Weekend Videos - Spies, Secrets of FB, & the Sun

Check out these videos to rev up your learning this weekend.

• Why our lives will keep revolving around the Sun (BBC Ideas, under 5 minutes)

• Inside Facebook: Secrets of the Social Network (Al Jazeera, under 47 minutes)

• How British spies made a cyber immune system (CNN, under 4 minutes)

Sunday Reads

• Newslaundry, your fact-check on the PM's interview has been fact-checked. (OPIndia)
• The political resonance of the 'Game of Thrones'. (New Yorker)
• Bangladesh at crossroads. (BBC)
• Indian Muslim women fight to overturn Triple Talaq. (AlJazeera)

Check out this infographic on Job Interview Cautions here.

Things You Should Know - Episode XVI

• The name ‘Accenture’ comes from ‘accent on the future’. Prior to 2001, the company was called Andersen Consulting.

• Scarlet Collar Worker is a term often used to refer to people who work in the pornography industry, especially women entrepreneurs in the field of internet pornography.

• Launched in October 1992, Zee TV was India’s first Hindi satellite channel. The channel is owned by Essel Group, owned by Subhash Chandra.

Dr Guy Scott

• Dr Guy Lindsay Scott (born 1 June 1944) is the Acting President of Zambia. He served as Vice President of Zambia from 2011 to 2014, and became acting president on the death of Michael Sata on 28 October 2014. He is the first white African head of state since South Africa’s F. W. de Klerk in 1994.

• It is interesting to know that in 1958 that Bank of America (BofA) launched its BankAmericard credit card programme, which later became Visa. The history of Bank of America dates back to 1904, when Amadeo Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. The Bank of Italy served the needs of many immigrants settling in the United States at that time, a service denied to them by the existing American banks who were typically discriminatory and often denied service to all but the wealthiest. In 1922, Giannini established Bank of America and Italy in Italy by buying Banca dell’Italia Meridionale, the latter established in 1918.  In 1928, Giannini merged his bank with Bank of America, Los Angeles, and consolidated it with his other bank holdings to create what would become the largest banking institution in the country. He renamed the Bank of Italy on November 3, 1930, calling it Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association.

AAP & English Media: A divorce in the offing?

Has the honeymoon between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the English media ended? 

"TV news, caught off guard by the sudden termination of the “police” protest where the AAP and Delhi Police ironically shared common ground outside Rail Bhavan, initially were with the AAP:  “Kejriwal has his way”’ (CNN-IBN, Headlines Today) as “Centre gives in to AAP” (NDTV 24×7)... By the time the news channels rolled out their big guns at 9 pm, the mood had turned cynical: “Total climbdown by AAP” (Times Now) was the most extreme judgement." 

Read the three articles I wrote on the duplicity of India's paid media. 

India's Paid Media

The Great Fraud Act

The Great NDTV Rope Act

Sunday Reads - Jolie, Propaganda, IPL, & the Internet

I am travelling today to Jodhpur (Rajasthan); I hope I do not get skewered in the terrible heat of the desert.

• Propaganda: Lies and distortion. (BBC)
• The Internet killed the Middle Class. (Salon)
• Corporatisation of Angelina Jolie's breasts? (Outlook)
• The seamier side of IPL: Women and money. (India Today)

As the IPL spot-fixing unravels, Manjul's cartoon in DNA captures it all.

Sunday Reads - Mango People & The Self-Destructive USSR

• How the Soviet Empire's ambitions contained the seeds of its destruction. (Book Review; The Economist)

• Daniel Craig on being James Bond. (Vanity Fair)

• The Economist who saves lives. (BBC)

• Mango people and media monsters. (Indian Express)
  
  Women make up half of the world (some say, the better half!). The Economist has an insightful graph on the economic contribution of women. Says the note for the graph: In the next decade nearly 1 billion women are likely to enter the global labour force. But their economic potential is largely unrealised. According to a report by Booz & Company, a consultancy, if female employment rates matched those of men, GDP would increase by 5% in America and 9% in Japan by 2020. The impact would be even larger for developing countries, home to most of the world’s women who lack adequate education and support (social and political). Increasing female employment would increase GDP significantly in countries like India and Egypt, where female labour-participation rates are below 30%. These countries rank low in Booz’s index of women’s economic empowerment.

Mid-Week Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas

You must have heard of the Jewish Diaspora. The Economist has an insightful graphic on the geographic spread of Jews. 

The map and chart above show where the biggest Jewish populations live and how this has changed over the past century. In 1939, Jews numbered 16.5m people, up from 10.6m in 1900. By the end of the second world war, the Nazis had wiped out one-third of them, sweeping away a thousand years of Jewish civilisation in central and eastern Europe. The death toll might have been even higher, but a flurry of pogroms that started 60 years earlier across the then-tsarist empire had sent waves of Jewish emigrants westward. By the time Hitler struck, some 6m Jews were safe in North and South America and in Britain, with 3m more living in the Soviet Union. From 1948, most of the Jews of north Africa and the Levant emigrated. The break-up of the Soviet Union brought the latest big wave of Jewish migration to Israel in the early 1990s. (Source for text & graphic: The Economist)

• Why all men are not created equal. (BBC Future)

• A big question for Marissa Mayer: What is Yahoo? (NYT)

• Obama: The Underachiever. (Outlook) I think the guys at Outlook wanted to pay back to TIME magazine guys for carrying a cover feature on the Indian Prime Minister titled, 'The Underachiever'.

• Terrorists like Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru have been sentenced to the gallows. But vote bank politics override national interest. Here's an edit that says that India's new president should dispose clemency pleas without fear or favour. (The New Indian Express)

The Moral Bankruptcy of Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi is missing in action. He has not been in news ever since the Congress party received a massive drubbing in recently held elections to the UP Assembly. In his post-UP election guest appearance before the media, the 'PM-in-Waiting', as his sycophant, Digvijay Singh designates his master, delivered a two-minute terse rehearsed speech, owning up responsibility for his party's disastrous performance. 

Rahul went around the state for several months before the elections. During this time, he made highly publicised visits to Dalit households. His army of myrmidons blared from the rooftops about the great sacrifices made by their 'Rahulji', like eating from earthenware owned by the host Dalits and sleeping on the floor. 

Forget about winning an absolute majority, as claimed by Rahul's I-am-your-biggest-follower, Diggy Raja, the party finished fourth, with just 28 seats (a mere six more than its 2007 tally). As if the misery was not complete, the party could win only two out of ten constituencies in the Gandhi family's pocket-boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli.

In fact, in Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli, Congress did not win any seat out of five assembly constituencies. These two Lok Sabha constituencies saw high decibel campaigns by the entire Gandhi clan: Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka, and Robert Vadra (Priyanka's husband). Even if one looks at these results dispassionately, they represent a resounding slap on the face of the Gandhi family. 

Even when we look at Rahul's performance in the Parliament, he has failed as an MP too. He rarely has spoken forth on any matter of public importance; all he does is parrot a few lines from prepared text (drafted by his band of loyalists), like the time he delivered an emotional talk on the sufferings of the widows of Vidharbha, a backward region in the Congress-NCP ruled state of Maharashtra. Remember Kalavathi? 

The Congress' 'youth icon' rambled in the Lok Sabha on how his government will wipe the tears away from the eyes of widows, like Kalavathi. After several months and a plethora of promises of help later, poor and deprived women like Kalavathi are still struggling. Even today Kalavathi and her kind are struggling to make ends meet to feed her family and herself. fos great performance. I suggest you read this India Today story on the sorry plight of the widows of Vidharbha.

So much for the youth icon's concern for the poor of this nation. 

When Rahul accused the Elephant in Lucknow (read Mayawati) of massive corruption, he looked sorry for he forgot how his Congress-led UPA coalition is widely seen as the fountainhead of some of the biggest scams in independent India: CWG scam, masterminded by Congress MP, Suresh Kalmadi, and the Rs1.76 lakh crore 2G spectrum scam, just to mention two.

If he is so distressed with the plight of the poor and marginalised, then what is he doing about the impoverished weavers in Congress-ruled Andhra Pradesh and the indebted farmers in Maharashtra? Where was he when the land and drug mafia were gobbling up in Congress-ruled Goa? Where was he when YSR and his son YS Jagan were amassing hundreds of crores in ill-gotten wealth? It does not take a genius to figure out why corruption cases have been slapped NOW against Jagan; after all YS Jagan has floated a rival party, which poses a strategic threat to the Congress' electoral chances.

India's Outlook magazine has recently published 25 Questions for Rahul Gandhi. Here is a selection of three pertinent questions from the list.

1. Mr Gandhi, while taking token responsibility for the Congress party’s performance in the Uttar Pradesh elections, you said "organisationally we are not where we should be” and that the party’s “fundamentals” are weak. After two years touring the heartland, whose responsibility is that?
2. On what grounds should we consider you a “leader of the future” when despite having a free hand to run the Congress, an all-India party with considerable pedigree, you can’t get it in shape to make a mark (forget winning) even in one state election?
3. How do you explain the fact that 34 per cent (154 out of a total of 354) of the candidates nominated by your party in UP had criminal antecedents? How do you justify rewarding corrupt and criminal former MLAs and ministers who had been denied tickets by even their erstwhile parties?

Rahul Gandhi is shallow, vain, and unfortunately surrounded by people who are happy to keep him in his make-believe world. Given the Ostrich-like attitude of the Congress leadership, it is unlikely that the dynastic-oriented party will ever learn from its mistakes; today it has nothing to offer to the country except for the moral bankruptcy of its leadership. 

7 Monday Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas

Begin your week with this shortlist of interesting readings and a slideshow. 

• China's parliament enlivened by brands and beauties. (BBC)

• Rahul Dravid - India's genius who could see way beyond the boundary. (Guardian)

• Pakistan's middle class is conservative and latent radical. (The Friday Times)

• Mother Teresa's house of illusions. (Secular Humanism)

• India's biggest mafia. (Media Crooks Blog)

• Time zones are fluid. (The Smart Set). Hat Tip: PCR.

• Slideshow: Photos of the Week (March 2-9) from TIME. The photograph below shows Indian Hindu transvestites dance together in the Radha Rani Temple during Lathmar Holi in Barsana, India.
  

India's Paid Media

The secular Indian media, especially the electronic media, are trying to outgun each other to flaunt their secular credentials in their portrayal of the 2002 riots in Gujarat. Its been ten years since the riots took place. I will not do a post-mortem  of who's right and who's wrong. 

The self-styled guardians of our secularism - NDTV, TIMES Now, CNN IBN, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times - are busy raking up the ghosts of the Gujarat riots. All they rant is how the Muslims were killed, how Muslim women were raped, how Muslim homes were burnt down.... and on they rant in endless debates, with conscience-keepers of our society -  Brinda Karat, Javed Akhtar, Manish Tiwari, Abhishek Singhvi, Suhel Seth, Teesta Setalvad, and other 'secular' folks.

Why don't Barkha Dutt, Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai, Sagarika Ghosh, and Arnab Goswami ever raise questions on the 

(a) role played by Congress party leaders in the 1984 Sikh Riots in Delhi, which saw the deaths of more than 3000 Sikhs, in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards;

(b) plight of the Hindu Pandits of Kashmir who are living like refugees in their own country after being driven out by Muslim terrorists and hardliners;

(c) ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Christians in Kashmir Valley by Muslim radicals;

(d) evangelical activities carried out by Christian missionaries in several parts of India, especially in large parts of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Kerala;

(e) farmers' suicides in Andhra Pradesh, the so-called 'rice bowl of India', because of the nefarious policies of the Congress government.

Yes, there are several other uncomfortable questions that are never raised on the Newshour, Big Fight, Question Time India, Face the Nation. 

Selective amnesia on the part of the Indian media is sowing seeds of hatred between different communities. What the media in India is peddling is half-truths and lies. They act more like spokespersons of the Congress and less like protectors of public interest.

To hell with public interest, as long as I get my kickbacks and paid holidays, seem to be the silent refrain of the secular media houses. So much for 'whatever it takes' to 'experience truth'. 

The Great NDTV Rope Act

In a story titled, 'The Great Fraud Act' (Nov 7), posted on this blog, I wrote about the manipulative practices and corruption involving NDTV news network, led by Prannoy James Roy.  

In that story, I wrote that Roy's NDTV panders to the Sonia Maino-led CONgress party's agenda because of its own needs; the CBI had filed cheating cases against Roy and NDTV. So its quid pro quo: NDTV becomes the CONgress party's mouthpiece while the CONgress party takes care of the cheating cases.

Now more evidence has emerged in this regard. On November 15, 2011, S. K. Shrivatsava, Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi, filed an affidavit against NDTV and its management, accusing them of receiving bribe money of Rs2000 crores (Rs Two Thousand Crores) on behalf of some beneficiaries in the 2G scam.

The affidavit also mentions the role of P. Chidambaram in harassing the honest Indian Revenue Service (IRS) by filing false charges of rape.

I think you should read the affidavit; it is 32-page long and, like most legal documents, is repetitive. 

For the complete affidavit, click here. I suggest that you check out Page 24 onward for a greater understanding of NDTV's corrupt and strong arm tactics.

Spread the word. Share the link to this post with friends; people should know the truth about corupt and biased media network channels like NDTV. 

No news channel in the electronic media or publication in the print media carried this story. There are several reasons for this; the most important is that they are all naked when it comes to peddling lies and furthering their agenda. 

The Great Fraud Act

The media in India is considered by many commentators as one of the most open and free in the world. I wish it were true. The two main channels of media - electronic and print - are riddled with paid news and are driven by their vested interests. 

Take the case of NDTV. Any serious observer of the Indian media space would swear by the fact that NDTV is shamelessly pro-Congress. Prannoy James Roy (above) and his bouquet of channels lack any ethics and are neck deep in peddling lies about anyone who dares to oppose the Sonia Maino-led Congress. 

If you think I am leveling allegations against these self-appointed media gods, then read the following extract of investigative journalism from Zoom Indian Media:

During 1997 and 1998, the names of NDTV and its founder Prannoy Roy appear in newspapers and magazines in relation to a major corruption case in Doordarshan. 

In the context of the recent reports of financial malpractice by NDTV and its founder Prannoy Roy, I followed up on this tweet by Kunal Majumdar, a journalist: 

In 1998 CBI had filed a case against Pranoy Roy for creating a loss of Rs 5 cr to DD. http://bit.ly/ij5lC3 #fb

I was surprised to learn of the existence of a CBI case against Prannoy Roy. I wanted to dig up more on this story. I went through all 16 pages returned by Google for “prannoy roy cbi dd” and found many interesting links. I’m putting the links here quoting revelant portions of the articles. One must be cautious before drawing conclusions from these articles as they were written more than a decade ago. But one conclusion that people may safely draw is that during the early 90s, NDTV and its founder and Executive Chairperson Prannoy Roy were allegedly involved in corrupt dealings reportedly causing a loss of atleast Rs. 3.52 crore to Doordarshan, allegedly bribed an official in the Government of India, and in January 1998 cases were filed against Roy and others by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

If you think this was bad, then you should read this article from The Sunday Guardian. Let me cite an excerpt from the article: 

NDTV, through its foreign subsidiaries, is suspected to be indulging in gross violations of Indian tax and corporate laws. NDTV Network Plc, UK was set up in November 2006. Its balance sheets were not filed in India. This company has raised and invested huge sums of money in its subsidiaries, NDTV Imagine (now sold), NDTV Lifestyle, NDTV Labs, NDTV Convergence and NGEN Media Services. The main activity of the company seems to be that of buying shares, as detailed later. Even now, most of the deals being struck by NDTV are being transacted through this UK subsidiary, with no money seemingly coming to India by way of tax.

Here's how NDTV indulges in financial chicanery and is looting the wealth of shareholders. Read this second complete article here.

NDTV Limited and associate companies in which Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy have a majority stake have indulged in financial misdemeanours and malpractices in connivance with ICICI Bank, and raised funds by misdeclaration of the value of shares in NDTV. These shares were held by a company called RRPR Holding Private Limited.

For publishing these articles, NDTV threatened The Sunday Guardian with its usual strong arm tactics. (Read NDTV's reply to the articles here.)

I used to wonder as what could be the possible reasons behind NDTV's staunch support for the INC, to the extent that it has become the voice of the Congress party. 

Today I know why; the Congress party has Prannoy Roy by his balls because of these corruption allegations. Become our voice and pander to our agenda, says the INC to NDTV. 

Roy and NDTV are just being 'His Master's Voice', i.e. Sonia Maino's voice. It is twist of irony that NDTV's tag-line reads: 'Experience Truth. First.' Yes, the lies and prejudices peddled as truth.