he has gained respect for his community as well.
Entertainment - Q&A A.R.Rehman
Rachna Dubey
In the city of much joy, music maestro AR Rahman is once again on a high after the music launch for Yuvraaj, his comeback venture with Subhash Ghai after eight years. Rachana Dubey hits the right chord with him in this free flowing chat about his mother, wife, kids, and above all, his music.
It’s taken you almost eight years to get back to work with Subhash Ghai. Why?
(Shrugs) We were working on other projects in the interim. There was Motherland, for instance.. fabulous story, six decent songs recorded. But he couldn’t get dates from his chosen hero. So the film and my tunes were shelved. He approached me for another film but this time I didn’t have the dates. After that, he got busy with his Whistling Woods institute.
How would you describe the score?
Well, it was something of a challenge. Yuvraaj is the story of an Indian family settled in Europe so Subhashji (Ghai) was looking for a western classical-meets-Bollywood kind of music. I think I delivered.
The Bombay Dreams experience must have come in handy?
Bombay Dreams had eclectic Indian compositions. It was a stage musical with lots of ballads. No, it didn’t really help inspire Yuvraaj.
What will happen to the Motherland tunes?
I don’t think I will use them. But Mr Ghai might want to use a song or two in one of his forthcoming films.
Subhash Ghai is known to take a special interest in the music of his films. Did he contribute this time too?
This film was a journey of discovery for both of us. We had long discussions before we zeroed in on a tune. The results on screen were gratifying. The songs look magnificent!
You’re known ask for a share in the music sales. That’s why you didn’t do Om Shanti Om. Did Ghai agree to your conditions?
Sharing profits is every composer’s right. Those who approach me know that and 99 per cent of the producers are okay with it. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t work with Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om. (Smiles) The reason I didn’t do the film was well publicised and it made life easy for me. I didn’t have to put my conditions across.
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is a huge hit. Now expectations from Delhi 6 are sky-high.
Jaane Tu.. was an out-and-out commercial score. Pappu can’t dance saala is a hot favourite with young people. I’ll do my best with Delhi 6 too.. then wait for the reviews.
Mr Bachchan really raved about one of the songs he’d heard on his blog. Someone sent me the link.
Slumdog Millionaire has got rave reviews..
(Laughs) I don’t think I contributed much there. I only worked with Sri Lankan artiste Maya. We composed more than 40 tunes in less than two weeks. Danny Boyle (the director) has used the music really well.
The CD is not out yet but some sound clippings are available online. The background score was heard on the festival circuit. I’m now waiting for the formal music launch. (Smiles) And more good reviews.
You were going to collaborate with Akon. What’s the update?
The wait is on. There was a query but since then there’s been no news.
You’re back on the reality show circuit with The Big Band..
Yeah. New voices emerge every five years and as a composer and music patron, I should go looking for them. Otherwise my songs will sound monotonous. So on this show I’m going to launch a search for a band that’s ready to make it Big.
You’ve introduced several newcomers over the years but after a couple of songs, they disappear.
I use a voice which can do justice to a song. I give breaks to newcomers but I can’t shoulder the responsibility of taking careers forward. I can give them a few hits but then they have to fend for themselves. Some keep going.. some go off track.
When will Himesh Reshammiya sing for you? We have been waiting for two years now.
I’ve finally got him. He’s going to be singing for me soon.
Have you seen Karzzz?
(Surprised) He’s done a movie? When did it release?
Yesterday.
(Excitedly) Then I must book my tickets right away.
What’s happening with Ada — A Way of Life?
The promotions are yet to begin but I’m getting positive feedback from colleagues. The music is complex but that shouldn’t hinder its sales.
And Ghajini?
That’s a young and vibrant score. It’ll rock!
So your career is looking up again?
Ups and downs are a part of life.. and work. There were some lows on the graph. But they are gone now.
Do your children show signs of following in your footsteps?
They do. They are still studying but I plan to get them into the music industry by next year. (Smiles) They have always prayed for their abba.
And is your wife Saira?
(Smiles) She’s my biggest critic. Sometimes, I think she has a better ear for music than I do.
In the city of much joy, music maestro AR Rahman is once again on a high after the music launch for Yuvraaj, his comeback venture with Subhash Ghai after eight years. Rachana Dubey hits the right chord with him in this free flowing chat about his mother, wife, kids, and above all, his music.
It’s taken you almost eight years to get back to work with Subhash Ghai. Why?
(Shrugs) We were working on other projects in the interim. There was Motherland, for instance.. fabulous story, six decent songs recorded. But he couldn’t get dates from his chosen hero. So the film and my tunes were shelved. He approached me for another film but this time I didn’t have the dates. After that, he got busy with his Whistling Woods institute.
How would you describe the score?
Well, it was something of a challenge. Yuvraaj is the story of an Indian family settled in Europe so Subhashji (Ghai) was looking for a western classical-meets-Bollywood kind of music. I think I delivered.
The Bombay Dreams experience must have come in handy?
Bombay Dreams had eclectic Indian compositions. It was a stage musical with lots of ballads. No, it didn’t really help inspire Yuvraaj.
What will happen to the Motherland tunes?
I don’t think I will use them. But Mr Ghai might want to use a song or two in one of his forthcoming films.
Subhash Ghai is known to take a special interest in the music of his films. Did he contribute this time too?
This film was a journey of discovery for both of us. We had long discussions before we zeroed in on a tune. The results on screen were gratifying. The songs look magnificent!
You’re known ask for a share in the music sales. That’s why you didn’t do Om Shanti Om. Did Ghai agree to your conditions?
Sharing profits is every composer’s right. Those who approach me know that and 99 per cent of the producers are okay with it. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t work with Farah Khan on Om Shanti Om. (Smiles) The reason I didn’t do the film was well publicised and it made life easy for me. I didn’t have to put my conditions across.
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is a huge hit. Now expectations from Delhi 6 are sky-high.
Jaane Tu.. was an out-and-out commercial score. Pappu can’t dance saala is a hot favourite with young people. I’ll do my best with Delhi 6 too.. then wait for the reviews.
Mr Bachchan really raved about one of the songs he’d heard on his blog. Someone sent me the link.
Slumdog Millionaire has got rave reviews..
(Laughs) I don’t think I contributed much there. I only worked with Sri Lankan artiste Maya. We composed more than 40 tunes in less than two weeks. Danny Boyle (the director) has used the music really well.
The CD is not out yet but some sound clippings are available online. The background score was heard on the festival circuit. I’m now waiting for the formal music launch. (Smiles) And more good reviews.
You were going to collaborate with Akon. What’s the update?
The wait is on. There was a query but since then there’s been no news.
You’re back on the reality show circuit with The Big Band..
Yeah. New voices emerge every five years and as a composer and music patron, I should go looking for them. Otherwise my songs will sound monotonous. So on this show I’m going to launch a search for a band that’s ready to make it Big.
You’ve introduced several newcomers over the years but after a couple of songs, they disappear.
I use a voice which can do justice to a song. I give breaks to newcomers but I can’t shoulder the responsibility of taking careers forward. I can give them a few hits but then they have to fend for themselves. Some keep going.. some go off track.
When will Himesh Reshammiya sing for you? We have been waiting for two years now.
I’ve finally got him. He’s going to be singing for me soon.
Have you seen Karzzz?
(Surprised) He’s done a movie? When did it release?
Yesterday.
(Excitedly) Then I must book my tickets right away.
What’s happening with Ada — A Way of Life?
The promotions are yet to begin but I’m getting positive feedback from colleagues. The music is complex but that shouldn’t hinder its sales.
And Ghajini?
That’s a young and vibrant score. It’ll rock!
So your career is looking up again?
Ups and downs are a part of life.. and work. There were some lows on the graph. But they are gone now.
Do your children show signs of following in your footsteps?
They do. They are still studying but I plan to get them into the music industry by next year. (Smiles) They have always prayed for their abba.
And is your wife Saira?
(Smiles) She’s my biggest critic. Sometimes, I think she has a better ear for music than I do.
Sport - F1;Hamilton on Pole
SHANGHAI: McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of Ferrari rivals Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.
Britain's Hamilton, who can become Formula One's youngest champion this weekend, put in a flying last lap in final qualifying to head the grid in a time of one minute 36.303 seconds.
Massa is five points behind Hamilton in the standings with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who disappointingly qualified 12th, the only other driver with title ambitions.
Britain's Hamilton, who can become Formula One's youngest champion this weekend, put in a flying last lap in final qualifying to head the grid in a time of one minute 36.303 seconds.
Massa is five points behind Hamilton in the standings with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who disappointingly qualified 12th, the only other driver with title ambitions.
Sport - Cricket;West Indies to host World T20 Championship in 2010
The West Indies will host the World Twenty20 Championship in 2010, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in Mohali on Saturday.
The event will be held in place of the Champions Trophy that was to be hosted by West Indies in 2010, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said at a press conference.
"With the Champions Trophy set to be hosted by Pakistan in 2009 after its cancellation this year, we decided to have a Twenty20 World Championship instead in April-May 2010 in West Indies," he said.
"Although World Twenty20 is to be held every second year, we decided to hold it on the trot to set the calendar right and ensure a better spread of tournaments."
The event, slated to be held from April 23 to May 9, will be staged at three venues to be chosen by the ICC Board in January 2009 following nominations from the West Indies Cricket Board.
"With the ICC Champions Trophy being the final major ICC event of 2009, and the ICC Cricket World Cup being the 50 over event in 2011, it makes perfect sense to have a tournament of a different format in between," Lorgat said.
"It means we will avoid staging the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Cricket World Cup close together, as happened in 2002-03 and 2006-07.
"We will aim to make both those events special to ensure we have a great blend of the ICC's three majors, with two ICC World Twenty20s (2009 in England and 2010 in the West Indies) as well as an the ICC Champions Trophy (in 2009) and an ICC Cricket World Cup (in 2011) over the next three years."
India won the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa in 2007.
The event will be held in place of the Champions Trophy that was to be hosted by West Indies in 2010, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said at a press conference.
"With the Champions Trophy set to be hosted by Pakistan in 2009 after its cancellation this year, we decided to have a Twenty20 World Championship instead in April-May 2010 in West Indies," he said.
"Although World Twenty20 is to be held every second year, we decided to hold it on the trot to set the calendar right and ensure a better spread of tournaments."
The event, slated to be held from April 23 to May 9, will be staged at three venues to be chosen by the ICC Board in January 2009 following nominations from the West Indies Cricket Board.
"With the ICC Champions Trophy being the final major ICC event of 2009, and the ICC Cricket World Cup being the 50 over event in 2011, it makes perfect sense to have a tournament of a different format in between," Lorgat said.
"It means we will avoid staging the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Cricket World Cup close together, as happened in 2002-03 and 2006-07.
"We will aim to make both those events special to ensure we have a great blend of the ICC's three majors, with two ICC World Twenty20s (2009 in England and 2010 in the West Indies) as well as an the ICC Champions Trophy (in 2009) and an ICC Cricket World Cup (in 2011) over the next three years."
India won the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa in 2007.
World - Amartya Sen backs Obama
Americans lolling about without confidence has pushed the US into a recession, but things could become normal if "cool" Democrat nominee Barack Obama wins the presidential election, feels Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
"It (US) certainly is in a recession already. There is no question about that. The question is how deep a recession it is," he told NDTV on his assessment of the US economy.
The 1998 Nobel laureate in economics said that economies are pushed towards depression when people suddenly lose confidence and that is what has happened in the US.
"It is that suddenly people have lost confidence. And, that's how depression has traditionally been. You lose confidence, you cut down your activities. That leads to the cut down of other activities," the economist said.
He was, however, of the view that Obama could play a major role in infusing confidence, although he would not be in office until January.
"His (Obama's) coolness is a real advantage in a financial crisis. And, when that happens, I think you might see the confidence... Turn around very quickly," said Sen, who was born in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
According to him, "the positive side (to any depression) is that just as it can decline by lack of confidence, when confidence comes in, it can also dramatically improve."
He also concluded that the current crisis in the US has not been caused by external factors and the problems were internal and more to do with lack of confidence.
"It (US) certainly is in a recession already. There is no question about that. The question is how deep a recession it is," he told NDTV on his assessment of the US economy.
The 1998 Nobel laureate in economics said that economies are pushed towards depression when people suddenly lose confidence and that is what has happened in the US.
"It is that suddenly people have lost confidence. And, that's how depression has traditionally been. You lose confidence, you cut down your activities. That leads to the cut down of other activities," the economist said.
He was, however, of the view that Obama could play a major role in infusing confidence, although he would not be in office until January.
"His (Obama's) coolness is a real advantage in a financial crisis. And, when that happens, I think you might see the confidence... Turn around very quickly," said Sen, who was born in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
According to him, "the positive side (to any depression) is that just as it can decline by lack of confidence, when confidence comes in, it can also dramatically improve."
He also concluded that the current crisis in the US has not been caused by external factors and the problems were internal and more to do with lack of confidence.
Entertainment - Madonna to pay Guy 60mn pounds
Director Guy Ritchie is to get at least 20 million pounds (nearly $35 million) in cash, and properties worth many more millions in his divorce settlement with pop superstar Madonna.
According to thesun co uk, the 40-year-old Ritchie will get the 1,200-acre country estate and a London pub The money is to cover the London properties, which include a seven million pound family townhouse in Marylebone, a 10-bedroom, 6 million-pound property next door and two mews cottages worth 2 million pounds each.
The director also gets the pub in Mayfair, valued at about 2.25 million pounds - and the Ashcombe House estate in Berwick St John, Wilts, which is worth 10 million pounds.
The total value will be around 60 million pounds - enough for Guy to walk away satisfied, it was reported Friday night.
Madonna, 50, on tour in the US, keeps her New York and Los Angeles homes.
A source close to the couple said: "The negotiations were relatively painless. Guy knew what he wanted and Madonna knew what she was keen to keep. There was a spell when Guy was in a mood to dig his heels in, but he decided this arrangement seemed reasonable and a long battle over money would make life unbearable."
Madonna is being represented by well-known divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who played a pivotal role in protecting Paul McCartney’s fortune from his ex-wife Heather Mills this year.
Shackleton negotiated with Guy’s lawyers in a day of frantic phone calls. They are expected to reach a compromise over their kids - Lourdes, 12, Rocco, eight, and David Banda, three.
According to thesun co uk, the 40-year-old Ritchie will get the 1,200-acre country estate and a London pub The money is to cover the London properties, which include a seven million pound family townhouse in Marylebone, a 10-bedroom, 6 million-pound property next door and two mews cottages worth 2 million pounds each.
The director also gets the pub in Mayfair, valued at about 2.25 million pounds - and the Ashcombe House estate in Berwick St John, Wilts, which is worth 10 million pounds.
The total value will be around 60 million pounds - enough for Guy to walk away satisfied, it was reported Friday night.
Madonna, 50, on tour in the US, keeps her New York and Los Angeles homes.
A source close to the couple said: "The negotiations were relatively painless. Guy knew what he wanted and Madonna knew what she was keen to keep. There was a spell when Guy was in a mood to dig his heels in, but he decided this arrangement seemed reasonable and a long battle over money would make life unbearable."
Madonna is being represented by well-known divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who played a pivotal role in protecting Paul McCartney’s fortune from his ex-wife Heather Mills this year.
Shackleton negotiated with Guy’s lawyers in a day of frantic phone calls. They are expected to reach a compromise over their kids - Lourdes, 12, Rocco, eight, and David Banda, three.
Books - Coetzee,Murakami on list for Australia's richest book prize
Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee and Japan’s Haruki Murakami were Friday named on the longlist for the richest prize for fiction in Australia, officials said.
Recent Booker prize contender Michelle de Kretser and well-known Australian authors David Malouf and Janet Turner Hospital were also on the list for the inaugural Australia-Asia Literary Award worth 110,000 dollars (76,244 US).
Indian-born Indra Sinha was nominated for “Animal’s People” while “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” earned Mohsin Hamid, who was born in Pakistan and lives in the UK, a place on the longlist.
The award is for a work of fiction written by an author living in Australia or Asia, or a work primarily set Down Under or in an Asian country, and published electronically or in print.
Coetzee, who has twice won the Booker prize and who was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 2003, earned his nomination for “Diary of a Bad Year”.
Born in South Africa, Coetzee has been living in the South Australian capital of Adelaide for some years and became an Australian citizen in 2006.
“It was a careful, thought-out decision to move at a certain stage in my life and I’m very, very happy in Adelaide,” he said recently.
The winner of the award, judged by Melbourne literary critic Peter Craven, Pakistani-born author Kamila Shamsie and the Hong Kong-based founder of the Asia Literary Review Nury Vittachi, will be announced on November 21.
Launching the award in April, Western Australia’s then premier Alan Carpenter said he hoped it could grow into an award comparable to the Booker or the Pulitzer prizes for writing.
“It is a relatively small amount of money, but in terms of literary awards around the world it is big time,” he said.
Australia-Asia Literary Award 2008 Longlist:
J.M. Coetzee Diary of a Bad Year
Matthew Condon The Trout Opera
Michelle De Kretser The Lost Dog
Ceridwen Dover Blood Kin
Rodney Hall Love without Hope
Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mireille Juchau Burning In
David Malouf The Complete Stories
Alex Miller Landscape of Farewell
Haruki Murakami After Dark
Indra Sinha Animal’s People
Janette Turner Hospital Orpheus Lost
Recent Booker prize contender Michelle de Kretser and well-known Australian authors David Malouf and Janet Turner Hospital were also on the list for the inaugural Australia-Asia Literary Award worth 110,000 dollars (76,244 US).
Indian-born Indra Sinha was nominated for “Animal’s People” while “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” earned Mohsin Hamid, who was born in Pakistan and lives in the UK, a place on the longlist.
The award is for a work of fiction written by an author living in Australia or Asia, or a work primarily set Down Under or in an Asian country, and published electronically or in print.
Coetzee, who has twice won the Booker prize and who was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 2003, earned his nomination for “Diary of a Bad Year”.
Born in South Africa, Coetzee has been living in the South Australian capital of Adelaide for some years and became an Australian citizen in 2006.
“It was a careful, thought-out decision to move at a certain stage in my life and I’m very, very happy in Adelaide,” he said recently.
The winner of the award, judged by Melbourne literary critic Peter Craven, Pakistani-born author Kamila Shamsie and the Hong Kong-based founder of the Asia Literary Review Nury Vittachi, will be announced on November 21.
Launching the award in April, Western Australia’s then premier Alan Carpenter said he hoped it could grow into an award comparable to the Booker or the Pulitzer prizes for writing.
“It is a relatively small amount of money, but in terms of literary awards around the world it is big time,” he said.
Australia-Asia Literary Award 2008 Longlist:
J.M. Coetzee Diary of a Bad Year
Matthew Condon The Trout Opera
Michelle De Kretser The Lost Dog
Ceridwen Dover Blood Kin
Rodney Hall Love without Hope
Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Mireille Juchau Burning In
David Malouf The Complete Stories
Alex Miller Landscape of Farewell
Haruki Murakami After Dark
Indra Sinha Animal’s People
Janette Turner Hospital Orpheus Lost
Lifestyle - Dalai Lama's teaching for Nirvana
Himanshu Bhagat
There was a time when the Dalai Lama was enamoured of Chairman Mao and communism. “Mao impressed me in many ways,” he writes in The Leader’s Way:Business, Buddhism and Happiness in an Interconnected World “He explained (communism) as a system where the capitalists would no longer exploit workers.” The admiration didn’t last. “(Mao) told me that religion is like poison. He knew that I was a Buddhist, so his comments made clear to me that the friendship he had shown was not genuine.”
And as it turns out, along with karuna (compassion) and ahimsa (non-violence), Buddhism also values free enterprise. “Buddha recognized entrepreneurship as a valuable activity,” the Dalai Lama writes. “He encouraged entrepreneurs to be successful by being reliable and having an eye for what should sell.” Now, he lays store by a “responsible free market” economic system as our best bet to achieve and spread happiness worldwide. So, when Laurens van den Muyzenberg, an international management consultant, requested him to address how Buddhist thinking could help capitalism “bring about a more peaceful and sustainable planet”, he agreed. The result is The Leader’s Way, the fruit of a long collaboration between the two.
Business, with its focus on “production, profit and growth”, might seem to have little in common with Buddhist teachings of compassion and welfare, admits Van den Muyzenberg, but he points out how a closer look shows that both are concerned with happiness and making the right decisions. The Leader’s Way essentially tells its readers to live and work according to the Buddhist concepts of Right View and Right Conduct. As van den Muyzenberg explains, Right View determines the intention behind taking a decision and Right Conduct, how that decision is translated into action by a company and its employees.
If you master these two “Rights”, according to Buddhism, you will attain happiness and also spread it. The key to this mastery lies in training one’s mind through meditation. By following the process of meditation as outlined in the book, one can learn to “eject” unwholesome tendencies and “replace” them with wholesome ones—so self-confidence ejects lack of self-confidence; humility ejects pride; equanimity ejects craving for power, wealth and fame; vigour ejects dullness of mind; and so on.
The book spells out the techniques of meditation and provides testimonials by CEOs on its efficacy. When her partner cheated Thitinart na Patalung, the chief executive of a successful Thai diamond company, of all her money, she became depressed and angry. But with meditation, she got rid of these negative emotions. Taiwanese architect Kris Yao trained his mind to stop craving to be the best and brightest in his field; instead, he focused on doing what was best for his clients. His creativity soared.
The benefits of meditation, Buddhist or otherwise, are well known, and The Leader’s Way doesn’t really tell us anything new. However, by its brief instructions, examples and illustrations, it does reach out to the uninitiated and point them toward a practical and possibly effective means of self-improvement.
The first section of the book is “Leading yourself”; then comes “Leading Your Organization” and finally “Leading in an interconnected world”. As the theatre and scope of action expands for the reader—from the individual to the global—the insights become less and less original.
The book doesn’t really say much that is new. It spells out the basic philosophy of Buddhism as it relates to the individual and individual action in simple, clear language; and it outlines some of the dilemmas and contradictions inherent in capitalism and globalization. But there is nothing fresh about its tips on how to negotiate these contradictions— at the personal, organizational or global level.
The Dalai Lama’s take on free market economy and globalization doesn’t tell us anything that magazines, books and college texts haven’t already told us. For instance, the Buddhist view of profit is: “Profit is a fine aim as long as it has been earned honestly.” Not very different from the non-Buddhist view, it turns out. Among other things, the CEO is exhorted to be mindful of extreme salary disparities, exercise corporate social responsibility, aim for a diverse workforce and invest in poorer parts of the globe. We are also told that “Money can’t buy happiness.” (Though, the section does succinctly analyse the nonlinear correlation between the two.) Case studies add some colour: Indian entrepreneur Tulsi Tanti’s quest for wind energy solutions; Unilever’s microcredit initiative in India; IBM’s determined push to increase workforce diversity and GE CEO Jeff Immelt’s successful health initiative in Ghana illustrate entrepreneurship and leadership. Linking them with Buddhist principles, though, seems tenuous. The logic seems to be: These initiatives exemplify Buddhist principles because they aim to do good.
The Leader’s Way then serves well as a refresher or primer of the universal values that should anchor our day-to-day conduct— as individuals and as members of a professional organization. Free marketers will be happy that the Dalai Lama—with his moral stature—has unequivocally backed capitalism and globalization, with the usual riders about mitigating its excesses.
Man Behind The Monk
Five books for more on the life and times of the Dalai Lama, and his philosophy
# The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer, Knopf, 2008
Iyer’s family has known the Dalai Lama’s family for at least 30 years so this book is an incisive analysis. Iyer moves from Dharamsala to Lhasa to venues in the West, to examine the various paradoxes that characterize the life of the Dalai Lama.
# The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings, edited by Rajiv Mehrotra, Penguin, 2005
A selection of Buddhist and secular perspectives that form the basis of the Dalai Lama’s philosophy and the methods of achieving a happy, ethical and enlightened life. The collection brings together his teachings on his vision for humanity.
# Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother’s Story by Diki Tsering, Penguin, 2000
The story of Dalai Lama’s mother on the experience of her son being received as the living Buddha, watching him grow, the escape and exile from Tibet, and his becoming a global ambassador for his people and a voice for peace.
# The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and its History by Ardy Verhaegen, DK Printworld, 2002
The book chronicles the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and the development of the country’s unique religious culture, the rise to prominence of the Dalai Lamas, and the role of the institution in Tibet and Asia.
# The New Physics and Cosmology: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama by Zara Houshmand, Oxford University Press, 2003
A record of the discussions between five leading physicists, a historian and the Dalai Lama on theoretical quantum physics in the context of Buddhist philosophy.
There was a time when the Dalai Lama was enamoured of Chairman Mao and communism. “Mao impressed me in many ways,” he writes in The Leader’s Way:Business, Buddhism and Happiness in an Interconnected World “He explained (communism) as a system where the capitalists would no longer exploit workers.” The admiration didn’t last. “(Mao) told me that religion is like poison. He knew that I was a Buddhist, so his comments made clear to me that the friendship he had shown was not genuine.”
And as it turns out, along with karuna (compassion) and ahimsa (non-violence), Buddhism also values free enterprise. “Buddha recognized entrepreneurship as a valuable activity,” the Dalai Lama writes. “He encouraged entrepreneurs to be successful by being reliable and having an eye for what should sell.” Now, he lays store by a “responsible free market” economic system as our best bet to achieve and spread happiness worldwide. So, when Laurens van den Muyzenberg, an international management consultant, requested him to address how Buddhist thinking could help capitalism “bring about a more peaceful and sustainable planet”, he agreed. The result is The Leader’s Way, the fruit of a long collaboration between the two.
Business, with its focus on “production, profit and growth”, might seem to have little in common with Buddhist teachings of compassion and welfare, admits Van den Muyzenberg, but he points out how a closer look shows that both are concerned with happiness and making the right decisions. The Leader’s Way essentially tells its readers to live and work according to the Buddhist concepts of Right View and Right Conduct. As van den Muyzenberg explains, Right View determines the intention behind taking a decision and Right Conduct, how that decision is translated into action by a company and its employees.
If you master these two “Rights”, according to Buddhism, you will attain happiness and also spread it. The key to this mastery lies in training one’s mind through meditation. By following the process of meditation as outlined in the book, one can learn to “eject” unwholesome tendencies and “replace” them with wholesome ones—so self-confidence ejects lack of self-confidence; humility ejects pride; equanimity ejects craving for power, wealth and fame; vigour ejects dullness of mind; and so on.
The book spells out the techniques of meditation and provides testimonials by CEOs on its efficacy. When her partner cheated Thitinart na Patalung, the chief executive of a successful Thai diamond company, of all her money, she became depressed and angry. But with meditation, she got rid of these negative emotions. Taiwanese architect Kris Yao trained his mind to stop craving to be the best and brightest in his field; instead, he focused on doing what was best for his clients. His creativity soared.
The benefits of meditation, Buddhist or otherwise, are well known, and The Leader’s Way doesn’t really tell us anything new. However, by its brief instructions, examples and illustrations, it does reach out to the uninitiated and point them toward a practical and possibly effective means of self-improvement.
The first section of the book is “Leading yourself”; then comes “Leading Your Organization” and finally “Leading in an interconnected world”. As the theatre and scope of action expands for the reader—from the individual to the global—the insights become less and less original.
The book doesn’t really say much that is new. It spells out the basic philosophy of Buddhism as it relates to the individual and individual action in simple, clear language; and it outlines some of the dilemmas and contradictions inherent in capitalism and globalization. But there is nothing fresh about its tips on how to negotiate these contradictions— at the personal, organizational or global level.
The Dalai Lama’s take on free market economy and globalization doesn’t tell us anything that magazines, books and college texts haven’t already told us. For instance, the Buddhist view of profit is: “Profit is a fine aim as long as it has been earned honestly.” Not very different from the non-Buddhist view, it turns out. Among other things, the CEO is exhorted to be mindful of extreme salary disparities, exercise corporate social responsibility, aim for a diverse workforce and invest in poorer parts of the globe. We are also told that “Money can’t buy happiness.” (Though, the section does succinctly analyse the nonlinear correlation between the two.) Case studies add some colour: Indian entrepreneur Tulsi Tanti’s quest for wind energy solutions; Unilever’s microcredit initiative in India; IBM’s determined push to increase workforce diversity and GE CEO Jeff Immelt’s successful health initiative in Ghana illustrate entrepreneurship and leadership. Linking them with Buddhist principles, though, seems tenuous. The logic seems to be: These initiatives exemplify Buddhist principles because they aim to do good.
The Leader’s Way then serves well as a refresher or primer of the universal values that should anchor our day-to-day conduct— as individuals and as members of a professional organization. Free marketers will be happy that the Dalai Lama—with his moral stature—has unequivocally backed capitalism and globalization, with the usual riders about mitigating its excesses.
Man Behind The Monk
Five books for more on the life and times of the Dalai Lama, and his philosophy
# The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer, Knopf, 2008
Iyer’s family has known the Dalai Lama’s family for at least 30 years so this book is an incisive analysis. Iyer moves from Dharamsala to Lhasa to venues in the West, to examine the various paradoxes that characterize the life of the Dalai Lama.
# The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings, edited by Rajiv Mehrotra, Penguin, 2005
A selection of Buddhist and secular perspectives that form the basis of the Dalai Lama’s philosophy and the methods of achieving a happy, ethical and enlightened life. The collection brings together his teachings on his vision for humanity.
# Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother’s Story by Diki Tsering, Penguin, 2000
The story of Dalai Lama’s mother on the experience of her son being received as the living Buddha, watching him grow, the escape and exile from Tibet, and his becoming a global ambassador for his people and a voice for peace.
# The Dalai Lamas: The Institution and its History by Ardy Verhaegen, DK Printworld, 2002
The book chronicles the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and the development of the country’s unique religious culture, the rise to prominence of the Dalai Lamas, and the role of the institution in Tibet and Asia.
# The New Physics and Cosmology: Dialogues with the Dalai Lama by Zara Houshmand, Oxford University Press, 2003
A record of the discussions between five leading physicists, a historian and the Dalai Lama on theoretical quantum physics in the context of Buddhist philosophy.
Personality - Kathleen Taylor
Tara Kilachand
It may be testament to the Four Seasons’ employee vetting process that Kathleen Taylor’s entrance lacks the nervous twitter that usually surrounds a visit by the boss. I had dined there earlier in the week, and been left with nothing to complain about, but clearly, there could be improvements. Super secret chief operating officer tweaks that would confirm that yes, hotels do indeed have different standards for different people.
But no, the waitstaff at Prato, the fine dining Italian restaurant at Four Seasons hotel in Worli, Mumbai, is dismayingly consistent. They are unruffled when Taylor, in for the hotel’s official opening, walks in. There is no special menu, obsequious maître d’, or table visit by the Italian chef to announce a black truffle soufflé magically whipped up for the occasion.
Taylor, I had been told in advance by the hotel’s PR head, was discreet, which often is just PR blather, always at pains to emphasize the “normalcy” of their chieftains. Except this time, they seemed to be right. “I’m a little bit low key,” Taylor says cheerily, dressed neatly in a slate grey suit. “But for sure, employees in the hotel know who I am, so if I’m inside the four walls, the word gets around.”
As it should. Taylor, 51, is—after Four Seasons founder Isadore Sharp—the No. 2 in control: All departments in the 81-property luxury hotel chain report to her, and she, in turn, to Sharp. She knows all 81 general managers personally, by name and property. And, in addition to her daily duties as president and COO, she oversees all 40 developments currently underway around the world.
Most of Taylor’s year is spent travelling from one Four Seasons hotel to another, and though she may be jet-lagged from whirlwind trips to Bali, Tahiti and Australia, it is exceedingly hard to cluck in sympathy. Taylor has, in anyone’s estimation, a sickeningly envious job. In essence, she must oversee new developments, make sure present ones are chugging along on schedule, keep an eye on storied properties such as those in New York and London, and occasionally check herself into competing five-stars.
“It does get more hectic, and you do take on more responsibility, but the important thing about that is to make sure you have people supporting the team, and the company and me personally, who are also taking on increasing levels of responsibility.” And then graciously, because to not do so would be simply churlish, Taylor concedes that her job is pretty fantastic.
“It’s always fun. Always fun,” she says, having spent the summer on a month-long trip through Italy with her three kids and husband. The Bora Bora resort is fabulous, “just fabulous” she points out, having been there recently. Taylor will soon take off for Bangalore, Maldives, Toronto, and then New York, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
Of course, this is not to say that anyone could do Taylor’s job. Her ascent through the ranks of the Canada-based company has been a gradual one, pleasingly spaced out over a nearly 20-year career.
One of five kids, Taylor grew up in the small Canadian town of Oshawa, becoming the first member of her extended family to attend university. After doing a joint law and business degree, Taylor accepted a position at Goodmans, a downtown Toronto law firm, from where she was hand-picked by a former colleague to work in the two-person legal department at the Four Seasons. “So it was a very glamorous beginning,” Taylor says. “My title was corporate counsel and I was ready for a change.”
Amazingly, Taylor didn’t know anything about the Four Seasons, at the time a groundbreaking luxury chain that was gaining impressive traction in North America and Western Europe. “I didn’t know anything about the hospitality business…like a lot of people I thought I’d stay there for two-three years, and see where my career takes me.” When Taylor’s boss left, however, Sharp gave Taylor the job as head counsel, a position that would catapult her to the management committee, executive vice-president, co-president, president of worldwide business operations, and eventually, in January 2007, to president and chief operating officer.
The waiter, having stayed away until now, finally arrives to take our order: the buffalo mozzarella salad and tuna appetizer for her; a potato and leek soup and salad for me. We chat briefly about the media world—the Four Seasons’ opening was being held in conjunction with the launch of the Indian edition of men’s magazine GQ—while servers glide around silently. The restaurant is beginning to fill up, and from the corner I see the maître d’ steer a young family with two shrill toddlers away from our table and tape recorder.
I note that Four Seasons’ presence in India has been late in the coming. “India for us has been a long sought after market. Physically, we’re relatively late, but we’ve been working on India as a development market for the better part of 20 years,” she says. There are already several properties in the pipeline—Hyderabad, Delhi, Kerala, Bangalore—as well as dozens more planned for central and East Asia.
There has been some questioning about the Four Seasons location in Mumbai—the choice of a business hotel as opposed to a resort, its proximity to low-income housing and a neighbouring slum, the sniffer dogs at the gate—but with its opening, the hotel has managed to sidestep most critics, partly by hiring a rigorously selected staff.
All employees were vetted through five rounds of interviews, including the housekeepers and kitchen cleaners, before being hired from the at least 11,000 applicants reviewed. “That’s the most important part of what we do, choosing the people who will join the company. And we always say we hire for attitude before skill.” Taylor, who says she can recognize a Four Seasons employee anywhere, and instantly, makes assiduous note of servers, waiters, concierges—anyone who leaves an impression.
A young man who approached her at an airport lounge in Abu Dhabi recently is but one example. The two got talking about Mauritius, the man’s hometown, and location of an upcoming Four Seasons. “Anyway, the young man said he would next see me in Mauritius because he was going to go there to get a job at our hotel when he was finished with his stint in Abu Dhabi. He said: ‘When you come, look for me. I’ll be in the fine-dining restaurant,’” Taylor marvels. “He was so cute and confident. Exactly the kind of personality we’re looking for. Just a delightful young man.”
Lunch is nearly over, and Taylor has other meetings lined up before she leaves the next morning. In parting, we talk about standards of luxury which, in the last few years, with pillow “concierges” and mattress menus, seem to have leapfrogged to absurd standards. She admits she doesn’t understand six and seven-star hotels that inundate guests with 16 kinds of amenities.
The Four Seasons’ strategy is very clear: Satisfy the basic requirements of the guest, then worry about additional perks. “A great bed, a soundproof room, and shower and bathroom that work,” Taylor says. “This is the essence of a great hotel room.”
CURRICULUM VITAE
KATHLEEN TAYLOR
Born: 25 August 1957
Education: A law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School; MBA from Schulich School of Business in 1984
Work Profile: Joined Four Seasons in 1989 as corporate counsel; appointed VP, general counsel, in 1992; promoted to executive VP, corporate planning and development, in 1997; promoted to president, worldwide business operations, in 1999; promoted to president and chief operating officer in 2007
Favourite Book: ‘Red Tent’ by Anita Diamant
Favourite Movie: Modern favourite movie is ‘Must Love Dogs’ and historic movie is ‘Gone with the Wind’
Favourite Holiday: Expedition travel such as bike riding in Morocco or Vietnam; and ski trips
It may be testament to the Four Seasons’ employee vetting process that Kathleen Taylor’s entrance lacks the nervous twitter that usually surrounds a visit by the boss. I had dined there earlier in the week, and been left with nothing to complain about, but clearly, there could be improvements. Super secret chief operating officer tweaks that would confirm that yes, hotels do indeed have different standards for different people.
But no, the waitstaff at Prato, the fine dining Italian restaurant at Four Seasons hotel in Worli, Mumbai, is dismayingly consistent. They are unruffled when Taylor, in for the hotel’s official opening, walks in. There is no special menu, obsequious maître d’, or table visit by the Italian chef to announce a black truffle soufflé magically whipped up for the occasion.
Taylor, I had been told in advance by the hotel’s PR head, was discreet, which often is just PR blather, always at pains to emphasize the “normalcy” of their chieftains. Except this time, they seemed to be right. “I’m a little bit low key,” Taylor says cheerily, dressed neatly in a slate grey suit. “But for sure, employees in the hotel know who I am, so if I’m inside the four walls, the word gets around.”
As it should. Taylor, 51, is—after Four Seasons founder Isadore Sharp—the No. 2 in control: All departments in the 81-property luxury hotel chain report to her, and she, in turn, to Sharp. She knows all 81 general managers personally, by name and property. And, in addition to her daily duties as president and COO, she oversees all 40 developments currently underway around the world.
Most of Taylor’s year is spent travelling from one Four Seasons hotel to another, and though she may be jet-lagged from whirlwind trips to Bali, Tahiti and Australia, it is exceedingly hard to cluck in sympathy. Taylor has, in anyone’s estimation, a sickeningly envious job. In essence, she must oversee new developments, make sure present ones are chugging along on schedule, keep an eye on storied properties such as those in New York and London, and occasionally check herself into competing five-stars.
“It does get more hectic, and you do take on more responsibility, but the important thing about that is to make sure you have people supporting the team, and the company and me personally, who are also taking on increasing levels of responsibility.” And then graciously, because to not do so would be simply churlish, Taylor concedes that her job is pretty fantastic.
“It’s always fun. Always fun,” she says, having spent the summer on a month-long trip through Italy with her three kids and husband. The Bora Bora resort is fabulous, “just fabulous” she points out, having been there recently. Taylor will soon take off for Bangalore, Maldives, Toronto, and then New York, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
Of course, this is not to say that anyone could do Taylor’s job. Her ascent through the ranks of the Canada-based company has been a gradual one, pleasingly spaced out over a nearly 20-year career.
One of five kids, Taylor grew up in the small Canadian town of Oshawa, becoming the first member of her extended family to attend university. After doing a joint law and business degree, Taylor accepted a position at Goodmans, a downtown Toronto law firm, from where she was hand-picked by a former colleague to work in the two-person legal department at the Four Seasons. “So it was a very glamorous beginning,” Taylor says. “My title was corporate counsel and I was ready for a change.”
Amazingly, Taylor didn’t know anything about the Four Seasons, at the time a groundbreaking luxury chain that was gaining impressive traction in North America and Western Europe. “I didn’t know anything about the hospitality business…like a lot of people I thought I’d stay there for two-three years, and see where my career takes me.” When Taylor’s boss left, however, Sharp gave Taylor the job as head counsel, a position that would catapult her to the management committee, executive vice-president, co-president, president of worldwide business operations, and eventually, in January 2007, to president and chief operating officer.
The waiter, having stayed away until now, finally arrives to take our order: the buffalo mozzarella salad and tuna appetizer for her; a potato and leek soup and salad for me. We chat briefly about the media world—the Four Seasons’ opening was being held in conjunction with the launch of the Indian edition of men’s magazine GQ—while servers glide around silently. The restaurant is beginning to fill up, and from the corner I see the maître d’ steer a young family with two shrill toddlers away from our table and tape recorder.
I note that Four Seasons’ presence in India has been late in the coming. “India for us has been a long sought after market. Physically, we’re relatively late, but we’ve been working on India as a development market for the better part of 20 years,” she says. There are already several properties in the pipeline—Hyderabad, Delhi, Kerala, Bangalore—as well as dozens more planned for central and East Asia.
There has been some questioning about the Four Seasons location in Mumbai—the choice of a business hotel as opposed to a resort, its proximity to low-income housing and a neighbouring slum, the sniffer dogs at the gate—but with its opening, the hotel has managed to sidestep most critics, partly by hiring a rigorously selected staff.
All employees were vetted through five rounds of interviews, including the housekeepers and kitchen cleaners, before being hired from the at least 11,000 applicants reviewed. “That’s the most important part of what we do, choosing the people who will join the company. And we always say we hire for attitude before skill.” Taylor, who says she can recognize a Four Seasons employee anywhere, and instantly, makes assiduous note of servers, waiters, concierges—anyone who leaves an impression.
A young man who approached her at an airport lounge in Abu Dhabi recently is but one example. The two got talking about Mauritius, the man’s hometown, and location of an upcoming Four Seasons. “Anyway, the young man said he would next see me in Mauritius because he was going to go there to get a job at our hotel when he was finished with his stint in Abu Dhabi. He said: ‘When you come, look for me. I’ll be in the fine-dining restaurant,’” Taylor marvels. “He was so cute and confident. Exactly the kind of personality we’re looking for. Just a delightful young man.”
Lunch is nearly over, and Taylor has other meetings lined up before she leaves the next morning. In parting, we talk about standards of luxury which, in the last few years, with pillow “concierges” and mattress menus, seem to have leapfrogged to absurd standards. She admits she doesn’t understand six and seven-star hotels that inundate guests with 16 kinds of amenities.
The Four Seasons’ strategy is very clear: Satisfy the basic requirements of the guest, then worry about additional perks. “A great bed, a soundproof room, and shower and bathroom that work,” Taylor says. “This is the essence of a great hotel room.”
CURRICULUM VITAE
KATHLEEN TAYLOR
Born: 25 August 1957
Education: A law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School; MBA from Schulich School of Business in 1984
Work Profile: Joined Four Seasons in 1989 as corporate counsel; appointed VP, general counsel, in 1992; promoted to executive VP, corporate planning and development, in 1997; promoted to president, worldwide business operations, in 1999; promoted to president and chief operating officer in 2007
Favourite Book: ‘Red Tent’ by Anita Diamant
Favourite Movie: Modern favourite movie is ‘Must Love Dogs’ and historic movie is ‘Gone with the Wind’
Favourite Holiday: Expedition travel such as bike riding in Morocco or Vietnam; and ski trips
Columnists - Vir Sanghvi;Can TV forecast the course of US politics ?
have not seen, but have read about a recent programme on British television, which made the point that the American presidential election closely mirrors the last season of The West Wing. For those of you who are not West Wing fans, here’s what happens in Season 7: a decent, experienced but old Republican senator is nominated as his party’s candidate. His opponent is an ethnic (Latino) Democratic Congressman with much less experience but who therefore holds out the promise of change. The two candidates are evenly matched and their one debate is a draw with neither managing to convert the other’s supporters.
Then, a few weeks from polling day, something unexpected happens. The Republican is a long-standing champion of nuclear power. So, when a nuclear reactor develops a leak, his policies are held responsible. He protests that nuclear power is generally safe and that a single accident at a nuclear plant should not be held against him. But it is too late. The Latino wins the election, becoming America’s first ethnic president.
You can see the parallels. For Arnie Vinick, the old Republican senator, we have decent, upright John McCain. For Matt Santos, the ethnic outsider who is a surprising choice for the Democratic nomination, we have Barack Obama.
And while there hasn’t been a nuclear accident, at least so far, there has been a relatively unexpected occurrence. The virtual collapse of Wall Street and the damage it has done the American economy have come to haunt John McCain. Despite his protestations to the contrary, voters treat him as one of those responsible — after all, isn’t he part of the Republican old guard that sang the praises of free markets?
It’s possible to carry this too far but the parallels are undeniable. My guess is that the only reason the makers of The West Wing who forever sought to push the envelope did not pick a black presidential candidate and opted for a Latino instead was because it seemed too far-fetched to imagine that a black outsider had any chance of winning the presidency. But even so, the parallels remain. In The West Wing, black voters are reluctant to support Matt Santos because blacks don’t like Latinos. At this election, Obama has had problems with the Latino vote (which went en masse to Hillary Clinton in the primaries) because, well, Latinos don’t like blacks.
I sometimes wonder whether any television scriptwriter could have dreamt up Obama’s successful nomination victory. Think about it: Here is a black man (well, half-black anyway) who has spent only one term in the Senate; whom nobody had heard of before the primaries began; whose middle name is Hussein; and whose last name rhymes with Osama. Who would have given him any chance of winning the nomination, especially when he had the Democratic establishment, in the form of Hillary and Bill Clinton, ranged against him?
My theory on this is also television related. I reckon that one reason why Americans no longer seem so surprised by the idea of a black president is because of President Palmer.
President who?
Well, if you’re asking me that you’re clearly no fan of 24.
While the action series is compulsively watchable and can be terrifyingly gripping, it has never been noted — unlike, say, The West Wing — for its cerebral content. But I reckon that it has played some role in shaping American attitudes during the traumatic years of the 21st century. The hero of 24 is a federal agent called Jack Bauer who thinks nothing of imposing the most extreme forms of torture on suspects. The message is: If you want to save America, then it’s fine to break the rules and to ignore diplomatic niceties, human rights, etc.
In the first season of 24, Bauer foils a plot to kill a black presidential candidate called David Palmer. In later seasons, Palmer actually gets to be president and is the very model of a perfect commander-in-chief. He is inspirational, intelligent and radiates integrity. In contrast, at least one of his white successors is a shifty Nixonian type.
My theory is that Americans got so used to the idea of a black man in the Oval Office because of 24 and President Palmer, that it did not seem that unlikely for Obama to be able to take the fictional Palmer’s place.
Of course, this is a massive oversimplification. I’m sure there are many other reasons — most of them considerably more substantial — to explain Obama’s success. But I fear that we ignore popular culture at our peril. It’s films, books and TV that create the stereotypes in our minds far more effectively than real life ever can.
For instance, throughout the 1960s the only significant work of fiction that put a black man in the Oval Office was Irving Wallace’s best-selling novel The Man in which the black president pro tem of Congress gets to be the commander-in-chief only because everybody else in the line of succession is wiped out. Such is the atmosphere of hostility that the poor man is persecuted by his own party, is charged with rape and impeached.
Four decades later, America could be only a few weeks away from having a legitimately elected black president. Among the factors that have helped shape public opinion is the role of popular media which now pooh-poohs scare scenarios such as the one created by Wallace.
Or take another example. My all-time favourite film about American politics is 1972’s The Candidate in which Robert Redford plays the charismatic, good-looking guy who is pushed into politics by a machine that moulds his policies according to polls and manipulates the media.
When it was released, The Candidate was regarded as a far-fetched work of fiction. Today, it would be treated as a documentary. All American political campaigns are run that way now.
So, who knows, in a month or so from now, a black president may well move from fiction to the front pages.
Then, a few weeks from polling day, something unexpected happens. The Republican is a long-standing champion of nuclear power. So, when a nuclear reactor develops a leak, his policies are held responsible. He protests that nuclear power is generally safe and that a single accident at a nuclear plant should not be held against him. But it is too late. The Latino wins the election, becoming America’s first ethnic president.
You can see the parallels. For Arnie Vinick, the old Republican senator, we have decent, upright John McCain. For Matt Santos, the ethnic outsider who is a surprising choice for the Democratic nomination, we have Barack Obama.
And while there hasn’t been a nuclear accident, at least so far, there has been a relatively unexpected occurrence. The virtual collapse of Wall Street and the damage it has done the American economy have come to haunt John McCain. Despite his protestations to the contrary, voters treat him as one of those responsible — after all, isn’t he part of the Republican old guard that sang the praises of free markets?
It’s possible to carry this too far but the parallels are undeniable. My guess is that the only reason the makers of The West Wing who forever sought to push the envelope did not pick a black presidential candidate and opted for a Latino instead was because it seemed too far-fetched to imagine that a black outsider had any chance of winning the presidency. But even so, the parallels remain. In The West Wing, black voters are reluctant to support Matt Santos because blacks don’t like Latinos. At this election, Obama has had problems with the Latino vote (which went en masse to Hillary Clinton in the primaries) because, well, Latinos don’t like blacks.
I sometimes wonder whether any television scriptwriter could have dreamt up Obama’s successful nomination victory. Think about it: Here is a black man (well, half-black anyway) who has spent only one term in the Senate; whom nobody had heard of before the primaries began; whose middle name is Hussein; and whose last name rhymes with Osama. Who would have given him any chance of winning the nomination, especially when he had the Democratic establishment, in the form of Hillary and Bill Clinton, ranged against him?
My theory on this is also television related. I reckon that one reason why Americans no longer seem so surprised by the idea of a black president is because of President Palmer.
President who?
Well, if you’re asking me that you’re clearly no fan of 24.
While the action series is compulsively watchable and can be terrifyingly gripping, it has never been noted — unlike, say, The West Wing — for its cerebral content. But I reckon that it has played some role in shaping American attitudes during the traumatic years of the 21st century. The hero of 24 is a federal agent called Jack Bauer who thinks nothing of imposing the most extreme forms of torture on suspects. The message is: If you want to save America, then it’s fine to break the rules and to ignore diplomatic niceties, human rights, etc.
In the first season of 24, Bauer foils a plot to kill a black presidential candidate called David Palmer. In later seasons, Palmer actually gets to be president and is the very model of a perfect commander-in-chief. He is inspirational, intelligent and radiates integrity. In contrast, at least one of his white successors is a shifty Nixonian type.
My theory is that Americans got so used to the idea of a black man in the Oval Office because of 24 and President Palmer, that it did not seem that unlikely for Obama to be able to take the fictional Palmer’s place.
Of course, this is a massive oversimplification. I’m sure there are many other reasons — most of them considerably more substantial — to explain Obama’s success. But I fear that we ignore popular culture at our peril. It’s films, books and TV that create the stereotypes in our minds far more effectively than real life ever can.
For instance, throughout the 1960s the only significant work of fiction that put a black man in the Oval Office was Irving Wallace’s best-selling novel The Man in which the black president pro tem of Congress gets to be the commander-in-chief only because everybody else in the line of succession is wiped out. Such is the atmosphere of hostility that the poor man is persecuted by his own party, is charged with rape and impeached.
Four decades later, America could be only a few weeks away from having a legitimately elected black president. Among the factors that have helped shape public opinion is the role of popular media which now pooh-poohs scare scenarios such as the one created by Wallace.
Or take another example. My all-time favourite film about American politics is 1972’s The Candidate in which Robert Redford plays the charismatic, good-looking guy who is pushed into politics by a machine that moulds his policies according to polls and manipulates the media.
When it was released, The Candidate was regarded as a far-fetched work of fiction. Today, it would be treated as a documentary. All American political campaigns are run that way now.
So, who knows, in a month or so from now, a black president may well move from fiction to the front pages.
Entertainment - Bollywood's new style
Parizaad Khan and Seema Chowdhry
Suneet Varma can’t say he wasn’t forewarned. When the Delhi-based designer told actor Priyanka Chopra that he was styling the clothes for Kites, a film starring Hrithik Roshan and produced by his father Rakesh Roshan, Chopra cheekily asked him what product he used on his hair to get the spiked look. A somewhat baffled Varma replied that he gelled his hair. “That was when she laughed and told me that I could forget about gel till Kites was finished because Hrithik would make sure my hair stood up on its own,” Varma recalls with a laugh.
Roshan Jr may not have simplified Varma’s grooming regime, but the designer admits that the actor was “very involved”.
“He is a perfectionist and wanted to know everything about the way his character should look. I could not just pick up a good-looking jacket and say this will work. I had to convince him why it works for the character, why the character would be wearing it at that point and whether he would be able to afford such a jacket or not,” he says in a phone interview.
Varma and other designers such as Narendra Kumar, who have recently started styling for Bollywood movies, are discovering that Indian films are not what they used to be. Costumes are no longer only chosen to best showcase an actor’s vital statistics and film-makers are realizing that sartorial authenticity, never a USP of Hindi films, might not be such a bad thing.
“Today directors and actors value the opinion of a designer,” says Kumar, seated in his central Mumbai office-workshop. “We have a greater role to play and greater responsibility and accountability.”
Kumar is a rare specimen in the fashion industry. He’s one of the very few who believe that fashion is not about fantasy, but is, or at least should be, driven by current events and reflect the mood of the world around us. He used his Lakme Fashion Week show earlier this year to make a statement about the country’s new-found passion for sports; previous shows have had themes such as “Freedom from Illiteracy” and modern love.
One would think that automatically places him somewhere at the bottom of the list of designers the industry approaches to style their films. But Kumar’s resume lists Babul, No Smoking and the soon-to-be-released Fashion, in addition to four upcoming films starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Viveik Oberoi, Akshay Kumar and Neil Nitin Mukesh
After Manish Malhotra transformed a gawky and unstylish Urmila Matondkar into a short-red-dress-wearing siren in 1995’s Rangeela, the next turning point for costumes in contemporary Hindi films was Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), with its emphasis on in-your-face logos of international brands. “Karan is the original stylist of new Indian cinema,” says Anupama Chopra, film critic and author of books such as Sholay: The Making of a Classic. “But now there is definitely a thorough process that goes into creating a character; actors go through a complete change that includes hair, demeanour and costumes.”
Chopra points out that film styling’s latest watershed was after Dhoom, when Anaita Shroff Adajania proved that films do benefit by having a stylist. “Dhoom without her contribution would be a lesser film,” Chopra says. For Adajania, who is also fashion director of the Indian edition of Vogue, films were never a planned path. She started by styling songs for Karan Johar’s movies and then decided to try her hand at taking on entire films, such as Dhoom and Dhoom 2, Being Cyrus, Hope and a Little Sugar and Race. After years of working with high fashion for magazines, Adajania found herself hunting down policemen’s outfits. “I prefer to take on an entire project rather than dress just the lead stars. I want even the passers-by to look right,” she says.
Kumar, too, fell into the film world by chance. On John Abraham’s request, he started out by styling the actor’s character in Ravi Chopra’s Babul. Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion, starring Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut, is the first movie where he has been involved in the looks of all the characters, which he styled in collaboration with fashion consultant Rita Dhody.
Dhody, who supplies international fashion houses such as Armani, Valentino and Pucci with embroidery and who regularly visits various international fashion weeks, was as unlikely a candidate as Kumar. She started on the project as a consultant, “but before I knew it, I was soon styling it myself”. Dhody says a big challenge was not letting the clothes overpower the story; the script, not fashion, dictated the look. “I didn’t want the audience to be looking at the actor’s shoes in an emotional scene,” she says.
For Varma, who worked on Zooni and then on Cash, designing for films has not been a smooth ride. Zooni never took off, though he camped in Kashmir for almost a year while the project was on, and “the producers of Cash expected me to put everything together in three weeks,” he says. Varma, who has studied the history of costume at the London School of Fashion, usually takes about two months to design a custom-made wedding outfit for a bride. For Kites, however, he had almost six months to work on the looks of four characters. He had Polaroid shots of every outfit—complete with accessories— attached to his script and extra pairs of the same costumes prepared for important scenes like the long climax in which Hrithik will be seen in the same costume for about 20 minutes
He was approached by the Roshans last year after they attended a fashion show in Singapore where he was showcasing his clothes. Varma was unaware of the filmi family’s presence till he got a call from Rakesh Roshan a month later, asking him if he wanted to work on Kites, directed by Anurag Basu and starring Ranaut and model-actor Barbara Mori. “At that point, Hrithik’s Jodhaa Akbar had just released and his look was very different—traditional and steeped in Indian design. Since his character Jay in Kites is that of a guy based in LA and Las Vegas, they were looking for someone who could create a contemporary and international look for the film,” says Varma, who hotfooted it to Mumbai to meet the Roshans.
In a similarly serendipitous incident, Delhi designers and siblings Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra met Dia Mirza during the Femina Miss India 2007 beauty pageant for which they had designed clothes for the contestants and Mirza, the show’s anchor. “When Mirza signed up to play the role of a powerful, sexy gangster, Max, for Sanjay Gupta’s production Acid Factory, she suggested to the producers that we design and style her look in the film,” Nikhil says. The duo’s clothes had been used in films before, usually by stylists such as Adajania. “We have designed clothes for shoots but that has been on the basis of what a stylist wanted. To create a look and feel for a character from scratch is a first for us.”
To prepare, the two sat through a scene-by-scene narration and met director Suparn Verma.
The director deconstructed each scene and that helped the duo to figure out what Mirza would be made to wear. “The way Max would cross her legs, what her body language would be in a scene, whether she would be in a cable car or in a boardroom—all these factors defined what kind of outfit we should design for a scene.”
The clothes had to be elegant, stylish and upmarket—looks the Mehra brothers are comfortable with. “Since hers is an evil and powerful character, we included more reds and flame colours and some blacks. As far as the silhouettes go, we decided to keep the outfits fitted, and more structured with stark lines,” says Nikhil. They opted to work with luxurious fabrics such as silk, leather and stretch-satin. Even a fitted kimono jacket that has been designed for one of the scenes has been made from pure Merino wool with a satin lining. “The necklines are deeper and the hemlines shorter,” he adds.
Max’s character is modelled on Brigitte Nielsen’s character as the sexy power-dressing assassin Karla Fry in the 1984 Hollywood hit, Beverly Hills Cop II. “During the narration itself, we got a clear image of the character and that is where we did our preliminary sketches. Reading a script on your own cannot replicate the vision of a director,” Nikhil says.
Niharika Khan, the stylist for the Abhishek Kapoor-directed Rock On!!, agrees. She and Kapoor sat for hours discussing the back story of the characters, a step Khan says is very important to her. “That’s how you can work on really subtle details, which we hope came across.” Farhan Akhtar’s character was from a privileged family, so he could afford to dress in brands such as Diesel and G-Star. “On the other hand, Joe was not loaded, so though his T-shirts are similar looking, they are knockoffs or more affordable brands,” Khan says.
Khan’s current project, Aamir Khan Productions’ Delhi Belly, starring Imran Khan, Shahnaz Treasurywala and Vir Das, is an English language film targeted at international audiences, about contemporary India. The look for the cast, very much an East-meets-West vibe, uses the very MTV-sensibility of Indian pop culture cool. “Manish Arora does this look very well. The look portrayed in Indian films is sometimes very typical. In reality, we have evolved far beyond that,” says Khan. She says the younger generation likes to coordinate a piecemeal look—for example, an ikat-print skirt or block-print halter top works for them rather than a salwar suit.
The Mumbai-based 38-year-old silver jewellery designer and mother of two never thought she would be a Bollywood film stylist. She started out by styling the lead characters in Sudhir Mishra’s 2007 period film Khoya Khoya Chand because the film’s associate director and Khan’s friend, Sameer Sharma, was convinced she would be great for the job. Before Rock On!!, her first contemporary film, she had also worked on Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya.
Khan reiterates the fact that today, Bollywood film-makers realize the character should be bigger than the star. “It’s all about the character, not the actor,” she says. Khan has no qualms about making a character repeat outfits, if required, in the same film. “It keeps things authentic. We all repeat our clothes, so why shouldn’t a character?”
Added authenticity also comes in when stylists, used to putting disparate colours, fabrics and styles together, mix and match clothes by various categories of brands and designers, as opposed to being dressed in designerwear from head to toe, which is often the case when a fashion designer does an entire film. “The biggest difference between a designer and a stylist is that a designer is limited by their own aesthetic, while a stylist can borrow and combine many designers’ styles,” says Adajania.
As Dhody did for Fashion—luxury labels such as Lanvin, Versace, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana will be seen sharing space with Indian designers such as Gauri and Nainika, Shantanu and Nikhil and high street brands such as Miss Sixty and Guess. Besides putting together the film’s look, Dhody and Kumar, both fashion industry insiders, also helped Bhandarkar and his team with insights on how the industry works. “They wanted to know what the mood and energy is like backstage, what the audience in the first row chatters about and how designers sometimes graze work,” Kumar says.
As movie stylists, they are now insiders in film industry too. Khan says, with a laugh, that she knows the measurements of the stars she’s worked with (though she declined quite firmly to share them with us). Varma has custom-made most of Hrithik’s outfits because the star does not wear clothes off-the-rack. “About 95% of his clothes had to be tailored. He prefers them to be tailored to his size, since he has broad shoulders and a narrow waist,” Varma says. Adajania had taken a tailor along on a month-long schedule in Rio while shooting Dhoom 2, in case there were “fluctuating waistlines”, among other clothing malfunctions. But like most film industry insiders, they’re not sharing the juiciest gossip.
Suneet Varma can’t say he wasn’t forewarned. When the Delhi-based designer told actor Priyanka Chopra that he was styling the clothes for Kites, a film starring Hrithik Roshan and produced by his father Rakesh Roshan, Chopra cheekily asked him what product he used on his hair to get the spiked look. A somewhat baffled Varma replied that he gelled his hair. “That was when she laughed and told me that I could forget about gel till Kites was finished because Hrithik would make sure my hair stood up on its own,” Varma recalls with a laugh.
Roshan Jr may not have simplified Varma’s grooming regime, but the designer admits that the actor was “very involved”.
“He is a perfectionist and wanted to know everything about the way his character should look. I could not just pick up a good-looking jacket and say this will work. I had to convince him why it works for the character, why the character would be wearing it at that point and whether he would be able to afford such a jacket or not,” he says in a phone interview.
Varma and other designers such as Narendra Kumar, who have recently started styling for Bollywood movies, are discovering that Indian films are not what they used to be. Costumes are no longer only chosen to best showcase an actor’s vital statistics and film-makers are realizing that sartorial authenticity, never a USP of Hindi films, might not be such a bad thing.
“Today directors and actors value the opinion of a designer,” says Kumar, seated in his central Mumbai office-workshop. “We have a greater role to play and greater responsibility and accountability.”
Kumar is a rare specimen in the fashion industry. He’s one of the very few who believe that fashion is not about fantasy, but is, or at least should be, driven by current events and reflect the mood of the world around us. He used his Lakme Fashion Week show earlier this year to make a statement about the country’s new-found passion for sports; previous shows have had themes such as “Freedom from Illiteracy” and modern love.
One would think that automatically places him somewhere at the bottom of the list of designers the industry approaches to style their films. But Kumar’s resume lists Babul, No Smoking and the soon-to-be-released Fashion, in addition to four upcoming films starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Viveik Oberoi, Akshay Kumar and Neil Nitin Mukesh
After Manish Malhotra transformed a gawky and unstylish Urmila Matondkar into a short-red-dress-wearing siren in 1995’s Rangeela, the next turning point for costumes in contemporary Hindi films was Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), with its emphasis on in-your-face logos of international brands. “Karan is the original stylist of new Indian cinema,” says Anupama Chopra, film critic and author of books such as Sholay: The Making of a Classic. “But now there is definitely a thorough process that goes into creating a character; actors go through a complete change that includes hair, demeanour and costumes.”
Chopra points out that film styling’s latest watershed was after Dhoom, when Anaita Shroff Adajania proved that films do benefit by having a stylist. “Dhoom without her contribution would be a lesser film,” Chopra says. For Adajania, who is also fashion director of the Indian edition of Vogue, films were never a planned path. She started by styling songs for Karan Johar’s movies and then decided to try her hand at taking on entire films, such as Dhoom and Dhoom 2, Being Cyrus, Hope and a Little Sugar and Race. After years of working with high fashion for magazines, Adajania found herself hunting down policemen’s outfits. “I prefer to take on an entire project rather than dress just the lead stars. I want even the passers-by to look right,” she says.
Kumar, too, fell into the film world by chance. On John Abraham’s request, he started out by styling the actor’s character in Ravi Chopra’s Babul. Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion, starring Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut, is the first movie where he has been involved in the looks of all the characters, which he styled in collaboration with fashion consultant Rita Dhody.
Dhody, who supplies international fashion houses such as Armani, Valentino and Pucci with embroidery and who regularly visits various international fashion weeks, was as unlikely a candidate as Kumar. She started on the project as a consultant, “but before I knew it, I was soon styling it myself”. Dhody says a big challenge was not letting the clothes overpower the story; the script, not fashion, dictated the look. “I didn’t want the audience to be looking at the actor’s shoes in an emotional scene,” she says.
For Varma, who worked on Zooni and then on Cash, designing for films has not been a smooth ride. Zooni never took off, though he camped in Kashmir for almost a year while the project was on, and “the producers of Cash expected me to put everything together in three weeks,” he says. Varma, who has studied the history of costume at the London School of Fashion, usually takes about two months to design a custom-made wedding outfit for a bride. For Kites, however, he had almost six months to work on the looks of four characters. He had Polaroid shots of every outfit—complete with accessories— attached to his script and extra pairs of the same costumes prepared for important scenes like the long climax in which Hrithik will be seen in the same costume for about 20 minutes
He was approached by the Roshans last year after they attended a fashion show in Singapore where he was showcasing his clothes. Varma was unaware of the filmi family’s presence till he got a call from Rakesh Roshan a month later, asking him if he wanted to work on Kites, directed by Anurag Basu and starring Ranaut and model-actor Barbara Mori. “At that point, Hrithik’s Jodhaa Akbar had just released and his look was very different—traditional and steeped in Indian design. Since his character Jay in Kites is that of a guy based in LA and Las Vegas, they were looking for someone who could create a contemporary and international look for the film,” says Varma, who hotfooted it to Mumbai to meet the Roshans.
In a similarly serendipitous incident, Delhi designers and siblings Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra met Dia Mirza during the Femina Miss India 2007 beauty pageant for which they had designed clothes for the contestants and Mirza, the show’s anchor. “When Mirza signed up to play the role of a powerful, sexy gangster, Max, for Sanjay Gupta’s production Acid Factory, she suggested to the producers that we design and style her look in the film,” Nikhil says. The duo’s clothes had been used in films before, usually by stylists such as Adajania. “We have designed clothes for shoots but that has been on the basis of what a stylist wanted. To create a look and feel for a character from scratch is a first for us.”
To prepare, the two sat through a scene-by-scene narration and met director Suparn Verma.
The director deconstructed each scene and that helped the duo to figure out what Mirza would be made to wear. “The way Max would cross her legs, what her body language would be in a scene, whether she would be in a cable car or in a boardroom—all these factors defined what kind of outfit we should design for a scene.”
The clothes had to be elegant, stylish and upmarket—looks the Mehra brothers are comfortable with. “Since hers is an evil and powerful character, we included more reds and flame colours and some blacks. As far as the silhouettes go, we decided to keep the outfits fitted, and more structured with stark lines,” says Nikhil. They opted to work with luxurious fabrics such as silk, leather and stretch-satin. Even a fitted kimono jacket that has been designed for one of the scenes has been made from pure Merino wool with a satin lining. “The necklines are deeper and the hemlines shorter,” he adds.
Max’s character is modelled on Brigitte Nielsen’s character as the sexy power-dressing assassin Karla Fry in the 1984 Hollywood hit, Beverly Hills Cop II. “During the narration itself, we got a clear image of the character and that is where we did our preliminary sketches. Reading a script on your own cannot replicate the vision of a director,” Nikhil says.
Niharika Khan, the stylist for the Abhishek Kapoor-directed Rock On!!, agrees. She and Kapoor sat for hours discussing the back story of the characters, a step Khan says is very important to her. “That’s how you can work on really subtle details, which we hope came across.” Farhan Akhtar’s character was from a privileged family, so he could afford to dress in brands such as Diesel and G-Star. “On the other hand, Joe was not loaded, so though his T-shirts are similar looking, they are knockoffs or more affordable brands,” Khan says.
Khan’s current project, Aamir Khan Productions’ Delhi Belly, starring Imran Khan, Shahnaz Treasurywala and Vir Das, is an English language film targeted at international audiences, about contemporary India. The look for the cast, very much an East-meets-West vibe, uses the very MTV-sensibility of Indian pop culture cool. “Manish Arora does this look very well. The look portrayed in Indian films is sometimes very typical. In reality, we have evolved far beyond that,” says Khan. She says the younger generation likes to coordinate a piecemeal look—for example, an ikat-print skirt or block-print halter top works for them rather than a salwar suit.
The Mumbai-based 38-year-old silver jewellery designer and mother of two never thought she would be a Bollywood film stylist. She started out by styling the lead characters in Sudhir Mishra’s 2007 period film Khoya Khoya Chand because the film’s associate director and Khan’s friend, Sameer Sharma, was convinced she would be great for the job. Before Rock On!!, her first contemporary film, she had also worked on Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya.
Khan reiterates the fact that today, Bollywood film-makers realize the character should be bigger than the star. “It’s all about the character, not the actor,” she says. Khan has no qualms about making a character repeat outfits, if required, in the same film. “It keeps things authentic. We all repeat our clothes, so why shouldn’t a character?”
Added authenticity also comes in when stylists, used to putting disparate colours, fabrics and styles together, mix and match clothes by various categories of brands and designers, as opposed to being dressed in designerwear from head to toe, which is often the case when a fashion designer does an entire film. “The biggest difference between a designer and a stylist is that a designer is limited by their own aesthetic, while a stylist can borrow and combine many designers’ styles,” says Adajania.
As Dhody did for Fashion—luxury labels such as Lanvin, Versace, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana will be seen sharing space with Indian designers such as Gauri and Nainika, Shantanu and Nikhil and high street brands such as Miss Sixty and Guess. Besides putting together the film’s look, Dhody and Kumar, both fashion industry insiders, also helped Bhandarkar and his team with insights on how the industry works. “They wanted to know what the mood and energy is like backstage, what the audience in the first row chatters about and how designers sometimes graze work,” Kumar says.
As movie stylists, they are now insiders in film industry too. Khan says, with a laugh, that she knows the measurements of the stars she’s worked with (though she declined quite firmly to share them with us). Varma has custom-made most of Hrithik’s outfits because the star does not wear clothes off-the-rack. “About 95% of his clothes had to be tailored. He prefers them to be tailored to his size, since he has broad shoulders and a narrow waist,” Varma says. Adajania had taken a tailor along on a month-long schedule in Rio while shooting Dhoom 2, in case there were “fluctuating waistlines”, among other clothing malfunctions. But like most film industry insiders, they’re not sharing the juiciest gossip.
World - US;Dreaded attachment
Alexander Chancelor
The Bush presidency is ending its days with a flurry of fresh controversy about the death penalty, a punishment for which Bush has always shown a creepy degree of enthusiasm. Two new cases illustrate again how ghoulish and judicially flawed death sentences in America can be.
On Tuesday, Richard Cooey, 41, who had spent more than 20 years on death row, was executed in Ohio after the supreme court rejected his plea that he was too obese (at more than 125 kg) to be painlessly put to death by lethal injection. On Wednesday, the same court, in effect, gave the go-ahead for another execution when it refused to hear an appeal by Troy Davis, a 40-year-old Georgia man, after seven of nine witnesses who helped to convict him in 1991 of killing a police officer had subsequently recanted their testimony or changed their statements.
America’s dogged attachment to the death penalty in even the most dubious of circumstances is a hideous blot on its reputation for fairness and humanity that, alas, even Barack Obama has no plans to eradicate.
— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
The Bush presidency is ending its days with a flurry of fresh controversy about the death penalty, a punishment for which Bush has always shown a creepy degree of enthusiasm. Two new cases illustrate again how ghoulish and judicially flawed death sentences in America can be.
On Tuesday, Richard Cooey, 41, who had spent more than 20 years on death row, was executed in Ohio after the supreme court rejected his plea that he was too obese (at more than 125 kg) to be painlessly put to death by lethal injection. On Wednesday, the same court, in effect, gave the go-ahead for another execution when it refused to hear an appeal by Troy Davis, a 40-year-old Georgia man, after seven of nine witnesses who helped to convict him in 1991 of killing a police officer had subsequently recanted their testimony or changed their statements.
America’s dogged attachment to the death penalty in even the most dubious of circumstances is a hideous blot on its reputation for fairness and humanity that, alas, even Barack Obama has no plans to eradicate.
— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
World - Pakistan,the fog refuses to clear
Nirupama Subramanian
While all parties agree that the country is “facing a grave challenge,” there is no sign that they are all agreed on the true nature of that challenge.
As an important joint session of Pakistan’s parliament continues discussions on the challenge posed by Al Qaeda and Taliban to the state, the fog of confusion surrounding the issues of militancy, extremism and terrorism has stubbornly refused to lift.
The extraordinary joint session of the National Assembly and Senate, only the third in Pakistan’s history to discuss a sensitive issue of national importance, was summoned on October 8 and was aimed at forging a national consensus on dealing with the terror threat to the country.
The session was thought necessary as Pakistan’s polity has been extremely divided over what this threat is and where it is coming from. But going by opinions voiced by some parliamentarians about the confidential session, the divisions between the political parties are intact or may have even deepened. Questions such as what is the threat to Pakistan and where is it coming from are still deemed unresolved. The conflation of the issues facing Pakistan with the opposition to the U.S.-led war on terror continues.
Meanwhile, the call for “dialogue” with the Pakistani Taliban militants has grown louder, even though no one knows what can possibly be offered to a group that has an openly medieval agenda, scoffs at modern notions of nation-state and democracy and has been recently described by a senior Pakistan official as “one and the same” as Al Qaeda.
In the sittings thus far, parliamentarians were first briefed by the new director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, on the operations being carried out in the North-West Front Province and in the tribal areas. At the sitting that followed, they put questions to him. Next, they were briefed by the government on its policy on the terror challenge. A discussion on national security is now ongoing.
If all this was meant to provide clarity on Pakistan’s dangerously deteriorating internal security situation and show the way forward, it is nowhere evident that this is happening. While all parties agree that the country is “facing a grave challenge,” there is no sign that they are all agreed on the true nature of that challenge, leave alone ready to formulate a consensual policy to deal with it.
Opposition parties emerging from the sittings are accusing the Pakistan People’s Party-led government of following the policies set by the previous Musharraf regime, and toeing the U.S. line that more military operations are the only way to clean out the tribal north-west frontier of militancy. The Pakistan Army has recently intensified operations in the Bajaur tribal agency, leading to a massive internal displacement that the U.N. has also flagged. Referring back to the government’s own earlier statements that “foreign” hands — a not-so-veiled allusion to India — are involved in stoking trouble in the tribal areas, some political parties are questioning the logic of military operations in those areas against the Taliban.
PML(N) critical
Bringing its role as the main opposition party to the proceedings, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) has been critical of the briefings, saying they provided nothing more than what was already in the public realm. Incomprehensibly, the party chose not to participate in the question-and-answer session with the ISI chief, which most political observers saw as an opportunity missed to find out more.
Later, party leader Nawaz Sharif sought to strike a more conciliatory note, asking his party men not to oppose everything that came from the government — possibly an indication of an in-the-works agreement for a modus vivendi between his party’s government in Punjab and the provincial PPP — he has also called for a dialogue with the extremists. He has also called on his party to formulate its own position on terrorism, leaving dumbstruck commentators wondering what the PML(N) had been doing all this while when bombs were going off, including in Punjab, its own backyard.
The Jamiat-e-Ulema Islami of Maulana Fazlur Rehman reportedly wanted representatives of the Pakistani Taliban invited to Parliament to present their point of view to the in camera session, leading the Daily Times to ask if Mr. Rehman was equating militants who have claimed responsibility for several acts of terror within the country with the Pakistan Army.
Mr. Rehman, who caters to a pro-Taliban constituency, has been critical of the government’s operations in the tribal areas, especially its tactic of persuading some tribes to set up “lashkars” or militias to battle the militants. This method is said to have contributed to successes on the ground for the military in Bajaur tribal agency, enough to have rattled the Taliban. A suicide attack last week on a tribal jirga in the Orakzai agency that was discussing the setting up of a laskhar against the militants, killing some 70 people, was stated to be a warning from the Taliban to the tribals not to go down that path.
Mr. Rehman is warning that setting one tribe against another in the frontier region could set off blood feuds and a civil war-like situation. At the parliament session, he is said to have called for a ceasefire and offered to mediate between the Taliban and the government.
In a statement plainly intended to sow more confusion in the minds of the parliamentarians, the Pakistani umbrella group of Taliban militants known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban, has offered to “lay down arms” if the government “relinquishes use of power.” For good measure, a spokesman of the group added that “we are sensible people and understand the survival and integrity of our country.” This came as media reported that the military was preparing for an imminent and “decisive” operation in Bajaur.
Those advocating “dialogue” with the militants are also riding the current signals from Afghanistan of talks with the Taliban. Individual commanders of the coalition forces are saying for the first time that the war “cannot be won” and they would not oppose talks with the Taliban. According to reports in western media, the Afghan government is already reported to be in secret talks with the Taliban through the Saudi government.
The ruling party in the NWFP, the Awami National Party, should have played an important role in the proceedings as the voice of secular Pakhtuns. But it is missing in action. It appears to have been completely demoralised by the October 2 attempt on the life of its leader Asfandyar Wali Khan. His unceremonious departure for London, as early as the second day of the session, though described by his party as previously scheduled, has caused dismay among its supporters and evoked contempt from detractors.
As such, after more than a week of sittings of the joint session, there are few expectations that Pakistan will be better off after it.
While all parties agree that the country is “facing a grave challenge,” there is no sign that they are all agreed on the true nature of that challenge.
As an important joint session of Pakistan’s parliament continues discussions on the challenge posed by Al Qaeda and Taliban to the state, the fog of confusion surrounding the issues of militancy, extremism and terrorism has stubbornly refused to lift.
The extraordinary joint session of the National Assembly and Senate, only the third in Pakistan’s history to discuss a sensitive issue of national importance, was summoned on October 8 and was aimed at forging a national consensus on dealing with the terror threat to the country.
The session was thought necessary as Pakistan’s polity has been extremely divided over what this threat is and where it is coming from. But going by opinions voiced by some parliamentarians about the confidential session, the divisions between the political parties are intact or may have even deepened. Questions such as what is the threat to Pakistan and where is it coming from are still deemed unresolved. The conflation of the issues facing Pakistan with the opposition to the U.S.-led war on terror continues.
Meanwhile, the call for “dialogue” with the Pakistani Taliban militants has grown louder, even though no one knows what can possibly be offered to a group that has an openly medieval agenda, scoffs at modern notions of nation-state and democracy and has been recently described by a senior Pakistan official as “one and the same” as Al Qaeda.
In the sittings thus far, parliamentarians were first briefed by the new director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, on the operations being carried out in the North-West Front Province and in the tribal areas. At the sitting that followed, they put questions to him. Next, they were briefed by the government on its policy on the terror challenge. A discussion on national security is now ongoing.
If all this was meant to provide clarity on Pakistan’s dangerously deteriorating internal security situation and show the way forward, it is nowhere evident that this is happening. While all parties agree that the country is “facing a grave challenge,” there is no sign that they are all agreed on the true nature of that challenge, leave alone ready to formulate a consensual policy to deal with it.
Opposition parties emerging from the sittings are accusing the Pakistan People’s Party-led government of following the policies set by the previous Musharraf regime, and toeing the U.S. line that more military operations are the only way to clean out the tribal north-west frontier of militancy. The Pakistan Army has recently intensified operations in the Bajaur tribal agency, leading to a massive internal displacement that the U.N. has also flagged. Referring back to the government’s own earlier statements that “foreign” hands — a not-so-veiled allusion to India — are involved in stoking trouble in the tribal areas, some political parties are questioning the logic of military operations in those areas against the Taliban.
PML(N) critical
Bringing its role as the main opposition party to the proceedings, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) has been critical of the briefings, saying they provided nothing more than what was already in the public realm. Incomprehensibly, the party chose not to participate in the question-and-answer session with the ISI chief, which most political observers saw as an opportunity missed to find out more.
Later, party leader Nawaz Sharif sought to strike a more conciliatory note, asking his party men not to oppose everything that came from the government — possibly an indication of an in-the-works agreement for a modus vivendi between his party’s government in Punjab and the provincial PPP — he has also called for a dialogue with the extremists. He has also called on his party to formulate its own position on terrorism, leaving dumbstruck commentators wondering what the PML(N) had been doing all this while when bombs were going off, including in Punjab, its own backyard.
The Jamiat-e-Ulema Islami of Maulana Fazlur Rehman reportedly wanted representatives of the Pakistani Taliban invited to Parliament to present their point of view to the in camera session, leading the Daily Times to ask if Mr. Rehman was equating militants who have claimed responsibility for several acts of terror within the country with the Pakistan Army.
Mr. Rehman, who caters to a pro-Taliban constituency, has been critical of the government’s operations in the tribal areas, especially its tactic of persuading some tribes to set up “lashkars” or militias to battle the militants. This method is said to have contributed to successes on the ground for the military in Bajaur tribal agency, enough to have rattled the Taliban. A suicide attack last week on a tribal jirga in the Orakzai agency that was discussing the setting up of a laskhar against the militants, killing some 70 people, was stated to be a warning from the Taliban to the tribals not to go down that path.
Mr. Rehman is warning that setting one tribe against another in the frontier region could set off blood feuds and a civil war-like situation. At the parliament session, he is said to have called for a ceasefire and offered to mediate between the Taliban and the government.
In a statement plainly intended to sow more confusion in the minds of the parliamentarians, the Pakistani umbrella group of Taliban militants known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban, has offered to “lay down arms” if the government “relinquishes use of power.” For good measure, a spokesman of the group added that “we are sensible people and understand the survival and integrity of our country.” This came as media reported that the military was preparing for an imminent and “decisive” operation in Bajaur.
Those advocating “dialogue” with the militants are also riding the current signals from Afghanistan of talks with the Taliban. Individual commanders of the coalition forces are saying for the first time that the war “cannot be won” and they would not oppose talks with the Taliban. According to reports in western media, the Afghan government is already reported to be in secret talks with the Taliban through the Saudi government.
The ruling party in the NWFP, the Awami National Party, should have played an important role in the proceedings as the voice of secular Pakhtuns. But it is missing in action. It appears to have been completely demoralised by the October 2 attempt on the life of its leader Asfandyar Wali Khan. His unceremonious departure for London, as early as the second day of the session, though described by his party as previously scheduled, has caused dismay among its supporters and evoked contempt from detractors.
As such, after more than a week of sittings of the joint session, there are few expectations that Pakistan will be better off after it.
India - Global financial crisis;reflections on its impact on India
S. Venkitaramanan
The relative freedom from the contagion spreading from the global tsunami on the Indian financial system owes much to the wise and judicious policies of our central bank and the Government of India.
The U.S. financial crisis has had its reverberations on both developed and developing world. It is not possible to insulate Indian economy completely from what is happening in the financial systems of the world. Effectively speaking, however, the Indian banks and financial institutions have not experienced the kinds of losses and write-downs that even venerable banks and financial institutions in the Western world have faced.
By and large, India has been spared the panic that followed the collapse of banking institutions, such as Fortis in Europe, and Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual in the U.S.
The relative freedom from the contagion spreading from the global tsunami on the Indian financial system owes much to the wise and judicious policies of our central bank and the Government of India.
Discussions on this subject have proceeded on two lines. One is to point out that the Indian banks have taken less risks than their peers abroad. The less risk you take, the more will be safer you are. This, however, begs the question, “Why did the Indian banks take less risks?”
The answer lies in the wise regulations and meticulous supervision by the RBI. At a time when total deregulation was the order of the day in the 90s, Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister authorized a path-breaking study of the Indian financial system by an experienced central banker, M. Narasimham. He had the wisdom to foresee that the financial system had to be placed on a well-regulated basis. Mr. Narasimham’s classic reports gave the policy framework for the Government of India and the RBI to formulate the structure of India’s banks and financial institutions. Mr. Narasimham’s model was based on adequate capitalisation, good provisioning norms and well-structured supervision. Government of India and RBI accepted these recommendations and proceeded to implement them.
What was, indeed, important was that the model did not allow investment banking on the pattern of the American paradigm. In a sense, RBI enforced its own version of the U.S.’ Glass-Steagal Act of 1933, which insulates banks from capital market exposures. The RBI enforced strict capital adequacy requirements and if any financial institution or bank exceeded the specified limits of exposure to stock markets, it would have to provide more capital. This effectively insulated the banks and financial institutions from volatility of the bourses. Enforcement of the above instructions has paid good dividends. Erosion of capital of the banks and financial institutions has been reduced. These exposure limits, however, deserve to be reviewed from time to time.
The RBI must be congratulated for imposing Basel-II norms impartially and in a flexible manner. They have kept it in line with the Indian financial system. Observation of these limits, however difficult it may be in practice, will definitely help the Indian financial system to escape the kind of trouble, which is afflicting the financial system in other countries.
There is another observation, which has to be kept in mind in judging the relative freedom of Indian banking system from the catastrophic mess in the U.S. This is based on the important fact that the Indian banking system is basically owned by the public sector. The State owns many of the banks and financial institutions in the country. There is greater confidence of depositors in a state-owned bank than in a privately-owned bank. This is evident from the fact that in the latest version of the rescue package in the U.S., the government has come forward to infuse capital into distressed banks and financial institutions. Maybe, we can congratulate ourselves that India had already done what Washington is now doing in the midst of the crisis and therefore escaped much of the confidence problems.
Credit is also due to the Government of India and the RBI for having avoided the temptation of total capital convertibility. Had we embarked on total capital convertibility, we would have been exposed to much greater contagion from the current mess than we have been so far. The lesson is that in economic reforms, we have to proceed with caution. Striking the right balance between boldness and caution is where wisdom lies.
A continuing process
It is, however, fair to point out that we should not be complacent in regard to the process of reform. Reform is a continuing process. The latest contribution to the process of reform is a report produced by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, former Counsellor of IMF and at present Professor at Chicago Business School. The report incorporates a number of useful suggestions. Although one may have differences of approach with certain aspects, the report deserves to be examined and implemented to the extent possible to keep the Indian financial system modern and efficient.
In this connection, it is only appropriate to refer to the stabilising role of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in managing the difficult task of regulating our stock markets. Especially, attention has to be drawn to the role of Participatory Notes. In the present context in which private capital from abroad has been responsible for many problems in the Indian stock markets, SEBI must be congratulated for its cautious line on this subject, making appropriate relaxations as needed.
While the RBI is to be congratulated for its cautious and nuanced stance in regard to its regulation, one can argue that its regulation can sometimes be a little bit oriented towards management of banks. Whether it is appropriate for the central bank of a country to decide on where the branch of a bank should be located is a matter for discussion. In a recent debate, Dr. Raghuram Rajan had pointed out that a well-known foreign bank, which had applied for opening its branch in a rural area, was refused permission, notwithstanding the fact that no Indian bank had asked for permission to open a branch in that area. It is perhaps time to put a stop to such management of minutiae by the central bank, which should have its hands full with other more pressing issues.
While the RBI may legitimately pride itself on better regulation than the U.S. Federal Reserve, there are two topics on which it has to follow the example of U.S. Federal Reserve. One is concerning the distribution of profits of the central bank. The U.S. Federal Reserve had a profit of nearly $39 billion in 2006-07 out of which it had transferred $34 billion to the U.S. Treasury. This is in sharp contrast to the behaviour of the RBI, which appropriates the bulk of its profits of nearly Rs.50,000-60,000 crore to the so-called contingency fund and transfers only Rs.10,000 crore to the Government. If the RBI could follow the example of the U.S. Fed in this matter, Mint Street can fix half the fiscal problems of the North Block.
Another issue on which the Federal Reserve offers a good example to follow is regarding the measurement of inflation. U.S. Federal Reserve measures inflation on the basis of consumer price index and not on the basis of wholesale price index. This makes a substantial difference. In the U.S., in the last year the consumer price index increased only by 2 per cent, measured on the basis of what the Fed calls “headline inflation,” excluding fuel and food. Even if the consumer price index including fuel and food is considered in India, the RBI will come out with an inflation of 7 per cent as against the figure of 12 per cent, on the basis of wholesale price index. If we follow the consumer price index in measuring inflation, India can afford to have an interest rate of roughly 5 per cent lower than the one in force at present. This can make a significant difference to the fiscal fortunes and the growth of the Indian economy.
(S. Venkitaramanan is a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.)
The relative freedom from the contagion spreading from the global tsunami on the Indian financial system owes much to the wise and judicious policies of our central bank and the Government of India.
The U.S. financial crisis has had its reverberations on both developed and developing world. It is not possible to insulate Indian economy completely from what is happening in the financial systems of the world. Effectively speaking, however, the Indian banks and financial institutions have not experienced the kinds of losses and write-downs that even venerable banks and financial institutions in the Western world have faced.
By and large, India has been spared the panic that followed the collapse of banking institutions, such as Fortis in Europe, and Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual in the U.S.
The relative freedom from the contagion spreading from the global tsunami on the Indian financial system owes much to the wise and judicious policies of our central bank and the Government of India.
Discussions on this subject have proceeded on two lines. One is to point out that the Indian banks have taken less risks than their peers abroad. The less risk you take, the more will be safer you are. This, however, begs the question, “Why did the Indian banks take less risks?”
The answer lies in the wise regulations and meticulous supervision by the RBI. At a time when total deregulation was the order of the day in the 90s, Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister authorized a path-breaking study of the Indian financial system by an experienced central banker, M. Narasimham. He had the wisdom to foresee that the financial system had to be placed on a well-regulated basis. Mr. Narasimham’s classic reports gave the policy framework for the Government of India and the RBI to formulate the structure of India’s banks and financial institutions. Mr. Narasimham’s model was based on adequate capitalisation, good provisioning norms and well-structured supervision. Government of India and RBI accepted these recommendations and proceeded to implement them.
What was, indeed, important was that the model did not allow investment banking on the pattern of the American paradigm. In a sense, RBI enforced its own version of the U.S.’ Glass-Steagal Act of 1933, which insulates banks from capital market exposures. The RBI enforced strict capital adequacy requirements and if any financial institution or bank exceeded the specified limits of exposure to stock markets, it would have to provide more capital. This effectively insulated the banks and financial institutions from volatility of the bourses. Enforcement of the above instructions has paid good dividends. Erosion of capital of the banks and financial institutions has been reduced. These exposure limits, however, deserve to be reviewed from time to time.
The RBI must be congratulated for imposing Basel-II norms impartially and in a flexible manner. They have kept it in line with the Indian financial system. Observation of these limits, however difficult it may be in practice, will definitely help the Indian financial system to escape the kind of trouble, which is afflicting the financial system in other countries.
There is another observation, which has to be kept in mind in judging the relative freedom of Indian banking system from the catastrophic mess in the U.S. This is based on the important fact that the Indian banking system is basically owned by the public sector. The State owns many of the banks and financial institutions in the country. There is greater confidence of depositors in a state-owned bank than in a privately-owned bank. This is evident from the fact that in the latest version of the rescue package in the U.S., the government has come forward to infuse capital into distressed banks and financial institutions. Maybe, we can congratulate ourselves that India had already done what Washington is now doing in the midst of the crisis and therefore escaped much of the confidence problems.
Credit is also due to the Government of India and the RBI for having avoided the temptation of total capital convertibility. Had we embarked on total capital convertibility, we would have been exposed to much greater contagion from the current mess than we have been so far. The lesson is that in economic reforms, we have to proceed with caution. Striking the right balance between boldness and caution is where wisdom lies.
A continuing process
It is, however, fair to point out that we should not be complacent in regard to the process of reform. Reform is a continuing process. The latest contribution to the process of reform is a report produced by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, former Counsellor of IMF and at present Professor at Chicago Business School. The report incorporates a number of useful suggestions. Although one may have differences of approach with certain aspects, the report deserves to be examined and implemented to the extent possible to keep the Indian financial system modern and efficient.
In this connection, it is only appropriate to refer to the stabilising role of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in managing the difficult task of regulating our stock markets. Especially, attention has to be drawn to the role of Participatory Notes. In the present context in which private capital from abroad has been responsible for many problems in the Indian stock markets, SEBI must be congratulated for its cautious line on this subject, making appropriate relaxations as needed.
While the RBI is to be congratulated for its cautious and nuanced stance in regard to its regulation, one can argue that its regulation can sometimes be a little bit oriented towards management of banks. Whether it is appropriate for the central bank of a country to decide on where the branch of a bank should be located is a matter for discussion. In a recent debate, Dr. Raghuram Rajan had pointed out that a well-known foreign bank, which had applied for opening its branch in a rural area, was refused permission, notwithstanding the fact that no Indian bank had asked for permission to open a branch in that area. It is perhaps time to put a stop to such management of minutiae by the central bank, which should have its hands full with other more pressing issues.
While the RBI may legitimately pride itself on better regulation than the U.S. Federal Reserve, there are two topics on which it has to follow the example of U.S. Federal Reserve. One is concerning the distribution of profits of the central bank. The U.S. Federal Reserve had a profit of nearly $39 billion in 2006-07 out of which it had transferred $34 billion to the U.S. Treasury. This is in sharp contrast to the behaviour of the RBI, which appropriates the bulk of its profits of nearly Rs.50,000-60,000 crore to the so-called contingency fund and transfers only Rs.10,000 crore to the Government. If the RBI could follow the example of the U.S. Fed in this matter, Mint Street can fix half the fiscal problems of the North Block.
Another issue on which the Federal Reserve offers a good example to follow is regarding the measurement of inflation. U.S. Federal Reserve measures inflation on the basis of consumer price index and not on the basis of wholesale price index. This makes a substantial difference. In the U.S., in the last year the consumer price index increased only by 2 per cent, measured on the basis of what the Fed calls “headline inflation,” excluding fuel and food. Even if the consumer price index including fuel and food is considered in India, the RBI will come out with an inflation of 7 per cent as against the figure of 12 per cent, on the basis of wholesale price index. If we follow the consumer price index in measuring inflation, India can afford to have an interest rate of roughly 5 per cent lower than the one in force at present. This can make a significant difference to the fiscal fortunes and the growth of the Indian economy.
(S. Venkitaramanan is a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.)
World - Pakistan;Between survival & disintegration
Praveen Swami
Pakistan’s army chief has signalled that he intends to rein in the Inter-Services Intelligence. But can he bring about a change in the institution’s strategic vision — and does he want to do so?
“Since the birth of Pakistan,” Zulfikar Ali Bhutto wrote to his daughter in 1978, “crisis has followed crisis in rapid escalation.” He went on: “The nation is gripped in her worst crisis, standing in the middle of the road between survival and disintegration.”
Last month, the chief of army staff, General Parvez Ashfaq Kayani, made the latest of a series of moves to help Pakistan step away from that dangerous place. In a bid to stave off a potentially calamitous confrontation with the United States, he appointed Lieutenant-General Shuja Nawaz Pasha Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
Lt. Gen. Pasha’s predecessor, Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj — a distant relative of the former President Pervez Musharraf — became a focal point of global ire during the year he served as Pakistan’s spymaster. In the U.S., he was seen as the architect of a policy of continued Pakistani support for Islamist terror groups operating in Afghanistan. The U.S. troops responded by initiating cross-border raids into Pakistan, raising the spectre of a full-blown confrontation.
Lt. Gen. Taj’s tenure in the ISI also saw renewed skirmishes along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where an India-Pakistan ceasefire had held since 2002. Afghanistan and India held the ISI responsible for sponsoring the July 7 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, an operation investigators believe Pakistan’s covert service had sub-contracted to the Lashkar-e-Taiba. China, too, is believed to have grown increasingly restive following the ISI’s failure to act against the Taliban after two of its nationals were kidnapped in August.
By appointing Lt. Gen. Pasha, Gen. Kayani has signalled that he intends to rein in the Islamist hardliners in the ISI. But can he bring about a change in the institution’s strategic vision — and does he, in fact, want to do so?
In July, Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani met to discuss how the ISI might be reformed. Mr. Hayden persuaded Mr. Gilani to bring the ISI under the direct control of the Interior Ministry bureaucracy — sparking off a bruising battle between the fledgling political government and the generals. Not surprisingly, the politicians backed off. Predictably, tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border continued to rise, exploding in a series of fire exchange between the Frontier Corps and the U.S. troops.
Last month, Gen. Kayani lashed out at the U.S. for sending commandos into Pakistan, saying his forces would protect the country’s sovereignty “at all costs.” “No external force is allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan,” he said just a day after Asif Ali Zardari refused to condemn the cross-border raids at his first press conference after being sworn in President. Gen. Kayani added: “There is no question of any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border.”
Despite the polemic, it was clear that Pakistan would have to make some changes in the ISI to sustain its relationship with the U.S. Gen. Kayani, significantly, turned to a relatively junior officer, just promoted from Major-General, to head the ISI: a position that, ever since General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq’s years, has been considered more prestigious than commanding a corps.
As DGMO, Lt. Gen. Pasha’s performance was, at best, mixed. He was asked to coordinate operations against the Taliban-linked Tehreek-e-Nifaaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) after it took control of large swathes of the Swat valley last year. Lt. Gen. Pasha turned to the jailed former head of the TNSM, Sufi Mohammad, for help. For a while, it appeared the divide-and-rule tactic had paid off. In January 2008, Lt. Gen. Pasha announced that Pakistani troops had retaken the Swat valley. However, it soon became clear that what the army proclaimed as the TNSM’s defeat was in fact a tactical retreat into the hills. Soon, the Islamist group retook much of Swat — with support, some accounts have it, from the ISI — and a grinding battle still continues.
Lt. Gen. Pasha’s record in Pakistan’s Bajaur area was not dissimilar. In August 2008, operations were ordered against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Again, Lt. Gen. Pasha claimed to have delivered death blows to the Islamist armies, only to see his vanquished enemies regroup with the ISI’s assistance and again take on the Pakistan army and the Frontier Corps.
In practice, this record suggests, Gen. Kayani will be calling the shots in the ISI, which he headed from October 2004 to October 2007. His tenure was less than lustrous, marked by the breaking of the A.Q. Khan nuclear proliferation scandal, the insurgencies in Waziristan and Balochistan, and waves of suicide bombings in Pakistan. Worryingly, it saw a marked escalation of terrorist operations against India, including the 2006 serial bombings in Mumbai.
General Kayani’s Army
Last month’s transfers mark the birth of an army made in Gen. Kayani’s image, dominated by officers he has handpicked. Lt. Gen. Tahir Mehmood now heads the Rawalpindi Corps, considered the third-most important military position in Pakistan, after the Chief of Army Staff and the ISI Director. Pakistan’s Corps at Bahawalpur and Karachi also have new commanders, Lt. Gen. Muhammad Yousaf and Lt. Gen. Shahid Iqbal.
Well before last month’s transfers, a discreet purge of the former President Musharraf’s key aides had begun. Major-General Athar Abbas, whose three brothers are reported to be working in the media, was brought into head the office of Inter-Services Public Relations to smooth the troubled relationship between Pakistan’s feisty press and the General Headquarters. Lahore Corps commander Lt. Gen. Shafaatullah Shah was replaced by Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmad, and Mangla Corps commander Lt. Gen. Sajjad Akram by Lt. Gen. Ijaz Ahmad Bakshi. Brigadier Asim Saleem Bajwa, Gen. Musharraf’s handpicked choice for the Rawalpindi-based 111 Brigade — the formation which has spearheaded each coup in Pakistani history — was replaced by Brigadier Rao Fahim.
Each of these transfers, however, was handled with tact and care, to avoid the appearance of a witch-hunt. Both Lt. Gen. Akram, who was appointed in April 2006, and Lt. Gen. Shah, who was given his command in September 2005, were removed after substantial terms in office. Gen. Kayani personally attended a farewell dinner for Brigadier Bajwa, who was removed from 111 Brigade only after he had been cleared to attend a prestigious training course in the U.S. Lt. Gen. Shah was made Colonel-Commandant of the Baluch Regiment, Gen. Kayani’s parent formation, after having been moved from the Lahore Corps to the GHQ. Major-General Waheed Arshad, who was removed from the ISPR, was made Director-General of Planning at the GHQ, a position previously held by Gen. Musharraf’s close confidants Major-General Khalid Kidwai and Major-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat. He has now been made Vice-Chief of General Staff.
Even Director-General of Military Intelligence Major-General Mian Nadeem Ijaz — a relative of Gen. Musharraf who played a controversial role in the removal of Chief Justice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhury — was given charge of the Bahawalpur-based 26 Mechanised Infantry Division after he had been relieved of his command. The army was at pains to dispel the notion that Gen. Ijaz was being punished for his political misadventure, noting that he had been appointed DGMI in February 2005 and was therefore due to be moved in the normal course.
Gen. Kayani has also reached out to his rank and file. He declared 2008 the Year of the Soldier, frequently visited forward positions and, on one occasion, invited a group of subedar-majors to the army headquarters for a conference on working conditions. Gen. Kayani’s personal background, some believe, has shaped his conduct. The son of a non-commissioned officer, he represents the changing class character of Pakistan’s military command — in particular, the rise of officers from the socially conservative middle and lower-middle class to top leadership positions.
Soon after taking office, Gen. Kayani ordered his officers to sever contact with politicians — a break with the Musharraf era that signalled his hopes of rebuilding an apolitical, professional army. What remains unclear, though, is what vision of Pakistan the institution he is rebuilding will stand for.
Escalation of violence
The army chief hoped to disengage his troops from a gruelling and unpopular counter-terrorism campaign. Instead, the violence in the northwest has escalated. His efforts to purchase peace by reaching an accommodation with Islamists have yielded nothing. Despite the horrific terrorism Pakistan has faced in recent years, its military establishment has chosen not to act against Islamist terror groups operating from its soil —organisations which include not just the Taliban but also the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Lashkar and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami. Few in Pakistan’s military establishment are willing to acknowledge that the urban terrorism in its cities, like the conflicts in the northwest, is the outcome of the state’s long-running use of jihadist terror as an instrument of foreign policy.
No great imagination is needed to see where this unresolved crisis could lead. Back in 1971, just two months after Gen. Kayani was commissioned into the army, civil war led to its decimation. It seemed inconceivable that Pakistan’s future could be anything other than democratic. Just six years later, though, an Islamist military despot overthrew Bhutto, leading the country into a still-unfolding crisis.
Once again, Pakistan is perched between survival and disintegration. Unless Gen. Kayani succeeds in making a decisive break with the past, he will more likely than not be sucked into the political swamps in which his predecessors found themselves mired.
Pakistan’s army chief has signalled that he intends to rein in the Inter-Services Intelligence. But can he bring about a change in the institution’s strategic vision — and does he want to do so?
“Since the birth of Pakistan,” Zulfikar Ali Bhutto wrote to his daughter in 1978, “crisis has followed crisis in rapid escalation.” He went on: “The nation is gripped in her worst crisis, standing in the middle of the road between survival and disintegration.”
Last month, the chief of army staff, General Parvez Ashfaq Kayani, made the latest of a series of moves to help Pakistan step away from that dangerous place. In a bid to stave off a potentially calamitous confrontation with the United States, he appointed Lieutenant-General Shuja Nawaz Pasha Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
Lt. Gen. Pasha’s predecessor, Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj — a distant relative of the former President Pervez Musharraf — became a focal point of global ire during the year he served as Pakistan’s spymaster. In the U.S., he was seen as the architect of a policy of continued Pakistani support for Islamist terror groups operating in Afghanistan. The U.S. troops responded by initiating cross-border raids into Pakistan, raising the spectre of a full-blown confrontation.
Lt. Gen. Taj’s tenure in the ISI also saw renewed skirmishes along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, where an India-Pakistan ceasefire had held since 2002. Afghanistan and India held the ISI responsible for sponsoring the July 7 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, an operation investigators believe Pakistan’s covert service had sub-contracted to the Lashkar-e-Taiba. China, too, is believed to have grown increasingly restive following the ISI’s failure to act against the Taliban after two of its nationals were kidnapped in August.
By appointing Lt. Gen. Pasha, Gen. Kayani has signalled that he intends to rein in the Islamist hardliners in the ISI. But can he bring about a change in the institution’s strategic vision — and does he, in fact, want to do so?
In July, Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani met to discuss how the ISI might be reformed. Mr. Hayden persuaded Mr. Gilani to bring the ISI under the direct control of the Interior Ministry bureaucracy — sparking off a bruising battle between the fledgling political government and the generals. Not surprisingly, the politicians backed off. Predictably, tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border continued to rise, exploding in a series of fire exchange between the Frontier Corps and the U.S. troops.
Last month, Gen. Kayani lashed out at the U.S. for sending commandos into Pakistan, saying his forces would protect the country’s sovereignty “at all costs.” “No external force is allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan,” he said just a day after Asif Ali Zardari refused to condemn the cross-border raids at his first press conference after being sworn in President. Gen. Kayani added: “There is no question of any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border.”
Despite the polemic, it was clear that Pakistan would have to make some changes in the ISI to sustain its relationship with the U.S. Gen. Kayani, significantly, turned to a relatively junior officer, just promoted from Major-General, to head the ISI: a position that, ever since General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq’s years, has been considered more prestigious than commanding a corps.
As DGMO, Lt. Gen. Pasha’s performance was, at best, mixed. He was asked to coordinate operations against the Taliban-linked Tehreek-e-Nifaaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) after it took control of large swathes of the Swat valley last year. Lt. Gen. Pasha turned to the jailed former head of the TNSM, Sufi Mohammad, for help. For a while, it appeared the divide-and-rule tactic had paid off. In January 2008, Lt. Gen. Pasha announced that Pakistani troops had retaken the Swat valley. However, it soon became clear that what the army proclaimed as the TNSM’s defeat was in fact a tactical retreat into the hills. Soon, the Islamist group retook much of Swat — with support, some accounts have it, from the ISI — and a grinding battle still continues.
Lt. Gen. Pasha’s record in Pakistan’s Bajaur area was not dissimilar. In August 2008, operations were ordered against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Again, Lt. Gen. Pasha claimed to have delivered death blows to the Islamist armies, only to see his vanquished enemies regroup with the ISI’s assistance and again take on the Pakistan army and the Frontier Corps.
In practice, this record suggests, Gen. Kayani will be calling the shots in the ISI, which he headed from October 2004 to October 2007. His tenure was less than lustrous, marked by the breaking of the A.Q. Khan nuclear proliferation scandal, the insurgencies in Waziristan and Balochistan, and waves of suicide bombings in Pakistan. Worryingly, it saw a marked escalation of terrorist operations against India, including the 2006 serial bombings in Mumbai.
General Kayani’s Army
Last month’s transfers mark the birth of an army made in Gen. Kayani’s image, dominated by officers he has handpicked. Lt. Gen. Tahir Mehmood now heads the Rawalpindi Corps, considered the third-most important military position in Pakistan, after the Chief of Army Staff and the ISI Director. Pakistan’s Corps at Bahawalpur and Karachi also have new commanders, Lt. Gen. Muhammad Yousaf and Lt. Gen. Shahid Iqbal.
Well before last month’s transfers, a discreet purge of the former President Musharraf’s key aides had begun. Major-General Athar Abbas, whose three brothers are reported to be working in the media, was brought into head the office of Inter-Services Public Relations to smooth the troubled relationship between Pakistan’s feisty press and the General Headquarters. Lahore Corps commander Lt. Gen. Shafaatullah Shah was replaced by Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmad, and Mangla Corps commander Lt. Gen. Sajjad Akram by Lt. Gen. Ijaz Ahmad Bakshi. Brigadier Asim Saleem Bajwa, Gen. Musharraf’s handpicked choice for the Rawalpindi-based 111 Brigade — the formation which has spearheaded each coup in Pakistani history — was replaced by Brigadier Rao Fahim.
Each of these transfers, however, was handled with tact and care, to avoid the appearance of a witch-hunt. Both Lt. Gen. Akram, who was appointed in April 2006, and Lt. Gen. Shah, who was given his command in September 2005, were removed after substantial terms in office. Gen. Kayani personally attended a farewell dinner for Brigadier Bajwa, who was removed from 111 Brigade only after he had been cleared to attend a prestigious training course in the U.S. Lt. Gen. Shah was made Colonel-Commandant of the Baluch Regiment, Gen. Kayani’s parent formation, after having been moved from the Lahore Corps to the GHQ. Major-General Waheed Arshad, who was removed from the ISPR, was made Director-General of Planning at the GHQ, a position previously held by Gen. Musharraf’s close confidants Major-General Khalid Kidwai and Major-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat. He has now been made Vice-Chief of General Staff.
Even Director-General of Military Intelligence Major-General Mian Nadeem Ijaz — a relative of Gen. Musharraf who played a controversial role in the removal of Chief Justice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhury — was given charge of the Bahawalpur-based 26 Mechanised Infantry Division after he had been relieved of his command. The army was at pains to dispel the notion that Gen. Ijaz was being punished for his political misadventure, noting that he had been appointed DGMI in February 2005 and was therefore due to be moved in the normal course.
Gen. Kayani has also reached out to his rank and file. He declared 2008 the Year of the Soldier, frequently visited forward positions and, on one occasion, invited a group of subedar-majors to the army headquarters for a conference on working conditions. Gen. Kayani’s personal background, some believe, has shaped his conduct. The son of a non-commissioned officer, he represents the changing class character of Pakistan’s military command — in particular, the rise of officers from the socially conservative middle and lower-middle class to top leadership positions.
Soon after taking office, Gen. Kayani ordered his officers to sever contact with politicians — a break with the Musharraf era that signalled his hopes of rebuilding an apolitical, professional army. What remains unclear, though, is what vision of Pakistan the institution he is rebuilding will stand for.
Escalation of violence
The army chief hoped to disengage his troops from a gruelling and unpopular counter-terrorism campaign. Instead, the violence in the northwest has escalated. His efforts to purchase peace by reaching an accommodation with Islamists have yielded nothing. Despite the horrific terrorism Pakistan has faced in recent years, its military establishment has chosen not to act against Islamist terror groups operating from its soil —organisations which include not just the Taliban but also the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Lashkar and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami. Few in Pakistan’s military establishment are willing to acknowledge that the urban terrorism in its cities, like the conflicts in the northwest, is the outcome of the state’s long-running use of jihadist terror as an instrument of foreign policy.
No great imagination is needed to see where this unresolved crisis could lead. Back in 1971, just two months after Gen. Kayani was commissioned into the army, civil war led to its decimation. It seemed inconceivable that Pakistan’s future could be anything other than democratic. Just six years later, though, an Islamist military despot overthrew Bhutto, leading the country into a still-unfolding crisis.
Once again, Pakistan is perched between survival and disintegration. Unless Gen. Kayani succeeds in making a decisive break with the past, he will more likely than not be sucked into the political swamps in which his predecessors found themselves mired.
World -Srilanka;What needs to be done
The global financial crisis has spawned a new term that is fast acquiring the status of a cliché — ‘bailout package.’ Now attempts are on, internationally and in Tamil Nadu, to craft a bailout package for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Just what kind of political animal is the LTTE? The answer is straightforward. It is a dreaded terrorist organisation — described by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as “amongst the most dangerous and deadly extremist outfits in the world” — that claims to be the sole representative of Sri Lankan Tamils and pursues the secessionist goal of ‘Tamil Eelam’ in an uncompromising way. What is its present situation? For all its success in building, over time, low-intensity fighting capabilities that are the envy of extremist and terrorist organisations the world over, the LTTE has taken a military battering as never before. Every credible independent assessment indicates that it faces a crisis of depleted infrastructure, combat strength, and morale, and has dug itself into a deep hole in its eroding strongholds in Mullaithivu and Killinochchi districts in the mainland North.
The terrorist crimes and atrocities of Velupillai Prabakaran’s organisation are too well known to detail here. Suffice it to note that its extremist character is expressed by the fact that it has rejected, out of court, every worthwhile proposal for devolution of power to the Tamil regions within a united Sri Lanka. Following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on Indian soil by an LTTE squad in May 1991, India became the first country to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organisation — whose supremo, Prabakaran, continues to be wanted as Accused No. 1 in the Rajiv assassination case. Since the Indian proscription, nearly 30 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, the European Union, Canada, and Australia, have banned or listed the LTTE as a terrorist organisation.
For several years now, some small political parties and fringe groups in Tamil Nadu have been involved in ineffective chauvinistic propaganda and activities to enable the LTTE to stage a political comeback in India. They got no political purchase for the simple reason that the overwhelming majority of the people of Tamil Nadu, something like 95 per cent, did not want a reprise of the secessionist campaigns and violent activities of the Tamil Tigers in one of India’s most peaceful States. Now several mainstream parties that have no love lost for the LTTE found themselves taking a strident stand on the Sri Lankan Tamil question. In six resolutions adopted at a recent all-party meeting chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, they alleged ‘ethnic genocide’ and issued an ultimatum to the Central government to provide humanitarian assistance to the Tamils (through international agencies such as the Red Cross), cease all military assistance to the Sri Lankan government, and bring about a ceasefire within two weeks — or else all Tamil Nadu MPs would resign, presumably bringing the United Progressive Alliance regime down with them.
Official and political India must avoid a serious conceptual trap: equating the politico-military crisis of the LTTE with an existential crisis for Sri Lankan Tamils. For political parties in Tamil Nadu, expressing concern over, and putting their best foot forward to help resolve, the humanitarian crisis created by the military conflict in the Wanni would be the just and proportionate response. Giving moral support for a political solution along federal lines within a united Sri Lanka will also be consistent with the long-term thrust of Indian policy towards Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. The humanitarian crisis in the Wanni is defined by the plight of an estimated 230,000 displaced people and a large number of civilians affected by the recent battles. Reaching food, medicines, fuel, and other essential goods to them in the zone of low-intensity conflict is a major challenge. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, responding to humanitarian concerns raised in Sri Lanka, internationally, and by India in an October 6 démarche, has promised to overcome the practical obstacles and reiterated (in a telephonic interview to The Hindu) his assurance that “all hardships faced temporarily by our brothers and sisters in the North will be brought to an end in a short time.” The military has charged the LTTE with using civilians as ‘human shields.’
On September 1, the Sri Lankan government proposed a ‘humanitarian corridor’ to enable civilians trapped in battle zones to flee from the Tiger-held territories. Conflict-generated problems have cropped up in coordinating the relief work with United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The U.N. recently announced that a major World Food Programme convoy carrying 750 tonnes of food, which attempted to go into the Wanni, was “forced to turn back due to fighting” and that it would seek “renewed security assurances from the two sides before attempting the route again” soon. This is the kind of humanitarian situation where India’s developed logistical capabilities, combined with substantial fraternal contributions of food, medicine, and fuel, can make a real difference, as was splendidly demonstrated in Sri Lanka in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. The Tamil Nadu government and political parties can make a handsome contribution to such a timely humanitarian project. It goes without saying that India’s assistance to the Tamils must be routed through the Sri Lankan government and coordinated with the U.N. and reliable international NGOs
The terrorist crimes and atrocities of Velupillai Prabakaran’s organisation are too well known to detail here. Suffice it to note that its extremist character is expressed by the fact that it has rejected, out of court, every worthwhile proposal for devolution of power to the Tamil regions within a united Sri Lanka. Following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on Indian soil by an LTTE squad in May 1991, India became the first country to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organisation — whose supremo, Prabakaran, continues to be wanted as Accused No. 1 in the Rajiv assassination case. Since the Indian proscription, nearly 30 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, the European Union, Canada, and Australia, have banned or listed the LTTE as a terrorist organisation.
For several years now, some small political parties and fringe groups in Tamil Nadu have been involved in ineffective chauvinistic propaganda and activities to enable the LTTE to stage a political comeback in India. They got no political purchase for the simple reason that the overwhelming majority of the people of Tamil Nadu, something like 95 per cent, did not want a reprise of the secessionist campaigns and violent activities of the Tamil Tigers in one of India’s most peaceful States. Now several mainstream parties that have no love lost for the LTTE found themselves taking a strident stand on the Sri Lankan Tamil question. In six resolutions adopted at a recent all-party meeting chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, they alleged ‘ethnic genocide’ and issued an ultimatum to the Central government to provide humanitarian assistance to the Tamils (through international agencies such as the Red Cross), cease all military assistance to the Sri Lankan government, and bring about a ceasefire within two weeks — or else all Tamil Nadu MPs would resign, presumably bringing the United Progressive Alliance regime down with them.
Official and political India must avoid a serious conceptual trap: equating the politico-military crisis of the LTTE with an existential crisis for Sri Lankan Tamils. For political parties in Tamil Nadu, expressing concern over, and putting their best foot forward to help resolve, the humanitarian crisis created by the military conflict in the Wanni would be the just and proportionate response. Giving moral support for a political solution along federal lines within a united Sri Lanka will also be consistent with the long-term thrust of Indian policy towards Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict. The humanitarian crisis in the Wanni is defined by the plight of an estimated 230,000 displaced people and a large number of civilians affected by the recent battles. Reaching food, medicines, fuel, and other essential goods to them in the zone of low-intensity conflict is a major challenge. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, responding to humanitarian concerns raised in Sri Lanka, internationally, and by India in an October 6 démarche, has promised to overcome the practical obstacles and reiterated (in a telephonic interview to The Hindu) his assurance that “all hardships faced temporarily by our brothers and sisters in the North will be brought to an end in a short time.” The military has charged the LTTE with using civilians as ‘human shields.’
On September 1, the Sri Lankan government proposed a ‘humanitarian corridor’ to enable civilians trapped in battle zones to flee from the Tiger-held territories. Conflict-generated problems have cropped up in coordinating the relief work with United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The U.N. recently announced that a major World Food Programme convoy carrying 750 tonnes of food, which attempted to go into the Wanni, was “forced to turn back due to fighting” and that it would seek “renewed security assurances from the two sides before attempting the route again” soon. This is the kind of humanitarian situation where India’s developed logistical capabilities, combined with substantial fraternal contributions of food, medicine, and fuel, can make a real difference, as was splendidly demonstrated in Sri Lanka in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. The Tamil Nadu government and political parties can make a handsome contribution to such a timely humanitarian project. It goes without saying that India’s assistance to the Tamils must be routed through the Sri Lankan government and coordinated with the U.N. and reliable international NGOs
World - "Coded" messages through child abuse sites
Hasan Suroor
LONDON: British security experts have claimed that Muslim extremists might be using child pornography sites to exchange secret coded messages and groom potential terrorists.
The Times on Friday reported them as saying they had been able to establish a “link” between suspected terrorists and “hardcore child pornography” after discovering images of child abuse on computers seized from the homes of alleged jihadis.
“Officers have noted that child sex abuse images have been found during investigations in some of the most advanced suspected [terror] plots….It is not clear whether the terrorists were more interested in the material for personal gratification or were drawn to child porn networks as a secure means of sending messages.” It said in one case 40,000 such images were found.
Security experts were said to be puzzled by the “contradiction” between religious fundamentalists and their use of pornography as a medium for their campaign.
“It shows that these people are very confused. Here, they are hating Western decadence but actually making use of it and finding they enjoy this stuff,” one unnamed security source was reported as saying.
Baroness Neville-Jones, former chairperson of the Joint Intelligence Committee and now the Tory spokesperson on security, said the claims provided “useful insight” into the methods used by extremists and called for further research.
A spokesman of the joint parliamentary committee on human rights called it an “important development”. “It could become a very important weapon in the fight against terrorism,” said Andrew Dismore, Labour MP who chairs the committee.
LONDON: British security experts have claimed that Muslim extremists might be using child pornography sites to exchange secret coded messages and groom potential terrorists.
The Times on Friday reported them as saying they had been able to establish a “link” between suspected terrorists and “hardcore child pornography” after discovering images of child abuse on computers seized from the homes of alleged jihadis.
“Officers have noted that child sex abuse images have been found during investigations in some of the most advanced suspected [terror] plots….It is not clear whether the terrorists were more interested in the material for personal gratification or were drawn to child porn networks as a secure means of sending messages.” It said in one case 40,000 such images were found.
Security experts were said to be puzzled by the “contradiction” between religious fundamentalists and their use of pornography as a medium for their campaign.
“It shows that these people are very confused. Here, they are hating Western decadence but actually making use of it and finding they enjoy this stuff,” one unnamed security source was reported as saying.
Baroness Neville-Jones, former chairperson of the Joint Intelligence Committee and now the Tory spokesperson on security, said the claims provided “useful insight” into the methods used by extremists and called for further research.
A spokesman of the joint parliamentary committee on human rights called it an “important development”. “It could become a very important weapon in the fight against terrorism,” said Andrew Dismore, Labour MP who chairs the committee.
India - Double cylinder LPG freeze to go
Sujay Mehdudia
Wait list to be wiped out by month-end
NEW DELHI: Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey has asked Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to prepare an action plan to end the freeze on new double cylinder LPG connections and promised to eliminate the waiting list by the end of this month.
“I have asked the OMCs to come out with a proper plan and time frame under which the “freeze” on release of double LPG cylinders will be put to an end. People will soon start getting double cylinder connections also as we are in the process of working out a proper plan to ensure that the scheme takes off smoothly. We are committed to increasing the interface between the OMCs and the crores of consumers and ensure they do not face any agony or harassment,” Mr. Pandey said here on Thursday. At the same time, he said his promise of completely eliminating the waiting list for LPG cylinders within 90 days time would soon be realised.
“We had a waiting list of 8 lakh connections two months ago and it has been now reduced to one lakh. This will also be eliminated at the end of this month. We will ensure that people get their LPG connections and petro products during this festive season,” he said.
The Ministry, he added, had taken steps to ensure that LPG and petro product consumers faced no shortage. Mr. Pandey said although the sector had the largest public interaction, the citizen satisfaction was minuscule.
He has also reviewed the plans of the OMCs for adopting Euro IV norms and the companies were confident that they would be able to meet the deadline.
Wait list to be wiped out by month-end
NEW DELHI: Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey has asked Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to prepare an action plan to end the freeze on new double cylinder LPG connections and promised to eliminate the waiting list by the end of this month.
“I have asked the OMCs to come out with a proper plan and time frame under which the “freeze” on release of double LPG cylinders will be put to an end. People will soon start getting double cylinder connections also as we are in the process of working out a proper plan to ensure that the scheme takes off smoothly. We are committed to increasing the interface between the OMCs and the crores of consumers and ensure they do not face any agony or harassment,” Mr. Pandey said here on Thursday. At the same time, he said his promise of completely eliminating the waiting list for LPG cylinders within 90 days time would soon be realised.
“We had a waiting list of 8 lakh connections two months ago and it has been now reduced to one lakh. This will also be eliminated at the end of this month. We will ensure that people get their LPG connections and petro products during this festive season,” he said.
The Ministry, he added, had taken steps to ensure that LPG and petro product consumers faced no shortage. Mr. Pandey said although the sector had the largest public interaction, the citizen satisfaction was minuscule.
He has also reviewed the plans of the OMCs for adopting Euro IV norms and the companies were confident that they would be able to meet the deadline.
World - Longest Insect Discovered
London: Nearly the length of a human arm, a stick bug from Borneo is the world’s longest insect, said British scientists.
The specimen was found by a local villager and handed to Malaysian amateur naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun in 1989, according to Philip Bragg. The insect was named Phobaeticus chani, or “Chan’s megastick,” in Mr. Chan’s honour.
Paul Brock, a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum in London unconnected to the animal’s discovery said there was no doubt it was the longest extant insect ever found. Looking more like a solid shoot of bamboo than its smaller, frailer cousins, the dull-green insect measures about 56.7 cm, if its delicate, twig-like legs are counted. There are 35.7 cm from the tip of its head to the bottom of its abdomen, beating the previous record body length, held by Phobaeticus kirbyi, also from Borneo, by about 2.9 cm. ”Their main defense is basically hanging around, looking like a twig,” Brock said. ”It will even sway in the wind.”
Stick bugs, also known as phasmids, have some of the animal kingdom’s cleverest camouflage. Though some phasmids use noxious sprays or prickly spines to deter their predators, generally the bugs assume the shape of sticks and leaves to avoid drawing attention.For Mr. Bragg, the discovery showed the urgency of conservation work. — AP
The specimen was found by a local villager and handed to Malaysian amateur naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun in 1989, according to Philip Bragg. The insect was named Phobaeticus chani, or “Chan’s megastick,” in Mr. Chan’s honour.
Paul Brock, a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum in London unconnected to the animal’s discovery said there was no doubt it was the longest extant insect ever found. Looking more like a solid shoot of bamboo than its smaller, frailer cousins, the dull-green insect measures about 56.7 cm, if its delicate, twig-like legs are counted. There are 35.7 cm from the tip of its head to the bottom of its abdomen, beating the previous record body length, held by Phobaeticus kirbyi, also from Borneo, by about 2.9 cm. ”Their main defense is basically hanging around, looking like a twig,” Brock said. ”It will even sway in the wind.”
Stick bugs, also known as phasmids, have some of the animal kingdom’s cleverest camouflage. Though some phasmids use noxious sprays or prickly spines to deter their predators, generally the bugs assume the shape of sticks and leaves to avoid drawing attention.For Mr. Bragg, the discovery showed the urgency of conservation work. — AP
Sports - Cricket;Focus was on team's needs;Sachin
Mohali: Sachin Tendulkar said it was the team’s requirement and not records that mattered more to him.
Speaking to the press after his record-breaking effort here on Friday, Tendulkar noted, “My focus was on the team’s needs. Probably the thought about records is there in the sub-conscious mind since everybody keeps talking about them. But I have never played for records.”
However, he admitted to a quiet sense of satisfaction after becoming the first man to surpass 12,000 Test runs. “But I am happy about reaching the mark. It reflects my contribution to Indian cricket over the past 19 years.
“I am happy with what I have been able to achieve for the country. It’s not my record. It’s a record by an Indian. It’s a record for India,” he said.
Ups and downs
Talking about his long and enduring cricketing career, Tendulkar said “It has been a fantastic journey. It has not been about success alone. There have been ups and downs. “It’s the cycle of life. You learn and you evolve. Success is a process during a bigger journey. I have worked on the positives with great support from my family.”
He spoke about enjoying the game and not playing under any pressure. “When I started as a 16-year-old, there were no targets. I just enjoyed the game. I continue to do so. It is so important to enjoy the game.”
Queried about what went through his mind when he looked into the sun after setting a major batting record, Tendulkar revealed, “It was for two things. Firstly, I thanked the almighty. Then, I remembered my father. Had he been alive, he would have been a happy man today.”
Commenting on selection panel chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s observation that he should continue representing India for at least three more years, Tendulkar said, “Yes, I will continue to play. I am feeling good. It’s for me to decide when I should stop.
“Nobody can tell me that. Some people have certain views and opinions. They may not always be right. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. What matters more to me is the atmosphere in the dressing room and on the ground.
“And how we plan with the captain, the coach and the manager.”
Nice coincidence
Tendulkar said it was a nice coincidence that Srikkanth, his first captain in Tests, was the chairman of the selection panel when he became the highest run-getter in Test cricket.
Asked about the innings he recollected in an eventful career, he replied, “I remember my first hundred in England in 1990. It was an important innings for the team. Then I recall my hundreds in Sydney and Perth in 1992.
“They were two Test innings played in different conditions. The pitch in Sydney was slightly slow. The one in Perth had pace, bounce and movement. Those two innings gave me a lot of confidence.”
Tendulkar spoke about his time in the middle with Sourav Ganguly here on Friday. “We decided to keep our concentration going after the long fireworks display. Sourav reminded me of the fact that he was my partner when I scored my 35th Test hundred in Delhi. It was nice batting with him.”
He called the Indian captain Anil Kumble, “the greatest Indian bowler and someone with a big heart.” On the course the second Test could take, Tendulkar said, “The pitch is on the slower side. We need a big partnership tomorrow to move into a stable position.”
Speaking to the press after his record-breaking effort here on Friday, Tendulkar noted, “My focus was on the team’s needs. Probably the thought about records is there in the sub-conscious mind since everybody keeps talking about them. But I have never played for records.”
However, he admitted to a quiet sense of satisfaction after becoming the first man to surpass 12,000 Test runs. “But I am happy about reaching the mark. It reflects my contribution to Indian cricket over the past 19 years.
“I am happy with what I have been able to achieve for the country. It’s not my record. It’s a record by an Indian. It’s a record for India,” he said.
Ups and downs
Talking about his long and enduring cricketing career, Tendulkar said “It has been a fantastic journey. It has not been about success alone. There have been ups and downs. “It’s the cycle of life. You learn and you evolve. Success is a process during a bigger journey. I have worked on the positives with great support from my family.”
He spoke about enjoying the game and not playing under any pressure. “When I started as a 16-year-old, there were no targets. I just enjoyed the game. I continue to do so. It is so important to enjoy the game.”
Queried about what went through his mind when he looked into the sun after setting a major batting record, Tendulkar revealed, “It was for two things. Firstly, I thanked the almighty. Then, I remembered my father. Had he been alive, he would have been a happy man today.”
Commenting on selection panel chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s observation that he should continue representing India for at least three more years, Tendulkar said, “Yes, I will continue to play. I am feeling good. It’s for me to decide when I should stop.
“Nobody can tell me that. Some people have certain views and opinions. They may not always be right. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. What matters more to me is the atmosphere in the dressing room and on the ground.
“And how we plan with the captain, the coach and the manager.”
Nice coincidence
Tendulkar said it was a nice coincidence that Srikkanth, his first captain in Tests, was the chairman of the selection panel when he became the highest run-getter in Test cricket.
Asked about the innings he recollected in an eventful career, he replied, “I remember my first hundred in England in 1990. It was an important innings for the team. Then I recall my hundreds in Sydney and Perth in 1992.
“They were two Test innings played in different conditions. The pitch in Sydney was slightly slow. The one in Perth had pace, bounce and movement. Those two innings gave me a lot of confidence.”
Tendulkar spoke about his time in the middle with Sourav Ganguly here on Friday. “We decided to keep our concentration going after the long fireworks display. Sourav reminded me of the fact that he was my partner when I scored my 35th Test hundred in Delhi. It was nice batting with him.”
He called the Indian captain Anil Kumble, “the greatest Indian bowler and someone with a big heart.” On the course the second Test could take, Tendulkar said, “The pitch is on the slower side. We need a big partnership tomorrow to move into a stable position.”
Sports Columnists - Peter Roebuck on Sachin
For 19 years Tendulkar has inspired his countrymen, writes Peter Roebuck
Sachin Tendulkar is an extraordinary cricketer whose durability and skill have for many ears uplifted his country’s cricket team. Now he holds the game’s most prized batting record. It has been a magnificent, underestimated achievement. Ever since he first appeared as precocious teenager Tendulkar has known nothing except exorbitant expectations.
It is no small thing to become public property at 16. Nor has there been any hiding place. Not for sportsman the luxury of private studios. Every time he leaves his home it is an appearance; he loves swanky cars but can drive only in the dead of night. It is against this background that his career must be judged.
Spirit still intact
Remarkably, Tendulkar has managed to retain his health and reputation through it all. His body might be complaining but his spirit endures and he seems immune to stress and sickness.
During the course of his tumultuous career Don Bradman suffered several serious setbacks. Tendulkar has even managed to retain a semblance of normality in his life, a wife, children who tease him and egg him on, friends, a restaurant, and the same smile.
Throughout there has been something in Tendulkar that set him apart. Partly it is the purity of his style. From the outset he could bat in the classical way. Contemporaries insist that he was not taught the game; it came from within, like an underground spring.
From the outset it has merely been a matter of correcting the bad habits that creep in the moment the brain sleeps. His strokes are played with a bat somehow broader and straighter than any other, and his feet seem to move effortlessly into position.
Country’s hero
But it goes beyond facts and figures, style, sportsmanship, or else others could join him in his acclaim. Tendulkar has been the hero his country needed. Indians spend billions of dollars every year trying to lighten their skins. Advertisements for the appropriate creams are shown between overs. India knows that its film stars have not crossed cultural lines.
Booker prize winners cannot inspire a nation half as well as the sight of a demonstrably Asian boy repeatedly cracking feared bowling around. It was his combination of aggression and productivity that defined him. And he has been untarnished by scandal.
For 19 years Tendulkar has inspired his countrymen. Supporters cherish his introductory masterpieces, daring and almost cheeky, his hundreds scored in adversity, and his later more restrained efforts. It is idiotic to expect a man to be the same at 36 as at 16.
Superb strokes
They remember his superb strokes, resounding straight drives, hooks and the back-foot punches past point that tells him everything is in its proper place, and his duels with Wasim Akram, Shane Warne and Brett Lee.
Accordingly it is fitting that he should become Test cricket’s highest scorer. Ordinarily the number of runs a player scores is not regarded as definitive. Apart from skill, the amassing of vast career tallies requires an ability to avoid injury, war and whim. But runs are hard-earned in Test cricket besides which longevity can be as much a bane as a boon.
All the more reason to respect this record for it tells a tale of many things, the boy who grew up before our eyes, the batsman who survived everything the bowlers or life could send his way.
Tendulkar may be in decline but he has been a constant champion for 19 years. He has had more on his shoulders than any contemporary and has managed to remain intact. Oh yes and he has scored a few runs along the way, and given immense pleasure to millions of people, Indian and otherwise.
Sachin Tendulkar is an extraordinary cricketer whose durability and skill have for many ears uplifted his country’s cricket team. Now he holds the game’s most prized batting record. It has been a magnificent, underestimated achievement. Ever since he first appeared as precocious teenager Tendulkar has known nothing except exorbitant expectations.
It is no small thing to become public property at 16. Nor has there been any hiding place. Not for sportsman the luxury of private studios. Every time he leaves his home it is an appearance; he loves swanky cars but can drive only in the dead of night. It is against this background that his career must be judged.
Spirit still intact
Remarkably, Tendulkar has managed to retain his health and reputation through it all. His body might be complaining but his spirit endures and he seems immune to stress and sickness.
During the course of his tumultuous career Don Bradman suffered several serious setbacks. Tendulkar has even managed to retain a semblance of normality in his life, a wife, children who tease him and egg him on, friends, a restaurant, and the same smile.
Throughout there has been something in Tendulkar that set him apart. Partly it is the purity of his style. From the outset he could bat in the classical way. Contemporaries insist that he was not taught the game; it came from within, like an underground spring.
From the outset it has merely been a matter of correcting the bad habits that creep in the moment the brain sleeps. His strokes are played with a bat somehow broader and straighter than any other, and his feet seem to move effortlessly into position.
Country’s hero
But it goes beyond facts and figures, style, sportsmanship, or else others could join him in his acclaim. Tendulkar has been the hero his country needed. Indians spend billions of dollars every year trying to lighten their skins. Advertisements for the appropriate creams are shown between overs. India knows that its film stars have not crossed cultural lines.
Booker prize winners cannot inspire a nation half as well as the sight of a demonstrably Asian boy repeatedly cracking feared bowling around. It was his combination of aggression and productivity that defined him. And he has been untarnished by scandal.
For 19 years Tendulkar has inspired his countrymen. Supporters cherish his introductory masterpieces, daring and almost cheeky, his hundreds scored in adversity, and his later more restrained efforts. It is idiotic to expect a man to be the same at 36 as at 16.
Superb strokes
They remember his superb strokes, resounding straight drives, hooks and the back-foot punches past point that tells him everything is in its proper place, and his duels with Wasim Akram, Shane Warne and Brett Lee.
Accordingly it is fitting that he should become Test cricket’s highest scorer. Ordinarily the number of runs a player scores is not regarded as definitive. Apart from skill, the amassing of vast career tallies requires an ability to avoid injury, war and whim. But runs are hard-earned in Test cricket besides which longevity can be as much a bane as a boon.
All the more reason to respect this record for it tells a tale of many things, the boy who grew up before our eyes, the batsman who survived everything the bowlers or life could send his way.
Tendulkar may be in decline but he has been a constant champion for 19 years. He has had more on his shoulders than any contemporary and has managed to remain intact. Oh yes and he has scored a few runs along the way, and given immense pleasure to millions of people, Indian and otherwise.
Mktg - India;Time for a brand makeover ?
Nirmal John & G Seetharaman
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee. And when brand marketers sit together sipping coffee, the result is stimulating conversation. Four brand mavericks — K V Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett; Girish Shah, head-branding, Reliance ADAG; Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, and Dheeraj Sinha, chief strategy officer, Bates 141 - visited the DNA office for coffee and conversation. Our topic of discussion was one that’s been brewing in the Indian brandscape since the last one year. Rebranding. Logo changes. Repositioning. Excerpts:
. Mumbai
Now really, think about it. The last time you heard a company say, “We’ve changed!” and present its newly designed logo, you might have thought “Oh, not one more company ….”
Your impression is understandable. In the recent past, several companies - Reliance ADAG, Ceat - and several public sector banks such as Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank have tried to shed their old-school image and come up with swankier brand imagery. But is that where the rebranding stops?
The consumer, as many advertising guys say, has a nasty habit of changing. Brands now want to keep up with him - his expectations, his aspirations at whatever cost. Marketers say rebranding is also about renovation in work cultures, processes, customer service and business approach. Is that really happening?
Brands have such a rare ability to make a silent yet lasting intrusion into our consciousness, and this magnetism causes companies to ensure that customers identify with brands rather than mere products.
It’s also why organisations want to give a new life to their brands in the name of ‘rebranding’ when the power to keep attracting the imagination of people starts slacking off.
What does rebranding involve? How do you ensure it works? And who needs rebranding?
Our panelists were critical on the cosmetic nature of certain rebranding exercises. K V Sridhar said rebranding entails much more. “There are two things you must do: You must change so that you can offer something to people and then you need to connect and communicate with them.”
Harish Bijoor, took it one step further to the need for rebranding to have two dimensions - internal rebranding and external rebranding. “There is an eastern ethos, which says, change the internal first and then the external. The western ethos is the other way round. The latter does not work in rebranding.” Citing the example of Bank of Baroda’s rebranding, he said if the employees of the bank have not changed the way they approach the customers, then rebranding is bound to fail.
Dheeraj Sinha was of the view that there is no need to overhaul a brand as long as the core proposition remains strong. “Things like Ayurveda still appeal, people only want it packaged better,” he said. At the same time, there is a distinction between rebranding and refreshing a brand.
So what is the need for tweaking brands?
Ultimately, rebranding is a function of the need to identify with the world and the changes in the way people lead their life. And this goes beyond products. Sinha said celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar are examples of brands that have undergone a metamorphosis as a result of the fact that the relevance for what they stood for, was lost.
Girish Shah stressed that brands cannot stand in isolation. “The Indian citizen has rebranded himself and he is now a citizen of the world. Value systems have changed.”
Rebranding activities should be personalised at the CEO level and cascade down to the rest, he added.
Sinha said clients often sense the symptoms and come to their advertising agencies looking for prescriptions. The critical thing that constitutes the mad rush to rebrand is the kind of change we have seen in the past 10 years. With changing times, it is imperative that brands change for the youth. “The generational change is not just about the youth.
Even the 60-year-olds want their banks to not look fuddy-duddy,” Sinha said. This would explain why PSU banks are queuing up at the rebranding counter.
But Amul, Cadbury, Air India, Dettol, LIC have stood the test of time...
This means rebranding is not a good thing for everybody. In the last 6 years, Bijoor himself has come across 23 rebranding enquiries and discouraged seven of them from rebranding. “The best thing to do for some brands is to do nothing. At times everyone does not need a contemporary feel. People look for trust in the brand.”
Sridhar pointed out the example of Air India’s Maharaja. “Maharaja is a representation of the country as it was. There are people who are comfortable only with Air India.
People want to belong when they are on board a flight. They might want to chew paan while travelling first class on Air India. Sophistication, which say an airline like Jet Airways offers, actually puts them off.”
No wonder, then, the panel agreed that it is a matter of pride that Air India survived even in the thick of times, when legendary carriers like Pan Am, Sabina and TWA have all gone bust.
Retaining branding through mergers and acquisitions...
The consolidation in the airline industry is an example in point. Say, when the no-frills carrier Deccan changed into the lavish, pompous reds of Kingfisher. “This is where business dictated branding. The connect Deccan would have with Kingfisher is distinct but not seamless. After the makeover, the Kingfisher flier has a problem. It is the same red and that guy is paying a lot less than what I am paying and still enjoying ‘Kingfisher service.”
Does that mean brands are seen differently after companies have merged?
Perhaps. Girish Shah gave an example: “Tata was seen differently after it acquired Corus. The same happened after Nano was announced. There are certain things that might come about because of these which no amount of ‘Tata Crucible’ can do.”
There has also been many a brand that have morphed into a forward-looking one, with its modern products supported by youth-led brand imagery. Sridhar cited the example of Bajaj. “Bajaj was rejected in the 90s because it was ‘my father’s’ brand. Changing your commercial would be shallow unless you have a product that addresses the market’s needs. Then Bajaj came out with Pulsar. This means the change has to happen from within.”
So which are the brands that are in urgent need of going under the knife?
Bijoor says the Government of India deserves to top the list (“at least the customer-facing parts”). “Even the Indian Police Service needs a facelift. Media brands like Doordarshan should try and use its legacy to establish a connect with newer audiences,” he said.
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee. And when brand marketers sit together sipping coffee, the result is stimulating conversation. Four brand mavericks — K V Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett; Girish Shah, head-branding, Reliance ADAG; Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, and Dheeraj Sinha, chief strategy officer, Bates 141 - visited the DNA office for coffee and conversation. Our topic of discussion was one that’s been brewing in the Indian brandscape since the last one year. Rebranding. Logo changes. Repositioning. Excerpts:
. Mumbai
Now really, think about it. The last time you heard a company say, “We’ve changed!” and present its newly designed logo, you might have thought “Oh, not one more company ….”
Your impression is understandable. In the recent past, several companies - Reliance ADAG, Ceat - and several public sector banks such as Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank have tried to shed their old-school image and come up with swankier brand imagery. But is that where the rebranding stops?
The consumer, as many advertising guys say, has a nasty habit of changing. Brands now want to keep up with him - his expectations, his aspirations at whatever cost. Marketers say rebranding is also about renovation in work cultures, processes, customer service and business approach. Is that really happening?
Brands have such a rare ability to make a silent yet lasting intrusion into our consciousness, and this magnetism causes companies to ensure that customers identify with brands rather than mere products.
It’s also why organisations want to give a new life to their brands in the name of ‘rebranding’ when the power to keep attracting the imagination of people starts slacking off.
What does rebranding involve? How do you ensure it works? And who needs rebranding?
Our panelists were critical on the cosmetic nature of certain rebranding exercises. K V Sridhar said rebranding entails much more. “There are two things you must do: You must change so that you can offer something to people and then you need to connect and communicate with them.”
Harish Bijoor, took it one step further to the need for rebranding to have two dimensions - internal rebranding and external rebranding. “There is an eastern ethos, which says, change the internal first and then the external. The western ethos is the other way round. The latter does not work in rebranding.” Citing the example of Bank of Baroda’s rebranding, he said if the employees of the bank have not changed the way they approach the customers, then rebranding is bound to fail.
Dheeraj Sinha was of the view that there is no need to overhaul a brand as long as the core proposition remains strong. “Things like Ayurveda still appeal, people only want it packaged better,” he said. At the same time, there is a distinction between rebranding and refreshing a brand.
So what is the need for tweaking brands?
Ultimately, rebranding is a function of the need to identify with the world and the changes in the way people lead their life. And this goes beyond products. Sinha said celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar are examples of brands that have undergone a metamorphosis as a result of the fact that the relevance for what they stood for, was lost.
Girish Shah stressed that brands cannot stand in isolation. “The Indian citizen has rebranded himself and he is now a citizen of the world. Value systems have changed.”
Rebranding activities should be personalised at the CEO level and cascade down to the rest, he added.
Sinha said clients often sense the symptoms and come to their advertising agencies looking for prescriptions. The critical thing that constitutes the mad rush to rebrand is the kind of change we have seen in the past 10 years. With changing times, it is imperative that brands change for the youth. “The generational change is not just about the youth.
Even the 60-year-olds want their banks to not look fuddy-duddy,” Sinha said. This would explain why PSU banks are queuing up at the rebranding counter.
But Amul, Cadbury, Air India, Dettol, LIC have stood the test of time...
This means rebranding is not a good thing for everybody. In the last 6 years, Bijoor himself has come across 23 rebranding enquiries and discouraged seven of them from rebranding. “The best thing to do for some brands is to do nothing. At times everyone does not need a contemporary feel. People look for trust in the brand.”
Sridhar pointed out the example of Air India’s Maharaja. “Maharaja is a representation of the country as it was. There are people who are comfortable only with Air India.
People want to belong when they are on board a flight. They might want to chew paan while travelling first class on Air India. Sophistication, which say an airline like Jet Airways offers, actually puts them off.”
No wonder, then, the panel agreed that it is a matter of pride that Air India survived even in the thick of times, when legendary carriers like Pan Am, Sabina and TWA have all gone bust.
Retaining branding through mergers and acquisitions...
The consolidation in the airline industry is an example in point. Say, when the no-frills carrier Deccan changed into the lavish, pompous reds of Kingfisher. “This is where business dictated branding. The connect Deccan would have with Kingfisher is distinct but not seamless. After the makeover, the Kingfisher flier has a problem. It is the same red and that guy is paying a lot less than what I am paying and still enjoying ‘Kingfisher service.”
Does that mean brands are seen differently after companies have merged?
Perhaps. Girish Shah gave an example: “Tata was seen differently after it acquired Corus. The same happened after Nano was announced. There are certain things that might come about because of these which no amount of ‘Tata Crucible’ can do.”
There has also been many a brand that have morphed into a forward-looking one, with its modern products supported by youth-led brand imagery. Sridhar cited the example of Bajaj. “Bajaj was rejected in the 90s because it was ‘my father’s’ brand. Changing your commercial would be shallow unless you have a product that addresses the market’s needs. Then Bajaj came out with Pulsar. This means the change has to happen from within.”
So which are the brands that are in urgent need of going under the knife?
Bijoor says the Government of India deserves to top the list (“at least the customer-facing parts”). “Even the Indian Police Service needs a facelift. Media brands like Doordarshan should try and use its legacy to establish a connect with newer audiences,” he said.
World - Malaysia;Porn bill committee Oks bikinis
Parliament’s Porn bill committee OKays bikinis at resorts
JAKARTA: The Indonesian lower house of Parliament’s special committee debating the controversial pornography bill will allow tourists to wear bikinis at beach resorts. The move is aimed at ensuring tourism—an important source of foreign exchange revenue for Indonesia—is not damaged by the controversial legislation.
“Tourists are allowed to wear bikinis in tourism resorts like Bali and Parang Tritis beach (in Yogyakarta). The porn bill will treat recreational and leisure areas differently,” MP Husein Abdul Azis of the Democratic Party said on Thursday.
There have been fears among domestic tourism operators, especially on Bali, that the bill would deter tourists from visiting because it would require them to wear “appropriate” clothing. Bali is the country’s top tourist destination. Indonesia aims to attract 7 million tourists this year and collect some 6.7 billion dollars in foreign exchange revenue. The head of the special committee deliberating the bill, Balkan Kaplale, said his team had made some changes to contentious articles in the bill, finalising its terms before lawmakers begin their recess period starting on Oct 30. “I can say there have been drastic changes in the bill,” said Balkan of the country’s largest party, the Golkar Party. The changes act as a compromise to the growing opposition movements to the bill.
Despite concerns for tourism, speculation continues to mount over Articles 21 and 22 of the bill, which stipulate that the public is allowed to “directly involve” itself in preventive measures against pornography.
Critics have said the articles could put the law into the hands of civilians, including hardliners.
Azis said the committee had already added additional explanations to those particular articles of concern. “The bill has made it clear now that such preventive measures are only applicable to the authority of the police and prosecutors,” he said.
However, lawmakers are still discussing the much criticised definition of pornography, he said.
JAKARTA: The Indonesian lower house of Parliament’s special committee debating the controversial pornography bill will allow tourists to wear bikinis at beach resorts. The move is aimed at ensuring tourism—an important source of foreign exchange revenue for Indonesia—is not damaged by the controversial legislation.
“Tourists are allowed to wear bikinis in tourism resorts like Bali and Parang Tritis beach (in Yogyakarta). The porn bill will treat recreational and leisure areas differently,” MP Husein Abdul Azis of the Democratic Party said on Thursday.
There have been fears among domestic tourism operators, especially on Bali, that the bill would deter tourists from visiting because it would require them to wear “appropriate” clothing. Bali is the country’s top tourist destination. Indonesia aims to attract 7 million tourists this year and collect some 6.7 billion dollars in foreign exchange revenue. The head of the special committee deliberating the bill, Balkan Kaplale, said his team had made some changes to contentious articles in the bill, finalising its terms before lawmakers begin their recess period starting on Oct 30. “I can say there have been drastic changes in the bill,” said Balkan of the country’s largest party, the Golkar Party. The changes act as a compromise to the growing opposition movements to the bill.
Despite concerns for tourism, speculation continues to mount over Articles 21 and 22 of the bill, which stipulate that the public is allowed to “directly involve” itself in preventive measures against pornography.
Critics have said the articles could put the law into the hands of civilians, including hardliners.
Azis said the committee had already added additional explanations to those particular articles of concern. “The bill has made it clear now that such preventive measures are only applicable to the authority of the police and prosecutors,” he said.
However, lawmakers are still discussing the much criticised definition of pornography, he said.
Entertainment - India;Rekha on AB
Shubha Shetty-Saha
Rekha was deeply concerned about Amitabh Bachchan’s health when he was hospitalised recently, writes SHUBHA SHETTY-SAHA
All his fans are heaving a sigh of relief now that Amitabh Bachchan is back home, after being hospitalised for a brief period at the Lilavati hospital.
Rekha, his one time colleague and friend, was one of the millions who were concerned about the superstar’s wellbeing.
The reticent Rekha says, “I have always had complete faith in the Almighty. But there are times when I question His actions. I do that very rarely, because I am an absolute believer in destiny. I feel that whatever God gives you, happiness or sadness, there is a motive behind it.
When Mr Bachchan was admitted to the hospital yet again, it was one of those few times that I asked God why? Here was a man who has been working so hard and selflessly for so many years. He is loved by people worldwide. He has entertained and thus done service to humanity. So why punish such a person? You don’t really understand His motives at times.”
But Rekha says she is grateful that this time the illness was not as grave as earlier. “Thank God that it is not as bad as it was in 1982 (Bachchan suffered a life threatening injury during the shoot of Coolie). That phase was really scary.”
Rekha says she has been getting loads of offers to work with Bachchan but she refused them as she didn’t find the scripts convincing.
She says, “A lot of people have asked me why I haven’t worked with him after Silsila. They also asked me why I was not a part of films like Cheeni Kum or Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But those were not the kind of scripts that would have suited me. Tabu was just perfect for Cheeni Kum. If I’ve to work with him again the script has to suit us in keeping with the present times.” When told that she and Bachchan shared amazing onscreen chemistry she simply says, “I believe so too.”
Rekha was deeply concerned about Amitabh Bachchan’s health when he was hospitalised recently, writes SHUBHA SHETTY-SAHA
All his fans are heaving a sigh of relief now that Amitabh Bachchan is back home, after being hospitalised for a brief period at the Lilavati hospital.
Rekha, his one time colleague and friend, was one of the millions who were concerned about the superstar’s wellbeing.
The reticent Rekha says, “I have always had complete faith in the Almighty. But there are times when I question His actions. I do that very rarely, because I am an absolute believer in destiny. I feel that whatever God gives you, happiness or sadness, there is a motive behind it.
When Mr Bachchan was admitted to the hospital yet again, it was one of those few times that I asked God why? Here was a man who has been working so hard and selflessly for so many years. He is loved by people worldwide. He has entertained and thus done service to humanity. So why punish such a person? You don’t really understand His motives at times.”
But Rekha says she is grateful that this time the illness was not as grave as earlier. “Thank God that it is not as bad as it was in 1982 (Bachchan suffered a life threatening injury during the shoot of Coolie). That phase was really scary.”
Rekha says she has been getting loads of offers to work with Bachchan but she refused them as she didn’t find the scripts convincing.
She says, “A lot of people have asked me why I haven’t worked with him after Silsila. They also asked me why I was not a part of films like Cheeni Kum or Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But those were not the kind of scripts that would have suited me. Tabu was just perfect for Cheeni Kum. If I’ve to work with him again the script has to suit us in keeping with the present times.” When told that she and Bachchan shared amazing onscreen chemistry she simply says, “I believe so too.”
Business - India;Q&A Kishore Biyani
Shramana Ganguly Mehta & Kumar Anand
Despite retail slowdown, you have launched yet another format Ethnicity. What makes you so sure that the concept will click?
Who says there is a slowdown? Although the environment looks gloomy, the Indian consumer is spending on FMCG, consumer durables and garments. Sales do not drop even if the sentiment is negative. Roti, kapda, makaan are essentials and consumer does not stop buying them.
Ethnicity is targeted at the aspiring urban Indian consumer who is looking for exclusive ethnic product-mix during marriages and festivals. It is an attempt to go back to our roots and create a niche category of ethnic wear and products like mojris, semi-precious jewellery, handbags, home decor products, handicraft, etc.
With brands deserting Ahmedabad and two Big Bazaar outlets closing down, are the times too challenging? Do you see a retail graveyard here?
It is a wrong presumption. With Nano happening in Gujarat, there is so much positivity around the state. If Nano can happen, so can Ethnicity. As it is, the success rate of any brand is 20-30%. While we had to wrap up one of the stores because of high rentals and another because we targeted the wrong consumer, we are expanding other formats (in Ahmedabad).
We have plans to set up eight Ethnicity stores across India in the next two years at Rs 8 crore per store spread over 25,000-30,000 square feet. Considering the urban poor customer is devoid of aspiration, a Big Bazaar would not click with them. At the same time, we have realised that we have to focus more on fashion even in Big Bazaar outlets to draw the aspirational `India One’ customer. (Future has re-categorised its target segment under India One, India Two and India Three.)
You are known to experiment with different retail formats. Which one has been your favourite?
All formats launched by the group are close to my heart. At this point in time, Ethnicity and Pantaloon are my favourite formats. That’s where the money is. Pantaloon is overachieving its target. We expect to record a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore in 2008-09 compared to Rs 6,500 crore in the last fiscal.
Ethnicity alone would fetch us revenues worth Rs 25 crore in the first year of operation.
How have real estate prices hit you?
Real estate scenario in a city like Ahmedabad is not inhibiting. In fact, realtors are so welcoming that they let us set shop without expecting any rentals for the first six months. We will add 5-6 million square feet of retail space in the near future.
There was a simultaneous boom in retail and aviation sectors. Now that the crisis looms over aviation sector, do you expect retail to be hit sometime soon? Could retail sector expect lay-offs?
Growth is important to avoid such stagnation. We believe that retail is booming and so there is no question of lay-off at this point. While investors like lay-offs (as it cuts down on the expenditure), promoters believe otherwise. One has to strike the right balance between the capitalist and socialist ideologies. I am a mix of both. A socialist-capitalist and vice-versa.
After Ethnicity, what next?
We are going to open the first stand-alone outlet of John Miller in Mumbai on Friday. The outlet will be located at Kala Ghoda and at the same store where I had started my first journey as an apparel supplier.
Despite retail slowdown, you have launched yet another format Ethnicity. What makes you so sure that the concept will click?
Who says there is a slowdown? Although the environment looks gloomy, the Indian consumer is spending on FMCG, consumer durables and garments. Sales do not drop even if the sentiment is negative. Roti, kapda, makaan are essentials and consumer does not stop buying them.
Ethnicity is targeted at the aspiring urban Indian consumer who is looking for exclusive ethnic product-mix during marriages and festivals. It is an attempt to go back to our roots and create a niche category of ethnic wear and products like mojris, semi-precious jewellery, handbags, home decor products, handicraft, etc.
With brands deserting Ahmedabad and two Big Bazaar outlets closing down, are the times too challenging? Do you see a retail graveyard here?
It is a wrong presumption. With Nano happening in Gujarat, there is so much positivity around the state. If Nano can happen, so can Ethnicity. As it is, the success rate of any brand is 20-30%. While we had to wrap up one of the stores because of high rentals and another because we targeted the wrong consumer, we are expanding other formats (in Ahmedabad).
We have plans to set up eight Ethnicity stores across India in the next two years at Rs 8 crore per store spread over 25,000-30,000 square feet. Considering the urban poor customer is devoid of aspiration, a Big Bazaar would not click with them. At the same time, we have realised that we have to focus more on fashion even in Big Bazaar outlets to draw the aspirational `India One’ customer. (Future has re-categorised its target segment under India One, India Two and India Three.)
You are known to experiment with different retail formats. Which one has been your favourite?
All formats launched by the group are close to my heart. At this point in time, Ethnicity and Pantaloon are my favourite formats. That’s where the money is. Pantaloon is overachieving its target. We expect to record a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore in 2008-09 compared to Rs 6,500 crore in the last fiscal.
Ethnicity alone would fetch us revenues worth Rs 25 crore in the first year of operation.
How have real estate prices hit you?
Real estate scenario in a city like Ahmedabad is not inhibiting. In fact, realtors are so welcoming that they let us set shop without expecting any rentals for the first six months. We will add 5-6 million square feet of retail space in the near future.
There was a simultaneous boom in retail and aviation sectors. Now that the crisis looms over aviation sector, do you expect retail to be hit sometime soon? Could retail sector expect lay-offs?
Growth is important to avoid such stagnation. We believe that retail is booming and so there is no question of lay-off at this point. While investors like lay-offs (as it cuts down on the expenditure), promoters believe otherwise. One has to strike the right balance between the capitalist and socialist ideologies. I am a mix of both. A socialist-capitalist and vice-versa.
After Ethnicity, what next?
We are going to open the first stand-alone outlet of John Miller in Mumbai on Friday. The outlet will be located at Kala Ghoda and at the same store where I had started my first journey as an apparel supplier.
Fun - Prince Philip leaves Google royally red faced
LONDON: Britain's Prince Philip, who has a long history of provoking embarrassing moments, unintentionally left Google chiefs red-faced this week, a
report said on Friday.
The 87-year-old was visiting the online giant's London headquarters yesterday with Queen Elizabeth II, and its bosses were giving them a presentation of the signature Google Earth application.
Using Buckingham Palace as an example, they demonstrated how it could zoom in close to show astonishing detail of buildings, streets and even vehicles from a bird's eye view.
Philip, always ready with polite questions at such functions, asked if it could beam in on Google's own offices, the plush but relatively new buildings in which they were all gathered.
"Do you know where it is?" he asked, according to a account of the incident. With a few mouse clicks, the computer screen scanned across the few hundred yards from Buckingham Palace to Belgrave House, Google's HQ in nearby Buckingham Palace Road ... but it wasn't there.
While surrounding streets could be seen, the space where Google should be was an empty site. "It is just that the picture came from a time when it was a piece of land," said Nikesh Arora, Google's president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, refusing to show embarrassment.
Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has long been notorious for outspoken comments and plain gaffes.
report said on Friday.
The 87-year-old was visiting the online giant's London headquarters yesterday with Queen Elizabeth II, and its bosses were giving them a presentation of the signature Google Earth application.
Using Buckingham Palace as an example, they demonstrated how it could zoom in close to show astonishing detail of buildings, streets and even vehicles from a bird's eye view.
Philip, always ready with polite questions at such functions, asked if it could beam in on Google's own offices, the plush but relatively new buildings in which they were all gathered.
"Do you know where it is?" he asked, according to a account of the incident. With a few mouse clicks, the computer screen scanned across the few hundred yards from Buckingham Palace to Belgrave House, Google's HQ in nearby Buckingham Palace Road ... but it wasn't there.
While surrounding streets could be seen, the space where Google should be was an empty site. "It is just that the picture came from a time when it was a piece of land," said Nikesh Arora, Google's president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, refusing to show embarrassment.
Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has long been notorious for outspoken comments and plain gaffes.
World - US;Bush announces visa waiver for seven countries
WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush, trying to eliminate a major source of contention with allied nations, announced Friday that the United States is rescinding visa requirements for citizens of six European countries and South Korea.
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and South Korea will be added to the U.S. visa waiver program in about a month. Each of those countries allows U.S. citizens to visit without visas.
Some lawmakers worry that visa waivers could make it easier for terrorists to slip into the United States. All of the countries added to the list agreed to take specific steps, such as coming up with tamperproof, biometric passports that are difficult to forge.
``For years, the leaders of these nations have explained to me how frustrating it is for their citizens to wait in lines, pay visa fees to take a vacation or make a business trip or visit their families here in the United States,'' Bush said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. ``These close friends of America told me that it was unfair that their people had to jump through bureaucratic hoops that other allies can walk around. I told them I agree with them.''
In Prague, the Czech Republic prime minister was ecstatic over the news.
``It is really the biggest success we could achieve,'' Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said. ``It is a removal of the last relic of communism and the Cold War, so I am very happy.''
Jacques Barrot, the European Union's justice and interior affairs commissioner, said in a statement that he welcomes the development and looks forward to the quick admission of remaining EU countries to the visa-waiver program.
``The close ties between the EU and the USA will be further strengthened by this move toward secure, visa-free travel across the Atlantic,'' he said.
Bush also expressed support for efforts by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Poland and Romania to win visa exemptions.
Before Friday's announcement, the visa waiver program included 27 countries, including most of Western Europe. Exclusion has been a sore point among some new NATO allies that have supported U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of those countries, including Poland, did not make the new list because they could not meet admission requirements.
Bush said the seven countries added Friday agreed to share information about security threats to the United States, and their citizens would use a new system that requires travelers to register online ahead of their visits to the United States.
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and South Korea will be added to the U.S. visa waiver program in about a month. Each of those countries allows U.S. citizens to visit without visas.
Some lawmakers worry that visa waivers could make it easier for terrorists to slip into the United States. All of the countries added to the list agreed to take specific steps, such as coming up with tamperproof, biometric passports that are difficult to forge.
``For years, the leaders of these nations have explained to me how frustrating it is for their citizens to wait in lines, pay visa fees to take a vacation or make a business trip or visit their families here in the United States,'' Bush said at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. ``These close friends of America told me that it was unfair that their people had to jump through bureaucratic hoops that other allies can walk around. I told them I agree with them.''
In Prague, the Czech Republic prime minister was ecstatic over the news.
``It is really the biggest success we could achieve,'' Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said. ``It is a removal of the last relic of communism and the Cold War, so I am very happy.''
Jacques Barrot, the European Union's justice and interior affairs commissioner, said in a statement that he welcomes the development and looks forward to the quick admission of remaining EU countries to the visa-waiver program.
``The close ties between the EU and the USA will be further strengthened by this move toward secure, visa-free travel across the Atlantic,'' he said.
Bush also expressed support for efforts by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Poland and Romania to win visa exemptions.
Before Friday's announcement, the visa waiver program included 27 countries, including most of Western Europe. Exclusion has been a sore point among some new NATO allies that have supported U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of those countries, including Poland, did not make the new list because they could not meet admission requirements.
Bush said the seven countries added Friday agreed to share information about security threats to the United States, and their citizens would use a new system that requires travelers to register online ahead of their visits to the United States.
Lifestyle - India;Cauvery gushes out;lakhs blessed
Preethi Nagaraj
MYSORE: Thousands of devotees thronged at the Talacauvery to witness the water gushing out of a tiny pond, which is believed to be the divine origin of River Cauvery.
The rituals connected with the auspicious Cauvery Theerthodbhava began at 2.42 pm today. Talacauvery is a pilgrimage site set amid Bramahagiri hills in Kodagu. Thousands flock here on Tula Sankrama when the river water, pure and sacred, gushes out like a fountain at a predetermined time. It lasts for a short while.
The event , 'Teerthodbhava', which literally means 'surging of holy water' is deemed as a miracle and is considered holy for Kodavas (people from Kodagu) while Tamils and Keralites also visit the place in large numbers during this occasion. In one of the rare occurrences, this event is happening in the broad daylight this time which otherwise happened late into the night or at pre-dawn.
The river, a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, thus brings together people from all the neighbouring states on this special occasion.
A team of 30 priests conducted the rituals. Police had arranged elaborate security arrangements. As the event is taking place in day time, the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine is expected to cross one lakh, according to Police sources. The pilgrims were seen taking holy dip at Triveni Sangama at Bhagamandala before proceeding to Talacauvery to witness the event. Fortunately no terror fear was palpable throughout the event, and the police too had enjoyed the holi-day.
MYSORE: Thousands of devotees thronged at the Talacauvery to witness the water gushing out of a tiny pond, which is believed to be the divine origin of River Cauvery.
The rituals connected with the auspicious Cauvery Theerthodbhava began at 2.42 pm today. Talacauvery is a pilgrimage site set amid Bramahagiri hills in Kodagu. Thousands flock here on Tula Sankrama when the river water, pure and sacred, gushes out like a fountain at a predetermined time. It lasts for a short while.
The event , 'Teerthodbhava', which literally means 'surging of holy water' is deemed as a miracle and is considered holy for Kodavas (people from Kodagu) while Tamils and Keralites also visit the place in large numbers during this occasion. In one of the rare occurrences, this event is happening in the broad daylight this time which otherwise happened late into the night or at pre-dawn.
The river, a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, thus brings together people from all the neighbouring states on this special occasion.
A team of 30 priests conducted the rituals. Police had arranged elaborate security arrangements. As the event is taking place in day time, the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine is expected to cross one lakh, according to Police sources. The pilgrims were seen taking holy dip at Triveni Sangama at Bhagamandala before proceeding to Talacauvery to witness the event. Fortunately no terror fear was palpable throughout the event, and the police too had enjoyed the holi-day.
World - Buffett's 'buy now' call gets lukewarm reception
NEW YORK: Warren Buffett tried to persuade demoralized investors the US stock market is not falling off a cliff. Not everyone was immediately convinced.
The second-richest American and perhaps the world's most revered investor, says he is buying US stocks for his personal account.
"A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful," Buffett, 78, said in an opinion piece published Friday in The New York Times. "Most certainly, fear is now widespread."
As usual, he did not identify the stocks he is buying.
The piece, titled "Buy American. I Am", called for confidence in US business, something in short supply after the credit crisis spiraled into something resembling a market crash. Buffett has been relatively unscathed by the turmoil.
His buying excludes his stake in his insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which is committed to philanthropies and constitutes the bulk of his estimated $50 billion net worth.
He said if equities stay cheap, his non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in US stocks from 100 percent in government bonds.
In better times, such a clarion call from Buffett, amplified Friday by repeated commentary on CNBC, might spark a big stock market rally. Yet stocks ended another volatile session lower on Friday, after fresh economic data elevated worries about a potentially deep recession.
Buffett said he is not calling a market bottom. He may have company, including prominent investors such as GMO's Jeremy Grantham and BlackRock Inc's Bob Doll who are betting equities have fallen below their intrinsic values.
Huge statement
Yet equity investors appear resistant to efforts to unlock credit markets and shore up economies, which if they work could help extract stocks from their abyss.
Almost daily reassurances from President George W Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson often seem to fall on deaf ears. A reworking of a $700 billion emergency US rescue failed to soothe frazzled nerves. The Wall Street Journal said even prominent hedge fund managers are hoarding cash.
Ordinary Americans are worried, too. US consumer confidence in October suffered its steepest monthly drop ever, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers released on Friday shows.
The longer-term impact of Buffett's new approach to investing for himself remains to be seen. "It is a huge statement. He does not come out and make statements of this kind very often," said James Armstrong, president of Henry H. Armstrong Associates in Pittsburgh, which invests one-fifth of its assets in Berkshire.
"Stock market volatility, demonstrated by lemming-like behavior of investors who drive the Dow Jones average down 700 one day and up 700 some other day, is patently stupid," he said. "If you have a time horizon measured in years rather than hours, you will do very well with US equity investments."
Atypical downturn
Buffett said stocks should turn higher before sentiment or the economy do. That is what happened in the summers of 1932 during the Great Depression and 1982 during a deep recession.
Like virtually all investors, Buffett said he cannot forecast short-term stock movements. But he said equities will probably substantially outperform cash in the next decade.
Still, going 100 percent into stocks is not wise for a typical 78-year-old, especially one who depends on investment income for living expenses. Buffett is, of course, not the typical 78-year-old and lives more than comfortably.
Even Berkshire's own equity portfolio is no model of diversity. About 42 percent was tied up as of June 30 in just four stocks: American Express Co, Coca-Cola Co, Procter & Gamble Co and Wells Fargo & Co.
And stocks do not always go up over extended periods. Bearish investors might point to the 1929-1954 period, when US stocks essentially gained nothing.
"His position is probably the opposite of what someone close to his age should be doing: keep more of their money in Treasuries," said Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College and the author of "Wall Street: A History."
"I understand the sentiment, but this situation is unlike anything we've seen since 1932," he added. "In downturns such as 1987 and early this decade, we never had a real clear view of what caused markets to go down. In this case, we have much too clear a view. This is the first time we've seen systemic problems affect the markets since the Great Depression."
Out of step?
Buffett often appears out of step with the market.
For example, at the height of the technology bubble, Berkshire shares fell 20 percent in 1999, while the Nasdaq rose 86 percent. Berkshire's book value per share barely budged, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 21 percent. In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett gave himself a "D" for capital allocation.
In moving to stocks, Buffett is aligning his own holdings with some of the moves he has already made at Berkshire.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company has derivative contracts that require payouts only if the S&P 500 is lower more than a decade from now than when the contracts were written.
In the last month, Berkshire invested a total of $8 billion in General Electric Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc preferred stock, all with a 10 percent dividend, and got warrants to buy an equal amount of common stock at a discount. Given the attractive terms, some saw these as opportunistic investments rather than a signal of a market bottom.
Berkshire has also made several multibillion dollar commitments this year for acquisitions and corporate buyouts.
Geisst said many investors have much shorter time horizons than they once did and expect bad markets to be followed by stronger ones very quickly. That may not happen this time, given the potential for a long economic recession, he said.
But Buffett said buying stocks now is better than trying to time markets and guess when a turnaround will happen.
Referring to arguably the greatest hockey player ever, he wrote: "In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky's advice: 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.'"
The second-richest American and perhaps the world's most revered investor, says he is buying US stocks for his personal account.
"A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful," Buffett, 78, said in an opinion piece published Friday in The New York Times. "Most certainly, fear is now widespread."
As usual, he did not identify the stocks he is buying.
The piece, titled "Buy American. I Am", called for confidence in US business, something in short supply after the credit crisis spiraled into something resembling a market crash. Buffett has been relatively unscathed by the turmoil.
His buying excludes his stake in his insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc, which is committed to philanthropies and constitutes the bulk of his estimated $50 billion net worth.
He said if equities stay cheap, his non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in US stocks from 100 percent in government bonds.
In better times, such a clarion call from Buffett, amplified Friday by repeated commentary on CNBC, might spark a big stock market rally. Yet stocks ended another volatile session lower on Friday, after fresh economic data elevated worries about a potentially deep recession.
Buffett said he is not calling a market bottom. He may have company, including prominent investors such as GMO's Jeremy Grantham and BlackRock Inc's Bob Doll who are betting equities have fallen below their intrinsic values.
Huge statement
Yet equity investors appear resistant to efforts to unlock credit markets and shore up economies, which if they work could help extract stocks from their abyss.
Almost daily reassurances from President George W Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson often seem to fall on deaf ears. A reworking of a $700 billion emergency US rescue failed to soothe frazzled nerves. The Wall Street Journal said even prominent hedge fund managers are hoarding cash.
Ordinary Americans are worried, too. US consumer confidence in October suffered its steepest monthly drop ever, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers released on Friday shows.
The longer-term impact of Buffett's new approach to investing for himself remains to be seen. "It is a huge statement. He does not come out and make statements of this kind very often," said James Armstrong, president of Henry H. Armstrong Associates in Pittsburgh, which invests one-fifth of its assets in Berkshire.
"Stock market volatility, demonstrated by lemming-like behavior of investors who drive the Dow Jones average down 700 one day and up 700 some other day, is patently stupid," he said. "If you have a time horizon measured in years rather than hours, you will do very well with US equity investments."
Atypical downturn
Buffett said stocks should turn higher before sentiment or the economy do. That is what happened in the summers of 1932 during the Great Depression and 1982 during a deep recession.
Like virtually all investors, Buffett said he cannot forecast short-term stock movements. But he said equities will probably substantially outperform cash in the next decade.
Still, going 100 percent into stocks is not wise for a typical 78-year-old, especially one who depends on investment income for living expenses. Buffett is, of course, not the typical 78-year-old and lives more than comfortably.
Even Berkshire's own equity portfolio is no model of diversity. About 42 percent was tied up as of June 30 in just four stocks: American Express Co, Coca-Cola Co, Procter & Gamble Co and Wells Fargo & Co.
And stocks do not always go up over extended periods. Bearish investors might point to the 1929-1954 period, when US stocks essentially gained nothing.
"His position is probably the opposite of what someone close to his age should be doing: keep more of their money in Treasuries," said Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College and the author of "Wall Street: A History."
"I understand the sentiment, but this situation is unlike anything we've seen since 1932," he added. "In downturns such as 1987 and early this decade, we never had a real clear view of what caused markets to go down. In this case, we have much too clear a view. This is the first time we've seen systemic problems affect the markets since the Great Depression."
Out of step?
Buffett often appears out of step with the market.
For example, at the height of the technology bubble, Berkshire shares fell 20 percent in 1999, while the Nasdaq rose 86 percent. Berkshire's book value per share barely budged, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 21 percent. In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett gave himself a "D" for capital allocation.
In moving to stocks, Buffett is aligning his own holdings with some of the moves he has already made at Berkshire.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company has derivative contracts that require payouts only if the S&P 500 is lower more than a decade from now than when the contracts were written.
In the last month, Berkshire invested a total of $8 billion in General Electric Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc preferred stock, all with a 10 percent dividend, and got warrants to buy an equal amount of common stock at a discount. Given the attractive terms, some saw these as opportunistic investments rather than a signal of a market bottom.
Berkshire has also made several multibillion dollar commitments this year for acquisitions and corporate buyouts.
Geisst said many investors have much shorter time horizons than they once did and expect bad markets to be followed by stronger ones very quickly. That may not happen this time, given the potential for a long economic recession, he said.
But Buffett said buying stocks now is better than trying to time markets and guess when a turnaround will happen.
Referring to arguably the greatest hockey player ever, he wrote: "In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky's advice: 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.'"
Business - India;Titan re-enters kid zone with ZOOP
Nandini Sivakumar
CHENNAI: Titan Industries has re-entered the kids watch segment with its latest offering Zoop. Targeted at children in SEC A & B families in urban India to start off with, the brand will cater to the 4-10-year age group (both boys and girls). Nearly a decade ago, it had first tried to tap the segment with brand Dash, which was later discontinued.
“We have introduced Zoop on a pilot basis in Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Surat,” Titan Industries business head (Titan & Retail) Ajoy H Chawla told ET. The brand will be test-marketed in these cities till December. The company plans to take it pan-India by next February or March.
According to IRS 2007, there are 14.2-million children in the 5-12 year age group in the SEC A category in urban India. “There are only a few players in the organised segment making watches for kids. We know the market is huge,” Mr Chawla said. Most parents are forced to buy cheap digital watches for lack of good brands, he added. Zoop will be available in the top 25-30 cities for the next couple of years.
“We are not planning to advertise through television channels. It is being promoted mostly through below-the-line activities like promotions at malls and amusement parks and handing out pamphlets to kids at public places,” Mr Chawla said.
Next on cards is tying up with schools to sponsor painting competitions, holding talent contests, association with children’s sporting events and, at a later stage, advertising on kids channels. The brand spend could be anywhere between Rs 1-2 crore over the next six months, he added.
Nearly, 35% of Titan Industries’ turnover in the watch segment comes from women’s watches, 60% from Men’s and the balance from paired watches. Kids watches may account for just about 5% in the next two to three years, Mr Chawla says. “We cannot expect this to be our driver for growth. The introduction of this brand is meant to expand the market and to catch them young,” Mr Chawla said.
With the tagline ‘Be a star’, the product is being positioned by Titan as a fun item. The 75 models in the collection are available in the price band of Rs 350-900. The brand is currently available in World of Titan outlets, authorised dealers and departmental stores in the five cities. Once it goes pan-India, the company will also look at making it available through other channels, including toy shops.
The team at Titan started off with a survey about eight months ago on what kids’ perceptions about owning a watch were. It was conducted in Mumbai, Chennai and Chandigarh and involved about 200 children in these cities. Based on their findings the company has come up with sporty watches with big dials for boys and bright and colourful ones for girls. Some watches in the higher end also come with accessories like binoculars and whistles.
Q&Q and Maxima are some brands that have children’s watches in the sub-Rs 500 category. Flik Flak and Espirit are a couple of others that have watches priced above Rs 1,000. A majority of the Rs 2,800-crore watch market in India is still unorganised.
CHENNAI: Titan Industries has re-entered the kids watch segment with its latest offering Zoop. Targeted at children in SEC A & B families in urban India to start off with, the brand will cater to the 4-10-year age group (both boys and girls). Nearly a decade ago, it had first tried to tap the segment with brand Dash, which was later discontinued.
“We have introduced Zoop on a pilot basis in Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Surat,” Titan Industries business head (Titan & Retail) Ajoy H Chawla told ET. The brand will be test-marketed in these cities till December. The company plans to take it pan-India by next February or March.
According to IRS 2007, there are 14.2-million children in the 5-12 year age group in the SEC A category in urban India. “There are only a few players in the organised segment making watches for kids. We know the market is huge,” Mr Chawla said. Most parents are forced to buy cheap digital watches for lack of good brands, he added. Zoop will be available in the top 25-30 cities for the next couple of years.
“We are not planning to advertise through television channels. It is being promoted mostly through below-the-line activities like promotions at malls and amusement parks and handing out pamphlets to kids at public places,” Mr Chawla said.
Next on cards is tying up with schools to sponsor painting competitions, holding talent contests, association with children’s sporting events and, at a later stage, advertising on kids channels. The brand spend could be anywhere between Rs 1-2 crore over the next six months, he added.
Nearly, 35% of Titan Industries’ turnover in the watch segment comes from women’s watches, 60% from Men’s and the balance from paired watches. Kids watches may account for just about 5% in the next two to three years, Mr Chawla says. “We cannot expect this to be our driver for growth. The introduction of this brand is meant to expand the market and to catch them young,” Mr Chawla said.
With the tagline ‘Be a star’, the product is being positioned by Titan as a fun item. The 75 models in the collection are available in the price band of Rs 350-900. The brand is currently available in World of Titan outlets, authorised dealers and departmental stores in the five cities. Once it goes pan-India, the company will also look at making it available through other channels, including toy shops.
The team at Titan started off with a survey about eight months ago on what kids’ perceptions about owning a watch were. It was conducted in Mumbai, Chennai and Chandigarh and involved about 200 children in these cities. Based on their findings the company has come up with sporty watches with big dials for boys and bright and colourful ones for girls. Some watches in the higher end also come with accessories like binoculars and whistles.
Q&Q and Maxima are some brands that have children’s watches in the sub-Rs 500 category. Flik Flak and Espirit are a couple of others that have watches priced above Rs 1,000. A majority of the Rs 2,800-crore watch market in India is still unorganised.
Business - iTunes top 200 mn TV downloads,New HD shows offered
Jim Dalrymple
Apple said on Thursday that its iTunes Store has sold over 200 million television episodes, including over one million episodes in HD. The company also said the four major networks will offer more shows in HD for the fall lineup.
CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC will offer primetime shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost,” “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “Bones,” “Prison Break,” “Heroes” and “The Office” in HD for the upcoming season. iTunes’ HD lineup now includes over 30 shows from all of the networks.
HD shows on the iTunes Store cost $2.99, while standard definition shows cost $1.99.
In all, iTunes has a catalog of over eight million songs, over 30,000 TV episodes and over 2,500 films, including 600 in HD. You can download iTunes 8 for free from Apple’s Web site.
Apple said on Thursday that its iTunes Store has sold over 200 million television episodes, including over one million episodes in HD. The company also said the four major networks will offer more shows in HD for the fall lineup.
CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC will offer primetime shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost,” “CSI,” “CSI: Miami,” “Bones,” “Prison Break,” “Heroes” and “The Office” in HD for the upcoming season. iTunes’ HD lineup now includes over 30 shows from all of the networks.
HD shows on the iTunes Store cost $2.99, while standard definition shows cost $1.99.
In all, iTunes has a catalog of over eight million songs, over 30,000 TV episodes and over 2,500 films, including 600 in HD. You can download iTunes 8 for free from Apple’s Web site.
Business - India;Parle Agro enters 100% juice category
MUMBAI: Entering into the 100 per cent juice category, Parle Agro has unveiled a new brand. Saint Juice will be available in three variants – orange, mixed fruit and grape.
Saint Juice is available in 1 litre and 200 ml SKU’s (stock keeping units). The 1 litre pack costs Rs 95 for the grape and orange variants and Rs 100 for the mixed fruit variant.
The 200 ml pack is available for Rs 20 for the grape and orange variants and Rs 20 for mixed fruit.
Saint Juice will be rolled out across India with a special focus on metros, mini-metros and the top three cities of every state.
Speaking at the launch, Parle Agro director Nadi Chauhan said, “Most juice brands do not communicate clearly whether they are nectar, 85 per cent juice or 100 per cent pure juice. Consumers are confused with what they are buying. Only 100 per cent juice is pure juice and has no added sugar, colour or preservatives. With Saint Juice, consumers don’t have to think twice as we have only 100 per cent juice and no nectars or drinks within our juice range.”
Parle Agro’s decision to enter 100 per cent juice is in line with the company’s vision to be present across all beverage categories. "Currently there are very few brands focusing on the 100 per cent juice segment. With our long standing expertise in the beverages industry, we have created a premium experience for consumers with Saint Juice,” Chauhan said.
Saint Juice is available in 1 litre and 200 ml SKU’s (stock keeping units). The 1 litre pack costs Rs 95 for the grape and orange variants and Rs 100 for the mixed fruit variant.
The 200 ml pack is available for Rs 20 for the grape and orange variants and Rs 20 for mixed fruit.
Saint Juice will be rolled out across India with a special focus on metros, mini-metros and the top three cities of every state.
Speaking at the launch, Parle Agro director Nadi Chauhan said, “Most juice brands do not communicate clearly whether they are nectar, 85 per cent juice or 100 per cent pure juice. Consumers are confused with what they are buying. Only 100 per cent juice is pure juice and has no added sugar, colour or preservatives. With Saint Juice, consumers don’t have to think twice as we have only 100 per cent juice and no nectars or drinks within our juice range.”
Parle Agro’s decision to enter 100 per cent juice is in line with the company’s vision to be present across all beverage categories. "Currently there are very few brands focusing on the 100 per cent juice segment. With our long standing expertise in the beverages industry, we have created a premium experience for consumers with Saint Juice,” Chauhan said.
Entertainment - Bollywood brings credit crisis to screen
MUMBAI: The global credit crisis has found echoes in an unlikely quarter, Bollywood, known more for its love of lavish musicals and racy thrillers. Global crisis reflected in Hindi film EMI by debutant writer-director Saurabh Kabra.
The crisis, that has inspired "credit crunch" chocolate bars and "meltdown" parties in the West, is reflected in a new Hindi film "EMI," or Equated Monthly Installments, by debutant writer-director Saurabh Kabra. It is set for release later this month.
EMI is an acronym that millions of middle-class Indians are familiar with, as it allowed them to buy everything from washing machines to fancy cars, homes and vacations at a time when banks were eager to lend and credit was cheap.
But as interest rates rose -- with the central bank raising key interest rates by 125 basis points in 2008 alone -- borrowers baulked and banks began to tighten the leash on lending.
"EMI," which stars actors Sanjay Dutt, Urmila Matondkar and Arjun Rampal, is a tale of the lives of disparate characters who live off credit cards and personal loans, and a recovery agent who makes them realise the folly of their ways.
"The movie is really about ordinary, middle-class people who get caught in an endless cycle of loans and credit cards," said Gayatri Singh, creative head for distributor Sahara One Motion Pictures.
The characters include a DJ who defaults on more than a dozen credit cards to impress his girlfriends, a man who takes a loan to send his son abroad to study and a socialite who charges her indulgences to her credit cards.
Sattar Bhai, the recovery agent who chases down defaulters, is "soft-hearted," Singh says, in contrast to agents who have come under fire in India for being aggressive and using force.
Credit card use is still low, but expanding at a fast pace in the country and Indians, traditionally credit-averse, are embracing their use more easily.
The film also comes on the heels of a mass suicide by a family of four in Mumbai, India's financial hub, who reportedly killed themselves over mounting debts on dozens of credit cards.
"We wanted to keep it light and release it in time for the festival season when everyone is buying things, to remind people they should be careful about extending themselves," Singh said.
The crisis, that has inspired "credit crunch" chocolate bars and "meltdown" parties in the West, is reflected in a new Hindi film "EMI," or Equated Monthly Installments, by debutant writer-director Saurabh Kabra. It is set for release later this month.
EMI is an acronym that millions of middle-class Indians are familiar with, as it allowed them to buy everything from washing machines to fancy cars, homes and vacations at a time when banks were eager to lend and credit was cheap.
But as interest rates rose -- with the central bank raising key interest rates by 125 basis points in 2008 alone -- borrowers baulked and banks began to tighten the leash on lending.
"EMI," which stars actors Sanjay Dutt, Urmila Matondkar and Arjun Rampal, is a tale of the lives of disparate characters who live off credit cards and personal loans, and a recovery agent who makes them realise the folly of their ways.
"The movie is really about ordinary, middle-class people who get caught in an endless cycle of loans and credit cards," said Gayatri Singh, creative head for distributor Sahara One Motion Pictures.
The characters include a DJ who defaults on more than a dozen credit cards to impress his girlfriends, a man who takes a loan to send his son abroad to study and a socialite who charges her indulgences to her credit cards.
Sattar Bhai, the recovery agent who chases down defaulters, is "soft-hearted," Singh says, in contrast to agents who have come under fire in India for being aggressive and using force.
Credit card use is still low, but expanding at a fast pace in the country and Indians, traditionally credit-averse, are embracing their use more easily.
The film also comes on the heels of a mass suicide by a family of four in Mumbai, India's financial hub, who reportedly killed themselves over mounting debts on dozens of credit cards.
"We wanted to keep it light and release it in time for the festival season when everyone is buying things, to remind people they should be careful about extending themselves," Singh said.
Lifestyle - Television 'influences your dreams'
LONDON: It's a research in black and white -- TV influences our colourful dreams.
Researchers in Britain have found that children who're exposed to black-and-white film and television are more likely to dream in greyscale throughout their life.
Opinions have been divided on the colour of dreams for almost a century. Studies between 1915 and 1950 suggested that the majority of dreams are in black and white, while those in the 1960s showed up to 83 per cent of dreams contain colour.
Now, it seems that a team at the University of Dundee, led by Eva Murzyn, has laid the debate to rest.
They first asked 60 subjects -- half of whom under 25 and half of whom over 55 -- to answer a questionnaire on the colour of their dreams and their childhood exposure to film and TV. The subjects then recorded different aspects of their dreams in a diary every morning.
They found there was no significant difference between results drawn from the questionnaires and the dream diaries -- suggesting that the previous studies were comparable, the 'New Scientist' reported.
The researchers then analysed their own data to find out whether an early exposure to black-and-white TV can still have a lasting effect on their subjects dreams 40 years later.
Only 4.4 per cent of the under-25s' dreams were black and white. The over-55s who'd had access to colour TV and film during their childhood also reported a very low proportion of just 7.3 per cent.
But it found the over-55s who had only had access to black-and-white media reported dreaming in black and white roughly a quarter of the time.
"There could be a critical period in our childhood when watching films has a big impact on the way dreams are formed," Murzyn wrote in the latest edition of 'Consciousness and Cognition' journal.
Researchers in Britain have found that children who're exposed to black-and-white film and television are more likely to dream in greyscale throughout their life.
Opinions have been divided on the colour of dreams for almost a century. Studies between 1915 and 1950 suggested that the majority of dreams are in black and white, while those in the 1960s showed up to 83 per cent of dreams contain colour.
Now, it seems that a team at the University of Dundee, led by Eva Murzyn, has laid the debate to rest.
They first asked 60 subjects -- half of whom under 25 and half of whom over 55 -- to answer a questionnaire on the colour of their dreams and their childhood exposure to film and TV. The subjects then recorded different aspects of their dreams in a diary every morning.
They found there was no significant difference between results drawn from the questionnaires and the dream diaries -- suggesting that the previous studies were comparable, the 'New Scientist' reported.
The researchers then analysed their own data to find out whether an early exposure to black-and-white TV can still have a lasting effect on their subjects dreams 40 years later.
Only 4.4 per cent of the under-25s' dreams were black and white. The over-55s who'd had access to colour TV and film during their childhood also reported a very low proportion of just 7.3 per cent.
But it found the over-55s who had only had access to black-and-white media reported dreaming in black and white roughly a quarter of the time.
"There could be a critical period in our childhood when watching films has a big impact on the way dreams are formed," Murzyn wrote in the latest edition of 'Consciousness and Cognition' journal.
Business - Facebook eyes digital music business
NEW YORK: Social networking site Facebook's founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg plans to enter the digital-music business in the wake of the
launch of News Corp's MySpace Music last month, media reports said.
Zuckerberg is talking to a number of song-streaming services and music community sites, including Rhapsody.com, iMeem.com, iLike.com and Lala.com about an outsourcing deal, reports said, citing sources familiar with the situation. Facebook executives have been busy meeting major record companies about the strategy.
Reports quoted sources saying that unlike MySpace, which traded equity in its music venture in exchange for licences to stream ad-supported songs, Facebook doesn't want to secure licences to distribute music, or build a proprietary service from scratch. Sources further cautioned that nothing was imminent, and Facebook may ultimately walk away from the plan altogether, the paper reported. Facebook did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
launch of News Corp's MySpace Music last month, media reports said.
Zuckerberg is talking to a number of song-streaming services and music community sites, including Rhapsody.com, iMeem.com, iLike.com and Lala.com about an outsourcing deal, reports said, citing sources familiar with the situation. Facebook executives have been busy meeting major record companies about the strategy.
Reports quoted sources saying that unlike MySpace, which traded equity in its music venture in exchange for licences to stream ad-supported songs, Facebook doesn't want to secure licences to distribute music, or build a proprietary service from scratch. Sources further cautioned that nothing was imminent, and Facebook may ultimately walk away from the plan altogether, the paper reported. Facebook did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
World - US;The Acorn Story
In Wednesday night’s debate, John McCain warned that a group called Acorn is “on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history” and “may be destroying the fabric of democracy.” Viewers may have been wondering what Mr. McCain was talking about. So were we.
Acorn is a nonprofit group that advocates for low- and moderate-income people and has mounted a major voter-registration drive this year. Acorn says that it has paid more than 8,000 canvassers who have registered about 1.3 million new voters, many of them poor people and members of racial minorities.
In recent weeks, the McCain campaign has accused the group of perpetrating voter fraud by intentionally submitting invalid registration forms, including some with fictional names like Mickey Mouse and others for voters who are already registered.
Based on the information that has come to light so far, the charges appear to be wildly overblown — and intended to hobble Acorn’s efforts.
The group concedes that some of its hired canvassers have turned in tainted forms, although they say the ones with phony names constitute no more than 1 percent of the total turned in. The group also says it reviews all of the registration forms that come in. Before delivering the forms to elections offices, its supervisors flag any that appear to have problems.
According to Acorn, most of the forms that are now causing controversy are ones that it flagged and that unsympathetic election officials then publicized.
Acorn’s critics charge that it is creating phony registrations that ineligible voters could use to cast ballots or that a single voter could use to vote multiple times.
Acorn needs to provide more precise figures about problem forms and needs to do a better job of choosing its canvassers.
But for all of the McCain campaign’s manufactured fury about vote theft (and similar claims from the Republican Party over the years) there is virtually no evidence — anywhere in the country, going back many elections — of people showing up at the polls and voting when they are not entitled to.
Meanwhile, Republicans aren’t saying anything about another more serious voter-registration scandal: the fact that about one-third of eligible voters are not registered. The racial gaps are significant and particularly disturbing. According to a study by Project Vote, a voting-rights group, in 2006, 71 percent of eligible whites were registered, compared with 61 percent of blacks, 54 percent of Latinos and 49 percent of Asian-Americans.
Much of the blame for this lies with overly restrictive registration rules. Earlier this year, the League of Women Voters halted its registration drive in Florida after the state imposed onerous new requirements.
The answer is for government to do a better job of registering people to vote. That way there would be less need to rely on private registration drives, largely being conducted by well-meaning private organizations that use low-paid workers. Federal and state governments should do their own large-scale registration drives staffed by experienced election officials. Even better, Congress and the states should adopt election-day registration, which would make such drives unnecessary.
The real threats to the fabric of democracy are the unreasonable barriers that stand in the way of eligible voters casting ballots.
Acorn is a nonprofit group that advocates for low- and moderate-income people and has mounted a major voter-registration drive this year. Acorn says that it has paid more than 8,000 canvassers who have registered about 1.3 million new voters, many of them poor people and members of racial minorities.
In recent weeks, the McCain campaign has accused the group of perpetrating voter fraud by intentionally submitting invalid registration forms, including some with fictional names like Mickey Mouse and others for voters who are already registered.
Based on the information that has come to light so far, the charges appear to be wildly overblown — and intended to hobble Acorn’s efforts.
The group concedes that some of its hired canvassers have turned in tainted forms, although they say the ones with phony names constitute no more than 1 percent of the total turned in. The group also says it reviews all of the registration forms that come in. Before delivering the forms to elections offices, its supervisors flag any that appear to have problems.
According to Acorn, most of the forms that are now causing controversy are ones that it flagged and that unsympathetic election officials then publicized.
Acorn’s critics charge that it is creating phony registrations that ineligible voters could use to cast ballots or that a single voter could use to vote multiple times.
Acorn needs to provide more precise figures about problem forms and needs to do a better job of choosing its canvassers.
But for all of the McCain campaign’s manufactured fury about vote theft (and similar claims from the Republican Party over the years) there is virtually no evidence — anywhere in the country, going back many elections — of people showing up at the polls and voting when they are not entitled to.
Meanwhile, Republicans aren’t saying anything about another more serious voter-registration scandal: the fact that about one-third of eligible voters are not registered. The racial gaps are significant and particularly disturbing. According to a study by Project Vote, a voting-rights group, in 2006, 71 percent of eligible whites were registered, compared with 61 percent of blacks, 54 percent of Latinos and 49 percent of Asian-Americans.
Much of the blame for this lies with overly restrictive registration rules. Earlier this year, the League of Women Voters halted its registration drive in Florida after the state imposed onerous new requirements.
The answer is for government to do a better job of registering people to vote. That way there would be less need to rely on private registration drives, largely being conducted by well-meaning private organizations that use low-paid workers. Federal and state governments should do their own large-scale registration drives staffed by experienced election officials. Even better, Congress and the states should adopt election-day registration, which would make such drives unnecessary.
The real threats to the fabric of democracy are the unreasonable barriers that stand in the way of eligible voters casting ballots.
Travel - 36 hours in Paris
SETH SHERWOOD
FROM the mime in white makeup to the Chanel-clad grande dame walking her poodle, Paris practically sags under the tonnage of its stereotypes. The Marais is the welcome exception. Far from central casting, Paris’s most swinging district brims with a vivid mix of characters. Stroll its medieval lanes and you’ll rub shoulders with muscle-shirted gays and feather-boa transvestites; long-bearded rabbis and scruffy rock musicians; West African restaurateurs and Eastern European bakers. And if you turn down the tiny rue de Montmorency, you’ll even be treading in the footsteps of the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel. His former residence at No. 51 is said to be the oldest house in the Marais — and all of Paris.
Friday
5 p.m.
1) HIP-HOP GALLERIES
You can hardly swing a baguette in the Marais these days without smashing a hot-shot art dealer or upstart gallery owner. To discover the neighborhood’s sizzling creative culture, first seek out the eponymous gallery of 40-year-old Emmanuel Perrotin (76, rue de Turenne; 33-1-42-16-79-79; www.galerieperrotin.com). This 17th-century mansion turned expo space is showing, until Jan. 10, the first-ever exhibition by the hip-hop impresario and furniture designer Pharrell Williams. Nearby rue St.-Claude is rapidly filling with contemporary art spaces, notably Galerie Frank Elbaz (7, rue St.-Claude; 33-1-48-87-50-04; www.galeriefrankelbaz.com) and Galerie LHK (6, rue St.-Claude; 33-1-42-74-13-55; www.galerielh.com).
8 p.m.
2) CLASSICAL FRENCH
Founded in 1780, Chez Julien (1, rue Pont-Louis-Philippe; 33-01-42-78-31-64) couldn’t feel more French if the servers sang “Frère Jacques” while serving crème brûlée. But this is no dainty tourist trap. Bought and renovated last year by one of the Costes family, best known for the luxurious Hôtel Costes, the restaurant has exquisite retro-chic décor like plush banquettes and tall mirrors. A stylish crowd of all ages dines on French classics — foie gras, frogs’ legs, rack of lamb and a massive Chateaubriand steak with good crispy fries — but the view is the marquee attraction. From the tree-fringed outdoor seats you can see the Seine, Notre Dame and, just footsteps away, the old St.-Gervais-St.-Protais Church. A three-course meal for two people, without wine, runs about 100 euros ($139 at $1.39 to the euro).
10 p.m.
3) A LOT TO DIGEST
For a digestif, join the assorted intellectuals crowding the classic zinc bar at La Belle Hortense (31, rue Vieille-du-Temple; 33-1-48-04-71-60; www.cafeine.com), a cozy Old World-style wine bar. Straight and gay, leather-bound and tweed-wrapped, the crowd swirls wines by the glass and chats animatedly about highfalutin topics. Even if you don’t know your Derrida from your derrière, no worries: The place is also a bookstore, stacked high with centuries of French and international literature. The back lounge, which has rotating art exhibitions, is the perfect spot to sip some hearty red Guigal Côte du Rhone (4.50 euros) and bone up on everything from Anouilh to Zola.
Saturday
10:30 a.m.
4) ROYAL TUTELAGE
How do you teach your adolescent son about the birds and the bees? If you’re Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, you hire a one-eyed 40-ish noblewoman named Catherine de Beauvais to initiate him into, ahem, adulthood. Her tale is just one of the colorful anecdotes you’ll hear during the Marais tour offered by Paris Walks (33-1-48-09-21-40; www.paris-walks.com). The two-hour excursion (10 euros) includes architecturally splendid old town houses, the memorial to the Shoah and the 17th-century St.-Paul-St.-Louis Church.
1 p.m.
5) A LUNCHTIME ODYSSEY
The oldest covered market in Paris, the Marché des Enfants Rouges (enter on rue Charlot) was established in the early 1600s and remains a center of Marais life. A new structure has replaced the original, but it still houses cheesemongers, vintners and grocers. Better, there’s a bounty of small restaurants that resembles a Benetton ad: Italian, Japanese, French, Afro-Caribbean, Middle Eastern. Traiteur Marocain (33-01-42-77-55-05) ladles out Moroccan fare like fresh grilled sardines (7.50 euros) and lamb-prune-sesame tajine (8.85 euros).
2:30 p.m.
6) POST-STARCK DESIGNS
The nearby streets are home to Paris’s most inventive young creators. Inside the futuristic funhouse called Lieu Commun (5, rue des Filles du Calvaire; 33-1-44-54-08-30; www.lieucommun.fr), you’ll find housewares from Matali Crasset, a protégée of Philippe Starck, as well as electronic music CDs and street wear. At the homey shop OneNineSixOne (135, rue Vieille-du-Temple; 33-1-42-72-50-84; www.oneninesixone.com), Gaëtane Raguet transposes vintage photos of Paris and America onto canvas wall hangings and lampshades. When Christophe Lemaire is not embroidering alligators as artistic director of Lacoste, he sells 1950s-style V-neck sweaters and 1970s-inspired suede jackets at Lemaire (28, rue de Poitou; 33-1-44-78-00-09; www.christophelemaire.com), his personal Marais boutique.
4:30 p.m.
7) F-STOP PIT STOP
Has any city lit up under more flashbulbs than Paris? November brings Le Mois de la Photo à Paris — Paris Photo Month — with scores of exhibitions citywide led by the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (5-7, rue de Fourcy; 33-1-44-78-75-00; www.mep-fr.org). Notable shows include “An Experience of Amusing Chemistry” by the contemporary photographers David McDermott and Peter McGough, which recalls the American Gilded Age using 19th-century techniques. Also being held is a retrospective of the fearless Turkish photojournalist Goksin Sipahioglu, founder of the international photo agency SIPA, who captured landmark events and personalities of the 20th century from the Suez-Sinai War to the 1968 Paris riots. Shows run Nov. 5 to Jan. 25; 6 euros.
9 p.m.
8) SUSHI OR TARTARE?
The wild wall mural at Usagi (58, rue de Saintonge; 33-1-48-87-28-85; www.usagi.fr), with its mix of Japanese manga-inspired figures and French Baroque motifs, is an apt metaphor for the cooking. The brainchild of the artist and fashion designer Shinsuke Kawahara, this new minimalist-cool restaurant has generated a cult following for its clever French-Japanese hybrid cuisine. A tender filet of Salers beef is paired with a sweet miso broth and crispy lotus-root chips. Oven-roasted cubes of chicken are served with a chutney-like mix of sake, ginger and scallions. Desserts are equally inventive. Dinner for two without drinks, about 90 euros.
11 p.m.
9) FAIRE LA FêTE
That’s the French term for partying, and you have ample opportunity to use it in the Marais. The newest hot spot for gay par-ee is NYX (30, rue du Roi-de-Sicile; www.nyxclub.fr). Hidden behind a bakery façade, the small but lively club draws gays and lesbians alike for draft beer (3.80 euros) and D.J.-spun electro, rock and disco. The hot spot for straight revelers is Andy Wahloo (69, rue des Gravilliers; 33-1-42-71-20-38), a vaulted orange-lit room decorated with kitschy Arabic film posters, soda bottles and detergent boxes. It draws a well-dressed crowd who order the house cocktail (rum, banana liqueur, lime, ginger, cinnamon; 9 euros) and dance on North African-style banquettes.
Sunday
11 a.m.
10) TURN THE MEAT AROUND
As you enter the narrow, cobblestone rue des Rosiers, the smell of fresh-baked challah drifts from bakeries, and school kids in yarmulkes pop out of doorways adorned with the Star of David. This is the heart of Jewish Paris. Many Parisians say that the nation’s best shwarma and falafel are served at L’As du Fallafel. Alas, every tourist from every continent seems to be in on the news, resulting in lines more common to Madonna concerts. Instead, cross the street to Mi-Va-Mi (23, rue des Rosiers; 33-1-42-71-53-72), where the lines are shorter, the service is friendlier, and the falafel (5 euros) and spit-grilled shwarma (7 euros) are almost equally good. Ask for some zesty red salade Turque on top and finish with excellent fig strudel (3.20 euros) at nearby Florence Finkelstein (24, rue des Ecouffes; 33-1-48-87-92-85).
1 p.m.
11) VILLAGE PEOPLE
Need some Art Deco lamps, Baroque picture frames, vintage dresses or other French collectibles to bring back to your pied-à-terre? The Village St.-Paul (south of rue de Rivoli on rue St.-Paul; www.village-saint-paul.com) holds scores of boutiques that burst with retro finds. For those hard-to-find antique dolls of apes sporting fezes, try Lima Select (15-17, rue St.-Paul, 33-1-42-77-98-02), an emporium of unusual dolls and figurines. If dressing like a 1910 chorus girl is your thing, snap up some old lace, garters and frilly dresses at Francine (2, rue Ave Maria; 33-1-42-72-44-50). Amid all the colorful personalities of the Marais, you should fit right in.
THE BASICS
Numerous airlines, includingAir France, Continental and Delta, fly direct between New York and Paris. According to a recent online search, flights for travel next month start at about $700.
Celluloid titans live eternally at the Hôtel du 7eme Art (20, rue St.-Paul; 33-1-44-54-85-00; www.paris-hotel-7art.com), which is packed with movie memorabilia, some for sale. It’s a tad worn, but the location and price are prime. Doubles from 90 euros.
You half expect to see mad monks at the Hôtel Saint Merry (78, rue de la Verrerie; 33-1-42-78-14-15; www.hotel-saintmerry.com). Housed in a 17th-century building by a church, it has 12 rooms done in medieval décor: dark wood, exposed beams, raw stone, even the occasional flying buttress. From 160 euros.
For chic, in-the-know elegance, try the three-apartment complex at 5, rue de Moussy, known by its street address (33-1-44-78-92-00; ask for Patrice). Created by the fashion mogul Azzedine Alaïa, the large, airy apartments contain furniture from iconic designers like Mark Newsom and Jean Prouvé. The rate for two is 450 euros per night.
FROM the mime in white makeup to the Chanel-clad grande dame walking her poodle, Paris practically sags under the tonnage of its stereotypes. The Marais is the welcome exception. Far from central casting, Paris’s most swinging district brims with a vivid mix of characters. Stroll its medieval lanes and you’ll rub shoulders with muscle-shirted gays and feather-boa transvestites; long-bearded rabbis and scruffy rock musicians; West African restaurateurs and Eastern European bakers. And if you turn down the tiny rue de Montmorency, you’ll even be treading in the footsteps of the famous alchemist Nicolas Flamel. His former residence at No. 51 is said to be the oldest house in the Marais — and all of Paris.
Friday
5 p.m.
1) HIP-HOP GALLERIES
You can hardly swing a baguette in the Marais these days without smashing a hot-shot art dealer or upstart gallery owner. To discover the neighborhood’s sizzling creative culture, first seek out the eponymous gallery of 40-year-old Emmanuel Perrotin (76, rue de Turenne; 33-1-42-16-79-79; www.galerieperrotin.com). This 17th-century mansion turned expo space is showing, until Jan. 10, the first-ever exhibition by the hip-hop impresario and furniture designer Pharrell Williams. Nearby rue St.-Claude is rapidly filling with contemporary art spaces, notably Galerie Frank Elbaz (7, rue St.-Claude; 33-1-48-87-50-04; www.galeriefrankelbaz.com) and Galerie LHK (6, rue St.-Claude; 33-1-42-74-13-55; www.galerielh.com).
8 p.m.
2) CLASSICAL FRENCH
Founded in 1780, Chez Julien (1, rue Pont-Louis-Philippe; 33-01-42-78-31-64) couldn’t feel more French if the servers sang “Frère Jacques” while serving crème brûlée. But this is no dainty tourist trap. Bought and renovated last year by one of the Costes family, best known for the luxurious Hôtel Costes, the restaurant has exquisite retro-chic décor like plush banquettes and tall mirrors. A stylish crowd of all ages dines on French classics — foie gras, frogs’ legs, rack of lamb and a massive Chateaubriand steak with good crispy fries — but the view is the marquee attraction. From the tree-fringed outdoor seats you can see the Seine, Notre Dame and, just footsteps away, the old St.-Gervais-St.-Protais Church. A three-course meal for two people, without wine, runs about 100 euros ($139 at $1.39 to the euro).
10 p.m.
3) A LOT TO DIGEST
For a digestif, join the assorted intellectuals crowding the classic zinc bar at La Belle Hortense (31, rue Vieille-du-Temple; 33-1-48-04-71-60; www.cafeine.com), a cozy Old World-style wine bar. Straight and gay, leather-bound and tweed-wrapped, the crowd swirls wines by the glass and chats animatedly about highfalutin topics. Even if you don’t know your Derrida from your derrière, no worries: The place is also a bookstore, stacked high with centuries of French and international literature. The back lounge, which has rotating art exhibitions, is the perfect spot to sip some hearty red Guigal Côte du Rhone (4.50 euros) and bone up on everything from Anouilh to Zola.
Saturday
10:30 a.m.
4) ROYAL TUTELAGE
How do you teach your adolescent son about the birds and the bees? If you’re Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, you hire a one-eyed 40-ish noblewoman named Catherine de Beauvais to initiate him into, ahem, adulthood. Her tale is just one of the colorful anecdotes you’ll hear during the Marais tour offered by Paris Walks (33-1-48-09-21-40; www.paris-walks.com). The two-hour excursion (10 euros) includes architecturally splendid old town houses, the memorial to the Shoah and the 17th-century St.-Paul-St.-Louis Church.
1 p.m.
5) A LUNCHTIME ODYSSEY
The oldest covered market in Paris, the Marché des Enfants Rouges (enter on rue Charlot) was established in the early 1600s and remains a center of Marais life. A new structure has replaced the original, but it still houses cheesemongers, vintners and grocers. Better, there’s a bounty of small restaurants that resembles a Benetton ad: Italian, Japanese, French, Afro-Caribbean, Middle Eastern. Traiteur Marocain (33-01-42-77-55-05) ladles out Moroccan fare like fresh grilled sardines (7.50 euros) and lamb-prune-sesame tajine (8.85 euros).
2:30 p.m.
6) POST-STARCK DESIGNS
The nearby streets are home to Paris’s most inventive young creators. Inside the futuristic funhouse called Lieu Commun (5, rue des Filles du Calvaire; 33-1-44-54-08-30; www.lieucommun.fr), you’ll find housewares from Matali Crasset, a protégée of Philippe Starck, as well as electronic music CDs and street wear. At the homey shop OneNineSixOne (135, rue Vieille-du-Temple; 33-1-42-72-50-84; www.oneninesixone.com), Gaëtane Raguet transposes vintage photos of Paris and America onto canvas wall hangings and lampshades. When Christophe Lemaire is not embroidering alligators as artistic director of Lacoste, he sells 1950s-style V-neck sweaters and 1970s-inspired suede jackets at Lemaire (28, rue de Poitou; 33-1-44-78-00-09; www.christophelemaire.com), his personal Marais boutique.
4:30 p.m.
7) F-STOP PIT STOP
Has any city lit up under more flashbulbs than Paris? November brings Le Mois de la Photo à Paris — Paris Photo Month — with scores of exhibitions citywide led by the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (5-7, rue de Fourcy; 33-1-44-78-75-00; www.mep-fr.org). Notable shows include “An Experience of Amusing Chemistry” by the contemporary photographers David McDermott and Peter McGough, which recalls the American Gilded Age using 19th-century techniques. Also being held is a retrospective of the fearless Turkish photojournalist Goksin Sipahioglu, founder of the international photo agency SIPA, who captured landmark events and personalities of the 20th century from the Suez-Sinai War to the 1968 Paris riots. Shows run Nov. 5 to Jan. 25; 6 euros.
9 p.m.
8) SUSHI OR TARTARE?
The wild wall mural at Usagi (58, rue de Saintonge; 33-1-48-87-28-85; www.usagi.fr), with its mix of Japanese manga-inspired figures and French Baroque motifs, is an apt metaphor for the cooking. The brainchild of the artist and fashion designer Shinsuke Kawahara, this new minimalist-cool restaurant has generated a cult following for its clever French-Japanese hybrid cuisine. A tender filet of Salers beef is paired with a sweet miso broth and crispy lotus-root chips. Oven-roasted cubes of chicken are served with a chutney-like mix of sake, ginger and scallions. Desserts are equally inventive. Dinner for two without drinks, about 90 euros.
11 p.m.
9) FAIRE LA FêTE
That’s the French term for partying, and you have ample opportunity to use it in the Marais. The newest hot spot for gay par-ee is NYX (30, rue du Roi-de-Sicile; www.nyxclub.fr). Hidden behind a bakery façade, the small but lively club draws gays and lesbians alike for draft beer (3.80 euros) and D.J.-spun electro, rock and disco. The hot spot for straight revelers is Andy Wahloo (69, rue des Gravilliers; 33-1-42-71-20-38), a vaulted orange-lit room decorated with kitschy Arabic film posters, soda bottles and detergent boxes. It draws a well-dressed crowd who order the house cocktail (rum, banana liqueur, lime, ginger, cinnamon; 9 euros) and dance on North African-style banquettes.
Sunday
11 a.m.
10) TURN THE MEAT AROUND
As you enter the narrow, cobblestone rue des Rosiers, the smell of fresh-baked challah drifts from bakeries, and school kids in yarmulkes pop out of doorways adorned with the Star of David. This is the heart of Jewish Paris. Many Parisians say that the nation’s best shwarma and falafel are served at L’As du Fallafel. Alas, every tourist from every continent seems to be in on the news, resulting in lines more common to Madonna concerts. Instead, cross the street to Mi-Va-Mi (23, rue des Rosiers; 33-1-42-71-53-72), where the lines are shorter, the service is friendlier, and the falafel (5 euros) and spit-grilled shwarma (7 euros) are almost equally good. Ask for some zesty red salade Turque on top and finish with excellent fig strudel (3.20 euros) at nearby Florence Finkelstein (24, rue des Ecouffes; 33-1-48-87-92-85).
1 p.m.
11) VILLAGE PEOPLE
Need some Art Deco lamps, Baroque picture frames, vintage dresses or other French collectibles to bring back to your pied-à-terre? The Village St.-Paul (south of rue de Rivoli on rue St.-Paul; www.village-saint-paul.com) holds scores of boutiques that burst with retro finds. For those hard-to-find antique dolls of apes sporting fezes, try Lima Select (15-17, rue St.-Paul, 33-1-42-77-98-02), an emporium of unusual dolls and figurines. If dressing like a 1910 chorus girl is your thing, snap up some old lace, garters and frilly dresses at Francine (2, rue Ave Maria; 33-1-42-72-44-50). Amid all the colorful personalities of the Marais, you should fit right in.
THE BASICS
Numerous airlines, includingAir France, Continental and Delta, fly direct between New York and Paris. According to a recent online search, flights for travel next month start at about $700.
Celluloid titans live eternally at the Hôtel du 7eme Art (20, rue St.-Paul; 33-1-44-54-85-00; www.paris-hotel-7art.com), which is packed with movie memorabilia, some for sale. It’s a tad worn, but the location and price are prime. Doubles from 90 euros.
You half expect to see mad monks at the Hôtel Saint Merry (78, rue de la Verrerie; 33-1-42-78-14-15; www.hotel-saintmerry.com). Housed in a 17th-century building by a church, it has 12 rooms done in medieval décor: dark wood, exposed beams, raw stone, even the occasional flying buttress. From 160 euros.
For chic, in-the-know elegance, try the three-apartment complex at 5, rue de Moussy, known by its street address (33-1-44-78-92-00; ask for Patrice). Created by the fashion mogul Azzedine Alaïa, the large, airy apartments contain furniture from iconic designers like Mark Newsom and Jean Prouvé. The rate for two is 450 euros per night.
World - Rape Victims words help jolt Congo into change
JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
BUKAVU, Congo — Honorata Kizende looked out at the audience and began with a simple, declarative sentence.
“There was no dinner,” she said.
“It was me who was dinner. Me, because they kicked me roughly to the ground, and they ripped off all my clothes, and between the two of them, they held my feet. One took my left foot, one took my right, and the same with my arms, and between the two of them they proceeded to rape me. Then all five of them raped me.”
The audience, which had been called together by local and international aid groups and included everyone from high-ranking politicians to street kids with no shoes, stared at her in disbelief.
Congo, it seems, is finally facing its horrific rape problem, which United Nations officials have called the worst sexual violence in the world. Tens of thousands of women, possibly hundreds of thousands, have been raped in the past few years in this hilly, incongruously beautiful land. Many of these rapes have been marked by a level of brutality that is shocking even by the twisted standards of a place riven by civil war and haunted by warlords and drug-crazed child soldiers.
After years of denial and shame, the silence is being broken. Because of stepped-up efforts in the past nine months by international organizations and the Congolese government, rapists are no longer able to count on a culture of impunity. Of course, countless men still get away with assaulting women. But more and more are getting caught, prosecuted and put behind bars.
European aid agencies are spending tens of millions of dollars building new courthouses and prisons across eastern Congo, in part to punish rapists. Mobile courts are holding rape trials in villages deep in the forest that have not seen a black-robed magistrate since the Belgians ruled the country decades ago.
The American Bar Association opened a legal clinic in January specifically to help rape victims bring their cases to court. So far the work has resulted in eight convictions. Here in Bukavu, one of the biggest cities in the country, a special unit of Congolese police officers has filed 103 rape cases since the beginning of this year, more than any year in recent memory.
In Bunia, a town farther north, rape prosecutions are up 600 percent compared with five years ago. Congolese investigators have even been flown to Europe to learn “CSI”-style forensic techniques. The police have arrested some of the most violent offenders, often young militiamen, most likely psychologically traumatized themselves, who have thrust sticks, rocks, knives and assault rifles inside women.
“We’re starting to see results,” said Pernille Ironside, a United Nations official in eastern Congo.
The number of those arrested is still tiny compared with that of the perpetrators on the loose, and often the worst offenders are not caught because they are marauding bandits who attack villages in the night, victimize women and then melt back into the forest.
This is all happening in a society where women tend to be beaten down anyway. Women in Congo do most of the work —at home, in the fields and in the market, where they carry enormous loads of bananas on their bent backs — and yet they are often powerless. Many women who are raped are told to keep quiet. Often, it is a shame for the entire family, and many rape victims have been kicked out of their villages and turned into beggars.
Grass-roots groups are trying to change this culture, and they have started by encouraging women who have been raped to speak out in open forums, like a courtroom full of spectators, just with no accused.
At the event in Bukavu in mid-September, Ms. Kizende’s story of being abducted by an armed group, then putting her life back together after months as a sex slave, drew tears — and cheers. It seems that the taboo against talking about rape is beginning to lift. Many women in the audience wore T-shirts that read in Kiswahili: “I refuse to be raped. What about you?”
Activists are fanning out to villages on foot and by bicycle to deliver a simple but often novel message: rape is wrong. Men’s groups are even being formed.
But these improvements are simply the first, tentative steps of progress in a very troubled country.
United Nations officials said the number of rapes had appeared to be decreasing over the past year. But the recent surge of fighting between the Congolese government and rebel groups, and all the violence and predation that goes with it, is jeopardizing those gains.
“It’s safer today than it was,” said Euphrasie Mirindi, a woman who was raped in 2006. “But it’s still not safe.”
Poverty, chaos, disease and war. These are the constants of eastern Congo. Many people believe that the rape problem will not be solved until the area tastes peace. But that might not be anytime soon.
Laurent Nkunda, a well-armed Tutsi warlord, or a savior of his people, depending on whom you ask, recently threatened to wage war across the country. Clashes between his troops, many of them child soldiers, and government forces have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in the past few months. His forces, along with those from the dozens of other rebel groups hiding out in the hills, are thought to be mainly responsible for the epidemic of brutal rapes.
United Nations officials say the most sadistic rapes are committed by depraved killers who participated in Rwanda’s genocide in 1994 and then escaped into Congo. These attacks have left thousands of women with their insides destroyed. But the Congolese National Army, a ragtag undisciplined force of teenage troops who sport wrap-around shades and rusty rifles, has also been blamed. The government has been slow to punish its own, but Congolese generals recently announced they would set up new military tribunals to prosecute soldiers accused of rape.
No one — doctors, aid workers, Congolese and Western researchers — can explain exactly why Congo’s rape problem is the worst in the world. The attacks continue despite the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping force, with more than 17,000 troops. Impunity is thought to be a big factor, which is why there is now so much effort on bolstering Congo’s creaky and often corrupt justice system. The sheer number of armed groups spread over thousands of miles of thickly forested territory, fighting over Congo’s rich mineral spoils, also makes it incredibly difficult to protect civilians. The ceaseless instability has held the whole eastern swath of the country hostage.
In Bukavu, everywhere you look, something is broken: a railing, a window, a pickup cruising around with no fenders, a woman trudging along the road with no eyes.
The Congolese government admits it is at a loss, especially in keeping women safe.
“Every day, women are raped,” said Louis Leonce Muderhwa, the governor of South Kivu Province. “This isn’t peace.”
Activists from overseas have been pouring in. Few are more passionate than Eve Ensler, the American playwright who wrote “The Vagina Monologues,” which has been performed in more than 100 countries. She came to Congo last month to work with rape victims.
“I have spent the past 10 years of my life in the rape mines of the world,” she said. “But I have never seen anything like this.”
She calls it “femicide,” a systematic campaign to destroy women.
Ms. Ensler is helping open a center in Bukavu called the City of Joy, which will provide counseling to rape victims and teach leadership skills and self-defense. Her hope is to build an army of rape survivors who will push with an urgency — that has so far been absent — for a solution to end Congo’s ceaseless wars.
The City of Joy is rising behind Panzi Hospital, where the worst of the worst rape cases are treated. But even this refuge has come under attack. Last month, an irate mob stormed the hospital. The mob demanded that the doctors give them the body of a thief, so it could be burned. When the doctors refused, several angry young men beat up nurses and smashed windows. But it was not clear if the body was the only thing that had set them off.
“They don’t like our work,” said Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist. “Maybe what we’re doing is disturbing people.”
The stories of these rapes are clearly disturbing. But that is the point, to shake people up and grab their attention.
“The details are the scariest part,” Ms. Ensler said.
At the event last month, many people in the audience covered their mouths as they listened. Some could not bear it and burst out of the room crying.
One speaker, Claudine Mwabachizi, told how she was kidnapped by bandits in the forest, strapped to a tree and repeatedly gang-raped. The bandits did unspeakable things, she said, like disemboweling a pregnant woman right in front of her. “A lot of us keep these secrets to ourselves,” she said.
She was going public, she said, “to free my sisters.”
But Congo, if anything, is a land of contrasts. The soil here is rich, but the people are starving. The minerals are limitless, but the government is broke.
After the speaking-out event was over, Ms. Mwabachizi said she felt exhausted.
But, she added, “I feel strong.”
She was given a pink shawl with a message printed on it.
“I have survived,” it read. “I can do anything.”
BUKAVU, Congo — Honorata Kizende looked out at the audience and began with a simple, declarative sentence.
“There was no dinner,” she said.
“It was me who was dinner. Me, because they kicked me roughly to the ground, and they ripped off all my clothes, and between the two of them, they held my feet. One took my left foot, one took my right, and the same with my arms, and between the two of them they proceeded to rape me. Then all five of them raped me.”
The audience, which had been called together by local and international aid groups and included everyone from high-ranking politicians to street kids with no shoes, stared at her in disbelief.
Congo, it seems, is finally facing its horrific rape problem, which United Nations officials have called the worst sexual violence in the world. Tens of thousands of women, possibly hundreds of thousands, have been raped in the past few years in this hilly, incongruously beautiful land. Many of these rapes have been marked by a level of brutality that is shocking even by the twisted standards of a place riven by civil war and haunted by warlords and drug-crazed child soldiers.
After years of denial and shame, the silence is being broken. Because of stepped-up efforts in the past nine months by international organizations and the Congolese government, rapists are no longer able to count on a culture of impunity. Of course, countless men still get away with assaulting women. But more and more are getting caught, prosecuted and put behind bars.
European aid agencies are spending tens of millions of dollars building new courthouses and prisons across eastern Congo, in part to punish rapists. Mobile courts are holding rape trials in villages deep in the forest that have not seen a black-robed magistrate since the Belgians ruled the country decades ago.
The American Bar Association opened a legal clinic in January specifically to help rape victims bring their cases to court. So far the work has resulted in eight convictions. Here in Bukavu, one of the biggest cities in the country, a special unit of Congolese police officers has filed 103 rape cases since the beginning of this year, more than any year in recent memory.
In Bunia, a town farther north, rape prosecutions are up 600 percent compared with five years ago. Congolese investigators have even been flown to Europe to learn “CSI”-style forensic techniques. The police have arrested some of the most violent offenders, often young militiamen, most likely psychologically traumatized themselves, who have thrust sticks, rocks, knives and assault rifles inside women.
“We’re starting to see results,” said Pernille Ironside, a United Nations official in eastern Congo.
The number of those arrested is still tiny compared with that of the perpetrators on the loose, and often the worst offenders are not caught because they are marauding bandits who attack villages in the night, victimize women and then melt back into the forest.
This is all happening in a society where women tend to be beaten down anyway. Women in Congo do most of the work —at home, in the fields and in the market, where they carry enormous loads of bananas on their bent backs — and yet they are often powerless. Many women who are raped are told to keep quiet. Often, it is a shame for the entire family, and many rape victims have been kicked out of their villages and turned into beggars.
Grass-roots groups are trying to change this culture, and they have started by encouraging women who have been raped to speak out in open forums, like a courtroom full of spectators, just with no accused.
At the event in Bukavu in mid-September, Ms. Kizende’s story of being abducted by an armed group, then putting her life back together after months as a sex slave, drew tears — and cheers. It seems that the taboo against talking about rape is beginning to lift. Many women in the audience wore T-shirts that read in Kiswahili: “I refuse to be raped. What about you?”
Activists are fanning out to villages on foot and by bicycle to deliver a simple but often novel message: rape is wrong. Men’s groups are even being formed.
But these improvements are simply the first, tentative steps of progress in a very troubled country.
United Nations officials said the number of rapes had appeared to be decreasing over the past year. But the recent surge of fighting between the Congolese government and rebel groups, and all the violence and predation that goes with it, is jeopardizing those gains.
“It’s safer today than it was,” said Euphrasie Mirindi, a woman who was raped in 2006. “But it’s still not safe.”
Poverty, chaos, disease and war. These are the constants of eastern Congo. Many people believe that the rape problem will not be solved until the area tastes peace. But that might not be anytime soon.
Laurent Nkunda, a well-armed Tutsi warlord, or a savior of his people, depending on whom you ask, recently threatened to wage war across the country. Clashes between his troops, many of them child soldiers, and government forces have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in the past few months. His forces, along with those from the dozens of other rebel groups hiding out in the hills, are thought to be mainly responsible for the epidemic of brutal rapes.
United Nations officials say the most sadistic rapes are committed by depraved killers who participated in Rwanda’s genocide in 1994 and then escaped into Congo. These attacks have left thousands of women with their insides destroyed. But the Congolese National Army, a ragtag undisciplined force of teenage troops who sport wrap-around shades and rusty rifles, has also been blamed. The government has been slow to punish its own, but Congolese generals recently announced they would set up new military tribunals to prosecute soldiers accused of rape.
No one — doctors, aid workers, Congolese and Western researchers — can explain exactly why Congo’s rape problem is the worst in the world. The attacks continue despite the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping force, with more than 17,000 troops. Impunity is thought to be a big factor, which is why there is now so much effort on bolstering Congo’s creaky and often corrupt justice system. The sheer number of armed groups spread over thousands of miles of thickly forested territory, fighting over Congo’s rich mineral spoils, also makes it incredibly difficult to protect civilians. The ceaseless instability has held the whole eastern swath of the country hostage.
In Bukavu, everywhere you look, something is broken: a railing, a window, a pickup cruising around with no fenders, a woman trudging along the road with no eyes.
The Congolese government admits it is at a loss, especially in keeping women safe.
“Every day, women are raped,” said Louis Leonce Muderhwa, the governor of South Kivu Province. “This isn’t peace.”
Activists from overseas have been pouring in. Few are more passionate than Eve Ensler, the American playwright who wrote “The Vagina Monologues,” which has been performed in more than 100 countries. She came to Congo last month to work with rape victims.
“I have spent the past 10 years of my life in the rape mines of the world,” she said. “But I have never seen anything like this.”
She calls it “femicide,” a systematic campaign to destroy women.
Ms. Ensler is helping open a center in Bukavu called the City of Joy, which will provide counseling to rape victims and teach leadership skills and self-defense. Her hope is to build an army of rape survivors who will push with an urgency — that has so far been absent — for a solution to end Congo’s ceaseless wars.
The City of Joy is rising behind Panzi Hospital, where the worst of the worst rape cases are treated. But even this refuge has come under attack. Last month, an irate mob stormed the hospital. The mob demanded that the doctors give them the body of a thief, so it could be burned. When the doctors refused, several angry young men beat up nurses and smashed windows. But it was not clear if the body was the only thing that had set them off.
“They don’t like our work,” said Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist. “Maybe what we’re doing is disturbing people.”
The stories of these rapes are clearly disturbing. But that is the point, to shake people up and grab their attention.
“The details are the scariest part,” Ms. Ensler said.
At the event last month, many people in the audience covered their mouths as they listened. Some could not bear it and burst out of the room crying.
One speaker, Claudine Mwabachizi, told how she was kidnapped by bandits in the forest, strapped to a tree and repeatedly gang-raped. The bandits did unspeakable things, she said, like disemboweling a pregnant woman right in front of her. “A lot of us keep these secrets to ourselves,” she said.
She was going public, she said, “to free my sisters.”
But Congo, if anything, is a land of contrasts. The soil here is rich, but the people are starving. The minerals are limitless, but the government is broke.
After the speaking-out event was over, Ms. Mwabachizi said she felt exhausted.
But, she added, “I feel strong.”
She was given a pink shawl with a message printed on it.
“I have survived,” it read. “I can do anything.”
World - US;Obama ad effort swamps McCain & nears record
JIM RUTENBERG
PHILADELPHIA — Senator Barack Obama is days away from breaking the advertising spending record set by President Bush in the general election four years ago, having unleashed an advertising campaign of a scale and complexity unrivaled in the television era
With advertisements running repeatedly day and night, on local stations and on the major broadcast networks, on niche cable networks and even on video games and his own dedicated satellite channels, Mr. Obama is now outadvertising Senator John McCain nationwide by a ratio of at least four to one, according to CMAG, a service that monitors political advertising. That difference is even larger in several closely contested states.
The huge gap has been made possible by Mr. Obama’s decision to opt out of the federal campaign finance system, which gives presidential nominees $84 million in public money and prohibits them from spending any amount above that from their party convention to Election Day. Mr. McCain is participating in the system. Mr. Obama, who at one point promised to participate in it as well, is expected to announce in the next few days that he raised more than $100 million in September, a figure that would shatter fund-raising records.
“This is uncharted territory,” said Kenneth M. Goldstein, the director of the Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin. “We’ve certainly seen heavy advertising battles before. But we’ve never seen in a presidential race one side having such a lopsided advantage.”
While Mr. Obama has held a spending advantage throughout the general election campaign, his television dominance has become most apparent in the last few weeks. He has gone on a buying binge of television time that has allowed him to swamp Mr. McCain’s campaign with concurrent lines of positive and negative messages. Mr. Obama’s advertisements come as Republicans have begun a blitz of automated telephone calls attacking him.
The Obama campaign’s advertising approach — which has included advertisements up to two minutes long in which Mr. Obama lays out his agenda and even advertisements in video games like “Guitar Hero” — has helped mask some of Mr. Obama’s rougher attacks on his rival.
“What Obama is doing is being his own good cop and bad cop,” said Evan Tracey, the chief operating officer of CMAG, who called the advertising war “a blowout” in Mr. Obama’s favor.
Based on his current spending, CMAG predicts Mr. Obama’s general election advertising campaign will surpass the $188 million Mr. Bush spent in his 2004 campaign by early next week. Mr. McCain has spent $91 million on advertising since he clinched his party’s nomination, several months before Mr. Obama clinched his.
The size of the disparity has even surprised aides to Mr. McCain, who traded accusations with Mr. Obama over the advertising battle in this week’s debate, with Mr. Obama telling Mr. McCain that “your ads, 100 percent of them have been negative” and Mr. McCain saying that “Senator Obama has spent more money on negative ads than any political campaign in history.”
The most recent analysis of the presidential advertisements by the University of Wisconsin, based on the period from Sept. 28 through Oct. 4, found that nearly 100 percent of Mr. McCain’s commercials included an attack on Mr. Obama and that 34 percent of Mr. Obama’s advertisements, which were more focused that week on promoting his agenda, included an attack on Mr. McCain.
That finding reflected the McCain campaign’s strategy of trying to make Mr. Obama an unacceptable choice in the eyes of undecided voters and Mr. Obama’s goal of making undecided voters comfortable with him.
But the Wisconsin Advertising Project says that since Mr. Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination in June, 54 percent of Mr. McCain’s advertisements have been completely focused on attacking him, roughly a quarter have mixed criticism of Mr. Obama with a positive message about Mr. McCain, and 20 percent have been devoted solely to promoting Mr. McCain.
In the same period, the study found that 41 percent of Mr. Obama’s advertisements had been devoted solely to attacking Mr. McCain, one-fifth mixed criticism of Mr. McCain with a positive message about Mr. Obama, and 38 percent were solely devoted to promoting Mr. Obama.
The group reported that Mr. Obama has also had several weeks in which his advertising was nearly 100 percent negative or contrast advertisements, though considerably fewer such weeks than Mr. McCain has had.
The percentages do not reflect the vastly greater number of spots run by Mr. Obama. But Mr. Goldstein said Mr. McCain had shown more purely negative advertisements than Mr. Obama had, in spite of Mr. Obama’s spending advantage.
Here in Philadelphia, the biggest media market in a critical state, both candidates showed a mix of positive and negative advertisements on Friday. The spots seemed to show up across the dial as regularly as the affable Geico gecko or the ambling ne’er-do-wells of FreeCreditReport.com.
During “Dr. Phil” on the CBS affiliate here, Mr. Obama showed a minute-long positive commercial recounting “one of my earliest memories: going with Grandfather to see some of the astronauts, being brought back after a splashdown, sitting on his shoulders and waving a little American flag.”
But minutes earlier during the late afternoon news on the NBC station, Mr. Obama had criticized Mr. McCain over a health care plan that an announcer alleges “could leave you hanging by a thread.”
Toward the end of the 4 p.m. newscast on the CBS station, Mr. McCain ran one of his rare purely positive spots, speaking directly into the camera and telling viewers, “The last eight years haven’t worked very well, have they?” He promises, “I have a plan for a new direction for the economy.”
But on the NBC affiliate an advertisement approved by Mr. McCain was tying Mr. Obama to Antoin Rezko, a Chicago real estate developer convicted of fraud who is listed as among the friends Mr. Obama is said to reward “with your tax dollars.”
That spot was co-sponsored by the Republican National Committee, which is allowed to split the costs with Mr. McCain on an unlimited number of advertisements, helping him to double the number of advertisements he can buy.
Mr. McCain has used such advertisements to keep up with Mr. Obama’s advertising in vital cities like this one, where the campaigns have combined to spend the most in the general election but where Mr. Obama has recently outpaced Mr. McCain by nearly two to one. But such advertisements come with a caveat: they must include a reference to Congressional issues and leaders, making the message generally less direct.
The spot with Mr. Rezko also shows the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, and Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts.
But for every city like Philadelphia, in a state Mr. McCain views as important to his chances for victory, there are those like Miami, Washington and Chicago, where Mr. Obama has often been able to run advertisements nearly unopposed. Washington and Chicago are particularly expensive, and Mr. Obama will easily win both. But their stations reach parts of the contested states of Indiana and Virginia.
Mr. McCain is also getting help from the Republican Party’s independent advertising unit, but it cannot coordinate with the party leadership or Mr. McCain’s campaign, meaning it is not always in line with Mr. McCain’s campaign message. And a smattering of outside groups are running hard-charging advertisements against Mr. Obama, but he has the money to immediately meet those attacks with spots directly addressing their charges.
Now spending almost as much as he can in local television markets, Mr. Obama has increased his advertising on the broadcast television networks, including on National Football League games and soap operas.
“They’re doing the networks” said Mr. Tracey, of CMAG, “because they’ve saturated these markets and they’re looking for more time.”
Last Sunday, Mr. Obama bought so heavily on football games and other nationally televised programs that, according to CMAG, he spent $6.5 million on a day when Mr. McCain spent less than $1 million.
PHILADELPHIA — Senator Barack Obama is days away from breaking the advertising spending record set by President Bush in the general election four years ago, having unleashed an advertising campaign of a scale and complexity unrivaled in the television era
With advertisements running repeatedly day and night, on local stations and on the major broadcast networks, on niche cable networks and even on video games and his own dedicated satellite channels, Mr. Obama is now outadvertising Senator John McCain nationwide by a ratio of at least four to one, according to CMAG, a service that monitors political advertising. That difference is even larger in several closely contested states.
The huge gap has been made possible by Mr. Obama’s decision to opt out of the federal campaign finance system, which gives presidential nominees $84 million in public money and prohibits them from spending any amount above that from their party convention to Election Day. Mr. McCain is participating in the system. Mr. Obama, who at one point promised to participate in it as well, is expected to announce in the next few days that he raised more than $100 million in September, a figure that would shatter fund-raising records.
“This is uncharted territory,” said Kenneth M. Goldstein, the director of the Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin. “We’ve certainly seen heavy advertising battles before. But we’ve never seen in a presidential race one side having such a lopsided advantage.”
While Mr. Obama has held a spending advantage throughout the general election campaign, his television dominance has become most apparent in the last few weeks. He has gone on a buying binge of television time that has allowed him to swamp Mr. McCain’s campaign with concurrent lines of positive and negative messages. Mr. Obama’s advertisements come as Republicans have begun a blitz of automated telephone calls attacking him.
The Obama campaign’s advertising approach — which has included advertisements up to two minutes long in which Mr. Obama lays out his agenda and even advertisements in video games like “Guitar Hero” — has helped mask some of Mr. Obama’s rougher attacks on his rival.
“What Obama is doing is being his own good cop and bad cop,” said Evan Tracey, the chief operating officer of CMAG, who called the advertising war “a blowout” in Mr. Obama’s favor.
Based on his current spending, CMAG predicts Mr. Obama’s general election advertising campaign will surpass the $188 million Mr. Bush spent in his 2004 campaign by early next week. Mr. McCain has spent $91 million on advertising since he clinched his party’s nomination, several months before Mr. Obama clinched his.
The size of the disparity has even surprised aides to Mr. McCain, who traded accusations with Mr. Obama over the advertising battle in this week’s debate, with Mr. Obama telling Mr. McCain that “your ads, 100 percent of them have been negative” and Mr. McCain saying that “Senator Obama has spent more money on negative ads than any political campaign in history.”
The most recent analysis of the presidential advertisements by the University of Wisconsin, based on the period from Sept. 28 through Oct. 4, found that nearly 100 percent of Mr. McCain’s commercials included an attack on Mr. Obama and that 34 percent of Mr. Obama’s advertisements, which were more focused that week on promoting his agenda, included an attack on Mr. McCain.
That finding reflected the McCain campaign’s strategy of trying to make Mr. Obama an unacceptable choice in the eyes of undecided voters and Mr. Obama’s goal of making undecided voters comfortable with him.
But the Wisconsin Advertising Project says that since Mr. Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination in June, 54 percent of Mr. McCain’s advertisements have been completely focused on attacking him, roughly a quarter have mixed criticism of Mr. Obama with a positive message about Mr. McCain, and 20 percent have been devoted solely to promoting Mr. McCain.
In the same period, the study found that 41 percent of Mr. Obama’s advertisements had been devoted solely to attacking Mr. McCain, one-fifth mixed criticism of Mr. McCain with a positive message about Mr. Obama, and 38 percent were solely devoted to promoting Mr. Obama.
The group reported that Mr. Obama has also had several weeks in which his advertising was nearly 100 percent negative or contrast advertisements, though considerably fewer such weeks than Mr. McCain has had.
The percentages do not reflect the vastly greater number of spots run by Mr. Obama. But Mr. Goldstein said Mr. McCain had shown more purely negative advertisements than Mr. Obama had, in spite of Mr. Obama’s spending advantage.
Here in Philadelphia, the biggest media market in a critical state, both candidates showed a mix of positive and negative advertisements on Friday. The spots seemed to show up across the dial as regularly as the affable Geico gecko or the ambling ne’er-do-wells of FreeCreditReport.com.
During “Dr. Phil” on the CBS affiliate here, Mr. Obama showed a minute-long positive commercial recounting “one of my earliest memories: going with Grandfather to see some of the astronauts, being brought back after a splashdown, sitting on his shoulders and waving a little American flag.”
But minutes earlier during the late afternoon news on the NBC station, Mr. Obama had criticized Mr. McCain over a health care plan that an announcer alleges “could leave you hanging by a thread.”
Toward the end of the 4 p.m. newscast on the CBS station, Mr. McCain ran one of his rare purely positive spots, speaking directly into the camera and telling viewers, “The last eight years haven’t worked very well, have they?” He promises, “I have a plan for a new direction for the economy.”
But on the NBC affiliate an advertisement approved by Mr. McCain was tying Mr. Obama to Antoin Rezko, a Chicago real estate developer convicted of fraud who is listed as among the friends Mr. Obama is said to reward “with your tax dollars.”
That spot was co-sponsored by the Republican National Committee, which is allowed to split the costs with Mr. McCain on an unlimited number of advertisements, helping him to double the number of advertisements he can buy.
Mr. McCain has used such advertisements to keep up with Mr. Obama’s advertising in vital cities like this one, where the campaigns have combined to spend the most in the general election but where Mr. Obama has recently outpaced Mr. McCain by nearly two to one. But such advertisements come with a caveat: they must include a reference to Congressional issues and leaders, making the message generally less direct.
The spot with Mr. Rezko also shows the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, and Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts.
But for every city like Philadelphia, in a state Mr. McCain views as important to his chances for victory, there are those like Miami, Washington and Chicago, where Mr. Obama has often been able to run advertisements nearly unopposed. Washington and Chicago are particularly expensive, and Mr. Obama will easily win both. But their stations reach parts of the contested states of Indiana and Virginia.
Mr. McCain is also getting help from the Republican Party’s independent advertising unit, but it cannot coordinate with the party leadership or Mr. McCain’s campaign, meaning it is not always in line with Mr. McCain’s campaign message. And a smattering of outside groups are running hard-charging advertisements against Mr. Obama, but he has the money to immediately meet those attacks with spots directly addressing their charges.
Now spending almost as much as he can in local television markets, Mr. Obama has increased his advertising on the broadcast television networks, including on National Football League games and soap operas.
“They’re doing the networks” said Mr. Tracey, of CMAG, “because they’ve saturated these markets and they’re looking for more time.”
Last Sunday, Mr. Obama bought so heavily on football games and other nationally televised programs that, according to CMAG, he spent $6.5 million on a day when Mr. McCain spent less than $1 million.
Columnists - Paul Krugman;Let's get fiscal (V.G.Read)
The Dow is surging! No, it's plunging! No, it's surging! No, it's ... .
Never mind. While the manic-depressive stock market is dominating the headlines, the more important story is the grim news coming in about America's real economy. It's now clear that rescuing the banks is just the beginning: The nonfinancial economy is also in desperate need of help.
And to provide that help, we're going to have to put some prejudices aside. In the United States, it's politically fashionable to rant against government spending and demand fiscal responsibility. But right now, increased government spending is just what the doctor ordered, and concerns about the U.S. budget deficit should be put on hold.
Before I get there, let's talk about the economic situation.
Just this week, we learned that U.S. retail sales have fallen off a cliff, and so has industrial production. Unemployment claims are at steep recession levels, and the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index is falling at the fastest pace in almost 20 years. All signs point to an economic slump that will be nasty, brutish - and long.
How nasty? The U.S. unemployment rate is already above 6 percent (and broader measures of underemployment are in double digits). It's now virtually certain that the unemployment rate will go above 7 percent, and quite possibly above 8 percent, making this the worst recession in a quarter-century.
And how long? It could be very long indeed.
Think about what happened in the last recession, which followed the bursting of the late-1990s technology bubble. On the surface, the policy response to that recession looks like a success story. Although there were widespread fears that the United States would experience a Japanese-style "lost decade," that didn't happen: The Federal Reserve was able to engineer a recovery from that recession by cutting interest rates.
But the truth is that we Americans were looking Japanese for quite a while: The Fed had a hard time getting traction. Despite repeated interest rate cuts, which eventually brought the federal funds rate down to just 1 percent, the unemployment rate just kept on rising; it was more than two years before the job picture started to improve. And when a convincing recovery finally did come, it was only because Alan Greenspan had managed to replace the technology bubble with a housing bubble.
Now the housing bubble has burst in turn, leaving the financial landscape strewn with wreckage. Even if the ongoing efforts to rescue the banking system and unfreeze the credit markets work - and while it's early days yet, the initial results have been disappointing - it's hard to see housing making a comeback any time soon. And if there's another bubble waiting to happen, it's not obvious. So the Fed will find it even harder to get traction this time.
In other words, there's not much Ben Bernanke can do for the economy. He can and should cut interest rates even more - but nobody expects this to do more than provide a slight economic boost.
On the other hand, there's a lot the U.S. government can do for the economy. It can provide extended benefits to the unemployed, which will both help distressed families cope and put money in the hands of people likely to spend it. It can provide emergency aid to state and local governments, so that they aren't forced into steep spending cuts that both degrade public services and destroy jobs. It can buy up mortgages (but not at face value, as John McCain has proposed) and restructure the terms to help families stay in their homes.
And this is also a good time to engage in some serious infrastructure spending, which the U.S. badly needs in any case. The usual argument against public works as economic stimulus is that they take too long: By the time you get around to repairing that bridge and upgrading that rail line, the slump is over and the stimulus isn't needed. Well, that argument has no force now, since the chances that this slump will be over anytime soon are virtually nil.
So let's get those projects rolling.
Will the next administration do what's needed to deal with the economic slump? Not if McCain pulls off an upset. What we need right now is more government spending - but when McCain was asked in one of the debates how he would deal with the economic crisis, he answered: "Well, the first thing we have to do is get spending under control."
If Barack Obama becomes president, he won't have the same knee-jerk opposition to spending. But he will face a chorus of inside-the-Beltway types telling him that he has to be responsible, that the big deficits the government will run next year if it does the right thing are unacceptable.
He should ignore that chorus. The responsible thing, right now, is to give the economy the help it needs. Now is not the time to worry about the deficit.
Never mind. While the manic-depressive stock market is dominating the headlines, the more important story is the grim news coming in about America's real economy. It's now clear that rescuing the banks is just the beginning: The nonfinancial economy is also in desperate need of help.
And to provide that help, we're going to have to put some prejudices aside. In the United States, it's politically fashionable to rant against government spending and demand fiscal responsibility. But right now, increased government spending is just what the doctor ordered, and concerns about the U.S. budget deficit should be put on hold.
Before I get there, let's talk about the economic situation.
Just this week, we learned that U.S. retail sales have fallen off a cliff, and so has industrial production. Unemployment claims are at steep recession levels, and the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index is falling at the fastest pace in almost 20 years. All signs point to an economic slump that will be nasty, brutish - and long.
How nasty? The U.S. unemployment rate is already above 6 percent (and broader measures of underemployment are in double digits). It's now virtually certain that the unemployment rate will go above 7 percent, and quite possibly above 8 percent, making this the worst recession in a quarter-century.
And how long? It could be very long indeed.
Think about what happened in the last recession, which followed the bursting of the late-1990s technology bubble. On the surface, the policy response to that recession looks like a success story. Although there were widespread fears that the United States would experience a Japanese-style "lost decade," that didn't happen: The Federal Reserve was able to engineer a recovery from that recession by cutting interest rates.
But the truth is that we Americans were looking Japanese for quite a while: The Fed had a hard time getting traction. Despite repeated interest rate cuts, which eventually brought the federal funds rate down to just 1 percent, the unemployment rate just kept on rising; it was more than two years before the job picture started to improve. And when a convincing recovery finally did come, it was only because Alan Greenspan had managed to replace the technology bubble with a housing bubble.
Now the housing bubble has burst in turn, leaving the financial landscape strewn with wreckage. Even if the ongoing efforts to rescue the banking system and unfreeze the credit markets work - and while it's early days yet, the initial results have been disappointing - it's hard to see housing making a comeback any time soon. And if there's another bubble waiting to happen, it's not obvious. So the Fed will find it even harder to get traction this time.
In other words, there's not much Ben Bernanke can do for the economy. He can and should cut interest rates even more - but nobody expects this to do more than provide a slight economic boost.
On the other hand, there's a lot the U.S. government can do for the economy. It can provide extended benefits to the unemployed, which will both help distressed families cope and put money in the hands of people likely to spend it. It can provide emergency aid to state and local governments, so that they aren't forced into steep spending cuts that both degrade public services and destroy jobs. It can buy up mortgages (but not at face value, as John McCain has proposed) and restructure the terms to help families stay in their homes.
And this is also a good time to engage in some serious infrastructure spending, which the U.S. badly needs in any case. The usual argument against public works as economic stimulus is that they take too long: By the time you get around to repairing that bridge and upgrading that rail line, the slump is over and the stimulus isn't needed. Well, that argument has no force now, since the chances that this slump will be over anytime soon are virtually nil.
So let's get those projects rolling.
Will the next administration do what's needed to deal with the economic slump? Not if McCain pulls off an upset. What we need right now is more government spending - but when McCain was asked in one of the debates how he would deal with the economic crisis, he answered: "Well, the first thing we have to do is get spending under control."
If Barack Obama becomes president, he won't have the same knee-jerk opposition to spending. But he will face a chorus of inside-the-Beltway types telling him that he has to be responsible, that the big deficits the government will run next year if it does the right thing are unacceptable.
He should ignore that chorus. The responsible thing, right now, is to give the economy the help it needs. Now is not the time to worry about the deficit.
World -Dubai prices rising as fast as buildings
Linda Hervieux
Richard Waryn has lived in Dubai for only two months but he already is certain that the glitz capital of the Mideast lives up to its go-go reputation. What he is not so sure about is whether to sink his money into the sleek apartment towers springing up everywhere.
With property prices up 40 percent this year - and critics warning that a slide is coming - other potential buyers are asking themselves the same question.
"There are just too many developments under construction that are coming online in the next two or three years," said Waryn, an American executive who moved to Dubai from London. "The supply and demand balance are going to be out of whack and the prices will come down."
A Morgan Stanley report predicted a 10 percent decline in prices by 2010 as the supply of new properties outstrips demand. But that view is disputed by other analysts and high-end developers, who say Dubai still is not building enough housing to accommodate a population that is growing by 7 percent a year. Of the emirate's population of 1.5 million, about 75 percent are expatriates like Waryn.
A key question facing the property market is whether the still-booming regional economy can withstand the economic turmoil gripping other parts of the globe. Those worries have sent Middle East stocks tumbling in the past two weeks to multiyear lows.
With oil prices falling, further concerns were raised late last month when the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates made $13.6 billion available to the country's banks. "There appears to be a bit of a liquidity crunch going on with the central bank moving to put money in the market," said Sean Gardiner, head of regional research for Morgan Stanley. "It may make some of the smaller developers struggle to find financing."
Still, most analysts say Dubai is well positioned to ride out the global downturn. Investors expressed confidence that Middle East real estate markets would outperform others in the world over the next two years, according to a survey released Oct. 7 by the real estate agency Jones Lang LaSalle.
At Cityscape, Dubai's splashy annual property fair held last week, several plans for large-scale projects were announced, including a $39 billion tower that developers said will be the world's tallest. Dubai already is building a $20 billion tower, Burj Dubai, that has been expected to take the world's tallest title when it is finished next year.
Some analysts warn that a drop in real estate prices is inevitable if Dubai does not curb speculators who, seeking a quick return, buy and flip their interest in so-called "off-plan" units - projects that are still on the drawing board.
Developers sensitive to the criticism are taking steps to reassure investors and some even have stopped selling off-plan units. Others are targeting long-term buyers not only with promises of higher returns than can be obtained in Western capitals these days, but also with glossy promotions touting the lifestyle benefits of tax-free Dubai.
One project being heavily marketed is Culture Village, a 110,000-square-meter, or 1.2 million-square-foot, complex set to open in 2010 hugging the picturesque Dubai Creek. Along with the usual apartments and restaurants there also are schools planned for the arts as well as the 25,000-square-meter Museum of the Middle East, or Momena.
"Today we realize in Dubai that we should expose our past, our culture, our rituals, our dance. That's what was missing," said Yaqoob Al Zarooni, vice president of the government-owned Dubai Properties, which is building Culture Village. He was speaking at an event last month at the Ritz Hotel in Paris to introduce Babil, one of the complex's four midrise residences. The 51 studio to two-bedroom apartments, all of which have been sold, started at $414,100 and were aimed at European, American and Japanese buyers.
A 145-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment selling for $1.25 million at Babil would cost twice as much in prime areas of New York. In London, where housing prices are down 4.3 percent this year and expected to fall further, it still would cost six times as much.
"There is still no place else where buyers can continue to make these returns," said Shirley Humphrey of Harrods Estates, which is marketing the Babil project.
For now, despite concerns about the global economy, it appears the questions most Dubai residents are asking is when and where to buy.
Trends include developments pushing far into the desert and projects with themes like Dubai Properties' Mudon, a sprawling complex of five minicities, including a mock Marrakesh and Cairo.
Everyone, it seems, is in on the game. Waryn and a friend said they were stunned when, over dinner at the Dubai Marina, their waiter tried to sell them his option in a two-bedroom apartment in the Burj Dubai tower.
"It's like Las Vegas on steroids, without the gambling," said Waryn, 45, managing director for a private equity investment group.
In the end, Waryn and his wife, Liz, a lawyer, opted to rent a 550-square-meter duplex penthouse with private pool and terraces overlooking the sea. The $100,000 annual rent seemed a better deal than buying an equivalent property for about $4 million, although he said they still may buy an investment property.
So far, they are thrilled with life in sunny Dubai, where Jumeirah Beach is steps away and there are things to do with their 21-month-old daughter, Alexandra. "It's kind of the antithesis of where London and New York are right now," Waryn said. "The Gulf is a very attractive place while the rest of the world is doom and gloom."
Richard Waryn has lived in Dubai for only two months but he already is certain that the glitz capital of the Mideast lives up to its go-go reputation. What he is not so sure about is whether to sink his money into the sleek apartment towers springing up everywhere.
With property prices up 40 percent this year - and critics warning that a slide is coming - other potential buyers are asking themselves the same question.
"There are just too many developments under construction that are coming online in the next two or three years," said Waryn, an American executive who moved to Dubai from London. "The supply and demand balance are going to be out of whack and the prices will come down."
A Morgan Stanley report predicted a 10 percent decline in prices by 2010 as the supply of new properties outstrips demand. But that view is disputed by other analysts and high-end developers, who say Dubai still is not building enough housing to accommodate a population that is growing by 7 percent a year. Of the emirate's population of 1.5 million, about 75 percent are expatriates like Waryn.
A key question facing the property market is whether the still-booming regional economy can withstand the economic turmoil gripping other parts of the globe. Those worries have sent Middle East stocks tumbling in the past two weeks to multiyear lows.
With oil prices falling, further concerns were raised late last month when the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates made $13.6 billion available to the country's banks. "There appears to be a bit of a liquidity crunch going on with the central bank moving to put money in the market," said Sean Gardiner, head of regional research for Morgan Stanley. "It may make some of the smaller developers struggle to find financing."
Still, most analysts say Dubai is well positioned to ride out the global downturn. Investors expressed confidence that Middle East real estate markets would outperform others in the world over the next two years, according to a survey released Oct. 7 by the real estate agency Jones Lang LaSalle.
At Cityscape, Dubai's splashy annual property fair held last week, several plans for large-scale projects were announced, including a $39 billion tower that developers said will be the world's tallest. Dubai already is building a $20 billion tower, Burj Dubai, that has been expected to take the world's tallest title when it is finished next year.
Some analysts warn that a drop in real estate prices is inevitable if Dubai does not curb speculators who, seeking a quick return, buy and flip their interest in so-called "off-plan" units - projects that are still on the drawing board.
Developers sensitive to the criticism are taking steps to reassure investors and some even have stopped selling off-plan units. Others are targeting long-term buyers not only with promises of higher returns than can be obtained in Western capitals these days, but also with glossy promotions touting the lifestyle benefits of tax-free Dubai.
One project being heavily marketed is Culture Village, a 110,000-square-meter, or 1.2 million-square-foot, complex set to open in 2010 hugging the picturesque Dubai Creek. Along with the usual apartments and restaurants there also are schools planned for the arts as well as the 25,000-square-meter Museum of the Middle East, or Momena.
"Today we realize in Dubai that we should expose our past, our culture, our rituals, our dance. That's what was missing," said Yaqoob Al Zarooni, vice president of the government-owned Dubai Properties, which is building Culture Village. He was speaking at an event last month at the Ritz Hotel in Paris to introduce Babil, one of the complex's four midrise residences. The 51 studio to two-bedroom apartments, all of which have been sold, started at $414,100 and were aimed at European, American and Japanese buyers.
A 145-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment selling for $1.25 million at Babil would cost twice as much in prime areas of New York. In London, where housing prices are down 4.3 percent this year and expected to fall further, it still would cost six times as much.
"There is still no place else where buyers can continue to make these returns," said Shirley Humphrey of Harrods Estates, which is marketing the Babil project.
For now, despite concerns about the global economy, it appears the questions most Dubai residents are asking is when and where to buy.
Trends include developments pushing far into the desert and projects with themes like Dubai Properties' Mudon, a sprawling complex of five minicities, including a mock Marrakesh and Cairo.
Everyone, it seems, is in on the game. Waryn and a friend said they were stunned when, over dinner at the Dubai Marina, their waiter tried to sell them his option in a two-bedroom apartment in the Burj Dubai tower.
"It's like Las Vegas on steroids, without the gambling," said Waryn, 45, managing director for a private equity investment group.
In the end, Waryn and his wife, Liz, a lawyer, opted to rent a 550-square-meter duplex penthouse with private pool and terraces overlooking the sea. The $100,000 annual rent seemed a better deal than buying an equivalent property for about $4 million, although he said they still may buy an investment property.
So far, they are thrilled with life in sunny Dubai, where Jumeirah Beach is steps away and there are things to do with their 21-month-old daughter, Alexandra. "It's kind of the antithesis of where London and New York are right now," Waryn said. "The Gulf is a very attractive place while the rest of the world is doom and gloom."
World - Rents for lowly parking space stay high in world's cities
Simon Marks
PARIS: While real estate in much of the world's developed countries is struggling, the sale or long-term rental of residential parking spaces is generally doing just fine.
"New properties constructed in central city areas can come with limited parking spaces - there is, therefore, plenty of demand," said Thomas Postilio, vice president of Core Group Marketing in New York.
For developers in New York, parking is the best use of extra space because in some areas it actually can command about the same price per square meter as living space, which costs much more to develop.
With the boom in development during the past few years, parking spaces in the city have often been destroyed in the construction process, Postilio added. "Parking spaces are now an endangered species," and waiting lists for are growing.
Postilio said he had parking spaces in New York on the market for $275,000, a 22 percent increase in last year's prices. That's about $12,900 per square meter, or $1,205 per square foot.
In New York, the average price for an apartment was $13,600 per square meter in the second quarter of 2008, according to data from the brokerage company Prudential Douglas Elliman.
Natalie Kammer, who bought a parking space in her building in Manhattan for $150,000 last year now says the value of her space has doubled to nearly $300,000.
"I thought my husband would divorce me when I told him how much it was," she said. "I think it was a good investment though. In New York the convenience of having a space is worth the premium that I paid. Other people clearly still feel the same."
She says that now there is a waiting list for available spaces in the building, with five or six people on it.
"Owning a parking space in New York city is like owning an oil well," said Robert Hoffmann, president of the New York State Parking Association, an organization for those in the parking industry. "Many homeowners look to sell their parking spaces to make a return on their property."
Some buyers in the world's capital cities, where parking is limited, do not even own cars - but grab the spaces as investments, renting them out to produce additional income.
In Paris, one garage owner in the 17th arrondissement, who said he did not want to be identified for personal reasons, invested €30,000, or nearly $43,000, in an enclosed parking space earlier this year.
It took him less than 48 hours to find a suitable tenant to rent the 10-meter-square, or 108-square-foot, area, which he said required no maintenance.
The rental fee will allow him to make a 7.5 percent annual return on his investment, he said.
In Paris, the average purchase price of garage space in the 15th arrondissement, an area of the French capital with significant levels of construction and renovation, is €15,000, according to Century 21, the international real estate agency.
But a company spokesman said that some parking spaces in commercialized areas of the French capital can soar to as much as €40,000 for a 10-square-meter space.
Prices are similar in parts of London. According to Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings, the cost of renting a garage space in the affluent Hampstead area is approximately £150 per week, or $270. That adds up to £7,800 a year, a rate which has been stable over the past three years.
Brokers and sellers of garages in urban centers worldwide are confident that prices will avoid the same kind of volatility that has hit the housing market, because finding parking has become extremely difficult and the pitfalls of parking on the street are numerous.
In the Westminster area of London, which has a residential population of 230,000, the local authorities clamped the wheels of 15,416 cars in the financial year of 2007-2008.
More than 807,960 parking tickets were distributed in the same period, according to data from the City of Westminster council.
Fines associated with such tickets vary, but generally start at £100 to £50.
Hammed Hussain, the owner of LondonGarages, who acts as an agent for the rental or purchase of individual parking spaces, said that in an affluent area of town like Kensington, where the need for parking is great, spaces can sell for £70,000.
Despite the cost, he said, such spaces are sold quickly whenever they become available.
But spaces in areas on the city's periphery have not kept pace since the economic downturn began late last year. There, he said, prices for spaces have dropped by 15 to 20 percent, although these areas tend to be more middle class and residential so often there is less demand than in wealthier and more commercial neighborhoods.
Those involved in the parking business in Paris and London note the prices and rental fees of parking spaces have not been affected much, if at all, by efforts to reduce the number of cars in central areas.
Paris now has a citywide bike rental system and, in London, drivers must pay a congestion charge of £8 every time they enter the city center - but neither project seems to have decreased parking demand.
PARIS: While real estate in much of the world's developed countries is struggling, the sale or long-term rental of residential parking spaces is generally doing just fine.
"New properties constructed in central city areas can come with limited parking spaces - there is, therefore, plenty of demand," said Thomas Postilio, vice president of Core Group Marketing in New York.
For developers in New York, parking is the best use of extra space because in some areas it actually can command about the same price per square meter as living space, which costs much more to develop.
With the boom in development during the past few years, parking spaces in the city have often been destroyed in the construction process, Postilio added. "Parking spaces are now an endangered species," and waiting lists for are growing.
Postilio said he had parking spaces in New York on the market for $275,000, a 22 percent increase in last year's prices. That's about $12,900 per square meter, or $1,205 per square foot.
In New York, the average price for an apartment was $13,600 per square meter in the second quarter of 2008, according to data from the brokerage company Prudential Douglas Elliman.
Natalie Kammer, who bought a parking space in her building in Manhattan for $150,000 last year now says the value of her space has doubled to nearly $300,000.
"I thought my husband would divorce me when I told him how much it was," she said. "I think it was a good investment though. In New York the convenience of having a space is worth the premium that I paid. Other people clearly still feel the same."
She says that now there is a waiting list for available spaces in the building, with five or six people on it.
"Owning a parking space in New York city is like owning an oil well," said Robert Hoffmann, president of the New York State Parking Association, an organization for those in the parking industry. "Many homeowners look to sell their parking spaces to make a return on their property."
Some buyers in the world's capital cities, where parking is limited, do not even own cars - but grab the spaces as investments, renting them out to produce additional income.
In Paris, one garage owner in the 17th arrondissement, who said he did not want to be identified for personal reasons, invested €30,000, or nearly $43,000, in an enclosed parking space earlier this year.
It took him less than 48 hours to find a suitable tenant to rent the 10-meter-square, or 108-square-foot, area, which he said required no maintenance.
The rental fee will allow him to make a 7.5 percent annual return on his investment, he said.
In Paris, the average purchase price of garage space in the 15th arrondissement, an area of the French capital with significant levels of construction and renovation, is €15,000, according to Century 21, the international real estate agency.
But a company spokesman said that some parking spaces in commercialized areas of the French capital can soar to as much as €40,000 for a 10-square-meter space.
Prices are similar in parts of London. According to Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings, the cost of renting a garage space in the affluent Hampstead area is approximately £150 per week, or $270. That adds up to £7,800 a year, a rate which has been stable over the past three years.
Brokers and sellers of garages in urban centers worldwide are confident that prices will avoid the same kind of volatility that has hit the housing market, because finding parking has become extremely difficult and the pitfalls of parking on the street are numerous.
In the Westminster area of London, which has a residential population of 230,000, the local authorities clamped the wheels of 15,416 cars in the financial year of 2007-2008.
More than 807,960 parking tickets were distributed in the same period, according to data from the City of Westminster council.
Fines associated with such tickets vary, but generally start at £100 to £50.
Hammed Hussain, the owner of LondonGarages, who acts as an agent for the rental or purchase of individual parking spaces, said that in an affluent area of town like Kensington, where the need for parking is great, spaces can sell for £70,000.
Despite the cost, he said, such spaces are sold quickly whenever they become available.
But spaces in areas on the city's periphery have not kept pace since the economic downturn began late last year. There, he said, prices for spaces have dropped by 15 to 20 percent, although these areas tend to be more middle class and residential so often there is less demand than in wealthier and more commercial neighborhoods.
Those involved in the parking business in Paris and London note the prices and rental fees of parking spaces have not been affected much, if at all, by efforts to reduce the number of cars in central areas.
Paris now has a citywide bike rental system and, in London, drivers must pay a congestion charge of £8 every time they enter the city center - but neither project seems to have decreased parking demand.
Lifestyle - Antiquities reveal surprising strength at lower end of market
Souren Melikian
LONDON: Certain sales stand out as landmarks by unexpectedly shedding new light on the forces that truly drive the art market. A daylong auction of antiquities at Bonhams this week was one of those enlightening events.
What made it remarkable was the unremarkable character of the goods on offer. This is not meant as a snide comment about Bonhams, the modest but energetic third runner on the international auction arena, far behind Sotheby's and Christie's. Au contraire. Bonhams is working hard to hold its ground in the middle and lower levels of the market by making itself as attractive as possible.
In its revamped New Bond street premises, its displays can be as elegant as those at the big two and strolling in, you are rarely met with that touch of supercilious stiffness occasionally noticeable in the larger auction houses. On Wednesday, James Knight, the auctioneer who conducted most of the sale, brilliantly practiced the delicate art of trying to get good prices for the vendor without giving the impression of pressing bidders artificially, and in the process, probably brought his own contribution to the outcome of the auction.
But, ultimately, it is the buyer's willingness to pay for art that makes or breaks an auction. On a day when bleak forecasts were made afresh about the economic prospects of Britain, the public mood was not exactly rosy and the goods on offer had little about them that was likely to cheer up those possessed with the art collector's urge.
The sculpture, vessels, and jewelry consigned to the morning session made up a mix of Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek and Roman art at the lowest level. Many pieces were poorly preserved, and few were redeemed by some rare feature.
In the afternoon, a comparable assemblage, if more closely focused on Ancient Greece and Rome, was presented under the grand heading "The Geddes Collection."
A terse notice in the catalogue, however flattering the tone, revealed that Graham Geddes was an Australian dealer who started in the 1960s. It did not specify that the objects consigned for sale were those that had remained unsold, but this is how any experienced market hand with the slightest inclination to cynicism would have read the said biographical information. In the current climate, disaster seemed bound to strike. Yet, it did not.
True, a number of objects remained unwanted. In the morning, 11 of the first 30 pieces that came up failed to sell, by my count. But most of these would be unsaleable under pretty much any circumstances.
A pinkish terracotta offering tray, as undistinguished in shape as in the rendition of the offerings molded on it, was never going to stimulate bidders into coughing up £1,000 to £1,500, or $1,750 to $2,625, plus the 20 percent sale charge. On the other hand, the first lot to come up, an Egyptian Pre-Dynastic ovoid jar of the fourth millennium B.C., proved attractive to the modern eye with its deep red burnished sides turning to black in the uppermost area. Unfortunately, the erstwhile bloom of its fine burnish is gone, and not long ago that would have proved a handicap. No longer. Pre-Dynastic vases taken out of Egypt by the hundreds when the commercial looting of tombs was an accepted fact of life are now rare. Lot 1 sold well, for £3,120.
The rarification factor again and again helped objects which in earlier days of abundance would not have inspired great enthusiasm. A limestone relief fragment of the Middle Kingdom carved 4,000 years ago, with a procession of attendants carrying offerings, made £7,200, despite nasty dirt incrustations. A series of gaudy blue-glazed frit figures of the "Shabti" type without any artistic quality sold like hotcakes, because Geddes had been clever enough to have their hieroglyphs read by scholars and these named the characters. Good prices were paid, ranging from £1,200 to £3,120.
An outburst of enthusiasm was even prompted by the appearance of a small but dazzling profile carved out of indurated limestone, which Bonhams dated "circa 1550-1070 BC." It was once inlaid into furniture. At £26,400, an astronomical price for what it is, the profile more than tripled the estimate.
But what made the sale most significant was the ease with which small pleasing pieces of no particular merit found takers. The squatting bronze figure of Ma'at, the deity of Truth, 10.5 centimeters, or 4 ¼ inches, high was extraordinarily expensive at £6,600, and a tiny seated baboon cast in bronze filled with lead to serve as a weight was, in proportion, equally dear at £2,980 - the catalogue breezily noted that the figure, 3.8 centimeters high, was "damaged."
The interest taken in modest pieces - some good but not outstanding, others either downright mediocre or in desperately poor condition - was maintained when it came to Greek and Roman art. It was astonishing to see the wreck of a once glorious Attic vase painted with black figures around 530-510 B.C., selling for £7,800. Huge chunks are missing, hence the "heavy restoration and repainting" noted by Bonhams. Collectors clearly driven by purely aesthetic desire went after pieces such as the graceful Greek bronze figure of a draped woman walking. The headless statue, which is missing both arms, went up to £8,400.
Later, a very large Roman marble capital of the Corinthian order carved in the second century rose to £24,000. The quality is excellent and it can be shown to have been in Britain long before 1970, the cutoff date after which possession of antiquities without an export license from the country of origin is increasingly perceived to be a high risk. But it is not the kind of object that sells easily, given its unwieldy size.
Damaged sculptures of moderate appeal did well. A Roman marble torso of a Venus, missing its head and most of its arms, with legs chopped above the knees, realized a steep £33,600. While superbly carved, this fragment of the first century cannot be claimed to be "important."
The high failure rate, which hit 43 percent of the items, might suggest to outsiders unfamiliar with the art that the antiquities market was in dire straits. Actually, it was exclusively due to objects that would be virtually unsaleable under any circumstances. In truth, the morning session was a commercial success disguised by the large number of utter duds.
That left a big question mark hovering over the fate of "The Geddes Collection" due to appear in the afternoon. If the market was ever so slightly reticent, objects that had long remained in the dealer's stock despite widespread exposure - several had been included in museum shows in Australia - were in danger of being spurned en masse. This did not happen. The session went as well it could ever have, given what was on offer.
Of the first 10 Greek vases that came on the block, six found takers, in some cases miraculously so. It takes the current dearth of vases from the late sixth century B.C. for a black figure amphora "repaired and restored" to be saved by a lone bidder willing to cough up £30,000. The success of the black figure psykter (a vessel for cooling wine, looking like an amphora standing upside down) of the early fifth century B.C. that followed was equally amazing. "Repaired with some restoration and repainting," as Bonhams put it in a tactful understatement, it managed to bring a thumping £40,800.
More pieces pulled through against the odds at prices defying common sense.
The marble head of a foppish young man, brutish and smug, carved as the corner ornament of a sarcophagus lid which Bonhams dated "circa 2nd century" could not have gone for much more than the £24,000 it cost on Wednesday, and the £54,000 paid for an awkwardly broken marble relief "circa 2nd century," in which both characters are missing their heads and legs, is astonishing.
The Bonhams sale demonstrated to the delighted surprise of professionals that the eagerness to own antiquities is, for now, strong enough to beat financial worries, even at the lowest quality level. It was highly significant because this is where any market is most likely to suffer when a recession looms. In the art market, human emotions apparently remain stronger than rational calculations
LONDON: Certain sales stand out as landmarks by unexpectedly shedding new light on the forces that truly drive the art market. A daylong auction of antiquities at Bonhams this week was one of those enlightening events.
What made it remarkable was the unremarkable character of the goods on offer. This is not meant as a snide comment about Bonhams, the modest but energetic third runner on the international auction arena, far behind Sotheby's and Christie's. Au contraire. Bonhams is working hard to hold its ground in the middle and lower levels of the market by making itself as attractive as possible.
In its revamped New Bond street premises, its displays can be as elegant as those at the big two and strolling in, you are rarely met with that touch of supercilious stiffness occasionally noticeable in the larger auction houses. On Wednesday, James Knight, the auctioneer who conducted most of the sale, brilliantly practiced the delicate art of trying to get good prices for the vendor without giving the impression of pressing bidders artificially, and in the process, probably brought his own contribution to the outcome of the auction.
But, ultimately, it is the buyer's willingness to pay for art that makes or breaks an auction. On a day when bleak forecasts were made afresh about the economic prospects of Britain, the public mood was not exactly rosy and the goods on offer had little about them that was likely to cheer up those possessed with the art collector's urge.
The sculpture, vessels, and jewelry consigned to the morning session made up a mix of Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek and Roman art at the lowest level. Many pieces were poorly preserved, and few were redeemed by some rare feature.
In the afternoon, a comparable assemblage, if more closely focused on Ancient Greece and Rome, was presented under the grand heading "The Geddes Collection."
A terse notice in the catalogue, however flattering the tone, revealed that Graham Geddes was an Australian dealer who started in the 1960s. It did not specify that the objects consigned for sale were those that had remained unsold, but this is how any experienced market hand with the slightest inclination to cynicism would have read the said biographical information. In the current climate, disaster seemed bound to strike. Yet, it did not.
True, a number of objects remained unwanted. In the morning, 11 of the first 30 pieces that came up failed to sell, by my count. But most of these would be unsaleable under pretty much any circumstances.
A pinkish terracotta offering tray, as undistinguished in shape as in the rendition of the offerings molded on it, was never going to stimulate bidders into coughing up £1,000 to £1,500, or $1,750 to $2,625, plus the 20 percent sale charge. On the other hand, the first lot to come up, an Egyptian Pre-Dynastic ovoid jar of the fourth millennium B.C., proved attractive to the modern eye with its deep red burnished sides turning to black in the uppermost area. Unfortunately, the erstwhile bloom of its fine burnish is gone, and not long ago that would have proved a handicap. No longer. Pre-Dynastic vases taken out of Egypt by the hundreds when the commercial looting of tombs was an accepted fact of life are now rare. Lot 1 sold well, for £3,120.
The rarification factor again and again helped objects which in earlier days of abundance would not have inspired great enthusiasm. A limestone relief fragment of the Middle Kingdom carved 4,000 years ago, with a procession of attendants carrying offerings, made £7,200, despite nasty dirt incrustations. A series of gaudy blue-glazed frit figures of the "Shabti" type without any artistic quality sold like hotcakes, because Geddes had been clever enough to have their hieroglyphs read by scholars and these named the characters. Good prices were paid, ranging from £1,200 to £3,120.
An outburst of enthusiasm was even prompted by the appearance of a small but dazzling profile carved out of indurated limestone, which Bonhams dated "circa 1550-1070 BC." It was once inlaid into furniture. At £26,400, an astronomical price for what it is, the profile more than tripled the estimate.
But what made the sale most significant was the ease with which small pleasing pieces of no particular merit found takers. The squatting bronze figure of Ma'at, the deity of Truth, 10.5 centimeters, or 4 ¼ inches, high was extraordinarily expensive at £6,600, and a tiny seated baboon cast in bronze filled with lead to serve as a weight was, in proportion, equally dear at £2,980 - the catalogue breezily noted that the figure, 3.8 centimeters high, was "damaged."
The interest taken in modest pieces - some good but not outstanding, others either downright mediocre or in desperately poor condition - was maintained when it came to Greek and Roman art. It was astonishing to see the wreck of a once glorious Attic vase painted with black figures around 530-510 B.C., selling for £7,800. Huge chunks are missing, hence the "heavy restoration and repainting" noted by Bonhams. Collectors clearly driven by purely aesthetic desire went after pieces such as the graceful Greek bronze figure of a draped woman walking. The headless statue, which is missing both arms, went up to £8,400.
Later, a very large Roman marble capital of the Corinthian order carved in the second century rose to £24,000. The quality is excellent and it can be shown to have been in Britain long before 1970, the cutoff date after which possession of antiquities without an export license from the country of origin is increasingly perceived to be a high risk. But it is not the kind of object that sells easily, given its unwieldy size.
Damaged sculptures of moderate appeal did well. A Roman marble torso of a Venus, missing its head and most of its arms, with legs chopped above the knees, realized a steep £33,600. While superbly carved, this fragment of the first century cannot be claimed to be "important."
The high failure rate, which hit 43 percent of the items, might suggest to outsiders unfamiliar with the art that the antiquities market was in dire straits. Actually, it was exclusively due to objects that would be virtually unsaleable under any circumstances. In truth, the morning session was a commercial success disguised by the large number of utter duds.
That left a big question mark hovering over the fate of "The Geddes Collection" due to appear in the afternoon. If the market was ever so slightly reticent, objects that had long remained in the dealer's stock despite widespread exposure - several had been included in museum shows in Australia - were in danger of being spurned en masse. This did not happen. The session went as well it could ever have, given what was on offer.
Of the first 10 Greek vases that came on the block, six found takers, in some cases miraculously so. It takes the current dearth of vases from the late sixth century B.C. for a black figure amphora "repaired and restored" to be saved by a lone bidder willing to cough up £30,000. The success of the black figure psykter (a vessel for cooling wine, looking like an amphora standing upside down) of the early fifth century B.C. that followed was equally amazing. "Repaired with some restoration and repainting," as Bonhams put it in a tactful understatement, it managed to bring a thumping £40,800.
More pieces pulled through against the odds at prices defying common sense.
The marble head of a foppish young man, brutish and smug, carved as the corner ornament of a sarcophagus lid which Bonhams dated "circa 2nd century" could not have gone for much more than the £24,000 it cost on Wednesday, and the £54,000 paid for an awkwardly broken marble relief "circa 2nd century," in which both characters are missing their heads and legs, is astonishing.
The Bonhams sale demonstrated to the delighted surprise of professionals that the eagerness to own antiquities is, for now, strong enough to beat financial worries, even at the lowest quality level. It was highly significant because this is where any market is most likely to suffer when a recession looms. In the art market, human emotions apparently remain stronger than rational calculations
Columnists - David Brooks;Thinking about Obama (G.Read)
We've been watching Barack Obama for two years now, and in all that time there hasn't been a moment in which he has publicly lost his self-control. This has been a period of tumult, combat, exhaustion and crisis. And yet there hasn't been a moment when he has displayed rage, resentment, fear, anxiety, bitterness, tears, ecstasy, self-pity or impulsiveness.
Some candidates are motivated by something they lack. For LBJ, it was respect. For Bill Clinton, it was adoration. These politicians are motivated to fill that void. Their challenge once in office is self-regulation. How will they control the demons, insecurities and longings that fired their ambitions?
But other candidates are propelled by what some psychologists call self-efficacy, the placid assumption that they can handle whatever the future throws at them. Candidates in this mold, most heroically FDR and Ronald Reagan, are driven upward by a desire to realize some capacity in their nature. They rise with an unshakable serenity that is inexplicable to their critics and infuriating to their foes.
Obama has the biography of the first group but the personality of the second. He grew up with an absent father and a peripatetic mother.
"I learned long ago to distrust my childhood," he wrote in "Dreams From My Father." This is supposed to produce a politician with gaping personal needs and hidden wounds.
But over the past two years, Obama has never shown evidence of that. Instead, he has shown the same untroubled self-confidence day after day.
There has never been a moment when, at least in public, he seems gripped by inner turmoil. It's not willpower or self-discipline he shows as much as an organized unconscious. Through some deep, bottom-up process, he has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he's become a homeostasis machine.
When Bob Schieffer asked him tough questions during the debate Wednesday night, he would step back and describe the broader situation. When John McCain would hit him with some critique - even about fetuses being left to die on a table - he would smile in amusement at the political game they were playing. At every challenging moment, his instinct was to self-remove and establish an observer's perspective.
Through the debate, he was reassuring and self-composed. McCain, an experienced old hand, would blink furiously over the tension of the moment, but Obama didn't reveal even unconscious signs of nervousness. There was no hint of an unwanted feeling.
They say we are products of our environments, but Obama, the sojourner, seems to go through various situations without being overly touched by them. Over the past two years, he has been the subject of nearly unparalleled public worship, but far from getting drunk on it, he has become less grandiloquent as the campaign has gone along.
When Bill Clinton campaigned, he tried to seduce his audiences. But at Obama rallies, the candidate is the wooed, not the wooer. He doesn't seem to need the audience's love. But they need his. The audiences hunger for his affection, while he is calm, appreciative and didactic.
He doesn't have FDR's joyful nature or Reagan's happy outlook, but he is analytical. That's why this William Ayers business doesn't stick. He may be liberal, but he is never wild. His family is bourgeois. His instinct is to flee the revolutionary gesture in favor of the six-point plan.
This was not evident back in the "fierce urgency of now" days, but it is now. And it is easy to sketch out a scenario in which he could be a great president. He would be untroubled by self-destructive demons or indiscipline. With that cool manner, he would see reality unfiltered. He could gather - already has gathered - some of the smartest minds in public policy, and, untroubled by intellectual insecurity, he could give them free rein. Though he is young, it is easy to imagine him at the Cabinet table, leading a subtle discussion of some long-term problem.
Of course, it's also easy to imagine a scenario in which he is not an island of rationality in a sea of tumult, but simply an island. New presidents are often amazed by how much they are disobeyed, by how often passive-aggressiveness frustrates their plans.
It could be that Obama will be an observer, not a leader. Rather than throwing himself passionately into his causes, he will stand back. Congressional leaders, put off by his supposed intellectual superiority, will just go their own way. Lost in his own nuance, he will be passive and ineffectual. Lack of passion will produce lack of courage. The Obama greatness will give way to the Obama anti-climax.
It's hard to know how the story ends. But over the past two years, Obama has clearly worn well with voters. Far from a celebrity fad, he is self-contained, self-controlled and maybe even a little dull.
Some candidates are motivated by something they lack. For LBJ, it was respect. For Bill Clinton, it was adoration. These politicians are motivated to fill that void. Their challenge once in office is self-regulation. How will they control the demons, insecurities and longings that fired their ambitions?
But other candidates are propelled by what some psychologists call self-efficacy, the placid assumption that they can handle whatever the future throws at them. Candidates in this mold, most heroically FDR and Ronald Reagan, are driven upward by a desire to realize some capacity in their nature. They rise with an unshakable serenity that is inexplicable to their critics and infuriating to their foes.
Obama has the biography of the first group but the personality of the second. He grew up with an absent father and a peripatetic mother.
"I learned long ago to distrust my childhood," he wrote in "Dreams From My Father." This is supposed to produce a politician with gaping personal needs and hidden wounds.
But over the past two years, Obama has never shown evidence of that. Instead, he has shown the same untroubled self-confidence day after day.
There has never been a moment when, at least in public, he seems gripped by inner turmoil. It's not willpower or self-discipline he shows as much as an organized unconscious. Through some deep, bottom-up process, he has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he's become a homeostasis machine.
When Bob Schieffer asked him tough questions during the debate Wednesday night, he would step back and describe the broader situation. When John McCain would hit him with some critique - even about fetuses being left to die on a table - he would smile in amusement at the political game they were playing. At every challenging moment, his instinct was to self-remove and establish an observer's perspective.
Through the debate, he was reassuring and self-composed. McCain, an experienced old hand, would blink furiously over the tension of the moment, but Obama didn't reveal even unconscious signs of nervousness. There was no hint of an unwanted feeling.
They say we are products of our environments, but Obama, the sojourner, seems to go through various situations without being overly touched by them. Over the past two years, he has been the subject of nearly unparalleled public worship, but far from getting drunk on it, he has become less grandiloquent as the campaign has gone along.
When Bill Clinton campaigned, he tried to seduce his audiences. But at Obama rallies, the candidate is the wooed, not the wooer. He doesn't seem to need the audience's love. But they need his. The audiences hunger for his affection, while he is calm, appreciative and didactic.
He doesn't have FDR's joyful nature or Reagan's happy outlook, but he is analytical. That's why this William Ayers business doesn't stick. He may be liberal, but he is never wild. His family is bourgeois. His instinct is to flee the revolutionary gesture in favor of the six-point plan.
This was not evident back in the "fierce urgency of now" days, but it is now. And it is easy to sketch out a scenario in which he could be a great president. He would be untroubled by self-destructive demons or indiscipline. With that cool manner, he would see reality unfiltered. He could gather - already has gathered - some of the smartest minds in public policy, and, untroubled by intellectual insecurity, he could give them free rein. Though he is young, it is easy to imagine him at the Cabinet table, leading a subtle discussion of some long-term problem.
Of course, it's also easy to imagine a scenario in which he is not an island of rationality in a sea of tumult, but simply an island. New presidents are often amazed by how much they are disobeyed, by how often passive-aggressiveness frustrates their plans.
It could be that Obama will be an observer, not a leader. Rather than throwing himself passionately into his causes, he will stand back. Congressional leaders, put off by his supposed intellectual superiority, will just go their own way. Lost in his own nuance, he will be passive and ineffectual. Lack of passion will produce lack of courage. The Obama greatness will give way to the Obama anti-climax.
It's hard to know how the story ends. But over the past two years, Obama has clearly worn well with voters. Far from a celebrity fad, he is self-contained, self-controlled and maybe even a little dull.
Sport - F1;Amid global crunch Formula One banks on Asia
Brad Spurgeon
SHANGHAI: When the global financial storm hit last month, Formula One was staging its most glitzy and ambitious Grand Prix to date, a first-ever night race under the lights in the streets of Singapore.
It was the first of three races this year on the Asian leg of Formula One's world tour, but critics, pointing to the irony of the timing, said the sport's perceived financial excess would soon be an anachronism in a time of tightening purse strings for businesses and consumers throughout the world.
Many team directors, sponsors and others involved in the sport disagree, saying that the race in Singapore's financial hub on Sept. 28 was just what the sport needed to ensure its future in a troubled world economic climate. They noted that Formula One's ongoing expansion in Asia - it will add a race in India in 2011 and is considering one in South Korea - was designed not only to have greater exposure in the region as a global sport, but also to profit financially from Asian economic growth.
The race in Singapore and the Japanese Grand Prix on Oct. 12 were resounding successes. Yet as it prepares for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai this weekend, the series faces vast challenges, particularly in China.
Although this is Formula One's fifth annual Grand Prix race in Shanghai, the sport is a long way from piercing the market and raising the level of the local motor-racing culture to ensure success.
Before hosting its first Formula One race in 2004, China had no indigenous motor racing to speak of. Its only international events were a leg of the World Rally Championship in the 1990s. Although interest has been building steadily, it came to a standstill this year during motor racing's usual peak summer months as the Olympics dominated sports in China. Motor-racing events in China were temporarily called off throughout the summer and the Formula One races that were supposed to be broadcast live were televised later.
The contract with the government-owned Shanghai International Circuit to host the Grand Prix runs until 2010. But the circuit is not making money through sales of tickets, which cost the equivalent of more than half of the average monthly salary in the Shanghai area.
The MotoGP motorcycle race has been dropped from the Shanghai circuit, four years into a seven-year deal. Some wonder whether the same will happen to Formula One, particularly amid the global economic downturn.
Yet for most Formula One sponsors and the car manufacturers that own half of the teams, China is a priority, as is Asia in general. The manufacturers build and sell cars in China, the largest potential market in the world, where car sales are up 11 percent so far this year.
Mercedes sold 30,600 cars in China last year, according to the McLaren Mercedes team. That was an increase of 44.9 percent on the previous year, and from January to September this year, sales increased by 53.6 percent over the same period in 2007.
"China becomes more important year by year because it is a huge country - 1.4 billion people - it's just developing, just discovering things like Formula One," said Mario Theissen, the director of the BMW Sauber Formula One team and of BMW's motor sports program. "I think as the public becomes aware of it and gets hooked, Chinese companies will be interested in Formula One as well. So I see a big economic potential as well."
"But it's not a one- or two-year game," he added. "It's what we see as a car manufacturer as well: You have to invest in China first, then it will take five to 10 years until you really earn what you have put in before."
Yet for Michael Li, a Chinese motor racing journalist at Sina.com, China's largest Internet portal, the manufacturers are not doing enough to encourage the sport's development in China.
He said that in addition to appearing at the Chinese Grand Prix and promoting it the week before, they should be setting up and investing in local racing series and sponsoring events in the country throughout the year.
"It's not a question of what China has to offer now," Li said. "It's a question of maybe the manufacturers will have to do something first to teach the Chinese people, to raise the awareness of motor sport. And they need to teach us why we should get involved and what fun we would get out of it, to bring in more fans."
Theissen said that BMW Sauber's partner, the Malaysian oil company Petronas, runs two BMW Z4 cars in a Japanese touring-car series and that it intends to go to China as well. Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One promoter, this year added an Asian leg to the GP2 series, which races in China as a support race to the Grand Prix this weekend.
Christopher Lencheski, president and chief executive of SKI & Company, a sports and entertainment marketing and communications firm that is involved in Formula One sponsorship, suggested that Asia offers vast opportunities that Formula One has yet to exploit. He said that the series would likely begin to use local sponsorships in a race-specific manner.
"Hypothetically, Tiger Beer could be the official sponsor of the Honda Racing F1 team, localized," he said. "The content is driven through here, presented by Tiger Beer, in say, Singapore or pan-Asian states, but not on the car."
He also said that the advent of night races in Asia, as in Singapore, brings the sport to television's prime time in the region, which is likely to increase viewership.
But the health of the Asian financial markets and the sport's approach to the region remains a key to its own future health. So far, there are few local sponsors from Asia because the sport is not popular enough here.
"The basic fundamental issue is that we don't have a driver in Formula One, we don't have a team, we don't have anyone involved," said Li, referring to the situation in China. "Aigo is a partner with McLaren, and you can see a few Chinese characters on a Formula One car these days, but that's all."
But the problem goes beyond that and into the very nature of the business and sports culture in China.
"China got 51 gold medals in the Olympics and most sports are supported by the state," Li noted. "And you can't really see a lot of private companies sponsoring the athletes. They're not ready to do that yet."
But according to Feng Jun, president of Aigo, a consumer technology company that was also involved in Olympics sponsorship, interest is growing in China, both among the public and among companies. Formula One's international reach and its image is exactly what China needs, he said.
"Chinese brands are mainly low-end, but at Aigo we do R and D, we have many new technologies and the quality control is very strict," Feng said. "So we want to be a high-end brand, and Formula One is the best platform for high-end brands."
Feng also said that the global financial crisis could help his and other Chinese companies achieve another objective through Formula One.
"Before, people had enough money so they don't care about the price," he said. "But now with the crisis, not everyone is so rich, so now more and more people will care about which brand will have a high-quality, high-end and a reasonable price."
SHANGHAI: When the global financial storm hit last month, Formula One was staging its most glitzy and ambitious Grand Prix to date, a first-ever night race under the lights in the streets of Singapore.
It was the first of three races this year on the Asian leg of Formula One's world tour, but critics, pointing to the irony of the timing, said the sport's perceived financial excess would soon be an anachronism in a time of tightening purse strings for businesses and consumers throughout the world.
Many team directors, sponsors and others involved in the sport disagree, saying that the race in Singapore's financial hub on Sept. 28 was just what the sport needed to ensure its future in a troubled world economic climate. They noted that Formula One's ongoing expansion in Asia - it will add a race in India in 2011 and is considering one in South Korea - was designed not only to have greater exposure in the region as a global sport, but also to profit financially from Asian economic growth.
The race in Singapore and the Japanese Grand Prix on Oct. 12 were resounding successes. Yet as it prepares for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai this weekend, the series faces vast challenges, particularly in China.
Although this is Formula One's fifth annual Grand Prix race in Shanghai, the sport is a long way from piercing the market and raising the level of the local motor-racing culture to ensure success.
Before hosting its first Formula One race in 2004, China had no indigenous motor racing to speak of. Its only international events were a leg of the World Rally Championship in the 1990s. Although interest has been building steadily, it came to a standstill this year during motor racing's usual peak summer months as the Olympics dominated sports in China. Motor-racing events in China were temporarily called off throughout the summer and the Formula One races that were supposed to be broadcast live were televised later.
The contract with the government-owned Shanghai International Circuit to host the Grand Prix runs until 2010. But the circuit is not making money through sales of tickets, which cost the equivalent of more than half of the average monthly salary in the Shanghai area.
The MotoGP motorcycle race has been dropped from the Shanghai circuit, four years into a seven-year deal. Some wonder whether the same will happen to Formula One, particularly amid the global economic downturn.
Yet for most Formula One sponsors and the car manufacturers that own half of the teams, China is a priority, as is Asia in general. The manufacturers build and sell cars in China, the largest potential market in the world, where car sales are up 11 percent so far this year.
Mercedes sold 30,600 cars in China last year, according to the McLaren Mercedes team. That was an increase of 44.9 percent on the previous year, and from January to September this year, sales increased by 53.6 percent over the same period in 2007.
"China becomes more important year by year because it is a huge country - 1.4 billion people - it's just developing, just discovering things like Formula One," said Mario Theissen, the director of the BMW Sauber Formula One team and of BMW's motor sports program. "I think as the public becomes aware of it and gets hooked, Chinese companies will be interested in Formula One as well. So I see a big economic potential as well."
"But it's not a one- or two-year game," he added. "It's what we see as a car manufacturer as well: You have to invest in China first, then it will take five to 10 years until you really earn what you have put in before."
Yet for Michael Li, a Chinese motor racing journalist at Sina.com, China's largest Internet portal, the manufacturers are not doing enough to encourage the sport's development in China.
He said that in addition to appearing at the Chinese Grand Prix and promoting it the week before, they should be setting up and investing in local racing series and sponsoring events in the country throughout the year.
"It's not a question of what China has to offer now," Li said. "It's a question of maybe the manufacturers will have to do something first to teach the Chinese people, to raise the awareness of motor sport. And they need to teach us why we should get involved and what fun we would get out of it, to bring in more fans."
Theissen said that BMW Sauber's partner, the Malaysian oil company Petronas, runs two BMW Z4 cars in a Japanese touring-car series and that it intends to go to China as well. Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One promoter, this year added an Asian leg to the GP2 series, which races in China as a support race to the Grand Prix this weekend.
Christopher Lencheski, president and chief executive of SKI & Company, a sports and entertainment marketing and communications firm that is involved in Formula One sponsorship, suggested that Asia offers vast opportunities that Formula One has yet to exploit. He said that the series would likely begin to use local sponsorships in a race-specific manner.
"Hypothetically, Tiger Beer could be the official sponsor of the Honda Racing F1 team, localized," he said. "The content is driven through here, presented by Tiger Beer, in say, Singapore or pan-Asian states, but not on the car."
He also said that the advent of night races in Asia, as in Singapore, brings the sport to television's prime time in the region, which is likely to increase viewership.
But the health of the Asian financial markets and the sport's approach to the region remains a key to its own future health. So far, there are few local sponsors from Asia because the sport is not popular enough here.
"The basic fundamental issue is that we don't have a driver in Formula One, we don't have a team, we don't have anyone involved," said Li, referring to the situation in China. "Aigo is a partner with McLaren, and you can see a few Chinese characters on a Formula One car these days, but that's all."
But the problem goes beyond that and into the very nature of the business and sports culture in China.
"China got 51 gold medals in the Olympics and most sports are supported by the state," Li noted. "And you can't really see a lot of private companies sponsoring the athletes. They're not ready to do that yet."
But according to Feng Jun, president of Aigo, a consumer technology company that was also involved in Olympics sponsorship, interest is growing in China, both among the public and among companies. Formula One's international reach and its image is exactly what China needs, he said.
"Chinese brands are mainly low-end, but at Aigo we do R and D, we have many new technologies and the quality control is very strict," Feng said. "So we want to be a high-end brand, and Formula One is the best platform for high-end brands."
Feng also said that the global financial crisis could help his and other Chinese companies achieve another objective through Formula One.
"Before, people had enough money so they don't care about the price," he said. "But now with the crisis, not everyone is so rich, so now more and more people will care about which brand will have a high-quality, high-end and a reasonable price."
Sport - Tennis;Federer gains rematch with Murray
MADRID: Roger Federer beat ninth-seeded Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina, 6-3, 6-3, on Friday to reach the Madrid Masters semifinals, where he will face Andy Murray in a rematch of the U.S. Open final.
Rafael Nadal downed Spanish countryman Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 6-4. The world No. 1 was to play on Saturday either Gilles Simon of France or Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, who were playing a late match Friday.
Nadal and Federer have each won Madrid without playing the other. They have featured in four finals this year, with Nadal sweeping them all, including the French Open and Wimbledon.
Nadal, who had complained of a right leg injury at the start of the week, said he suffered shoulder pain during the day and received treatment until just before playing Lopez.
"Right up to the last minute the doctors have been treating me for shoulder pain, I spent two hours with them before coming out on court," Nadal said.
Despite that concern, he was wary of Lopez, who ousted top-10 players David Ferrer and Stanislas Wawrinka. But he made the only break in the fifth game of the first set and ninth game of the second, helped by Lopez's 33 unforced errors.
"This surface favored Feliciano, he likes to play here and at this altitude," said Nadal. "So I think I've played a very serious match."
The second-seeded Federer used an effective slice serve on the fast indoor surface and was never broken.
"The slice goes nicely on this court. I felt good using it to counter Juan Martin's height," Federer said.
The 20-year-old Del Potro served 12 aces, 11 in the first set, but couldn't cause much trouble for Federer.
"He started serving great, many aces," the Swiss player said. "That's what makes him the good player he is. I had the ability to stay calm and use my slice well here in Madrid where conditions are very quick."
Federer was helped by Del Potro's four double-faults.
"Roger generates pressure just by being in front of you," the Argentine said. "I double-faulted on my serve in each set to lose the match. Roger gave nothing away and I wasn't able to even take a set off him.
"He broke my rhythm all the time and took full advantage of his break points, which I wasn't able to do. That's the difference."
Federer, who missed the Stockholm Open last week due to fatigue, said he felt happy with his physical condition.
"I don't know what would have happened if I'd gone to Stockholm, but I'm playing well here," he said.
Federer's semifinal opponent will be the fourth-seeded Murray, who beat Gaël Monfils of France, 6-2, 6-2.
Federer beat Murray in the U.S. Open final, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
"I'll have to come with a proper game plan," Federer said. "He played well against Monfils, so I'll have my hands full with him."
Monfils broke Murray in the opening game, but Murray broke back immediately. Murray broke two more times to take the set. The second set followed the same pattern.
"He almost enjoys running too much and almost likes you to dictate play," Murray said of his 22-year-old opponent. "Once he gets used to big matches we're going to be seeing a lot more of him."
XX
Venus Williams remained on course for a strong end to an inconsistent season when the American beat Italy's Francesca Schiavone, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the Zurich Open semifinals on Friday, Reuters reported.
Third-seeded Williams will face Serbian second seed Ana Ivanovic on Saturday after the world number four saw off Czech qualifier Petra Kvitova 6-1 6-4.
Williams has won just one title this season - albeit at Wimbledon - and is still looking to gain enough points this week to join younger sister Serena at the season-ending WTA Championships.
Following the second round exits of her nearest rivals for a place, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska, the former world number one took another big step towards the Doha finale by maintaining her perfect record against the world number 23.
The opening set was a messy affair with Williams eventually coming out on top of a five-game run in which both women failed to hold serve.
The American finally found her rhythm when it counted, serving out to love to end the sequence and seal the set.
In the second set Williams was much more convincing, varying her play nicely to break her opponent twice and take a 4-1 lead.
Schiavone, who had lost all four previous encounters with Williams, briefly threatened to fight back after grabbing a break to make the score 4-2 but slipped up again while serving to stay in the match at 5-3 down.
"There were definitely some back and forth games today but I think overall I played more consistently than in the last rounds," Williams said.
"My main goal was just to keep my own errors down and that always makes it harder for my opponents.
"I'm not counting the points (for Doha). I will just do my best this week and that's it."
Ivanovic owed a good deal of her success on Friday to some terrible serving on the part of her teenage opponent.
Kvitova, ranked 57th in the world, double faulted five times in her second service game to hand the Serb a 3-1 lead.
That formed part of an eight-game winning streak that saw Ivanovic romp through the first set and go 3-0 up in the second.
The French Open winner then suffered some wobbles of her own, inexplicably dropping her next three service games.
Kvitova was unable to capitalise however, twice more failing to hold her own serve in a scrappy end to the match.
Saturday's other semifinal will involve two unseeded players with Italy's Flavia Pennetta taking on Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Pennetta, who beat world number one Jelena Jankovic in the second round, saw off Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Garrigues benefited from a shoulder injury sustained by her Belarussian opponent Victoria Azarenka who won the first set 6-4 but retired after losing the second 6-3.
Rafael Nadal downed Spanish countryman Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 6-4. The world No. 1 was to play on Saturday either Gilles Simon of France or Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, who were playing a late match Friday.
Nadal and Federer have each won Madrid without playing the other. They have featured in four finals this year, with Nadal sweeping them all, including the French Open and Wimbledon.
Nadal, who had complained of a right leg injury at the start of the week, said he suffered shoulder pain during the day and received treatment until just before playing Lopez.
"Right up to the last minute the doctors have been treating me for shoulder pain, I spent two hours with them before coming out on court," Nadal said.
Despite that concern, he was wary of Lopez, who ousted top-10 players David Ferrer and Stanislas Wawrinka. But he made the only break in the fifth game of the first set and ninth game of the second, helped by Lopez's 33 unforced errors.
"This surface favored Feliciano, he likes to play here and at this altitude," said Nadal. "So I think I've played a very serious match."
The second-seeded Federer used an effective slice serve on the fast indoor surface and was never broken.
"The slice goes nicely on this court. I felt good using it to counter Juan Martin's height," Federer said.
The 20-year-old Del Potro served 12 aces, 11 in the first set, but couldn't cause much trouble for Federer.
"He started serving great, many aces," the Swiss player said. "That's what makes him the good player he is. I had the ability to stay calm and use my slice well here in Madrid where conditions are very quick."
Federer was helped by Del Potro's four double-faults.
"Roger generates pressure just by being in front of you," the Argentine said. "I double-faulted on my serve in each set to lose the match. Roger gave nothing away and I wasn't able to even take a set off him.
"He broke my rhythm all the time and took full advantage of his break points, which I wasn't able to do. That's the difference."
Federer, who missed the Stockholm Open last week due to fatigue, said he felt happy with his physical condition.
"I don't know what would have happened if I'd gone to Stockholm, but I'm playing well here," he said.
Federer's semifinal opponent will be the fourth-seeded Murray, who beat Gaël Monfils of France, 6-2, 6-2.
Federer beat Murray in the U.S. Open final, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
"I'll have to come with a proper game plan," Federer said. "He played well against Monfils, so I'll have my hands full with him."
Monfils broke Murray in the opening game, but Murray broke back immediately. Murray broke two more times to take the set. The second set followed the same pattern.
"He almost enjoys running too much and almost likes you to dictate play," Murray said of his 22-year-old opponent. "Once he gets used to big matches we're going to be seeing a lot more of him."
XX
Venus Williams remained on course for a strong end to an inconsistent season when the American beat Italy's Francesca Schiavone, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the Zurich Open semifinals on Friday, Reuters reported.
Third-seeded Williams will face Serbian second seed Ana Ivanovic on Saturday after the world number four saw off Czech qualifier Petra Kvitova 6-1 6-4.
Williams has won just one title this season - albeit at Wimbledon - and is still looking to gain enough points this week to join younger sister Serena at the season-ending WTA Championships.
Following the second round exits of her nearest rivals for a place, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska, the former world number one took another big step towards the Doha finale by maintaining her perfect record against the world number 23.
The opening set was a messy affair with Williams eventually coming out on top of a five-game run in which both women failed to hold serve.
The American finally found her rhythm when it counted, serving out to love to end the sequence and seal the set.
In the second set Williams was much more convincing, varying her play nicely to break her opponent twice and take a 4-1 lead.
Schiavone, who had lost all four previous encounters with Williams, briefly threatened to fight back after grabbing a break to make the score 4-2 but slipped up again while serving to stay in the match at 5-3 down.
"There were definitely some back and forth games today but I think overall I played more consistently than in the last rounds," Williams said.
"My main goal was just to keep my own errors down and that always makes it harder for my opponents.
"I'm not counting the points (for Doha). I will just do my best this week and that's it."
Ivanovic owed a good deal of her success on Friday to some terrible serving on the part of her teenage opponent.
Kvitova, ranked 57th in the world, double faulted five times in her second service game to hand the Serb a 3-1 lead.
That formed part of an eight-game winning streak that saw Ivanovic romp through the first set and go 3-0 up in the second.
The French Open winner then suffered some wobbles of her own, inexplicably dropping her next three service games.
Kvitova was unable to capitalise however, twice more failing to hold her own serve in a scrappy end to the match.
Saturday's other semifinal will involve two unseeded players with Italy's Flavia Pennetta taking on Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Pennetta, who beat world number one Jelena Jankovic in the second round, saw off Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Garrigues benefited from a shoulder injury sustained by her Belarussian opponent Victoria Azarenka who won the first set 6-4 but retired after losing the second 6-3.
Oct 17, 2008
Business - MS says Yahoo ad deal still makes sense
By Franklin Paul
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said a Web search advertising deal with Yahoo Inc makes economic sense and may still be possible, though the two sides are not in any discussions.
Shares of Yahoo jumped as much as 17 percent as investors hoped Ballmer's comments could lead to the two sides returning to the negotiating table. But gains were pared back to about 12 percent after Microsoft issued a statement saying it had no interest in buying Yahoo.
Talks between the two broke off in July after Yahoo rejected Microsoft's proposal to buy its search advertising business and enact a revenue-sharing partnership.
Yahoo had also rebuffed in May a full acquisition bid from Microsoft that was priced at $33 per share, or $47.5 billion. Instead, Yahoo signed a search advertising pact with Web leader Google Inc, which is being scrutinized by regulators.
"Perhaps there will continue to remain opportunities to partner around search," Ballmer told a Gartner Inc conference in Orlando, Florida.
"We are not in any discussions with them. We'll see. They want to remain independent. There are probably still opportunities around search. I think it would still make sense economically for their shareholders and ours."
Since talks broke off, Yahoo shares have plunged to a 5-1/2-year low of $11.37, weighed by concerns over the outlook for Web display advertising, as major advertisers such as banks and automakers cut back spending.
"We offered 33 bucks not too long ago and it's 11 and a half. So I don't know what price might have got the job done," Ballmer said, responding to a question from Gartner analyst David Smith on whether Microsoft might take another stab at buying Yahoo now that its stock price is so low.
"It's clear that Yahoo did not want to sell the company. It did not want to sell when we offered 33 ... They probably think it's worth at least 33 today."
Yahoo declined comment. Its shares rose to as high as $13.73 on Thursday, before settling at around $13.16 in late trading on the Nasdaq.
"Our position hasn't changed. Microsoft has no interest in acquiring Yahoo; there are no discussions between the companies," a spokesman for Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft shares were up 3.6 percent at $23.48.
Despite the market's excitement, any pursuit of new talks would be impeded by several issues, including Yahoo's severely depressed stock price and the poor outlook for the advertising market due to the weak economy, analysts said.
"The larger issue is strategic fit," Cross Research analyst Richard Williams said. "Microsoft clearly has spent money and changed its focus to 'build' rather than 'buy.'
He added that for businesses driven by advertising, such as Microsoft and Yahoo's Internet operations, it is the wrong time for a deal with markets reeling and consumer confidence plummeting.
"Going into a recession is about the worst time to buy an advertising firm," Williams said. "It's hard to know how hard they are going to be hit and how low they are going to go."
(Additional reporting by Anupreeta Das in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said a Web search advertising deal with Yahoo Inc makes economic sense and may still be possible, though the two sides are not in any discussions.
Shares of Yahoo jumped as much as 17 percent as investors hoped Ballmer's comments could lead to the two sides returning to the negotiating table. But gains were pared back to about 12 percent after Microsoft issued a statement saying it had no interest in buying Yahoo.
Talks between the two broke off in July after Yahoo rejected Microsoft's proposal to buy its search advertising business and enact a revenue-sharing partnership.
Yahoo had also rebuffed in May a full acquisition bid from Microsoft that was priced at $33 per share, or $47.5 billion. Instead, Yahoo signed a search advertising pact with Web leader Google Inc, which is being scrutinized by regulators.
"Perhaps there will continue to remain opportunities to partner around search," Ballmer told a Gartner Inc conference in Orlando, Florida.
"We are not in any discussions with them. We'll see. They want to remain independent. There are probably still opportunities around search. I think it would still make sense economically for their shareholders and ours."
Since talks broke off, Yahoo shares have plunged to a 5-1/2-year low of $11.37, weighed by concerns over the outlook for Web display advertising, as major advertisers such as banks and automakers cut back spending.
"We offered 33 bucks not too long ago and it's 11 and a half. So I don't know what price might have got the job done," Ballmer said, responding to a question from Gartner analyst David Smith on whether Microsoft might take another stab at buying Yahoo now that its stock price is so low.
"It's clear that Yahoo did not want to sell the company. It did not want to sell when we offered 33 ... They probably think it's worth at least 33 today."
Yahoo declined comment. Its shares rose to as high as $13.73 on Thursday, before settling at around $13.16 in late trading on the Nasdaq.
"Our position hasn't changed. Microsoft has no interest in acquiring Yahoo; there are no discussions between the companies," a spokesman for Microsoft said in a statement.
Microsoft shares were up 3.6 percent at $23.48.
Despite the market's excitement, any pursuit of new talks would be impeded by several issues, including Yahoo's severely depressed stock price and the poor outlook for the advertising market due to the weak economy, analysts said.
"The larger issue is strategic fit," Cross Research analyst Richard Williams said. "Microsoft clearly has spent money and changed its focus to 'build' rather than 'buy.'
He added that for businesses driven by advertising, such as Microsoft and Yahoo's Internet operations, it is the wrong time for a deal with markets reeling and consumer confidence plummeting.
"Going into a recession is about the worst time to buy an advertising firm," Williams said. "It's hard to know how hard they are going to be hit and how low they are going to go."
(Additional reporting by Anupreeta Das in New York and Jim Finkle in Boston)
Entertainment - Ekta on Television
The industry is growing rapidly and it’s not just restricted to India alone. NRIs are equally glued to their TV sets when you have the bahus shedding tears or judges on reality shows getting into tiffs!
Who better than telly czarina Ekta Kapoor to give us a real picture of how far Indian television has come in its global journey and where it stands in comparison with the best in the world.
A Huge global connect
“Today we are finding a huge connect with the global audiences,” says Ekta, happy with the fact that her shows are making a mark abroad.
“The NRI market which needs a staple diet of something they would call Indian are finding television a better connect than even Bollywood. That’s because in Bollywood you go to a theatre and watch the razzmattaz. Besides, most films are even shot in Switzerland or other places abroad and you don’t get the entire Indian colour, the flavour. You get that in your daily dose of television.”
Ekta’s shows were popular in Afghanistan too and that did create a furore some time ago. “Shashi Tharoor called Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi the soft ambassador of India. Afghanistan had a culture evolution because of these shows to the extent that they were banned recently. It was banned because it was almost becoming a huge cultural shift for the non-Indians. TV is reaching where probably Bollywood doesn’t.”
What makes her particularly happy is also the fact that it’s transcending all boundaries and even non-Indians are taking an interest. “When some time ago Shweta Tiwari went to Sri Lanka, she was hugely surprised by the response she got there. That’s because Kasautii Zindagi Kay was the number one show there. Recently when Prachi Desai was abroad she was amazed to know that some people in South Africa watched Rock On for her. They knew her as Kasamh Se’s Bani.”
Of course, Ekta is realistic and aware that there’s a long way to go when it comes to tapping the non-Indian market. “I want our programming to reach out to NRIs world over and then go beyond to a non-Indian audience. We have achieved that right now, but at a sporadic level. As far as volume goes we may have ten times more than film viewership. But we don’t have an industry or a proper management breakup to commercialise the whole thing in a big way.”
But will her kind of content really work with the global audience? “Sandhya Mridul was chosen as a jury member at the Shanghai television festival because of her popularity in Koshish Ek Aasha. That was the number one show in China. It was dubbed in Chinese and the people there really loved it!” exclaims Ekta. Point taken.
Indian television versus the US
The working of the television industry here compared to the US is very different. “Fiction is a lot easier to make there because the daily operas are usually aired in the afternoon and the night big time fiction dramas are weeklies, that too in seasons. So the kind of quality and technique you can experiment with is amazing,” she says.
Officials from top channels and production houses abroad who’ve met Ekta have always expressed their surprise at how the Indian industry manages to churn out so many shows. “They are extremely shocked how India can produce such high quality software within the time restrictions. Dana Walden (20th Century Fox Television’s head honcho) who I met abroad couldn’t get over the opulent weddings we have in our serials and such high volume production that too with no season breaks.”
One difference in the scenario here and abroad is that content in India is restricted. “Fiction here has to stay within the periphery of families and homes. Niche is now breaking out, but even though you can try out new things it’s still in a nascent stage.”
Another difference, she points out, are union rules. Abroad they are governed by strong union rules unlike here. So also, “The power lies more with the production house than channel. Here the channel has 80 per cent of power, while there because the rights lie with the producer they can sell it to one network and in the future resell to others,” she points out.
Need of the hour
Our telly industry can certainly be on par with the best. The need of the hour is to hone talent, she emphasises. “We are a comparatively newer industry than theirs. We don’t have proper schools for talent in India. I have started training programmes for youngsters so I can get some trained talent. There’s a huge requirement in the TV industry today. We are not being able to meet that volume because we hardly have any institutions. You are feeding 100 to an industry that needs 1,500 at any given time! There have to be specific areas that need to be looked into. If you are a writer there’s screenplay, dialogues, story, conceptualisation only in scripting. If there are no schools you can go to, how would you ever know you are not good at conceptualisation or any other area. How would you get better? There are four to five such huge departments within the industry,” she says.
Ekta has come a long way and this young entrepreneur’s success story is well known. But as the telly industry grows, she is set to spread her wings further. Lots of plans ahead and big dreams for the small screen. And she surely is confident she can fulfill them. And why not? After all none other than Peter Chernin, head honcho of Fox Group, once remarked, “Ekta is the biggest and sharpest brain in media.”
Who better than telly czarina Ekta Kapoor to give us a real picture of how far Indian television has come in its global journey and where it stands in comparison with the best in the world.
A Huge global connect
“Today we are finding a huge connect with the global audiences,” says Ekta, happy with the fact that her shows are making a mark abroad.
“The NRI market which needs a staple diet of something they would call Indian are finding television a better connect than even Bollywood. That’s because in Bollywood you go to a theatre and watch the razzmattaz. Besides, most films are even shot in Switzerland or other places abroad and you don’t get the entire Indian colour, the flavour. You get that in your daily dose of television.”
Ekta’s shows were popular in Afghanistan too and that did create a furore some time ago. “Shashi Tharoor called Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi the soft ambassador of India. Afghanistan had a culture evolution because of these shows to the extent that they were banned recently. It was banned because it was almost becoming a huge cultural shift for the non-Indians. TV is reaching where probably Bollywood doesn’t.”
What makes her particularly happy is also the fact that it’s transcending all boundaries and even non-Indians are taking an interest. “When some time ago Shweta Tiwari went to Sri Lanka, she was hugely surprised by the response she got there. That’s because Kasautii Zindagi Kay was the number one show there. Recently when Prachi Desai was abroad she was amazed to know that some people in South Africa watched Rock On for her. They knew her as Kasamh Se’s Bani.”
Of course, Ekta is realistic and aware that there’s a long way to go when it comes to tapping the non-Indian market. “I want our programming to reach out to NRIs world over and then go beyond to a non-Indian audience. We have achieved that right now, but at a sporadic level. As far as volume goes we may have ten times more than film viewership. But we don’t have an industry or a proper management breakup to commercialise the whole thing in a big way.”
But will her kind of content really work with the global audience? “Sandhya Mridul was chosen as a jury member at the Shanghai television festival because of her popularity in Koshish Ek Aasha. That was the number one show in China. It was dubbed in Chinese and the people there really loved it!” exclaims Ekta. Point taken.
Indian television versus the US
The working of the television industry here compared to the US is very different. “Fiction is a lot easier to make there because the daily operas are usually aired in the afternoon and the night big time fiction dramas are weeklies, that too in seasons. So the kind of quality and technique you can experiment with is amazing,” she says.
Officials from top channels and production houses abroad who’ve met Ekta have always expressed their surprise at how the Indian industry manages to churn out so many shows. “They are extremely shocked how India can produce such high quality software within the time restrictions. Dana Walden (20th Century Fox Television’s head honcho) who I met abroad couldn’t get over the opulent weddings we have in our serials and such high volume production that too with no season breaks.”
One difference in the scenario here and abroad is that content in India is restricted. “Fiction here has to stay within the periphery of families and homes. Niche is now breaking out, but even though you can try out new things it’s still in a nascent stage.”
Another difference, she points out, are union rules. Abroad they are governed by strong union rules unlike here. So also, “The power lies more with the production house than channel. Here the channel has 80 per cent of power, while there because the rights lie with the producer they can sell it to one network and in the future resell to others,” she points out.
Need of the hour
Our telly industry can certainly be on par with the best. The need of the hour is to hone talent, she emphasises. “We are a comparatively newer industry than theirs. We don’t have proper schools for talent in India. I have started training programmes for youngsters so I can get some trained talent. There’s a huge requirement in the TV industry today. We are not being able to meet that volume because we hardly have any institutions. You are feeding 100 to an industry that needs 1,500 at any given time! There have to be specific areas that need to be looked into. If you are a writer there’s screenplay, dialogues, story, conceptualisation only in scripting. If there are no schools you can go to, how would you ever know you are not good at conceptualisation or any other area. How would you get better? There are four to five such huge departments within the industry,” she says.
Ekta has come a long way and this young entrepreneur’s success story is well known. But as the telly industry grows, she is set to spread her wings further. Lots of plans ahead and big dreams for the small screen. And she surely is confident she can fulfill them. And why not? After all none other than Peter Chernin, head honcho of Fox Group, once remarked, “Ekta is the biggest and sharpest brain in media.”
Business - India;Honda to launch small car in 2010
TOKYO: Tata's Nano may face stiff competition on its home turf as Japan's Honda Motor Co. plans to launch a four or five-seat car in early 2010 in the booming Indian market.
Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui said the Japanese car-maker plans to launch a very small car in Europe as well as emerging countries such as China and India in the early 2010.
"We are developing a small car that would be even smaller than the Fit subcompact," he said.
The engine displacement for the four- or five-seat car would be less than 1 litre, against 1.3 litres for the smallest version of the Fit subcompact series, he was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
Honda expects growing demand for such very small cars in response to gasoline price hikes.
Fukui said the very small car would be difficult to sell in Japan where mini-vehicles with the engine displacement of up to 660 cc have been available for tax incentives.
On General Motors Corp. and two other big US automakers plagued with a serious sales slump, Fukui said Honda has not planned or been requested to help any of them
Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui said the Japanese car-maker plans to launch a very small car in Europe as well as emerging countries such as China and India in the early 2010.
"We are developing a small car that would be even smaller than the Fit subcompact," he said.
The engine displacement for the four- or five-seat car would be less than 1 litre, against 1.3 litres for the smallest version of the Fit subcompact series, he was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
Honda expects growing demand for such very small cars in response to gasoline price hikes.
Fukui said the very small car would be difficult to sell in Japan where mini-vehicles with the engine displacement of up to 660 cc have been available for tax incentives.
On General Motors Corp. and two other big US automakers plagued with a serious sales slump, Fukui said Honda has not planned or been requested to help any of them
Entertainment - Fox,Mark Burnett to produce game show Rouletter
MUMBAI: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader producer Mark Burnett Productions and Fox Television Studios are co-producing a new reality game show, Rouletter. The show will feature an innovative spin on the traditional casino game wherein letters will substitue numbers.
Created by Mark Burnett and David Russo, the initial pilot of Rouletter will be produced in South America by Fox TV Studios and executive producer Matthew Gaven.
The show features a patent-pending design for its unique game play set piece that replaces traditional numbers on a Roulette wheel with letters. Contestants then place bets while they battle head-to-head to form words within a specific timeframe to avoid elimination.
Burnett, the president of Mark Burnett Productions, commented, “I love big studio game shows and this concept presents a great opportunity. Fox TV Studios has demonstrated its maverick approach to international production, and I was eager to come on board for what I believe is a breakthrough format in game shows. I look forward to working with the entire team at FtvS as we work to launch this show in the U.S. and abroad.”
Created by Mark Burnett and David Russo, the initial pilot of Rouletter will be produced in South America by Fox TV Studios and executive producer Matthew Gaven.
The show features a patent-pending design for its unique game play set piece that replaces traditional numbers on a Roulette wheel with letters. Contestants then place bets while they battle head-to-head to form words within a specific timeframe to avoid elimination.
Burnett, the president of Mark Burnett Productions, commented, “I love big studio game shows and this concept presents a great opportunity. Fox TV Studios has demonstrated its maverick approach to international production, and I was eager to come on board for what I believe is a breakthrough format in game shows. I look forward to working with the entire team at FtvS as we work to launch this show in the U.S. and abroad.”
Business - India;Future group launches retail chain for ethnic products
First ‘Ethnicity’ store opened in Ahmedabad; 8 more to come up in two years.
With a view to providing a bigger and organised platform for ethnic products in the country, Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group has launched a retail chain of stores to market ethnic brands and products of India.
The retail giant today rolled out its first store for ethnic brand called ‘Ethnicity’ in Ahmedabad. The group plans to start 8 such stores in various cities over the period of next two years. Future Group is likely to pump in around Rs. 7 to Rs. 8 crore for each Ethnicity store, which will be spread across 25,000 to 30,000 sq. ft.
Nationwide, western brands have a wider platform than the ethnic brands. Our new concept of ‘Ethnicity’ is aimed at providing a space for smaller Indian brands and ethnic products. The stores will have wide collections of ethnic and fusion wear, jewellery, handicrafts, home decor, beauty products and accessories and gifts. All these products will be Indian, said Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group while launching the first Ethnicity store in Ahmedabad.
“In order to provide a bigger market to ethnic brands, space for such products should be there in shopping malls and that is the reason why Future Group has come up with such a unique concept”, he added.
He also expressed hopes of achieving a topline of Rs. 10,000 crore this fiscal. The Future Group clocked total revenues of Rs. 6,500 crore last fiscal.
When asked about the impact of financial markets crisis on retail market, Biyani said, “Though markets are under pressure, there is no recession in the market. FMCG, consumer durables markets have performed well last month and same is the case with retail markets”.
With a view to providing a bigger and organised platform for ethnic products in the country, Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group has launched a retail chain of stores to market ethnic brands and products of India.
The retail giant today rolled out its first store for ethnic brand called ‘Ethnicity’ in Ahmedabad. The group plans to start 8 such stores in various cities over the period of next two years. Future Group is likely to pump in around Rs. 7 to Rs. 8 crore for each Ethnicity store, which will be spread across 25,000 to 30,000 sq. ft.
Nationwide, western brands have a wider platform than the ethnic brands. Our new concept of ‘Ethnicity’ is aimed at providing a space for smaller Indian brands and ethnic products. The stores will have wide collections of ethnic and fusion wear, jewellery, handicrafts, home decor, beauty products and accessories and gifts. All these products will be Indian, said Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group while launching the first Ethnicity store in Ahmedabad.
“In order to provide a bigger market to ethnic brands, space for such products should be there in shopping malls and that is the reason why Future Group has come up with such a unique concept”, he added.
He also expressed hopes of achieving a topline of Rs. 10,000 crore this fiscal. The Future Group clocked total revenues of Rs. 6,500 crore last fiscal.
When asked about the impact of financial markets crisis on retail market, Biyani said, “Though markets are under pressure, there is no recession in the market. FMCG, consumer durables markets have performed well last month and same is the case with retail markets”.
Columnists - Rajdeep Sardesai;Otherhood of man (V.G.Read)
All over the world, a killer is a killer and a rapist is a rapist. Only in India do criminals have religious and caste identities. They are either Hindus, Muslims or tribals — each with their own political protectors and detractors. Terrorism all over the world is a law and order and policing issue; only in India it is about competitive identity politics. Now, as we enter election season, bombs are being wrapped in party manifestos.
The stands of political parties on bomb blasts don’t focus on ensuring fair and just law and order, rigorous investigation and tough impartial policing. Instead ‘terrorism’ is all about how well we understand the Quran and how many times we visit the masjid. At a time when many thinking Muslims are trying to distance themselves from terrorism, politicians, by contrast, are forcing the dialogue backwards. They are determined to make religious identity the sole definition of those knocking up lethal mixtures of ammonium nitrate and ball bearings. Is it not a supreme condescension of the Muslim community to assume that they will vote for politicians who do not believe that bombers need to be brought to book?
Both ‘secular’ and ‘communal’ parties are repeatedly confusing criminality with religion. It is only a tough fair-minded cop who will catch the criminal. A political-ideological netaji, both saffron and secular, will only succeed in making the ‘terrorist’ more powerful than he is. Bomb blasts must be left to the police and to the investigative agencies. Politicians must stay firmly out of conjuring up identity politics from the smoke of ammonium nitrate.
Samajwadi Party’s Amar Singh was the first off the mark. First, he demanded a judicial probe into the Jamia Nagar encounter and then called for a ban on the Bajrang Dal, all with his eyes on the party’s traditional Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh. Forget the Indo-US nuclear deal; Singh knows that the real battle is for the Muslim vote on the street, which in 2007 showed signs of drifting towards Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati. Instead of demanding an impartial police investigation, Singh believes this is the time to show he is the protector of Muslims. If Singh were a true friend of the community, he would assert that a criminal deserves no religious identity.
On the other hand, the BJP too is sensing a momentum shift. In a period of double-digit inflation and bomb blasts, what better way to win over that lost voter than focus on his sense of economic-physical insecurity? For the BJP, the word ‘terror’ means Muslim, ‘terror’ is a word that taps into the age-old subterranean suspicion of the mussalman that exists and is growing in sections of the Hindu electorate. If the sub-text of Singh’s campaign is to suggest that ‘Islam khatre mein hai’, the BJP seems determined to prove that ‘Islam is the danger’. Both are two sides of the same coin, both confusing a law and order issue with a political-ideological one.
The Congress is equally confused. A section of the party, also fearing for the Muslim vote, is engaging in competitive politics with Singh. While some senior Congress leaders insisted on a judicial inquiry into the Jamia Nagar incident, an embarrassed Home Ministry says it’s important not to undermine the police. The Congress is demanding the dismissal of the Orissa government over anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, without realising that this could spark off similar demands in Congress-ruled states too. Instead of contributing to a siege mentality, the UPA needs to sound a little more like a government; it needs to clearly state that every effort is being made to keep citizens safe, that there is no question of targeting a community, but at the same time a tough and fair police is on the job to catch those who believe killing children is a means to a political end.
In a sense we are being pushed back to a 1984-like scenario when scare mongering became the basis for vote gathering. In the backdrop of the assassination of Indira Gandhi, scorpions, daggers and acid bulbs became symbols of the Congress campaign, a barely disguised attempt at warning the voter of the dangers of ‘Sikh terrorism’. Twenty-four years later, the fear factor is back in Indian politics. Parties like the Sp and the RJD want votes by ‘scaring’ the minorities into believing that a BJP-led government would consign them to being second-class citizens.
The BJP wants to ‘frighten’ the electorate into believing that the ‘terrorist’ (sorry, Muslim) could strike at any time. A section of the Congress wants you to believe that the Bajrang Dal is preparing for an ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the minorities.
The high-pitched voices are guilty of confusing ideology with criminality. Muslim community leaders must take the lead in this pursuit of law. When young Muslim men are accused of terrorist acts, community members must begin to ask where political ideology ends and criminality begins.
Sure, there have been instances of wrong people being identified and this resulted in miscarriages of justice. But are we to believe that every single police officer from Maharashtra to UP has caught the wrong person? Holding political opinions about Islam is not a crime. But bombs in the name of Islam need to be condemned vociferously by every Muslim. Similarly, can the activities of sword-wielding Bajrang Dal activists be seen as part of a harmless anti-conversion campaign? What kind of bestial perverts will rape a nun as a matter of religious duty? The parivar says no legal help must be given to terror suspects; then why did the VHP give legal aid to Dara Singh, indicted for killing the Staines family?
Politicians — ‘secular’ and ‘saffron’ — this is a time when you must answer the call to the noblest urges of your chosen profession. Politics is not just about winning elections; it’s about moral leadership of people. One man is the inspirer of our nation, a man who cared nothing for votes or for the paltry trappings of power. Today, politicians are playing with fire in election season because they know it is always someone else who will burn and from the burning ruin of Indian society, they will extract those wounded blood-stained votes. But every politician must remember the Mahatma and ask a question he would have asked: are votes and seats worth the lives lost, the children killed and nuns raped?
Rajdeep Sardesai is Editor-in-Chief, IBN network
The stands of political parties on bomb blasts don’t focus on ensuring fair and just law and order, rigorous investigation and tough impartial policing. Instead ‘terrorism’ is all about how well we understand the Quran and how many times we visit the masjid. At a time when many thinking Muslims are trying to distance themselves from terrorism, politicians, by contrast, are forcing the dialogue backwards. They are determined to make religious identity the sole definition of those knocking up lethal mixtures of ammonium nitrate and ball bearings. Is it not a supreme condescension of the Muslim community to assume that they will vote for politicians who do not believe that bombers need to be brought to book?
Both ‘secular’ and ‘communal’ parties are repeatedly confusing criminality with religion. It is only a tough fair-minded cop who will catch the criminal. A political-ideological netaji, both saffron and secular, will only succeed in making the ‘terrorist’ more powerful than he is. Bomb blasts must be left to the police and to the investigative agencies. Politicians must stay firmly out of conjuring up identity politics from the smoke of ammonium nitrate.
Samajwadi Party’s Amar Singh was the first off the mark. First, he demanded a judicial probe into the Jamia Nagar encounter and then called for a ban on the Bajrang Dal, all with his eyes on the party’s traditional Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh. Forget the Indo-US nuclear deal; Singh knows that the real battle is for the Muslim vote on the street, which in 2007 showed signs of drifting towards Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati. Instead of demanding an impartial police investigation, Singh believes this is the time to show he is the protector of Muslims. If Singh were a true friend of the community, he would assert that a criminal deserves no religious identity.
On the other hand, the BJP too is sensing a momentum shift. In a period of double-digit inflation and bomb blasts, what better way to win over that lost voter than focus on his sense of economic-physical insecurity? For the BJP, the word ‘terror’ means Muslim, ‘terror’ is a word that taps into the age-old subterranean suspicion of the mussalman that exists and is growing in sections of the Hindu electorate. If the sub-text of Singh’s campaign is to suggest that ‘Islam khatre mein hai’, the BJP seems determined to prove that ‘Islam is the danger’. Both are two sides of the same coin, both confusing a law and order issue with a political-ideological one.
The Congress is equally confused. A section of the party, also fearing for the Muslim vote, is engaging in competitive politics with Singh. While some senior Congress leaders insisted on a judicial inquiry into the Jamia Nagar incident, an embarrassed Home Ministry says it’s important not to undermine the police. The Congress is demanding the dismissal of the Orissa government over anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, without realising that this could spark off similar demands in Congress-ruled states too. Instead of contributing to a siege mentality, the UPA needs to sound a little more like a government; it needs to clearly state that every effort is being made to keep citizens safe, that there is no question of targeting a community, but at the same time a tough and fair police is on the job to catch those who believe killing children is a means to a political end.
In a sense we are being pushed back to a 1984-like scenario when scare mongering became the basis for vote gathering. In the backdrop of the assassination of Indira Gandhi, scorpions, daggers and acid bulbs became symbols of the Congress campaign, a barely disguised attempt at warning the voter of the dangers of ‘Sikh terrorism’. Twenty-four years later, the fear factor is back in Indian politics. Parties like the Sp and the RJD want votes by ‘scaring’ the minorities into believing that a BJP-led government would consign them to being second-class citizens.
The BJP wants to ‘frighten’ the electorate into believing that the ‘terrorist’ (sorry, Muslim) could strike at any time. A section of the Congress wants you to believe that the Bajrang Dal is preparing for an ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the minorities.
The high-pitched voices are guilty of confusing ideology with criminality. Muslim community leaders must take the lead in this pursuit of law. When young Muslim men are accused of terrorist acts, community members must begin to ask where political ideology ends and criminality begins.
Sure, there have been instances of wrong people being identified and this resulted in miscarriages of justice. But are we to believe that every single police officer from Maharashtra to UP has caught the wrong person? Holding political opinions about Islam is not a crime. But bombs in the name of Islam need to be condemned vociferously by every Muslim. Similarly, can the activities of sword-wielding Bajrang Dal activists be seen as part of a harmless anti-conversion campaign? What kind of bestial perverts will rape a nun as a matter of religious duty? The parivar says no legal help must be given to terror suspects; then why did the VHP give legal aid to Dara Singh, indicted for killing the Staines family?
Politicians — ‘secular’ and ‘saffron’ — this is a time when you must answer the call to the noblest urges of your chosen profession. Politics is not just about winning elections; it’s about moral leadership of people. One man is the inspirer of our nation, a man who cared nothing for votes or for the paltry trappings of power. Today, politicians are playing with fire in election season because they know it is always someone else who will burn and from the burning ruin of Indian society, they will extract those wounded blood-stained votes. But every politician must remember the Mahatma and ask a question he would have asked: are votes and seats worth the lives lost, the children killed and nuns raped?
Rajdeep Sardesai is Editor-in-Chief, IBN network
Business - India;Major launch of Nano in second half of 2009
The major launch of Nano would be in the second half of next year, vendors of the Tata Motors were told at a meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday.
Although Tata Motors officials maintained that it is a customary annual event, a number of issues concerning the suppliers are believed to have been discussed during the meet. About 100 vendors attended the meet.
It is learnt that the vendors associated with the Nano project were assured that their grievances, including the losses due to relocation of facilities from Bengal to Gujarat, would be settled. A separate meeting of Nano vendors was held in the morning followed by a general meeting of vendors in the afternoon.
The vendors were told that there would be a soft launch of the car by the end of this year and a major launch would be in the second half of the next year, said a supplier who attended the meet. Vendors were told that things regarding the implementation of the Nano project would be clear by the end of this year, he said.
About the review of terms against the backdrop of escalation of input cost and interest rates, another vendor said “discussions on review of contracts were on an individual basis. Tata Motors have compensated for the input cost hike to a great extent. Recently it has come down a bit.”
About the grim situation in the automotive market, Tata Motors told its vendors that the company expects that 2010 would be a good year. “Things would show signs of improvement from the middle of 2009 and will return to good times in 2010. The current slump is part of a cyclical process,” vendors were told.
A cross section of suppliers admitted that the company’s sourcing of parts have substantially come down in passenger car and truck segments in the recent months.
Tata Motors, which had started work on the Nano plant at Singur in West Bengal, suspended work on the plant citing continued agitation against the project. On October 7, the company signed an agreement with the Gujarat Government to set up the plant at Sanand, near Ahmedabad. It said it would explore the possibility of manufacturing the Nano at its existing facilities at Pune and Pantnagar, and launch the car in the last quarter of this financial year. The Nano was originally scheduled to be launched in the quarter beginning October.
Although Tata Motors officials maintained that it is a customary annual event, a number of issues concerning the suppliers are believed to have been discussed during the meet. About 100 vendors attended the meet.
It is learnt that the vendors associated with the Nano project were assured that their grievances, including the losses due to relocation of facilities from Bengal to Gujarat, would be settled. A separate meeting of Nano vendors was held in the morning followed by a general meeting of vendors in the afternoon.
The vendors were told that there would be a soft launch of the car by the end of this year and a major launch would be in the second half of the next year, said a supplier who attended the meet. Vendors were told that things regarding the implementation of the Nano project would be clear by the end of this year, he said.
About the review of terms against the backdrop of escalation of input cost and interest rates, another vendor said “discussions on review of contracts were on an individual basis. Tata Motors have compensated for the input cost hike to a great extent. Recently it has come down a bit.”
About the grim situation in the automotive market, Tata Motors told its vendors that the company expects that 2010 would be a good year. “Things would show signs of improvement from the middle of 2009 and will return to good times in 2010. The current slump is part of a cyclical process,” vendors were told.
A cross section of suppliers admitted that the company’s sourcing of parts have substantially come down in passenger car and truck segments in the recent months.
Tata Motors, which had started work on the Nano plant at Singur in West Bengal, suspended work on the plant citing continued agitation against the project. On October 7, the company signed an agreement with the Gujarat Government to set up the plant at Sanand, near Ahmedabad. It said it would explore the possibility of manufacturing the Nano at its existing facilities at Pune and Pantnagar, and launch the car in the last quarter of this financial year. The Nano was originally scheduled to be launched in the quarter beginning October.
Business - Las Vegas lures Indian Middle Class
Las Vegas is shedding its naughty image for luring the middle-class Indian tourists to the city.
The city of casinos, neon lights, nightclubs and snazzy stage shows in the middle of the deserts of Nevada, is shifting focus to conventional entertainment to draw more Indian footprints.
It is eyeing the middle and upper middle class family segment from India, whose arrival to the US has shown an increase of 39 per cent since 2006. According to Travel Industry Association (TIA), 567,000 Indian tourists visited the US in 2007.
"India is an important market for us. We are trying to remove the perception that Las Vegas is a gambling town because Indians travelling with family cannot associate gambling and nightlife with family entertainment.
"We are promoting fine dining, hotels, transportation, adventure, desert games and activities for children for Indian tourists with families," senior international manager of public affairs of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors' Authority Jesse Davies said on Thursday announcing the entry of Las Vegas tourism in India at a simple launch in the Le Meridien Hotel in the capital.
The Indian outbound market, which is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.30 per cent from 2008 to 2012, according to an estimate by RNCOS Industry Research Solutions, is the trigger for the entry of Las Vegas tourism into the Indian market.
Davies said his state wanted to tap the tourism potential of the burgeoning Indian middle class that numbered around 4000,000. "Las Vegas has changed. It has evolved as a family entertainment town with some of the finest restaurants, spas, shopping centres, golf courses, spas and family entertainment like magic and music," he said.
The city, made famous by the rock superstar of the 50s Elvis Presley with his immortal number "Viva Las Vegas", offers almost all kinds of entertainment that go beyond the conventional roulette and strip dances. "We have a dolphin park and shark pool in the middle of the desert," he said.
Vegas, said Davies, is a music lover's delight. It hosts resident (regular) music shows by icons of western pop and rock like Elton John and Donny and Marie. Illusionist and magician Cirque Du Soleil has five regular shows, Davies said.
The representative of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors' Authority said his state was also eyeing the lucrative Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) segment of corporate and business tourists.
An estimate says the MICE segment in India has been growing at the rate of 15 per cent to 20 per cent annually and multinational companies were taking their crew out for brains-storming sessions.
"Tourism in Las Vegas faces three challenges which put off tourists from Asia, especially India - the perception that it is a gambling town, absence of direct flights from India and poor awareness about the city," Davies said.
The fastest way to reach Vegas was to fly to San Francisco from India and take a domestic carrier to the city. "It takes nearly 70 minutes to reach Vegas from San Francisco," Davies said. Pricing, said Davies, was not a hurdle. "An average middle class Indian tourist can stay in Vegas for three nights for 100 dollars," he said.
The city of casinos, neon lights, nightclubs and snazzy stage shows in the middle of the deserts of Nevada, is shifting focus to conventional entertainment to draw more Indian footprints.
It is eyeing the middle and upper middle class family segment from India, whose arrival to the US has shown an increase of 39 per cent since 2006. According to Travel Industry Association (TIA), 567,000 Indian tourists visited the US in 2007.
"India is an important market for us. We are trying to remove the perception that Las Vegas is a gambling town because Indians travelling with family cannot associate gambling and nightlife with family entertainment.
"We are promoting fine dining, hotels, transportation, adventure, desert games and activities for children for Indian tourists with families," senior international manager of public affairs of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors' Authority Jesse Davies said on Thursday announcing the entry of Las Vegas tourism in India at a simple launch in the Le Meridien Hotel in the capital.
The Indian outbound market, which is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.30 per cent from 2008 to 2012, according to an estimate by RNCOS Industry Research Solutions, is the trigger for the entry of Las Vegas tourism into the Indian market.
Davies said his state wanted to tap the tourism potential of the burgeoning Indian middle class that numbered around 4000,000. "Las Vegas has changed. It has evolved as a family entertainment town with some of the finest restaurants, spas, shopping centres, golf courses, spas and family entertainment like magic and music," he said.
The city, made famous by the rock superstar of the 50s Elvis Presley with his immortal number "Viva Las Vegas", offers almost all kinds of entertainment that go beyond the conventional roulette and strip dances. "We have a dolphin park and shark pool in the middle of the desert," he said.
Vegas, said Davies, is a music lover's delight. It hosts resident (regular) music shows by icons of western pop and rock like Elton John and Donny and Marie. Illusionist and magician Cirque Du Soleil has five regular shows, Davies said.
The representative of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors' Authority said his state was also eyeing the lucrative Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) segment of corporate and business tourists.
An estimate says the MICE segment in India has been growing at the rate of 15 per cent to 20 per cent annually and multinational companies were taking their crew out for brains-storming sessions.
"Tourism in Las Vegas faces three challenges which put off tourists from Asia, especially India - the perception that it is a gambling town, absence of direct flights from India and poor awareness about the city," Davies said.
The fastest way to reach Vegas was to fly to San Francisco from India and take a domestic carrier to the city. "It takes nearly 70 minutes to reach Vegas from San Francisco," Davies said. Pricing, said Davies, was not a hurdle. "An average middle class Indian tourist can stay in Vegas for three nights for 100 dollars," he said.
India - Tata's open letter to people of WB
After pulling out the Nano project from Singur, Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata on Friday asked the people of West Bengal to support the present government in building a prosperous state or see it consumed by a destructive political environment.
In an open letter to the people of West Bengal which appeared in select dailies here, Tata said the citizens should decide whether they wanted education and jobs in the industrial and hi-tech sectors or 'wants to stay as they are'.
"The people of West Bengal, particularly the younger citizens, will need to express their views and aspirations as to what they would like to see West Bengal become in the years ahead," the letter said.
"Would they like to support the present government of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to build a prosperous state with the rule of law, modern infrastructure and industrial growth, or would they like to see the state consumed by a destructive political environment of confrontation, agitation, violence and lawlessness?" Tata asked.
Defending his decision to withdraw the Nano project from Singur, Tata said it was not taken in haste.
Tata said he was compelled to write the letter to explain how his company's dream was shattered by an environment of 'politically motivated agitation and hostility that finally left us with no option but to withdraw the project from the state'.
He said Tata Motors had decided to locate the Nano project in West Bengal two years ago which 'reflected the tremendous faith and confidence we had, and still have, in the investment friendly policies' of the present government.
"All through the two years we have been constructing the plant at Singur, this feeling of faith and confidence in the vision and objectives of the state government has been reinforced," Tata wrote in his letter.
"Unfortunately, the confrontation by Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee and supported by vested interests and certain political parties, opposing the acquisition of land by the state government, have caused serious disruptions to the progress of the Nano plant," he said.
He wrote "the land acquired by the state government at Singur and leased to Tata Motors has been, we believe, through a transparent process with fair compensation."
"Throughout the construction of the plant, the company has had to endure constant acts of aggression on the site, occasional acts of violence, breakage of compound perimeter walls, theft of construction material from within the project area, as well as intimidation and even physical assault of employees, contract labour and residents of the area to be absorbed in the project," he said.
Tata further wrote "various attempts at finding solutions were thwarted by the Trinamool Congress' consistent demand that land acquired for the Nano plant and its integrated vendor park be returned to the segment of the land owners which the Trinamool Congress party claims to represent.
"Tata Motors has always maintained that this project has been conceived of as an integrated campus of manufacturing facilities and suppliers, so as to maximise integration and minimise logistics and material flow costs. Disruption of this integrated campus would make it extremely difficult for the company to meet its product price and productivity goals," he said.
Tata said he had made an appeal on August 22 to usher in a more congenial environment failing which, the company would have to withdraw the project from the state.
Unfortunately, the response to the appeal was escalation of the hostilities for which the project had to be pulled out finally, he said.
"We are conscious of the disappointment and despondency that may be felt by some of the Singur residents. We believe that the responsibility for this would lie with the Trinamool Congress."
In an open letter to the people of West Bengal which appeared in select dailies here, Tata said the citizens should decide whether they wanted education and jobs in the industrial and hi-tech sectors or 'wants to stay as they are'.
"The people of West Bengal, particularly the younger citizens, will need to express their views and aspirations as to what they would like to see West Bengal become in the years ahead," the letter said.
"Would they like to support the present government of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to build a prosperous state with the rule of law, modern infrastructure and industrial growth, or would they like to see the state consumed by a destructive political environment of confrontation, agitation, violence and lawlessness?" Tata asked.
Defending his decision to withdraw the Nano project from Singur, Tata said it was not taken in haste.
Tata said he was compelled to write the letter to explain how his company's dream was shattered by an environment of 'politically motivated agitation and hostility that finally left us with no option but to withdraw the project from the state'.
He said Tata Motors had decided to locate the Nano project in West Bengal two years ago which 'reflected the tremendous faith and confidence we had, and still have, in the investment friendly policies' of the present government.
"All through the two years we have been constructing the plant at Singur, this feeling of faith and confidence in the vision and objectives of the state government has been reinforced," Tata wrote in his letter.
"Unfortunately, the confrontation by Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee and supported by vested interests and certain political parties, opposing the acquisition of land by the state government, have caused serious disruptions to the progress of the Nano plant," he said.
He wrote "the land acquired by the state government at Singur and leased to Tata Motors has been, we believe, through a transparent process with fair compensation."
"Throughout the construction of the plant, the company has had to endure constant acts of aggression on the site, occasional acts of violence, breakage of compound perimeter walls, theft of construction material from within the project area, as well as intimidation and even physical assault of employees, contract labour and residents of the area to be absorbed in the project," he said.
Tata further wrote "various attempts at finding solutions were thwarted by the Trinamool Congress' consistent demand that land acquired for the Nano plant and its integrated vendor park be returned to the segment of the land owners which the Trinamool Congress party claims to represent.
"Tata Motors has always maintained that this project has been conceived of as an integrated campus of manufacturing facilities and suppliers, so as to maximise integration and minimise logistics and material flow costs. Disruption of this integrated campus would make it extremely difficult for the company to meet its product price and productivity goals," he said.
Tata said he had made an appeal on August 22 to usher in a more congenial environment failing which, the company would have to withdraw the project from the state.
Unfortunately, the response to the appeal was escalation of the hostilities for which the project had to be pulled out finally, he said.
"We are conscious of the disappointment and despondency that may be felt by some of the Singur residents. We believe that the responsibility for this would lie with the Trinamool Congress."
Lifestyle - Home remedies for male impotency
Vaibhav Chaudury
Sexual impotence in men is a common problem whose frequency tends to increase with age. So before you start losing your sexual power, understand that being impotent doesn't mean you have to suffer the problem forever.
Here are some of the most common home remedies for treating male sexual impotence.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Garlic
Garlic is one of the most common vegetables found at home that's beneficial in the treatment of sexual impotence. Dr. Mani says, "Garlic has often referred to as "the poor man's penicillin" because it serves as an effective antiseptic and immune booster. Being a sex rejuvenator, it can improve sexual activities that have been damaged due to an accident or a disease. Garlic is important for people who overindulge in sex to protect themselves from nervous exhaustion."
Do it at home: Chew two to three cloves of raw garlic daily. Regularly chewing two or three cloves of raw garlic helps treating sexual impotence. In addition, eating garlic bread prepared with whole grains helps in the production of healthy sperms.
Sexual impotence treatment using Onion
Onion is considered to be an effective aphrodisiac and one of the best libido enhancers, but its properties are not generally known.
Do it at home: Take a white onion, peel it off, crush and then fry in butter. This mixture can be taken daily with a spoon of honey, but make sure to consume this mixture when your stomach has been empty for at least two hours. This remedy helps to treat premature ejaculation, impotence and involuntary loss of semen during sleep or other times (known as spermatorrhea).
Also, dip thee powder of black gram in onion juice for seven days and then dry the mixture. This mixture is a strong aphrodisiac and can be taken daily for improving sexual performance.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Carrot
Carrots are considered valuable in curing impotence.
Do It At Home: Take 150 gm of carrots, finely chopped with a half-boiled egg and a tablespoon of honey. Take this mixture, once daily for a month or twolts. People who are usually tense and suffer from sexual disorders can find relief as this home remedy increases sexual stamina.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Lady's Fingers
Lady's finger are considered a remarkable tonic for improving sexual vigor. Home remedies for sexual impotence (Getty Images)
Do It At Home: Take 5 to 10 grams of the root powder of this vegetable with a glass of milk and two teaspoons of ground mishri (candy sugar) daily. Regular use of this recipe helps in restoration of sexual vigour.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Asparagus
The dried roots of asparagus (or white musli ) are used in Unani medicine as an aphrodisiac.
Do It At Home: Take 15 grams of the dried roots of asparagus and boil it with one cup of milk. Take this mixture twice daily for satisfactory results. The regular use of this recipe is valuable to cure impotency and premature ejaculation.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Drumstick
Drumstick is very useful as a sexual tonic in the treatment of sexual debility and functional sterility in both males and females. The powder of the dry bark is also valuable in impotency, premature ejaculation, and thinness of semen.
Do It At Home: Boil 15 gm of drumstick flowers in 250 ml milk. This soup is an effective sexual tonic for both men and women. Alternately, boil 120 gm of powdered dry bark in ½ litre of water for 30 minutes and then mix 30 gm of this powder with 1 tablespoon of honey in it. Take this recipe 3 times daily for good results.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Ginger
The juice extracted from ginger is a valuable aphrodisiac and beneficial in the treatment of sexual weaknesses.
Do It At Home: Take half a teaspoon of ginger juice with a half-boiled egg and honey, once daily at night, for a month. This recipe is said to relieve impotency, premature ejaculation, and spermatorrhea.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Dried Dates
Dried dates are a highly-strengthening food and have the ability to restore sexual drive, increase endurance and improve overall vitality, while promoting a Zen state of mind.
Do It At Home: Pounded and mixed with almonds, pistachio nuts, and quince seeds in equal quantities, about 100 gm of dried dates should be taken daily foe excellent results.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Raisins
Ayurveda recommends black raisins for the re-establishment of sexual vigour.
Do It At Home: Wash black raisins roughly in tepid water and then boil them with milk which makes them swollen and sweet. Eat these raisins with milk to get the desired results. You need to start with 30 gm of raisins, followed by 200 ml of milk three times a day and then the quantity of raisins can be gradually increased to 50 gm each time.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Saffron
In Ayurveda, saffron is used to treat infertility in couples as its fragrance is highly erotic. It can arouse sexual desire and can have a relaxing effect on the nerves.
Do It At Home: Use it as massage oil or consume it with food for improving sexual vigor.
Sexual impotence in men is a common problem whose frequency tends to increase with age. So before you start losing your sexual power, understand that being impotent doesn't mean you have to suffer the problem forever.
Here are some of the most common home remedies for treating male sexual impotence.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Garlic
Garlic is one of the most common vegetables found at home that's beneficial in the treatment of sexual impotence. Dr. Mani says, "Garlic has often referred to as "the poor man's penicillin" because it serves as an effective antiseptic and immune booster. Being a sex rejuvenator, it can improve sexual activities that have been damaged due to an accident or a disease. Garlic is important for people who overindulge in sex to protect themselves from nervous exhaustion."
Do it at home: Chew two to three cloves of raw garlic daily. Regularly chewing two or three cloves of raw garlic helps treating sexual impotence. In addition, eating garlic bread prepared with whole grains helps in the production of healthy sperms.
Sexual impotence treatment using Onion
Onion is considered to be an effective aphrodisiac and one of the best libido enhancers, but its properties are not generally known.
Do it at home: Take a white onion, peel it off, crush and then fry in butter. This mixture can be taken daily with a spoon of honey, but make sure to consume this mixture when your stomach has been empty for at least two hours. This remedy helps to treat premature ejaculation, impotence and involuntary loss of semen during sleep or other times (known as spermatorrhea).
Also, dip thee powder of black gram in onion juice for seven days and then dry the mixture. This mixture is a strong aphrodisiac and can be taken daily for improving sexual performance.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Carrot
Carrots are considered valuable in curing impotence.
Do It At Home: Take 150 gm of carrots, finely chopped with a half-boiled egg and a tablespoon of honey. Take this mixture, once daily for a month or twolts. People who are usually tense and suffer from sexual disorders can find relief as this home remedy increases sexual stamina.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Lady's Fingers
Lady's finger are considered a remarkable tonic for improving sexual vigor. Home remedies for sexual impotence (Getty Images)
Do It At Home: Take 5 to 10 grams of the root powder of this vegetable with a glass of milk and two teaspoons of ground mishri (candy sugar) daily. Regular use of this recipe helps in restoration of sexual vigour.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Asparagus
The dried roots of asparagus (or white musli ) are used in Unani medicine as an aphrodisiac.
Do It At Home: Take 15 grams of the dried roots of asparagus and boil it with one cup of milk. Take this mixture twice daily for satisfactory results. The regular use of this recipe is valuable to cure impotency and premature ejaculation.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Drumstick
Drumstick is very useful as a sexual tonic in the treatment of sexual debility and functional sterility in both males and females. The powder of the dry bark is also valuable in impotency, premature ejaculation, and thinness of semen.
Do It At Home: Boil 15 gm of drumstick flowers in 250 ml milk. This soup is an effective sexual tonic for both men and women. Alternately, boil 120 gm of powdered dry bark in ½ litre of water for 30 minutes and then mix 30 gm of this powder with 1 tablespoon of honey in it. Take this recipe 3 times daily for good results.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Ginger
The juice extracted from ginger is a valuable aphrodisiac and beneficial in the treatment of sexual weaknesses.
Do It At Home: Take half a teaspoon of ginger juice with a half-boiled egg and honey, once daily at night, for a month. This recipe is said to relieve impotency, premature ejaculation, and spermatorrhea.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Dried Dates
Dried dates are a highly-strengthening food and have the ability to restore sexual drive, increase endurance and improve overall vitality, while promoting a Zen state of mind.
Do It At Home: Pounded and mixed with almonds, pistachio nuts, and quince seeds in equal quantities, about 100 gm of dried dates should be taken daily foe excellent results.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Raisins
Ayurveda recommends black raisins for the re-establishment of sexual vigour.
Do It At Home: Wash black raisins roughly in tepid water and then boil them with milk which makes them swollen and sweet. Eat these raisins with milk to get the desired results. You need to start with 30 gm of raisins, followed by 200 ml of milk three times a day and then the quantity of raisins can be gradually increased to 50 gm each time.
Sexual Impotence treatment using Saffron
In Ayurveda, saffron is used to treat infertility in couples as its fragrance is highly erotic. It can arouse sexual desire and can have a relaxing effect on the nerves.
Do It At Home: Use it as massage oil or consume it with food for improving sexual vigor.
Entertainment - India;Q&A Himesh
It’s a big day for HR.. the widely-publicised Karzzz (hey, those extra zzzs aren’t a misprint) opens this morning. So here’s Himesh Reshammiya talking with Vajir Singh who’s more nervous than the actor-singer-composer.
At 9 a m, he’s trying to fix a moody shower tap. Kick, tug, pull, bang. That mission accomplished, bath undertaken, he’s fresh as the proverbial daisy. Hi, hi. And see, he knows his fundas. Adore him or detest him, you can’t ignore the singer-composer-actor who had, in fact, started off as a producer of TV serials. Today, his buddy Salman Khan may be promoting Sajid-Wajid but if Karzzz turns out to be a hit, quite a few rules are likely to be rewritten in show biz. Star-packed enterprises are tanking, the Goliath actors are being drubbed by the Davids. Move over, Akshay Kumarji.
Himesh Reshammiya aka HR has no qualms about admitting that he wears a hairpiece (unlike another actor we know), or saying that he wanted to get a hair transplant done. And he’s more than aware that he isn’t exactly Tom Cruise or Rishi Kapoor. The man just believes no pain, no gain.
Unbeknownst to many, he can compose classical tunes and can pinpoint the details of every raag from another. His father Bipin has been steeped in music direction since decades.
Since childhood, HR has had the same set of friends. Today, they’re by his side. He believes in days which are auspicious.. and so today’s the big day for HR. Jhalak dikhlaaan jaaaan, way to go HR and now tell me:
What’s your state of mind?
Nervous, excited, you name any feeling, I’m going through it right now. I wish I could look ahead.. gauge the reaction.
So you believe that remaking Karzzz was a risky decision?
No no.. I’m not nervous in that sense. If you think I’m anxious about the prospect of my film making a profit or not, then let me tell you that the producer has already made money. Bhushan Kumar has sold the film to Reliance for a good price, he’s safe.
The way Reliance is going ahead and releasing it with a record number of 1200-plus prints, they’ll be safe too. Business wise, we’re safe. I just want my fans to accept me once again.. like they did with Aap kaa Surroor.
As many as 1200-plus prints only happens in the cases of the movies of the Khans. Do you believe that you’re emerging as a threat to the Khans?
(Laughs) Are you trying to put words into my mouth? See, they’re the biggest and the best. I’m small fry.. there can be no comparisons between HR and the Khans. I’m a newcomer, I’m just one film old. I was a music composer.. acting was just a hobby. I’ve made my hobby into my profession.
Please continue.
No one can offer the kind of combination that I do. Right from composing the music and singing, considered the soul of Indian cinema, I also act.
Since you’re a three-in-one, are you the highest-paid actor today?
There you go again! I get what I deserve. Now I don’t know if it’s more than the others or much lesser than them. I have no issues about money. So far, I’m happy with whatever I’ve been getting.
Are you trying to be evasive?
Come on! Whatever I do, you guys want to dig up a controversy. Why can’t I be the way I am? Earlier, it was said that I’m arrogant.. today, it’s just the opposite. You know I’ve become more sober.
Is that why you have been giving quotes that you’re ugly compared to Rishi Kapoor?
That’s true. Rishiji was and still is one of the best-looking faces that Indian cinema has ever seen.
But Karzzz is being promoted as Himesh Reshammiya’s film, sidelining both Urmila Matondkar and Shweta Kumar.
The original Karz was also promoted as the film of Rishi sir and Simiji. Even in the posters of old Karz, you’ll only see them. We have tried to do the same thing.. Urmilaji is there in all the posters. As far as Shweta is concerned, wait for the release, she’s a surprise packet.
Are you afraid that people will pan you if you fail?
I’m ready for everything. No guts, no glory. Maybe 10 per cent of the high society type didn’t like me in Aap Kaa Surroor but 90 per cent were with me. This time I’m hoping that all 100 per cent will be with me. See, the music has been a big hit. So HR, the music director and singer is a winner. (Smiles) Now, it’s the turn of HR, the actor.
You know, Pyarelalji loved the music of Karzzz and complimented me. I made Subhashji hear the music before releasing it and he loved it too. Now I hope that all the legendary actors of Karz watch our Karzzz and love our performances.
Are you playing a tapori a la Aamir Khan from Rangeela in John Matthew Matthan’s A Lovveee Storrry?
That’s what media persons are saying.I think I’m just playing a colourful person.. a Casanova.. a street guy.
Okay okay, since Karzzz has already made money, are you planning to organise a Tandoori Night bash soon?
Of course, I am. We will throw a bash.. the theme will be Tandoori night. The food served will be tandoori. (Laughs) I’m sure whoever comes for the bash will go home humming tak tana nana tandoori nights.
At 9 a m, he’s trying to fix a moody shower tap. Kick, tug, pull, bang. That mission accomplished, bath undertaken, he’s fresh as the proverbial daisy. Hi, hi. And see, he knows his fundas. Adore him or detest him, you can’t ignore the singer-composer-actor who had, in fact, started off as a producer of TV serials. Today, his buddy Salman Khan may be promoting Sajid-Wajid but if Karzzz turns out to be a hit, quite a few rules are likely to be rewritten in show biz. Star-packed enterprises are tanking, the Goliath actors are being drubbed by the Davids. Move over, Akshay Kumarji.
Himesh Reshammiya aka HR has no qualms about admitting that he wears a hairpiece (unlike another actor we know), or saying that he wanted to get a hair transplant done. And he’s more than aware that he isn’t exactly Tom Cruise or Rishi Kapoor. The man just believes no pain, no gain.
Unbeknownst to many, he can compose classical tunes and can pinpoint the details of every raag from another. His father Bipin has been steeped in music direction since decades.
Since childhood, HR has had the same set of friends. Today, they’re by his side. He believes in days which are auspicious.. and so today’s the big day for HR. Jhalak dikhlaaan jaaaan, way to go HR and now tell me:
What’s your state of mind?
Nervous, excited, you name any feeling, I’m going through it right now. I wish I could look ahead.. gauge the reaction.
So you believe that remaking Karzzz was a risky decision?
No no.. I’m not nervous in that sense. If you think I’m anxious about the prospect of my film making a profit or not, then let me tell you that the producer has already made money. Bhushan Kumar has sold the film to Reliance for a good price, he’s safe.
The way Reliance is going ahead and releasing it with a record number of 1200-plus prints, they’ll be safe too. Business wise, we’re safe. I just want my fans to accept me once again.. like they did with Aap kaa Surroor.
As many as 1200-plus prints only happens in the cases of the movies of the Khans. Do you believe that you’re emerging as a threat to the Khans?
(Laughs) Are you trying to put words into my mouth? See, they’re the biggest and the best. I’m small fry.. there can be no comparisons between HR and the Khans. I’m a newcomer, I’m just one film old. I was a music composer.. acting was just a hobby. I’ve made my hobby into my profession.
Please continue.
No one can offer the kind of combination that I do. Right from composing the music and singing, considered the soul of Indian cinema, I also act.
Since you’re a three-in-one, are you the highest-paid actor today?
There you go again! I get what I deserve. Now I don’t know if it’s more than the others or much lesser than them. I have no issues about money. So far, I’m happy with whatever I’ve been getting.
Are you trying to be evasive?
Come on! Whatever I do, you guys want to dig up a controversy. Why can’t I be the way I am? Earlier, it was said that I’m arrogant.. today, it’s just the opposite. You know I’ve become more sober.
Is that why you have been giving quotes that you’re ugly compared to Rishi Kapoor?
That’s true. Rishiji was and still is one of the best-looking faces that Indian cinema has ever seen.
But Karzzz is being promoted as Himesh Reshammiya’s film, sidelining both Urmila Matondkar and Shweta Kumar.
The original Karz was also promoted as the film of Rishi sir and Simiji. Even in the posters of old Karz, you’ll only see them. We have tried to do the same thing.. Urmilaji is there in all the posters. As far as Shweta is concerned, wait for the release, she’s a surprise packet.
Are you afraid that people will pan you if you fail?
I’m ready for everything. No guts, no glory. Maybe 10 per cent of the high society type didn’t like me in Aap Kaa Surroor but 90 per cent were with me. This time I’m hoping that all 100 per cent will be with me. See, the music has been a big hit. So HR, the music director and singer is a winner. (Smiles) Now, it’s the turn of HR, the actor.
You know, Pyarelalji loved the music of Karzzz and complimented me. I made Subhashji hear the music before releasing it and he loved it too. Now I hope that all the legendary actors of Karz watch our Karzzz and love our performances.
Are you playing a tapori a la Aamir Khan from Rangeela in John Matthew Matthan’s A Lovveee Storrry?
That’s what media persons are saying.I think I’m just playing a colourful person.. a Casanova.. a street guy.
Okay okay, since Karzzz has already made money, are you planning to organise a Tandoori Night bash soon?
Of course, I am. We will throw a bash.. the theme will be Tandoori night. The food served will be tandoori. (Laughs) I’m sure whoever comes for the bash will go home humming tak tana nana tandoori nights.
India - Sensex melts below 10k,lowest in 2 years
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday sank to more than two-year lows under 10,000 points on panic selling by funds and general investors.
After a promising start, the Sensex dropped by 606.14 points, or 5.73 per cent, to 9,975.35, a level last seen in June 2006. The key-index dipped to 9,911.32 during the day and a high of 10,786.93.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty tumbled by 194.95, or 5.96 per cent, to 3074.35 after touching the day's low of 3046.60 and a high of 3335.95 points.
Marketmen said the Sensex dipped to the lowest level in over two years on concerns of a sharp global economic slowdown and sluggish corporate earning.
They said a series of measures announced by the government and the Reserve Bank of India failed to check rising capital outflow by foreign funds.
The market barometer turned significantly down as market major Reliance Industries dropped by 6.58 percent, DLF Ltd. By 10.34 per cent, Bharti Airtel by 7.47 per cent, ICICI Bank by 5.61 per cent and State Bank of India by 8.42 per cent.
Sector-wise, Realty stocks suffered the most as segment index meltdown by 10.25 per cent at 2,524.89 followed by Power sector index by 8.09 per cent at 1,712.27.
After a promising start, the Sensex dropped by 606.14 points, or 5.73 per cent, to 9,975.35, a level last seen in June 2006. The key-index dipped to 9,911.32 during the day and a high of 10,786.93.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty tumbled by 194.95, or 5.96 per cent, to 3074.35 after touching the day's low of 3046.60 and a high of 3335.95 points.
Marketmen said the Sensex dipped to the lowest level in over two years on concerns of a sharp global economic slowdown and sluggish corporate earning.
They said a series of measures announced by the government and the Reserve Bank of India failed to check rising capital outflow by foreign funds.
The market barometer turned significantly down as market major Reliance Industries dropped by 6.58 percent, DLF Ltd. By 10.34 per cent, Bharti Airtel by 7.47 per cent, ICICI Bank by 5.61 per cent and State Bank of India by 8.42 per cent.
Sector-wise, Realty stocks suffered the most as segment index meltdown by 10.25 per cent at 2,524.89 followed by Power sector index by 8.09 per cent at 1,712.27.
Business - Playboy dumps DVDs,jumps online
LOS ANGELES: Playboy Enterprises Inc, which publishes the world's most widely read adult entertainment magazine, will take a number of steps to save $12 million a year, including closing its DVD business, the company said in a regulatory filing this week. The company is reportedly moving its videos online in an effort to cut costs
The actions that were outlined in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission will cost 80 jobs and $2 million in restructuring charges.
With another $4 million taken against archival materials and a receivable, the company anticipates taking $6 million in charges against operating income for the third quarter ended September 30, which is expected to result in a net loss for the quarter.
Playboy spokeswoman Martha Lindeman said the DVD business was accounted for on the company's earnings statements under "Other" along with Playboy radio and its Alta Loma production company. In the first half of 2008, that line item was $2.9 million, compared to the first half of 2007 when it was $3.4 million. Lindeman said the DVD business was the largest of the three in that classification.
Playboy said in the filing that it expects to see some benefits from the cuts in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the full effects next year.
The company announced restructuring plans two months ago with an eye on saving $10 million a year. In August, Playboy posted a second-quarter loss of $2.1 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with net income of $1.9 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue fell 14 percent to $73.4 million.
In a memo to all Playboy employees that was appended to the filing, Christie Hefner, the company's chairman and chief executive, said the goal was to return the company to profitability in 2009.
Hefner said in the memo that some savings would come from Playboy doing its own magazine pre-production work, outsourcing some non-core functions, and outsourcing newsstand sales for Playboy magazine and special editions.
She said the company was acting to meet the challenges of increased competition for consumers' attention, the migration of advertisers to other platforms, and higher costs of paper, ink and other expenses.
The company will continue to deliver more content digitally, she said in the memo, as it exits the DVD business in phases over a few months to concentrate on selling that content online. Hefner said of the 80 jobs being eliminated, 25 were already open.
Playboy will cut overtime, travel and entertainment, and find environmentally sound ways to save energy and money, including using lighter magazine paper and energy efficient light bulbs.
Hefner said Playboy's balance sheet is strong, its debt level is reasonable with a below market interest rate of 3 percent, and "we have a solid cash position of more than $25 million and access to a $50 million revolving credit agreement."
"Unlike other companies that began in print, we have profitable television, online and mobile businesses, which have domestic and international growth potential," she said in the memo, adding Playboy expects growth in its licensing business to continue, that business was good at Playboy's Las Vegas club, and that it was building an even larger project in Macau.
She said Coty, the world's largest fragrance company, would begin global launch of Playboy fragrances this fall.
(Reporting by Gina Keating)
The actions that were outlined in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission will cost 80 jobs and $2 million in restructuring charges.
With another $4 million taken against archival materials and a receivable, the company anticipates taking $6 million in charges against operating income for the third quarter ended September 30, which is expected to result in a net loss for the quarter.
Playboy spokeswoman Martha Lindeman said the DVD business was accounted for on the company's earnings statements under "Other" along with Playboy radio and its Alta Loma production company. In the first half of 2008, that line item was $2.9 million, compared to the first half of 2007 when it was $3.4 million. Lindeman said the DVD business was the largest of the three in that classification.
Playboy said in the filing that it expects to see some benefits from the cuts in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the full effects next year.
The company announced restructuring plans two months ago with an eye on saving $10 million a year. In August, Playboy posted a second-quarter loss of $2.1 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with net income of $1.9 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue fell 14 percent to $73.4 million.
In a memo to all Playboy employees that was appended to the filing, Christie Hefner, the company's chairman and chief executive, said the goal was to return the company to profitability in 2009.
Hefner said in the memo that some savings would come from Playboy doing its own magazine pre-production work, outsourcing some non-core functions, and outsourcing newsstand sales for Playboy magazine and special editions.
She said the company was acting to meet the challenges of increased competition for consumers' attention, the migration of advertisers to other platforms, and higher costs of paper, ink and other expenses.
The company will continue to deliver more content digitally, she said in the memo, as it exits the DVD business in phases over a few months to concentrate on selling that content online. Hefner said of the 80 jobs being eliminated, 25 were already open.
Playboy will cut overtime, travel and entertainment, and find environmentally sound ways to save energy and money, including using lighter magazine paper and energy efficient light bulbs.
Hefner said Playboy's balance sheet is strong, its debt level is reasonable with a below market interest rate of 3 percent, and "we have a solid cash position of more than $25 million and access to a $50 million revolving credit agreement."
"Unlike other companies that began in print, we have profitable television, online and mobile businesses, which have domestic and international growth potential," she said in the memo, adding Playboy expects growth in its licensing business to continue, that business was good at Playboy's Las Vegas club, and that it was building an even larger project in Macau.
She said Coty, the world's largest fragrance company, would begin global launch of Playboy fragrances this fall.
(Reporting by Gina Keating)
Sport - F1;Force India retains Fisi,Sutil
SHANGHAI: Force India will retain drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil next year despite failing to score any points this season, team owner Vijay Mallya said on Friday.
"I've made it quite clear I'm happy with Adrian and Giancarlo and they will continue through 2009," Mallya told a news briefing at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Germany's Sutil joined the team last season, when it was still racing as Spyker. Veteran Italian Fisichella is in his first season with Force India after leaving Renault.
Force India have two races left to gain their first points of the season.
"I've made it quite clear I'm happy with Adrian and Giancarlo and they will continue through 2009," Mallya told a news briefing at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Germany's Sutil joined the team last season, when it was still racing as Spyker. Veteran Italian Fisichella is in his first season with Force India after leaving Renault.
Force India have two races left to gain their first points of the season.
World - An agenda for long-term stability
Subramanian Swamy
Why an occasional financial crisis can purge the system of economic toxins.
Financial crises in the market economies of democratic countries are not unusual. It is also not unusual for such economies to make policy corrections and come out of the crises. During this first decade of the 21st century itself we have seen economies in the West go through two crises: the first was in 2000, the “dotcom bust,” and the second was after the 9/11 terror attacks. But the market economies came out of it: in fact we saw a boom between 2003 and 2008.
In 1987, the U.S. savings & loan banks crashed, causing a huge slump in the New York Stock Exchange. Many people thought then that the U.S. was sunk and that the Japanese and other East Asian nations would buy up America. But that did not happen. Instead, under President Bill Clinton the U.S. saw the longest economic boom of the 20th century. During the period 1997-99, East Asian nations instead went through a huge crisis, causing widespread bankruptcy in large companies in countries from Thailand to Japan.
Aftermath of crises
The important fact, therefore, to remember about all these crises is that all the affected market economies did recover, and prospered subsequently. In contrast, socialist economies have barely survived economic crises. The Soviet Union broke into 16 countries after a financial crisis induced by Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika drive. China was a shambles in the 1970s and the early 1980s after the failure of the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and other Maoist adventurist economic experiments. It has survived only because it quickly sequenced its economy to become an open market system.
Similarly, the nations of East Europe and Yugoslavia crumbled in the 1980s and broke up following an economic crisis. The pieces such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia adopted the market economy and have since prospered. Hence, it is not difficult to predict today that the U.S. economy will come out of the present crisis as well. The crisis is serious in terms of its global spread but it is not a financial holocaust, nor is it comparable to the 1929-33 Depression. The only consequence I see is the demise of market fundamentalism, namely that the market can correct itself in every situation.
Like our body, occasionally we need medicines to cure ourselves of the toxins in our blood. Economic theory also has developed since the Depression to such levels of sophistication that like meteorology there is a high probability of being able to predict a crisis and also lay down prescriptions on what to do to prevent a crisis or to come out of one.
Cause of the crisis
In the case of the current crisis, many economists had warned the U.S. administration that the housing bubble was being fuelled by improperly secured loans issued by banks, especially egged on by those banks which also went into investment banking. This meant that they were themselves making risky purchases in the stock market and investing in poorly analysed projects out of depositors’ money. The present crisis, thus, is an outcome of the sub-prime blowout caused by defaulting mortgage payments in housing loans. Those advances should never have been made in the first place under normal prudential norms. Since the times were good due to a general boom between 2003 and 2008, caution was thrown to the winds. These defaulting payments had a cascading effect on financial institutions since U.S. banks do not have statutory liquidity ratios (SLRs) and cash reserve ratios (CRRs) fixed for them. Therefore, for every deposit of $1, U.S. banks create $8 of loans by opening paper accounts and effecting transfers. In such a situation, when panic sets in as a consequence of rumours, and depositors rush all at the same time to the banks seeking to withdraw their deposits, the lending institutions do not have the reserves to oblige all the depositors. Hence, they declare bankruptcy — as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and AIG all did. This has a fission effect on the stock market, which reacts to every piece of bad news. That is how the present crisis evolved. Since financial institutions are nowadays wired together in a globalised world, this panic and the bearish mood spreads worldwide. Thus, governments have to intervene and restore confidence in the system by means of ad hoc measures to bolster liquidity in banks.
The Bush package
The U.S. President’s proposed package or bailout of $700 billion is one such measure for coming out of the present crisis. The package was first turned down by Congress not because it was a bad idea. It was turned down because, as the former Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Dr. E.A.S. Sarma, has stated, as designed it envisaged making direct grants to defaulting banks. It would, therefore, have amounted to nationalising at the taxpayers’ cost, losses caused by reckless corporate managements which had irresponsibly fuelled the mortgage spree earlier, causing the sub-prime crisis. Instead, the $700 billion bailout fund should be vested in a sovereign equity fund as suggested by another Indian, Dr. Gitanjali Swamy, who has an MBA from Harvard University and who is and chairman and managing director of the Zuci Group of Boston.
This fund should buy fixable assets and companies at negotiated prices and sell them off in the market after the crisis has blown over. In the meantime, as dividends and capital appreciation become possible, the taxpayer can recover the bailout amount in instalments. The Bush bailout package has been re-designed now and has been passed by Congress. But the above suggestions have not been incorporated. President George W. Bush has appointed an Indian, Neel Kashiri, as the administrator of the Fund. Hopefully, he will implement the suggestions.
Impact on India
What will be the impact of the crisis on the Indian economy? In the sub-prime instance, two negatives had cancelled each other in India: the crisis “virus” from abroad versus the local financing of the housing boom in India by black money — which is immune to interest rates and grows like a financial amoeba. In the present larger crisis, we would have been largely unaffected if the Mauritius-routed black money “washing machine” called Participatory Notes (PNs) had not been permitted. PNs need not conform to the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), or comply with international standards of disclosure as to who owns them and how they were paid for. More than 55 per cent of the foreign fund inflow comes today from these PNs, which even the terrorists, not to mention financial buccaneers and corrupt politicians, have used to earn money on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and make the Sensex go up or down at the will of a small cartel. Recently, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Jayalalitha openly challenged Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to answer certain basic questions about the financial propriety of PNs and the violation of disclosure norms that they involve, but the Finance Minister tucked tail and ran away from the challenge. As of now, three things will happen. First, foreign funding will reduce due to a global liquidity crunch, interest rates abroad will rise, and the rupee will depreciate as the existing PNs will exit the country. In panic, the government has made PNs even easier to use, but in this situation of uncertainty that will not help much. All that PNs will do anyway is to pump rupees into the economy and cause inflation. This will affect our investment and the cost of imports that are essential for our export industries. This is why while the dollar is sinking the rupee-dollar rate has risen from Rs. 39 to Rs. 49 in just a month. Therefore, with a rise in import cost due to the devaluation of the rupee, we should expect a deceleration in the growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) and a recession till correctives are applied — including voting out the incompetent United Progressive Alliance from office in the next elections.
While the government has cut the CRR claiming that the step would bring down the interest rate, the prime lending rate (the rate at which banks lend) has actually gone up from 10 per cent to 12 per cent, reflecting the tight liquidity position after foreign inflows have slowed down.
Remedial action
For the present, I suggest to ordinary household investors in the stock market to tighten their belts and sit out this crisis. It will not last more than six months since the toxin of excessive and reckless borrowing in the U.S. has to be purged, which the present crisis and the corrective measures will achieve. I also recommend that the government use the foreign exchange reserves in U.S. treasury bonds to help Indians buy up through mergers and acquisitions U.S. companies that are up for sale. But, for long-term financial stability India will have to embark on financial reforms which have been on hold since 1996. What is to be done is clear: many government committees have outlined the necessary steps. A special mention needs to be made of the Tarapore Committee and the internal notes of SEBI. These have been ignored by the Finance Minister because inter alia the abolition of PNs has been recommended. The first reform measure needed is to liberate banks from being required to buy government Treasury bonds. At present, more than 50 per cent of bank funds have to be invested in this low-yield bond or be kept in reserve with the Reserve Bank of India. Besides this, banks have to buy oil bonds for which there is no margin. Hence the private sector has to go abroad to get funds at low interest rates — which it cannot do anymore. Second, a commission should be empowered to have a re-look at the budget allocations and their actual deployment, and suggest re-structuring. This commission should independent of the Finance Ministry. Third, all State Electricity Boards should be abolished and replaced by private operators which have to tender for it and make handsome deposits. Fourth, the law should require that the capital account in the budget should always be in deficit or balanced, while the revenue account should be in surplus: it is the other way round now. This should be achieved within the next three years.
These reforms require a new government with a new mandate. It will require gutsy and rational risk-taking leaders. They are there, but the people must demand them and vote for them. That is the bottom line of our agenda for stability.
(Dr. Subramanian Swamy is a former Union Commerce Minister and a Harvard-trained economist.)
Why an occasional financial crisis can purge the system of economic toxins.
Financial crises in the market economies of democratic countries are not unusual. It is also not unusual for such economies to make policy corrections and come out of the crises. During this first decade of the 21st century itself we have seen economies in the West go through two crises: the first was in 2000, the “dotcom bust,” and the second was after the 9/11 terror attacks. But the market economies came out of it: in fact we saw a boom between 2003 and 2008.
In 1987, the U.S. savings & loan banks crashed, causing a huge slump in the New York Stock Exchange. Many people thought then that the U.S. was sunk and that the Japanese and other East Asian nations would buy up America. But that did not happen. Instead, under President Bill Clinton the U.S. saw the longest economic boom of the 20th century. During the period 1997-99, East Asian nations instead went through a huge crisis, causing widespread bankruptcy in large companies in countries from Thailand to Japan.
Aftermath of crises
The important fact, therefore, to remember about all these crises is that all the affected market economies did recover, and prospered subsequently. In contrast, socialist economies have barely survived economic crises. The Soviet Union broke into 16 countries after a financial crisis induced by Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika drive. China was a shambles in the 1970s and the early 1980s after the failure of the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and other Maoist adventurist economic experiments. It has survived only because it quickly sequenced its economy to become an open market system.
Similarly, the nations of East Europe and Yugoslavia crumbled in the 1980s and broke up following an economic crisis. The pieces such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia adopted the market economy and have since prospered. Hence, it is not difficult to predict today that the U.S. economy will come out of the present crisis as well. The crisis is serious in terms of its global spread but it is not a financial holocaust, nor is it comparable to the 1929-33 Depression. The only consequence I see is the demise of market fundamentalism, namely that the market can correct itself in every situation.
Like our body, occasionally we need medicines to cure ourselves of the toxins in our blood. Economic theory also has developed since the Depression to such levels of sophistication that like meteorology there is a high probability of being able to predict a crisis and also lay down prescriptions on what to do to prevent a crisis or to come out of one.
Cause of the crisis
In the case of the current crisis, many economists had warned the U.S. administration that the housing bubble was being fuelled by improperly secured loans issued by banks, especially egged on by those banks which also went into investment banking. This meant that they were themselves making risky purchases in the stock market and investing in poorly analysed projects out of depositors’ money. The present crisis, thus, is an outcome of the sub-prime blowout caused by defaulting mortgage payments in housing loans. Those advances should never have been made in the first place under normal prudential norms. Since the times were good due to a general boom between 2003 and 2008, caution was thrown to the winds. These defaulting payments had a cascading effect on financial institutions since U.S. banks do not have statutory liquidity ratios (SLRs) and cash reserve ratios (CRRs) fixed for them. Therefore, for every deposit of $1, U.S. banks create $8 of loans by opening paper accounts and effecting transfers. In such a situation, when panic sets in as a consequence of rumours, and depositors rush all at the same time to the banks seeking to withdraw their deposits, the lending institutions do not have the reserves to oblige all the depositors. Hence, they declare bankruptcy — as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and AIG all did. This has a fission effect on the stock market, which reacts to every piece of bad news. That is how the present crisis evolved. Since financial institutions are nowadays wired together in a globalised world, this panic and the bearish mood spreads worldwide. Thus, governments have to intervene and restore confidence in the system by means of ad hoc measures to bolster liquidity in banks.
The Bush package
The U.S. President’s proposed package or bailout of $700 billion is one such measure for coming out of the present crisis. The package was first turned down by Congress not because it was a bad idea. It was turned down because, as the former Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Dr. E.A.S. Sarma, has stated, as designed it envisaged making direct grants to defaulting banks. It would, therefore, have amounted to nationalising at the taxpayers’ cost, losses caused by reckless corporate managements which had irresponsibly fuelled the mortgage spree earlier, causing the sub-prime crisis. Instead, the $700 billion bailout fund should be vested in a sovereign equity fund as suggested by another Indian, Dr. Gitanjali Swamy, who has an MBA from Harvard University and who is and chairman and managing director of the Zuci Group of Boston.
This fund should buy fixable assets and companies at negotiated prices and sell them off in the market after the crisis has blown over. In the meantime, as dividends and capital appreciation become possible, the taxpayer can recover the bailout amount in instalments. The Bush bailout package has been re-designed now and has been passed by Congress. But the above suggestions have not been incorporated. President George W. Bush has appointed an Indian, Neel Kashiri, as the administrator of the Fund. Hopefully, he will implement the suggestions.
Impact on India
What will be the impact of the crisis on the Indian economy? In the sub-prime instance, two negatives had cancelled each other in India: the crisis “virus” from abroad versus the local financing of the housing boom in India by black money — which is immune to interest rates and grows like a financial amoeba. In the present larger crisis, we would have been largely unaffected if the Mauritius-routed black money “washing machine” called Participatory Notes (PNs) had not been permitted. PNs need not conform to the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), or comply with international standards of disclosure as to who owns them and how they were paid for. More than 55 per cent of the foreign fund inflow comes today from these PNs, which even the terrorists, not to mention financial buccaneers and corrupt politicians, have used to earn money on the Bombay Stock Exchange, and make the Sensex go up or down at the will of a small cartel. Recently, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Jayalalitha openly challenged Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to answer certain basic questions about the financial propriety of PNs and the violation of disclosure norms that they involve, but the Finance Minister tucked tail and ran away from the challenge. As of now, three things will happen. First, foreign funding will reduce due to a global liquidity crunch, interest rates abroad will rise, and the rupee will depreciate as the existing PNs will exit the country. In panic, the government has made PNs even easier to use, but in this situation of uncertainty that will not help much. All that PNs will do anyway is to pump rupees into the economy and cause inflation. This will affect our investment and the cost of imports that are essential for our export industries. This is why while the dollar is sinking the rupee-dollar rate has risen from Rs. 39 to Rs. 49 in just a month. Therefore, with a rise in import cost due to the devaluation of the rupee, we should expect a deceleration in the growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) and a recession till correctives are applied — including voting out the incompetent United Progressive Alliance from office in the next elections.
While the government has cut the CRR claiming that the step would bring down the interest rate, the prime lending rate (the rate at which banks lend) has actually gone up from 10 per cent to 12 per cent, reflecting the tight liquidity position after foreign inflows have slowed down.
Remedial action
For the present, I suggest to ordinary household investors in the stock market to tighten their belts and sit out this crisis. It will not last more than six months since the toxin of excessive and reckless borrowing in the U.S. has to be purged, which the present crisis and the corrective measures will achieve. I also recommend that the government use the foreign exchange reserves in U.S. treasury bonds to help Indians buy up through mergers and acquisitions U.S. companies that are up for sale. But, for long-term financial stability India will have to embark on financial reforms which have been on hold since 1996. What is to be done is clear: many government committees have outlined the necessary steps. A special mention needs to be made of the Tarapore Committee and the internal notes of SEBI. These have been ignored by the Finance Minister because inter alia the abolition of PNs has been recommended. The first reform measure needed is to liberate banks from being required to buy government Treasury bonds. At present, more than 50 per cent of bank funds have to be invested in this low-yield bond or be kept in reserve with the Reserve Bank of India. Besides this, banks have to buy oil bonds for which there is no margin. Hence the private sector has to go abroad to get funds at low interest rates — which it cannot do anymore. Second, a commission should be empowered to have a re-look at the budget allocations and their actual deployment, and suggest re-structuring. This commission should independent of the Finance Ministry. Third, all State Electricity Boards should be abolished and replaced by private operators which have to tender for it and make handsome deposits. Fourth, the law should require that the capital account in the budget should always be in deficit or balanced, while the revenue account should be in surplus: it is the other way round now. This should be achieved within the next three years.
These reforms require a new government with a new mandate. It will require gutsy and rational risk-taking leaders. They are there, but the people must demand them and vote for them. That is the bottom line of our agenda for stability.
(Dr. Subramanian Swamy is a former Union Commerce Minister and a Harvard-trained economist.)
Columnists - Joseph Stiglitz;Paulson putting banks first
Joseph Stiglitz
Unlike the U.K. plan, the revamped American bail-out puts banks first and taxpayers second.
The U.K. Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has won plaudits over recent days for inspiring the turnaround in Hank Paulson’s thinking that saw him progress from his “cash for trash” plan — derided by almost every economist, and many respected financiers — to a capital injection approach. The international pressure brought to bear on America may indeed have contributed to Paulson’s volte-face. But Paulson figured he could reshape the U.K. approach in a way that was even better for America’s banks than his original cash strategy. The fact that U.S. taxpayers might get trashed in the process is simply part of the collateral damage that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration.
Will this bail-out be enough? We don’t know. The banks have engaged in such non-transparency that not even they really know the shape they are in. Every day there are more foreclosures — Paulson’s plan did little about that. That means new holes in the balance sheets are being opened up as old holes get filled. There is a consensus that our economic downturn will get worse, much worse; and in every economic downturn, bankruptcies go up. So even if the banks had exercised prudent lending — and we know that many didn’t — they would be faced with more losses.
Britain showed at least that it still believed in some sort of system of accountability: heads of banks resigned. Nothing like this in the U.S. Britain understood that it made no sense to pour money into banks and have them pour out money to shareholders. The U.S. only restricted the banks from increasing their dividends. The Treasury has sought to create a picture for the public of toughness, yet behind the scenes it is busy reassuring the banks not to worry, that it’s all part of a show to keep voters and Congress placated. What is clear is that we will not have voting shares. Wall Street will have our money, but we will not have a full say in what should be done with it. A glance at the banks’ recent track record of managing risk gives taxpayers every reason to be concerned.
For all the show of toughness, the details suggest the U.S. taxpayer got a raw deal. There is no comparison with the terms that Warren Buffett secured when he provided capital to Goldman Sachs. Buffett got a warrant — the right to buy in the future at a price that was even below the depressed price at the time. Paulson got for the U.S. a warrant to buy in the future — at whatever the prevailing price at the time. The whole point of the warrant is so we participate in some of the upside, as the economy recovers from the crisis, and as the financial system starts to work.
The Paulson plan responded to Congress’s demand to have something like a warrant, but as a matter of form, not substance. Buffett got warrants equal to 100 per cent of the value of what he put in. America’s taxpayers got just 15 per cent. Moreover, as George Soros has pointed out, in a few years time, when the economy is recovered, the banks shouldn’t need to turn to the government for capital. The government should have issued convertible shares that gave the right to the government to automatically share in the gain in share price.
Whether we were cheated or not, the banks now have our money. The next Congress will have two major tasks ahead. The first is to make sure that if the taxpayer loses on the deal, financial markets pay. The second is designing new regulations and a new regulatory system. Many in Wall Street have said that this should be postponed to a later date. We have a leaky boat, some argue, we need to fix that first. True, but we also know that there are really problems in the steering mechanism (and the captains who steer it) — if we don’t fix those, we will crash on some other rocks before getting into port. Why should anyone have confidence in a banking system which has failed so badly, when nothing is being done to affect incentives? Many of those who urge postponing dealing with the reform of regulations really hope that, once the crisis is passed, business will return to usual, and nothing will be done. That’s what happened after the last global financial crisis.
There is a hope: the last financial crisis happened in distant regions of the world. Then it was the taxpayers in Thailand, Korea and Indonesia who had to pick up the tab for the financial markets’ bad lending; this time it is taxpayers in the U.S. and Europe. They are angry, and well they should be. Hopefully, our democracies are strong enough to overcome the power of money and special interests, and we will prove able to build the new regulatory system that the world needs if we are to have a prosperous and stable global economy in the 21st century.
(NOTE: Joseph E. Stiglitz is university professor at Columbia University and recipient of the Nobel memorial prize in economic science in 2001. He was chief economist at the World Bank at the time of the last global financial crisis.)
— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
Unlike the U.K. plan, the revamped American bail-out puts banks first and taxpayers second.
The U.K. Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has won plaudits over recent days for inspiring the turnaround in Hank Paulson’s thinking that saw him progress from his “cash for trash” plan — derided by almost every economist, and many respected financiers — to a capital injection approach. The international pressure brought to bear on America may indeed have contributed to Paulson’s volte-face. But Paulson figured he could reshape the U.K. approach in a way that was even better for America’s banks than his original cash strategy. The fact that U.S. taxpayers might get trashed in the process is simply part of the collateral damage that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration.
Will this bail-out be enough? We don’t know. The banks have engaged in such non-transparency that not even they really know the shape they are in. Every day there are more foreclosures — Paulson’s plan did little about that. That means new holes in the balance sheets are being opened up as old holes get filled. There is a consensus that our economic downturn will get worse, much worse; and in every economic downturn, bankruptcies go up. So even if the banks had exercised prudent lending — and we know that many didn’t — they would be faced with more losses.
Britain showed at least that it still believed in some sort of system of accountability: heads of banks resigned. Nothing like this in the U.S. Britain understood that it made no sense to pour money into banks and have them pour out money to shareholders. The U.S. only restricted the banks from increasing their dividends. The Treasury has sought to create a picture for the public of toughness, yet behind the scenes it is busy reassuring the banks not to worry, that it’s all part of a show to keep voters and Congress placated. What is clear is that we will not have voting shares. Wall Street will have our money, but we will not have a full say in what should be done with it. A glance at the banks’ recent track record of managing risk gives taxpayers every reason to be concerned.
For all the show of toughness, the details suggest the U.S. taxpayer got a raw deal. There is no comparison with the terms that Warren Buffett secured when he provided capital to Goldman Sachs. Buffett got a warrant — the right to buy in the future at a price that was even below the depressed price at the time. Paulson got for the U.S. a warrant to buy in the future — at whatever the prevailing price at the time. The whole point of the warrant is so we participate in some of the upside, as the economy recovers from the crisis, and as the financial system starts to work.
The Paulson plan responded to Congress’s demand to have something like a warrant, but as a matter of form, not substance. Buffett got warrants equal to 100 per cent of the value of what he put in. America’s taxpayers got just 15 per cent. Moreover, as George Soros has pointed out, in a few years time, when the economy is recovered, the banks shouldn’t need to turn to the government for capital. The government should have issued convertible shares that gave the right to the government to automatically share in the gain in share price.
Whether we were cheated or not, the banks now have our money. The next Congress will have two major tasks ahead. The first is to make sure that if the taxpayer loses on the deal, financial markets pay. The second is designing new regulations and a new regulatory system. Many in Wall Street have said that this should be postponed to a later date. We have a leaky boat, some argue, we need to fix that first. True, but we also know that there are really problems in the steering mechanism (and the captains who steer it) — if we don’t fix those, we will crash on some other rocks before getting into port. Why should anyone have confidence in a banking system which has failed so badly, when nothing is being done to affect incentives? Many of those who urge postponing dealing with the reform of regulations really hope that, once the crisis is passed, business will return to usual, and nothing will be done. That’s what happened after the last global financial crisis.
There is a hope: the last financial crisis happened in distant regions of the world. Then it was the taxpayers in Thailand, Korea and Indonesia who had to pick up the tab for the financial markets’ bad lending; this time it is taxpayers in the U.S. and Europe. They are angry, and well they should be. Hopefully, our democracies are strong enough to overcome the power of money and special interests, and we will prove able to build the new regulatory system that the world needs if we are to have a prosperous and stable global economy in the 21st century.
(NOTE: Joseph E. Stiglitz is university professor at Columbia University and recipient of the Nobel memorial prize in economic science in 2001. He was chief economist at the World Bank at the time of the last global financial crisis.)
— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
World - Did software cause the crisis ?
Sean Dodson
Amid all the fallout from the financial turmoil, one group has yet to feel the accusing finger of blame: the analysts who built the computer software that drove the derivatives markets that, in turn, drove the financial collapse. Since the Big Bang of the 1980s, large amounts of stocks and shares — and derivatives of them — have been traded automatically by computers rather than by humans. These so-called “algotrades” accounted for as much as 40 per cent of all trades on the London Stock Exchange in 2006; on some American equity markets the figure can be as high as 80 per cent.
The people who write the algorithms that drive the software are called quantities analysts, often referred to simply as “quants.” They are generally physics and mathematics graduates working in risk management — calculating whether a given deal is a good idea — and derivatives pricing, which entails putting a figure on trades that in effect bet on other trades. It’s enormously complex, which is why only the quants could understand it — if, that is, they did. History now suggests they didn’t.
The rise of the quants has mirrored the automation of the financial markets; and as many of the newer markets, such as swaps (a sort of insurance) and derivatives, have been unregulated, the quants who have been responsible for developing the hugely complicated systems that in the end brought many of the western world’s banks to their knees. As Richard Dooling wrote in the New York Times: “Somehow the genius quants — the best and brightest geeks Wall Street firms could buy — fed $1 trillion in subprime mortgage debt into their supercomputers, added some derivatives, massaged the arrangements with computer algorithms and — poof! — created $62 trillion in imaginary wealth.”
Those algorithms were based on risk assessments that were seriously flawed, based only on the risk to the market at that moment, rather on cold, hard empirical data about a person’s ability to pay and what would happen if a lot, rather than a few of them, stopped.
It seems we are at the mercy of the machine.
— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
Amid all the fallout from the financial turmoil, one group has yet to feel the accusing finger of blame: the analysts who built the computer software that drove the derivatives markets that, in turn, drove the financial collapse. Since the Big Bang of the 1980s, large amounts of stocks and shares — and derivatives of them — have been traded automatically by computers rather than by humans. These so-called “algotrades” accounted for as much as 40 per cent of all trades on the London Stock Exchange in 2006; on some American equity markets the figure can be as high as 80 per cent.
The people who write the algorithms that drive the software are called quantities analysts, often referred to simply as “quants.” They are generally physics and mathematics graduates working in risk management — calculating whether a given deal is a good idea — and derivatives pricing, which entails putting a figure on trades that in effect bet on other trades. It’s enormously complex, which is why only the quants could understand it — if, that is, they did. History now suggests they didn’t.
The rise of the quants has mirrored the automation of the financial markets; and as many of the newer markets, such as swaps (a sort of insurance) and derivatives, have been unregulated, the quants who have been responsible for developing the hugely complicated systems that in the end brought many of the western world’s banks to their knees. As Richard Dooling wrote in the New York Times: “Somehow the genius quants — the best and brightest geeks Wall Street firms could buy — fed $1 trillion in subprime mortgage debt into their supercomputers, added some derivatives, massaged the arrangements with computer algorithms and — poof! — created $62 trillion in imaginary wealth.”
Those algorithms were based on risk assessments that were seriously flawed, based only on the risk to the market at that moment, rather on cold, hard empirical data about a person’s ability to pay and what would happen if a lot, rather than a few of them, stopped.
It seems we are at the mercy of the machine.
— © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008
World - Austria turning rightwards
With the resurgence of the far-right parties and the marginalisation of the moderate parties in the recent elections in Austria, there are concerns about the country’s future political course. At the least, Austria is in danger of developing a much nastier reputation, which the whole world and especially the European Union must take very seriously. While introspection continues as to why the voters lurched to the right, what was clearly evident was their dissatisfaction with the centrist parties such as the Social Democrat SVÖ and the Christian Democrats which have more or less dominated politics for decades. These moderate parties, which have governed Austria in coalitions over decades, have for the first time in years had the lowest levels of support, their vote shares plummeting sharply. In results that have stunned Europe, Heinz-Christian Strache’s far-right Freedom Party, the FPÖ, won 18 per cent of the vote and the party of the late Jorg Haider, the Alliance for the Future of Austria won 11 per cent of the vote. The centrist SVÖ got only 30 per cent and the ÖVP 25 per cent. Mr. Strache, a dental technician who is openly xenophobic and is thought to have neo-Nazi connections, says that he wants to become the new chancellor. The alarm bells are ringing at the ascendancy of these rightist parties particularly because of their anti-immigration and anti-EU platform.
It is evident why the rise of these new parties has sent a chill down the spine of the European Union. The EU apparently has no formal powers that it can use over this type of development, and in 2000 other EU leaders stopped cold-shouldering the then Austrian coalition, which included the then far-right Freedom Party leader Jörg Haider. The sudden death of Mr. Haider in a car crash will in all probability send many of his supporters to Mr. Strache’s party. As of now, these parties only represent a powerful political force with the centrist parties attempting to revive their “grand coalition” which collapsed after continuous infighting, necessitating these elections. On October 8, President Heinz Fischer gave the Social Democrats a mandate to form a government, and the Conservatives are willing to resume talks with them on a grand coalition. The challenge before these parties is to ensure that more political space is not provided for the rightist parties to make inroads, which will not only be detrimental to the country’s own political future but would also seriously impair its relationship with the rest of Europe. If Austria succumbs to the dominance of these far-right parties, which have clearly racist and anti-immigrant political platforms, it is headed for fresh international isolation.
It is evident why the rise of these new parties has sent a chill down the spine of the European Union. The EU apparently has no formal powers that it can use over this type of development, and in 2000 other EU leaders stopped cold-shouldering the then Austrian coalition, which included the then far-right Freedom Party leader Jörg Haider. The sudden death of Mr. Haider in a car crash will in all probability send many of his supporters to Mr. Strache’s party. As of now, these parties only represent a powerful political force with the centrist parties attempting to revive their “grand coalition” which collapsed after continuous infighting, necessitating these elections. On October 8, President Heinz Fischer gave the Social Democrats a mandate to form a government, and the Conservatives are willing to resume talks with them on a grand coalition. The challenge before these parties is to ensure that more political space is not provided for the rightist parties to make inroads, which will not only be detrimental to the country’s own political future but would also seriously impair its relationship with the rest of Europe. If Austria succumbs to the dominance of these far-right parties, which have clearly racist and anti-immigrant political platforms, it is headed for fresh international isolation.
World - Britain;Forced Marriages
Britain has, at least going by ministerial statements, apparently grasped the difference between arranged marriages, which are part of the Indian cultural tradition, and forced marriages, unjustifiable from any standpoint. Yet it is a challenging task to tackle the problem of forced marriages. According to the British reckoning, the figures for this sordid practice are around 3,000 per year. Unofficial estimates suggest that the tally may be even higher. Most victims are known to be women aged between 15 and 24. Another 15-20 per cent of cases involve young men. About 65 per cent of known cases involve those of Pakistani origin, another 25 per cent are of Bangladeshi origin, and the rest are of Indian or various African and Eastern European origins. Individual stories are heart-rending, with many of the ‘husbands’ extraordinarily violent and abusive to the victims. The British government and Parliament have now begun taking this issue seriously. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has put up a website on this problem of forced marriages, giving links to groups and helplines run by people, including former victims, who have specific experience in the field. Annually, the FCO’s Forced Marriage Unit website receives about 5,000 inquiries and currently helps about 400 victims; some British diplomatic missions abroad have taken victims into safe custody for repatriation to the United Kingdom.
Legislation raises awkward issues. Although forced marriage itself is not a British criminal offence, the violent actions that often ensue are criminal offences, and any non-consensual sex is of course rape. Many victims have pointed out that they would not have been forced into marriage by their parents had forcible marriage been made a criminal offence. Yet there is the concern that if the practice is made a criminal offence, it would not be eliminated but only go underground, preventing legal action against this abhorrent trend. Hence the British government has proceeded cautiously in this regard. The English Forced Marriages (Civil Protection) Act 2007 is only a civil measure. But the pressure to take firm action is building. Visa regulations for young married people from abroad joining British spouses have been tightened. The British Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee has suggested that the subjects of forced marriages and honour killings be made a compulsory part of the sex and relationships curriculum in schools. Other agencies in the U.K. are now becoming aware of this problem. But this awareness must translate into concerted efforts to stop forced marriages, which are nothing but the criminal abuse of hapless women.
Legislation raises awkward issues. Although forced marriage itself is not a British criminal offence, the violent actions that often ensue are criminal offences, and any non-consensual sex is of course rape. Many victims have pointed out that they would not have been forced into marriage by their parents had forcible marriage been made a criminal offence. Yet there is the concern that if the practice is made a criminal offence, it would not be eliminated but only go underground, preventing legal action against this abhorrent trend. Hence the British government has proceeded cautiously in this regard. The English Forced Marriages (Civil Protection) Act 2007 is only a civil measure. But the pressure to take firm action is building. Visa regulations for young married people from abroad joining British spouses have been tightened. The British Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee has suggested that the subjects of forced marriages and honour killings be made a compulsory part of the sex and relationships curriculum in schools. Other agencies in the U.K. are now becoming aware of this problem. But this awareness must translate into concerted efforts to stop forced marriages, which are nothing but the criminal abuse of hapless women.
India - Multiple airports policy coming
Vinay Kumar
HYDERABAD: The policy of not having a second airport in a city within a 150-km radius of the existing one was “fundamentally flawed,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday.
“If London can have seven airports, greater New York area nearly 20, I think expanding cities in our country can have multiple airports, they can certainly absorb more than one airport, this change will reflect in the new policy,” he told a seminar here.
‘Biggest of its sort’
Citing the example of Mumbai and Pune, Mr. Patel said a new airport in Navi Mumbai was in the pipeline and upgrading of the of Pune airport was also on the cards. “This belt of Mumbai-Pune is the biggest of its sort in the region in terms of residential and industrial projects. Similarly, the National Capital Region of Delhi has industrial towns like Faridabad, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad and this area can also have multiple airports.”
FDI limit
With the Foreign Direct Investment limit being raised to 100 per cent for Greenfield airports, Mr. Patel expected “upscale” growth in creating new, world-class aviation infrastructure.
“I want our people to fly in and out of our airports and I want airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati and other cities to become hubs of my own country. If the U.S. can have so many hubs, the length and breadth of our country can also have such hubs and they can become engines of growth.”
HYDERABAD: The policy of not having a second airport in a city within a 150-km radius of the existing one was “fundamentally flawed,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday.
“If London can have seven airports, greater New York area nearly 20, I think expanding cities in our country can have multiple airports, they can certainly absorb more than one airport, this change will reflect in the new policy,” he told a seminar here.
‘Biggest of its sort’
Citing the example of Mumbai and Pune, Mr. Patel said a new airport in Navi Mumbai was in the pipeline and upgrading of the of Pune airport was also on the cards. “This belt of Mumbai-Pune is the biggest of its sort in the region in terms of residential and industrial projects. Similarly, the National Capital Region of Delhi has industrial towns like Faridabad, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad and this area can also have multiple airports.”
FDI limit
With the Foreign Direct Investment limit being raised to 100 per cent for Greenfield airports, Mr. Patel expected “upscale” growth in creating new, world-class aviation infrastructure.
“I want our people to fly in and out of our airports and I want airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati and other cities to become hubs of my own country. If the U.S. can have so many hubs, the length and breadth of our country can also have such hubs and they can become engines of growth.”
World - Queen Elizabeth II visits Google
LONDON: She was the first monarch to send an e-mail. She has her own website. And on Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II uploaded video to YouTube during a visit to Google’s British headquarters.
The company celebrated the visit by creating a special version of its google.co.uk home page, which featured a silhouette of her head as the second ‘G’ and a regal crown atop the ‘E’ in their logo.
During the visit, the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, saw a demonstration of the company’s technology and met schoolchildren who won a competition to design their own Google “doodles” — what the California-based company calls special editions of their blue, green, red and yellow logo.
The royal couple met users of the Google-owned YouTube video website, including Peter Oakley, an 81-year-old known as ‘Geriatric1927.’ Mr. Oakley’s videos on the site earned him a nomination for a YouTube award in 2006.
The queen herself has a presence on YouTube — she launched the Royal Channel in December. There are 54 videos on the channel, which range from the Queen’s 1957 Christmas message to a day in the life of Prince Charles. On Thursday, she uploaded archive footage to the channel of a 1969 reception at Buckingham Palace for British Olympians.
After their visit to Google, the queen and Prince Philip planned to host a reception for nearly 600 British Olympians at the palace, the monarch’s London home. — AP
The company celebrated the visit by creating a special version of its google.co.uk home page, which featured a silhouette of her head as the second ‘G’ and a regal crown atop the ‘E’ in their logo.
During the visit, the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, saw a demonstration of the company’s technology and met schoolchildren who won a competition to design their own Google “doodles” — what the California-based company calls special editions of their blue, green, red and yellow logo.
The royal couple met users of the Google-owned YouTube video website, including Peter Oakley, an 81-year-old known as ‘Geriatric1927.’ Mr. Oakley’s videos on the site earned him a nomination for a YouTube award in 2006.
The queen herself has a presence on YouTube — she launched the Royal Channel in December. There are 54 videos on the channel, which range from the Queen’s 1957 Christmas message to a day in the life of Prince Charles. On Thursday, she uploaded archive footage to the channel of a 1969 reception at Buckingham Palace for British Olympians.
After their visit to Google, the queen and Prince Philip planned to host a reception for nearly 600 British Olympians at the palace, the monarch’s London home. — AP
India - TN;New concept to reduce land acquisition costs
CHENNAI: In order to reduce the amount spent on land acquisitions for infrastructure projects and facilitate early agreement between the government authorities and property owners, the CMDA has proposed the concept of transfer of development rights (TDR) in the master plan.
At an expert committee meeting, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority on Tuesday discussed the modalities of implementing it. Along with this, the fee needed to be paid for availing oneself of the premium FSI was discussed. Property owners affected by land acquisition will receive a TDR certificate, instead of cash compensation. This certificate will allow them to build more than what is normally permissible. For example, if a plot owner loses a property which has 1.5 floor space index (FSI), he/she can get 2.25 FSI as compensation and use it elsewhere in the city. This certificate could also be sold to developers who may want to utilise it in their projects. Institutions such as the Chennai Metro rail are agreeable to the proposal, as it would reduce their land acquisition costs significantly.
According to an official source, the CMDA has proposed that the guideline value of the land should be taken as the basis for calculating the charges for availing premium FSI.
However, some committee members opposing this suggested that the market value of land be taken, so that the government does not lose revenue necessary to provide infrastructure this additional built-up area will call for. The premium FSI is the additional built-up area a property owner can build over and above what is permitted. Sundaram, chairman, Builders Association of India, Southern Centre, said the premium FSI would be more useful only in the suburbs where there are large properties.
Tara Murali, an expert committee member, said the premium FSI was not recommended by the expert committee of the CMDA, but introduced by the government.
“If it has to be implemented, it must be linked to generating affordable housing.”
At an expert committee meeting, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority on Tuesday discussed the modalities of implementing it. Along with this, the fee needed to be paid for availing oneself of the premium FSI was discussed. Property owners affected by land acquisition will receive a TDR certificate, instead of cash compensation. This certificate will allow them to build more than what is normally permissible. For example, if a plot owner loses a property which has 1.5 floor space index (FSI), he/she can get 2.25 FSI as compensation and use it elsewhere in the city. This certificate could also be sold to developers who may want to utilise it in their projects. Institutions such as the Chennai Metro rail are agreeable to the proposal, as it would reduce their land acquisition costs significantly.
According to an official source, the CMDA has proposed that the guideline value of the land should be taken as the basis for calculating the charges for availing premium FSI.
However, some committee members opposing this suggested that the market value of land be taken, so that the government does not lose revenue necessary to provide infrastructure this additional built-up area will call for. The premium FSI is the additional built-up area a property owner can build over and above what is permitted. Sundaram, chairman, Builders Association of India, Southern Centre, said the premium FSI would be more useful only in the suburbs where there are large properties.
Tara Murali, an expert committee member, said the premium FSI was not recommended by the expert committee of the CMDA, but introduced by the government.
“If it has to be implemented, it must be linked to generating affordable housing.”
Lifestyle - First Indo-Pak gay love story blooms on internet
Amir Mir
Hammad, who has designed Pakistan’s first gay website, pakistangays.com, and his lover want to settle abroad as man and spouse
ISLAMABAD: There have been many heart-warming cross-LoC love stories, but this gay one takes the cake.
Hammad from Pakistan is in love with an Indian man, whose name he doesn’t want to disclose. He met the Indian on the internet.
He confides, “I am in love with an Indian man I met over the internet, but we have not met yet in person. We can’t think of marriage in either of the (conservative) countries.”
Hammad, who is studying accounting, plans to get a job abroad where he can settle down with his partner as man and spouse.
“My parents keep insisting that I get married or at least engaged. May be they have sensed my chill towards girls, but that is the way we are supposed to be. We are born this way… we can’t help it.”
Hammad has gone down the gay lane a bit too far, designing Pakistan’s first gay website, pakistangays.com. He runs the site, which had 569 Pakistani members last checked, from internet cafes for obvious reasons.
Of those who have registered, 302 are “gays”, 241 “bisexuals” and the remaining “transgender”.
“I cannot run it (the site) from home because my parents will find out and that would destroy me forever,” Hammad exaggerates, admitting with a sense of guilt that homosexuality is illegal and haraam in this country.
“I want to leave Pakistan and my lover wants to leave India so that we can unite and rid ourselves of this unending feeling of guilt.”
In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, homosexuality is not only illegal, but a crime punishable by whipping, imprisonment, or even death. But across classes and social groups, men have sex with men.
In villages throughout the country, young boys are often forcibly “taken” by older men. Often, these boys move to the cities and become prostitutes.
In some areas, homosexuality is sometimes acceptable. In the Northwest Frontier Province, the ethnic Pashtun men who dominate the region are known to take young boys as lovers. No one has been executed for sodomy in Pakistan’s recent history
Hammad, who has designed Pakistan’s first gay website, pakistangays.com, and his lover want to settle abroad as man and spouse
ISLAMABAD: There have been many heart-warming cross-LoC love stories, but this gay one takes the cake.
Hammad from Pakistan is in love with an Indian man, whose name he doesn’t want to disclose. He met the Indian on the internet.
He confides, “I am in love with an Indian man I met over the internet, but we have not met yet in person. We can’t think of marriage in either of the (conservative) countries.”
Hammad, who is studying accounting, plans to get a job abroad where he can settle down with his partner as man and spouse.
“My parents keep insisting that I get married or at least engaged. May be they have sensed my chill towards girls, but that is the way we are supposed to be. We are born this way… we can’t help it.”
Hammad has gone down the gay lane a bit too far, designing Pakistan’s first gay website, pakistangays.com. He runs the site, which had 569 Pakistani members last checked, from internet cafes for obvious reasons.
Of those who have registered, 302 are “gays”, 241 “bisexuals” and the remaining “transgender”.
“I cannot run it (the site) from home because my parents will find out and that would destroy me forever,” Hammad exaggerates, admitting with a sense of guilt that homosexuality is illegal and haraam in this country.
“I want to leave Pakistan and my lover wants to leave India so that we can unite and rid ourselves of this unending feeling of guilt.”
In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, homosexuality is not only illegal, but a crime punishable by whipping, imprisonment, or even death. But across classes and social groups, men have sex with men.
In villages throughout the country, young boys are often forcibly “taken” by older men. Often, these boys move to the cities and become prostitutes.
In some areas, homosexuality is sometimes acceptable. In the Northwest Frontier Province, the ethnic Pashtun men who dominate the region are known to take young boys as lovers. No one has been executed for sodomy in Pakistan’s recent history
Entertainment - India;Preity Zinta talks tough
Preity Zinta has always had the guts to take on issues. She says flashing her trademark dimples, “I’m not as tough as people portray me to be. But I believe that even if the whole world opposes you, you have to stand by what’s right. Even as a child I would fight with 30 people, go home with scars but be happy that I had stood up for what was right.” She adds, “When I witnessed my father passing away at an early age, I realised that we’re not invincible. My father was the epitome of strength. If a mountain like him could crumble, who was I?”
She explains further, “I believe that I should live with dignity. I don’t keep anything in my heart and speak out what I think is right. I do get into trouble because of this. But it’s better to have true enemies than fake friends who stab you in the back. My dad used to say, ‘Live life like a warrior. Don’t underestimate or overestimate anyone’.”
This spirit also helped her understand women who have fought against their abusive husbands. “I worked with battered wives in Canada. When I was doing Heaven on Earth, which is based on the stories of these women, my heart broke. It’s better to kill a woman than destroy her spirit by constant battering. One woman had said to me, ‘I told my husband that I didn’t mind him beating me but not in front of the family.’ I couldn’t understand her viewpoint.”
Preity adds, “While shooting the film, there was this scene where my husband hits me. I couldn’t let the crew stand and watch. I thought it was more intimate than a love scene! Imagine what a woman must be going through when she gets beaten up in front of her children. You feel small when you are hit but someone else witnessing that humiliation is worse.” Preity recounts another story, “Deepa (Mehta, director) met a lady named Mona Gill. She was a Punjabi married in Canada. Her husband used to beat her up regularly. Whenever she dialled 911 for help, nobody could understand her language Punjabi. After nine years, Mona managed to escape. She joined the police force as she wished to help some other woman in her kind of situation!”
She explains further, “I believe that I should live with dignity. I don’t keep anything in my heart and speak out what I think is right. I do get into trouble because of this. But it’s better to have true enemies than fake friends who stab you in the back. My dad used to say, ‘Live life like a warrior. Don’t underestimate or overestimate anyone’.”
This spirit also helped her understand women who have fought against their abusive husbands. “I worked with battered wives in Canada. When I was doing Heaven on Earth, which is based on the stories of these women, my heart broke. It’s better to kill a woman than destroy her spirit by constant battering. One woman had said to me, ‘I told my husband that I didn’t mind him beating me but not in front of the family.’ I couldn’t understand her viewpoint.”
Preity adds, “While shooting the film, there was this scene where my husband hits me. I couldn’t let the crew stand and watch. I thought it was more intimate than a love scene! Imagine what a woman must be going through when she gets beaten up in front of her children. You feel small when you are hit but someone else witnessing that humiliation is worse.” Preity recounts another story, “Deepa (Mehta, director) met a lady named Mona Gill. She was a Punjabi married in Canada. Her husband used to beat her up regularly. Whenever she dialled 911 for help, nobody could understand her language Punjabi. After nine years, Mona managed to escape. She joined the police force as she wished to help some other woman in her kind of situation!”
Health - India;Healthcare goes places with Telemedicine
Priyanka Golikeri
TV screens, software help make up for skewed distribution of specialists across India
MUMBAI: Geeta Devi (name changed), a frail 40-year-old woman from Bankura, a remote town in West Midnapore district in West Bengal, has been suffering from severe stomach-ache and vomiting.
She’s been admitted to a healthcare centre and a specialist is examining her. Pretty routine, you’d say. There’s just one difference - the specialist is sitting in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, as far as 3,350 km from Bankura. This isn’t a scene in some sci-fi flick.
It’s just a new trend sweeping through the $40-billion healthcare segment in the country.
The specialist is able to scrutinise Geeta’s medical reports on his computer and evaluate her condition in real time through a videoconferencing facility at the healthcare centre in Bankura.
What’s connecting the 550-sq ft Bankura centre with the 8,000-sq ft tertiary care hospital in Chennai is a system called telemedicine. Simply put, telemedicine is an application in clinical medicine where medical information is exchanged over the telephone, the internet or other networks to not only offer medical consultation but also conduct remote medical procedures and examinations.
Telemedicine uses two components to reach out to patients in remote area. The hardware component consists of plasma screens, TV monitors, video conferencing equipment etc, and the software component of very small aperture terminal (VSAT) or broadband IP. The trend addresses the paucity of doctors, primarily specialists, in remote areas. K Ganapathy, co-founder of Telemedicine Society of India and president of Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, feels the distribution of specialists across the country is lopsided. “For example, Chennai, with 8 million people, has 90 neurosurgeons, while north-eastern India, with 250 million people, has about 85.”
According to Planning Commission estimates, the country is currently facing a shortage of 6 lakh doctors. More than 750 million people in India have no direct access to secondary and tertiary medical care. “Telemedicine cuts down on the time, effort and money that patients have to put in to travel long distances to see specialists,” says Ganapathy.
He adds that a patient would end up paying just 5-10% of what he would have spent travelling to a hospital in a metro, paying for accommodation, and waiting for an appointment. Kumar Menon, physician coordinator, telemedicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), says with telemedicine, expert consultation can be given through the audio/video system.
“Patient history and diagnosis in the form of text data, X-rays, ultrasound, ECG, blood pressure, heart sounds, etc can be seen and heard by a doctor sitting thousands of miles away,” adds Ganapathy.
Another area that telemedicine assists in is providing doctors with the opportunity to get training from experts and specialists anywhere in the country, says homeopath Mukesh Batra, who uses telemedicine in the field of homeopathy. “Telemedicine helps consulting doctors share their evaluations, seek a second opinion and obtain advice on critical cases from specialists,” says Batra.
Medical experts say that through telemedicine can cover almost all specialties, including key ones such as cardiology, neurology, rheumatology, psychiatry, etc. Apollo Hospitals, AIMS, and Dr Batra’s chain of homeopathy clinics are some leading players using telemedicine, which is used in about 450 healthcare centres across the country.
Other than the centres, telemedicine players also use mobile vans, which are equipped with laboratories to conduct X-rays, ultrasound, ECG etc. “These vans can go to remote areas that don’t have healthcare centres and connect patients with specialists in cities,” says AIMS’ Menon.
TV screens, software help make up for skewed distribution of specialists across India
MUMBAI: Geeta Devi (name changed), a frail 40-year-old woman from Bankura, a remote town in West Midnapore district in West Bengal, has been suffering from severe stomach-ache and vomiting.
She’s been admitted to a healthcare centre and a specialist is examining her. Pretty routine, you’d say. There’s just one difference - the specialist is sitting in Chennai in Tamil Nadu, as far as 3,350 km from Bankura. This isn’t a scene in some sci-fi flick.
It’s just a new trend sweeping through the $40-billion healthcare segment in the country.
The specialist is able to scrutinise Geeta’s medical reports on his computer and evaluate her condition in real time through a videoconferencing facility at the healthcare centre in Bankura.
What’s connecting the 550-sq ft Bankura centre with the 8,000-sq ft tertiary care hospital in Chennai is a system called telemedicine. Simply put, telemedicine is an application in clinical medicine where medical information is exchanged over the telephone, the internet or other networks to not only offer medical consultation but also conduct remote medical procedures and examinations.
Telemedicine uses two components to reach out to patients in remote area. The hardware component consists of plasma screens, TV monitors, video conferencing equipment etc, and the software component of very small aperture terminal (VSAT) or broadband IP. The trend addresses the paucity of doctors, primarily specialists, in remote areas. K Ganapathy, co-founder of Telemedicine Society of India and president of Apollo Telemedicine Networking Foundation, feels the distribution of specialists across the country is lopsided. “For example, Chennai, with 8 million people, has 90 neurosurgeons, while north-eastern India, with 250 million people, has about 85.”
According to Planning Commission estimates, the country is currently facing a shortage of 6 lakh doctors. More than 750 million people in India have no direct access to secondary and tertiary medical care. “Telemedicine cuts down on the time, effort and money that patients have to put in to travel long distances to see specialists,” says Ganapathy.
He adds that a patient would end up paying just 5-10% of what he would have spent travelling to a hospital in a metro, paying for accommodation, and waiting for an appointment. Kumar Menon, physician coordinator, telemedicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), says with telemedicine, expert consultation can be given through the audio/video system.
“Patient history and diagnosis in the form of text data, X-rays, ultrasound, ECG, blood pressure, heart sounds, etc can be seen and heard by a doctor sitting thousands of miles away,” adds Ganapathy.
Another area that telemedicine assists in is providing doctors with the opportunity to get training from experts and specialists anywhere in the country, says homeopath Mukesh Batra, who uses telemedicine in the field of homeopathy. “Telemedicine helps consulting doctors share their evaluations, seek a second opinion and obtain advice on critical cases from specialists,” says Batra.
Medical experts say that through telemedicine can cover almost all specialties, including key ones such as cardiology, neurology, rheumatology, psychiatry, etc. Apollo Hospitals, AIMS, and Dr Batra’s chain of homeopathy clinics are some leading players using telemedicine, which is used in about 450 healthcare centres across the country.
Other than the centres, telemedicine players also use mobile vans, which are equipped with laboratories to conduct X-rays, ultrasound, ECG etc. “These vans can go to remote areas that don’t have healthcare centres and connect patients with specialists in cities,” says AIMS’ Menon.
Personality - India;Hanuman Tripathi
Vasudev Keluskar
Meet Infrasoft Technology co-founder Hanuman Tripathi
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
— Old Spanish proverb
MUMBAI: After burning the midnight oil for a year, Hanuman Tripathi was selected for IIM Ahmedabad in 1981. But being the son of a retired government servant, the twenty-year old could not afford the fees.
To support his family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Tripathi came to Mumbai and took up a job of a sales executive, still cursing his luck. He used to live in a balcony as a paying guest. A part time job as a sales executive — for Rs 500 a month — and a post graduate course in marketing from Bhavans College kept him occupied.
“I joined HCL in 1983, worked there for 2 years and then joined Nelco. This was the golden period of my life. I used to take more responsibilities than I was assigned to. Thus, I brought more solutions to the table than problems. Trust me; nothing pleases your superiors more than that. I just had to be promoted.” remembers Hanuman Tripathi, co-founder and CEO of Infrasoft Technology.
Tripathi, who was selected just as a territory manager for sales in Nelco, ended up getting 6 promotions in 8 years. When he exited Nelco, he was the national head of sales.
CEOs, Tripathi believes, are more approachable and flexible than immediate superiors. “If you want to make it big, just go ahead and approach CEOs. They will love it,” Tripathi says. “I always went ahead with ideas I had and talked them out with my bosses. Once, I had an interaction with Ratan Tata, in which I found out that top managers are more approachable than immediate superiors.”
1992, riots brought Mumbai to a standstill. Tripathi used the time to think about his future, with his friend G Shekhar, an equity analyst with UTI. Shekhar was an IIM pass out, so Tripathi could connect with him well. Shekhar later became a co-founder of Infrasoft Technology.
“I knew that joint ventures were going to be a big crisis for the top management in telecom, as foreign players will ultimately seize the company. I wanted to start something of my own,” Tripathi says. “The IT industry was still unnoticed and underestimated then. I jumped in.”
But before that, he decided to work in an SME, to understand how small organisations function: “I had to do it, as I had always worked with big companies. But when you start off your own, you are an SME. Thus, I joined Trilogy Softwares, which did automation for banks.”
It is not easy for anyone to work in a small company after handling big portfolios in large companies. It was no different for Tripathi: “I had huge doubts and depression. I decided to hang in and change the situation. After two years, the company had its own marketing and finance department and revenue had grown four times.”
One day in 1995, he sat with three friends in the Juhu Centaur Hotel for 24 hours straight.
“I did not move; kept talking, thinking and writing. When my papers were finished, I used the tissue papers of the hotel. After 24 hours, I was done with the entire business model for Infrasoft,” Tripathi recalls, eyes twinkling.
Tripathi had left his job with Trilogy by that time, thought setting up the company would be a snap. It wasn’t. “We were stuck at finance. For six months, we ran around for money. I had no office, no house of my own and I wanted to create a company. That time, there was no concept of sweat equity either,” he says.
Finally, Infrasoft received the money from B&K Securities, a brokerage.
“Our target audience was set. The banking industry was going into automation mode and even more, private banks were venturing in. Infrasoft developed software for them and as banking got more and more complicated, we developed other complimentary services for them like an anti-money laundering software,” Tripathi says.
Today, Infrasoft has advance-level alliances with Microsoft, IBM and Oracle. It has been ranked among the top 10 core system suppliers for banking by Internal Banking Systems, UK.
Tripathi’s parting shot: “In order to be a successful entrepreneur, share the benefits, not the risks. Work for the organisation, not for yourself. Success will be yours.”
Meet Infrasoft Technology co-founder Hanuman Tripathi
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
— Old Spanish proverb
MUMBAI: After burning the midnight oil for a year, Hanuman Tripathi was selected for IIM Ahmedabad in 1981. But being the son of a retired government servant, the twenty-year old could not afford the fees.
To support his family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Tripathi came to Mumbai and took up a job of a sales executive, still cursing his luck. He used to live in a balcony as a paying guest. A part time job as a sales executive — for Rs 500 a month — and a post graduate course in marketing from Bhavans College kept him occupied.
“I joined HCL in 1983, worked there for 2 years and then joined Nelco. This was the golden period of my life. I used to take more responsibilities than I was assigned to. Thus, I brought more solutions to the table than problems. Trust me; nothing pleases your superiors more than that. I just had to be promoted.” remembers Hanuman Tripathi, co-founder and CEO of Infrasoft Technology.
Tripathi, who was selected just as a territory manager for sales in Nelco, ended up getting 6 promotions in 8 years. When he exited Nelco, he was the national head of sales.
CEOs, Tripathi believes, are more approachable and flexible than immediate superiors. “If you want to make it big, just go ahead and approach CEOs. They will love it,” Tripathi says. “I always went ahead with ideas I had and talked them out with my bosses. Once, I had an interaction with Ratan Tata, in which I found out that top managers are more approachable than immediate superiors.”
1992, riots brought Mumbai to a standstill. Tripathi used the time to think about his future, with his friend G Shekhar, an equity analyst with UTI. Shekhar was an IIM pass out, so Tripathi could connect with him well. Shekhar later became a co-founder of Infrasoft Technology.
“I knew that joint ventures were going to be a big crisis for the top management in telecom, as foreign players will ultimately seize the company. I wanted to start something of my own,” Tripathi says. “The IT industry was still unnoticed and underestimated then. I jumped in.”
But before that, he decided to work in an SME, to understand how small organisations function: “I had to do it, as I had always worked with big companies. But when you start off your own, you are an SME. Thus, I joined Trilogy Softwares, which did automation for banks.”
It is not easy for anyone to work in a small company after handling big portfolios in large companies. It was no different for Tripathi: “I had huge doubts and depression. I decided to hang in and change the situation. After two years, the company had its own marketing and finance department and revenue had grown four times.”
One day in 1995, he sat with three friends in the Juhu Centaur Hotel for 24 hours straight.
“I did not move; kept talking, thinking and writing. When my papers were finished, I used the tissue papers of the hotel. After 24 hours, I was done with the entire business model for Infrasoft,” Tripathi recalls, eyes twinkling.
Tripathi had left his job with Trilogy by that time, thought setting up the company would be a snap. It wasn’t. “We were stuck at finance. For six months, we ran around for money. I had no office, no house of my own and I wanted to create a company. That time, there was no concept of sweat equity either,” he says.
Finally, Infrasoft received the money from B&K Securities, a brokerage.
“Our target audience was set. The banking industry was going into automation mode and even more, private banks were venturing in. Infrasoft developed software for them and as banking got more and more complicated, we developed other complimentary services for them like an anti-money laundering software,” Tripathi says.
Today, Infrasoft has advance-level alliances with Microsoft, IBM and Oracle. It has been ranked among the top 10 core system suppliers for banking by Internal Banking Systems, UK.
Tripathi’s parting shot: “In order to be a successful entrepreneur, share the benefits, not the risks. Work for the organisation, not for yourself. Success will be yours.”
India - Is PM eyeing Amritsar Lok Sabha Seat ?
Ajay Bhardwaj
As speculation grows, sitting MP Sidhu gets jitters
CHANDIGARH: Will prime minister Manmohan Singh contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Amritsar against sitting BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu?
The unanimity among state Congress leaders, including MLAs and former ministers, over his candidature has certainly fuelled speculation.
The prime minister has relatives in Amritsar where he also spent some time when his family migrated from Pakistan after Partition.
A resolution adopted by Amritsar District Congress Committee (Urban and Rural) was submitted to Charan Singh Sapra, the visiting MLC from Mumbai who has been appointed observer by AICC president Sonia Gandhi to assess the mood of party leaders and voters in the constituency.
Sapra held separate meetings with senior leaders in the District Congress Committee. Later, he also met Bihar governor RL Bhatia, who has represented Amritsar five times in the past.
Party leaders told the AICC observer that post delimitation the parliamentary constituency had become Sikh-dominated and Manmohan Singh would have a cake walk if he chose to contest the seat.
They said Manmohan had a distinct advantage in Amritsar as it was his hometown and a number of his relatives and friends lived there.
Apparently rattled by the speculation, Sidhu has challenged the prime minister to try his luck in Amritsar. “Let the prime minister fulfil the expectations of his party men by contesting from Amritsar, so that the over 10 lakh voters could at least get the chance to ask him what his contribution to the holy city has been,” the former cricketer said.
As speculation grows, sitting MP Sidhu gets jitters
CHANDIGARH: Will prime minister Manmohan Singh contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Amritsar against sitting BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu?
The unanimity among state Congress leaders, including MLAs and former ministers, over his candidature has certainly fuelled speculation.
The prime minister has relatives in Amritsar where he also spent some time when his family migrated from Pakistan after Partition.
A resolution adopted by Amritsar District Congress Committee (Urban and Rural) was submitted to Charan Singh Sapra, the visiting MLC from Mumbai who has been appointed observer by AICC president Sonia Gandhi to assess the mood of party leaders and voters in the constituency.
Sapra held separate meetings with senior leaders in the District Congress Committee. Later, he also met Bihar governor RL Bhatia, who has represented Amritsar five times in the past.
Party leaders told the AICC observer that post delimitation the parliamentary constituency had become Sikh-dominated and Manmohan Singh would have a cake walk if he chose to contest the seat.
They said Manmohan had a distinct advantage in Amritsar as it was his hometown and a number of his relatives and friends lived there.
Apparently rattled by the speculation, Sidhu has challenged the prime minister to try his luck in Amritsar. “Let the prime minister fulfil the expectations of his party men by contesting from Amritsar, so that the over 10 lakh voters could at least get the chance to ask him what his contribution to the holy city has been,” the former cricketer said.