Spin cousins

Malini Parthasarathy is a super " secular" cousin of the Liar-in-Chief. In what is perhaps a clear indication that the spin machine at Kasthuri building will be working overtime till atleast Lok Sabha 2009, she has come on special deputation ,I guess, to pen down a piece after a long hiatus ....And it made interesting (?) reading.

There were many illogical inferences and ignorant observations and I had a tough time picking the one that took the cake. I finally settled for this:

The powerful allure of the symbolism of the combined leadership of Sonia Gandhi, representing the party’s traditional commitment to the poor and the deprived, and Manmohan Singh, the iconic reformer taking India on a higher trajectory of economic growth, thus fulfilling the dreams of many a middle-class Indian, ensured the Congress a triumphant return to the centre of the political arena.From that moment, as the leading party of the governing coalition, the United Progressive Alliance, the Congress has had an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild the centre of the Indian political field, making the revitalisation of Indian democracy its main focus

powerful leadership.... Manmohan Singh.... commitment to the poor....allure of the symbolism ...triumphant return ...unprecedented opportunity ... revitalisation of Indian democracy ....Boy-o-Boy.... that is a mouthful from Malini... Even if we overlook the Congress' "alleged" pro- poor image (looks like lip service and a mere mention of aam admi in the manifesto is a clinching qualification for any party , barring the BJP of course, to earn the pro-poor tag from Marxist rags) , the lie about "leadership" is too glaring to be missed.The Congress never projected a leader when it fought LS2004. Everyone was expecting Madam Maino to warm the PM's chair in the event of the Congress mananging 272 by hook or crook. The eventual Puppet Minister Manmohan was no where in the picture. He was not even contesting a seat -let alone being projected as a leader who could "fulfill the dreams of many a middle-class Indian". But Malini gives it a secular spin and lavishes praise on Madam Maino and Manmohan for projecting a leadership that it powerful, alluring and what not ; thereby paving the way for the Congress' "triumphant return to the centre ". The Congress "win" is one of the worst myths that the Marxist rags are stuffing down the readers' throat for the past 4 years. It is not a "win" in the first place. Ram gave this issue a similar spin late last year and we exposed him . Now his cousin is reiterating the same lie which even many in the Congress would find it hard to peddle . This is yet another shamelss demonstration of the age old communist cheap trick of making a lie sound true through repeated assertion.

Neena thinks for her readers

He said the message sent out was that the Modi government had remained steadfast to the party ideology (Hindutva, although the word was not mentioned) and shown
its commitment to development.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/28/stories/2008012857450100.htm

Though Hindutva was not mentioned, Neena wants everyone to believe that Rajnath was indeed referring to it. When reports on CPM's Nandigram pogrom are littered with "alleged", why is there no "alleged" reference here? How come Neena is cock-sure that Rajnath was referring to Hindutva?

Why doesn't Ms Vyas just present news and stop thinking for her readers? People who read Chindu know very well what the ideology of the BJP is and they also know where the loyalties of Ms Vyas and her boss are. The "allegedly" intelligent Neena must shut up and stop presenting views as news.

Padma Awards

Harish Khare must indeed be disappointed that he lost out to other luminary secularists like Bharka Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai. The Congress treats the state awards - for that matter anything to do with the Indian state- as its own property or the property of the Mainos . So you have Pranab Mukharjee being awarded the Padma Vibushan. He may have deserved the award. But, giving it at a time when his party is in power- and when he is the No 2 in the cabinet- smacks of nepotism. This isn't surprising as the Congress has a history of rewarding its loyalists with high constitutional posts . The PM, governors like SC Jamir,SM Krishna and President Patil are living examples of this cheap practice.It is indeed fitting that one Congress sycophant will receive the award from another.

The day is not far when Madam Maino will be "awarded" the Bharat Ratna for her "selfless service to the aam admi". That will seal the italy ki beti debate forever. At least the Congress would like to believe so.

Pallavi's prescription

Pallavi Aiyar is back to doing what she does best. In a typical 'pallaviyish' piece on China-India Joint Medical Mission, she waxes eloquent on an Indian doctor who after obtaining his degree from India, went to China and 'served' the Chinese poor. You might wonder whether Pallavi actually acknowledged that there are poor people in China. But, if she couldn't play with words, she wouldn't have been sitting in Beijing that is so close to her boss's heart! According to her,

This was one of the poorest areas of China, isolated from the changes sweeping across other parts of the country.

Message to readers: While every other place in China is bustling with economic activity, this place alone has somehow missed out.

She then goes on to demonstrate how to treat an issue with kid gloves. Commenting on the pathetic Chinese health system, she says:

In China on the other hand, even State-owned hospitals charged relatively hefty fees from their patients regardless of their ability to pay, with the result that the majority of those in the countryside were simply unable to afford hospital treatment.

Having said this, you can see the kinder side of Pallavi

It had not always been so. For three decades after the communist revolution in 1949, China relied on a socialised health care system under which collective farms and factory communities took responsibility for the provision of health care. In the countryside, barefoot doctors, although only trained in the rudiments of medicine, provided medical services for all. It was a basic system, but functional and largely egalitarian.

Message to the readers: Don't think that my boss' bosses don't care for their people. We did have a very good system.

So what went wrong? The Chinese realized that it is foolish to cling to a failed ideology and did everything that is in the "Dont Do" list of the left lunatics. Pallavi chooses to give it a gloss and term it "reforms".

Since embarking on economic reforms in the late 1970s, however, China went about
systematically dismantling its own health care structures so that today the country has one of the most unequal public health systems in the world. In 2000, the World Health Organisation ranked China 144 out of 191 countries on the basis of fairness of access to health care and fairness of individual contributions to cost. India, with half of China’s per capita GDP, ranked ahead of the mainland at 112th place.

Hasn't Pallavi unwittingly admitted that economic progress in China was possible only after it abandoned its commie ideology? China is more capitalistic than most capitalist economies. When only capitalism - and not communism- fuelled Chinese growth, I fail to understand why Ram and his cohorts bask in the glory of such economic progress. They even exhort India to emulate China!.

In Gegongcun, Zhou Lu Hua, an impossibly wrinkled 73-year-old woman, broke into tears while being examined by Dr. S. Anuradha of Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College. “I’ve been sick for so many years,” she wept, “but I just don’t have the money to go to a hospital.” Zhou suffered from hypertension and heart disease as well as osteoarthritis. Her husband had died of cancer the year before, at home. The family could not afford to have him admitted to a hospital.

This is indeed a very very sad commentary on the state of the Chinese health care system. In fact, the failure of the state to provide proper medical attention to its people should have been the theme of the piece. When Paul Krugman can devote column after column lampooning the American helath care system, why isn't there a commentary on the equally pathetic Chinese health care system? Aren't the double standards blatant?Even this information is hidden away in the middle of an essay on a Sunday Magazine and not on the centre pages of the main issue.Does Chindu not want its readers to know the ugly under belly of China's lopsided development? Or are only Chinese success stories worth a mention? Even if these issues are brought to Ram's notice, he would be at his dismissive best saying the reporting is "fair, balanced and objective".


Despite all these, Indian doctors must emulate their Chinese counterparts. Can you teach an old (and faithful) dog new tricks? She tries hard to find positives in the Chinese health system and since we Indians are morons, we must lean to do things the Chinese way.

Several of the Indian doctors in the mission felt that policy makers in New Delhi should start thinking about insurance schemes for India’s rural majority as well. They were also impressed with the cleanliness, infrastructure and equipment to be found in even the district-level hospital in Tang County.

She fulfills her communist obligations by paying glowing tributes to one Dr.Dwarkanath Kotnis, who studied medicine in India and went to China , fought alongside the Communist guerrillas , joined the CPC and did a remarkable service treating the Chinese.

One member of this medical mission was a doctor called Dwarkanath Kotnis. Kotnis was 28 at the time and had only recently graduated from medical school. With slicked-back hair and a shy smile, the young Kotnis was a simple middle-class boy from Sholapur in Maharashtra. He would however, go on to become the single most enduring symbol of the Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai sentiment, characteristic of the 1940s and 50s; his story taught in primary schools across China for decades.

Kotnis was the only member of the medical team to never return to India. He stayed on, fighting on the Chinese side and eventually joined the Communist Party of China. In mid-1940 Kotnis was sent to work in Hebei province, arriving in Gegongcun Village in August, where he stayed treating the war-wounded for the rest of his life.

So what? Does she want other India doctors to follow suit? She terms him an "icon" - the title of her story is "In the footsteps of an iconic figure ". Aiyar is unapologetic about her communist leanings and so is the rag she writes for. This article is a celebration of Dr.Kotnis's work and is of course a Chindu exclusive. We dare not question the pathetic health care system in China.

A suitable partner for Chindu

The Courier-Mail, an Australian newspaper, has displayed "high journalistic standards" -- much like the Chindu -- during its coverage of the India-Australia Test Series. We strongly urge Chindu to tie-up with this newspaper for content syndication, to go along with its existing pact with that leftist rag, The Guardian, UK.

Tempers flare in fightback | The Courier-Mail

Tension had been generated after Bowden turned down a Pathan lbw appeal against Hayden when he was on 67 and Australia 0-119 on the final ball of the 40th over. The Queenslander appeared to be surprised by Pathan's early extraction of reverse swing. In a briefing before the Test, umpires were told to monitor both teams in the field to short-circuit any action of ball tampering. Umpires Bowden and Asad Rauf were reportedly instructed yesterday by third umpire Steve Davis to stop India throwing on the bounce to keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The bounce-throw tactic could scuff the cherry and enhance chances of reverse swing.

Listen to what Shastri has to say about 5:30 into the video.


Side with no heart can't win a civil war | The Courier-Mail

India's stunning performance in the third Test at the WACA should be dedicated to a lot more than the 11 players out on the field.

They should share their pay cheques with their bullying officials back home, the weak-kneed administrators at the International Cricket Council and certain members of the media who have taken every opportunity to put the knife into the Aussies since this series began.

India to rule the world | The Courier-Mail

MASTER Australian baiter Sourav Ganguly has warned the stunned world champions that India is gunning for their No. 1 crown. As Ganguly added extra spice by declaring India was primed to repeat its famous Perth triumph in Adelaide this week, the outspoken former captain insisted Australia was becoming a victim of generational change. The man who famously riled Steve Waugh during the epic 2001 Indian series ...

Australian cricket team's unpopularity is unfair | The Courier-Mail

The one-sided and sometimes hysterical criticism of the behaviour of the Australians has either ignored or made light of Harbhajan Singh's sledge in Sydney which was construed by Andrew Symonds and match referee Mike Proctor to be racially motivated. Much has been made by several former Australian players of how Ponting and Symonds could have defused the international incident by Ponting privately approaching Harbhajan and the Indians later. How about this one: the onus should have been on Harbhajan. Having realised what he said had caused racial offence, he could have, and should have, apologised.

While Paul Malone is vividly dreaming of Australia's rising popularity, Australian cricket is getting hurt where it matters the most

A Dravid and Goliath battle in Perth Test | The Courier-Mail

Tendulkar was another unhappy with his own dismissal but the Little Master had no choice but to walk when Rauf adjudged him lbw in what was the crucial moment of the day.

There was a slight shake of Tendulkar's head at the decision but he left the crease immediately, ensuring no questions resurfaced about playing the game in the right spirit.

Brinda pierces Dalit's eyes and pours acid into it

Notice the lack of "allegations" in Brinda's report. If Brinda said it, it must be the absolute truth.

The Hindu : National : Brinda: officials acted swiftly in Dalit torture case

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat is all praise for officials who took prompt action in the case of a sordid tale of a Dalit youth at Sategaon village in Maharashtra’s Nanded district. His eye was gouged out and acid from a car battery poured into it on January 6 for eloping with a minor girl belonging to the upper caste Marathas.

The youth, Chandrakant Gaikwad, was beaten up and wrongfully confined for about 16 hours by his tormentors.

Contrast this report to what DNA has to say.
DNA - India - Dalit youth's eyes pierced for eloping with upper caste girl - Daily News & Analysis

Singhal said, while it is true that Chandrakant has sustained injuries in both his eyes and Milind in one, the version that their eyes were pierced is not true.

Now that the girl's relatives have not done it, Ms.Karat "allegedly" did it for sensationalism.

Naxal Ram solves the border dispute with China

Naxal Ram solves the border dispute with China in <surprise, surprise> China's favour. N.Ram states the official Chinese position on the border dispute. This is what happens when you ignore Chinese occupation of Tibet. It is worthwhile to remember that the "sensitive question left over by history' did not exist before the invasion. India and China did not have a common boundary before the illegal occupation of Tibet by China.

The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Thriving against the predictions

A fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable boundary settlement can come only through give and take, by whatever name called.

Bearding the lion in its den

It is finally here!! Times of India's (ToI) long awaited Chennai launch is finally happening in April. The Times group is tight lipped about the date, but the launch is likely to be from April 14, the Tamil New year day.

ToI certainly isn't a great paper, but the move is significant in more ways than one. First, it will further erode Chindu's readership as DC did (to some extent) soon after it launched its Chennai edition. Second, with its predatory pricing, ToI might cripple Chindu financially. ToI is pricing its paper at less than a rupee a day.(Rs 170 for a 6-month subscription + a gift and Rs 299 for a year's subscription + gift. Chindu sells at Rs 3.25 on weekdays and at an exhorbitant Rs 4.5 on Sundays) Remember Chindu was forced to sell its crap for less when ToI entered Hyderabad. It is also likely to attract a lot more advertisers than did Chindu. Third, one can reasonably expect to hear an alternate voice on Tamil Nadu affairs. ToI is known to be anti-establishment and unlike Chindu is not expected to be a DMK palanquin bearer.

Most importantly, it might herald the beginning of the end of Chindu's Chennai hegemony. Chindu is never a dominant player in places where the ToI has presence. Having established a stranglehold in its pocket boroughs in the south, Chindu was happy not to take on the ToIs and the HTs. But, ToI has brought the fight straight into Chindu's den. You can expect some cosmetic makeovers, a drop in rates and a desperate attempt to look 'cool'. News on Vidya Ram's "achievements" at Columbia may have to pave way for important international news like Diana being pregnant when she died!

Given that it has already launched ,although non-commercially, its tabloid "Ergo" ,Chindu will not have problems with content. But how will its readers respond? If Chindu tries to ride two horses at the same time, there is a good chance that it might fall down crashing. On the other hand, if it chooses to remain dogmatic, the prospect of a severe erosion in readership and influence looms large.

It remains to be seen as to how chindu would respond to this aggressive move by ToI. Chindu's genuine well wishers would exhort it to return to balanced and fair journalism - something that the paper once did , but maliciously claims it is doing even today!

Chindu's Website

You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Chindu's lousy website lists these links bang beneath the breaking news scroll.


India and China: A shared vision for the 21st Century New !
Manmohan Singh's address at India-China Economic, Trade and Investment Summit New !
India and China: Documents signed on January 14, 2008. New !
India and China: Summary of MOUs signed on January 14, 2008. New !
'Model code violation': Unanimous decision of Election Commission - Full text
India and China - a Harmony of Civilizations
CPC Central Committee report full text resolution
India-US 123 Agreement: Full Text (pdf) Manmohan statement in Lok Sabha CPI (M) Polit Bureau statement CPI (M) Central Committee resolution

There is room only for Chinese, Commie and anti-Modi voice

Ram's solution to the boundary issue

As expected the Liar-in-Chief dashed off to his homeland to cover the Puppet Minister's Chinese visit. And he made all the right noises that sure must have been music to his masters' ears.


Ram on the Boundary issue:

a boundary settlement can come only through give and take, by whatever name called.

What "give" and "take" is he talking about with a country that says Arunachal Pradesh is its territory? Give Arunachal and take what? Already a part of J&K has been "taken" and does ram want India to "give" more?

China has been , is making and will make moves that are sure to cause discomfort in Delhi. Against this backdrop, a sensible approach will be to deal with China cautiously and not embrace it with open arms.

Giving’ large areas of territory held, or agreeing to significant transfers of population across the line of actual control (LAC), will not be politically feasible in either country.

Now, can there be political opposition in China? Is there a democratic set up in that country? What political opposition is ram talking about?

China is a country that is ruthless in crushing any anti-establishment voice. Be it forced sterilization or crushing dissidence or muzzling the press, it has zero tolerance towards differing voices. It has even made Internet giants like Google and yahoo toe its line on e-censorship.Ram is again misleading his readers into believing that there is a political system in that country and that the government is constrained by fears of political backlash.

A more immediate practical task is to find ways to better manage the LAC so that incursions’ by the armed forces of either side across what the other side sees as the precise LAC are minimised and, if possible, ruled out.

He is not even willing to acknowledge "Chinese incursions". His Columbia degree has taught him to beat around the bush and call it "what the other side sees as the precise LAC ". Even Xinhua can't match Chindu.

Nuclear issue:

Ram , and of course the left lunatics ,will have no problems if India signs a N-deal with China. The commie way of "independent" foreign policy has always been devising policies that are pro-China, pro-Iran and anti-US. Won't the same reasons that the commies cite to oppose the US deal be applicable to China? How is a deal with China alone in the " strategic" interests of India? Given China's proximity to Pakistan, even the most stringent of fall back safeguards is unlikely to deter China from pulling the plugs from the Indian reactors. After all China is a country that despite being a NPT signatory, has been involved in rampant n-proliferation. How can India expect China to keep its words on whatever it promises?

Ram might feel the need to suck up to China, but expecting the Indian state to follow suit is nothing but an atempt to send the Indian foreign policy on a suicide mission.

Modi is a secessionist : Khare

Khare is pushing the limits of reasoning here. Is he suggesting that Chief Ministers of States should work for the Center? May be, because there is CONgress at the center.
He has found evidence against Modi, Mayawati and Nitish Kumar -- all non-Congress chief ministers.

Selective evidence and selective interpretation is the essence of Khare-ism.

Wonder what he has to say about Raul Maino's fight for Bundelkhand.

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The idea of India is under assault statecraft

Narendra Modi seems to have won a famous victory, touting among other slogans and sentiments something called “Gujarat asmita.” The bottom line of that victory is the success he has had in rancorously pitting “Gujarati pride” against the rest of India. Rather than regret that a dichotomy can be invented between Gujarati pride and the pan-Indian sentiments, that victory has been particularly savoured by those who have reason to disapprove of the Congress. That is the Congress’ problem and challenge. But the trouble is that Mr. Modi belongs to a party that once spoke the language of “akhand bharat” and which still takes pride in positioning itself as the only viable and robust custodian of Indian national interests. Yet the Bharatiya Janata Party’s entire national leadership found it expedient to indulge Mr. Modi in his parochial assertiveness. A separatist incision into the notion of togetherness has been celebrated as a wholesome development.

Similarities between Chindu and Cheater

List of similarities between Chindu and Ricky "Cheater" Ponting:

1. Both lie through their teeth.
2. Both are hypocrites
3. If communists are winning, it is good for the world; if the opposition is winning, Chindu calls it communalism. If Australia is winning, it is good for cricket; if the opposition is winning, Cheater Ponting calls them "racists".
4. Both display a holier-than-thou attitude.
5. Chindu claims BJP is bad for India because Gujarat 02 riots happened only under BJP; Cheater Ponting claims India is bad for cricket because the only complaint filed in the Sydney test was against an Indian.
6. Chindu claims communism represents the spirit of India; Cheater Ponting claims Australia represents the spirit of cricket.
7. While the communists were conducting the pogrom in Nandigram, Chindu asked us to ignore it and look at Mamta. When Australia played with 15 players to win the Sydney test, Cheater Ponting said look at the umpiring as human error.
8. If you opposed Chindu, you dont deserve to be on the planet; same if you opposed Cheater Ponting.
9.
10.

Pra-fool Badwa caught with his pants down

Bidwai's original article appeared in Frontline and socal critiques it well.

Ideas have consequences: Why are you lying Mr.Bidwai?

If there were any 'Hall of Shame' dedicated to Indian media, Comrade Bidwai would be its star attraction. He has displayed an admirable consistency in getting things wrong. It is only recently that his dominance is under threat by Yogendras-come-lately, who are being just as consistent in the failure dept., if not more.

Mr.Bidwai came up with this piece, hollering excitedly, "BJP on a downswing in Gujarat," on Dec.14, 2007 i.e., barely 9 days before the official results were declared. Read it for yourself and laugh out loud, for it is futile to excerpt that one and deprive you of precious humor.

Now, undaunted by the results, Comrade Bidwai is at it again. One would think that the severe rebuke served by Gujarat's electorate will moderate our comrade, but no such luck. There's no stopping him. He comes up with an equally ridiculous piece, titled Why Gujarat , heaping abuse on Gujaratis; panning, what just a week ago, was his favorite party, Congress(Italy); and, finally, torching the reputation of Gujarat state itself.
....

Jyoti Basu doesn't want Bharat Ratna

The CPM on Saturday put cold water on suggestions for Bharat Ratna to veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu, saying the party does not accept state awards. "It is not a practice of our leaders to accept state awards,"

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CPM_not_to_seek_Bharat_Ratna_for_Jyoti_Basu/articleshow/2695112.cms

Why would the CPM accept an award from India? The comrades must have given clear instructions to the Puppet Minister to lobby hard with the Chinese for a "Chinese Ratna"during his China visit. They have done a yeoman service to china by scuttling the N deal and they deserve the honour.

blog direction

let me start off by wishing you all a happy new year. for some among us like me, it is a non-event. but it can also be a good time to take stock.

i and andromed have been discussing the direction we need to take. there are two alternatives before us.
one is to continue our focus on chindu and occasionally add some offtopic entertaining stuff.
the other is to expand to include other newspapers by presenting the blogging community's reactions to media bias. this is obviously more time-consuming and will also depend on the response we get from the bloggers and community.

what do you guys think? drop a comment or an email
-SP

Move beyond politics of memory : Chindu on 84 riots

Chindu blames Nanavati for trying to seek the truth instead of firmly putting behind the "politics of memory". By contrast, it blames all Gujaratis for looking beyond 2002.

From its 9th Aug 2005 edition:


The Hindu : Front Page : Credible evidence against Tytler: Nanavati

The Nanavati Commission, which probed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has found "credible evidence" against senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Politics of forgetting and forgiving

Above all, a society ought to move beyond the politics of memory. Justice Nanavati has failed civil society. Rather than firmly close the book, he has given enough ammunition to those who want to keep the pot boiling.

05th Jan 2008 on Gujarat forgetting 02 riots and voting for Modi:

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Gujarat elections: some reflections

What should worry us, then, is not whether Mr. Modi is a demon, but the change in the Gujarati psyche. What has happened to Gujarat? Is it still redeemable?

Thankfully, some sane voices found their way to the "Letters" section. And Mr.Iyer's question should be reworded: "What has happened to India? Is it still redeemable?" I don't think Chindu is listening anyway.

The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Gujarat elections

The article argues that while Gujarat 2002 and Delhi 1984 were both deeply horrifying and profoundly disturbing, they cannot be compared. The victims of the 1984 riots have not been rehabilitated even after 23 years and the perpetrators have got away. If the Congress and the Delhi populace could move ahead and put the riots behind them, why doubt the Gujaratis’ ability to do the same? It is not proper to question the Gujarati psyche on the basis of the electoral results. I would like to remind the author that there were riots in Gujarat even before 2002, during the Congress regime. The 1969 riots were worse.
- P. Venaktasubramanian, Chennai

Concerns such as those expressed in the article have existed over Gujarat and other places — Delhi, Meerut, Moradabad, Bhiwandi — at different times throughout the six decades following independence. To fault the Gujarati psyche for the recent election result risks alienation of the community. What the Gujarat electorate seems to have done is to put 2002 where it deserves to be — five years backwards — and look to the future. The reasons the Congress lost were it could not think beyond 2002 and conceive a vision better than Mr. Modi’s. Election results should be accepted gracefully and the electorate’s sentiment acknowledged.
- Devraj Sambasivan, Alappuzha

Paid content in Chindu

It is a lot easier to get "paid editorial" space in Chindu, especially if you are Left-leaning, than to get advertisement space. Chindu's paid content consists of editorially endorsing an ideology, not a product.

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : On the razor’s edge, care and caution

The Hindu will continue to maintain its high standards for accepting advertisements.

There are newspapers which have “paid content.” These editorially endorse some product, for a consideration. The Hindu doesn’t do this. The marketer must pay for the space he uses, and this is clearly demarcated.

Chindu's glamorous new avtar

For well over a month now, Chindu is doling out a tabloid from its stable called Ergo. Available free of cost and exclusively to Chennai's IT people, this tabloid is making shredders at these IT companies work over time!! Sources tell that heaps of this new "slick","peppy" tabloid lie unattended! The tabloid has blow ups of skimpily clad models and everything that the parent Chindu considers taboo.

The communist loyalty runs in its blood. Sample story:

I, me, Fidel
By ANI

Cuban leader Fidel Castro has said that he wears a beard to save time. He believes that ten working days in a year would be lost if he shaved. This and other revealing personal facts fill his upcoming autobiography, “Fidel Castro: My Life,” out by Scribner next month.

The revolutionary credits Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” for inspiring him to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, his U.S. friendly predecessor. “While I was up in the Sierra, I remembered that book a lot. Over the years, I must have read it at least three times, and I was familiar with the movie. It talks about the existence of a guerrilla force … in the rear of a conventional army. Hemingway described things in a very realistic way. Later, when we came to know that life as a guerrilla firsthand, we always came back to [that book] to find inspiration.” The New York Daily News quotes Castro, as saying.

Past tense

With a memory astonishing for an 81-year-old, Castro quotes President Bush’s exact statements in paragraphs and tracks the ups and downs of gold prices under Nixon. His childhood reminiscences give clues to his ultimate rebelliousness: “My father owned about 25,000 acres of land. My family was quite well-to-do,” says Castro.
But at the age of six, his parents sent him away to live with a very strict teacher who was so poor that Castro went hungry much of the time, and had to sew his own shoes back together whenever they fell apart. Yet there is no jealousy of his brother, Raul, who stayed with his parents, who is groomed to run Cuba when Fidel goes to the great commune in the sky. But not soon.

http://www.goergo.in/?p=31

Outlook 2008

A very (belated) happy new year to everyone.

Chindu had given us enough fodder in 2007- 490 to be precise. That is more than a post a day!
But 2008 promises to be a great year for Chindu. Here is a sneak preview of what Chindu will dish out in 2008.

The greatest event of this new year is going to be the Beijing Olympics. A bird tells me that Kasthuri building is temporarily shifting to Beijing to cover this "historic" event. You can expect a beefed up sports bureau covering the sporting events and comrade Pallavi & Co singing peans for matrubumi and telling us why the commonwealth games in Delhi will come a cropper in 2010. The Liar-in-Chief may choose to take his annual pilgrimage to coincide with the games and explain how Tibet has made rapid strides even in sports under Chinese occupation. And this will be a two part series.

Moving to the west, Ram must already be finding it hard to hide his glee over the prospect of Bush remitting office. Though US is evil, Bush is a greater evil and must be got rid off. You can expect some unabashed support for Hillary and just how Tare Zammen par was covered from Darsheel's perspective, Chindu would cover these elections from Hillary's perspective. Once a president gets elected., the editorial team will be back to US bashing.

Back home, there are elections to Rajastan, MP, Delhi and Chattisgarh. With the BJP ruling 3 of these states, our super intelligent Vidhya will tell us why the BJP will be routed in these elections. Madam Maino will take all credit and Chindu would want us to believe that Congress is strong enough to get a majority of its own in 2009. The Congress may get routed in Delhi, but the coverage will be such that no elections took place there!!

There is a state called Karnataka and there is nothing called a government at present there. You can expect Chindu to maintain a deafening silence on this issue. There will be no editorial demanding immediate elections to Karnataka. The later the elections , the better for the Congress and the JD(s). It is the BJP that will benefit if elections are held soon. When Chindu is convinced that the sympathy wave for the BJP has subsided, it will demand "immediate elections".

In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, if the DMK chief passes away, Chindu might declare a week long mourning. It will then make us believe that there can be no other person other than Stalin to fill in the void.

Throughout the year, you will get to know that the Left is gaining popularity all around the world(read Cuba and Venezuela). You will also be reminded that Modi is the worst politician ever. Even if Prakash Karat burps, it will find a mention at least in the "Briefly" column on the front page.If the ex-air hostess Brinda burps, the news will carry her picture too!
Last but not the least, you can expect a silent burial for the N deal.

All Gujaratis responsible for 02 riots, thunders Chindu

Weclome to the new kid on the block - Ramaswamy.R.Iyer

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Gujarat elections: some reflections

It is indeed possible to argue with some justification that the Commission was excessively concerned about appearing to be even-handed, and that the issue of a notice to and the passing of an order on Ms Gandhi was not really called for.

Sonia Maino should be excused for her remark because it was justified. Can it get better than that? You bet.

The expression “merchants of death” that she used was not personal vilification but a criticism of a grave failure of rajya dharma (recall Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s exhortation to Mr. Modi at an early stage). If this understanding is correct, the Commission’s judgment that she had violated the code of conduct was questionable.

Ramaswamy has his logic twisted here. The understanding is obviously wrong because Congress party said it was a personal attack on Modi, which it later tried to withdraw after EC's notice.

In scale, duration, and the number of people killed, Delhi 1984 was possibly worse than Gujarat 2002. However, in comparing the two events and trying to be “fair” and “even-handed,” we fail to note two points. First, it is meaningless to compare the two horrors; abhorrence, grief, and shame are the appropriate responses in both cases. One horror does not mitigate the other.

We agree. There is no point in comparing Sikh riots to Gujarat riots, because the Congress politicians' involvement in Sikh riots is very well documented, whereas there is still no clear incontrovertible proof of State Government's involvement in Gujarat.

Secondly, while some politicians and groups might have been actively involved in Delhi 1984, the Hindus of Delhi as a whole were not complicit in the anti-Sikh violence, nor did they condone it. Of course, the state was complicit, and ipso facto the citizens could be said to be indirectly complicit too, but we cannot say that the madness of those few days had social sanction.

Extra clever use of vocabulary - "some politicians and groups", very typical of Chindu. The truth is much simpler and very well known for Ramaswamy to force-fit it into his theory. The sikh riots were not perpetrated by Hindus but by the "secular" Congress party. The Hindus have no enmity against Sikhs.
The 84 riots were Congress party's pogrom against Sikhs. It was not a social conflict.

In Gujarat, one fears that the horrors of 2002 had, apart from direct participation by some, widespread social acquiescence among Hindus. In Germany, the people renounced the Nazi madness, undertook severe self-criticism and experienced remorse. One is not aware of any similar development in Gujarat; perhaps it will happen in due course.

Just in case you missed it, I am repeating Ramaswamy's assertions: In Gujarat, one fears that the horrors of 2002 had, apart from direct participation by some, widespread social acquiescence among Hindus.
Ramaswamy is making a sweeping statement against all the Hindus of Gujarat that they supported the "pogrom". What a "secular" assertion.

On the other hand, there is anger at “Gujarat bashing.”

Gujarat should not be upset with all that is written against it. After all, Ramaswamy, by virtue of his position in Chindu, is sanctioned to write anything against the Hindus.

Either Mr. Modi was the demon that he was said to be, or he was not. If he was, it was right to describe him so; there is then no question of demon-ising, much less “unduly.” If he was not, it was simply wrong to have so described him.

What justice!

We can draw our inferences from a study of what happened in 2002, the manner in which the Gujarat Government responded to the outbreak of violence, the Chief Minister’s role in that context, the inferences that can be drawn from the Tehelka tapes (if they are authentic), his impugned election speeches, and the Election Commission’s finding on them. Plenty of material is available: reports by persons such as Harsh Mander, Swami Agnivesh, the National Human Rights Commission, and so on, and now the Tehelka tapes.

Note that all the demonisation is purely based on "inferences". Sources used? -- "secular" cohorts, hearsay and Tehelka "porn" tapes.

What is needed is a proper investigation. Investigations and consequential action must not be put off merely because he is back as Chief Minister with a strong popular mandate. Those who boasted on camera about criminal actions must be brought to book. State failure and possible complicity must be looked into, and the officials concerned proceeded against. If the trail leads to the Chief Minister, that too must be followed up and action taken.

What should worry us, then, is not whether Mr. Modi is a demon, but the change in the Gujarati psyche. What has happened to Gujarat? Is it still redeemable?

We ask the same question - Is Chindu redeemable?

Modi's victory is dangerous: Khare

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : A year of hard decisions statecraft

the dangerous implications of the Modi victory in Gandhinagar and equally troublesome downstream effects of the Bhutto assassination in Rawalpindi will need to be dealt with competently and confidently, that too in a manner as not to aggravate further our collective travails or to erode further our democratic institutions.

Modi has been elected democratically, in an election free of any incidents. Remember, Khare shamelessly attributed Modi's past victory to rigging!!!

This takes us into the very heart of the Congress priestly code: the
fiction has to be maintained that Ms Gandhi is the only leader who
generates any kind of popular and electoral appeal. The sub-theme of
this priestly code is that the only other person who can be permitted
to make any claims of charisma is young Rahul Gandhi.

Khare is calling Sonia's popular appeal as fiction. We should note this for posterity. He is clearly going beyond his mandate here. I must add, this is Khare-ish. His narration is riddled with contradictions. For example, here he actually is trying to say that Congress will gain if Sonia leads the election campaign because her huge electoral appeal is pure fiction.

This ties up with the larger requirement of assuring the country that
the government of the day has some idea how to deal effectively with
terrorism. The government has neither been able to make the moral case
for caring for the minorities — including the Sachar Committee
recommendations — nor has it convinced the country that the government
is not pitifully quagmired in the “appeasement” at the expense of the
simple and unambiguous requirement of enforcing the rule of law.

Another Khare-ism. His suggestion to improve national security is to implement Sachar recommendations!!!

Naxal editor's lies exposed

The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Communal mischief

The editorial says Bajrang Dal activists burnt to death Australian missionary Graham Staines. The Justice D.P. Wadhwa Commission which probed the killing ruled out in its report the involvement of any organisation. Not a single person convicted for the murder was a member of the Bajrang Dal.

- Manmath Deshpande,

Nagpur