How cHindu tampers with PTI news reports

Please check this post for the original details.

Here's what the PTI report had to say:

Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay was today elected Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and would take over the political duties relinquished by spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

43-year-old Sangay polled 55 per cent votes out of 49189, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes, Election Commissioner Jampal Chosang announced here.

Here's what cHindu modified the statement while giving credit to PTI:

Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay was on Wednesday elected “prime minister” of the so-called “Tibetan government-in-exile” and would take over the political duties relinquished by the religious leader Dalai Lama. A research fellow at the Harvard Law School, Mr. Sangay, aged 43, polled 55 per cent votes out of 49,189, defeating his nearest rival Tethong Tenzin Namgyal by 8,646 votes, “election commissioner” Jampal Chosang said here. Tethong Tenzin Namgyal, a Stanford scholar, polled 18,405 votes, while Tashi Wangdi, the Dalai Lama's representative in Brussels, New York and New Delhi, finished third. The election was held on March 20.

These are just excerpts and part of a long standing tradition of yellow journalism that our beloved cHindu has stooped to. One shudders at the thought of Holocaust denier SV becoming the new editor in chief. His rampant ideological support to the jihadists of Palestine would ensure that we read about those "martyrs" more frequently than Al Jazeera does.

Any guesses on who's on Wikileaks Swiss Bank list?

Assange says that the names of Indians using benamis to make Swiss bank deposits will be revealed soon.

Praising the German government for its aggressive approach to unearth black money stashed away offshore, he said that India “should be more aggressive because India seems like it is losing per capita much more tax than Germany.” Mr. Assange alleged that the Indian government's response to the WikiLeaks cables was “one of the worst in the world” and a “clear attempt to mislead the nation on what the cables were.”

And here we were thinking the UPA Govt. was behaving responsibly by discussing Wikileaks allegations in Parliament and doing nothing!

Mr. Assange said the issue of stashing black money away in foreign banks was much worse than just local corruption as when money is pushed offshore, “...then every time they are selling rupees and the result is that the currency of the nation is debased... everything for all Indians becomes more expensive as a result of that transfer.”

Let us start guessing who's names make the list. It will be interesting to know who gets accused and who gets arrested, politicians? Mainstream media? Industrialists?

Paying tribute to Saibaba the right way

Leading a social life with public scrutiny is a difficult chore. Doing that with religion as the primary focus is more difficult. Performing it for decades while interacting with high profile citizens is a great achievement. Personally I have not been one to support God-men of any religion. However in a country like India where 2/3rds of the population struggles for two square meals a day, we need to show more charity.
The loss of Puttaparthi Sai Baba as discussed by cHindu pays tribute the right way focusing on the larger achievements and long standing legacy.

In a country that has never been short of self-proclaimed godmen peddling spiritual succour with commercial motive, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who passed away at the age of 84 at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh on April 24, 2011, stands out as a rare phenomenon — a spiritual leader whose mass following transcended linguistic, national, and religious boundaries, who channelised the fervour and quest of millions of devotees into giving and sharing, who steered clear of divisive political and communal activities all his life.

While one might read the article and thumb their nose on the plaudits from Mu Ka, the writer has done well to provide a balance of praise and pause for introspection on the life and charity of a person who has made significant contribution to Indian society.

Fwd: Letter to The Ombudsman of The Hindu

the ombudsman has turned into a bit of a joke. he hardly ever talks about the reader feedback. 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Friends of Tibet
Subject: Letter to The Ombudsman of The Hindu
To: readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

April 24, 2011

 

To,

The Reader's Editor,

The Hindu, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

 

Dear Sir,

Let us not reduce the ongoing-war of words between N Ram, the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of The Hindu and the rest of the management team members to a battle within the corporate boardroom of the firm. What is going on is in fact a battle between N Ram and the readers of The Hindu.

 

Ever since N Ram took charge of the newspaper in 2003, organisations like Friends of Tibet and a dozen Tamil organisations in Tamil Nadu are fighting the anti-Tibet, anti-Tamil and anti-India stand of N Ram and his team of carefully selected journalists who were misusing the powers in the name of courageous journalism. Friends of Tibet was forced to launch a campaign called 'Save The Hindu' (www.friendsoftibet.org/save/) to fight the N Ram regime, a campaign which enjoyed the support of majority of The Hindu journalists. At the peak of the campaign when journalists employed with the newspaper came forward to support the campaign openly, N Ram threatened Friends of Tibet with criminal and civil defamation. In the meanwhile, hundreds of Hindu readers had stopped reading and subscribing the newspaper as a matter of principle. The activists of Friends of Tibet, TSAM and Tamil organisations like May 17 Movement had organised protests in front of the Kasturi Buildings in Chennai several times. We had written to the Hindu Ombudsman regarding our concerns which were never answered. (More details about Save The Hindu campaign and a case-study, please visit: www.friendsoftibet.org/save/)

 

We are happy that N Ram and his left-hand in journalism Shri Siddharth Varadarajan are finally exposed by their own men - Shri N Ravi and the sacked members. Friends of Tibet thank N Ravi for his bold and courageous statement criticising the "pronounced pro-China tilt of The Hindu newspaper, blacking out or downplaying any news that is less than complimentary to the Chinese Communist regime." We thank them because no one in the past had ever shown the courage to criticise the heavyweights and the captains of paid-news culture in Indian journalism.

 

Saving the 131-year-old national newspaper from the wrong hands is the responsibility of each and every reader and employee of The Hindu. Act now!

 

Friends of Tibet

www.friendsoftibet.org

Friends of Tibet, PO Box: 16674, Bombay 400050, India.

Friends of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China's occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for independence. Friends of Tibet is also one of the principal organisers of World Tibet Day around the world. To know more, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org

Company law board response for cHindu succession battle

To all interested in the details of the succession battle held last year for cHindu. This is the Company Law Board response for the petition of N.Murali and N.Ravi over LiC and minions.
It reinstates N.Murali to Managing Director till August 2011 when he will step down. It will be interesting to see if LiC follows suit.

I thereby set aside the decision taken by the board of directors on 20.03.2010 to the extent it reallocates the functions of the Senior Managing Director and direct that the position prior to 20.03.2010 shall be restored as far as allocation of departments concerning the 2nd petitioner is concerned.

cHindu stands up for women's rights in Pakistan

The story of Mukhtaran Mai of Pakistan is a tragic tale showing to the world the pitiable conditions of women there and morass of cultural problems. That is just the tip of the iceberg. The lack of political will and judicial backbone to take this case and punish the rapists has exposed what Pakistan really stands for.

But this extraordinarily brave woman, unlettered at the time of the monstrous crime, decided to defy societal taboos to take her attackers to court. It is disappointing that Pakistan's highest court has ruled against her. On April 21, a three-judge bench upheld, by a majority of two to one, the Lahore High Court's acquittal of five men accused of the rape (while confirming the life sentence to a sixth) on the ground of insufficient evidence. The verdict is unsettling for several reasons. In most of South Asia, for reasons that are well known, it is never easy for a woman to make a formal complaint of rape.

It is a good sign to see cHindu expose the soft underbelly that passes for Pakistan's judicial system.
The same system which beats up minorities for blasphemy:

This verdict sets the bar for evidence so high — in contrast are the evidentiary requirements in a blasphemy case — that it can only act as further discouragement to rape victims seeking justice.

We expect to see more such pieces of investigative journalism by cHindu and see it in action with NGO's in Pakistan to fight for the rights of those who deserve more than the Islamic tinpot bestows.

cHindutoon celebrating the DMK CPM divorce

Has there been a greater time to write on this blog? DMK getting its arse kicked. UPA caught in corruption imbroglios. Even LiC appears to be out of the door (though with Sidd V taking his seat :( ).
Now the DMK-CPM divorce gets bitter with Prakash Karat head honcho of CPI-M blasting the DMK as a "family controlled party". Mu Ka could not keep quiet.

Hitting back at Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat for allegedly calling the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam a ‘family controlled party’, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Thursday sought to turn the tables on the Communist leader, reminding him that his wife is working with him in their party.

Like a jilted lover, Mu Ka spouted dialogue like a Sivaji in his pot boiler:

“I don’t know why Karat, a friend who found place in my heart, is spreading canards. I can’t find an answer to why he is doing like this,”

So we have this cHinduToon to celebrate the divorce and LiC's dilemma.


(Disclaimer: All analysis for parody purposes only)

Save cHindu, prevent Sidd V from becoming editor

In a recent letter from N. Ravi to cHindu employees he alleged that LiC is planning to put his puppet Sidd Varadarajan as the editor of the cHindu.
We are trying to validate the authenticity of this report.
But per the email Ravi alleges cHindu has become another "Paid News" outlet in the lines of TOI and NDTV.

Very recently, those of us who were not privy to the deal making learnt to our shock that a major interview with A. Raja in defence of the telecom licensing policy published on May 22, 2010—that was referred to by the Prime Minister in his press conference--involved a direct quid pro quo in the form of a full page, colour advertisement from the Telecom Ministry that was specially and hurriedly cleared by the Minister personally for publication on the same day in The Hindu.

If this is true then its another nail in the coffin, log in the funeral pyre of a vaunted newspaper.
More on this soon...

Wikileaks expose US diplomats view of JNU

What US Diplomats per wikileaks think of JNU and its exports.

cHinduToon on cHinduleaks

cHindu made a huge hullaballoo on the interview with Assange. What were the interviewer and interviewee really thinking?
Here's what our "brain analyzer" had to say:

cHinduToons - same sarcasm less reading

This is something I've wanted to do for sometime, convey this blog's sarcasm in the form of toons making fun at the MSM, our leaders,other jerks and ourselves (at times :)).
This is a start and hopefully with your feedback something we hope to make a regular feature. This is based on a viewpoint of Suhasini Haider who blabbers on cHindu echoing its slanted viewpoints. We being the subtle commentators will take different forms to converse back.

Will CPM stronghold West Bengal be stormed?

As West Bengal goes to the polls, there is some outlook that the last bastion of communism in India in West Bengal could fall by the wayside.
The CPM and its goons have been past masters of the art of stuffing ballots, strong arm techniques, spending money, any and every dark art of trumping up votes. However this time Mamta's Trinamool Congress with its support on the upswing along with the money and resources from the Congress at the Centre has made this a fight of the heavy weights. Its a battle UPA needs to win given the dismal few months with the Wikileaks exposes to the recent corruption marches. Typically with a heavy turnout one can expect a change in the regime. But with the ballot stuffing one never knows.
If the regime changes, CPM will be on the fast road to political extinction. It will clearly affect the loyalties of cHindu and perhaps announce the retirement of LiC.

CRIBS complain again

The association of countries like Brazil, South Africa, China, India and Russia met in China to wine, dine and of course crib. For all the talk the association has done precious little other than bitch about why they were not consulted in worldly affairs and cribbed about the actions in the Middle East by NATO. The pompous leaders with nothing in common other than alienation in their regions and potential military rivalry between China and Russia and China and India, talked about things like the Fukushima incident providing little of useful content.

The plan schedules a string of high-level meetings on almost all issues — security, political and economic — to enable the five countries better coordinate their positions. They would initiate the plan with a meeting of National Security Advisers later this year in China.
Besides strongly pushing for a more equitable world economic order, the five nations frowned on the use of force by the West in Libya and supported the return of peace and stability in West Asia-North Africa according to the “legitimate aspirations of their peoples.”

The best tagline was from Hon. MMS who said,

I would say the best is yet to come

We are still waiting to see that from your UPA government and the only "best" we have seen has been in the same line as the word scam. The BRICS or CRIBS or SCRIB or CRISB is the start of a new NAM your regular bar flies.

Either SMKrishna is incredibly smart or ...

The claims made by Hussain Rana a key accused in the 26/11 mumbai attacks have literally proved that ISI not only knew about the attacks but was involved in planning and execution of the same.
External affairs Minister SM Krishna when asked about this said:

We will certainly take it up. We are in constant touch with the Pakistan government through our diplomatic channels.These are two different aspects. Peace talks will go on, cricket matches will go on and simultaneously our relentless efforts will continue to bring to justice all those responsible for the heinous crime.

If he is expecting the Paki Govt to put the ISI on the stand for 26/11 he is sorely mistaken. No politician with an ounce of self-preservation has challenged and won against the ISI (Read Bhutto, Sharif, Zia etc.).
Krishna's approach seems to be one to converse and bore the Pakis to death. Which should bear fruit in about 5551 years.

Assange interviewed for cHinu editorial

The interview of the week. Assange interviewed by ...

I must say that India is not alone. I mean in our work we have exposed billions of dollars of corruption all over the world. And the First World is also not at all immune from it. Frequently we see the developing world corruption being facilitated by First World banks, which suck the money offshore and so on. And, in fact, India accounts for some of the highest amounts of deposits in Swiss banks, which must be questioned as to what that money is doing there.

Celebrating Anna Hazare's victory with dosas?

Anna Hazare has won. Forced the Government into a corner to form a Committee to create another piece of legislation to form a body to review processes, people and functioning.
Here's Anna with supercop Kiran Bedi.

People visiting India Gate, many curious on whats going on with the fast. Some like Anupam Kher avoiding Congress goons.


A little girl giving Anna Hazare the usual glass of juice. Getting experience that she can protest and get anything from her parents.

Celebrating Anna's victory by preparing the longest dosa in the world.

cHindu demeans Anna Hazare.. kind of

Rather than detail a serious editorial, cHindu outsources the analysis to R.K.Raghavan ex CBI head-honcho to detail the view of the newspaper. It is a decent viewpoint from an outsider but still does not detail what the newspaper who is stuck in the paid news scandal to express its opinions on the issue.

Despite glib words of praise for the principle that motivates Anna, there is unmistakable chagrin among those in the corridors of power — whom he is challenging. They claim that they alone are vested with the authority to decide what kind of legislation should be drafted to tackle corruption in high places, and not the likes of Anna Hazare. They look upon him as an usurper who has to be put in his place somehow.

At least this issue sweeps the chinduleaks under the rug for the time being.

Someone in Indian Govt. remembers 26/11

At a time when Indian MSM has hushed up any news on 26/11 incidents to avoid inconvenience to our "siblings" from across the border. Yes I'm referring to Porkistan. Secretary Nirupama Rao reiterated in an interview to Karan Thapar that we have not forgotten 26/11. It might be words, but at least better than the silence from the UPA Govt. so far.

Yes and no. I think my answer would bridge both these concepts. The wounds of 26/11 have not healed as yet. I think we would do wrong to the people who lost their lives and the families that continue to grieve as a result of what happened so tragically in Mumbai, if we were to say that 26/11 is behind us. Obviously, the wounds of 26/11 will not heal easily. I think there is sentiment in this country in India and there is grief still which has not died. Let me put it this way. Our grief cannot die when it comes to 26/11

Lets see some action behind those words.

cHindu's credo- everyone should be blind

There is the old tale about communism, you have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk. Similarly cHindu has a philosophy if every you cant restore sight to everyone, then all of them should be blind. Brahma Chellaney is the proponent of this stupid logic.

While the popular uprising in Yemen has splintered the security establishment there, with different military factions now in charge of different neighbourhoods in the capital Sanaa and the United States seeking to replace the Yemeni President with his No. 2, the Bahraini monarchy has employed foreign Sunni mercenaries that dominate its police force to fire on the predominantly Shiite demonstrators.

The clincher is the conclusion which reads like a manifesto from Comrades Marx and Engels.

The resort to different standards and practices in the name of promoting human freedom, unfortunately, sends the message that any society's democratic empowerment is possible only if it jibes with the great powers' geopolitical interest. The fundamental issue is whether there should be a rules-based international order or an order pivoted on military might and driven by narrow, politically expedient interests of the most powerful.

This is exactly how the world works. If you want to free the others ask your buddies at cHindu to get off their lazy behinds and do something.

Afridi exposes true colours bashes India

After the India-Pak World Cup semifinal match where India thoroughly thrashed Pakistan, the post-game statements of Pak captain Shahid Afridi was met with praise by Pak and Indian media.
Now as reported by both Indian Express and Times of India, Afridi upon reaching the safe shores of Pakistan exposed his true colours bashing Indians.

In my opinion, if I have to tell the truth, they (Indians) will never have hearts like Muslims and Pakistanis. I don't think they have the large and clean hearts that Allah has given us," Afridi said during a talk show on Samaa news channel when he was asked about relations between the two countries.
"The Indian media has a very negative approach and very negative thoughts. The people may not be like that but I think the media had a very dirty role in spoiling relations between us and India."

Its interesting that cHindu has not yet posted an article on this and is probably waiting for an apology of sorts to comment on the whole issue.
However the larger point of this is that Pakistanis have this annoying habit of speaking one thing while in India and other outside. While Indian media and celebrities continue to fall for this double act. When can we get enough cojones to tell Pakistanis to go to hell (or in their case stay in Pakistan)?

India wins

This is a win for the long suffering Indian cricket fan and for the true Lord of Indian Cricket Sachin.
Jai Hind!!

cHindu plans to publish Great Soul

The proposed ban on the sensational biography on MK Gandhi was met with violent opposition by the journalists at cHindu who have called for an end to such ridiculous censorship.

Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily's announcement that the central government would ban the book Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle with India had no justification in fact, law, or common sense. The threatened ban on the book — the contents of which Mr. Moily dramatically described as “heresy” — was based, at best, on a total misreading of it and, at worst, on no-reading but relying on grossly misleading reviews in a section of the western media.

A key editor in cHindu said:

Mark this day, we will henceforth publish a print version of such banned books for free as well as provide an online version for people to read via their laptops, Kindles, iPads, Gol Gappas, Masala Dosais and other devices.