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The Musharraf
factor Hope on land Bill |
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Drugs and security
Corruption,
Congress & BJP
Stones from Everest
CINEMA: NEW Releases
RATINGS: Animated stuff! Sci-fi gone haywire
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Hope on land Bill
In
a rare display of political cooperation the UPA and opposition parties have reached a broad consensus on the much-delayed Land Acquisition Bill. The government has addressed key concerns of the BJP and other parties though a CPM spokesman said his party would oppose the Bill. With most parties on board, the Bill is expected to be passed in the second half of the Budget session of Parliament starting next week. The existing law enables the government to forcibly take over private land for a loosely defined “public purpose”. In some states the government acquired land on the pretext of “public purpose” by paying a small amount of compensation but handed it over to builders and industrialists, resulting in protests by farmers. Differences over the Bill had delayed the acquisition of land for highways, industrial projects and special economic zones (SEZs), escalating cost and affecting growth and employment. The CPM and the Trinamool Congress demand for consent of 100 per cent landowners has not been accepted. Private projects will need the consent of 80 per cent owners and projects under private-public partnership will make do with 70 per cent. In villages compensation will be four times the market value of land and in cities it will be twice apart from a provision for homes and jobs for displaced people. Under the terms agreed on, tenants will also be entitled to compensation. The land acquisition conditions will apply to SEZs as well but can be waived for railway, highway and atomic energy projects. The industry is not happy with the Bill. A FICCI spokesman feels “it will affect our competitiveness”. The government is keen to push the land Bill along with the Food Security Bill before the Lok Sabha elections. It should make similar efforts to bridge the divide over the goods and services tax (GST), which can simplify tax structure, boost government revenue and accelerate growth. The usually obstructionist BJP should remember that if it comes to power at the Centre tomorrow, it too would be stuck in “policy paralysis” in the absence of cooperation from the Congress.
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Drugs and security The
business of smuggling drugs from Pakistan into India via Punjab has seemed serious since the past year, but the recent seizures have made it alarming. And the latest revelation that the smugglers have gained access to weapons like the AK-47 gives it sinister hues. India needs to be worried not as much for the drugs and the money involved, but what the smuggling network once it is established can be used for subsequently. This is a racket with astounding amounts of money involved. With such high stakes, it becomes possible to compromise security networks. The fear that it could support terror activity is real, for criminals have little love lost for any nation. The impunity with which the smugglers have been moving in the fields just across the border indicates the Pakistan authorities are hand in glove with them. India can thus expect little cooperation from the neighbours. As the drugs that come in are consumed in the rest of the country or are packed off further to European countries and the US through exit points in Delhi, Mumbai or Nepal, it is a national problem, and not just that of Punjab. While the BSF has had major successes on the border in the battle against drugs, Punjab needs material and intelligence support from the Centre in busting the networks that take over once the contraband crosses the border. The fight has to be on a par with anti-terror operations. The recent police initiative in Punjab against drugs has been commendable. Action against peddlers in Jalandhar has resulted in a drop in chain-snatchings and a jump in admissions at de-addiction centres. A large part of the addiction problem in Punjab may be attributed to the incidental availability of drugs because of the state falling on the smuggling route. Breaking the petty criminal-peddler nexus is important as there are many spin-off crimes fuelled by it. Drugs are not just a corrosive effect on society, but capable of compromising even national security. To nip the operations in the bud is of utmost importance even if that entails deploying disproportionate amounts of resources.
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Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners. — Laurence Sterne
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Corruption, Congress & BJP The spat between the Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) over the new tranche of WikiLeaks, alleging former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to have negotiated for the Swedish jet, is understandable when the country is on the brink of general elections. According to the latest bunch of US diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks, Rajiv Gandhi may have been a middleman for the Swedish company Saab-Scania when it was trying to sell its Viggen fighter aircraft to India in the seventies. There may be more to it than just the timing of the leaks but, as one would expect, the Congress has reacted accusing the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, of spreading “lies and falsehoods” even as the party dismissed the charges against Rajiv Gandhi as baseless. The BJP, on the other hand, jumped at the first opportunity to mount its attack while demanding the government to come out clean on the revelations. Not to be outdone, the Congress too reminded its rival of another cable that spoke of a senior NDA leader, demanding money from the CIA for his underground activities. My point is not whether or not Rajiv Gandhi was a middleman and negotiated the jet deal or whether the NDA leader did seek money from the CIA. In fact, if corruption were the yardstick to judge them, I would find no difference between the Congress and the BJP, the two political parties which occupy the largest space in India. Both have been disfigured by too many scams, too many times. Still there is no end to them and their involvements. Both parties live in glass houses and they should not, to use George Bernard Shah’s words, change clothes with the lights on. If the Congress had been revisited by the Bofors gun deal payoffs, the BJP had been exposed by the conviction of Bangaru Laxman, who once headed the party, in an arms deal. Yet the Congress and the BJP remained deficient in sensitivity. If one rationalised that the case had been “closed,” the other argued that the BJP had not at least put a gloss over the corrupt deal. The reference was to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who covered the tracts so well that he had left no evidence on the kickbacks worth Rs 65 crore. Still the fact remained that both parties during their rule had used the government machinery and intelligence agencies to serve their purpose and squeezed out in the process even the last drop of legal or moral decency in the system. Bofors gun scandal, indeed, took the cake. It would not have seen the light of the day if it had not been for a deep throat who gave information from within the system without coming out in the open. When the story about the Bofors Howitzer deal was broken nearly 27 years ago, it shook the nation because the deep throat alleged that the commission was given by Bofors, a Swedish firm, to the then Rajiv Gandhi government to secure the deal. Two years ago, the deep throat again jolted the nation by revealing his own identity—he is former Swedish police chief Sten Lindstrom — and accused Rajiv Gandhi of doing his best to cover up the scam, although he himself did not take bribe. I have no doubt that he was telling the truth. In contrast, see the lies by Rajiv Gandhi who had the innocent hauled over the coal to shield the bribe recipients. Why he did so was obvious. He used the middlemen to channelise the money to the party or the family he wanted to reach. That the middlemen too pocketed a part of the bribe as their commission was understandable because they took the risk. In any case, Rajiv Gandhi had seen to it that no harm came to them. I think the biggest casualty in the Bofors scam was the credibility of the investigation agencies, particularly the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Congress may be right that Rajiv Gandhi did not take any bribe. The CBI has no face to say that there cannot be a re-look at the Bofors payoffs because it was the main agency which whitewashed the scandal. This brings me to the cases of coal blocks allotment scandal, involving the UPA government. Reports suggest that top CBI officials were summoned by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar who, along with PMO officials, vetted the status report. Apparently, several amendments to the report were suggested and some were incorporated before it was filed in the Supreme Court. The three-judge bench of the apex court has taken notice of the media report and has summoned a top CBI official to clarify through a sworn affidavit whether the status report had been examined by the government. The controversial nature of the status report has, indeed, put the CBI in a quandary. But there is no running away from the fact that the CBI is just another department of the Central
government.
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Stones from Everest Surprised? But it's true. If you are a businessman, you must be knowing that it takes years to establish a small enterprise followed by continuous efforts to keep it growing gradually. But if someone tells you that you can earn millions of rupees by just a little effort and that too with a little investment and in a very little time, what would you say? Obviously, get interested in plunging into the game with a broad smile. OK. Now let's try to find out what is that 'game' which can make you from a pauper to prosperous person overnight. “You just have to sell watches.” What? Selling watches, but there are already millions of people selling watches and none of them have become a millionaire overnight. They still are ordinary shopkeepers. So, what is the new and surprising element in your offer?" “Yes”, I smiled, “because they are not selling the brand of watches what I am going to tell you about. They are not “ordinary” watches, they are made in Nepal. You see, these watches are studded with pieces of stones brought from the roof-top, I mean from the Mount Everest. The wristwatch is the brainchild of a British explorer, Sir Ranulph Finnes, who discussed the idea of engraving the stone into the dial of the watch brought from the Everest. He was accompanied by two Nepali summiteers, Ang Namgel and Lakpa Thundu. On his return to the base camp, he discussed a unique idea of engraving the stone in the special edition of watches. For the idea to be given a reality they discussed the idea with an American watch-making company, Kobold and the idea was accepted immediately. The trio knew that since Kobold is a renowned company, their "special edition of watches" will sell without any difficulty. And they thought right. Both, Ang Namgel and Lakpa Thundu were sent to Pennsylvania, USA, for one year to learn the technique of grafting stones into watch dials. On their return they set up their workshop in Kathmandu and started work on these special watches to be made for Kobold. The American edition of these watches are priced at $16,500 (Rs 8.42 lakh) but their Nepali edition carries a tag of just $ 8,848 (equal to the height of the Everest in metres) equal to Rs 4.5 lakh in Nepal. Now the question is: How will the buyer of the watch determine and be sure that the stones studded in the watch are "actually from the Everest"? That's why I call it a game because tomorrow keeping the cost of the watch in mind "duplicate" stuff can also come to the market as the name of the manufacturer, Kobold, is quite a big name in the field of watch manufacturing in the world. Beware, before you buy any such
watch.
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CINEMA: NEW Releases RATINGS: Nonika Singh
Ah, the bane of second half that plagues most of Hindi cinema strikes this daayan too. So what begins as a tantalising glimpse into the world of supernatural, of daayans in particular, crumbles like the body of daayan in the second part of the film. Undeniably, the film begins with great promise is spookily and suitably bewitching like the beautiful heroines (probable witches) even if it's clearly not meant for the rationalists. As
the film combines the mind games of the magician with the presence of
the other world, the setting couldn't get better. The famous magician
Bobo's (Emraan Hashmi) tricks seem perfect for its step up into a realm
beyond the logic and explanation of human mind. Till the first half the
film that fuses the line between imagination and reality is riveting and
unsettling. Even when the hypnosis therapy takes you back into the
childhood years of Bobo, it continues to tease and fascinate. Kannan's
directorial flourish manifests in small significant ways as he takes you
enroute a journey of Bobo and through his childhood years of two
motherless children, one with an hyperactive imagination and few magic
tricks up his sleeve and the other a cute little girl who follows dear
brother like a lamb. Till the interval, the film seems to be flirting
with the notion of daayan. Does she exist or is she a figment of
Bobo's imagination? But the moment the marriage between unnatural and
imaginary is consummated and throws you directly into the netherworld
like most marital relations it turns sour. In your face avatar of
the real daayan, especially post interval, is not even half as
horrific and mysterious as the one when allusions are made to its
presence and existence. Of course, to give the devil ahem the daayans
their due; there is no unnecessary blood and gore, the staple of
many B grade horror flicks. Intelligently mounted, its let down by the
predictable climax. Music that appears
in the film like a salad garnishing is delectable. No wonder for it has
been composed by none other than Vishal Bhardwaj, who happens to be one
of the producers as well. The other one is Ekta Kapor. Clearly when two
producers of varying sensibilities come together the result can be a
mishmash. And this smoothie does have large chunks of unpalatable bits.
Yet it sure can be savoured once at least. With gleeful delight!
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Animated stuff!
Set
in a prehistoric age known as croodaceous The Croods 3D is an example of superior animation techniques that have been improving ever since The Lion King was made nearly two decades ago. This family of cavemen is headed by Greg Crood (voice of Nicholas Cage) whose goal is to protect the six members of his family. Anything funny is bad, so they stay huddled in the cave. He feels their strength is enough so they need no
brains.
That is until his adventurous daughter Eep (Emma Stone) begins to move out\in the unknown where she meets a genius named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who helps
her see things in a different light, explaining things like a joke or left-overs, which they were in the dark about. The family includes a cute gran (Cloris Leachman) who has the best lines and is constantly taking swipes at the play-safe Greg. But the only setback is its length, 98 minutes is a tad too much. Since the attention span for animation films is less, brevity should be the soul of wit. But quite often that is more easily said than done. The characters seem to grow on you thanks to the central theme of change to which Greg finally accepts. Good repartee and Guys closeness to Eep are worrying factors for Greg and Gran but provide comic relief. All things considered The Croods is well worth a watch.
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Sci-fi gone haywire
If
Back to the Future set a new benchmark as far as sci-fi films were concerned about two decades ago, now Hollywood seems to be churning them out on an assembly line but scraping the bottom of the barrel. The Host is one such movie. If The Croods is prehistoric, The Host is futuristic and the human race has been assimilated by benevolent extraterrestrial psychic parasites (whatever that means) called 'souls'. They enter the body of a human but have a hidden agenda. Melanie Stryder (Saoirise Ronan) is captured by the Seeker (Diane Kruger) and is infused with a soul from the Wanderer (Ronan again). Now Melanie is in love with Jarred Howe (Max Irons) but when Wanderer enters her body there is a clash of body and soul! If one has to look for plus points, well Saoirse Ronan is easy on the eye but since she plays a double role even that tends to pall. Antonio Pinto's music score is refreshing; the few instances we hear it. Once big star William Hurt is relegated to bit roles reserved for those of his ilk.
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Movies on TV
Star movies 8:57
PM Titanic
is an American epic romantic disaster film directed, written,
co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account
of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate
Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard
the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. ZEE CINEMA 7:00AM Yeh Hai Jalsa 10:10AM Aan: Men at Work 5:20PM Mr. India 9:00PM Players STAR GOLD 7:50AM Hulchul 11:20AM Wanted 2:55PM
Yamraj Ek Faulad 6:00PM STAR MOVIES 8:57AM Titanic 12:29PM Fist of Fury 2:23PM The Hills Have Eyes 4:37PM Mr. Deeds 6:44PM Romancing the Stone 9:00PM Lockout 11:04PM This Means War SONY PIX 7:35AM Resident Evil: Apocalypse 9:15AM The Condemned 11:20AM Shrek 1:00PM Meet The Parents 3:05PM The Adventures of Tintin 5:05PM The Raid: Redemption 7:05PM Tucker and Dale vs Evil 9:00PM Piranha 3-D ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Yugandhar 10:30AM Muqaddar Ka Badshaah 1:30PM Ghatak: The Destroyer 5:30PM EK dulaara 8:30PM Elaan SAHARA ONE 9:00AM Bhakti Mein Shakti 12:00PM Kaise Kahoon I Love You 5:30PM Malamaal Weekly 8:30PM Himmatwala
7:40AM RV 9:40AM Honey 2 11:50AM Speedy Singhs 1:50PM Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol 4:25PM Rush Hour 3 6:10PM Armageddon 9:00PM Mr. Bean's Holiday 11:16PM The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe ZEE STUDIO 8:00AM Stake Out 10:20AM Coyote Ugly 12:30PM Guthy Renker 1:00PM I Am Number Four 2:30PM Loins of Punjab 4:15PM The Bannen Way 6:00PM Baby on Board 8:00PM I Am Number Four 10:30PM The Greatest Game Ever Played FILMY 9:00AM Main Aisa Hi Hoon 12:00PM Rajani: The
Style 3:00PM Devdas 6:00PM Heer Ranjha 9:30PM Darna Zaroori Hai
Bol Bachchan Star Gold 12:00PM Bol
Bachchan is a Bollywood romantic action comedy film directed by
Rohit Shetty and featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Asin and
Prachi Desai in lead roles. The film is inspired from popular 1979
film Gol Maal. ZEE CINEMA 10:25AM Mera Badla 1:55PM Toofan 5:35PM God Tussi Great Ho STAR GOLD 9:50AM Toonpur Ka Super Hero 12:00PM Bol Bachchan 3:25PM Naya Ajooba 5:45PM Fun2shh 9:00PM Dhammu 11:45PM Aaj Ka Rakhwala STAR MOVIES 8:11AM Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties 10:03AM Van Helsing 12:35PM This Means War 2:18PM Lockout 4:25PM The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift 6:38PM The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 9:00PM Gone in 60 Seconds ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Fateh 10:30AM Ilaaka: The Territory 1:30PM Do Aankhen Barah Haath 5:30PM Ek Joshila 8:30PM Army SAHARA ONE 12:00PM Pyari Behna 5:30PM Teesri Aankh 8:30PM Chori Chori Chupke Chupke HBO 11:20AM Mr. Bean's Holiday 1:20PM The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe 4:02PM Armageddon 6:45PM Crazy, Stupid, Love. ZEE STUDIO 10:10AM I Am Number Four 12:30PM Guthy Renker 1:00PM National Treasure 3:20PM The Greatest Game Ever Played 6:00PM Shanghai Knights 8:35PM King Arthur FILMY 9:00AM Sandwich 12:00PM Dharam Adhikari 3:00PM Mangal Pandey: The Rising 6:00PM Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 9:30PM Dosti Dushmani
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Clearly Indian cinema's brush with supernatural
can at best be above average. And that's what the film finally falls
into as the potential to be a very fine film is squandered away at the
altar of simplistic conjectures. Performances and direction, however,
remain the highpoint. The dazzling seductress Konkona Sharma (Diana) the
woman who seduces Pawan Malhotra (seen after a long hiatus as younger
Bobo's father) stands out. Kalki Koechlin as Liza Dutt is apt in her
brief yet crucial role. Huma Quershi the love interest of Bobo looks
plump though pretty and is in fine form. By and large the director
justifies the screen presence of most actors. Emraan who has by now
acted in several films of similar genre fits the part to the T. Child
actors, particularly Vishesh Tiwari, are a treat. 
The world is about to end, Guy tells them and tries to get them out of their play-safe mode led by Eep and when the action takes place, the range of colours and the attention to detail is amazing; the work of visual effects supervisor Roger Deakins.The two directors Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders think and act as one with Alan Silvestri's backdrop music providing adequate relief.
Melanie has been captured while scrounging for food for her uncle Jeb (William Hurt) living in a distant desert area. Her kid brother Jammie (Chandler Canterbery) was with her. The hidden agenda is what the film is all about but it is a weak story by Stephanie Meyers, which should not have been touched with a barge pole. But you can't tell that to director-scriptwriter Niccol who goes overboard with the subject and the poor viewer is badgered with 125 minutes of lacklustre fare. 
Titanic
HBO