BJP endorses Presidential candidate

And finally, word is out from New Delhi that BJP endorses

MITT ROMNEY

for US President

Any guesses why?

( ::::: )

I can't believe this Abuse case !

I've been reading this in a few Indian newspapers today. I have a gut feeling these are a set of lies. If the girl or her parents / friends can prove to me otherwise, I'd definitely apologize.

Now, why do I think these are potential lies ?

This is what has been reported by Ms.Muthumari Bhadrinath:

“He abused me physically, beat me for 15-20 minutes daily. He bit me on my hands. When I requested him to take me to a doctor, he took me there and told the doctor it was a bee bite,” she says.

I have been living in the US for quite a few years now and I know how the law works here.

• The doctors here are trained and even counseled to look for injuries due to physical abuse ( bee-bite vs bite injuries ? Doctors aren't idiots)
  
• The person being abused has to just call 911 for help from the cops. Why didn't she call?
  
• Especially women and children - They get the highest priority for abuse.
• I know a lot of cases where the system has been abused ! Men/women/kids lie about abuse !
  

Something doesn't smell right here. I feel sad for Ms. Muthumari Bhadrinath, her child and her husband who is in the US.

I hope the authorities in India don't rush to any conclusion based on Ms.Muthumari Bhadrinath's complaint.

Cricket's day of shame - Sydney Morning Herald

Photo courtesy: Sydney Morning Herald

Money talks. That's what the article says.

Cricket Australia was anxious to have the charge dropped because it feared its board would be sued for a figure understood to be about $60 million if India quit the tour.

India's broadcast partner, ESPN, owns the lucrative contract to beam cricket from Australia into the subcontinent. If ESPN sued successfully, it could take 10 years to recoup the losses, Cricket Australia told the players.


Whatever happened, nobody knows other than Harbhajan, Symonds and others who were able to listen to them from close proximity.

It's time to move on and put this stupid act behind. If I were Harbhajan, Sreesanth or anyone with high temper I would take this as a wake up call, shut up and play the game.

The Aussies who are known for their sledging must also shut up and not cry later about money and power.

Jan-30-2008 is Mahatma Gandhi's 60th death anniversary.
India/Indians call him the 'Father of the nation'.

Let's remember that he won the British with his 'Ahimsa'.

Adelaide Cricket Test - My Thoughts

• Great work Sehwag ! You proved your critics wrong.

• Wonderful century by Tendulkar to prove that he still has some game left in him.

• Shame on the Indian team Management to ask Pathan to open when they had a specialist opener in form (Dinesh Kartik).

• Dhoni - Just like his counterpart Yuvraj doesn't deserve a place in the test team. He is best playing the shorter version of the game.

• Ponting finally played well and saved his face and grace.

• Harbhajan - Remember, Sehwag bowled better than you at Adelaide !
  

About the Test Series

• I was debating if Australia can be stopped. And that's exactly what India did. Derailed them at Perth and drew Adelaide. That's a commendable effort. Hat off Kumble and Co. for pulling this off.

• It is not good news that Australia won the series. India lost in spite of going with seniors in the team. Heck - What would have been the difference had we lost with an young team?

• I wait for news about retirements from all the seniors in the Indian team. Will it happen? Not in my dreams..not with Indian players !

This series will be long remembered for

India finally halting Australia's winning streak.

Harbhajan vs. Symonds.
Sehwag's great comeback.
Ishant Sharma.

Gilchrist's retirement.
Ponting's struggle against Ishant and Harbhajan.

Steve Bucknor's pathetic umpiring.

Adam Gilchrist retires

Photo courtesy : Sydney Morning Herald

Glen McGrath, Shane Warne and now Adam Gilchrist.

They've shown the world how to retire in style. I was surprisingly shocked to read about Gilli's retirement! He retires from tests and one day cricket after this series against India / Sri Lanka.

What a time to retire - Just after creating a world record.

The ongoing fourth and final Test will be his last appearance in the longer version of the game while he will end his one-day career after the subsequent tri-series.

The stumper, who is currently playing his 96th Test, will finish his career while at the top of the table of the game's leading wicketkeepers by dismissal, having so far taken 414 dismissals (377 caught, 37 stumped), at an incredible 2.178 scalps per innings.

Our ageing Indian cricketers on the other hand, keep saying they want to play until they are chucked out for performance. Not only do they lose their pride but they rob an youngster's chance of playing for the country.

I hope Kumble, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman learn a lesson here and retire soon. They might be good as I write this, but they have to quit for the younger generation.

GILLI - We'll miss you Sir.

BSE loses 1408 Points - Whom are we kidding ?

Wow...finally the problems with the US Economy has reached the Indian stock markets. Amazing it might sound, considering the world we are living in today ! ( Indian villages know what toilet paper America uses on a day-to-day basis, thanks to those live TV channels and the Internet).

And yet - All of a sudden, the Indian stock market falls dramatically on the sub-prime meltdown here !

Whom are you guys kidding - I mean you, the big time brokers, FII's. Don't fool the public. You are playing all these games and you want us to believe that finally..I mean finally the world/India is catching up on the bad news in US.

MUMBAI: The contagion effect of U.S. bad loans dealt a big blow to Indian retail investors on Monday as the domestic benchmark stock index, the BSE 30-share Sensex, lost 1408.35 points or 7.41 per cent to close at 17605.35.

This was the largest ever fall in the history of the Indian stock index, which crossed 21,000 points only a few days ago.

The NSE 50-share Nifty lost 496.50 points or 8.70 per cent to close at 5208.80.

ODI Squad for Australia

The team for the ODI's at Australia ( Tri-series - India-Australia-Sri Lanka) has been announced.

I am happy that the selectors went for young players ! Hats off to them.

In my opinion India definitely doesn't need Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly in the one day side. They must play in tests as long as they score runs.

Here is the team:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk)
Sachin Tendulkar
Yuvraj Singh
Virender Sehwag
Dinesh Karthik
Robin Uthappa
Gautam Gambhir
Suresh Raina
Rohit Sharma
Irfan Pathan
Praveen Kumar
RP Singh
Ishant Sharma
Sreesanth
Harbhajan Singh
Piyush Chawla

Murali Kartik - Please change your name to Murali Kartik Tiwari and you'll be in.

S.Badrinath - Please try S.Badrinath Singh.

I feel sad for Murali and Badri!

Happy..Happy...that AJIT AGARKAR is out !!

வாழ்த்துகள் - என் வாழ்த்துக்கள்

நன்றி - இந்தியா கிளிட்ச்

இந்த திரைப்படத்தை , தமிழ் மொழியில் ...பச்சை தமிழ் மொழியில் விமர்சனம் செய்வதே இந்தப் படத்துக்கு நான் கொடுக்கும் 'மரியாதை' என கருதுகிறேன்.

சத்தியமாக, ஆங்கில கலப்படம் இல்லாத தமிழ்ப் படங்களை பார்த்து, வருஷங்கள் பல ஆச்சு !

வாழ்த்துகள், சதை பற்று இல்லாத, பச்சை தமிழ் திரைப்படம்.

படம் ஓடுமா இல்லையா ? ஓடலாம்!

அறுபது வயது கிழங்களை, இருபது வயது நாயகிகளுடன், ஆட்டம் போட (பாதி நிர்வாணமாக) விட்டு, பணம் சேர்க்கும், தயரிப்பாளர்கள் இடையே இதோ...ஒரு வித்தியாசமான தயாரிப்பாளர்!

இந்தப் படத்தில் நடிக்க சம்மதித்த மாதவன் மற்றும் பாவனாவுக்கு சத்தியமாக ரொம்ப தைரியம் தான்!. கண்டிப்பாக வாழ்த்தவேண்டும்!

இயக்குனர் - சீமான் - உண்மையிலேயே - சிறந்த இயக்குனர் தான் ! வாதமே தேவையில்லை!

ஆகா ஓகோ திரைப்படம் இல்லை ஆனால் இதை தைரியமாக, துணிச்சலாக எடுத்த குழுவுக்காக....'தமிழன்' என்று சொல்லிக்கொள்ளும் ஒவ்வொரு மனிதனும் கண்டிப்பாக பார்க்க வேண்டிய திரைப்படம்.

'வாழ்த்துகள்' குழுவுக்கு என் மனமார்ந்த வாழ்த்துக்கள்

வாழ்க தமிழ்!

Perth Cricket test - My thoughts

Photo courtesy: Cricinfo India

Congratulations team India for winning the Perth test match.

It was a wonderful game of cricket. Again there were a couple of umpiring errors, but in the end, the better team won.

I am very happy for Ishant Sharma. I loved the way he bowled. Like Ian Chappel and team said during the game on TV, a McGrath in the making. By the way, looks like Ishant is a big fan of Glen McGrath ! I think he has a great future ahead and so does India if he continues to be in the team ( without Injuries ).

Going to Adelaide, It is going to be tough for the selectors. They have to drop Jaffer for his performance so far. Harbhajan has to come in too. But...who will be dropped to get Harbhajan ? Who will open the innings with Sehwag? Dravid again? No...No..!!

If I were the selectors: Drop Jaffer and Dhoni. Bring in Dinesh Karthik and Harbhajan ! Let's see.

PS - Its a shame that seniors have to get out injured...to bring young ones into the team. Ishant has to thank god for Zaheer's injury !

Preethi's Drawings

My younger daughter PREETHI wanted to post her drawings and other art forms in a blog.

So, here you go:

Please visit

http://www.preethisdrawings.blogspot.com

Preethi will appreciate your encouragement.

I hope she continues to post, unlike Adhithi, my older one!

TATA NANO CRITICISMS

I've been reading a lot of criticisms and comments in the media the last few days. All about how TATA NANO will clog the roads and cause a Traffic nightmare and add to the pollution levels. They are worried about the safety.

As I laugh at these allegations I have some thoughts:

What if someone comes out with a
1000 Rs. Fridge, A/C
100 Rs. TV ?

Will the media cry about
power cuts, blackouts, green house emissions ?

How safe is the Maruti 800 or its sibling small cars?

TATA NANO - CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations Mr.Ratan Tata for your TATA-NANO.

You've set a new trend.

காலம்

காலம் - என்னை

எங்கோ கொண்டு சென்றது

என்னவோ செய்ய வைத்தது

சாய்ந்தேன் நான் ஒய்ந்தேன்!

ஞாலம் தேடி நான் அடைந்த பயன்கள்

நாளும் என்னை ஆட்டும் போது

பூலோகம் விட்டு

போகலாமோ என்ற எண்ணம்

ஓலம் இட்டு நான் அடைந்த பொருள்கள்

கோலம் மாறி போகும் போது

மேல் லோகம் ஓடிப்

போகலாமோ என்ற எண்ணம்

எப்பா...எப்பா...

FULL TIGHT ம்மா !!

ஆள விடு...ஆள விடு

KLIPSCH - IGROOVE

Santa's visit on Dec-25-2007 cost me a few hundred dollars. The kids got an IPOD Nano and a WII Game.

Dad knew that Santa wouldn't give him anything so he went and bought himself a KLIPSCH IGROOVE for his MP3 Player ( Sansa ) .

Oh Yeah, that's my story. I love the IGROOVE. It costs only a quarter of the BOSE SOUNDDOCK but unlike Bose, it can connect to any MP3 player.

I love the sound quality. It's amazing and fills the room. I am glad I bought the IGROOVE.

If you are in the market for IPOD speakers please check out the IGROOVE. They cost 80$ at Sam's Club.

Nation outraged !!

India , it's citizens are outraged by the incidents that happened in Sydney, they want the team back and the team has laid a set of conditions to continue playing !

Team India’s tour in Down Under has plunged into crisis. Spurred by nationwide anger over umpiring in the Sydney Test and a three-match ban on spinner Harbhajan Singh for allegedly racially abusing Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, the team says it will not travel to Canberra for the practice match unless ICC fails to meet two demands – Harbhajan is spared and declared innocent of charges of racism and umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson are removed from the series.

My question to the Indian Team: The Nation was outraged at your World Cup defeat. What happened ? You had all kinds of excuses! But now, when it comes to bite you and the Nation supports you, you go with the Nation !...Opportunistic idiots!

Harbhajan Singh - Has been found guilty. The Indian team must obey the decision as it was taken by the ICC. In my opinion it is not right to cancel the tour and walk out from games. And players must learn to shut up and obey the rules, be it Australia, India or any other country. If they don't obey the rules and are found guilty they must accept the punishment !

Sydney Cricket Test - My thoughts

What used to be called 'A Gentleman's game' is no longer valid considering the ways the players behave these days. Add to it the insults of poor umpiring and Cricket has gone to dogs I must say.

Not sure if Ponting and Co. felt ashamed, but if I were Ponting I'd concede defeat. Yeah, that would be apt considering the bad decisions that went in their favor.

The Indian team which cries wolf now ( thanks to losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy) never uttered a word ( did they?) about the decisions that have gone in their favor the last 2 tests !

Bottom Line - These things happen in cricket. Considering the money these days, a cricketer won't worry staying even if he knows he is out plumb!

Let's now go to Perth. If I were the selector I'd drop Yuvraj and Jaffer. Sehwag takes Jaffer's place and they can probably try Irfan, since he is a good all-rounder.

Dear Bhajji - You were a fool to do what you did before the TV cameras. The whole word was watching you when you called Symonds and told something. In fact I watched it too. It only proved that you started it.

No matter what the Aussies did to you ( outside the camera may be ), you must have used your brains and kept quiet in front of the TV cameras ! You didn't and you've paid the price.

Item Girls and Item Numbers

Not sure who coined the word Item Number and Item Girl.
I feel it's very derogatory.

Wiki has a good explanation

The classic meaning of "item number" refers to highly sexualized songs with racy imagery and suggestive lyrics. The "item number" would feature an "item girl" who appeared in the film as a dancer, usually in a bar or nightclub, and was only in the film for the length of that song. It was often frowned upon at that point in time. Today, it is a commonly used term with hardly any negative connotations to it.

I personally don't like words like 'Item Number' and 'Item Girl'.

By the way, why isn't there a word 'Item Boy'.

Are women safe in India ?

I've been reading about the molestation incidents that happened a few days back in India.
Alarming and shameful.

They touched my butt and pinched me. They also began grabbing my cousin sister-in-law. People just watched as my husband tried to protect me," she said.

A little later, the gropers' sights fell on a bunch of girls sitting in three cars. The crowd pressure had forced the vehicles to move slowly. To the girls' horror, a group of leering miscreants poked their faces inside the cars. Hands followed. The girls screamed and tried to roll up the glass but failed. It was a horror they won't forget.

You Tube has a lot of reports if you are interested.

Please look at these points

• Women returning home from BPO murdered
• TV actresses ( not actors ) commit suicide
• Movie actresses ( not actors ) commit suicide
• College girls kidnapped, murdered

How many criminals have been brought to justice?

What does this reveal ?
To me it's the unsafe conditions for women in India even in the 21st century. It is a shame.

Tell me please:

How many of you husbands / brothers / parents of daughters have faith in India's police?
How many of you have faith in India's Judicial system?
How many of you feel it's safe for women in India?