The Indian Panorama

Year: 2013

  • One Woman: A song for UN Womento launch on International Women’s Day

    One Woman: A song for UN Womento launch on International Women’s Day

    A musical celebration of women worldwide / Artists from 20 countries participate

    UNITED NATIONS (TIP): “One Woman: A song for UN Women” will launch on International Women’s Day. The track will be globally available for download as of 8 March (EST 7 March, 12 noon) on http://song.unwomen.org, together with the full song video and behindthe- scenes videos chronicling the song’s year-long production. “One Woman” is a musical celebration of women worldwide, featuring 25 artists from 20 countries across the globe. The song calls for change and celebrates acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who daily make extraordinary contributions to their countries and communities. The lyrics are inspired by stories of women whom UN Women has supported. UN Women is the UN organization charged with advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality worldwide. It began its work in 2011, the first new UN organization in decades. “One Woman” is the first theme song for a UN organization.

    “One Woman gives us a message of hope and inspiration”, says UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet. “This song carries a message of unity and solidarity with women worldwide and reminds us that equality, human rights and human dignity are the birthright of all of us, every human being. I thank everyone who made this song possible. Singers and performers from all regions, women and men, donated their time and contributed their talent. They include: Ana Bacalhau (Portugal); Angelique Kidjo (Benin); Anoushka Shankar (India); Bassekou Kouyate (Mali); Bebel Gilberto (Brazil); Beth Blatt (US); Brian Finnegan (Ireland); Buika (Spain); Charice (Philippines); Cherine Amr (Egypt); Debi Nova (Costa Rica); Emeline Michel (Haiti); Fahan Hassan (UK); Idan Raichel (Israel); Jane Zhang (China); Jim Diamond (UK); Keith Murrell (UK); Lance Ellington (UK); Marta Gomez (Colombia); Maria Friedman (UK); Meklit Hadero (Ethiopia); Rokia Traoré (Mali); Vanessa Quai (Vanuatu); Ximena Sariñana (Mexico); Yuna (Malaysia).

    Initially performed during the launch event for UN Women in the UN General Assembly Hall in 2011, “One Woman” aims to become a rallying cry that inspires listeners about the mission of UN Women and engages them to join in the drive for women’s empowerment and gender equality. The music of the song is by Graham Lyle (Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It” and many other hits) and British/Somali singer-songwriter Fahan Hassan; the lyrics are by Beth Blatt.

    Jerry Boys – who has worked with a wide range of artists including REM, Everything But The Girl and was one of the people behind the Buena Vista Social Club recording – produced the song, together with executive producer Beth Blatt and her organization Hope Sings. Microsoft, as UN Women’s corporate partner for “One Woman” has sponsored the song and music video production. The song will be available for purchase on the song website and all common channels like iTunes and Amazon for $0.99. All proceeds go directly to UN Women in support of its programmes to empower women on the ground

  • India Sixth Most Favourable Nation For Americans: Poll

    India Sixth Most Favourable Nation For Americans: Poll

    WASHINGTON (TIP): India is the sixth most favourable nation for Americans, while at least eight out of 10 do not like Pakistan, making it the third most unfavourable nation after Iran and Korea, according to a latest poll.

    According to the Gallup Polls, nearly seven (68 per cent) out of every 10 persons interviewed for the poll favoured India, thus ranking it sixth after Canada (91 per cent), Great Britain (88 per cent), Germany (85 per cent), Japan (81 per cent) and France (73 per cent).

    In fact Israel, the traditional American ally ranks seventh after India with 66 per cent while Mexico get only 47 per cent favourable votes. Opinion about Russia is equally divided among favourable and unfavourable rating while 52 per cent of the Americans put China in the unfavourable category. Nine out of 10 Americans have an unfavourable view of Iran, making it the worst rated country out of 22 surveyed. Seven other countries – Libya (72 per cent), Iraq (76 per cent), Afghanistan (80 per cent), the Palestinian Authority (77 per cent), Syria (75 per cent), Pakistan (81 per cent) and North Korea (84 per cent)– also receive unfavourable ratings of 70 per cent or more. “Eight countries with the most negative ratings are currently or over the past decade were involved in wars, disputes, or turmoil — in a number of instances, in ways that are hostile to the US,” Gallup said. It said the currently “hostile” category includes Iran and North Korea.

    Libya was hostile toward the US under the government of Muammar Gaddafi and more recently Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed there. “The US-Pakistani relationship is beset with rockiness despite the strained cooperation between the two on military matters. Americans also strongly favour Israel’s enduring conflict with Palestinian Authority,” the survey said.

  • Ah! Chavez

    Ah! Chavez

    NAME: Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías
    OCCUPATION: World Leader
    BIRTH DATE: July 28, 1954
    DEATH DATE: March 05, 2013
    EDUCATION: Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences

    CARACAS (TIP): Venezuela president Hugo Chavez died on 6th March, 2013. He was 58 and was suffering from cancer since a couple of months. With the death of Chavez, the future of Latin America is now uncertain.

    The news of death of Chavez was announced by Vicepresident Nicholas. He spoke to the television reporters from Caracas military hospital. Chavez was seen as a populist leader by the supporters. His critics called him neo fascist. He was an engaging speaker and charismatic personality.

    Hugo Chavez was admitted into the hospital on 18th February, 2013. It was decided to continue the chemotherapy treatment. Earlier, he was operated for cancer in Cuba. That was the fourth cancer surgery he underwent since June, 2011. Hugo Chavez was the president of Venezuela for 14 years.

    He became the symbol of Latin America. In December 2012, he went to Cuba and was out of public sight. There were many rumors about his health. A few photos were released in January which showed him on the bed in a hospital. He was looking at his two daughters who were beside him. Chavez was the favorite leader for poor. He spent the country’s revenue earned from oil on building houses for poor, health, food and education of them. Other Latin America leaders who followed Chavez have lost a good friend with the death of Chavez. Chavez’s body is kept in the military academy for people and other leaders to visit.
    Biography
    Born in Sabaneta, Venezuela, on July 28, 1954, Hugo Chávez attended the Venezuelan military academy and served as an army officer before participating in an effort to overthrow the government in 1992, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison.

    Chávez became president of Venezuela in 1999. Early into his presidency, he created a new constitution for the country, which included changing its name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He later focused his efforts on gaining control of the state-run oil company, which stirred controversy and led to protests, strained relations with the United States and other nations, and Chávez briefly being removed from power. His actions included selling oil to Cuba and resisting efforts to stop narcotic trafficking in Columbia. In 2006, Chávez helped create the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a socialist free-trade organization. He died on March 5, 2013, at age 58, following a long battle with cancer.
    Failed Coup Attempt
    Born Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías on July 28, 1954, in Sabaneta, Venezuela, Hugo Chávez was the son of schoolteachers. Before becoming known for his reform efforts and strong opinions as president of Venezuela (1999-2013), Chávez attended the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences, where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in military arts and science. He went on to serve as an officer in an army paratrooper unit.

    In 1992, Chávez, along with other disenchanted members of the military, attempted to overthrow the government of Carlos Andres Perez. The coup failed, and Chávez subsequently spent two years in prison before being pardoned. He then started the Movement of the Fifth Republic, a revolutionary political party. Chávez ran for president in 1998, campaigning against government corruption and promising economic reforms.
    Venezuelan President
    After taking office in 1999, Chávez set out to change the Venezuelan constitution, amending the powers of congress and the judicial system. As a part of the new constitution, the name of the country was changed to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As president, Chávez encountered challenges both at home and abroad.

    His efforts to tighten his hold on the state-run oil company in 2002 stirred up controversy and led to numerous protests, and he found himself removed from power briefly in April 2002 by military leaders. The protests continued after his return to power, leading to a referendum on whether Chávez should remain president. The referendum vote was held in August 2004, and a majority of voters decided to let Chávez complete his term in office.

    Hostility Towards the U.S.
    Chávez was known for being outspoken and dogmatic throughout his presidency, refusing to hold back any of his opinions or criticisms. He insulted oil executives, church officials and other world leaders, and was particularly hostile with the United States government, which, he believed, was responsible for the failed 2002 coup against him. Chávez also objected to the war in Iraq, stating his belief that the United States had abused its powers by initiating the military effort. He also called President George W. Bush an evil imperialist.

    Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been strained for some time. After taking office, Chávez sold oil to Cuba-a longtime adversary of the United States-and resisted U.S. plans to stop narcotics trafficking in nearby Colombia. He also helped guerrilla forces in neighboring countries. Additionally, during his presidency, Chávez threatened to stop supplying oil to the United States if there was another attempt to remove him from power. He did, however, donate heating oil to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which destroyed numerous fuel-processing facilities.
    International Collaboration
    Regardless of the state of Venezuela’s relationship with the United States, while in office, Chávez leveraged his country’s oil resources to form connections with other nations, including China and Angola. In 2006, he helped create the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a socialist free-trade organization joined by Fidel Castro, president of Cuba, and Evo Morales, president of Bolivia. Chávez was also an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of more than 100 countries, including Cuba, Iran and several African nations.
    Declining Health and Death
    Chávez discovered that he had cancer in June 2011, following a surgery to remove a pelvic abscess, and from 2011 to early 2012, he underwent three surgeries to remove cancerous tumors. Prior to his third surgery, in February 2012, Chávez acknowledged the severity of the operation as well as the possibility of not being able to continue his service as president, and subsequently named Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro as his successor.

    Due to his declinging health, Chávez was prevented from being inaugurated for a fourth term in January 2013. Following his years-long battle with cancer, Hugo Chávez died on March 6, 2013, at age 58, in Venezuela. He was survived by his wife, Maria Isabel Rodriguez, and five children: Rosines, María Gabriela, Rosa Virginia and Hugo Rafael.

  • Indian American company indicted for defrauding H-1B visa system

    Indian American company indicted for defrauding H-1B visa system

    NEW YORK (TIP): An Indian American company based in Texas has been indicted by federal authorities on charges of fraud and misusing the H-1B visa to create a low-cost workforce for third party clients in the US. The multi-count indictment filed last month and unsealed this month against top officials of the Dibon Solutions of Texas – Atul Nanda, Jiten ‘Jay’ Nanda, Siva Sugavanam, Vivek Sharma, Rohit Mehra and Mohammad Khan – alleges that the company paid H- 1B visa-holding employees only when there was work. It also alleges that the Nanda brothers – the owners of the company – conspired to fraud the H-1B system. The indictment alleges that Dibon hired foreign workers on H-1B visas and instead of paying them, used them to work for a third company and gave them salaries only when they worked for the said third company. The company “sponsored the workers on H-1B visas with the stated purpose of working at Dibon headquarters in Carrollton, Texas, but, in fact, required the workers to provide consulting services to third-party companies located elsewhere,” the indictment alleges. “Contrary to the representations made by the conspirators to the workers (and the government), the conspirators paid the workers only when the conspirators placed the workers at a third-party company and only if the third- party company actually paid Dibon first for the workers’ services,” it said. Additionally, in Dibon’s visa paperwork, it falsely represented that the foreign workers held full-time positions and were paid an annual salary, as required by regulation to secure the visas, the indictment alleges.

    This scheme provided the company with skilled foreign workers who could be used on an “as needed” basis, profitable because it required minimal overhead and Dibon could charge significant hourly rates for a computer consultant’s services. This scheme is known as “benching”. Benching is defined be the Department of Labor (DOL) as “workers who are in ‘non-productive’ status due to a decision by the employer, such as lack of work.” “Dibon actively recruited H-1B workers and “benched” them,” the indictment said. According to the charge-sheet Dibon’s “benching” scheme was facilitated by the company as a staffing company. Dibon employed H-1B work with third-party companies. “The design of the H-1B system worker to perform services for the petitioning company, i.e. Dibon. In fact, regulations required that a petitioning company inform the government in petitions if the workers were assigned to a different location that the petitioning company’s address-which Dibon did not do,” it said.

  • US: Storm strikes mid-Atlantic; 250,000 lose power

    US: Storm strikes mid-Atlantic; 250,000 lose power

    WASHINGTON (TIP): A winter storm marched into the Mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday, dumping nearly two feet of snow in some places and knocking out power to about 250,000 homes and businesses. It largely spared the nation’s capital, which was expecting much worse and had all but shut down. Officials in Washington didn’t want a repeat of 2011, when a rush-hour snowstorm stranded commuters for hours, so they told people to stay off the roads and gave workers the day off. Dubbed the ” snowquester,” the storm closed federal government offices, just as the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester were expected to do. The storm pummeled the nation’s midsection on Tuesday, killing at least four people in weather-related traffic accidents.

    It was forecast to head to the northeast on Thursday, bringing strong winds, more snow and the possibility of coastal flooding to New England. The National Weather Service was predicting up to 7 inches of heavy, wet snow in southeastern Connecticut through Friday morning and wind gusts that could hit 50 mph, bringing possible power outages. A coastal flood warning was in effect starting Thursday morning for eastfacing shores in Massachusetts, with up to a 3-foot surge at high tide in some areas.

    Central Massachusetts was bracing for 4 to 8 inches of snow, while Boston was expected to get a little less. In Washington, where as much as 10 inches had been forecast, the storm did little but drop harmless snowflakes that rapidly melted amid warmer-than-expected temperatures. Federal offices in the region will be open Thursday. “They just say that it might snow and the whole city shuts down,” said Sheri Sable, who was out walking her two dogs in light rain and marveled at how even the dog park she frequents failed to open at 7am. There were bigger problems elsewhere in the region, though. On the Jersey Shore, still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, winds gusted past 60 mph in some parts.

    Winds raked the beachfront in Point Pleasant Beach, blowing drifts of sand onto Ocean Avenue, and shredding the decorative entrance canopy at a hotel across the street from the beach. Lashing winds also blew off part of the roof of a Stone Harbor, N.J., condominium complex and Ocean City officials advised residents to move their cars to higher ground in preparation of possible flooding. Maryland’s Bay Bridge, which connects Maryland’s Eastern shore with the Baltimore-Washington region, closed in both directions, because of wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

    A tractor-trailer overturned on the bridge and leaned against the guardrail. Kelly Kiley, an interior designer, was driving on the span soon after the accident. “The travel on the bridge was extremely scary,” Kiley said. “The crosswinds were terrible. Some of the taller box trucks were swaying.” The bridge reopened Wednesday evening. In North Carolina, state officials said high winds led to sound side flooding along N.C. 12 and brought the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry run to a halt. In Virginia, governor Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency and about 50 National Guard soldiers were sent out to help clear roads. Up to 20 inches of snow piled up in central and western parts of the state. More than 200,000 people in Virginia alone lost power and another 40,000 in New Jersey were left in the dark. Hundreds of wrecks were reported around the region. “Stay off the roads, stay inside, enjoy the day off,” McDonnell implored residents at an early-afternoon news briefing.

    In Richmond, most commuters appeared to be headed home by midday with the exception of Clint Davis, an attorney who was needed in US Bankruptcy Court. “Unless they canceled court, I had to be here,” said Davis, who was wearing a hooded slicker over his suit to shield himself from gobs of snow blown from trees. “I’ll be here for two or three hours and come out to a snow-covered car.” The storm dumped 2 feet of snow in parts of West Virginia, closing schools in more than half the state and leaving more than 20,000 customers without power. Some communities in Washington’s outer suburbs saw significant accumulation too, including in Loudoun County, which had 9 inches in some places.

    In Sterling, Va., a glaze of slush and snow coated major roads and side streets, but traffic was relatively light and plow trucks passed through repeatedly. Many retailers were closed. Only a handful of customers patronized the Glory Days Grill. Carolyn Donahue was working from home and trekked out with her husband, Tom, for a lunch break without any trouble on slushy but passable roads. “I don’t consider this a big storm,” he said. Downtown Washington was unusually quiet. Officials eager to avoid a repeat of 2011 pre-emptively shut down federal offices and canceled public schools. Nonemergency federal employees were treated to a paid snow day for the number of hours they were scheduled to work.

    Some congressional hearings were postponed, but the House of Representatives managed to approve legislation to prevent a government shutdown on March 27 and President Barack Obama was set to have dinner with GOP senators at a hotel on Wednesday night. “So far, knock on wood, we’ve dodged on this one,” said DC Homeland Security director Chris Geldart. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed that it remains the way it’s been.” The Baltimore-Washington area’s last major snowstorm struck Jan. 26, 2011. It hit Washington during the evening rush hour, causing some motorists to be stuck in traffic nearly overnight. It dropped 5 inches on Washington and 7.8 inches on Baltimore, knocked out power to about 320,000 homes and contributed to six deaths.

    The federal government later changed its policies to allow workers to leave their offices sooner or to work from home if major storms are expected. The current storm led to at least four deaths. A semi-trailer slid off a snowcovered interstate in western Wisconsin, killing two people. A central Indiana woman died when a semi-trailer plowed into her car after she lost control merging onto the highway, and a man from Columbia City in northeast Indiana was killed when his snowmobile left the road, headed across a field and crashed into a wire fence.

    The storm brought around 10 inches of snow to weather-hardened Chicago on Tuesday, prompting the closing of schools and the cancellation of more than 1,100 flights at the city’s two major airports. Hundreds more flights were canceled Wednesday at Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Washington area, according to FlightAware.com. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, many areas had 4 to 6 inches of snow. The weather service issued a winter storm warning for the Philadelphia area and parts of central Pennsylvania through morning.

  • Indians account for 22% of Britain’s ultra-rich cluba

    Indians account for 22% of Britain’s ultra-rich cluba

    NEW YORK (TIP): Super-rich Indians account for more than 20% of the wealth of ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals in Britain, a new list showed on Tuesday, March 5. As a national group, they are second only to expat Russians. The list, published by the Singapore-based Wealth-X group, places steel magnate and ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal at second place with a fortune of $15.8 billion. Mittal was pushed to the second spot this year by Russian Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, who is part owner of the English football club Arsenal and is worth $16.4 billion. “Mittal has seen his net worth estimate decline along with the stock price of ArcelorMittal, losing at least $30 billion in recent years,” the report said. The two other Indians on the top 15 list are the Hinduja brothers – Srichand at number 9 with a net worth of $7.6 billion and Gopichand at 12th with $6 billion. Taken together, the wealth of the three Indian-origin industrialists makes up 22% of the top 15 total of $133.3 billion. Apart from Usmanov, the two other Russians in the list include Roman Abramovich (at number 3, $12.1 billion) and Leonard Blavatnik (Number 5, $9.5 billion).

    According to Wealth-X estimates, there are 10,760 individuals residents in Britain worth $30 million or more, with at least 310 new individuals joining the ranks of the ultra wealthy. On an average, Britain has added one UHNW individual every day since 2011. The combined wealth of the UHNW in Britain stands at an estimated $1.3 trillion. “The wealth composition of the United Kingdom, London in particular, is diverse,” said David Lincoln, Director of Research at Wealth-X. “This is reflected in our data showing that 31% of the UHNW population in the United Kingdom is considered non-domiciled, with non-resident Indians and West AsianUHNWIs making up a significant proportion of these.”

  • Hillary Clinton tops 2016 US presidential poll

    Hillary Clinton tops 2016 US presidential poll

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The 2016 US election might be a full three and a half years away, but that is not stopping pollsters from asking voters who has the early presidential edge. And the advantage goes to Hillary Clinton. The recently retired secretary of state and former first lady would handily defeat any of three leading potential Republican candidates, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the Quinnipiac University poll said on Thursday.

    The blunt-talking Christie came in second in the poll, well ahead of fellow Republicans Marco Rubio, a first-term senator from Florida, and congressman Paul Ryan, who was Mitt Romney’s running mate in 2012. “Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton would start a 2016 presidential campaign with enormous advantages,” said the polling institute’s assistant director Peter Brown. “She obviously is by far the best known, and her more than 20 years in the public spotlight allows her to create a very favorable impression on the American people.” Clinton topped Christie 45-37 per cent in the poll, bested Ryan 50-38 and trounced Rubio, seen as a Republican rising star, 50- 34 per cent.

    But Christie, who was recently snubbed when he was not invited to the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference, outperformed the other two Democrats in the poll, edging vice president Joe Biden 43-40 per cent and comfortably topping New York Governor Andrew Cuomo 45-28. “Although some Republicans don’t think… Christie is conservative enough for their taste, he runs best of the three Republicans tested,” Brown said. “He obviously is doing better than… Cuomo, despite other indications of anti- Republican sentiment.” Clinton, 65, is the early frontrunner in part because of her ability to attract independent voters. She tied Christie 36-36 per cent among independents, whereas Biden trails Christie 44-32 per cent and Cuomo is in the cellar among independents, losing to Christie 47-20.

  • Narendra Modi’s Supporters Rally To Offer Him Us Platform

    Narendra Modi’s Supporters Rally To Offer Him Us Platform

    WASHINGTON: Supporters of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi are rallying to provide him a platform to address overseas constituents after a small group of liberal and leftist activists in the US nixed what would have been only a virtual engagement between him and students of the Wharton business school at an annual forum. Modi will address US audiences in Edison, New Jersey and Chicago “live from Karnavati” (the Hindu-ised name for Ahmedabad) on March 9, the Overseas Friends of BJP said on Tuesday. The move comes days after a group led by three Indian-American academics from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) campaigned successfully to scupper an invitation to Modi from Wharton business school alumni, who are hosting the Wharton- India Business Forum (WIEF) on March 22-23. Meantime, rescinding of the invitation to Modi speak at the Wharton forum has been criticized in several quarters.

    Some saw it as an insult to India itself, while others felt that Modi, who would have been speaking over a satellite link given the ban on his physical entry into the US, after revocation of his US visa by the Bush administration, should have been heard and grilled about his record. The Obama administration has not reversed the visa decision.

    While Union Minister Shashi Tharoor was among those in India who felt Modi should have been heard and challenged at the Wharton forum, similar sentiments were expressed by people from different quarters and varied interests in the US. Eni Faleomavega, a lawmaker who argued in Congress last week that the US should resume dialogue with a person who could be a future prime minister of India, said Wharton has erred in shutting out Modi. “Universities are a place for divergent views. For Wharton to suppress the views of some at the expense of others simply is not right,” he said in a statement. “It is disappointing that Wharton rescinded its invite in response to a protest from a segment of professors and students who are reaching beyond the law and coming awfully close to violating the rights of others who have a different view,” he added. Two other invitees to this year’s Wharton Forum also criticized the student body decision, which some have suggested was influenced by UPenn administration and faculty and others have said goes against the free speech principles of the university’s founder Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s Founding Fathers. “If Wharton students have traditionally decided upon speakers for the 17-year-old conference, then why should faculty — from outside the business school at that — suddenly demand a say?” Sadanand Dhume, a Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, asked in a Wall Street Journal blog.

    Disclosing his decision to pull out of this year’s speakers’ panel following the Modi flap, Dhume wondered how seriously could one could take a conference on India’s economy if it “doesn’t have space for the leader of arguably India’s best performing state, one whose achievements are routinely noted in the international press.” However, those who campaigned to shut out Modi maintained that his claims are bogus and allowing him to address the conference “would help contribute to his efforts to sanitize his government’s record.” But Ron Somers, who as president of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) has been a votary of strong business ties with the state, and who attended the Vibrant Gujarat summit this year, termed the UPenn/Wharton decision “unfortunate and disrespectful,” and felt the institution came out poorly on the issue of free speech. “The Wharton Forum would have given the students a chance to ask the Gujarat chief minister hard questions,” he told PTI, pointing out that Modi had agreed to a “no ground rules” questioning, and it was condescending on part of the faculty and administration to assume that the students would have given the chief minister a free pass.

    Even the ethnic Indian-American media in US panned the UPenn/Wharton decision. “We wonder why these three astute advocates of democracy and their supporters feel so intellectually unequipped to engage Modi, who recently was reelected in a landslide, in an open public debate on these questions at a forum on their own territory,” the magazine Little India said in an editorial, referring to the academics who led the campaign against Modi. “The censorship of Modi by Wharton is borne of the same loom of intolerance his opponents inveigh against.” Modi’s natural constituency of selfdescribed Hindu-Americans also piled on to Wharton. “Political gamesmanship won over business savvy, and the losers are not just the students, but free speech, democratic ideals, and the leaders of Wharton and Penn,” Aseem Shukla, an associate professor of surgery at UPenn, who is also the a co-founder of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF).

  • Now, you can carry small knives, bats on US planes

    Now, you can carry small knives, bats on US planes

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Airline passengers will be able to carry small knives, souvenir baseball bats, golf clubs and other sports equipment onto planes beginning next month under a policy change announced Tuesday by the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

    The new policy conforms US security standards to international standards, and allows TSA to concentrate its energies on serious safety threats, the agency said in a statement.

    The announcement, made by TSA administrator John Pistole at an airline industry gathering in New York, drew an immediate outcry from unions representing flight attendants and other airline workers, who said the items are dangerous in the hands of the wrong passengers.

    Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents over 10,000 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines, called the new policy “dangerous” and “shortsighted,” saying it was designed to make “the lives of TSA staff easier, but not make flights safer”. The policy change was based on a recommendation from an internal TSA working group.

  • In Us, Expatriates See A Reason To Celebrate

    In Us, Expatriates See A Reason To Celebrate

    ORAL (FLORIDA) (TIP): First the car horns blasted the news on street corners here, a town so packed with Venezuelans that it is nicknamed “Doralzuela.” Then came dozens of yellow, blue and red flags, floating in celebration, followed by bursts of singing. “It’s the Venezuelan national anthem,” Carolina Gamboa, 36, shouted over the ruckus. “This is a triumph for Venezuela. Justice has finally arrived.” In this slice of Miami-Dade County, where more Venezuelan expatriates live than anywhere else in the country and where Hugo Chavez is particularly reviled, news of his death elicited outpourings of raucous celebration and, to many, cautious optimism for the future.

    At Arepa 2, a popular restaurant where Venezuelans typically gather to share news from home, crowds streamed in shortly after work to trade words about what could be, in time, a different Venezuela. Many came here to Miami to escape Chavez’s socialist vision, his iron grip on the nation or the explosion in crime that has consumed oil-rich Venezuela in recent years.

  • New AIA Executive Inaugurated

    New AIA Executive Inaugurated

    NEW YORK (TIP): Association of Indians in America-NY Chapter’s new executive committee for the current term 2013-2014 was inaugurated in Long Island on Sunday, March 3rd . Outgoing president, Ranju Batra was felicitated for her great work and community service over the years and especially during her presidency spanning the past two years. She handed over the presidential duties for the 2013-14 term to incoming president, Sunil Modi.

    Ranju Batra, on the occasion, relived the joyous and historic event of her presidencythe silver jubilee Diwali last year. She also recalled fondly the support she had received from many. She said, “…. supporting me in this history making adventure were my committee and our sponsors like State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, India Tourism, Star TV, Air India, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Toyota, New York Life, Habib Bank and many others…”.

    Speaking of her resolve to hold timely elections, she said, ” Right after that emotional high, I acted in November 2012, 1 yr. and 5 months into my tenure, to start the election process, so my successor could take over in January – as this would better serve the interests of AIA as well as the community – happily putting community above self.”

    Ranju also mentioned her favorite project on hand- Diwali commemorative stamp. “I am equally committed to achieving my pet project of getting the Diwali Stamp issued, and I will continue to lead, pull and push until it is issued”, she said and mentioned gratefully the support she had got of some lawmakers in her effort. “I requested Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, a dear family friend, and she introduced a House Resolution – HR47- and joining her were Congresswomen Grace Meng and Tulsi Gabbard, Congressmen Steve Israel and Ami Bara to name a few.”

    The new President Sunil Modi has been active at AIA for the past many years serving in the capacity of executive member, Vice-President as well as the Deepavali Festival chair. Prior to that he served on the Board of Directors at the largest YMCA in Queens, Cross Island YMCA, and served on the UN Committee of YMCA International.

    National President of AIA, Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey flew in from Chicago especially to attend this event.

    AIA is the oldest association of the Indians in America. The Association was founded on August 20, 1967. The New York Chapter of AIA was established in 1968 and is well known for its social, cultural and educational activities.

    AIA-NY Chapter is a non-profit organization which is involved in many community, charitable and social events that embody the spirit of its members and its motto, “Indian Heritage and American commitment”. The NY chapter has members from all over the tri-state region. It prides itself on being completely secular and open, with members representing all regions and religions of India, as well as of varied professions, backgrounds and occupations

    For the last four decades, the mainstay event of the organization is the widely popular Deepavali Festival, held at the South Street Seaport in New York City, organized on the first Sunday of October (this year on October 6th, 2013). This Deepavali festival is the most prominent and one of the most well-known festivals of the Indian community across the country.

    The Vice-Presidents for the new executive board are Dr. Sunil Mehra, Harish Thakkar, Sham Gajwani & Divya Shah. The Secretary is Avinash Suri. The Treasurer position is handled by Dr. Bal Gilja. Members at Large is comprised of Asmita Bhatia, Abhijay Goenka, Gitanjali Anand, Neelam Modi, Dr. Pushpa Shah, Indu Gajwani, Swati Vaishnav, Neena Sahani, Divya Tandon, Beenu Sabharwal, Usha Kapoor, Govind Munjal, Jyoti Gupta, Dr. Urmila Shivram, Dr. Swarn Gupta, Sudeep Jay Modi, Dr. Tarun Wasil, Sumit Arora, Dr. Ami Bhagat, Dr. Neeta Jain, Rajiv Kedia & Dr. Bhagwati Mistry.

  • US House votes to prevent March 27 federal shutdown; Obama reaches out to Senate

    US House votes to prevent March 27 federal shutdown; Obama reaches out to Senate

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Legislation easily passed the US House of Representatives on March 06 to avert another partisan budget battle and a possible government shutdown, and a dinner meeting between President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans offered signs of a thaw in relations. By a vote of 267-151, the House passed a measure to fund government programs until the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to pass a similar bill next week. Without such legislation, federal agencies would run out of money on March 27. The bill to continue funding the government without last-minute drama occurred as Obama took the unusual step of inviting Republican senators to a dinner on Wednesday night at a Washington hotel a few blocks from the White House that lasted about an hour and a half.

    Attendees emerged optimistic about the prospects for the elusive big deal to put the nation’s finances on a more sustainable track in a way that satisfies both Democrats and Republicans. “It was a really good conversation,” Republican Senator John Hoeven said. “It was candid,” he said. “We really talked about how do we get to a big agreement in terms of the debt and deficit.” An administration official told Reuters before the dinner that Obama had been hoping to take advantage of a lull in a series of budget crises to launch a dialogue with Republican lawmakers with the goal of reaching a broad deficit reduction deal.

    While the meal was not intended to be a negotiation, it was an opportunity for Obama to make clear he is willing to consider some difficult spending cuts that are unpopular with his fellow Democrats in Congress, the official said.

    Those could include cuts to programs that include the Social Security pension system and Medicare for the elderly. Obama is due to discuss his other legislative priorities, including immigration reform, gun control and tackling climate change, at meetings with members of both political parties on Capitol Hill next week. The dinner may have been a chance to reverse some of the angry partisan rhetoric that has stood in the way of compromise in recent weeks. “The president greatly enjoyed the dinner and had a good exchange of ideas with the senators,” a senior administration official told reporters. Asked how the soiree had gone, Senator John McCain told journalists outside the hotel, “Just great. Fantastic.” Attendees included Senators Lindsey Graham, Bob Corker, and Kelly Ayotte and nine others.

    Graham drew up the guest list, the White House said. The meetings between the president and lawmakers, whether or not they produce results, depart from what has been an at best a stand-offish relationship between Obama and Republicans in Congress. They suggest that Obama and Republicans are getting the message that public patience with Washington is wearing thin.

    This has become apparent as Americans read of inconveniences they may soon confront at airports and elsewhere as a result of across-theboard cuts to the federal budget that kicked in on Friday after lawmakers and the White House failed to agree on an alternative. “This is the first indication in really a long time that the president is willing to exert leadership and bring people together and that’s exactly what needs to be done,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who has spoken by phone in recent days with Obama. Republican doubters At the heart of the bitter US budget dispute are deep differences over how to rein in growth of the $16.7 trillion federal debt.

    Obama wants to narrow the fiscal gap with spending cuts and tax hikes. Republicans do not want to concede again on taxes after doing so in negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” at the New Year. Despite the scheduled dinners and meetings and the vote on funding the government, few expect those differences to be resolved any time soon. Some Republicans remain skeptical of Obama’s overtures. “This president has been exceptional in his lack of consultation and outreach to Congress,” said John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican. Cornyn, like Collins, was not invited to dinner with Obama, but he warned that talk of tax increases would be unwelcome. “I don’t know if the purpose of the meeting is social or if he has an agenda.

    But if it is about raising taxes, we’re done.” While Republicans have taken most of the beating in surveys in connection with the so-called sequestration, a Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Wednesday showed 43 percent of people approve of Obama’s handling of his job, down 7 percentage points from February 19.

  • US Senate confirms Brennan as CIA director

    US Senate confirms Brennan as CIA director

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The US Senate has confirmed John Brennan as the next director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Currently the counter terrorism adviser to the US President Barack Obama, Brennan was nominated by a vote of 63 to 34 on Thursday. The vote was delayed by a 13-hour long filibuster by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Connecticut in pursuit of more information about the administration’s domestic drone policy.

    Welcoming the nomination, Obama said that the Senate has recognised Brennan’s qualities and determination to keep US safe along with his commitment to work with Congress and build relationships with foreign partners. “With John’s 25 years of experience at the agency, our extraordinary men and women of the CIA will be led by one of their own. I am especially appreciative to Michael Morell for being such an outstanding acting director and for agreeing to continue his service as deputy director,” he said.

    He added that the timely accurate intelligence is absolutely critical to disrupting terrorist attacks, dismantling al-Qaida along with its affiliates and meeting the broad array of security challenges that we face as a nation. “John’s leadership and our dedicated intelligence professionals will be essential in these efforts. I am deeply grateful to John and his family for their continued service to our nation,” he said.

    The vote on confirmation was moved through the Senate as Paul lifted his filibuster after receiving response to his question from the attorney general, Eric Holder. “Does the president have the authority to use a weaponised drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil? The answer to that question is no,” according to Holder’s letter to Senator Rand Paul. “This is a major victory for American civil liberties and ensures the protection of our basic Constitutional rights. We have separation of powers to protect our rights. That’s what government was organised to do and Constitution was put in place to do,” Paul said.

  • US woman questioned about Indian servant’s treatment

    US woman questioned about Indian servant’s treatment

    ALBANY (NEW YORK) (TIP): A woman accused of cheating an Indian servant out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in pay and keeping her a virtual prisoner at a mansion said on Thursday that a tape recording that appears to show she knew the woman was in the country illegally was not her voice.

    Annie George repeated earlier testimony that she didn’t know Valsamma Mathai was in the United States illegally and that she didn’t mistreat her during the 5 years she worked in her New York state home. Mathai has testified that she slept in a closet, worked long days without vacation, days off or sick time and wasn’t allowed to leave the property.

    The case surfaced when Mathai’s son in India, Shiju, called the National Human Trafficking Resources Center in 2011. George is charged with harboring an illegal immigrant for financial gain, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction. On Thursday, she said the tape recording of a phone call between a woman and Shiju Mathai, which prosecutors played on Wednesday, wasn’t her voice.

    She didn’t say who she thought the voice belonged to. On the call, the woman warns Shiju there could be dire consequences, even jail time, for his mother if she was to tell authorities about working in the United States.

    George said she was left in desperate financial straits when her husband died in 2009. She said she knew nothing of his business dealings, including the arrangement to have Mathai live with them, because he severely punished her if she tried to make any decisions in the home. Her late husband, Mathai George, was a native of India who built a hotel and real estate development business in the United States. He was killed in 2009 along with his 11-year-old son and another man when their private plane crashed after takeoff.

  • A Deep-Dive Into The Secrets Of Andamans

    A Deep-Dive Into The Secrets Of Andamans

    The charming, astonishingly diverse archipelago of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is far removed from the excesses and gloss of the coastal hotspots of Goa, Seychelles and Mauritius. Here are 10 things in the Andamans, including its capital Port Blair, that are likely to make your trip one for the memory-books:
    Barefoot Scuba Resort
    Havelock Island is the Andamans’ Holy Grail, a magnet for those in search of some spiritual and scuba manna. A twohour journey from Port Blair’s Phoenix Bay Jetty on a rickety ferry takes me there. I land up at the Barefoot Scuba Resort on Beach No 3, and am met by a parade of divers, kayakers, snorkellers and random bohemians. The vibe here is lazily hypnotic, helped along by sea-facing duplex cottages, the rustic Café Del Mar and, if you really must exert yourself, a fantastic water sports facility that ticks all the boxes. Budget and bohemia don’t often make such amiable bedfellows.
    Festival Fever
    Come festival time and everyone’s game for one united party. I land bang in the heart of Durga Puja and am privy to an island-wide spectacle of colour, flavour and splendour.
    ANET
    A chance encounter leads me to the Andaman Nicobar Environment Team (ANET), a grassroots NGO focussed on research and education in the Andamans’ rich environmental sphere. ANET’s assistant director Tasneem Khan takes me through their initiatives, including a collaborative programme that gives school kids first-hand knowledge of physics, biology and botany, all through scuba-diving. ANET’s base in South Andamans’ verdant majesty of Wandoor sports several thatched huts, a large twostoreyed wooden library / presentation centre and a transient community of volunteers, interns, staff and core ANET officials.
    Mandalay Restaurant
    Picture this: a gorgeously overcast day, with a breeze blowing in from the sea, miles of ocean spread out before you and ahead, a plate of excellently grilled lobster. As dining experiences go, you could do much worse than Mandalay at the Fortune Resort Bay Island, up on Marine Hill in Port Blair. One of the island’s few rarefied cuisine options, Mandalay scores with its spectacular setting overlooking the Bay of Bengal, with the North Bay lighthouse in the distance.
    Collinpur Beach
    Some things stay with you endlessly, irrespective of whether you have them on camera/film or not. The vision of Collinpur Beach stretched out in front of my eyes, with not a soul to disturb the picture, is now burned on my mind forever. This sandy white beauty lies southwest of the main island and getting there from Port Blair (a roughly hourlong journey through lush mangrove forests) is an experience in itself.
    Megapode Nest
    One of Port Blair’s oldest addresses, this resort guesthouse lies up in the hilly Haddo locale. It’s usually the go-to place for government officials, but don’t fret. You don’t need to be staying here to visit their restaurant and enjoy the view: miles of blue, punctuated by distant hills and the odd yacht, dinghy or sailboat. And if you do decide to splurge on one of their Rs8,000-a-night cottage villas, you’ll have balcony (and bathtub) seats to the sky and ocean playing off of each other in an unforgettable dance.
    Wildgrass
    A forest lodge situated deep in the forests of South Andamans, on the southernmost tip of the main island Chidiya Tapu, Wildgrass comes fresh off the oven. The resort is so new, it doesn’t even have a website yet. But what it lacks in finesse, it makes up for in intimate uniqueness. You’ll stay in one of four wooden chalet-cottages, basic but comfy; you’ll look out from a raised balcony onto acres of lush wilderness; you’ll tuck into fish caught that very evening, and you’ll often have the resort’s amiable owners, retired Navy Commander Baath and his wife Mona, for company.
    Grub Island
    A tiny, secluded gem that it doesn’t even feature on the average traveller’s map, Grub Island is a protected reserve— due to its habitat and fragile ecosystem— and is out of bounds for almost everyone. But if you’re fortunate enough to get invited by a forest official or some such, you’ll have front-row seats to a Robinson Crusoe-type scenario, complete with white sandy beaches, utter seclusion, mangrove forests, caves, limestone rocks and snorkelling. Time your visit here so that you’re making your way back from Grub to Wandoor as the sun begins its descent. The result: a stunning sunset as the island is rendered a dark silhouette, framed by manic orange skies and mysteriously calm waters.
    Corbyn’s Cove
    This beach, located seven kilometres from Port Blair, wouldn’t figure too high on most locals’ recommendations. The beach itself is just a tiny, curvaceous speck of brown sand framed by palm trees, ideal for a spot of lazy sunbathing. But it’s the drive along Marine Shore Road from the heart of the city that will keep you coming back for more. You’ll have the breeze in your face, an endless ocean at your disposal and a constant audience with swaying palms, rolling clouds and the distantly ominous Ross Island.

  • India Association of Long Island goes gaga on Valentine’s Day

    India Association of Long Island goes gaga on Valentine’s Day

    NEW YORK (TIP): The India Association of Long Island celebrated Valentine’s Day with great fervor and elegance. The weather felt wonderful, the location looked beautiful, the couples were fabulous, the music proved lively, and the food was enjoyable – a perfect evening with romance in the air!

    The event organized at the INN at New Hyde Park on Friday, February 15th was attended by almost 300 guests, including several dignitaries. These dignitaries included Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth, Nassau County Legislator & Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, Democrat contender and Former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Entreprenuer and Democrat contender for Nassau County Executive Mr. Adam Haber, Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony Santino, Nassau County Director for Economic Business Development Mr. Kamlesh Mehta, Nassau County Human Rights Chairman Mr. Zahid Ali, & Human Rights Commissioner Mr. Sharanjit Singh Thind.

    In the opening remarks, President Kishore Kuncham thanked the members for their outstanding support, spoke briefly about the significance of the day, and concluded with a quote, “we should appreciate the love that surrounds us; we should share the love that lies within us and we should treasure the love that is given to us.” He expressed deep appreciation to all sponsors for making this event very special, that included Apna Bazar, Netrovert, Habib American Bank, Indus Bank, Dr. Malla Reddy, The Mint and others. In addition, Dr. Kuncham conveyed a very special thanks to Mr. Ashok Varshney, Legacy New York, for being the grand sponsor of the event, who launched his online product line at this event. All the couples received special gifts from Legacy New York. The tradition of past presidents invited to cut the Valentine’s Day cake continued which was sponsored by Legacy New York. The guests danced to lovely music of DJ Mike and greatly enjoyed the tasty dinner of Mint. IALI President announced a donation to United Way of Long Island to support Project Warmth.

  • Priyanka The ‘Gundi’ On Sets

    Priyanka The ‘Gundi’ On Sets

    Though Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh are playing mafia-men in their upcoming movie ‘Gunday’, the actors feel that the biggest don on the film’s sets is lead actress Priyanka Chopra. “She is the boss of the sets. She is our madam…

    The biggest Gundi (lady don) on the sets is Priyanka Chopra,” chuckled both Arjun and Ranveer. The entire cast and crew of the director Ali Abbas Zafar’s ‘Gunday’ is currently in Kolkata for the shooting of the film.

    Joining the banter, director Ali said, “The first day she came onto the sets, she categorically told us, ‘look guys I am 30 films old’. Then Ranveer said he is four and a half film, Arjun said he is two and a half films and I said I am one and a half films.” “So from that statistics you can understand the hierarchy…,” Ali quipped.

    The film revolves round two dons of Kolkata from the 70s essayed by Ranveer and Arjun, with Priyanka, who enacts the role of a Bengali girl Nandita, being their love interest. Talking about the film, Ali said, “It is a fictional story but based on lot of real life events that happened between 1971 and 1988. It is the story of Bikram and Bala who start from being small-time wagon breakers and with time become black marketing mafias.”

  • Deepika Padukone’s Ranbir-Ranveer Dilemma

    Deepika Padukone’s Ranbir-Ranveer Dilemma

    Make no mistake. There is no dilemma in Deepika Padukone’s mind. She has moved on from Ranbir Kapoor, her ‘Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani’ co-star. And she now shares a good equation with Ranveer Singh, her ‘Ram Leela’ leading man.

    But what one hears is that there are behind-thescene machinations to make the Ranveer- Deepika pair more exciting than the Ranbir- Deepika pair.

    Clearly, the chemistry between RK Jr and Deepika in the past was far more sizzling than the camaraderie she shares with current co-star Ranveer. But every effort is being made by certain quarters to give the Ram Leela pair an edge over the YJHD pair.

  • Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation Celebrates 25 yrs of Unique Rural Literacy and Development Projects

    Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation Celebrates 25 yrs of Unique Rural Literacy and Development Projects

    NEW YORK (TIP): The year 2013, marks the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the revered ‘spiritual master of modern age’, who more than a century ago, initiated the concept of ‘oneness’ of global humanity. Noting the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy in India, Swamiji had emphasized, “If the poor child cannot go to Education, then the Education must go to the child”.

    Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, following this vision as guiding light to eradicate illiteracy, has turned Swami Vivekananda’s dream into a profound reality in the last quarter century. This year marks 25th year of “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation” which has been dispensing functional literacy, health care training and Integrated Development in tribal, rural areas of India, while transpiring localized empowerment never seen before.

    To highlight this achievement of attaining the landmark ‘Silver Jubilee Year’, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, USA, a duly registered non-profit, tax-exempt Organization, is launching a whirlwind series of over 40 fund-raising concerts all over USA between February and June, this year. Keeping up with their tradition of bringing the top notch talent of ‘Bollywood’, Ekal this year has invited ‘SA, RE, GA, MA, PA’ Melody queen ‘Sanjeevani Bhelande’ and popular singer Chirag Panchal to entertain their well-wishers. The details of these concerts are available at < www.ekal.org >. There are plans ahead to convene an International meet in Chicago of Pan-Ekal Organizations, as a tribute to Swami Vivekananda whose inspiration has now made ‘Ekal’ the largest grass-root NGO literacy movement in the world. Ekal schools are spread all over India, including ‘Jammu & Kashmir’.

    According to Ashok Danda, President of Ekal-USA, “As of this moment, Ekal is operating 46,966 Schools educating over 1.33 million children in remote rural areas and Villages where, in many instances, not even basic amenities have reached.” In the last few years, “Ekal” has received numerous prestigious Awards and Grants, including ‘Best NGO’, for its transparency of operation and outstanding administration. To the amazement of proud Indians, ‘Pinki Karmakar’, a 17 year old girl from the remote tea-estates of Assam, who carried the relay-torch in London Olympics last year, was an ‘Ekal alumni’. She now symbolizes the new dawn of a vibrant future the rural folks can aspire to, with the advent of “Ekal”. This is the very reason why Mr. Rodney Clark, V.P. of Microsoft, recently spent extensive time in ‘Ekal’ territories to explore how ‘Ekal’ is changing the face of rural development by utilizing local resources, creating awareness in personal hygiene and making Women selfreliant. With the kind of momentum ‘Ekal’ has garnered in recent years, the future of establishing 100,000 schools in remote rural areas of India is definitely not a distant dream.

  • Movie Review-I, Me Aur Main

    Movie Review-I, Me Aur Main

    Cast: John Abraham, Prachi Desai, Chitrangada Singh,Zarina Wahab, Mini Mathur, Raima Sen
    Direction: Kapil Sharma
    Genre: Romantic Comedy
    Duration: 1 hour 48 minutes

    STORY: Ishaan’s life is full of gorgeous women but he loves ‘I, Me Aur Main’ best – which girl makes him change his mind?

    MOVIE REVIEW: On the plus side, I, Me Aur Main (IMAM) has the glossy good looks of a TV ad – on the downside, it stays there. Music executive Ishaan Sabharwal (Abraham) is a spoilt brat, his adoring mother Nisha (Wahab) teaching him he’s the best, so he thinks he’s irresistible and behaves like “a sexy idiot”. Ishaan won’t commit to his executive girlfriend Anushka (Singh).

    Sick of his light flirtations and heavy refusals, Anushka throws Ishaan out. He moves to a new flat – with a hot new neighbour, fashion stylist Gauri (Desai). Their vibe crackles as Gauri challenges Ishaan, making him realize being a jerk doesn’t work.

    Ishaan splits from his bitchy boss Beena (Sen having a ball, wryly going, “Clap, clap”), starts his own group and is about to commit to Gauri – when his sister Shivani (Mathur) tells him Anushka’s expecting his child. IMAM has an interesting plot and a progressive message.

    Some performances – Wahab coolly announcing, “Maine tumhare Pa ko chor diya hai”, Desai as sexy wild-child Gauri, squealing “Ooooh, striptease!” as Ishaan peals off his shirt – are good fun. It’s well-shot, showcasing stylish homes, lovely clothes, luscious drinks and luscious Abraham working hard at depicting super-selfish Ishaan. But IMAM has issues too – the acting is superficial.

    There’s lots of flashing dimples and pouting lips but not one performance that’s convincingly power-packed. Storyline turns are too fast and fluffy. For a movie on the music industry, the score’s fairly bland. Small details – the designer bag on Beena’s arm, the guard catching Ishaan and Gauri in a changing room, Shivani describing Ishaan, “Majnu ki tarah phone par laga” – are fun but the big picture lacks thrust. This niche movie doesn’t nail it but it’s a cute watch, floating by humming – “Take it easy, thora moody, thora cheesy.”

  • Wedding Bells Just Weeks Away For Aniston

    Wedding Bells Just Weeks Away For Aniston

    Actress Jennifer Aniston is set to marry fiance Justin Theroux, and the wedding date is reportedly just a few weeks away. Aniston, who was married to actor Brad Pitt for five years before they got divorced in 2005, got engaged to Theroux last August. “Jen is going to great lengths to keep the wedding details a secret so it does not become a huge media circus like her wedding to Brad,” thesun.co.uk quoted a source as saying. “Just a few dozen of their closest family and friends will be there. But news is beginning to leak that the date is just a few weeks away now,” the source added.

    The couple doesn’t want to marry under media glare, and hence, they might opt for a quieter place like Hawaii. “Jen doesn’t want to get married with photographers buzzing around her head in helicopters. Justin just adores Hawaii. It’s his favourite place in the world and he has a little house on the island of Kauai,” a source said. “But they both love the island and the idea of a laid back Hawaii wedding in the sunshine.

    The have looked at some expensive villas including one where they enjoyed a romantic holiday in 2011,” the source added. Actor Ben Stiller, who is good friend of the couple, might be of some help. “And Ben Stiller, a big buddy of Justin’s, has a house over there too so that could be a surprise option,” a source said.

  • Salma Hayek Gets Gift From Daughter

    Salma Hayek Gets Gift From Daughter

    Salma Hayek has revealed that her daughter sneaks a souvenir into her bag every time she goes out.

    The 46-year-old actress hates being away from her fiveyear- old daughter Valentina but the youngster makes sure her mother has a memento of her when they are separated, Contactmusic reported. “When I go out my daughter Valentina gives me something to remember her. She calls it un recuerdo – a memory – and it changes all the time. She sneaks it into my bag so it’s a surprise,” she told Us magazine.

  • Movie Review-Jack The Giant Slayer

    Movie Review-Jack The Giant Slayer

    Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor,
    Stanley Tucci
    Direction: Bryan Singer
    Genre: Fantasy
    Duration: 2 hours

    STORY: War between giants and humans is reignited when a farm boy accidentally drops the magic beans he’s been given by a mysterious monk.

    REVIEW: A monk gives farm boy Jack ( Nicholas Hoult) some magical beans in exchange for his horse. Jack accidentally drops one of the beans. It erupts into a gigantic beanstalk which reaches to the sky, taking Jack’s house and Princess Isabelle ( Eleanor Tomlinson) along with it. The beanstalk leads to the land of the giants. In order to rescue the princess, her conniving would-be groom Roderick ( Stanley Tucci), love-struck Jack and the king’s brave knight Elmont (Ewan McGregor) decide to face the giants, thus reigniting an ancient war.

    Adapting a classic fairytale into a feature film still seems like a distant dream, considering most of the recent attempts have been mediocre. Be it Snow White and the Huntsman, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and now Jack the Giant Slayer which has borrowed elements from both Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk. The films have been unable to recreate the magic of the classic fables. Bryan Singer, who has made films like X-Men and Valkyrie, finds it difficult to keep the audience engaged, let alone be entertained.

    CGI giants which are supposed to be the USP of the film seem caricaturish and onedimensional. They don’t seem menacing at all. Even the evil Roderick looks cartoonish. Jack, the hero, seems inexcusably dumb while you wonder what Ewan McGregor is doing in this soul-less film!

    The film is painfully predictable and the romance awfully sweet. An elongated tug-of-war scene between the humans and giants does not qualify for an epic battle scene and that’s the biggest drawback. The 3D is lacklustre and the SFX unable to salvage the uninteresting script. Children may find this film amusing, thanks to the art direction and story-telling style. For the rest, if only the story was modified better!

  • Cabinet okays Bill to ensure time-bound delivery of services

    Cabinet okays Bill to ensure time-bound delivery of services

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Cabinet has approved a Bill that promises time-bound delivery of services such as passports, tax refunds, pensions and birth and death certificates to the citizens, and stipulates a penalty of 250 per day against errant government officials. The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011, approved by the cabinet on March 7, makes it mandatory for all government departments and public authorities to publish Citizens’ Charter stating the time within which specific services will be provided. Each department will also have to provide for a grievance redressal mechanism for non-compliance of the charter’s provisions. The proposed legislation lays down a penalty extending up to 50,000 against an official who fails to provide the service.

    The Bill, spearheaded by the department of administrative reforms and public grievances also mandates a public authority to establish a call centre, customer care centre, help desk and people’s support system to ensure timebound delivery of services. It also seeks establishment of public grievance redressal commission at the Centre and in each state. As per the Bill, a person aggrieved by the decision of the commission may prefer an appeal before the Lokpal at the Centre (in case of decision by the Centre’s public grievances redressal commission) and the Lokayuktas in the states. All services provided by both the Centre and the state governments will be extended to citizens in a time-bound manner under the bill. According to an official familiar with the matter, the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions, and the law ministry, will decide whether non-resident Indians should be covered under the proposed legislation. The Bill, however, came under attack from the main opposition, BJP, which said the legislation attacked the federal structure by compelling states to adopt it. “The Cabinet has cleared the citizens’ charter bill, but they have mandated this Act on the states as well, forgetting that more than 10 states have their own citizens’ charter law. Some of them are stronger than the Centre’s Bill,” BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said. “This would be an attack on federal structure.

    The Centre should formulate a law only for central services,” Javadekar said, adding, “At best, they should make it a model law. The states that do not have a citizens’ charter already can follow it to make their own legislations.” Social activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal said he did not agree with the BJP, even as he refused to comment on the merits of the Bill. “I do not agree with the BJP’s argument. But I cannot be sure whether it is a good bill till I get to read it,” said Kejriwal, founder of AAP. An official said the draft bill would go back to the ministries of law, home affairs and personnel and training as it required fresh paraphrasing. This means that it need not go to the Cabinet again and can be directly introduced in Parliament.

  • Keep Kitchen Clutter Under Control

    Keep Kitchen Clutter Under Control

    The kitchen is one of the most utilised places in your home. Moreover, it’s the place where you prepare all your meals and hence you should make sure it’s both clean and clutter-free!

    Here’s how to keep the kitchen looking great without too much fuss.
    Make proper use of counter space
    To avoid having your countertops look cluttered, make sure everything that is not kitchen-essential is moved out of that room. Instead of just putting bananas on the counter, find a great banana hook or three-tiered platter that you can display fruit on without taking up added countertop area.

    Keep things at the right place
    Don’t just drop your keys, wallet and cell phone on the counter when you come home from a long day. Hang an organizer shelf on one wall and store those items there until you need them again.
    Utilize technology
    Posting coupons all over the fridge is a great way to ensure you’ll see them every day, but it doesn’t make for a streamlined look. Invest in an inexpensive coupon box or plastic envelope and refer to it when you are making your grocery list.
    Avoid piling up
    Don’t allow dishes to pile up in the sink, put them straight into the dishwasher or hand wash the items you’ve used and put them on a drying rack or hand dry them immediately. If you have company, of course, wait until the party’s over to get to the dirty work.
    Hide unnecessary items
    Though accessories like spice racks and utensil caddies are designed to be part of your kitchen decor these days, try to limit the number of accessories and small appliances (such as coffeemakers, automatic can openers, juicers, etc.) that sit out on your counter. Keep these items in cabinets or your pantry and pull them out only when you need them