Jeyram

Chennaionline.COM: "He's been a trendsetter of sorts since his debut directorial venture in Telugu, 'Chithram'. He has been giving a new touch to the eternal story of romance and introducing new talents from Uday Kiran, Reema Sen, Nitin to Sadha. And now Teja introduces yet another fresh talent in Navdeep, and throws a life-line to Santhoshi, a familiar face to serial viewers, who's done cameos in a few Tamil films.

Ravivarman tries to create some mood with his camera, and a couple of songs of debutant composer Anup are catchy, but there's nothing much inspiring in this tale for them here. Navdeep, light-eyed and cute, oozing confidence, with a lot of sincerity in his work, does make a promising debut.

Santhoshi has the girl-next-door looks. In fact, she's too much of a girl-next-door! And if Teja's intention was to make his female protagonist look inconspicuous among the 30 odd new faces he's introduced in the film, he's succeeded!

The film, partly re-shot, partly dubbed, has Teja shifting away from familiar territory and venturing into the unknown, to give his love story a political colour. The director should have stuck to what he knows best - romancing in style!"

Kanavu Meipada Vendum

Kanavu Meipada Vendum: "After her award-winning 'Kutti' showing the plight of a little girl used as a domestic help, director Janaki Viswanathan returns with her second film. And this time it's about a youth who manages to rise above his parentage and community, educates himself, and becomes a crusader for his people.

Unlike 'Kutti's depressing ending, the director has ended this film with hope. The message is that parentage and upbringing can never stand in the way of one's achievements and goal. There is adequate support from Lakshmi Gopalaswamy (from Malyalam films), Hans Kaushik, Ganesh Babu as Saravanan and danseuse Sudharani Raghupathy as Ranganayaki, the ageing Devadasi and mother of Varalakshmi. C J Rajkumar's camera creates the right mood, and the late Mahesh's songs blend well with the narration.

There is no cinematic heroism to make the protagonist larger than life, no melodrama and no attempt to sensationalise. It's a matter-of-fact narration and the style is documentary. The opening scenes are a bit jerky and the dialogues stilted here, and a couple of scenes cliched (the post-marital scenes). But it's a commendable effort from the director who's persistence in making meaningful films on social issues should be appreciated."

Gillie

Chennaionline.com: "The local thug's daughter (as in innumerable films), the local thug's sister (as in 'Run'), and now the local thug's beloved. Naturally, the hero has to go through a rough time, by the time he reaches 'The End'! This film is a faithful remake of the Telugu hit 'Okkadu', only the Charminar has been replaced by the lighthouse here.

Trisha's timid scared act is convincing enough. No attempt has been made to blend the sets with the natural ambience, so a sense of artificiality pervades throughout. It has a racy first-half, caught well by Gopinath's camera. But, ultimately, what stands out is not the racy action scenes but the comedy - many of them unintentional."

Send Jobs to India? Some Find It's Not Always Best

The New York Times > Technology: "'For three years we tried all kinds of models, but nothing has worked so far,' said the co-founder and chief technology officer of Storability Software in Southborough, Mass. After trying to reduce costs by contracting out software programming tasks to India, Storability brought back most of the work to the United States, where it costs four times as much, and hired more programmers here. The 'depth of knowledge in the area we want to build software is not good enough' among Indian programmers, the executive said.

If it sounds like "Made in the U.S.A." jingoism, consider this: The entrepreneur, Hemant Kurande, is Indian. He was born and raised near Bombay and received his master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in that city, now known as Mumbai.

Another Indian executive in the United States who has soured on outsourcing is Dev Ittycheria, the chief executive of Bladelogic, a designer of network management software with 70 workers, also in Waltham. Bladelogic, whose client list includes General Electric and Sprint, outsourced work to India within months of going into business in 2001. But it concluded that projects it farmed out — one to install an operating system across a network, another to keep tabs on changes done to the system — could be done faster and at a lower cost in the United States.

That was true even though programmers in India cost Bladelogic $3,500 a month versus a monthly cost of $10,000 for programmers in the United States. "The cost savings in India were three to one," Mr. Ittycheria said . "But the difference in productivity was six to one."

What? Morals in 'South Park'?

The New York Times > Arts > Television > Critic's Notebook: "In a March episode a movie called 'The Passion' wins over Eric Cartman, the fat one, who was himself crucified in 1999 in South Park's own prescient passion play. After watching the film, Cartman drones on and on about the glory of his longtime hero Mel Gibson, the movie's director, until his pal Kyle Broflovski consents to see it. Shaken by its depiction of torture, Kyle comes to agree with the film's implication that Jews bear responsibility for the death of Jesus.

Kyle then agitates at his synagogue: he wants to hear an apology. The congregants rebel. Meanwhile Cartman organizes a rally and tries to initiate genocide. Holy war comes to South Park. In a related subplot a demented and armed Mel Gibson flounces around in underwear as he did in 'Lethal Weapon.' Andrew Sullivan, the conservative online pundit, called that scene 'one of the more sublime sights of the year.'

American hypocrisy, the combination of greed and sanctimony that lets religion and would-be spirituality provide cover for rapacity. Where the "Peanuts" children were sad, the kids in "South Park" are furious and vengeful."

Anand's No Exit for World Cinema Naples

Marco Island Film Festival: "Director: Anand Alagappan. Cast: Giatri Dave, Anand Alagappan - Emmy Award winner Alphonse Roy, specialising in wildlife for BBC, National Geographic and Discovery channels, has handled the cinematography. Gaitri Devi plays the female lead.

A simple phone call turns into a nightmare which ends up as a dream."

Sify.com

TALKIES TODAY: "Speaking about the honour, Anand Alagappan says,' My short film No Exit , which runs for nearly eight minutes is about how an ordinary phone call to a credit card service turns into a comedy of promos and advertisements, that we encounter everyday. Later it becomes a nightmare with no exit which turns out to be a dream.
"

Cheran chat transcript (Chat held on April 21, 5 pm)

Sify.com: "What do you think about the present election
Cheran says I hate elections, because I don't find anyone doing the good thing. They are BETTER actors."

Politicians should retire by 65: Thackeray

Chennai Online News Service - View News: "Commenting on a question asked by a journalist on the polling day about aging politicians, Thackeray said that although he had then replied that he was eyeing to be Prime Minister after turning 80, he actually feels that 'politicians should retire when they turn 65.'

"I am 70-plus and I am eyeing to be the Prime Minister when I turn 80. As of now, 80 years is a pre-requisite to be a Prime Minister," Thackeray had said then in a lighter vein. "

Bringing Up Baby, but Not Giving Up Movies

Bringing Up Baby, but Not Giving Up Movies: "'It used to be that new parents were fated to watch "The Lion King" or "Finding Nemo" endlessly on video while waiting for current, more adult fare to be released for the home market. But now thousands of moms and dads across the country are taking advantage of new programs that enable them to see first-run films with their children.

Regular paying customers don't want crying babies in their theaters, and parents don't want to be the ones who have that crying baby,' said Staci Torgeson, Madstone's director of audience services. 'This was a market that was waiting for movies to come out on DVD. They were not going to the movies.'

Loews Entertainment, which has expanded its Reel Moms program to 24 theaters in 20 cities in the last two years, has shown romantic comedies like 'Along Came Polly,' action films like 'Hidalgo' and the thriller 'Spartan.'"

Bollywood on Broadway Courts South Asians

The New York Times > Theater : "'Bombay Dreams,' after all, is essentially a staged version of a Bollywood film, the immensely popular kind of musical melodramas, produced in Mumbai (as Bombay is now called), that draws huge audiences from all across the Indian subcontinent. And the best estimates say that there are more than 500,000 South Asians living in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

In addition to advertising in major media outlets, producers have also placed ads on South Asian radio stations like RBC Radio and cable television programs like "AVS" (which stands for "Asian Variety Show." They have promoted actively in South Asian enclaves like Jackson Heights, Queens, and Jersey City, putting up window cards in Indian restaurants and arranging dinner-and-a-musical deals. They've also reached outside the city, courting South Asian tour groups from Georgia to California.

Part of the reason for the concerted push is that for many South Asians, this is their first brush with American theater. "For a sizable section of the community, this is serving as their introduction to Broadway," said Prem Panicker, a managing editor of India Abroad, a weekly English-language newspaper. Mr. Rao also said he felt some degree of pride that the show had made it to Broadway at all. "Generally I think people think of Indians as being doctors or in software or in science," Mr. Rao said. "But it's nice to see people coming out to experience the culture."

The Nation

The Nation: "Unconventional Wisdom Since 1865"

Zimbabwe all out for 35

Zimbabwe all out for 35: "After losing the toss, Zimbabwe were bowled out by the visitors in 18 overs, eclipsing the previous low of 36 by Canada in the 2003 World Cup, also against Sri Lanka.

Chaminda Vaas took his career total of wickets to 301 with 4-11 in nine overs and debutant Farveez Maharoof returned 3-3 in three overs. The Zimbabweans have had to field a hugely inexperienced side since 15 white cricketers rebelled over the sacking of Heath Streak as captain last month."

Attacked, Expelled, Ignored

Attacked, Expelled, Ignored: "Darfur region of western Sudan is one of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth, which makes it an ideal place to get away with ethnic cleansing. Since late last year, an Arab militia called the Janjaweed has killed thousands of darker-skinned non-Arabs and driven about one million from their homes. Most of the refugees are still in Sudan, many of them in squalid camps, the children dying of malnutrition and measles. An additional 110,000 refugees have crossed into Chad. Even there they are not safe: the Janjaweed regularly raid across the border.

The killing here is not about religion, as it is elsewhere in Sudan. It is largely about race and ethnicity -- and the age-old tension between nomadic herdsmen and settled farmers. A low-level rebellion began in Darfur a year ago, backed by some of the local tribespeople. The government responded by arming the Janjaweed, paying them and giving them helicopter support in scorched-earth operations intended to empty the countryside. "

In Loss of Leaders, Hamas Discovers a Renewed Strength

The New York Times > International > Middle East: "The leaders of Hamas gathered under a tent at a dusty soccer stadium last Sunday, joined by thousands of mourners offering condolences for the group's slain chief in Gaza, Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi. When the service ended, the Hamas officials vanished, making perhaps their last joint public appearance for a long time.

While Hamas now lacks a high-profile leader here, and is perhaps less potent, there is a flip side. Each Israeli killing only seems to enhance the popularity of Hamas on the street, particularly in its Gaza stronghold, where it draws recruits from a society that is extremely poor and deeply religious."

Vajpayee hints at new political alignments

NDTV.com:

"Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which has been making sympathetic statements about the BJP

Mayawati, who despite tremendous pressure, refused an alliance with the Congress.

Sharad Pawar, who has said publicly he will support the NDA on legislation to bar people of foreign origin from top posts and old allies like DMK, Chautala and the National Conference."

World's worst rail disasters

BBC NEWS | Middle East: "Up to 3,000 people are reported to have been killed in an explosion caused when two trains collided in North Korea. BBC News Online looks at some of the worst rail disasters to have happened round the world in recent times. "

N Korea train blast 'kills many'

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific: "The BBC's Kevin Kim in the South Korean capital, Seoul, says there are various theories about the explosion, including speculation that it may have been an assassination attempt against the North Korean leader. Our correspondent says another theory is that liquefied petroleum gas carried in one of the trains was a gift from China to North Korea after Mr Kim's visit to Beijing. "

More Propaganda: Is India Shining?

Here are some facts:
Indian Exports in 1997 – 98 à 1,30,101 Crores ; In 2002 – 03 à 2,50,130 Crores ... 92% increase in the last five years.
Forex reserves increased to USD 107 Billion ... à 220 % increase in last 5 years.
Telephones: First 50 years ... 2.3 crores connections;In the last 5 years ...... 4.75 Crores connections.
Around 35% of our fellow citizens are illiterate
Cellphones: In April 1999 –> 12 Lakhs ; InJanuary 2004 – 2.2 Crores .... 1,833% increase in the last 5 years
Software Exports in 1998: Rs. 8,000 Crores; In 2004: Rs. 48,000 Crores ....500% increase in the last 5 years.
IT Hardware Exports in 1998: Rs. 2,050 Crores; In 2004: Rs. 6,000 Crores ....192% Increase in the last 5 years
ITES: 1999 – 2000: Rs. 2,400 Crores; 2003 – 2004: Rs. 16,380 Crores ....583% increase in the last 5 years - leading to2.2 Lakh employment of educated youth
India ranks 127th among 175 nations in Human Development Index as per UNDP report of 2003
Over 26% of India's population continues to live below poverty line .
India goes to Pakistan for the Samsung Cup -- Wins the CUP .... and hearts too.
More at Bangalore Citizen's Voice (http://www.electindia.org)

Do babyblogs violate children's privacy?

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine: "It is easier than ever before to post family snaps online, and an ideal way for grandparents and friends to stay in touch. But is it fair on the children involved? And what of the remote possibility that a paedophile will find the photos, and re-use them in unspeakable ways? It's enough to make any parent want to switch the computer off.

She keeps a very close eye on it, monitoring incoming traffic and ensuring that the URL is not linked to by any other webpage, and is very hard to guess. Only family and friends are told about it. Earlier this year, artist Betsy Schneider was forced to close an exhibition of photos of her five-year-old daughter at east London's Spitz, after gallery owners called in police officers for advice.

And three years ago, a mother's photos of her children again raised the question of indecency when US photographer Tierney Gearon exhibited works at the Saatchi Gallery. "

Curiosity fuels anger at mobile chat

BBC NEWS | Technology: "'Conversations only work if there is a general agreement. There is a need to understand what is said and to talk back,' explained Professor Andrew Monk, director of the Centre for Usable Home Technology at the university. 'What other people are saying triggers language use and subconsciously you want to answer back,' he continued. "

Indian man admits US missile deal

BBC NEWS | Americas: "An Indian citizen has pleaded guilty in a US court to attempting to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to be used to buy anti-aircraft missiles.
Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, 40, admitted conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. He was charged after FBI agents arrested suspected UK arms dealer Hemant Lakhani in New Jersey for allegedly trying to sell the missiles. "

Defiant Vanunu celebrates freedom

BBC NEWS | Middle East: "A defiant Mordechai Vanunu has been enjoying his first hours of freedom after serving an 18-year jail sentence for leaking Israel's nuclear secrets.
A Christian convert, Mr Vanunu's first act was to go to pray at St George's Anglican cathedral in Jerusalem. A crowd of anti-nuclear supporters had cheered as he emerged from prison, while some Israeli critics angrily hurled abuse and death threats. "

US media calls Indian polls a 'passionate exercise'

siliconindia: "Colourful, confusing, violent, corrupt and 'a passionate exercise' -- is how the latest parliamentary elections in India have been described in the American media.

A day after the mammoth staggered polls kicked off, the US media also noted how over 670 million people would cast their votes in the first 'all-electronic Indian election' involving some 725,000 indigenous electronic voting machines. "

Beliefnet.com - Are You a Narcissist?

You scored 45, on a scale of 0 to 120. Here's how to interpret your score:
"0 - 40 : Selfless spirit. You don't think much of yourself--literally--and it's probably helped you get along with people and reduce the anxiety in your life.

41 - 80 : Occasional narcissist. You occasionally think too highly of yourself; catch yourself whenever it seems like the world revolves around you.

81 - 120 : Ego-maniac. You're prone to delusions of grandeur that may hurt your relationships. Get over yourself!"

Everday hackers

Boston.com / Business / Technology: "Today, a growing hacker culture is not only reclaiming the original meaning of the term but also applying its can-do ethic far beyond computer code to embrace everything from home electronics to home improvements. Just as the first hackers looked at behemothcomputers and rudimentary programs and insisted, ''We can make them better,' so are modern-day hackers looking at a wide variety of products, services, and materials and saying, ''We can make these better, too.'

Take Tony Northrup of Woburn, for example. Dissatisfied with a pet sitter who showed up only sporadically to care for his cat, he didn't merely fire the sitter and find another one. Instead, at the cost of about $250, he built a system of wireless cameras, motion detectors, and an old personal computer to snap pictures of the cat at strategic places -- like the food bowl -- and load them on a website, allowing him and his wife, Erica Edson, to check on the cat from almost anywhere."

Legality of book-banning

The Hindu: "In the West, book-banning is as old as book-writing. Homer's Odyssey was banned in Rome in the beginning of the First century. Translation of the New Testament by Tyndale was banned in England in the 16th century. So was Martin Luther's translation of the Bible in the 17th century in Germany. Galileo's writings as to the rotundity of the Earth were also destroyed in the 17th century. Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was banned by Russia in the 19th century. Henry Ford's My Life and Works was banned in Soviet Russia and so were Dr. Zhivago of Pasternak and Gulag Archipelago of Solzhenitsyn. The long list is still getting longer with myriads of instances. Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses has also found place in that list.
The book Dwikhandita has been banned by the State government in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which now contains the general law relating to book-banning. "

History on a platter

The Hindu : History on a platter: "THE DAKSHIN team has been wowing and wooing us with classic South Indian cuisine for a long time. They took us not only into neighbours' kitchens and the rural `samayalkettus,' but also into the royal ones. For the 15th anniversary celebrations, chef Praveen Anand and co. is again on flashback mode. The current do at the South Indian restaurant at the Park Sheraton is based on 'Hindu Pakka Sastra,' a cookbook dating back to 1890.

The exquisite motchai (butter beans) rasam to palaakkai (raw jackfruit) curry, peerkangai puli paruppu (ridged gourd and dal) to pomegranate rice and chameli khuska or jasmine rice, the entrees are enchanting. "

POLLS apart

The Hindu: "'Give us a Mr. Clean and we will vote for him,' 'Whither transparency?' 'Let them talk about Indian votes, not Muslim, Christian, Vanniyar, Nadar or Devar.' 'Someone who puts public needs before personal wants'... These are some of the refrains heard on the campus. "

'I waited a long time for this win' - Tendulakar

Sachin on 194 to Rediff: "There were people looking for controversy. The first question that was asked at the press conference was, 'Are you disappointed?'

If you ask that to a batsman batting on 194 at the end of day two of a Test, shouldn't that be a natural reaction? Am I not allowed to express my emotion?
But nothing comes in the way of the team's interest and team goals. The team is first and then comes the individual. I expressed surprise at the press conference but within minutes the matter was resolved.

Rahul and I sorted it out and that was that. It was as transparent as anything. There is no damage to our relationship. My friends told me there was a heated argument between Rahul and myself and I laughed, because there was not one percent of truth in that. Our relationship is as good as ever. We have great respect for each other and we both value that a lot.

People must also realise that cricket is not about individuals but about the team. I think the declaration was blown out of proportion."

Karunanidhi caught in battle of words

Karunanidhi caught in battle of words: "To the question, 'is it because, you are reminded or afraid of the political beating, you received from Ramachandran, who formed AIADMK after breaking away from DMK,' Karuanidhi replied 'no one can beat me and if I beat someone nobody can withstand.

'Why, even you cannot withstand,' the DMK chief said.

At this, another scribe asked 'you mean - to beat the scribe or Rajnikanth'. "

Jethmalani raises questions on PM's health

Rediff: "Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who is contesting against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow as an Independent candidate, on Monday raised questions about the prime minister's health. On the confusion over his candidature, Jethmalani said: "I had my family circumstances and would have had to stay there [in London] for four-five days more for my son. But by God's grace everything is alright now and I am here."

From Breezy Bollywood, Films Anything but V�rit�

The New York Times > Movies > Critic's Notebook: "Rajiv Menon's 'I Have Found It,' a movie that puts a South Indian spin on Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility,' an aspiring filmmaker named Manohar, like so many of his counterparts around the world, struggles to direct his first feature according to his own vision.

His idea � a thriller called 'Speed' in which a fast-moving train has been rigged with a bomb � may not sound very original, but it strikes his producers, stars and technical advisers as impossibly outr�, and they offer suggestions to make it more palatable to the audience. There has to be a mother, they insist, there has to be a wedding, and above all there have to be songs. 'We are making a Tamil movie,' one of these helpful industry hacks explains, and such a project is unthinkable without those elements."

Election Related: INDIA - Today & Tomorrow

Dear Indians:

Please take moment out of your busy schedule, Read and Forward this email to as many as Indians you know. Even if you forward this email to 2,5,7...or more people, it will not bring you any good luck or non of your wish will get full field right away. What is it in there for you? It will help you to decided future of "100 Crores Bhartiyas". You all are educated and highly skilled people. You can make a difference and create "Naya Bharat".

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) lead National Democratic Front (NDA) Government has changed the face of the India. India and Indian talent has been recognized by Western Countries. We are moving fast to become Global Leader. At this time, should we leave all the good we have achieved half way? Should we give government in the hands of people those who made corruption institutionalized and respected for first 50 years of our Independence? Most Importantly- How can you support ordinary Italian lady's bid to become Prime Minster of India!!??

Time has arrived, and choice is ours. Please DO VOTE on the election day. It is service to the nation and our chance to keep India Shinning.

Vande Matram.

Shalin Vasavada
New Jersey, USA


Before You Vote Please Read

[ All the facts and figures are courtesy of http://pmindia.nic.in/indias-achievements.pdf ; File Size: 10.3MB; Last Five years: Govt. BJP/NDA]


# Did you know? Employment
Average increase in employment per year
1999- 2003 --> 84 Lakhs/Year & Growing
1993- 1999 --> 39 Lakhs/Year

# Did You Know? Gross Domestic Product
8.1% GDP Forecast for 2003-2004
10.4% highest in the world for first quarter of 2004
1999- 2003 --> Rs. 22,36,128 crore ( 61% Increase)
1997-1998 --> Rs. 13,90,148 crore

#Did You Know? Exports
Export as percentage of GDP set to Double, earns valuable $ for us
1999- 2003 --> Rs. 02,50,130 crore ( 92% Increase)
1997-1998 --> Rs. 01,30,101 crore

#Did You Know? Forex Reserves
India prepaid $3 billion in external loans, Forex Reserve is more then $100 Billion for first time
Jan 2004 --> $ 104 Billion ( 220% Increase)
1998 --> $ 32.5 Billion

#Did You Know? Foreign Institutional Investment
Increase confidence among Foreign Investors- investing in Indian companies more then ever before
2003-2004 --> $ 15.8 Billion ( 78% Increase)
1998-1999 --> $ 8.9 Billion

#Did You Know? Housing for All - Rural
Under Indira Awas yojna (Started 1985) NDA govt. created more houses in last 5 years then were build
in last 14 years.
1999-2004 --> 54.62 Lakh Houses ( Last 5 years!)
1985-1998 --> 53.29 Lakh Houses ( Last 14 years!)

#Did You Know? Telephone Connections
Connecting Indians to the world
Last 5 years --> 4.75 crore( 107% Increase)
First 50 years --> 2.3 crore

#Did You Know? Mobile Phones
World's lowest price mobile service
January 2004 --> 2.2 crore( 1733% Increase)
April 1999 --> 12 lakhs

#Did You Know? Village Phones
India is not all about big cites, 82 lakhs new village phones
Today --> 1.2 crore ( 228% Increase)
First 50 years --> 36 lakhs

#Did You Know? Software Exports
Software exports set to reach $ 50 billion by 2008
2004 --> Rs. 48,000 crore( 500% Increase)
1998 --> Rs. 8,000 crore

#Did You Know? Sarva Shikha Abhiyan
India's Largest ever educational program,Central plan allocation for Elementary education
2002-2003 --> Rs. 4,670 crore( 68% Increase)
First 50 years --> Rs. 2,780 crore

#Did You Know? Literacy level
More Indians can read and write
2004 --> 70% ( Projected)
2001 --> 65.38%
1991 --> 52.21%

#Did You Know? Indian Institute of Technology
5 new IIT to be established, total intake of students
2002-2003 --> 24,823 ( 66% Increase)
1997-1998 --> 14,906

#Did You Know? 4/6 Lane National Highways
Biggest construction project since Independence, Total investment: Rs. 1,00,000 crore
Now --> 24,000 Km Built( 11 km/day)
First 50 years --> 550 Km Built ( 11 km/year)

#Did You Know? PM's Rural Connectivity Program
Even after 50 years of Independence about 1,60,000 villages with a population of 500 and
above remained deprived of roads, by 2007 all mentioned villages will be connected with
all weather roads. Funds dedicated to states only for this purpose.
by 2007 --> Rs. 60,000 crore
1999 - till date --> Rs. 11,376 crore
Before 1999 --> Rs. 0

#Did You Know? Gas Connection
No more waiting list for Gas connection
Last 5 years --> 4 crores
Previous 40 years --> 3.37 crores

#Did You Know? Power Generation
17,000 MW fresh capacity added in last five years
2002 - 2003 --> 531 billion units ( 26% Increase )
1997-1998 --> 420 billion units

#Did You Know? Police Modernization
Centre's assistance to state governments
1998 - 2008 --> Rs. 1,000 crores/year ( for next 10 years )
1970-1998 --> Rs. 550 crores ( in 28 years )

Cong uses RSS prayer line in ad campaign

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2004 12:38:15 AM ]

AHMEDABAD: The fine print on an advertisement issued in the Gujarati media on Tuesday by the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), announcing its president Sonia Gandhi’s election tour, raised several eyebrows, especially
in the ‘sangh parivar.’ Below the Congress palm symbol, was a line in Sanskrit — param vaibhavam, netumetat swarashtram (I shall strive to take my country to its highest glory).

Nothing unsusual about that. Except that it is a line picked from the regular prayer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — namaste, sada vatsale, matrubhoomi! While the line has several Congressmen red in the face, the masterminds behind it are smiling. A strategy planned by the Congress to retort to the BJP’s “snatching away” of their icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel, these thinktanks say.

It seems Congress seeks to “remind” voters of what the party has contributed to the country in all these years. Gujarat PCC’s campaign committee convenor, a former RSS pracharak, chose to skirt the issue, saying, “I have not seen the advertisement.”

Your Prime Minister`s wife does not trust you, gets her security from Italians: Sri Gurumurthy

This is what this investigation reveals. Sonia arranges a clandestine meeting between the RAW, Indian spy network, and Italian spies. This was when she was just a housewife and Rajiv was just the general secretary of the Congress.

When Sonia was still an Italian and had not applied yet to become an Indian citizen. Are you surprised? Go further.

Her brother-in-law, that is Sonia’s sister’s husband, Walter Winci, arranges bullet-proofing of Indira Gandhi’s car in a German factory.

Are you shocked? Wait. Later the same Winci arranges the training of SPG commandos by Italian security personnel who even slap the SPG trainees. Are you embarrassed? Go further.

When Sonia travels to France with Rajiv in 1985, without the knowledge of the Indian security agency, SPG, she gets the security of Rahul and Priyanka arranged by Italian and Spanish officials. Are you ashamed? It is not over yet. In 1986 when Rahul and Priyanka go to Geneva and Italy, Sonia directly gets their security organised through the Italian foreign office.

The Swiss police official taunts the Indian RAW officer in Geneva, ‘‘Your Prime Minister’s wife does not trust you; she trusts only the Italians.’’ You feel humiliated?

Whether you feel humiliated or not, the RAW official did feel extremely humiliated. Italian officials are the ones she trusts. Italian embassy is her official embassy. Italian security is her security.

This is the Sonia who now shouts from election platforms day in and day out that she will die for her motherland. The only issue is which is her that motherland. That she does not trust India is known to the whole western world, but not India. Read this humiliating story.

The expose is based on oral testimony of retired officials, including the RAW officials.
_________________________________________________________________

There is no time for side shows. Let us straight go to the heart of the issue. The Indian spy agency RAW, formed in the year 1968, had established clandestine network with its counterparts in different countries. With the USA, UK, Israel, France, West Germany and other countries which possessed the capability for exchange of information on terrorism, insurgency, china and similar subjects.

RAW did not consider Italian spy agencies as worthy of such association, as they did not have any capability. So India did not bother about them. Rajiv Gandhi entered active politics after Sanjay’s death in 1980. He began to participate in the classified briefings of RAW even though he held no position in the government. Not just he, he wanted Arun Nehru and Arun Singh too to participate in such briefings. The agency protested saying that they had no official position.

But Indira Gandhi stepped in, asked the RAW to allow them to be present. The agency agreed reluctantly, but told the Indira that their names would remain unrecorded in the briefing. This was when Rajiv was not in the government, was just general secretary of the Congress Party.

Soon, even though he had nothing to do with the Government or the RAW, Rajiv began insisting that RAW should liaise with the Italian spy agencies. Why Rajiv should have insisted on Italy? Did he study the importance of Italian assistance to India? Nothing of that sort. The reason is Obvious. Sonia. Rajiv had married her in 1968. The RAW felt that it would be waste of time and money.

But Rajiv would not relent. The agency finally gave in. So after more than a decade and more the RAW was forced into accepting liaison with Itlian spy agencies whom they considered not worthy of association. Want to know who acted as the go between for RAW with the Italian spy agencies and arranged the first clandestine meeting between RAW spies and Italian spies. Believe it. Sonia! Obviously she was in touch with Italian spies.

An innocent and devout housewife, unconcerned about politics and state, was deep in her contact with Italian spy agencies. This was when she was still an Italian national, had not yet accepted the Indian nationality which she reluctantly did much later. Being in the Prime Ministers household, she was in touch with the spies in Italy. So even when she was just a housewife and Rajiv was not yet in the government, she was linking the Italian spies to India. An aside. One of the reasons why the RAW would not touch the Italian agencies could be the presence of Sonia in the PM’s house. If they officialised the liaison with the Italian agencies, their reach would not be limited to the RAW, but may extend to the PM’s house.

Next, when after terrorism broke out in Punjab and the security agencies advised Indira Gandhi to travel in bullet proof car, she wanted the Ambassador car made bullet-proofed. As India developed this capability only much later in 1985, a German company was chosen for the job. Want to know who brokered the contract with the German company.

Walter Winci, the husband of one of Sonia’s sisters, Anushka! The RAW suspected that he got a small commission out of it. But the more critical was that a sensitive security work was given through Sonia’s brother. Look at the Italian influence Sonia had brought in even when Indira was alive.

It is the same Walter Winci who, two years later, in 1986, insisted and received cash payment made by the Indian government. This was for arranging training by Italian security for SPG which had been established in 1984 for the protection of the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. The cash payment was first attempted through the RAW official posted at Geneva. Walter Winci refused to come to Geneva to receive that cash and wanted the RAW official to send it to Milan in Italy. Winci ‘assured’ the RAW official that that he had ‘good contacts’ in ‘Swiss’ and ‘Italian’ customs and he would not be checked. The RAW official would not budge. The recalcitrant official was finally told to tell Winci that the operation had been cancelled.

But the money was delivered to Winci through the Indian Embassy in Rome. Want to know what for the cash was to be sent. For funding the traveling expenses of the Italian security officials to come to India and train Indian SPG commandos. This is the payment B.G Deshmukh, who was then the cabinet secretary, has mentioned in his latest book.

But this training ended in a fiasco. The Italian trainers treated the SPG trainees rudely, and even slapped one of them. The RAW brought this to the notice of Rajiv and told him such ill-treatment may develop a grudge in the minds of the SPG against Rajiv which might be a security risk. Panicked Rajiv forthwith called of the training by Italians arranged by Walter Winci.

After Rajiv was assassinated Sonia began openly relying on Italian and western security for Rahul and Priyanka when they travelled to Europe. When Rajiv went to Paris in the year 1985 along with Sonia a RAW official proficient in French was asked to go to France to liaise with the French security agencies. At Leon in France, the SPG officials panicked as Rahul and Priyanka were missing.

But Winci told them not to worry. He told them that they were in the safe care of Jose Valdemaro, the husband of another sister of Sonia, Nadia. Winci told them that the two had been taken to Madrid in Spain, where Valdemaro hails from, by train and the Spanish authorities were taking care of them. The Indian security officials were stunned that, not they, but the Spanish and Italian security agencies were aware of the Madrid visit of Rahul and Priyanka. It is not just that Sonia did not want to trouble the Indian security system. It was simply that he did not trust them. You want more clear evidence of her distrust of India, here it is.

In the year 1986 the RAW official stationed at Geneva was told by Jack Kunzi, the Commissioner of Police at Geneva that the VIP children had returned safely to Italy after their visit to Geneva. Who were the VIP children? The RAW official had no clue. He knew nothing about their visit. The Swiss police official who was the RAW official’s good friend told him their names.

You have any doubt who they could be? They were Rahul and Priyanka. They had come to Geneva by car with Walter Winci, said the Swiss official. He also informed the RAW official he was in the picture and the RAW official was not. He said that the Italian foreign office was the co-ordinator. It had informed the Swiss foreign office, who in turn informed the Swiss police. Jack Kunzi taunted the RAW official who was his friend, ‘your Prime Minister’s wife does not seem to trust you or your embassy.

She gets the security for her children co-ordinated by Italians”. Humiliated, the RAW official makes the usual complaint to his boss. The boss files the complaint. There ends the story of humiliation of India in Switzerland and Italy. Remember this kind of information spreads like wildfire in geo-politics through global spy network. That Sonia did not trust the Indian officials, or the Indian embassies, or the Indian security is now a matter of global geo-political information. Want to know more on this, read on.

After Rajiv’s assassination, the RAW official who was in charge of security arrangements abroad for SPG protectees which included Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, knew less about her and her children’s travel plans than western intelligence and security agencies.

The Indian agencies knew nothing or very little. George, her secretary used to directly communicate to western agencies through Italian Embassy in Delhi and the Italian foreign office in Rome. The upright officer informed the RAW chief before he retired that the western agencies were better informed of Sonia’s and her children’s travel plans than the Indian agencies.

He charged that this had created the unfortunate impression that Sonia did not trust the Indian agencies. The complaint went to Narasimha Rao who was the Prime Minister then. He felt unhappy that George, that is Sonia, was informing the Italian embassy, not the Indian agencies, but he could do nothing about it. You ask him now. Even now he will not tell the truth. But the RAW official would.

So she was linked to the Italian spies and was familiar with bringing about spy connections, a highly skilled and scary business, as early as the early 1980s. Yet she pretended, even now does, to be an innocent house wife. She brought in her family into the security matters of India even when Indira was alive. She forced Italian security on India even when Rajiv Gandhi was alive.

She openly distrusted Indian security and diplomatic system and privately liaised with the Italian diplomatic system for her security. If she did this when Indira was alive; if she went as far when Rajiv was alive; if she did this when she was out of the congress and out of power, what will she do when put in power? Or what she will not. Yet she pretends to die for India. This is not real Sonia. The whole western world, not exactly the friends of India, knows about her. But not we, in India. We do not know the real Sonia.

Sri Gurumurthy

Excellent Web Design Tips

Two Common Web Design Myths (layout,graphics,Java,animation) (thesitewizard.com): "If your site has been around for a while, you'd probably have been visited by the 'Web Design Police' (people who have a lot of time on their hands). In fact, depending on your site, you might have been visited by different branches of these people, both advocating opposite policies. I recently received an email from one of my visitors who had apparently been 'helped' by some of these people, and thought that an article on two of the myths of web design was appropriate. "

The New York Times > Arts

From Breezy Bollywood, Films Anything but Vérité: "With the completion of the Brooklyn Museum's new entrance pavilion, New York City has gained one of the most attractive public spaces to be found anywhere in town.

The touring film series "Cinema India!" offers glimpses into a parallel cinematic universe, one that is complex and sometimes puzzling but at the same time accessible and welcoming."

Call Me E-Mail: The Novel Unfolds Digitally

The New York Times > Technology > Circuits: "The story unfolds through e-mail messages, instant-message conversations and Web sites, all within a window generated by the DEN software; the program can be downloaded free from Mr. Brown's Web site, www.greatamericannovel.com."

developerWorks : IBM's resource for developers

developerWorks : IBM's resource for developers: Today I read an article about a 1,020-mile supply road that's being
carved out of the ice from the south coast of New Zealand to the
South Pole. The story tells how the workers have to avoid huge crevasse
fields and a snow swamp -- a 180-mile-wide, 6-foot-deep field of
powdery snow. Obstacles like that seem just about impossible to
imagine. I remember thinking the same thing as I read "The Endurance,"
recounting Ernest Shackleton's mind-blowing struggle to get home from
a busted South Pole expedition in the early 1900s.

You might not face life-threatening obstacles with your software
development, but it can sometimes feel like you're having to carve your
way through ice. Just think of developerWorks as a sturdy ice-breaker,
helping cut a path to success. This week, see Brian Thomson's responses
to your questions on WebSphere Commerce, two articles on maximizing
Java performance on AIX, a article on discovering Lotus Team Workplace
customization, and take a look at the next release of
DB2 Universal Database.

On that South Pole highway thing -- I'll certainly never make the trip.
1,020 miles with no picnic area stops? Imagine how much endurance it
would take to put up with that many "Are we there yet?"s from the
back seat.

The HTML Hell Page

The HTML Hell Page: "'Okay,' I hear you saying, 'so you've given me good advice on how not to screw up. Have you got anything more positive to say? Like, good things to do and how I can improve my page?' For you, my friend, I have three words. Content, content, and content. Give the audience a reason to care. Too many web pages are like tales told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Do you want to be interesting? Then forget the graphics and the glitz. First and foremost, have something to say."

Diversity's False Solace

The New York Times > Magazine > Essay: "There is at least one bright spot, one area where the University of Illinois, Chicago have done well and are poised to do even better. Seemingly every piece of literature that U.I.C. distributes about itself announces that we have been ''ranked among the Top 10 universities in the country for the diversity'' of ''our student body.'' And that diversity, the literature goes on to point out, ''is one of the greatest aspects of our campus.'' The bad news about our current condition is that you may be jammed into a classroom so full that you can't find a place to sit. But the good news is that 46 percent of the people jammed in there with you will be Caucasian, 21 percent will be Asian, 13 percent will be Hispanic and 9 percent will be African-American.

It is often said that Americans don't like to talk about race, but no remark is more false. The eagerness of other schools to produce their own versions of U.I.C.'s diversity figures makes it obvious that, in fact, we love to talk about race. And we not only talk about it, we also write books about it, we teach classes about it and we arrange our admissions policies to take it into account. "

Developing With Web Standards

Developing With Web Standards: "This document explains how and why using web standards will let you build websites in a way that saves time and money for the developer and provides a better experience for the visitor. Also discussed are other methods, guidelines and best practices that will help produce high-quality websites that are accessible to as many as possible."

New Negative Campaign Ads Blast Voters Directly

The Onion: "A controversial 30-second TV spot for Kerry that aired throughout the Midwest Monday blamed the country's ills not on Bush's policies, but on the 'sheer stupidity' of America's voters.

'In the past four years, America's national debt has reached an all-time high,' the ad's narrator said. 'And who's responsible? You are. You're sitting there eating a big bowl of Fritos, watching TV, and getting fatter as the country goes to hell. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.'

Over a series of images of America's senior citizens, the narrator of another 30-second spot says, 'The Medicare drug bill is a triumph of right-wing ideology masquerading as moderate reform. The pharmaceutical-drug and insurance industries are tickled pink. Guess who's paying for it? You. Congratulations, moron. I'm John Kerry and I approved this message.'

The Bush-Cheney 2004 camp recently began airing an anti-voter ad in 20 major urban areas nationwide."

ELECTION COMMISSION AS CENSOR

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials: "A string of advertisements, put out by an obscure trust, portrayed the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as a police informer during the Quit India movement of 1942. Another, also released by a trust, obliquely questioned the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's commitment to the country by harping on her foreign origin.

Why should political advertisements be subject to severe conditions, above all pre-censorship? Would it not have been enough to have let the Election Commission intervene whenever an objectionable ad was brought to its notice rather than give it the extraordinary powers of Censor-in-chief? What are the implications of giving the Commission, which is constitutionally responsible only for the conduct of free and fair elections, the power to restrict what appears in the news media and even the power to punish them? "

Public's cynicism about media has become a pressing concern

Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Living / Arts: "At a time when public distrust of the news media appears to be at a dangerously high level, there is evidence of a deep and fundamental disagreement between those who produce news and those who consume it."

Blogs: Here to stay - with changes

Blogs: Here to stay - with changes: "Except for a tiny number of blogs that have gained prominence, all this techno-chattiness remains just that: an immature form of communication that has yet to gain traction with the general public, experts say. Most are moldering in cyberspace, updated only sporadically or abandoned completely. But out of this fervid experimentation are coming some new forms of communication that are already influencing public discourse."

Voting for your favourite millionaire

The Hindu : Opinion / Leader Page Articles: "Even allowing for under-valuation, many candidates are worth crores � officially. The larger question is: what sort of character will a legislature full of such people have? "

Finding Glamour in the Gadget

The New York Times > Technology > Circuits: "Consumer electronics have long had a high end, notably in the audiophile world of $10,000 turntables, $15,000 amplifiers and $50,000 loudspeakers. Two years ago, a Nokia subsidiary called Vertu started selling platinum cellphones for more than $20,000. And on a massmarket level, consumers who might pay $300 for a conventional television are flocking to spend $3,000 or more on flat-panel models.

With Sony�s move, a company of worldwide scope has thrown itself behind the concept of electronics as luxury. But what are luxury products, and why do people aspire to own them? Why does someone spend $3,000 on a watch when a $10 model will tell time accurately? Why does someone spend $50,000 on a fur or $100 on a cigar? Why is decorative jewelry almost as old as the human race? "

Mr. Bush's Press Conference

The New York Times > Opinion: "Mr. Bush was grave and impressive while reading his opening remarks, which focused on the horrors of terrorism and the great good that could come from establishing a free and democratic Iraq. No one in the country could disagree with either thought. But his responses to questions were distressingly rambling and unfocused. He promised that Iraq would move from the violence and disarray of today to full democracy by the end of 2005, but the description of how to get there was mainly a list of dates when good things are supposed to happen.

There was still no clear description of exactly who will accept the sovereignty of Iraq from the coalition on June 30. 'We'll find out that soon,' the president said, adding that U.N. officials are 'figuring out the nature of the entity we'll be handing sovereignty over' to. In Mr. Bush's mind, whatever happens next now appears to be the responsibility of the United Nations. That must have come as a surprise to the U.N. negotiators and their bosses, who have not agreed to accept that responsibility and do not believe that they have been given the authority to make those decisions."

'Gay Marriage': Vows

The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review: "Vermont has introduced ''civil unions'' for gays, Belgium and the Netherlands have legalized gay marriages and courts have mandated them in both Ontario and Massachusetts, stopping gay marriage appears to require measures (like an amendment to the Constitution) more reactionary than Americans will countenance. What opponents of single-sex marriage have failed miserably to do is enunciate a rationale for blocking it that the country can rally behind. "

'Disarming Iraq': Lack of Evidence

The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review: "Most important, the rebuilding of Iraq would be seen not as an American imperial effort but as an international project, much like those in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and even Afghanistan. America is paying a price in credibility for its mishandling of Iraq. But the real price is being paid by the Iraqi people, whose occupation has been far more lonely and troubled than it needed to be.
Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International and the author of ''The Future of Freedom.''"

Excerpt: 'Against All Enemies'

The New York Times > Books > First Chapters: "On the morning of the 12th DOD's focus was already beginning to shift from al Qaeda. CIA was explicit now that al Qaeda was guilty of the attacks, but Paul Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld's deputy, was not persuaded. It was too sophisticated and complicated an operation, he said, for a terrorist group to have pulled off by itself, without a state sponsor-Iraq must have been helping them."

'Against All Enemies' and 'Ghost Wars': Fixing the Blame

The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review: "Richard A. Clarke knows too much, and ''Against All Enemies'' is too good to be ignored. - James Risen is the author, with Milt Bearden, of ''The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the C.I.A.'s Final Showdown With the K.G.B.'' He covers national security for The Times."

Solitude and the Fortresses of Youth

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: "Earlier this month my local paper, The San Francisco Chronicle, reported that a college student had been expelled from art school here for submitting a story 'rife with gruesome details about sexual torture, dismemberment and bloodlust' to his creative writing class. The instructor, a poet named Jan Richman, subsequently found herself out of a job. The university chose not to explain its failure to renew Ms. Richman's contract, but she intimated that she was being punished for having set the tone for the class by assigning a well-regarded if disturbing short story by the MacArthur-winning novelist David Foster Wallace, 'Girl with Curious Hair.' Ms. Richman had been troubled enough by the student's work to report it to her superiors in the first place, in spite of the fact that it was not, according to the Chronicle, 'the first serial-killer story she had read in her six semesters on the faculty at the Academy of Art University.'

When we censor the art of teenagers, however disturbing, we deny their humanity in the name of preserving their innocence."