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Stooping to conquer
Picture imperfect |
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 Thought for the Day
The emerging Ukraine crisis
Punctuation for deriving deeper meaning
Missing the fun Fast paced thriller
War without purpose
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Stooping to conquer Political
parties that had created such ruckus in Parliament over series of scams and disrupted its proceedings - not for days but weeks together - are again fielding tainted candidates, caring two hoots about public disgust with rampant corruption. The Congress released on Thursday its second list of 71 candidates which includes the name of Pawan Bansal, who had to quit as Railway Minister over corruption charges against his nephew. For the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat the party has given the ticket to Subodh Kant Sahai, who was accused of seeking favours for his relatives in the coal scam. The party will be hard put to explain their choice, especially when its leaders boast of making efforts to fight corruption through the passing of the Lokpal Bill. The BJP, which had wasted much of Parliament's time and taxpayers' money over corruption issues, has chosen expediency over propriety by taking back the tainted Karanataka leader, B.S. Yeddyurappa, who will contest the election on the party ticket from Shimoga. Of the 32 candidates announced by the BJP and examined by the Association of Democratic Reforms, 13 have criminal cases pending against them. The situation is even worse with regard to regional parties, including the Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar, the RJD of Lalu Prasad, who himself has been convicted and is out on bail, the DMK and the Samajwadi Party. This is despite public outrage over corruption, which in Delhi at least, humbled seasoned politicians and catapulted an untested Aam Aadmi Party with little-known candidates to power. There are two important institutions -- the Election Commission and the Supreme Court - which in their own way have tried to cleanse the system. The apex court has set a one-year deadline for finishing the trial of the corrupt and criminals in politics. Its earlier landmark ruling had required legislators to resign on conviction. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid could not have chosen a more inopportune moment to mock the two institutions on which people in general pin their hopes to get rid of criminals in politics, especially when disillusioned with political parties.
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Picture imperfect IN Himachal Pradesh the Chief Election Officer has banned ration cards carrying pictures of the Chief Minister. In Punjab the Chief Election Officer has found that he does not need to ban the 'blue cards' used for the
'atta-dal' scheme. The card has pictures of the Chief Minister as well as the Food and Civil Supplies Minister. The ever-vigilant Election Commission, which actively effects the removal of pictures of chief ministers and other politicians from calendars, billboards etc, will surely look into the varying interpretation of its directions. A wider issue that is raised by this is the use of pictures of politicians serving in the government being used on identity cards and other tangible aspects of various services that the state provides to its citizens, like ambulance services. Are these being provided by politicians from their own pocket, or by using the taxpayers' money? If the latter is true, as is the case, then surely there is no justification for politicians to have their pictures 'grace' such things. Even if we look at the 'blue cards' used for the
'atta-dal' scheme, we notice that the symbol of the state government is smaller than the pictures of the two worthies who have been elected to the office that they hold at the pleasure of the people who have elected them. Indeed, even as there seems to be some movement on the 'red-light culture,' which has afflicted this country, it is perhaps time to look at various other perks that those who form the government at a particular time acquire as 'fruits of the office'. Naming schemes after politicians, or putting pictures of politicians on various government materials, etc, all smack of our failure to liberate ourselves from the feudal culture that we should have given up as a direct consequence of becoming a modern democracy. The leaders we elect should behave like our leaders, not like rulers of yore.
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Anger is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one. — Benjamin Franklin
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IT appears from the Hon'ble Mr. Mant's memorandum that the expenditure formerly incurred by the Punjab Government on the area comprised in the Delhi Province exceeded the revenue derived from it by Rs. 1,91,000 per annum and consequently the assignments from the Government of India have now been reduced by that amount. Additional expenditure has also have been thrown on the Provincial revenue in consequence of the severance of Delhi for the construction of a house and office for the Commissioner at Ambala, for the construction of courts and residence for sub-divisional officers at Palwal and Sonepat and for small increases in the subordinate staff of the Rohtak and Gurgaon districts. The Punjab has no reason to be dissatisfied with the new arrangement as it is mainly the Punjab officials who profit from the creation of the new Province. Agriculture, the best industry for the Punjab WE cannot say whether the Punjab Government does not believe in the future of the Punjab industry. But the memorandum on the finances says that the efforts recently made to start manufacturing enterprises have been premature. Whether the failures are due to bad and inefficient management or to premature inception it is yet to be made out. Meanwhile Government firmly believes that the new canal colonies create extensive demand both for capital and labour and that there is wisdom in concentrating local capital for some years to come on the greatest of local industries, vis., agriculture. It was Lord Sydenham who asked Indians to concentrate their efforts on the production and supply of raw materials. Whether Sir Michael O'Dwyer is echoing the same sentiment is more than we can say. But Punjabis should ponder over the advice of the Government in this matter.
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The emerging Ukraine crisis A definitive history of the reunification of the two Germanies and the disintegration of the Soviet Union remains to be written. But the trail of broken promises made to Moscow over Germany and the post-Soviet era remains to be written but they are an open book. Taking advantage of Russian weaknesses, Washington and its capitals chose expediency over keeping promises by taking NATO to the very edge of Russia. And Boris Yeltsin played his part perfectly by being part jester, part folk hero, to let the West get its way. That the West sought to complete the jigsaw puzzle by taking in the last Russia-friendly country standing on its periphery was strongly resisted by a determined leader at the helm, Vladimir Putin. However much the West might demonise him, he is plainly fighting for his country's vital interests in the face of mounting western economic and diplomatic threats. If Russia were to lose Ukraine to the European Union and NATO, it would be relegated to the ranks of second rate powers. It is clear that Moscow will not let go its effective control over the Crimean peninsula, the home of its Black Sea fleet and the majority of whose population being ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. What remains to be determined is the form of constitutional structure it should have, whether it would formally remain in Ukraine while enjoying wide autonomy amounting to virtual independence or be annexed by the Russian Federation. Ironically, Ukraine was gifted to Ukraine by Nikita Khrushchev in 1954 in the days of the old Soviet Union. Ukraine is very much the heart of Russia in its customs, traditions, religion and language. It is broadly divided between the western portion, more western-oriented and the eastern and southern portions of primary Russian-speakers and Moscow-oriented. To some extent, these lines are getting blurred with a younger generation more inclined to the bright lights of the West, but the broad division still holds. What began as a revolt against President Viktor Yanukovyich's last-minute refusal to sign a wide-ranging trade agreement with the European Union as the first stage of its orientation to the West with months of protests on Kiev's main square eventually turned into turned into a violent slug fest. Many protesters were killed. It is not quite clear who the sharp shooters were, some reporters suggesting that it was the work of men allied with the opposition. The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland with Russian presence succeeded in agreeing to a compromise calling for early presidential election, but almost immediately opposition mobs took over, with Yanukovych in flight and a provisional Parliament voting in a new interim leadership. With such skullduggery dressed as a revolution, President Putin realised the stakes involved, and went about systematically seeking control over Crimea, with boots on the ground, and the required diplomatic and constitutional manoeuvres to meet all eventualities. The West can cry blue murder, but must recognize that it has been checkmated in a game it was playing at Russia's expense to assert its dominance in the region. In a sense, the crisis over Ukraine brought back memories of the Cold War, supposedly buried many years ago. The West is signalling that realpolitik is very much the name of the game in international diplomacy and promises are worthless if opportunistic victories can be won. Significantly, the rhetoric emanating from the United States and European capitals is very different. In Europe there are divisions between the new democracies such as Poland and Germany. Europe has considerable trade with Russia and is heavily dependent upon Russian gas. President Putin has demonstrated that he has the toughness and command of his country's main levers of power to challenge the western effort to drive the last nail in the coffin of Russia as a great power. Protecting his country's vital interests in Crimea and the future of its Black Sea fleet is an imperative. How the subsequent problems of Ukraine are resolved can only follow the reversing of western adventurism. President Putin has drawn a very clear red line. The provisional Ukrainian government started on the wrong foot by abrogating the official status of the Russian language and filling key security posts with men with a history of extreme right views. Mercifully, the provisional President has not signed the new language decree into law but the harm has been done by the signal it sent out to the majority Russian speakers in the eastern region. Apart from Crimea, there have been many pro-Russian demonstrators in major eastern towns in the country. Needless to say, there are no representatives of the east and south in the provisional government in Kiev. Unsurprisingly, Chancellor Angela Markel of Germany has emerged as a key player in a diplomatic resolution of the crisis. Her country's trade interests are considerable, and as a former inhabitant of Communist East Germany and a Russian speaker, she understands the Russian psyche. Besides, Berlin is very much in the process of taking its rightful place in the comity of nations, having achieved the virtual status of being a permanent status of the UN Security Council in the 5+1 formula even as countries such as India, Japan and Brazil see no prospect of such status for many years. Any diplomatic settlement must recognise that Russia's vital geostrategic interests. Given its geography and traditional attachments, Ukraine is very vulnerable to Russian pressure. By his actions, President Putin has demonstrated that he will not let the West hijack his country's interests after the diplomatic gains the West was able to achieve by breaking its promises in the past. Opportunism, rather than principles, still calls the shots in world affairs.
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Punctuation for deriving deeper meaning “... punctuation marks are the traffic signals of language: they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, and stop.” —
Lynn Trusse
1. When Jai Singh succeeded Abhay, Rana was absolutely thrilled. Due to the misplaced comma above, a third person has been created in the situation where only two belonged and the message has got distorted. The third person Abhay is actually being succeeded by Jai Singh due to this error. If the comma is placed after succeeded, as was intended, the sentence will read as "When Jai Singh succeeded, ..." and Abhay Rana will be understood as one person who feels happy about Jai Singh succeeding. 2. Refrigerators, which are red in colour, have a strange design. The sentence is incorrect in using the two commas since the writer wants to say that “some refrigerators” have a strange design and their colour is red. The writer wants to establish a separate class of refrigerators. By using commas, the writer ends up saying that “all refrigerators” have a strange design and they are all red in colour. The sentence should be rewritten without commas to convey the intended meaning. 3. Members of the Doctors' Association will visit the Senior Citizens' Centre today. Since both “Doctors” and “Citizens” in the two phrases above are plural nouns with affiliation to certain institutions, they don't necessarily need the apostrophe. The apostrophe is usually omitted in names of organisations like Ladies Hostel, Sailors Club and Officers Mess. The trend is more towards eliminating apostrophes. But phrases like Children's Festival use it since "Childrens" is not an acceptable form. 4. your attitude is your altitude. it determines how high you fly. There is nothing wrong with the sentence above in terms of its meaning and grammar. Its problem has more to do with the printing etiquette. The text is considered to be rude due to the use of all capital (all-caps) letters. According to a report published in The Wall Street Journal sometime back, even the US Navy was planning to do away with the all-caps culture of communication, in vogue since the 19th century. The idea was to make it “more readable and less rude”. Netiquette prescribes the same norms. But acronyms like NATO, AIDS and abbreviations like BBC are always all-caps. For eye-catching effects, signboards can follow the same trend. Occasionally, some writers and linguists do raise their voice against items like the comma to brand a style of their own but almost always fail. Conventions in support of the punctuation stay strong since words derive deeper meaning from punctuation. Director, Regional Institute of English
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Missing the fun
HE flashes his gold credit card, she quietly presents a platinum one and pays for her expensivebranded shoes. Welcome to the corporate world where not only women rub shoulders with men but often enough earn more than their lovers. So does our Myra Sehgal (Sonam Kapoor) whose monthly paycheck has a few thousands more scribbled on it. But hold it, this is no Abhimaan in the making. This is a world of equality of sexes where the 'with it' hero Mohit Chadda (Ayushmann Khurana) has no problem in going Dutch or even borrowing money from his sweetheart. But before you get waylaid this is not a take on women's lib or empowerment. In case you missed the point, the title Bewakoofiyaan screams loud and clear. The romcom is supposed to be a crazy ride. But is it a bagful of heady, tingling and exciting foolishness? Well, to be fair this love story set against the backdrop of rising India and gleaming multiplexes has its moments. Heartwarming as well as fun filled. Alas! These remain only flashes and do not quite translate into celluloid magic that will enrapture you all the way. Indeed, the love story of Mohit and Myra is credible and reflective of so many out there. Writer Habib Faisal's writing is crisp and in sync with modern times and progressive ethos yet the telling of the tale lacks energy and edginess. It goes limp far too often and even Rishi Kapoor's frothy performance as the protective yet well-meaning dad can't lift it beyond the ordinary. The lead pair is in fine form but neither Sonam's much touted bikini act scorches the screen nor their kissing scenes sizzle. Sonam looks the stylish diva that she is and fits the part that doesn't really require her to act, just be herself. Ayushmann is cute too. Only once again essaying the part of goodie goodie Delhi lad he must remember variety is the spice of life. And he better beware of falling into the trap of sameness and needs to select his roles more carefully and consciously. Should you be wary of watching the film that remains on the surface and offers no insights? Clocking just about two hours this romcom will certainly not make you walk on cloud nine nor grate your nerves to the point of exasperation. Go for it only if you like your coffee flat and simple. Despite the hero's constant refrain khaa lun kya that he utters by way of a compliment to his girlfriend there is very little to bite into.
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Fast paced thriller
WITH a title like 3 Days to Kill one wonders if the "kill" means "eliminating" or "passing time." But when you realize that the story is by French action filmmaker Luc Besson, who is also co-script-writer, there can be little doubt. It is a start-to-finish thriller with terse cutting and editing, leaving you no time to think. Ethan Reener (Kevin Costner) is a secret agent who has brain cancer which has spread to the lungs. But his latest assignment is in Paris where he plans to make up with his estranged wife Christine (Connie Neilsen) and precocious daughter Zoey (.Hailee Steinfeld).. Meanwhile, his partner Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) gives him an experimental drug for his cancer while his wife Christine jet-sets to the United States on her work. But Ethan is bent on getting to know Zoey which is fraught with surprises, to put it mildly. Among other things the African family delivers a child and names it after Ethan. It is the Wolf (Richard Sammel) and the Albino (Thomas Lemarquis), drug lords whom they have to nab. There's excitement in every bend but among other things Ethan teaches Zoey to dance and a whole lot of errands in the process. But as it often happens only in films, all's well that ends well, Xmas included, not to mention the dollops of salt to go with it. Costner looks a bit tired but Hailee Steinfeld is fresh and talented and ably supported by Amber Heard and Connie Neilsen.
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War without purpose
SET
in some South-East Asian country, possibly Malaysia, Battle of the Damned is about the effect of some major biotechnical companies launching an attack on the locals, turning them into zombies.
A rich industrialist then hires Major Max Gatling (Dolf Lundgren) to enter zombieland to rescue his sexy daughter Jude (Melanie Zanetti). What follows is a story of a few survivors led by Duke (David Field) and including Elvis (Jen Sing), Anna (Oda Maria) and Reese (Matt Doran) who is apparently wooing the pregnant Jude who refers to her current state as "being knocked up," So, after mindless, depressing scenes one suffers through 89 minutes of inanity, that seems much longer, till director-scriptwriter Christopher Hatton decides to call it a day, mercifully.
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Saturday March 15 Hollow Man is an American science fiction-thriller-horror film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, and Josh Brolin. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible. STAR MOVIES 10:00AM The Mummy 12:30PM Home Alone 2:30PM Fast & Furious 4:30PM Hollow Man 7:00PM The Adventures of Tintin 9:00PM Mama MOVIES NOW 11:45AM Assassins 2:30PM Rumble in the Bronx 4:20PM Another Earth 6:15PM X2: X-Men United 9:00PM The Darkest Hour ZEE STUDIO 12:30PM Guthy Renker 1:00PM I Am Number Four 3:10PM Cold Creek Manor 8:15PM Ladder 49 10:30PM Primeval STAR GOLD 10:35AM De Dana Dan 2:05PM Sabse Bada Don 4:50PM Dulhe Raja 8:00PM Mai Insaaf Karoonga 10:45PM Sher Dil ZEE ACTION 7:00AM Jeo Aur Jene Do 10:30AM Ankush 1:30PM Kaala Samrajya 5:30PM Pehchaan 8:30PM Hum Bhi Insaan Hai SONY PIX 9:17AM The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 2:56PM Dark Tide 5:19PM Piranha 3-D 6:56PM The Expendables 9:00PM GoldenEye 11:49PM 13 Ghosts INDIA TALKIES 9:30AM Main Hoon Na 1:00PM Ram aur Shyam 4:30PM Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam 8:00PM Koi... Mil Gaya Sunday March 16 Anjaana Anjaani is a romantic film directed by Siddharth Anand, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Zayed Khan. It was produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under his Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt. Ltd banner. MOVIES OK 2:40PM Kaalo 4:25PM Haathi Mere Saathi 8:00PM Hera Pheri 11:00PM The Return of Sikandar ZEE ACTION 10:30AM Nagin Ka Inteqam 11:30PM Tada 5:30PM Purani Haveli 8:30PM Zakhmi Sipahi STAR GOLD 12:00PM Singham 3:00PM Naya Ajooba 5:00PM Khatta Meetha 8:00PM Bodyguard 10:45PM Virasat Ki Jung ZEE CLASSIC 12:03PM Padosan 3:14PM Ganwaar 6:30PM Flashback 7:00PM Shirdi Sai Baba 10:01PM Prem Bandhan INDIA TALKIES 9:30AM Koi... Mil Gaya 1:00PM Keemat 4:30PM Game (2011) 8:00PM Anjaana Anjaani ZEE STUDIO 3:20PM Pretty Woman 5:30PM Primeval 7:20PM Bulletproof 8:50PM 101 Dalmatians (1961) 10:30PM Armageddon STAR MOVIES 8:00AM Tremors 10:00AM Mama 2:00PM Two Brothers 4:00PM Home Alone 6:30PM You Pick the Flick
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THE contours of the Crimean crisis are becoming clearer with all the huffing and puffing from the West and Russia's effort to soften western reprisals while strengthening its grip on the peninsula. At the heart of the crisis is the western overreach in seeking to bottle Moscow geopolitically by taking its only remaining buffer state Ukraine, a landmass of 45 million people, into the European Union and NATO fold.
The characterisations and settings are realistic. Myra's quirky father Vijay Kumar Sehgal, an about to retire IAS officer played by Rishi Kapoor, is every inch as real and fallible as it gets. Never mind that he continues to dress up in good old safari suits (doesn't even own a necktie) and even in 21st century India remains computer illiterate. The twist in the tale—Mohit loses his job and the very much-in-love couple fib to cover up—is very much believable too. But we all know believability alone is not enough in the make-believe world of cinema. Actually the film that has traces of Meet The Fockers where would be son-in-law faces censure from the pretty girl's daddy dearest is not even half as fascinating or funny as the premise promises it to be. 
The viewer is taken on a whirlwind tour of Paris and its bylanes often spotting the Eiffel. Soon our hero finds his apartment occupied by an African family. That's not his only problem. Zoey is a congenital liar who on the pretext of studying with a friend, visits some sleazy nightclubs like "the Spider" and soon Ethan has to follow her on his bicycle, which is easily put in speeding vehicles when the opportunity affords.
Gatling is poker-faced and has to encounter all kinds of adversaries from zombies to sophisticated robots and then in-fighting among the survivors. Jude of course is easy on the eye but not in her choices. Anna is a dumb broad and Elvis a martial arts expert but none of them have anything substantial to contribute.
