Friday, December 28, 2007

US Box office performance this holiday weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Wednesday.

1. "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," $45.5 million.

2. "I Am Legend," $34.2 million.

3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks," $29 million.

4. "Charlie Wilson's War," $9.6 million.

5. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," $9.35 million.

6. "P.S. I Love You," $6.5 million.

7. "Enchanted," $4.15 million.

8. "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," $4.1 million.

9. "The Golden Compass," $4 million.

10. "Juno," $3.4 million.

Estimated Top 10 North America Dec 21-23, 2007

Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date

1 (-) National Treasure: Book Of Secrets (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $45.5m –

2 (1) I Am Legend (Warner Bros) WBPI $34.2m $137.5m

3 (2) Alvin And The Chipmunks (Fox) Fox Int'l $29m $84.9m

4 (-) Charlie Wilson's War (Universal) UPI $9.6m

5 (-) Sweeney Todd (DreamWorks-Paramount) WBPI $9.4m –

6 (-) P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros) Summit Entertainment $6.5m –

7 (4) Enchanted (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $4.2m $98.4m

8 (-) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Sony) SPRI $4.1m –

9 (3) The Golden Compass (New Line) NLI $3.9m $48.4m

10 (11) Juno (Fox Searchlight) Fox Int'l $3.4m $6.4m

Moments that shaped Benazir Bhutto!!!

_April 4, 1979 — Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is executed for the murder of a political opponent, two years after his ouster as prime minister in a military coup.

_April 10, 1986 — Benazir Bhutto returns from exile in London to lead the Pakistan People's Party, founded by her father.

_Dec. 1, 1988 — Bhutto, age 35, wins parliamentary elections to become the first woman prime minister of a Muslim nation.

_Aug. 6, 1990 — President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Bhutto's government, citing corruption and a failure to control ethnic violence.

_Oct. 19, 1993 — Bhutto takes oath for second term as prime minister.

_Nov. 5, 1996 — President Farooq Leghari dismisses Bhutto's second administration amid accusations of nepotism and undermining the justice system.

_April 14, 1999 — A court finds Bhutto guilty of corruption while she is out of the country. The conviction was later quashed, but Bhutto remains in exile.

_Oct. 12 — Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the head of the armed forces, seizes power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup.

_Oct. 5, 2007 — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf signs a corruption amnesty covering other cases against Bhutto, opening the way for her return and a possible power-sharing agreement.

_Oct. 18 — Bhutto returns to Pakistan more than eight years of exile. She narrowly escapes a suicide bombing that kills 140 people during a homecoming procession in Karachi.

_Nov. 9 — Police throw barbed wire around Bhutto's house to keep her from speaking at a rally to protest Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule. Security forces round up thousands of her supporters.

_Nov. 13 — Authorities put Bhutto under house arrest for the second time in a week. She urges Musharraf to resign and says it is likely her party would boycott the January parliamentary elections. She also indicates a desire to build an alliance with other opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Sharif.

_Nov. 30 — Bhutto presents her election manifesto, dimming the prospect of an opposition boycott.

_Dec. 1 — Bhutto launches her election campaign, urging resistance against Islamic militancy.

_Dec. 8 — Gunmen kill three people in an attack on one of Bhutto's party offices.

_Dec. 10 — Sharif's party announces it will participate in Pakistan's parliamentary elections after failing to persuade Bhutto to join a boycott.

_Dec. 25 — Bhutto accuses Musharraf of failing to stop the spread of Islamic militants and promises to crack down on groups if she wins parliamentary elections.

_Dec. 27 — An attacker strikes minutes after Bhutto addresses thousands of supporters in Rawalpindi. She is fatally shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blows himself up, killing at least 20 others

Bhutto laid to rest as unrest overcomes Pakistan


GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH, Pakistan - Hundreds of thousands of mourners, weeping and chanting for justice, thronged the mausoleum of Pakistan's most famous political dynasty in a raw outpouring of grief for Benazir Bhutto. The government blamed al-Qaida and the Taliban for the assassination of the opposition leader, who was buried alongside her father.

Furious supporters, many of them blaming — President Pervez Musharraf's government for the shooting and bombing attack on the former prime minister, rampaged through several cities in violence that left at least 23 dead less than two weeks before crucial elections.

Some wept, others chanted "Benazir is alive," as the plain wood coffin was placed beside the grave of her father in the vast, white marble mausoleum in southern Sindh province near the Bhuttos' ancestral home.

Thursday's attack on Bhutto plunged Pakistan into turmoil and badly damaged plans to restore democracy in this nuclear-armed nation, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror.

"We have the evidence that al-Qaida and Taliban were behind the suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said.

He said investigators had resolved the "whole mystery" behind the opposition leader's killing and would give details at press conference later Friday.

Bhutto's supporters ransacked banks, waged shootouts with police and burned trains and stations in a spasm of violence less than two weeks before parliamentary elections.

Soldiers patrolled the streets of the southern cities of Hyderabad and Karachi in an effort to quell violence, witnesses said. At least 23 people were killed in unrest, said Ghulam Mohammed Mohtaram, home secretary for Sindh province.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners paid last respects to Benazir Bhutto as the opposition leader was buried Friday at the mausoleum of Pakistan's most famous political dynasty. Furious supporters rampaged through several cities, in violence that left at least 23 dead less than two weeks before crucial elections.

Some wept, others chanted "Benazir is alive," as the plain wood coffin was placed beside the grave of her father in the vast, white marble mausoleum in southern Sindh province near the Bhuttos' ancestral home.

The shooting and bombing attack on the former prime minister — President Pervez Musharraf's most powerful political opponent — plunged Pakistan into turmoil and badly damaged plans to restore democracy in this nuclear-armed nation, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror.

Bhutto's supporters ransacked banks, waged shootouts with police and burned trains and stations in a spasm of violence less than two weeks before parliamentary elections. The army was called in to help keep order in several cities in Sindh, said Ghulam Mohammed Mohtaram, the province's home secretary, who said 23 people had died in unrest.

Bhutto's Mournors torch Pakistan - Pakistan on High Alert


AL-QAEDA has reportedly claimed responsibility for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who was buried yesterday as Pakistan plunged further into violent chaos in which at least 42 people have died, including a candidate for the party that supports the president.

The candidate from the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), which supports the President, and five others died in an explosion at an election meeting.

And 16 people, including three police officers, died in Ms Bhutto's home province of Sindh, where police were empowered to shoot protesters who would not disperse. Police said they wounded five protesters in Hyderabad.

As Ms Bhutto's funeral began yesterday afternoon, instability threatened to spill beyond Pakistan's borders, with its rival and fellow nuclear power, India, putting its border guards on high alert and suspending train and bus links. Indian police fired tear gas at protesting Kashmiris.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners surrounded the Bhutto family's mausoleum, at Ghari Khuda Baksh in Sindh, where the slain opposition leader was buried with her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the founder of her party who was hanged by a dictator, and her brothers, who also died violently.

Since Ms Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack at a rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday, demonstrators have directed their outrage at the President, Pervez Musharraf, for her murder, blocking streets, burning cars and throwing stones.

At the hospital where she was pronounced dead, supporters smashed down doors at the hospital. They tore down and burnt Mr Musharraf's campaign posters and chanted "Musharraf is a dog" and "Musharraf, go to hell".

At the rally before her death on Thursday Ms Bhutto said of her recent return to Pakistan: "I risked my life and came here because I believe our country is in danger."

And, in a chilling email in October, the 54-year-old opposition leader, who had twice been prime minister, complained to a friend about inadequate security, saying if anything happened to her, he should make sure action "is filed against Musharraf".

Her assassination has heightened fears of instability if Islamist extremists in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan become emboldened and commit more violent acts. That could threaten Pakistan's linchpin role in the US-led war in Afghanistan. That possibility has alarmed world leaders. The US President, George Bush, said: "We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism."

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Benazir Bhutto 'killed in blast'


Scene at the Rawalpindi park
The blast happened by an entrance to a park
Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a military spokesman has announced on TV.

Earlier reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.

Ms Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally in the town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.

At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack and several more were injured. Ms Bhutto had twice been the country's prime minister.

She was campaigning ahead of elections due in January.

'She expired'

The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking.

Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto had been addressing rallies in many parts of Pakistan

PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar initially said that Ms Bhutto was safe. But later he told the BBC that Ms Bhutto had died.

Another member of the PPP, Wasif Ali Khan, told the Associated Press news agency from the Rawalpindi General Hospital: "At 6:16 pm (1316 GMT) she expired."

Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges.

Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing.

Since her return relations with Mr Musharraf have broken down.

On the day of her return she led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead.

The PPP has the largest support in the country.

Earlier on Thursday at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi.

Benazir Bhutto killed in attack

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has died after a suicide bombing that killed at least 14 of her supporters, ex-government spokesman Tariq Azim Khan and Pakistan's primary television networks said.

art.bhutto.jpg

Bhutto is helped from her vehicle following the October 18 suicide attack on her motorcade.

Bhutto suffered bullet wounds in the aftermath of the bomb attack, TV networks report.

Video of the scene just moments before the explosion showed Bhutto stepping into a heavily-guarded vehicle to leave the rally.

Khan said while it appeared Bhutto was shot, it was unclear if her bullet wounds were caused by a shooting or shrapnel from the bomb.

The suicide attack left at least 14 dead and 40 injured, Khan told CNN in a telephone interview.

The attacker is said to have detonated a bomb as he tried to enter the rally where thousands of people gathered to hear Bhutto speak, police said.

Video from the scene of the blast broadcast from Geo TV showed wounded people being loaded into ambulances.

Up to 20 people are dead, the report said.

Earlier, four supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Friday, local police said.

Several other members of Sharif's party were wounded, police added.

While President Pervez Musharraf has promised free and fair parliamentary elections next month, continued instability in the tribal areas and the threat of attack on large crowds has kept people from attending political rallies and dampened the country's political process.

Campaigners from various political groups say fewer people are coming out to show their support due to government crackdowns and the threat of violence.

At least 136 people were killed and more than 387 wounded on October 18 when a suicide bomber attacked Bhutto's slow-moving motorcade. The former PM returned to the country after eight years of self-imposed exile to a massive show of support in the southern port city of Karachi.

Bhutto called it "an attack on democracy" and vowed it would not deter her political campaign.

Thursday's violence come less than two weeks ahead of January parliamentary elections and as many days after President Pervez Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of emergency he said was necessary to ensure the country's stability.

Critics said Musharraf's political maneuvering was meant to stifle the country's judiciary as well as curb the media and opposition groups to secure more power

PPP leader Benazir Bhutto shot dead, a clear political assasination!!!


PP leader Benazir Bhutto has been shot dead following a suicide attack on her rally in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan interior ministry has declared high alert across the country post the attacks that marred rallies of both main opposition leaders, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir Bhutto's election rally was disrupted by a suicide attack on Thursday. The blast occured minutes after Benazir Bhutto finished her speech.

Dawn News sources claim 20-25 are feared killed in the blast.

Reports also suggest that Benazir has been reportedly hurt in the attack and has been moved to a hospital in Rawalpindi.

PPP Information Secretary Sherry Rehman has also been injured and taken to a hospital.

Earlier in the day at least four people were killed and several injured after gunmen opened fire on supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while they were on their way to Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

The injured have been moved to hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

In response to the terror attack, Nawaz Sharif claimed that their lives were at risk and that Musharraf had no control over the situation.

eBay launches microlending website

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Online auction giant eBay has launched a microlending website that lets people invest in entrepreneurs in poor communities around the world and get a return on their money.

Unlike micro-finance organizations that make interest-free loans to people in developing countries, Microplace.com offers investors profits for funding folks trying to build better lives, said founder Tracey Turner.

"You are actually investing in the world's working poor," Turner told AFP. "And for the first time you get a return on investment. You can take the profit and invest in more people in a virtuous cycle."

Turner's vision of MicroPlace began taking shape in 2005, after she lived for a time with a Kenyan family comprised of a single mother caring for three children.

The Kenyan woman bought a sewing machine with 100 dollars she borrowed and started an in-home business making school uniforms for local children.

The woman paid the debt and managed to send one of her sons to college in the United States.

"When you are out in the field talking to these women whose lives are transformed because of 30 dollars or 10 dollars, then you are part of the movement forever," Turner said.

California-based eBay bought Turner's business plan in June of 2006 and the website launched October 24 of this year.

Website visitors can browse investors by country, seeing pictures of people seeking loans and reading about their business goals.

MicroPlace connects investors with micro-finance organizations in the various countries. MicroPlace scrutinizes the organizations to check their legitimacy.

"Our job is to vet," Turner said. "We do a lot of research."

Turner said rates of return are modest but that investors at the website see value in addressing global poverty. Lenders shoulder the risk that loans will not be repaid.

"The eye-opening thing for everyone is that repayment rates by the working poor remain unbelievably high, north of 98 percent," Turner said.

Thousands of people visit the website daily and hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans have already been issued, according to MicroPlace. In keeping with the holidays, some have made gifts of loans by issuing in others' names.

"What gets me out of bed in the morning is the idea that when you invest in a person it really honors them and enhances their dignity as a human being," Turner said. "Which is different than a hand out."

MicroPlace gets fees from microfinance organizations that get money through the website. Money is moved through online financial-transactions firm PayPal, which eBay owns.

"I think it is important everyone from the investor to the person making baskets in a village makes a profit," Turner said. "The beauty and magic of micro-finance is that it is scalable. That is the only way it will scale."

EBay has promised that any profits made by MicroPlace will be invested in other initiatives for social good, according to Turner.

EBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife have channeled hundreds of millions of dollars into microloans through their own foundation and are investors in online microlending website Kiva.

Kiva specializes in connecting altruistic lenders with aspiring business people in developing countries.

In 2008, Kiva plans to begin offering modest interest rates on loans, which at present are interest-free.

"The industry is growing like crazy right now," Turner said. "It is a new kind of asset class. It is a wise investment."

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Modern Beetles Predate Dinosaurs


Wait, don't squash that beetle! Its lineage predates dinosaurs.

New research hints that modern-day versions of the insects are far older than any tyrannosaur that trod the Earth.

Today's plethora of beetle species were thought to have blossomed 140 million years ago, during the rise of flowering plants. But the new study of beetle DNA and fossils, published in the Dec. 21 issue of the journal Science, pushes their appearance back to 300 million years ago.

That beats the arrival of dinosaurs by about 70 million years.

"Unlike the dinosaurs which dwindled to extinction, beetles survived because of their ecological diversity and adaptability," said the study's lead scientist Alfried Vogler, an entomologist at Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum in London.

Today, 350,000 species of beetles dot collections around the world, and millions more are estimated to exist but haven't been discovered — which means they make up more than one-fourth of all known species of life forms. The reason for this tremendous diversity has been debated by scientists for many years but never resolved.

Vogler thinks beetles' head start on our planet with its ever-changing environments was the secret to their success.

"The large number of beetle species existing today could very well be a direct result of this early evolution," Vogler said, "and the fact that there has been a very high rate of survival and continuous diversification of many lineages since then."

To reach this conclusion, Vogler and his team teased out evolutionary data from the DNA of 1,880 modern beetle species, then compared it to fossil records dating back 265 million years to build detailed evolutionary trees. The new genetic maps suggest that a common ancestor to beetles crept up well before its descendants showed up in the fossil record.

"With beetles forming such a large proportion of all known species, learning about their relationships and evolution gives us important new insights into the origin of biodiversity and how beetles have triumphed over the course of nearly 300 million years," Vogler said.

Boston's $14.8B Big Dig finally complete-It doesnt happen only in India!!!


BOSTON - When the clock runs out on 2007, Boston will quietly mark the end of one of the most tumultuous eras in the city's history: The Big Dig, the nation's most complex and costliest highway project, will officially come to an end.

Don't expect any champagne toasts.

After a history marked by engineering triumphs, tunnels leaks, epic traffic jams, last year's death of a motorist crushed by falling concrete panels and a price tag that soared from $2.6 billion to a staggering $14.8 billion, there's little appetite for celebration.

Civil and criminal cases stemming from the July 2006 tunnel ceiling collapse continue, though on Monday the family of Milena Del Valle announced a $6 million settlement with Powers Fasteners, the company that manufactured the epoxy blamed by investigators for the accident. Lawsuits are pending against other Big Dig contractors, and Powers Fasteners still faces a manslaughter indictment.

Officially, Dec. 31 marks the end of the joint venture that teamed megaproject contractor Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to build the dizzying array of underground highways, bridges, ramps and a new tunnel under Boston Harbor — all while the city remained open for business.

The project was so complex it's been likened to performing open heart surgery on a patient while the patient is wide awake.

Some didn't know if they'd live to see it end.

Enza Merola had a front row seat on the Big Dig from the front window of her pastry shop — stacked neatly with tiramisu, sfogliatelle and brightly colored Italian cookies — in Boston's North End.

During the toughest days of the project, the facade of Marie's Pastry Shop, named after her sister, was obscured from view. The only way customers could find the front door was along a treacherous path through heavy construction.

"For a while we thought we weren't going to make it," Merola said. "But you know, we hung in there."

The Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project — as the Big Dig is officially known — has its roots in the construction of the hulking 1950's era elevated Central Artery that cut a swath through the center of Boston, lopping off the waterfront from downtown and casting a shadow over some of the city's oldest neighborhoods.

Almost as soon as the ribbon was cut on the elevated highway in 1959, many were already wishing it away.

One was Frederick Salvucci, a city kid for whom the demolition of the old Central Artery became a lifelong quest.

"It was always a beautiful city, but it had this ugly scar through it," said Salvucci, state transportation secretary during the project's planning stages.

Rather than build a new elevated highway, Salvucci and others pushed a far more radical solution — burying it.

Easier said than done.

Those who built the Big Dig would have to undertake the massive highway project in the cramped confines of Boston's narrow, winding streets, some dating to pre-Colonial days.

Of all the project's Rubik's Cube-like engineering challenges, none was more daunting than the first — how to build a wider tunnel directly underneath a narrower existing elevated highway while preventing the overhead highway from collapsing.

To solve the problem, engineers created horizontal braces as wide as the new tunnel, then cut away the elevated highway's original metal struts and gently lowered them onto the braces — even as cars crawled along overhead, their drivers oblivious to the work below.

It was the just one of what would be referred to as the Big Dig's "engineering marvels."

The Big Dig's long history is also littered with wrong turns — some unavoidable, others self-inflicted.

One of the biggest occurred in 2004 when water started pouring through a wall of the recently opened I-93 tunnel under downtown Boston. An investigation found the leak was caused by the failure to clear debris that became caught in the concrete in the wall during construction. Hundreds of smaller drips, most near the ceiling, were also found.

Some delays were unrelated to construction.

The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge — the project's signature element — went through dozens of revisions as designers labored to come up with the most practical and elegant way to cross the Charles River.

But the project's darkest day came near the end of construction in 2006 when suspended concrete ceiling panels in a tunnel leading to Logan Airport collapsed, crushing a car and killing Del Valle, 39, a passenger in the vehicle driven by her husband.

The tunnel was shut down for months as each of the remaining panels was inspected and a new fastening system installed. A federal investigation blamed the use of the wrong kind of epoxy and the Massachusetts attorney general indicted the epoxy manufacturer.

Four workers also were killed working on the project. During peak construction, more than 5,000 workers labored daily on the project.

The project's escalating budget also became an unwanted part of its legacy.

In 2000, former Big Dig head James Kerasiotes resigned after failing to disclose $1.4 billion in overruns. A frustrated Congress capped the federal contribution.

"It never should have taken so long. It never should have been so expensive," said former Gov. Michael Dukakis, who left office just as major construction was to begin.

For those who grew up with the noise and clutter of the old Central Artery, the transformation of downtown Boston is still a wonder to behold.

The darkened parking lots under the old elevated highway have been replaced by parks, dubbed the Rose Kennedy Fitzgerald Greenway after the mother of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who grew up in the North End. Buildings that once turned their backs to the old Central Artery are finding ways to open their doors to the parkway.

Mayor Thomas Menino, who presided over the city during most of the construction, said that for the first time in half a century, residents can walk from City Hall to the waterfront without trudging under a major highway.

"When I came into office in 1993, people said your city isn't going to survive," he said. "Now we have a beautiful open space in the heart of the city. It knits the downtown with the waterfront. All those dire predictions by the experts didn't come true."

Drivers also give the Big Dig a big thumbs up.

A study by the Turnpike Authority found the Big Dig cut the average trip through Boston from 19.5 minutes to 2.8 minutes.

"Before we drive bumper to bumper, but now they are moving very well," said Gamal Ahmed, 38, who has been driving a cab in Boston for seven years. "Sometimes we are stuck, but not like before."

For Salvucci, who warns gridlock could soon return without a major commitment to public transportation, the Big Dig — for all its whiz-bang engineering — was always second to the city itself.

"The Big Dig is not a highway with an incidental city adjacent to it. It is a living city that happens to have some major highway infrastructure within it and that highway infrastructure had to be rebuilt," he said. "This was not elective surgery. It had to be done."

Friday, December 21, 2007

Japan to drop humpback whale hunt



TOKYO (AP) — Japan has suspended its first humpback whale hunt in seas off Antarctica since the 1960s, the government said Friday, backing down in an escalating international battle over the expansion of its hunt.

Japan dropped the planned taking of 50 humpbacks — which have been off-limits to commercial hunting since 1966 — at the behest of the United States, the chair of the International Whaling Commission, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura.

"The government has decided to suspend hunts of humpback whales while talks to normalize IWC is taking place," Machimura said, adding the suspension would last a year or two. "But there will be no changes to our stance on our research whaling itself."

Japan dispatched its whaling fleet last month to the southern Pacific in the first major hunt of humpback whales since the 1960s, generating widespread criticism. Japanese whaling officials said Friday they had not harpooned any humpbacks yet.

The move defuses for now a high-profile row with Australia, though Japanese officials deny they were influenced by Canberra's anti-whaling position. Australia announced Wednesday it would dispatch surveillance planes and a ship to gather evidence for a possible international legal challenge to the hunt.

It was unlikely, however, to quell the increasingly bold high-seas protests against Japan's scientific whaling research program, under which it kills a total of 1,000 whales — mostly minkes — a year in the Pacific.

Japan has wrestled with the IWC for years to overturn its 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, and recently has called for a "normalization" of the group to return to its original mission of managing sea resources, rather than banning whaling.

The decision followed talks between Japan and the U.S. over state of the IWC, said Hideki Moronuki, chief of the Fisheries Agency's whaling division. The State Department had warned Japan that some anti-whaling nations could boycott IWC meetings, he said.

"That goes against the intentions of Japan, which have sought a normalized IWC," said Moronuki, who has been an energetic and outspoken proponent of Japan's whaling program.

Commercial hunts of humpbacks — which were nearly harpooned to extinction in the 20th century — were banned in the Southern Pacific in 1963, and that ban was extended worldwide in 1966.

The American Cetacean Society estimates the humpback population has recovered to about 30,000-40,000 — about a third of the number before modern whaling. The species is listed as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union.

The decision was cheered by anti-whaling nations — with reservations.

"While this is a welcome move, the Australian government strongly believes that there is no credible justification for the hunting of any whales," Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said, adding it would continue with its surveillance plans.

Karli Thomas, who is leading a Greenpeace expedition heading to the southern Pacific, also lauded the development.

"This is good news indeed, but it must be the first step towards ending all whaling in the Southern Ocean, not just one species for one season," Thomas said in a statement from on board the group's ship, Esperanza.

Coastal communities in Japan have hunted whales for centuries, but whale meat was not eaten widely here until the U.S. occupation officials encouraged it in the poverty stricken years after World War II.

Despite the commercial hunting ban, Japan is permitted under the IWC rules to kill whales for scientific research. The meat is sold under the program and often ends up as pricey items in specialty restaurants, though its popularity as a staple has plummeted with the availability of beef and other meats.

Despite the suspension of the humpback hunt, Japan still plans to take as many as 935 minke whales and up to 50 fin whales in the Antarctic in what the Fisheries Agency says is its largest-ever scientific whale hunt.

Japan also takes more minkes in the northern Pacific later in the year.

Critics, however, say the scientific program is a ruse for Japan to keep its whaling industry alive until it can overturn the commercial ban. Protesters in boats earlier this year dogged the Japanese fleet, which eventually had to cut the hunt short when a fire damaged one of its ships.

Source: USA Today

"Taslima must return, no more pressure on Nandigram farmers"

Bengali intellectuals who recently took part in a huge march here to denounce the recapture of Nandigram have floated a platform for a set of demands including immediate return of Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen to Kolkata, and no further pressure on farmers ofNandigram for industry.

"Enough injustice has been done to Taslima by the state government. Now both the State and Central governments should see to it that the writer can return and live in Kolkata with honour and dignity," theatre actress-director, Shaonli Mitra, the spokesperson of the platform 'Swajan' said.

"We need to know where she is. She might have been under pressure to withdraw three pages of her book 'Dwikhandito'. I do not hold it as her defeat," said eminent thespian Bibhas Chakrabarty, also a member of 'Swajan'.

The uncertainty over Taslima must end immediately, said another theatre personality, Arpita Ghosh.

Referring to Nandigram, Mitra said that pressure on farmers for setting up industry in the area might be mounted again once the CRPF was withdrawn from there. "The administration knows very well the hurdles of Nayachar, the alternative site for the propsed chemical hub.

"Under the circumstances, we want to convey the message to the people of Nandigram that 'Swajan' is with them. We are regularly keeping contact with the local people. No decision can be be allowed to be imposed on them. Consent cannot be engineered," she said.

For Singur, all eyes were on the Calcutta High Court verdict due this month, Mitra said.

CRPF finds eight more graves near Nandigram

he CRPF on Thursday found eight graves in the CPM stronghold of Khejuri adjacent to Nandigram, three of which might contain human remains.

CRPF sources said the three graves found at Mansinghber on Thursday evening could be of women as torn pieces of saree and bits of bangles and a necklace were found from there.

Five empty graves were located at Sherkhan chowk. A 25-member CRPF team has cordoned off the graves. Earlier, the CRPF had found five graves in a field bordering a nullah on December 18 at Sherkhanchowk, the sources said.

An agency correspondent, who went to the spot on Thursday, saw burnt wood and portions of bicycle tyres lying around the shallow graves.

Local people alleged five bodies of CPM supporters killed while making bombs at a house there on October 28 were burnt at the spot and buried for a night before being taken away.

Anup Patra and Sukdeb Patra, both CPM supporters and residents of the village, claimed 19 Marxist supporters had been killed while making bombs at the house on October 28.

After the explosion, the bodies were taken away in two vehicles by Marxist supporters, he added.

One of the vehicles, with five bodies, offloaded them at the field where they were doused with kerosene and cremated on hastily-built pyres built of wood and bicycle tyres, Anup said.

That same night, the bodies were dug up and taken away, he said.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

India, Russia begin talks on Chandrayaan-II

New Delhi, (PTI): India has begun technical discussions with Russia on the joint moon mission Chandrayaan-II which is expected to be launched in 2011-12.

Scientists are planning to land a rover on the moon for carrying out chemical analysis of the lunar surface and explore other resources on the earth's natural satellite.

"In situ chemical analysis and resource exploration is the main objective of Chandrayaan-II," Mylaswamy Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan-I, told PTI.

Annadurai visited Russia late last month to hold initial technical discussions on Chandrayaan-II which is expected to be a much shorter mission than Chandrayaan-I scheduled for launch on April nine, 2008.

An agreement for Chandrayaan-II was signed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Roskosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow last month.

Mineral samples from the moon contained Helium 3, a variant of the gas used in refrigerators, and Chandrayaan-II will also look out for the gas which experts believe may offer a solution to energy shortages. The current Chinese moon mission is also exploring this prized source of energy.

Chandrayaan-II will benefit from the country's maiden moon mission which will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography over a two-year period.

The survey of the lunar surface will help scientists identify the exact place for landing the rover and strategic locations to carry out experiments, Annadurai said.

Source: THE HINDU

Peter Jackson will produce 'Hobbit'


The Oscar-winning Wellington film-maker and Hollywood studios New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios announced today that they had resolved their legal dispute. Jackson and partner Fran Walsh will serve as executive producers on two Hobbit movies.

Pre-production will begin as soon as possible and both will be shot simultaneously, tentatively in 2009. The Hobbit is likely to be released in 2010 and the sequel in 2011.

Jackson sued New Line in 2005 for unpaid profits, estimated to be about US$100 million, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which became a stumbling block to his being involved in The Hobbit.

Jackson and New Line said in the announcement that they had settled all legal action. "I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line," Jackson said. "We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle-earth."

A decision still has to be made on who will direct the films, who will be cast and where they will be filmed.

Critics and audiences cited New Zealand's scenery - a major component in The Lord of the Rings - as one of the main reasons for the films' popularity. Equally popular were the Oscar-winning effects created by Wellington's Weta Workshop and Weta Digital.

Many websites dedicated to The Lord of the Rings have said they not only want Jackson to make The Hobbit, but that it is equally important that the Weta teams be involved.

The announcement also heralded a significant agreement between MGM - which has zealously held the rights to filming The Hobbit for many years - and New Line.

Jackson said MGM chairman and chief executive Harry Sloan helped him reach an accord with New Line.

New Line co-chairman Bob Shaye said the studio was pleased to have resolved its differences with Jackson and Walsh. "We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with The Lord of the Rings."

Sloan said they would now focus on assembling the team to make the two films.

Winter Olympic Games

Through the years, the number of sports and events conducted at the Winter Olympic Games has increased. Demonstration sports, in which contests were held but for which no medals were awarded, have also taken place.

Current sports

• Alpine skiing was first included in 1936. The current programme features 10 events, with both men and women skiing the downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom and combined events.
• Biathlon was first included in 1960, although the very similar military patrol was contested in 1924. Only a single individual event for men was included in 1960, but events have been added over the years. Women first participated in 1992. At present there are 5 events, conducted by both men and women: the sprint (10 km (men) /7.5 km (women)), the individual (20 km (men) /15 km (women)), the pursuit (12.5 km (men) /10 km (women)), the relay (4 x 7.5 km) and the mass start (15 km (men) /12.5 km (women)).
• Bobsleigh has been included since 1924, although it was not held in 1960. The four-man event has been held since 1924, the two-man event was added in 1932. Women didn't compete until 2002, when the two-woman race was included.

• Cross-country skiing has always been on the Olympic programme. The number of events has steadily grown over the years, being 12 in 2006: sprint, team sprint, pursuit (30 km for men, 15 km for women), 10 km (women), 15 km (men), 30 km (women), 50 km (men), relay (4 x 10 km (men), 4 x 5 km (women)).
• Curling was on the programme in 1924, but disappeared afterwards. It was demonstrated in 1932, 1988 and 1992, to be officially included in 1998. Since then, separate tournaments for men and women have been held.
• Figure skating was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympics, appearing in the programme of the Summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. The single events for men and women, and the pairs contest have been on the programme since 1908, ice dancing was first included in 1976. The special figures event for men was only conducted in 1908.
• Freestyle skiing was first demonstrated in three disciplines in 1988. The moguls event became Olympic in 1992, while ballet and aerials remained a demonstration event. The aerials also received official status in 1994. Both events are held for men and women.
• Ice hockey was already held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and has been played in every celebration of the Winter Games. A women's tournament was first conducted in 1998.
• Luge first entered the Olympic programme in 1964, and the three events conducted then are still unchanged. It included a singles event for both men and women, and a doubles event. The latter is technically open for both men and women, but in practice, only men compete.
• Nordic combined, a combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing, has been Olympic since 1924. Until 1988, when a team event was added, there was only an individual event. A third event, the sprint, made its debut in 2002. Only men compete in this sport.
• Short track speed skating was a demonstration sport in 1988, and was included as a full sport four years later. The programme was expanded from 4 in 1992 to 8 in 2002. The events are the same for both men and women: 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and the relay (5000 m (men) /3000 m (women)).
• Skeleton was included in both Olympics held in St. Moritz (1928 and 1948), the birthplace of the sport. It was not held again until it was included again in 2002, with individual events for both men and women.
• Ski jumping has been an Olympic sport since 1924, with the large hill event contested. A second event (normal hill) was introduced in 1964, and a team event followed in 1988. To date, this sport is only contested by men in the Olympics.
• Snowboarding was first contested at the 1998 Olympics, with giant slalom and halfpipe events for both genders. The giant slalom was replaced by a parallel giant slalom for 2002, and in 2006, the snowboard cross event was added.
• Speed skating has been on the programme since 1924. Women's events were not included until 1960, although they were demonstrated in 1932 and had been on the preliminary programme for 1940. Current events are the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m (women only), 5000 m and 10000 m (men only). The all-round competition was only contested in 1924. The team pursuit event made its debut in 2006.

Discontinued sports or disciplines

• Military patrol, a precursor to the biathlon, was a medal sport in 1924. It was also demonstrated in 1928, 1936 and 1948, and in 1960 biathlon became an official sport.
• The special figures figure skating event was only contested at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Demonstration events

• Bandy, a sport briefly described as "ice hockey with a ball", very popular in the Nordic countries, was demonstrated in 1952.
• Ice stock sport, or eisstockschießen, a German variant to curling was demonstrated in 1936 and 1964.
• Ski ballet, later known as ski-acro, was demonstrated in 1988 and 1992. The sport has significantly declined in popularity in recent years. FIS ceased all formal competition of the sport after 2000.
• Skijöring, skiing behind dogs, was a demonstration sport in St. Moritz 1928.
• Sled-dog racing contests were displayed in Lake Placid 1932.
• Speed skiing (1992)
• Winter pentathlon, a variant to the modern pentathlon, was included as a demonstration event in 1948. It was composed of cross country skiing, shooting, downhill skiing, fencing and horse riding.

2008 Summer Olympics


The programme for the Beijing 2008 Games is quite similar to that of the Athens Games held in 2004.

The 2008 Olympics will see the return of 28 sports, and will hold 302 events (165 men’s events, 127 women’s events, and 10 mixed events), one event more in total than in Athens. Overall nine new events will be held, which include two from the new cycling discipline of BMX. Women will compete in the 3000m steeplechase for the first time. In addition, marathon swimming events for men and women, over the distance of 10 kilometers, will be added to the swimming discipline.

Team events (men and women) in table tennis will replace the doubles events. In fencing, women's team foil and women's team sabre will replace men's team foil and women's team epee.[c][27][28] In mid-2006, video gamers held talks with the Chinese government in hopes of allowing video games to be a demonstration sport at the games. Demonstration events have not been held at any Olympic Games (Summer or Winter) since 1992.[29]

On August 7, 2006, a day before the 2-year countdown to the Beijing Games, the Beijing Organizing Committee released pictograms of the 35 Olympic disciplines. Each pictogram is designed so that people of nations around the world can recognize the different sports being played at the Olympic Games. This set of sport icons is named the beauty of seal characters, due to each pictogram's likeness to Chinese seal script.[30]

The following are the sports to be contested at the games. The Olympic sport of aquatics has been split into its constituent disciplines of diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, and water polo. The number of events to be contested in each sport is indicated in parentheses.
  • Archery
  • Athletics
  • Badminton
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Canoeing
  • Cycling
  • Diving
  • Equestrian
  • Fencing
  • Field Hockey
  • Football/Soccer
  • Gymnastics
  • Handball
  • Judo
  • Modern pentathlon
  • Rowing
  • Sailing
  • Shooting
  • Softball
  • Swimming
  • Synchronized swimming
  • Table tennis
  • Taekwondo
  • Tennis
  • Triathlon
  • Volleyball
  • Water polo
  • Weightlifting
  • Wrestling

Iraq condemns Turkish air attack as a violation of sovereignty


Iraqi leaders criticized Turkey on Monday for bombing Kurdish militants in northern Iraq in air strikes that they said left at least one woman dead.

The Turkish attacks in Dahuk Province on Sunday - involving artillery and dozens of warplanes - amounted to the largest known cross-border incursion since 2003, and they occurred with at least tacit approval of U.S. officials.

The Iraqi government, however, said it had neither been consulted nor informed.

Masoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in the north, condemned the assaults as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty that undermined months of diplomacy. "These attacks hinder the political efforts exerted to find peaceful solution based on mutual respect," he said in a statement.

At a news conference in Najaf, he went further, declaring that "the Americans are responsible because the Iraqi sky is under their full control." The bombing raids focused on an area where some commanders for the Kurdish militant group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, known by its Kurdish acronym PKK, are believed to have been hiding.

The Turkish government, in a statement on its Web site, said that it was still assessing the impact of the attack but that "all the planned targets were hit accurately." Turkey, a NATO member, has thousands of troops at the Iraqi border and had been threatening a military operation into northern Iraq, but it appears to be sticking to a more limited offensive, as the United States has requested.

The assault Sunday was the second set of strikes against the Kurdish militant group since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey met with President George W. Bush in Washington last month. In the first strikes, on Dec. 1, artillery was fired from Turkish territory.

The Iraqis have pledged to rein in the Kurdish militants, who have bases in Turkey and Iraq and have been fighting the Turkish military since the 1980s. But Turkey says the Iraqi government is not doing enough, and the issue has caused great tension between the neighbors.

Elsewhere in Iraq, at least 20 people were killed or found dead in and around Baquba, the largest city in Diyala Province, which is north of Baghdad. The police said that a suicide motorcycle bomber had killed at least 7 people and wounded 24 in one of the city markets. Six were killed in two separate shootouts. Two died from roadside bombs, and the authorities found six bodies in two locations on the western outskirts of the city.

It was one of the deadliest days in weeks in the city, which has recently been handed over to a new American brigade.

Farther north, near the Mosul dam, which has been described as fragile by some engineers, a truck bomb severely damaged a bridge over the Tigris, killing at least one member of the Iraqi security forces.

In central Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded, killing two people riding on a passing minibus and wounding seven others, police and hospital officials said.

Meanwhile, Ayman al-Zawahri,a lieutenant of Osama bin Laden, warned of "traitors" among insurgents in Iraq and called on Iraqi Sunni Arab tribes to purge those who help the Americans in a new videotape posted Monday on the Web.

Zawahri's comments were aimed at undermining Iraqi "awakening councils," the groups of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen that the United States military has backed to help fight Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia - the homegrown extremist group that claims allegiance to Bin Laden's group - and its allies.

Some Sunni insurgent groups have fought alongside American forces, and the United States military has touted the councils as a major factor in reducing violence in war-torn regions like Anbar Province.

The mujahedeen "must throw out the bribe-taking collaborators from among their ranks, those who sold out their faith and fight under the banner of the cross," Zawahri said in the video. "They must expose them to the Muslim world. Those who support the Americans are despicable scum."

Dr. Dope banned for life

A doctor at the center of an Italian doping probe received a lifetime ban Monday from association with any sports events.

Carlo Santuccione was barred from being a member of any sports federation and participating in sporting events, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said.

The committee's top judge for doping cases handed down the ban for a repeat offense. Santuccione had already served a five-year suspension from the Italian cycling federation from 1995-2000.

Santuccione, the key figure in a four-year-old investigation labeled "Oil for Drugs," was accused of providing athletes with banned substances.

Athletes sanctioned for allegedly having ties to Santuccione include Giro d'Italia champion Danilo Di Luca, who was banned for three months, and former world pole vault champion Giuseppe Gibilisco, who received a two-year doping suspension.

Both athletes have denied doping. Santuccione and his lawyers did not show up Monday at the sports court for the sentencing, CONI said.

Justice to gang rape victim from Saudi king

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A gang-rape victim who was sentenced to six months in prison and 200 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her was pardoned by the Saudi king after the case sparked rare criticism from the United States, the kingdom's top ally.

Outrage over the sentence prompted unusually strong comments from President Bush, who said that if the same thing had happened to one of his daughters, he would be "angry" at a government that didn't protect the victim. The White House called the sentence "outrageous."

In past weeks, Saudi officials have bristled at the criticism of what they consider an internal affair — but also appeared wary of hurting their image in the United States.

Bush's National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the White House thinks Saudi King Abdullah "made the right decision" by pardoning the woman.

With the pardon, Abdullah appeared to be aiming at relieving the pressure from the United States without being seen to criticize Saudi Arabia's conservative legal system, a stronghold of powerful clerics adhering to the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheik said the pardon reported Monday by Saudi media does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but that he was acting in the "interests of the people."

"The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair," al-Sheik said, according to the Al-Jazirah newspaper.

In Washington, the State Department lauded the pardon, which it said it had confirmed through diplomatic channels, and said it hoped the decision would have an impact on the Saudi judiciary when considering similar cases.

"We're very pleased by the decision that was taken by the king, and we certainly hope it will send a signal to the Saudi judiciary," deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. "We certainly hope it will send a signal to the Saudi judiciary.

"We would like to not see a repeat of cases like this," Casey said. "If the king's decision has an impact of that kind on the thinking of those in the Saudi judicial system, I think that would be a good thing."

The victim — known only as the "Girl of Qatif" after her hometown in eastern Saudi Arabia — was in a car with a man in 2006 when they were attacked and raped by seven men.

She was initially sentenced in November 2006 to several months in prison and 90 lashes for being alone in a car with a man with whom she was neither related nor married, a violation of the kingdom's strict segregation of the sexes.

The woman, who was 19 at the time of the rape, has said she met the man to retrieve a picture of herself from him because she had recently married.

The seven men who were convicted of raping both the girl and the man were initially sentenced to jail terms from 10 months to five years. Their sentences were increased to between two and nine years after the appeal.

The case sparked increased international outcry recently after the court more than doubled the sentence last month to 200 lashes and six months prison in response to her appeal. Joining the U.S. criticism, Canada called the ruling barbaric.

Earlier this month, Bush expressed his anger over the sentencing.

"My first thoughts were these," Bush said. "What happens if this happens to my daughter? How would I react? And I would have been — I'd of been very emotional, of course. I'd have been angry at those who committed the crime. And I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim."

The controversy erupted as the United States was trying to ensure Saudi Arabia's participation in the November Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md. — which the kingdom attended.

During a U.S. visit before the conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal was visibly irritated when asked about the case by journalists. He said the storm being raised over it was outrageous, but also promised the sentence would be reviewed.

The kingdom's Justice Ministry has defended the sentence, saying the girl was having an illicit affair with the man.

Al-Sheik said Abdullah was the only official who could issue a pardon, and he did so despite the government's view that the Saudi legal system was "honest" and "fair."

"The king's order consolidates and confirms what is known about the Islamic courts," al-Sheik told Al-Jazirah. "Efficient judges look into different cases and issue their just verdicts and those convicted have the right to appeal."

Attempts to reach the woman's lawyer by telephone went unanswered Monday.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Narain clinches first A1GP victory for India in dramatic race


ZHUHAI: Narain Karthikeyan made history yesterday when he took India to their first ever A1 Grand Prix win in an incident-packed feature race at China’s Zhuhai International Circuit here yesterday.

Narain was joined on the podium by New Zealand’s Jonny Reid, who started from 10th position on the grid, and South Africa’s Adrian Zaugg who took third place.

The 30-year-old Indian driver, who started from third on the grid, took the lead from Kiwi Reid during the second pit stop on lap 29 and, despite a huge amount of pressure and some excellent racing from Reid, Narain held on to cross the line first in the 45-lap feature race clocking 1'08:30.759

Malaysia's with Alex Yoong did not finish the sprint and feature races.

Narain, who made history by scoring India’s first ever A1GP win, praised his team’s brilliant work in the pits.

“The team have been working really hard at pit stop practices and they’ve done a really good job this weekend. Both the pit stops were excellent and we got ahead but unfortunately I got stuck behind Pakistan on my out lap so I couldn’t push but I came out just ahead of Jonny.

“There was a lot of pressure towards the end but then his tyres went off as well as mine and then we were equal – after that I just got the job done,” said Narain.

Earlier, Michael Ammermuller of Team Germany took the sprint race after finishing the race in 20:1.432. Second was Switerland's Neel Jani (20:32.033) and third was Congfu Cheng of China who clocked 20:36.064.

Switzerland have extended their lead in the championship standings to 79 points, 19 ahead of second-placed France on 60 and closely followed by New Zealand just one point behind in third place on 59 points.

The championship now takes a five-week break before heading to New Zealand for round five in Taupo, marking the first race of the New Year From Jan 18-20.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The greatest teacher is life itself

It’s not every day that you remember an episode or a time that you spend with a beggar, but this interaction with these particular individuals is worth remembering for some strange reason.

Although there was a horde of beggars & lepers, that one could have chosen amidst the vast expanse of Shivaji Park [Dadar, South Mumbai]. There was this one particular couple who seemed to draw particular attention towards them.

It was a duo of a young boy around 7, accompanied by his grandmother who seemed well passed 60.

From the distance, it seemed that the younger one didn’t say much, all the talking was done by his grandmother. Don’t know why, but she definitely seemed convincing and was successful in drawing people attention towards them, clearly she has been doing this for sometime.

Supposedly it was her age, the way she spoke or the clear sign of her desperation situation, yet held together by the strength of her stony resilience inherit in her voice that people were unable to ignore.

When she got people’s attention, she was quick to narrate her plight and convey why she needed their help. And surprisingly people were willing to help, at least more often than not.

She spoke in a Marathi dialect, which clearly indicated that she was from interior Maharashtra and her soft & soothing voice struck a chord with all that she met, me included, and this was before she uttered a single word.

At last, I decided to approach her & talk to her. When I did, they presumed that I would to offer alms, which expectedly was their most obvious reaction. When I didn’t oblige, there was a tinge of disappointment etched on their faces. Their feeling only heightened when I told them that I would like to ask them some questions.. Initially they weren’t very forthcoming, and it needed some serious persuasion from my side to make them reveal their tightly guarded personal life.

Slowly but surely, the duo began to lift their self imposed veil of secrecy. The first thing that they said was that they had only resorted to begging as their farm land at a village in Kolhapur [Maharashtra] had failed to yield for the past few years due to various factors [i.e. bad monsoon, lack of irrigation, government etc.]

After suffering from repeated failed crops, they ended up pawning almost everything they owned, and when they defaulted on the interest to be paid for the loan that they had got from the lender, struck the final blow. Their financial condition completely collapsed.

Grandmother also revealed, “Seven year old Sandeep [her grandson], earlier used to go to school but subsequently had to drop out. Today his mother works as a domestic help and earns meagrely sum. His father broke his back every day as a labourer just to pay of the interest; in the end he lost all hope.”

Yet, with all the efforts combined they are barely able to survive, and so as a last resort. Granny & Sandeep decided to beg & seek alms from those who are capable & willing.

Sandeep & his Granny were both barefoot and although their attire weren’t totally torn or completely ragged, there were a clear sign of wear & tear on them after a long and exhaustive use.

If she had the option, she would send Sandeep back the school, but she also knows with Sandeep alongside her she had a better chance to earn that extra rupee, which was a reality she couldn't ignore.

But in conclusion after having heard all that this sexagenarian had to say, one couldn't help oneself from wanting to help them in some way or other, although conventional wisdom and sheer common sense told me otherwise. Because when you see outside Dadar station every day, there are a number of people there asking for help claiming that they had come from far off villages and were facing the same problems, and are under the same predicament as these two find themselves in

In all likelihood, there were a minuscule percentage of them who are genuine & you are taking a chance when you help any one of them. But I decided to take my chances, as I knew there is no fixed rule to understanding what is right from wrong. Life is in itself the greatest teacher, so learn and grow. And in the end, looking back one day you won't seem to regret it one bit.

Sometimes things are better done more from the heart rather than the mind. I feel, it was due to my selfishness that I decided to help. It was the need to protect myself from the feeling of anger and shame that would have followed if I had refused to help that had compelled me.

Does that make me a good person or bad? All I can say is that the compassion and generosity should not be judged on its motives. Otherwise one would notice a sudden drop in generous tendencies in people. Just wait….life will be greatest judge of that!!!!