…in which I get very annoyed by this cheap, sensationalist headline in The Telegraph (UK): White British actresses told to leave Bollywood*.

The report talks of a “hate campaign by one of India’s most feared political leaders” but almost forgets to mention that the actresses may not have valid work permits.
Curiously, there appears to be no way to leave a comment online on the report.
I have sent the following email to the Editor:
Dear Editor,
With reference to your recent story on “White British actresses told to leave Bollywood“, would you please print …

I may be an extremist, a militant, an Islamist, a fighter, a jihadi…but I am not a terrorist.
This post was prompted by a 1500-odd words long article in a recent issue of TIME, “Somalia, Again” by Alex Perry.
The article’s description of the situation in Somalia is unsettling…but what was even more unsettling for me was the missing “T-word”
The article talks about Somalia being “much on the minds of those fighting terrorism these days“, then moves on to the leader of an Islamist group before mentioning a handful of jihadis …

Thanks to Mod Prakash for alerting me to Wikileaks.

For those of you who have not heard of them, here is some information courtesy Wikipedia:
Wikileaks is a website that publishes anonymous submissions and leaks of sensitive governmental, corporate, organizational, or religious documents, while attempting to preserve the anonymity and untraceability of its contributors. Within one year of its December 2006 launch, its database had grown to more than 1.2 million documents,[2] leading to many front-page newspaper articles and political reforms.
The site states that it was “founded by Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians …

Fascinating excerpts from “Dems, You Gotta Have Heart” by Drew Westen, written almost two years ago (emphasis mine):
*** Excerpts Begin ***
To understand why Democrats have had such a hard time winning the White House, consider two scenes from last week’s CNN/YouTube debate. First, Sen. Chris Dodd offered a highly precise response to a question about energy: “The 50-mile-per-gallon standard is something I’ve advocated by 2017.” Then former senator John Edwards told a moving story about a man who couldn’t speak for 50 years because of a severe cleft palate: “For …

Look at the news-reports below. Notice anything strange (hint: look at the words in bold)?
Body of major killed in Kashmir brought to Gujarat
Ahmedabad: Body of a major from Gujarat who was killed in a fierce gun battle near the LoC in Kupwara district of North Kashmir was brought here tonight. Major Rishikesh Vallbhbhai Ramani(27) of the 23 Punjab Regiment and one of his colleague were killed in the gun battle when army confronted a group of heavily-armed militants at Gulab Post, 130 kms from Srinagar when they were attempting to …

Start your weekend with this fascinating mea-culpa: “We are biased, admit the stars of BBC News“. Brief Excerpt:
…It was the day that a host of BBC executives and star presenters admitted what critics have been telling them for years: the BBC is dominated by trendy, Left-leaning liberals who are biased against Christianity and in favour of multiculturalism.
A leaked account of an ‘impartiality summit’ called by BBC chairman Michael Grade, is certain to lead to a new row about the BBC and its reporting on key issues, especially concerning Muslims and …

Over the course of last few days, I came across two separate mentions regarding Indian media and the on-going elections. Both of them had a very disturbing underlying theme – which was – we cannot trust our media any more. We cannot rely on them to be unbiased, impartial and committed to the democratic processes.
Everything you read about the candidates, their utterances, their actions must be taken with a pinch of salt….for the truth may not be what it seems to be.
For the hardcore sceptics amongst you, this will hardly …

This review of “The White Tiger” by Pankaj is one of the finest I have come across and would have easily made it to any quality magazine/ news-paper…except that it will not…
Please read further to find out why.
*** ”The Brown Parrot” by Pankaj Saksena ***
On 14th October 2008, the Booker Committee announced in London that Aravind Adiga will get the Man Booker Prize for his debut novel, ‘The White Tiger’. The writer, Aravind Adiga claims in an interview:

“At a time, when India is going through great changes and ,with China, is likely to …

Once upon a time, in the early days of the Internet, surfers implicitly “trusted”  information they found on the web - particularly information that appeared genuine, seemed like it had been properly referenced and sounded credible. Through the 90s – as the internet grew and then exploded - good, credible information became harder to find…Google helped a bit, as did Wikipedia, to some extent. But these days you need to be careful of what you “read” (and do not “read”) on the web or in your email…
Almost all of you at some point or the …

I am experimenting with a different reading format this weekend…dispensing with extracts…(and) instead letting you *pick and choose* from a few links on different topics…
Pl. let me know what you think of this…As some of you may have immediately noticed, it does save me time!
Comments/ suggestions and feedback welcome.
***
First off this weekend, read why Spiritual Kids may be Healthier.
Next a profile of Sh Narendra Modi from The Atlantic (which had also carried a profile of Sh Lalu Yadav some weeks ago) – not particularly flattering.
Read Matthew Omolesky’s exploration of ”the contemporary meaning of Miltonic freedom …

Some of you may remember the scandal that rocked Tony Blair’s government in 2001 when one of his aides appeared to suggest that 9/11 offered a good opportunity to distract attention from “bad” news.
I was reminded of that when I chanced upon Ahmed Ali Shaik’s post on Satyam Scam – Politics, Media and Lies (Hat Tip: Vijay). In the post, Ahmed wrote:
It’s been more than a month since Satyam scam came to light…with elections round the corner, I feel that Satyam will get very little space in both television and print media in …

*** Why I Hate Bloggers ***
Reflections of a “mainstream” journalist/reporter
They trawl the internet (and worse, google caches) to find words/reports/quotes from me that are either a] embarrassing and/or b] contradict my current position/actions and/or c] make me look like a devil (or worse, an idiot). Such quotes are *always* taken out of context.
When confronted, they gang up with their fellow bloggers and try to start campaigns like STOP watching/reading XYZ (I alas do not have anyone to stand up for me).
They think (and fervently believe that) they are better at writing and …

Please read this searing piece by fearless Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga titled, “And then they came for me“.  Lasantha was shot dead last fortnight*. 
Excerpts below:
No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. …Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last.
I have been in the business of journalism …

Start your Sunday by reading why Yossarin at Offstunped believes there has been a fundamental shift in terror pre and post 2006….and how this may be linked to a shift across the border in Pakistan as well…This is actually a series of posts which I would highly recommend.
***
Next Britain’s ex-Home Secretary (equivalent to Home Minister in India), David Blunkett writes about how Braille “shaped his life by providing him from an early age with a window on the world”…Blunkett has been blind since birth. A very inspiring true life story.
***
and, …

I was alerted to this article earlier yesterday. It raises some hard (and disturbing) questions about the purpose and the context of US President-Elect Obama’s visit to Pakistan in the early 80s. Some excerpts from India Wake Up: Why did Obama go to Pakistan in 1981? by Brian Baldwin:
What was Obama’s fascination with Pakistan in those decades past when he traveled and spent three weeks there in 1981 during his college years?
Why Pakistan? Germany, or France, or even India or the Philippines, yes … But, it is not typical, …

1. DGP and BJP MP B P Singhal examines “The sting and the truth about Gujarat” including this Aaj Tak faux pas:
It was therefore truly shocking that on 25.8.2007, Aaj Tak harped on the same old refrain that “Modi did not call the army until three days had passed“. Even more outrageous was their insistance on this point. When Aaj Tak contacted me on phone to get my response, I told the anchor that the Godhra carnage took place on February 27, 2002, that the Hindu backlash commenced on February …

I am no fan of Ashis Nandi and disagree strongly with many of his views but I just cannot accept the argument that his writings or thoughts should be banned/censored.
There are other (better) ways of dealing with his arguments and deconstructing them…
Calling for a ban on his writings or calls for his arrest puts us in the same league as fanatics calling for Taslima’s blood.
For those of you who missed it, here is the original article - which started it all. Many of you will find the comments on this site …

If you are wondering about the link between the two, it is AIDS !
Apparently, Call Centre “Romeos” are one of the leading reasons for increasing AIDS in India.
And Hindu fundamentalists are indirectly helping this by opposing circumcision…which supposedly helps fight AIDS.
Please read on*…
A new AIDS threat is rising in India’s numerous call centers, where young staff are increasingly having unprotected sex with multiple partners in affairs developed during night shifts, a top AIDS expert has warned. [ link ]
…”You will see call center Romeos are a major high risk for HIV,” Solomon …

Fellow blogger Varnam recently wrote two posts on how learning Sanskrit is now considered to be a “communal” activity and something that might put you at odds with the “secular” brigade.
In the first one, he pointed out:
Usually you see the word saffronization associated with the Hindutva folks, not Sanskritization…the revival (of this word) is with mischievous intent. Now the name of a language has become a synonym for communal politics.
In fact this attempt to brand Sanskrit as a non-secular entity happened once before, believe it or not – by the Central Board …

I recently came across The Whitewashing of History, by Nithin Sridhar. Nitin has kindly agreed to let me reproduce the article on this blog. Those of you who are interested in history will find here a devastating critique of current studies and interpretation of Indian History – which has largely been driven by leftist-leaning scholars steeped in their prejudices and with varying agendas. 
The article looks at the now thoroughly discredited “Aryan Invasion Theory” (AIT), the impact of Islamic invasions on India and the red-herring of “Hindu vandalism”. 
I have also included …