English TV Media blitz

The best friend of a Terrorist is the media. Why does the organization which ever it be, sends him? Obviously to create terror and how is it achieved.? Obviously by the news and the media which relays it. Their ultimate aim is to create a psychological intimidation, to make people feel very unsafe and demoralized. And their best tool is not their act, but the media which freaks out on their act.

Timesnow's Arnab Goswami was live for nearly 65 hours non stop except for a few breaks literally engrossed with a running commentary of the various hold ups. While there are many in various blogs who are terming Timesnow coverage as number one and very unbiased  and professional compared to NDTV and CNN-IBN , the fact is there were excesses even in his broadcast. And he used this unfortunate times, to promote self, his channel and his news paper. Well nothing wrong for in a  competitive world, what he did was business dharma. But why don't the channels put nation first and not play the tune which inspires the terrorist.

We are living in a hi-tech era and surely the terrorists were competent enough to use hitech gadgets. They also had access to television for many hours initially in the hotels. They also could have possessed battery operated mini tv's, laptops, satellite phones and normal cell phone. So is it not foolish to relay what can be compromising on the NSG offensive  just for TRP's while the news  may be reaching the perpetrators. There are cell phone jammers and probably even wi-fi jammers in the market. Cable can be easily disconnected in the area affected. Why can't they be used to cut off the terrorists from the outside world, before dealing with them.  If this is ensured then it does not matter what the media does, else it matters for it concerns national security.

One channel telecasted an interview with one of the terrorists. I do not know how they got access to him and that is trivial, but this act is horrendous almost being an accomplice. The channel India TV has been served a notice from the government and may face a reprimand at the most. But already the purpose of the slain terrorist has been accomplished  by that telecast. what purpose will a post interview notice serve?

Yesterday Timesnow had a meaning full interview with defense expert Maroof, Pakistan Qureshi,  and a British Intelligence person  and also more sober citizens of Mumbai. But day before, a group of advertising stalwarts were seen busy denigrating India and it's systems. Most channels were busy advertising the so called elite ire against the political class. They were also in active pursuit in generating and then spreading public anger against the political class. One panelist in Timesnow was aptly pointing out that this is a time like war and we need to put behind all our fallacies and be supportive of government and it's agencies. There was also an Israeli gentleman who rightly pointed out the media excess coverage being useful for terrorists. Some panel discussion in CNN_IBN was also sober and purposive. But Sagarika was as usual painting black on BJP and was rightly snubbed by Ravi shanker prasad when he said- "Sagarika, today I will not get to debate, I know your are against BJP, the whole world knows. " The next day even with Chari, sagarika was in trouble when her hubbie Rajdeep came to her defense by being sentimental and showing his cell phone and claiming he had a sms from Hemant kharkere which he had sent to him the morning of his death day, saying that he is fed up to be a policeman when everything is being politicized. Chari was quick to respond that then it must be something about the meeting Hemant had with the national security advisor the previous day. He also pointed out that BJP had never been against him as a person but by the way ATS was mismanaging the media and how media was freaking out on Malegaon. Hemant died as a martyr but that does not absolve his ATS of their media excess in malegaon case. In fact i feel that one of the cause for this recent mumbai attack is because ATS and UPA were very busy with orange color terror and on ways to advertise and seek mileage out of it which made the Green color hit so hard at a moment of lapse.  The ATF and UPA was probably under an impression that the Jihadis will spare them for their great act against saffron. And that is why probably they failed to check on the activities of the local jehadi group which must be their routine otherwise. If they had done, so much ammunition getting ready for a glorious attack could not have missed their probing eyes. Being together in a time of crisis does not mean keeping quiet even if the government keeps erring which is what Rajdeep and Sagarika expect BJP to do. The Indian people and the whole world is unanimous in calling this government incompetent in tackling terror so why Rajdeep and sagarika should have any doubts on that.

Recently on the day of elections in one of the states i saw congress advertisements in NDTV being splashed once every three minutes in the morning. I do not know how EC can allow such excessive advertisements and  is it added to the candidates expense? May be NDTV gave a special package or concession for congress and if so for what return? Barkha and Jain were also busy round the clock during the attacks. NDTV coverage was also restrained and professional unlike most Hindi channels but Timesnow surely scored better at being faster.

The best coverage on an attack day was from News X with very minimal excess and also giving coverage of other events. Timesnow never had time for a state [ M.P] poll nor Chennai floods.

On Thursday night, the Government issued an advisory to all channels, not to relay any operational details. But we did see helicopter landing from more than two camera angle in most channels. We also saw where the NSG were positioned, how they were getting in, which floor, which room they were present and also some times what they were doing there. Is it not possible for the terrorists to know about this either by direct view on TV or by phone/laptop from some one who has TV access?

It is evident that the slain  terrorists knew what they achieved before their death, Thanks to our media. They must have rejoiced every time a body was shown, they must have clapped when blood stained CST was shown, they must have celebrated when Taj burning was public. Is it not an exercize to instigate more such events?

I feel it is high time an universal media policy applicable for all countries at time of such terror, should be formulated. No terror activity is an isolated one. It is a message conveyed to the world at large and that is why there should be a global response to it. No camera's and Tele coverage of any such activity should be allowed. Only Government press should have access and other broadcasters can be fed by them. All access to any media or communication in the area of terror should be cut off and only that will be a small deterrent. Otherwise this type of over media coverage will only invite multiple terror actions. The area should be cordoned off at least by two km radius. Experts can come out with a cohesive and permissible media policy which will deter terror acts and help security agencies.

I am sure the world will opt to wait to see a terror attack if that helps it to make it less frequent. The urge to see it live should cease and the media to raise TRP, should look for other avenues.

I do not know what to call doing something wrong, knowing fully well it is wrong?

Rain, Rain, go away

More than a hundred died in Tamilnadu also in the last few days, but due to nature. The roads are flooded, bus stands paralysed, buses damaged, vehicles stranded, houses flooded, people taking refuge in schools, traffic jams, crops drowned, milk shortage, vegetables rotting, schools closed for five consecutive days probably for the first time in state history, exams postponed, rail service hit,reservoirs seepage, reservoirs flooding , , , , , , , , , , , ,. 

Every year in the rainy season we face problems and it seems the problems are increasing every year. The government has failed miserably in maintaining it's drainage and seepage systems and has taken no care to pursue proper cleaning of canals and Coovam this year too. The GN Chetty Road is almost totally marooned and this year it is even worst. The new flyover under construction has added to the woes of all residents and business in this road. 

Every year people get relief from state and centre, politicians visit and play politics, how long are we supposed to undergo this torture? 

Why? How?

How much time is required to know, understand and execute a sea route between two not friendly countries, how much time is required to train for using sophisticated weopens like AK47, 56 etc, how much time is required to know Taj hotel in and out, how much time is required to know the roads of Mumbai, how much time is required to know how to go to CST from gateway and then kidnap a police vehicle and then pick a skoda? how much time is required to live without fear and food for three days? how much time is required to mentally prepare to kill mercilessly? how much time is required to be mentally prepared to die for a cause? how much time is required to acquire all the above by one person? How much money is spent for this? what is their returns? who is the sponsor?

Did the Terrorists really look for British and Americans? does not seem so for the most killed are Indians and they did not hold any people with any specific passport. Did they kill the Rabbi and his wife only to divert attention from Pakistan? Why the terrorists did not hold hostages and make demands as they usually do?  Why did they wait till the cuttack match was over though they had time to strike before itself? was the Underground in Mumbai and Dawood involved? AND WHAT DID THEY ACHIEVE?

It does not look like an Alqaeda action for then they would have claimed by now for they stand to lose nothing by doing so. And there was no specific targeting of westerners even though the terrorists made those 'noises'. It looks more like some pak based terror group which becomes certain as pak links have already been exposed- the sea route, GPS phone, credit cards etc. Also there is an arrest who is spilling beans.

Well I am sure many such questions must be there for everyone. Hope we get answers some time, some day.

Who did it?

As usual there are umpteen theories and rumors around. The disadvantage when you have many enemies is you do not know who did it till someone confesses. And in India even if some one confesses you have political agents who will be ready to sponsor their freedom, by hook or crook. Unless terror justice is separated from vote politics , this type of incidents will continue. But surely as the infosys Nandan Nilekani says in his book "Imagining India",  

"I believe that much of India’s challenges come from our divisions. The Indian state has long championed the country’s ‘unity in diversity’, but in reality, our diversity has also meant that we are a fractured society, split along the lines of caste, religion, region and class. As a result, our politics have long been a politics of our divides rather than one driven by ideas or solutions.

However, there is a chance that this has begun to change. I think that the most effective answer to such politics is creating a ’safety net of ideas’ that can weather political storms and divisive rhetoric. If such ideas become popular across large numbers of voters, no government can survive by simply mining our resentments, and without addressing these issues."

 time is not far away when things will fall in place in India, and for our benefit. But what do people opine about who could have done the mumbai blasts. here is what you find in the web. 

1. ISI

Guardian uk - Mumbai attacks: domestic Indian terrorism with a global twist

Guardian uk - Claims emerge of British terrorists in Mumbai

Sify - Dawood, ISI involved in Mumbai attack

Wall street Journal - Mumbai Attack Is a Tipping Point for India

Prison planet: Mumbai Attacks To Be Blamed On Pakistan?

2. Mossad[? !]

Mossad behind the mass terror attack in Mumbai, India?

CIA, MOSSAD HAND BEHIND SANGH PARIVAR'S EXTREMISTS!

3. Al Qaeda

Analysis: Mumbai attack differs from past terror strikes

Mumbai attacks had 'some hallmarks' of Al-Qaeda: Miliband

Mumbai attack shows new sophisticated face of terror

Al-Qaida hallmarks in Mumbai attacks?

Al Qaeda linked to Mumbai attacks: Russian sleuth

Mumbai attacks: Terrorists 'copied al-Qaeda blueprint'

Mumbai attack shows Lashkar, al Qaeda hand

Who could be behind the Mumbai attacks?

Well there are some more blogs and online media which tries to fix the blame on local muslim terror outfits and some even say it could be a hindu outfit. well human imagination has no boundaries and hope truth will come out and the perpetrators taught a fitting lesson and soon. 

The Terrorists has suffered their first and major defeat. The sensex has finished 66 points higher ignoring their act totally. One reason i presumed they attacked was to damage the stock market and their continuation of siege today also made me suspect so. well, they failed. 

NEW TERROR SERIALS

It is still not over, but not really surprising. Such huge buildings with multiple entrance and exits, numerous rooms and no know  how of the ammunition the terrorists carry, the hostages they hold plus the need to ensure safety of the building and the hostages is bound to take this long. Haven't we seen plane hijacked by just a person or two taking weeks to resolve?

Till 1993, the only major act of terrorism the world knew  was hijacks of planes which got immediate world media attention. Even 1993 Mumbai blasts did not receive a world response and if it had then, may be even 9/11 would not have occurred. The 9/11 plus the private TV channels, gave the terrorists a new modus operandi to catch World TRP's. From then serial blasts had become the primary training in terror schools. And every time it occurred the world media fell for the trap and advertised the message the terrorists wanted to convey. But the serial blasts is not getting enough response the terrorists aim for, off late. People scream, cry, debate, all for a while and then carry on with their lives, as if nothing happened. The world has got used to serial blasts. And especially India. That is why I feel this Mumbai incident may not be just India specific and may be there are some who are getting trained to enact a similar incident somewhere else too. If the world ignores this also as it did in 1993,as if it is some third world event, it might have to regret doing so as it did on 9/11.

This Mumbai nightmare has no parallels not even 9/11. A well planned and properly drilled team with  a commando training has very deftly orchestrated a dastardly attack and have succeeded in putting not only Mumbai under terror but the whole world at it. By choosing the early hours of a Thanksgiving day and by choosing Jews, British and American  for limelight they have captured all hours of the idiot box for the past 40 hours. The whole media of the world has fallen for the trap yet again.

Russia has seen similar hijacking of important buildings earlier. Saudi also has similar experience. Even India had it's parliament under attack. But none had multiple sites under siege as it is now. This is a new trend and the world has to prepare itself to deal with it. And it looks the terrorists are right in changing their serial modus operandi to this new one, for they are surely getting results more than they would have anticipated. The normally very resilient Mumbai is now having doubts. There is anger everywhere. The Indo-pak relation is at its very low. Champions trophy is postponed, stocks falling, people afraid well the list continues. If the terrorists did not want these results they could have asked for whatever by taking a few in to their hold. They did not , so obviously the above is what they wanted and probably they are getting some bonus too.

I firmly believe that the best friend for a terrorist is the media and that too especially the Television. It has been no different this time too. The competitive journalism and the journalistic eagerness to get the breaking news first is what gives the terrorists their needed TRP's. Rumors and interview with terrorists are aired this week, can they ask for more?. And then they assemble some hyped celebrities who come dressed very well and sit for hours lambasting our nation and its systems. can they ask for more?

The Indian unpreparedness and open borders was exposed. And that is what has taken the center spot in most discussions and debates. It is true that India has to do something and that too on short term basis to strengthen its intelligence and security. But is it what the terrorists wanted to expose? India is made to look like a soft state. But was that the intension of the terrorists?. THE ANSWER IS A BIG NO. For if that was the case they could have would up their operation yesterday itself and could have chosen more easy targets. And they would not have chosen a Thanksgiving day for their cause. And they would not have chosen specific passports for hostage. So the fact is they USED THE INDIAN UNPREPAREDNESS AND OPEN BORDERS rather than aimed to expose them. Even if India had secure seas and more preparedness this would have occurred.  The exposure was just a bonus.

Not many in India, why even in Mumbai know that Nariman house has Jews. But these terrorists knew. They know the Taj in and out, much better than even Ratan Tata. They know the roads of Mumbai and the shortest routes which even a taxi wala may not know. They had support to get ammunition to last for so long. Experts feel it is impossible for them to have carried all this stuff by hand in to the hotel. They must have booked rooms earlier and must have offloaded them much earlier. May be the SEA ROUTE ENTRANCE is a diversionary tactic. There are so many such May be's. But what is sure is they have tested a new modus operandi and done well.

It is high time the world unites to fight this menace. Terrorism is like Diabetes and fortunately not like AIDS. Like both we cannot eradicate it, once we have it. but like Diabetes, terrorism can be controlled. Just like how the world has some sought of unity in tackling global warming, similarly there should be uniform method to tackle this terrorism also. All nations who are affected should sit together and make rules which each and every should be forced to follow, for no incident in the world is an isolated one. Every nation should be expected to adopt certain safety measures by rule and also have preparedness and laws to tackle once it occurs, whenever. Every nation should share intelligence and should not be allowed to give any covert support. Every nation should handover suspects without much fuss and excuse, whatever be the cost.

Already Mumbai is being wrongly interpreted as if it failed even though Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act was present and hence POTA has no role even now. It should be correctly interpreted that it happened in spite of a MCOCA, because of a government which was busy appeasing. No nation can tackle terror without tough laws. May be the debate on better policing may be right. May be we should improve our ways to identify the real suspect is true. May be we need to have better safety for witness is true. May be we need a new agency also may be true. But what is true is there can be no mercy shown to convicts of mass terror.

Even if Osama and Dawood die, terror and its perpetrators will remain, for Terrorism is like diabetes. Even if all people of any faith are appeased to the hilt, there will be some who will differ. As long as inequality exists this phenomenon will get new life's.

It is never too late.

Also see: STOP TERROR FREAK OUT

Also see: No more knee-jerks 

Mumbai patilled

At this time, when the siege is still on, it is a time for restraint and unity and time for a full fledged change in our attitude and actions against such repeated terror on our motherland. Whether the PM changes his HM is not my concern, whether the HM changes his attire every two hours is also not my concern, but it is high time the HM and the PM change their ways in dealing with terror. Pardon me if I sound insensitive to the hundreds who have died and the near thousand who have been injured or were indirect sufferers of the yesterday nightmare, but I feel this incident could be our opportunity to strengthen our resolve and remove all shades of terror.

Some heads have to roll for allowing motorboats to flow from Karachi to Mumbai without any hindrance loaded with weapons, terrorists and ammunition enough to bend the financial capital at its toes. The nation and its people want the government to become proactive and firm in dealing with all hues of terror and spare no one, and only that will deter terrorists worldwide from treating India as a soft target. Forget chandraayan 2 or even roads, flyovers and bridges, people want safety first. Spend how much you want, but catch Dawood and spare no moment in the pursuit. Ignore or punish politicians who openly flout their allegiance or support to even any terror suspect and stop all means of sponsoring their justice.

Such important hotels with such important people inside being left open to attack are a shame. The first and foremost response is to accept we have failed but not to stop there. Catch each and every one involved in this incident and expose all foreign hands and that will only balm this deep wound. This incident is as big as the 9/11 and requires a similar response. The World community should join together and India should defer all CBM's with Pakistan till they join us in bringing Dawood to justice.

The Muslims in India especially should unitedly condemn this act of disgust and remove themselves from these perpetrators. The opposition should detest from making any political capital out of this, even though it is tempting enough and join hands to save our nation. It is a war time scenario. Of course the opposition need not trouble themselves any more, for the consequences of this attack seems to be in their favor only.

How can you have an open sea between two nations who are not in their best terms ever? How can you have such scant security in an important station? How can you have such poor intelligence? How can you have such poor security for such important hotels? How can you allow the terrorists to take over a police vehicle and not know it, till they strike using it? How can you stick to power if you do not have answers?

India has been shamed, beyond doubt and let's congratulate the terrorists for this moment, but our response should be fit enough to make all their clan tremble in their beds. Not long ago the USA was similarly shamed, but their resolve to keep the pursuit against all involved has freed them from any further such direct humiliation, though the power that handled the situation has fallen today. The Americans should understand at least now how much Bush has done well for them for it is his move to take the battle to foreign land which has spared his and their homeland.

Any hard response is expensive and time consuming , but their is no alternative. Even now Israel faces attacks but they retaliate with more than equal measure and that is why they still exist as a nation. It is why their citizens still live and people there have rightly understood that there is no alternative. The Indians are also in similar situation.

A neighboring Srilanka is also another fitting example, though Vaiko will beg to differ. But in Srilanka unlike Israel, they are targeting a community itself and that deserves condemnation. So we unlike Srilanka but like Israel should separate the extremists from all communities and deal with them without any regard for humanitarian consideration. It will be expensive and time consuming but we now have no other alternative.

The timing of this attack is puzzling. On a week day when a foreign minister from Pakistan is on state visit, boats from his country come to attack our financial heart. It is also on the eve of an important election in a BJP ruled state and most probably the consequences will suit them. I am sure when the ATF boss went inside he must have hoped to meet the friends of his malegaon suspects, but fate downed him in hands of some Deccan group. It looks more and more clear that the terror groups and neighboring ISI wants a third front to emerge in the elections, for this series of attack in both BJP ruled states, Delhi and now Mumbai suggest that. Politicians like Pawar, Yadavs and Paswans need to be checked. Both Congress and BJP should realize this and either restraint this third force or deal with them.

This is a price the nation has paid for trusting a patil way and either he changes his way or leave the rest of our life safer from any more patilization, by opting to retire and maintain his attire at his home.

Loyola polls- questions

The media science Department of Loyola College headed by the bearded [intellectual look?] professor S Rajanayagam has come out with some interesting results recently about Tele viewer ship in Tamilnadu. The findings, conducted during September and October this year across Tamil Nadu, were collected from 3,025 respondents above 18 years old.

According to the results, 

1. Sun TV continues to be on top with a viewer ship of 51.8 per cent

2. A distant second was Kalaignar TV (8.6 per cent)

3. KTV, from Sun network, is third with a viewer base of 7.5 per cent 

4. Vijay TV is fourth with 6.4 per cent 

5. Doordharshan's Pothigai TV was fifth with 5.7 percent

6. Sun Music, from Sun network was sixth with 4.3 percent

7. Jaya TV was seventh with 4.2 percent

8. Sun News, from sun network has 2.6 percent viewer ship and is eighth.

9. Makkal TV has 1.1 percent viewer ship and is ninth.

10. Raj TV with 0.9 percent is the tenth. 

So as per, Sun Network has 66.2 % viewer ship. If the above is true, then companies should stop advertising in almost non-existent Raj network etc. But there are some questions. First the sample size seems very small and that too divided in party wise fragments seems unwise. The poll says that about 62.2 per cent of viewers, cutting across party affiliations (except PMK), watched Sun TV. The channel also led the table among viewers in providing entertainment programs, launching new programs and in giving intellectual programs among others. It also says that In giving priority to Tamil language, Makkal TV, promoted by PMK leader Dr Ramadoss, stood first among 32.1 per cent viewers, while Sun TV was at second spot with a viewer base of 26.9 per cent. 

So it seems that there was an obvious intent to find out which party loyalist watches what? And knowing the 'feared' party worker of the state, the result looks obvious. Most of the PMk men i know watch HBO and AXN and if you ask them in front of camera obviously the ramadasas will say Makkal. So will be the case of the murasoli subscribers, only their answer would have been kalaignar instead. 

Loyola always has the knack of producing results, which seem to be true. This media dept survey is also one such. They very cleverly establish themselves as being some kind of an authentic pollsters and in time of elections use their, this image to come out with an poll revealing DMK is winning. It is one more of our predictions, [and most have come true] that on the eve of the Loksabha polls, Loyola, Kumudam reporter and Junior Viketan will come out with similar results predicting landslide for DMK led coalation. Recently Kalaignar in his Murasoli chided Kumudam reporter, for a survey that means Kumudam reporter is also attaining the reputed pollster image. All this is well planned and surely you will watch this happen. 

The motive of this survey is to tell you and me, who is the second and not who is the first. If serials are number one and Sun TV is the most watched how come Kalaignar Tv has viewer ship? Surely one program Manada cannot get it 8.6 %. And what question was asked- which channel you like? Or was any attempt made to find out what programs they see and then an average worked out? 

Two serials of Jaya TV - veetuku veedu looti and Alaypaethe definitely has decent viewer ship. Makkal arangam, Nerukku ner and Hasini pesum padam also have good viewer ship. Jaya TV’s Little masters,Raagamailka, sokuthe manam and above all ennodu pattu padungal are the best music based programs in Tamil. Their game shows like Jackpot and savaal albeit not like before have decent viewer ship. Devotional programs have been Jaya's strength but off late it has competition from Sun and Vijay.  And almost all cable carries Jaya TV, including DD DTH. So it being at seventh is laughable and with probable malicious intent. 

Kalaignar Tv has maanada as its number one program for long now. It's magic program and odi vilayadu pappa also have decent viewer ship. Regarding serials of course Kalaignar is pitted first against Sun. I am sure very few will watch thekkathi ponnu when kalasam is in air, same with thangamana purusan against the formidable kolangal. Also is seethai any match for the Arasi?  Similarly even in spite of lovable Anu as Rekha IPS , she is no match to kasturi. Again even manjal cannot take away the sun's anantham.  So if at all Kalaignar scores in serials, it must be in the morning slots and there too the sun loyalists will cry only with the sun even when it is noon and sweating. So Kalaignar Tv being number Two is simply not possible because it has only serials with no game shows worth the mention and other programs ellame siruppu than. 

Vijay TV may be in the second. Its tamil pechu engal moochu is surely the best Tamil program ever in Tamil tv history. It's serials like kana kanum and madurai have more than decent viewership. Jodi number one, kalakka povathu aru, coffee with anu are never missed. The conservatives do not skip bakthi. Even kakka kakka and saibaba has good viewership especially after kakka is screened twice a day. Neeya nanna is the best talk show in tamil now. Ippadikku rose is seen for its ingenuity. Lollu sabha is one of their popular programs. And which magic show is better than mayalogam? 

Channels like Mega TV surely has more viewer ship than some in these top ten. Kalaignar music i am sure has more viewer ship than sun music. 

Makkal Tv surely has an audience and i am sure it's percentage is more than 1.1. Pothigai has some good programs and in case of no cable connection also it is visible, so may be due to frequent power cuts when the cable is also off, more are tuning it with UPS. But still fifth? 

Though it is feasible no proper surveys are done to really judge viewer ship of TV in India. Even TAM has limited scope and this is really appalling. 

With intent or without, this results are far from truth. 

Why is chinmayi absent?

See Chin Up Chinmayi dated 7/6/2009


There is some thing very inspiring and cool about the program Airtel super singer 2008, in Vijay TV. Just like the earlier versions, be it for Juniors or seniors or this one, the show has all grandeur , talent and excellent presentation. 

This year the talent is very high. Almost all singers are very good and that is very inspiring. The judges also , who ever it be , have been very cordial and professional. The hostess chinmayi , a very good and accomplished singer herself has anchored all the shows of Airtel super singer with such ease and perfection so far, that at times we felt it is her who is the fulcrum of the show. But for the present kuthu round she is not the anchor- it is the son and daughter in law of Malaysia vasudevan who are at center. 

What is so good about Chinmayi is she knows the subject very well herself and is very present in the show. She treats everyone alike, jokes, comments, retorts, encourages and is also very impartial in her dealings. She is loud at times and subtle at times, very quick and very professional. The present host and hostess yugendran and malini are not bad at all and also are very popular in anchoring. But something is amiss. There is something more natural in chinmayi's ways comparatively. 

So is this a temporary arrangement or is chinmayi out for now is not answered by either side openly. However chinmayi's web page has some clues. It seems there was some controversy brewing over one of the participants - Raagini, who was awesome yesterday with her kuthu pattu. It seems many suspected she was Chinmayi's student [ or was it her mother's- she was her mother's student long time back and is so not an issue now] and that is why she was receiving special attention- not being evicted out in spite of being in danger thrice. Chinmayi had refuted these as petty in her blog and if she is absent immediately after her this post then it surely raises eyebrows.  May be it is not because of this but then she would have written about that also in her blog, is it not? . When some one had written a comment in her blog feeling sorry for her absense, her reply is 'no one is indispensible'. In yet another entertainment site, some one claims he had a video which he will post in you tube which shows chinmayi having a cat fight with judge sreenivas and so she was removed by security and that's why she is eliminated. He also claims that it will be shown by Vijay TV in coming weeks.  However Chinmayi refutes it in her blog saying- " some are news makers and some make up 'news' ". 

There has been a mixed welcome to Yugendran and Maalani. some say they are too attention seeking and also feel Maalini's pronunciation is not up to mark. There are also a few who say Chinmayi had a bloated ego and hence her exit suits them. All these are comments in various blogs. Whatever it is looks like Vijay TV has successfuly enacted a Simbu part 2 and hope it gives them similar result. 

Raagini, looks good and was good in the kuthu round. Participants like Ravi, Prasant, Renu etc are the most popular among the thirteen who are now left eyeing for the prestigious title. Ranjini, Ajith, devashri, Vijay, rohit, deepshikha, Raaagini, Ravi and  Prashant have given their kuthu performances. Four more will render their performance today and then one is to be eliminated. 

Well, What ever happens is for the good, surely for a talent like Chinmayi. 

Indian Thai menu?

The Indian News media surely needs to have faith in the country's defence and other systems and should always relay news only after seeing it in the Indian Interest. A few weeks back a stolt vessel was kidnapped and Mrs Goyal was seen in a popular channel saying she is not proud to be an indian. Now that all is over in her family's favour, she is yet to proclaim whether she still retains her earlier stance. 

Yesterday night there was a breaking news that a Thai Trawler was bombed mistaking it to be a mother ship of pirates and that was relayed because the Thai owner claimed so. Immediatly the media interviewed the Thai  manager of the vessel and gave prominence to his version. Till today morning no channel worth the name came out with very obvious questions about his claim. How come he kept quiet for so long. Is it common that a crew is out of contact for more than a week especially if hijacked? And did he inform Thai authorities before? Is it not true that Insurance scams exist in the seas? Is it a ploy for Insurance to make it seem an accidental fire damage instead of Hijack which is not under cover? Ships generally carry three separate types of insurance. Marine — or hull — insurance covers physical risks, like grounding or damage from heavy seas. War risk insurance covers acts of terrorism, and, increasingly, piracy. A third type of policy, protection and indemnity, covers issues with the crew. May be the vessel under focus now did not have necessary cover against hijack? Why will the pirates risk their life if they had hostages in the vessel at the time of attack? They could have used them for negotiation. How come so much ammunation in the vessel which was carrying fish? Did the Pirates offload the crew in some safe haven and then used it for attack ing the INS ? if so what about the Thai version? How come the vessel Ekawat Nava 5  which was the supposed vessel not in the list of fishing fleet in the company's web site? it seems that Last week, the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme reported that a Thai fishing vessel with 16 crew members had been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.? is it true? It is also rumored that the crew was illegal and that is why no ransom was possible and so the pirates offloaded them and used the vessel for attack? Do the INS have any record of their conversation with the pirates? It has been reported that it was hijacked on November 18th. And the INS sank the vessel on November 19th. The vessel was in close proximity to shores when hijacked, so there is every possibility that the crew were not present atleast not all when dealing with INS. ? There was series of onboard blasts – possibly due to exploding ammunition – that  destroyed the vessel, who put it the Thai or the Somali? Is it possible that the Thai vessel is still somewhere there safe and this one is something else?  Is it true that the company Sirichai fisheries are also Insurance agents for iLoyd?  Fox news claimed there may not have been any pirates in the ship at all- how ridiculous a claim? if so how come this vessel was reported hijacked a day before and how come ammunation in it as is evident from the pattern of fire after hit? Is it not true that precedence exists to treat a vessel with armed attackers whether with flag or not to be treated as hostile and dealt with accordingly? Is it true that the said company was earlier fined for illegal fishing and such activities? 

Why does the media jump the gun even if it means hurting Indian Interests? Off Late it has become a habit to undermine our defence systems. 

See the following which clearly says that the Vessel was hijacked on November 18th. 

SOMALIA PIRACY UPDATE 18 November 2008  as at 181741Z NOV 2008  UNCLAS      Following a short lull in piracy incidents, possibly due to adverse weather conditions, there has been a very recent surge of incidents.  FV EKAWATNAVA 5 was hijacked on 18 November, and in relatively close proximity MV DELIGHT, a 25,768 GRT Bulk carrier was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on 18 November. MV CHEMSTAR VENUS, a Panamese flagged Chemical tanker (11,951GRT) was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on 15 November. MV TS COLOMBO, a 15,095 GRT container vessel, was attacked off the East coast of Somalia on  14 November. MV SIRIUS STAR was hijacked on 14 November off the East coast of Somalia. This crude oil carrier was one of the largest vessels to date to be taken at 162,252 GRT. MV GOLDEN AMBROSIA, a chemical tanker, was approach on 14 November in the Gulf of Aden. MV SHIMANAMI SUNSHINE was approached in the Gulf of Aden on  13 November, as was MV TAI BAI HAI,a 34,882 GRT bulk carrier, which suffered multiple attacks/approaches on 12-13 November in the Gulf of Aden. The total number of commercial vessels (including one tug) hijacked in Somali waters now stands at 14; over 200 merchant seamen are held by pirates. The use of mother-ships seems to be on the rise, and potentially, vessels are hijacked with the sole intention of using them as such.

Also see this quote from Newsweek dated March 2008.

NEWSWEEK has interviewed four past crewmen on Sirichai vessels and seen written complaints to a Cambodian labor-rights group from three others. All claim to have endured treatment that fits the ILO's definition of forced labor. They say their passports were confiscated, and they were forced aboard fishing boats, sent to sea and expected to work brutal hours for more than two years. 

Shame  Shame for Times now, NDTV and CNN-IBN. 

Aarushi and Sadhavi

The flip flops have started much before anticpated. we all thought this Malegaon episode had life till the semi final elections were over, but it looks the hyper active UPA think tank has to come out with some thing better to eclipse this Malegaon investigation mess. In fact Malegaon local administration may in some distant future erect a statue of the Lt. Col and the Sadhavi for making it's name so popular all over the world. 

Just a few months back the media was freaking out on a poor teenager girl's gruesome murder along with her house servant and till today no one is pinned for this twin murder. A proud local Police chief had in full view of media proclaimed that her father was the murderer and he went on to narrate a 'story', worth filming, as the reason for the murder. They made it seem like some honor killing. But over exposure in media soon diluted the case as many loopholes in the investigation was bought to limelight by the very same media, which initially was accomplice in dishonouring Aarushi's parents. Soon the case went to CBI who for their part arrested a few more suspects. They also claimed some confessions and also told the hungry media that they were in the verge of solving the case. But again since most evidence of the case was already destroyed today the murderer who ever he is , is roaming free in the national capital. 

The Malegaon case is also proceeding in a very similar fashion. We had in this blog predicted a day before the blasts that such an episode was in the waiting which will enable an incompetent government to cover up it's anti terror failure. The Sadhavi was arrested with much publicity and as usual all media freaked out on her and her photographs with Hindu brigade.  News about Malegaon Investigation was coming out by the hour and it looked like some mega serial full of suspense, thrill and action. For the past two months Malegaon has occupied all headlines, most front pages and editorials of all media in the country. After the Sadhavi a shocking arrest of an army man that too a Lt. Col froze our minds and we all started believing the ATS version. 

But the subsequent arrest of a high profile sadhu and the subsequent revelations has caused lots of doubt on the investigation and the intentions of the Government is getting clearer by the day. 

The Sadhavi from Madya pradesh selecting Malegaon in Maharastra itself was doubted by us and then she using her own motorcycle for the blast was discussed here as a very difficult to digest and a foolish idea. Now she has come out with facts that this bike had changed hands long before the blast. Conducting multiple narco tests unlike ever before on her is also discussed negatively in the media. It has been established already that Sunil Joshi to whom Sadhvi Pragya have sold her bike have been killed by SIMI in Devas last year.Is it a quite remote chance that SIMI have have used his bike for these Malegaon blasts? The ATS came out with weirdo versions that 60 Kg's of RDX is missing from the Army for long and that they were used in India- Pak Train blast etc. This Train blast case has already pinned SIMI for the blast with evidence and confessions. Also no usage of RDX in the blast has been proved beyond doubt. Sensing their mistake, now they claim they never said that and it is all based on a remark by a colleague of the Lt. Col and that may be the RDX was used for other blasts in the country. The ATS claim that Purohit sourced RDX from the Army's stock has been debunked by the Army. Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit was a Major when he was posted in Kashmir as a Military Intelligence officer and that is too low a position to manipulate such huge quantities of explosives. Also, seizures, in any case are effected by infantry and never by intelligence personnel. Purohit was never imparted, nor did he acquire any expertise in bomb making in the Army. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Lt Col Purohit could have sourced RDX from Army stores.  

So far three high profile arrests are made. One is a women from Madya pradesh and two are connected to Jammu and Kashmir. Does it ring a bell? These two states are under election process now along with a near by Chattisgarh  and Rajasthan. All these states have a significant saffron presence and this Investigations may be tailored for a polarisation benefitting the investigating political side. Both the Sadhavi and the Sadhu were actively involved in the Amarnath agitation and that is why the timing of the arrest and the subsequent revelations smell of a cheap and dangerous election eve stunt show.   

Does any one know what is happening in the other high profile cases like Jamia milia blast, Assam blast etc? Why so much focus on this case and that too so badly mis managed ? Why is the media deffering from asking the right questions, instead of being an active accomplise in this exercize of the Government to mar the image of our Army, and to divide Terrorism as green and Orange? 

Amar singh has announced he will spend 1 million rupees fr the Delhi blast accused. This investigation seems to suit him well. Laloo  claims that BJP is behind all the blasts and Advani is a Terrorist. This Investigations suits his campaign for his state. Digvijay claimed even Assam was by this group, suiting his tempo for his election state- Madya Pradesh. A photo of the Sadhavi with the present CM is in many posters of this state. But the Arrest of the sadhu is surely going to put congress on the defensive soon. NC and PDP are demanding investigation of the link between the sadhu and the ex governor of J& K. May be they may make him a scape goat to reap seats in the valley. 

Thank God there are questions and strong refuttals coming now. Otherwise the ATS may have claimed that even the Parliament attack was planned by The Lt. Col and if that was also digested, then they may have gone further to pin him for Rajiv gandhi's murder too,thus freeing LTTE from the ban.  

This is a dangerous game being played all for votes. Hope the architects of the game know the end game too. And hope the end of this game is soon for further delay and focus on this, is only going divide us further and it does not augur well for the country. 

The UPA government is not a totally incompetent goverment. The Chandrayaan success and the better management of the Finance of this country in a turmoil age should be more on focus diluting the divisive campaign, which I think may bring more positive votes for the UPA and for the country. 


This approach of UPA may win them the election but what about the country? 

Hope better sense prevails and soon. 

see Is narco test legal? 

Also see Is Malegaon blast probe lacking evidence?

Also see The war on Hindu Nation

Also see Too many Loose ends? 

Also see SLEAZY PLEASURE OF BAITING HINDUISM

Illegal Lawyers

The thought that these people who were shown in national and regional TV beating a person to almost death, will in not distant future be defending me and you in Indian courts, is very dreadful. What is the 'class' of our future lawyers or was it how the present breed also grew?. These illegal lawyers knew very well that they were in media focus and also knew police were just yards away but still they went on thrashing that poor boy, probably knowing fully well that they will escape this act.  How could they be so confident if not for some high level and solid political backing?. The police were there in full force. The media was also present with all modern equipment. The students carrying arms was also video graphed. So everyone knew it was going to happen and it looks like some one in power wanted all this to be telecast. The students also drove the victim to near the gates as if not to miss the full view of the media and then  started their planned mission. If the Police were under some standing instruction that they should not enter the premises of the college as is widely assumed, then why in the first place were they stationed?  And as if these incident did not get the desired effect, early morning next day, a bus was burnt and then the desired polarization was in effect. More colleges joined strike, exams canceled and full Opposition and their channels had a freak out day.

On November 13th, it was well known that Srilankan president Rajapakshe was to meet our PM and also electrinocity minister Arcot veeraswamy was to speak in the assembly about the power crisis. Both are sensitive issues for which the government of the day had no clear cut answers. So in a day before, when these two news should have been in lime light, law students took law in their hands and coolly eclipsed the 'real' news by capturing their unholy act in reel. Was it so preplanned to achieve this objective?

It is just a week after a great poem was written by our cm about caste violence, was it a prelude to this incident and is it one more reason why we are not supposed to worry about real issues like inflation and power cut. The Opposition fell in to this trap laid very well by the ruling clan and immediately helped them in diverting the real issue. Probably knowing well in advance as to how opposition will react, Minister Durai Murugan was shown reading from a prepared text in which he asks why should the present CM resign when earlier similar or even more worrisome incidents have occurred in previous rule.  Is it not common sense that this CM cannot be made to resign as long as congress is with him. Come what may there is no point asking him to resign for that will only help DMK to advertise misdeeds of previous rule which they will use as tool to eclipse their own.  So it is in fact highly irresponsible on the part of the opposition to raise this issue and try to play politics on each and every issue. The present speaker of the assembly may soon find his name in some record books for the maximum number of enmasse evictions he has done.

An enquiry commision will take its own sweet time to come out with some excuses and soon this illegal law affair will be forgotten and probably eclipsed by some other incident. The CM will very soon site examples as to how the Tamilnadu police was watching violence only for ten minutes while police from other states have watched for longer time , with examples. He will write one more poem and the Tamil soul will be healed. The suspended Police will be back and so will the principal and probably all of them will be compensated in kind for suffering unpopularity for no real mistake of them. Some two or three fools like me will write a few words here and there as if we are holier than they and some more will find time to write comments. And then as usual sun will rise and set, only to rise again.

The sun never gets affected by what happens in the earth, but everyone in this part of the world is now affected by the 'sun' and the 'son'. But who cares, as long as mannada and Kolangal are there for the evening to forget all the woes.

[ It will be an unholy act to add photo's with this article]

Sun's Diwali, clear winner

In spite of more and more competition, Sun TV seems to know how to retain eyeball count. According to TAM rating, Sun TV has 29% of Top 100 programs all India during the Diwali week.

Seven Tamil Movies have made it to the Top hundred. Out of which Chandramukhi on Diwali evening is the clear winner with TRP of 20.82. Vettaiyadu vilaydu came second with TRP of 11.29. This was also in Sun Tv in the afternoon slot[ 11.00 am]. Arjun's Maruthamalai in Kalaignar Tv came third with 7.76 TRP. [ same afternoon slot]. It looks this Diwali was not very good for Ajith. While his release Aegan is not doing well in the Theatres, his film Billa also lost to Chandramukhi in thr Tele TRP war. Billa got just 4. 28 against 20.82 of Chandramukhi

In the previous month also Ghilli featured in the Top ten of All india rankings[3]. Sun TVs Kolangal is 6Th all India in the week ending 1st November.  29 programs of Sun TV like kolangal, arasi, anandham, etc etc feature in the sun's honor list- a total of 29 among 100 of India.  Ajith's dheena came 25th all india when it was telecast on 19th October in Sun TV. Pictures like Men in black[27], Kovil[38], Kuthu[48] did better than Vettaiyadu veliyadu[49] in All india ranking. 

No More Political Channels

South India especially Tamilnadu has nearly a dozen channels which are  mouth pieces of various Political parties.  Jaya TV is for AIADMK, Kalignar TV for DMK, Makkal TV for PMK, Tamilan TV for VCK, Mega and Vasant for Congress etc. Captain TV for DMDK is in anvil. Similarly in Malayalam Kairali is Communist mouthpiece and Jai Hind TV is for congress. Kasturi is a TV for the Gowda's JD(u), TDP has a radio channel. A State congress leader has shares in TV-9 channel., the list goes on.


The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today ruled out the entry of political parties into broadcasting, and also said religious bodies may not be permitted to own their own broadcasting stations and teleports. Similarly, state governments, urban and rural local bodies etc should not be allowed entry into broadcasting, noting that their interests can be adequately met by Prasar Bharati by imposing certain public service broadcasting obligations on private broadcasters. Trai has also recommended that the state governments and their organs should stay away from distribution activities. Arasu cable network is the only government run network in whole of India. 


Political control of some broadcasting outfits, particularly in South India, is well known, but these are mostly not directly owned or run by individual parties. How TRAI plans to deal with these frontals is not clear. 


TRAI has recommended that certain public service broadcasting obligations be imposed on the broadcasters in the country.To begin with, every private broadcaster may be mandated to carry such approved programmes at least for a total duration of 30 minutes in a week.

Denial of entry to religious bodies would be in conformity with the secular fabric of the Constitution.However, such disqualification should not be construed to mean that religious contents in the broadcasting channels is to be disallowed. Such religious content should be in conformity with the appropriate content code or programme code as prescribed from time to time by the government. In case permission has earlier been granted to such a religious body for a television channel, then the recommendations provide for an appropriate exit route within a time limit of 3-4 years to such religious bodies.

Suitable provisions for exit route within three to four years have been provided wherever state governments and their organs have entered such distribution activity.

Meanwhile Arasu cable network's petition against Channel plus, the distributors of Sun network is coming  for hearing in  Tdsat  on November 14th. 

This TRAI's Recommendations is surely bad news for the Government of Tamilnadu and also for the parties in the state.