The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Wikipedia goes black to protest web piracy bills New York/Houston, Jan 18 Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia, and other popular websites went dark today as search engine Google blotted its logo as part of protests to stop Internet piracy legislation being considered by the US Congress. The worldwide blackout came with a warning from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales who said, “Students, do your homework early!” The online encyclopedia, the 10th most popular website in the US, shut down most of its English-language services and replaced its familiar white and gray design with a black homepage featuring information about the legislation. Wikipedia was joined by Google which placed a rectangular black strip over its logo, with a message to “tell Congress please don’t censor the web”. On opening the Google homepage, one is greeted with the blacked out Google logo, with only a tiny portion of the blue lower bottom of the second ‘g’ visible. On clicking on the black tape, one is taken to a Google page with the heading ‘End piracy, not liberty.’ “Fighting online piracy is important. The most effective way to shut down pirate websites is through targeted legislation that cuts off their funding. There’s no need to make American social networks, blogs and search engines censor the Internet or undermine the existing laws that have enabled the Web to thrive, creating millions of US jobs,” reads Google’s message. The bills, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), the legislation, backed by major American media companies, would allow the Justice Department to seek a court order requiring US search. Wikipedia is the largest web entity to declare its intent to go dark, and joins many other websites that have already pledged to shut down for 12 to 24 hours to draw attention to legislation that they say will hasten the end of the free Internet. “Millions of Americans oppose SOPA and PIPA because these bills would censor the Internet and slow economic growth in the US,” Google said. The US Senate will begin voting on the bills on January 24. Google urges users to sign a petition urging Congress to vote “NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.” — PTI
	A tale of two captains Rome, January 18 The Coast Guard officer who ordered the captain of the capsized Italian cruise ship to go back aboard unwittingly became an instant hero on Wednesday, credited with saving the national honour on one of its darkest nights. Italy has become enthralled with the tale of two captains. One is Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco, who furiously ordered the skipper of the Costa Concordia to return to his ship and oversee the rescue operations. The other is Capt Francesco Schettino, whom newspapers have branded a coward for fleeing in the face of adversity and who is now under house arrest, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. "Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Go on board (Expletive!)" De Falco yelled at Schettino during a 4-minute radio exchange made public on Tuesday. The Italian word De Falco used, "cazzo" in Italian, is slang for the male sexual organ but it is commonly used to emphasise something, equivalent to "Go on board, damn it". The imperative phrase in Italian — "Vada a bordo, cazzo!" — was already on T-shirts by Wednesday morning. "Thank You, Captain" was the more sedate headline the country's largest national newspaper, Corriere della Sera, chose on Wednesday, reflecting the gratitude of Italians who see Schettino's behaviour as a national embarrassment. "Two men ... two stories, one who humiliates us, the other who redeems. Thank you Captain De Falco, our country badly needs people like you," the Corriere della Sera said. Another memorable exchange between the two captains, listened to by millions of Italians since it was made public, is when De Falco tells Schettino: "You get back on board! That is an order! There is nothing else for you to consider. You have sounded the "Abandon Ship". I am giving the orders now. Get back on board. Is that clear?" The new "Italian idol" is an unlikely one. De Falco is 48. He is balding and, in uniform, looks more like the maitre d' of an exclusive restaurant on the Amalfi Coast than a swashbuckling heartthrob. Meanwhile, the captain of a doomed Italian cruise liner today returned home to the Amalfi coast under house arrest, as fears grew that bad weather could hamper rescue efforts on the wreck. Divers, mountain rescue teams and soldiers have so far recovered 11 bodies from the turbid waters of the half-submerged hulk and the surrounding sea. — Agencies
	Suu Kyi registers for Myanmar poll run Yangon, January 18 Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi launched her historic bid for a seat in Parliament today in the latest sign of change in the country after the end of decades of outright military rule. The Nobel Peace Prize winner is standing in April 1 byelections seen as a major test of the regime's reform credentials following a surprising series of conciliatory gestures by the new nominally civilian government. The pro-democracy icon, released from a long stretch of house arrest in late 2010, submitted her registration to stand in a rural constituency in Kawhmu near Yangon, an area devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. "Aung San Suu Kyi was the first member of the NLD to register. She's going to run for the lower house," a senior party official, Win Htein, said. The 66-year-old's National League for Democracy (NLD) party has already been given approval to return to the official political arena, against a backdrop of budding reforms including dialogue between the regime and the opposition. The NLD was stripped of its status as a legal political party in 2010 after it chose to boycott a controversial national election held in November of that year, saying the rules were unfair. That vote, in which the military's allies claimed an overwhelming victory, was marred by complaints of cheating and criticised by Western nations which enforce sanctions against the regime. A quarter of parliament's seats are taken up by unelected military officials while the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is packed with former military men, holds about 80 per cent of the remainder. Suu Kyi was released a few days after the 2010 poll, having spent much of the past two decades in detention. — AFP
	Our show didn’t ridicule India: BBC London, January 18 The producers of the controversial Top Gear BBC programme have defended itself against a complaint from India that its December episode focused on it was “offensive” saying the show portrayed the country’s charm, beauty, wealth and its idiosyncrasies. The programme, broadcast on December 28, raised hackles among many viewers who complained that the episode ridiculed India and its culture and people. The episode was presented by controversial Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The BBC received several complaints, while some people of Indian origin felt too much had been made out of the irreverent programme. In a letter to the programme’s producer, Chris Hale, and copied to Mark Thompson, director-general of BBC, the Indian High Commission had stated on January 6 that the BBC was “clearly in breach of the agreement that you had entered into, completely negating our constructive and proactive facilitation”. The Indian High Commission’s letter, to which BBC has separately responded, said: “The programme was replete with cheap jibes, tasteless humour and lacked cultural sensitivity. This is not clearly what we expect of the BBC. I write this to convey our deep disappointment over the documentary for its content and the tone of the presentation”. However, Top Gear said in a statement: “The Top Gear road trip across India was filled with incidents but none of them were an insult to the Indian people or the culture of the country. “Our film showed the charm, the beauty, the wealth, the poverty and the idiosyncrasies of India but there’s a vast difference between showing a country, warts and all, and insulting it”. It added: “It’s simply not the case that we displayed a hostile or superior attitude to our hosts.” — PTI
	Ready to do more to help reconstruction in Tamil areas: Krishna Kilinochchi, January 18 Foreign Minister SM Krishna today used his visit to Kilinochchi, former LTTE bastion, the first by any Indian leader in recent years, to assure the war-weary Tamils of northern Sri Lanka of India's unflinching support and help as they pick up their lives following decades of bloodshed. The External Affairs Minister distributed newly-built houses and renovated schools, constructed with Indian assistance, and said India was willing to provide more help for their development of the war-torn region. Arriving in this town, that still carries the scars of the three-decade-old ethnic conflict, by a helicopter from capital Colombo, Krishna also handed over high-tech medical equipments worth Rs 1.5 crore to the District Central Hospital here which attracts patients from the three northern districts of Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu. The minister, who was accompanied by his counterpart G L Peiris, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Small Industries Minister and Tamil leader Douglas Devananda, asserted that India remains fully committed towards the rehabilitation, resettlement and well-being of displaced persons in the Northern Province. Inaugurating the first of the 79 renovated schools, that were badly damaged due to the war between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Krishna said the project was aimed at delivering a facelift to basic educational infrastructure of the region. "I am happy to note that as a result of this intervention families will be able to send their children to schools, and students will have a decent learning environment offering them a better future," Krishna said.— PTI
	Pak says no to US special envoy’s visit Washington, January 18 US special envoy Marc Grossman’s visit to Pakistan for consultation on exploratory talks with Taliban has been put off as Islamabad rejected the move, a State Department official said. The US had made a request for a visit of Grossman, Obama’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, as part of his itinerary to hold consultations with the US allies in the Middle East on a new move to involve the Taliban in Afghan reconciliation process. “We received word that the Pakistan government felt that it would be best to wait (for Grossman’s visit) until this parliamentary review is concluded,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing. The development indicates further deterioration in Pak-US relationship which has been on a continuous downswing since the May 2 US raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad. But, in response to questions, Toner said that Pakistan would continue to play a role in Afghan reconciliation process. On Pak-US differences, the State Department spokesman said there was no alternative other than for two countries to work on their divergences. “There’s no other solution here other than to work through our differences. We absolutely view Pakistan as an essential partner to this Afghan-led reconciliation process,” Toner said. — PTI