premub

All you wanted to know about Yoga

2006-08-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

By Dr Bhadran Ambalathara

One of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, which has had widespread influence on many schools of Indian thought. It is better known through its practical aspect than its intellectual content, which is largely based on the philosophy of Samkhya.

Holding that the evolution of the world occurred in stages, Yoga attempts to reverse this order so that a person reenters his or her state of purity and consciousness. Generally, the Yoga process involves eight stages, which may require several lifetimes to pass through.

The first two stages are ethical preparations emphasizing morality, cleanliness, and devotion to God. The next two stages are physical preparations that condition the body to make it supple, flexible, and healthy; the physical aspects of Yoga have been most successfully popularized in the West.

The fifth stage involves control of the mind and senses to withdraw from outward objects. The remaining three stages entail the cultivation of increasingly concentrated states of awareness, which will ultimately lead to release from the cycle of rebirth. See also chakra, kundalini.

Yoga (yō'gə) [Skt.,=union], general term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism, Buddhism, and throughout S Asia that are directed toward attaining higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering, and rebirth. More specifically it is also the name of one of the six orthodox systems of Hindu philosophy. Both Vedic and Buddhist literature discuss the doctrines of wandering ascetics in ancient India who practiced various kinds of austerities and meditation.

The basic text of the Yoga philosophical school, the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali (2d cent. B.C.), is a systematization of one of these older traditions. Contemporary systems of yoga, such as those of Sri Aurobindo Ghose and Sri Chinmoy Ghose, stress that spiritual realization can be attained without the withdrawal from the world characteristic of the older traditions. Yoga is usually practiced under the guidance of a guru, or spiritual guide.

Patañjali divides the practice of yoga into eight stages. Yama, or restraint from vice, and niyama, or observance of purity and virtue, lay the moral foundation for practice and remove the disturbance of uncontrolled desires.

Asana, or posture, and pranayama, or breath control, calm the physical body, while pratyahara, or withdrawal of the senses, detaches the mind from the external world. Internal control of consciousness is accomplished in the final three stages: dharana, or concentration, dhyana, or meditation, and samadhi. Through such practices yogis acquire miraculous powers, which must ultimately be renounced to attain the highest state.

In samadhi the subject-object distinction and one's sense of an individual self disappear in a state usually described as one of supreme peace, bliss, and illumination. A common feature of different traditions of yoga is one-pointed concentration on a chosen object, whether a part of the body, the breath, a mantra, a diagram, a deity, or an idea.

Hindu tradition in general recognizes three main kinds of yoga: jnana yoga, the path of realization and wisdom, bhakti yoga, the path of love and devotion to a personal God, and karma yoga, the path of selfless action. Other classifications exist. Patañjali's yoga is known as raja, or “royal,” yoga.

Hatha yoga, which stresses physical control and postures, is widely practiced in the West. Kundalini yoga, especially associated with Tantra, is based on the physiology of the “subtle body,” according to which seven major centers of psychic energy, called chakras, are located along the spinal column, with the kundalini, or “coiled” energy in latent form, located at the base of the spine. When the kundalini is activated by yogic methods, it ascends the spine through the main subtle artery of the sushumna, “opening” each chakra in turn.

When the kundalini reaches the topmost chakra in the brain, samadhi is attained.

kashmir

2006-07-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

In the north western part of Kashmir, very close to the line of actual control, lies the quaint little town of Uri. The town more famous for the skirmishes which take place between the Indian and Pakistani forces has a small population, most of whom eking out their livelihood by trading or farming on the difficult and hostile terrain during the summer months. The amazing thing about the people in the town was there fierce pride in their land, refusing to be cowed down by the dangers of war. For years they had survived, often disregarding the man made boundaries, venturing across the border to be with their brethren, in what is called as the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. This town had seen many bloody battles since the great divide in 1947 but strangely for years had been untouched by the dreaded terrorist organizations or the so called atrocities perpetuated by the armies of the two countries. The feeling of security when there was no war in progress continued over the years, as the sparse population went about their chores. All this stopped on the night of February, the fifteenth 2005.

Old timers who were a witness to the blood bath swore that even the bloody battles which the two countries fought did not lead to such bizarre and gory scenes. At around 2.30 am, when even the street dogs are silent, there a series of explosions. People used to the shelling from across the line, rushed out startled into the streets.

A tragedy had struck. The main market place the busiest part of the town, where the traders and shopkeepers were resting for the night was a river of blood. This was no war. The targets were innocent people. Bodies were strewn all over the place. A limb here, a hand there, blood oozing from gaping wounds, feeble voices asking for help to ease their pain. Innocent children, helpless, crying for their mothers who lay motionless next to them, never to respond to call of their children again.

Surveying this gruesome site, almost with satisfaction, a wry smile adorning his cherubic face was young Yasser Abdul Mohammed. Yasser was 22 years old, a strapping lad with curly hair, a long aristocratic nose, typical of the proud people of that land, had something striking about him. It was those pale blue eyes which carried a piercing gaze when he was looking at you, almost like Uri Geller’s eyes when he bends a metal rod using those extra sensory perceptions he had.

Yasser, named after the great Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, walked away from the site, almost indifferent to the happenings around, wiping off the traces of blood form his hands and legs, blood of his slain brethren who lay around him. Yasser walked down the winding streets of Uri and reached the corner of a bylane where he lived in a garage. The only garage in the town, where the owner not possessing a car, thought it fit to earn some money by renting it out to this quiet tenant who surprisingly paid him good money for this ramshackle place.

The insides of the garage were a contrast. The place was tastefully furnished, a large beige couch for comfortably relaxing, a plasma color television set which would make a young lad in distant New Delhi envy, a large wardrobe which stored stylishly cut clothes from the choicest fashion stores. On the pleasantly coloured walls were posters of Bollywood throbs such as Shahrukh Khan and the inevitable Aishwaria Rai, Tendulkar and Sania Mirza. What on a superficial inspection looked like a typical bachelor’s den, was indeed a storehouse of some the most powerful equipment sufficient to shake an entire community. In the corner, located next to a wardrobe was an equipment which looked like a computer and a radio. In fact it was a very powerful transmitter with a video connection, hooking up Yasser to the network of the most powerful and dreaded organization of the world., Warriors of Freedom a world wide network of terrorists controlled factions in Palestine, Bosnia, Columbia, Afganisthan, Kashmir and South east Asia. The Kashmir faction, Jansher al Toiba, euphemistically called themselves “Peacemakers” was the organization which Yasser was aligned to.

Yasser switched on the machine and as it crackled to life, his mentor Omar came on line. Yasser relaxed on the couch his job accomplished said “with the grace of Allah, our mission is accomplished” in an almost emotionless voice. “The Hindustani administrators are clueless and in a state of panic. We can expect the Indian government to come down to talk to us on the release of our beloved brothers being held in the Tihar jail.” The old man, Omar, all of 70 plus years smiled “May Allah grant us the peace which all of us desire, a victory for the people of Azad Kashmir. Yasser, my boy you have done well, the organization recognizes and salutes you, let peace be your beacon, kudafis” and the screen went dead.

It was 530 am now, Yasser had time on his hands, he had to wait for the next set of commands, to move elsewhere and perform as directed, for his cause for the cause of the mother land he dearly loved. Yasser was tired and as he lay on the couch relaxed after the efforts of the night, his mind went back to another day, many moons ago, when he was a boy of four, doted by his Ammi and Abba, the darling of the family.

“Yasser, my love I have made those special sweets, some Phiruni for you” , he could clearly remember his mother saying. “Go get me the box to pack some for Abba, dear, thank Allah for all we have” he could still hear his beloved Ammi saying. And then disaster struck. In one single moment Yasser’s life changed.

An earthquake had struck. It was 8.2 on the Richter scale, a large one by any standards, with its epicenter 100 miles form Uri, across the border, near the Pakistani city of Islamabad. There was panic all around. There was destruction and death. The opportunists had a chance to loot. The poor and the needy were the most affected. As the town itself affected by the quake crumbled so did Yasser’s life. His Ammi, just a few seconds back was packing the Phiruni, lay still on the ground, a huge gash across the forehead. Elsewhere unknown to Yasser, his Abba took the force of a mighty boulder as the building at which he worked came down in those fateful seconds.

The doted son was now an Orphan. Yasser went about crying “ Ammi wake up, Abba will come any time, here is the box you wanted for the phirunis” she was still. The innocent young child, not understanding the meaning of death, thinking his mother was angry with the pranks he played wailed “ Oh Ammi, I am sorry, I love you please talk to me, the malpovas are getting cold” , but to no avail. It was all a blur for Yasser after that. People from the neighbourhood took him away, the news of Abba’s demise as well, the mass burials which he could not comprehend and then the presence of the relief workers all over the place.

He distinctly remembered being take to a camp, hundreds of people like him, grim, sad faced and puzzled about their future sat around, waiting for food packets. Beyond that Yasser’s memory was that of the govt officials asking him questions, he only could tell his name and Ammis’. The government as one would expect, appointed committees, surveys were conducted, relief promised but most of these did not reach the needy. The plight of the affected was pathetic. Medicines for the injured were in short supply, getting a morsel of food from the packages brought by trucks was an effort. The lack of sanitation created epidemics. However, amidst these chaotic scenes, there were people who provided remarkable support. Several of them were NGO groups with allegiance to larger organizations. With the government moving on to its next big preoccupation, it was left to charitable institutions and relief workers volunteering to attend to the needy. One major issue which bothered the relief workers was the plight of a large number of young children. The concern was always “What is going to be their future? How do we get them to be taken care of safely. As usual there were a few interested parties from Sweden, Germany and the U.S. wanting to adopt a few of the children. This however was inadequate. The state Home Ministry officials nonplussed with the problem had inconclusive debates and meetings. At this stage, a break through arrived. A large non governmental organization with networks all over India came forward to take up the responsibility of resettling the children. Moving the children from the camps to a more amicably surroundings, they brought some order into their lives. With the help of the government, they gave new identities for the children in some cases even new names. For Yasser it was an age certificate and allocation of organization to which he would be sent to. And finally, help arrived for Yasser to start a new life. A life which all hoped would bury the past and lead to a bright future. He was taken along with a group of young children to a place where they were greeted by an old couple. As Yasser looked on with trepidation, ”This will be your home from now, my child,” the old man greeted with a kind smile. “My name is Hamid and you can call me Abba from now on” is all he said. Yasser liked the new Abba and the kind smile, as he started his new life.

Yasser, under the guidance of Hamid was one of the stars in the institute. An institute which took care of destitute children and gave them a chance to be someone in life, an opportunity which helped the children get the benefits of parenthood and education. Hamid used to tell the apple of his eye Yasser “Young man, as you grow older you should pay back to your motherland all that she has given you”. Yasser used to be puzzled at these statements at that time. Now he was precisely doing what was asked of him. Yasser grew with a group of boys, all of them strictly leading a regimented life. Their teachers were kind but firm. They had all the worldly education which any school boy would have but with a difference. They were taught to live for a cause. The underlying message for them was, ‘your life is for Kashmir, your motherland, free it from the tyranny of the oppressors. No sacrifice is big for the motherland’ was the thought systematically ingrained in their young minds as they grew up. Yasser grew up to be confident young man, well accomplished in the ways of the world. His special skill was – he was a master strategist in the art of terrorism and warfare.

It just happened one day. Yasser with his friends was rifling through his belongings, with a view to do what is commonly called spring cleaning. He came across a faded photograph, that of his beloved Ammi and Abba, bringing back the deluge of memories which he carefully cultivated to hide. Beneath the photograph was a hastily scribbled address. Something which one would find in a voters card. Not remembering what happened to his Ammi, Yasser decided to trace his roots and look for his parents. After several anxious, surveys, his heart throbbing with anticipation, Yasser located the building. An old decrepit place, no longer livable, the pavements broken, cobwebs on the ceilings and plasters peeling off from what was once the home of a lovable family. Alas there was no sign of his Ammi or Abba. As he prepared to leave the place, with a heavy heart, he encountered an old man, whom he vaguely remembered as Tikoo Chacha It was indeed Tikoo Chacha, who after realizing who Yasser was, overcome with emotions and said “Son, where were you all these days, God is really kind to have let me live to see this day. Tikoo chacha was a Kashmiri pandit in whose house the young Ammi used to play with her friends when she was a schoolgirl.
Your Ammi would have been proud to see a pleasant young man like you. She had ambitions for you to join the Indian Army or to be space scientist.” Yasser was stunned. His Ammi wanted him to be part of the proud Indian tradition, a man which independent India would be proud off. Thoughtfully he bid adieu to Tikoo Chacha and came home.

That night Yasser had a dream. He dreamt of his Ammi and Abba. His Ammi kept calling him to come back as he walked away from her to take his position among his colleagues. Yasser woke up startled and confused. Was Ammi telling him he was wrong. Was he disappointing his loving mother? Yasser kept getting these disconcerting dreams often. Mentally, it started to tell on him. His single minded devotion to the “cause” weakened a bit. He was no longer the emotionless lad which people around him thought him to be.

Yasser was seen lost in thought, not very enthusiastic in his approach to his job. He realized that his leaders were watching him too. Yasser, by know took to the Koran, realized his ways were wrong. And then it happened.

The Governor of Kashmir was visiting the area to participate in the Independence Day celebration. “This is our Chance” Omar had said, Lets hit the bulls eye. Surprisingly, Yasser volunteered. His colleagues were happy to see the change. The stage was set and the mock attacks were staged. Yasser was to be the key man. The suicide bomber, who if necessary, would sacrifice his life. The explosives were meticulously selected, the site identified and the getaways planned. The D day neared and Yasser was preparing to do a mock attack with all the key leaders including Omar in attendance. Explosives were strapped to Yasser, he had the trigger with him, just as if it was the event itself.

Yasser, in the meantime, pensive and a bit sad, was nervous and fidgety. His colleagues put it down to nervousness. When the Omar called for action to start, there was a pregnant silence. A minute later, Yasser triggered the explosives, creating a massive fireball, whose victims included all the terrorists leaders and of course destruction of the explosive dump itself.

The lone survivor, who happened to be near Yasser in his last few seconds, heard him say, “Ammi, hear I come your little son, fulfilling your ambitions and as he moved with a smile on his face looking for the embrace from his beloved Ammi, the explosions occurred.

One more son had sacrificed his life for the cause. For the cause of a free, fair and peaceful India.

Barcelona fast-tracked into world club semi-finals

2006-07-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

(Corrects year in eighth para to 1992) A corrected repeat follows By Alastair Himmer TOKYO, July 27 (Reuters) - European champions Barcelona will join this year''s Club World Cup at the semi-final stage, Japanese organisers confirmed on Thursday. The Catalan club will receive a first-round bye in FIFA''s six-team tournament in December, along with the eventual winners of South America''s Libertadores Cup. Barcelona, who beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Champions League final in May, will play their opening match on Dec. 14 in Yokohama. The tournament takes place from Dec. 10 to 17. The preliminary draw will be held in September. Last year Sao Paulo won the first version of the revamped Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool, their third world title. The tournament involves the six continental champions but host country Japan will again be without representation as none of its J-League teams are left in the Asian Champions League. Mexico''s Club America and Oceania champions Auckland City have already qualified. The representatives of Asia and Africa, along with South America, will be decided later this year. Barcelona were beaten 2-1 by Sao Paulo in 1992 in the Intercontinental Cup, the former annual one-off match between the champions of Europe and South America. FIFA staged a multi-team club world championship six years ago in Brazil but were forced to pull the plug on the competition in 2001 after the collapse of marketing partner ISMMISL. The Japan Football Association (JFA) are hoping, meanwhile, to persuade FIFA to allow them to keep the Club World Cup in the country beyond this year. ;No one other than (FIFA) president Sepp Blatter can make that decision,; JFA chief Saburo Kawabuchi told reporters. FIFA have already turned down a JFA request to increase the number of teams to allow a Japanese team to take part in the competition.

Iran choose Qalehnoie to succeed Ivankovic

2006-07-17T03:22:00.000-07:00

TEHRAN, July 17, 2006 (AFP) - Iran named Amir Qalehnoie as the country's new football coach on Monday to succeed Croatian Branko Ivankovic who left following the team's first round exit at the World Cup. Qalehnoie recently took Esteghlal to the Iranian league title. Ivankovic, who had been in charge since 2002, quit after Iran finished the World Cup in Germany with just one point from three Group D games. The Iranian press had already called for Ivankovic to go after Iran lost to Mexico and Portugal but although they salvaged some pride with a scrappy draw against the Angolans, it was a bitterly disappointing campaign for what had been considered the best Iranian team for decades.

futbol

2006-07-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

After months of minor changes during which order was largely maintained in the top 10, the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking witnessed some veritably seismic shifts, with a couple of key factors forcing the movement.The first of these was the most significant change in the ranking's calculation in its 13-year history. A new system came into operation this month and, instead of taking into account the past eight years' results, only the last four now have a bearing on teams' positions within the ranking table. As for the other means by which the ranking was traditionally decided (result, importance of match, strength of opponents, regional strength, number of matches considered), these have been tested, re-analysed and, in some cases, completely revised. Indeed, two of the factors previously used - goals scored and home advantage - have been removed from the reckoning process altogether.By anyone's standards, this represents a major overhaul of the entire system, and it is one that is also geared towards makes the process of assessing fully 207 member associations a little easier to understand. "We are aware that it is difficult to meet everybody's expectations," acknowledged FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, "but are confident that the new system will provide an accurate measure of the strength of each of our member associations." Italy close in on Brazil in new-look top fiveNo prizes for guessing the second main dynamic behind the principal movers and shakers in this month's ranking. That small, little-known tournament known as the FIFA World Cup™ certainly had a telling and, in some cases, spectacular impact, and all the more so because of this new rule dictating that only the past four years' results are taken into account. This was evident from the top five downwards, where Brazil just hung on to top spot from Italy, who jumped 11 places after succeeding the Seleção as world champions. The Final itself might have been marred by Zinedine Zidane's dismissal and decided in the least desirable fashion, but over the course of the tournament, their solidity and solidarity had set them apart from many a more-fancied rival."Maybe it wasn't pretty, but we were hard to beat," said their tigerish midfield scrapper Gennaro Gattuso after the penalty shoot-out win over France, acknowledging the colossal roles played by Fabio Cannavaro, Italy's decisive, dynamic captain, and the agile, often-unbeatable Gianluigi Buffon. Coach Marcello Lippi, meanwhile, praised his players for the "unlimited heart, character and personality," that had seen them brush aside Ghana, Czech Republic, Australia, Ukraine and Germany en route to their crowning moment in Berlin's Olympiastadion.The only disappointment for the Azzurri as they look ahead to UEFA EURO 2008 - and, perhaps, to snatching top spot from the Brazilians - is that they will do so without Lippi himself, who resigned in the wake of the Final, claiming that: "I have achieved what I set out to achieve." Beaten finalists France (fourth, up four) also burst into the top five along with the impressive, but ultimately unsuccessful Argentina (third, up six) and another team whose dreams of glory ended in the quarter-finals, England (fifth, up five). Germany, meanwhile, were rewarded for their inspiring march to the semis with a return to the top ten, where they assumed ninth position with a climb of 10 places. Gains for UkraineThis, however, was nothing compared to the dramatic ascent of Oleg Blokhin's Ukraine, who leaped no fewer than 30 spots on the ranking to land in 15th, while the team they eliminated on penalties, Switzerland, recorded a similarly significant 22-place rise to 13th. Paraguay, who jumped 14 places to 19th in the ranking, also benefited from their FIFA World Cup involvement, as did two of the tournament's African newcomers, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Both have now established themselves in world football's top 25 for the first time, with their dynamic, attacking contributions to Germany 2006 finding reward in the shape of a 23-place rise from 48 to 25 for the former, and a jump of 12 spots - from 32 to 20 - for the latter. Agony for Asian trioNot all of the FIFA World Cup participants fared so well, however, and for every rapid rise, there was a drop every bit as dramatic. Saudi Arabia, for example, plummeted fully 47 places to rest in 81st position in the wake of a disappointing campaign, and their Asian rivals had similarly sad tales to recount. Take Japan, who began the tournament in 18th position and now languish in 49th, or Iran - down 24 to 47th - or even 2002 semi-finalists Korea Republic, who dropped out of the top 50 altogether after slumping 27 places to 56th. Finally, and while the FIFA World Cup might understandably have dominated our attentions, we should also recognise the remarkable progress registered by a few non-participants, most notably Equatorial Guinea, who climbed 59 places into 95th position, Canada, who moved to within four places of the top 50 with a 29-place jump, and Guinea, who are now one spot ahead of Ghana, having leaped from 51st to 24th position in this much-changed ranking table. Orient Shao Jiayi ready for Cottbus loan (AFP) 14 Jul 2006Chinese midfielder Shao Jiayi has been loaned to the German Bundesliga club FC Energie Cottbus for a transfer fee worth about 10 million yuan (1.2 million dollars), state press said Friday. Shao's Chinese club, Beijing Guoan, announced that the transfer had been agreed upon and that only a few formalities remained before the loan would be complete, the Beijing Daily Messenger reported. The entire transfer fee will not be paid out in cash, but include the fees for training in Germany of up to six Beijing Guoan youth players, plus a friendly match between Guoan and Cottbus, the paper, citing Guoan officials, said. The 26-year-old Shao was released by second division 1860 Munich at the end of the last season. He had played with the club since 2003. In May, Cottbus won the right to return to top-flight German football, following relegation from the Bundesliga in 2003. MTN signs global deal as first African FIFA World Cup Sponsor until 2010 With the 2006 tournament in Germany just completed, the focus of the football world has now shifted to Africa and its economy for the next four-year cycle which will culminate in the first FIFA World Cup™ on African soil in South Africa. As FIFA embarks on this new era, the world governing body of football is proud to announce that for the first time, an African company - MTN Group Limited - has signed up as a FIFA World Cup Sponsor. This historic agreement awards MTN global rights to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ as well as to the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2009. The new partnership, sealed by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and MTN Group President and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko at a private signing ceremony, underlines the commitment of both entities to empower Africa through football."We are proud that MTN has chosen FIFA for this landmark commitment which creates a true partnership with many opportunities for both of us. Telecommunications play a key role in uniting people and we are convinced that we have found a highly dedicated partner in Africa and the Middle East's leading mobile telecommunications group, which is also the keenest supporter of African football on the continent," said FIFA President Blatter."The FIFA World Cup™ has a spectacular reach around the world through the universal language of football and it is this unique attribute that convinced us to commit to this global sponsorship deal. This is an ideal opportunity for us to leverage the powerful assets of MTN to a global audience and to show that the time for Africa has come. It means a lot to us to be part of this unique global movement," said MTN Group President and CEO, Phuthuma Nhleko.MTN will operate in the product area of mobile telecommunication services which spans all key technologies in the mobile sector, including services to media and FIFA as well as to the Organising Committee. In addition to the standard global marketing rights (exclusive commercial use of the Official Marks of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009), MTN has acquired significant mobile content rights for a defined set of territories mainly in Africa and the Middle East, including features such as video highlights of all matches played during these two tournaments in South Africa in 2009 and 2010. MTN is the third company after Anheuser-Busch and McDonald's to join the proposed six-member group of FIFA World Cup Sponsors under FIFA's new commercial hierarchy. This comprises six FIFA Partners, six FIFA World Cup Sponsors and six National Supporters. FIFA has already signed up all six FIFA Partners, namely adidas, Hyundai, Sony, Coca-Cola, Visa and Emirates Airline. In addition, FNB was announced recently as the first National Supporter of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Scolari Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has signed a new two-year contract to remain in charge of the national team, the country's football federation announced Friday. The 57-year-old Brazilian's current deal was set to expire at the end of the month and he had been linked with several other international and club jobs. A Brazilian newspaper report had claimed the former Brazil manager, who won the FIFA World Cup™ with his country in 2002, had turned down the chance to manage them again. O Globo said Brazil's football confederation president Ricardo Texeira offered Scolari the post after Portugal's 2006 FIFA World Cup third-place play-off defeat against Germany last week. But he apparently refused the chance to replace Carlos Alberto Parreira for family reasons. Scolari led Portugal to a fourth place finish at this summer's FIFA World Cup and also took his side to the final of UEFA EURO 2004. Portugal's run to the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in Germany equalled their previous best performance at the tournament, when they made the last four in 1966 before losing to England 2-1. Italian giants stunned by punishments Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina reacted with fury on Friday after they were all relegated from Italian football's top-division and banned from Europe for their part in the country's match-fixing scandal. Juventus were also deducted 30 points from their total for next season and stripped of their last two league titles. Lazio and Fiorentina were penalised seven points and 12 points respectively. AC Milan will stay in Serie A but will lose 15 points and will also be kicked out of the UEFA Champions League. The decisions were handed out just five days after Italy won the FIFA World Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory over France in Berlin. Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said he was stunned by the decision and that the club will appeal. "It's incredible," he said. "We were expecting a fairer sentence. We don't understand how we can be excluded from the championship. "Juve is the only team which has clearly shown a desire to change. To be in Serie B with a 30-point deduction is absolutely unacceptable. "We do not understand the different legal treatment applied to the four cases under consideration. As the facts have clearly demonstrated, the episodes relating to Juventus under the observation of the sporting tribunal are without question comparable to those with which the other teams are charged. "The difference being that in our case only two matches have been called into question. Therefore our priority is to look after the interests of our fans and those of the minor share holders, and we will do this straight away, by appealing to the Consiglio Federale (of the Italian football federation)." Luciano Moggi, the former director of Juventus whose attempts to have specific referees assigned to his club's matches sparked the scandal, was hit with a five-year suspension. "I am not bitter for myself, but for the teams implicated and for their supporters," he said on Friday. "No match was fixed, no referees were favoured. It is why Juventus and the other clubs, but especially the fans, are frustrated by this sentence." Fiorentina were equally angry. "It's a profound injustice," the club said in a statement. "Out of respect for the city, the fans and the dignity of all those concerned, Fiorentina will battle with all its means to have the light shone on the facts and on its absolute innocence concerning all accusations of fraud." Lazio president Claudio Lotito, who was handed a three-year ban from all sporting activities, said he was stunned by the club's punishment. "It's a sentence we were not expecting," he said. "Lazio has never tried to violate ethical rules." Dujkovic quits as Ghana coach (AFP) 16 Jul 2006Ratomir Dujkovic, who led Ghana to the FIFA World Cup™ second round, resigned on Sunday despite having five months to run on his contract."We have been informed of the resignation and the departure from Ghana of Mr Dujkovic", GFA spokesman Randy Abbey said, without giving a reason for the Serb's decision. The 55-year-old Dujkovic took Ghana to the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in their history in Germany, where they were knocked out by Brazil in the Round of 16. Roberto Abbondanzieri Argentina goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri said on Sunday that he will leave Boca Juniors and sign for Spanish side Getafe in a 1.5-million Euro deal. "It's the moment to leave," said the 33-year-old. "For me, it's an important challenge because it's probably my last chance (to change clubs)." Abbondanzieri, who played in the Argentina team which made the quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup™, helped Boca Juniors to 14 league titles. Argentina goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri said on Sunday that he will leave Boca Juniors and sign for Spanish side Getafe in a 1.5-million Euro deal. "It's the moment to leave," said the 33-year-old. "For me, it's an important challenge because it's probably my last chance (to change clubs)." Abbondanzieri, who played in the Argentina team which made the quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup™, helped Boca Juniors to 14 league titles. After breaking off for the FIFA World Cup™, the Copa Libertadores resumes next week as the eight sides left in the tournament contest the second legs of their quarter-final ties. FIFA.com is on hand to whet your appetite with all the latest news on the teams including player departures, new signings, and the hopes and predictions of the men looking to lift the title and thereby book a place at this year's FIFA Club World Cup. Hopes high for Paraguay's LibertadThe team they call El Gumarelo snatched a valuable 2-2 draw in May's first leg in Buenos Aires and are well-placed to move into the semi-finals. The only player to move on since then is the Argentine Pablo Garnier, who returned home to join Arsenal. Despite attracting serious interest from Boca Juniors, keeper Aldo Bobadilla will be on duty in the return leg in Asuncion. The one other development involving the club will see their Argentine coach Gerardo Martino taking on the Paraguay job at the end of the season, a deserved reward for his excellent spell in charge of Libertad. River Plate plagued by uncertaintyThe joy of knocking out Brazilian giants Corinthians in the previous round was all too short-lived for Los Millonarios, who go into the game in Paraguay with less than 17 players to choose from. A clutch of players departed over the summer including Daniel Montenegro - the side's leading scorer in the tournament - who was sold to Independiente. Coach Daniel Passarella's options have been further reduced by injury, with forward Ernesto Farias currently recovering from a knee operation. New arrivals include Ariel Ortega and Fernando Belluschi, although both are ineligible for next Tuesday's game having already appeared for Newell's Old Boys in earlier rounds. One player who is available is defender Eduardo Tuzzio, who has just returned from Mallorca. Sao Paulo out to make amends for BrazilFollowing the surprise elimination of the five-time world champions at Germany 2006, Sao Paulo are aiming to do the country proud by carrying off the continental title for the second year running. The reigning FIFA Club World Champions boast an unchanged set-up, with the likes of coach Muricy Ramalho, goalscoring keeper Rogerio Ceni and front man Ricardo Oliveira all still in place. The bad news for the Brazilian big guns is that Diego Lugano, their Uruguayan defensive linchpin, will miss the return game against Estudiantes having been dismissed in the 1-0 defeat in the first leg. New man at the helm for EstudiantesDespite that vital 1-0 win and a historic opportunity to advance to the semi-finals, coach Jorge Burruchaga turned his back on Estudiantes La Plata to team up with Independiente Avellaneda. The void was soon filled by another by big name, however, when Diego Simeone - who was in charge at Racing Club last season - took up the reins. El Cholo, as Simeone is known in the football world, wasted little time in snapping up Juan Sebastian Veron from Inter Milan, although the veteran midfielder will only become eligible at the semi-final stage. Striker Mariano Pavone will miss the showdown in Brazil after being red-carded in the first leg. No change for InterPorto Alegre's Internacional, coached by Abel Braga, will come out with all guns blazing as they seek to overturn a 2-1 deficit at home to LDU Quito. Like domestic rivals Sao Paulo, their squad has remained intact. "The break did us good," commented Braga. "It has given us a chance to recover. We were very tired but now we have plenty of time to prepare the team. I just hope it tells on the pitch," he added. Problems for LDUDespite all their hard work in the first half of 2006, LDU Quito have a major headache to deal with. After kicking off the domestic league season with two consecutive defeats, their Peruvian coach Juan Carlos Oblitas tendered his resignation and will leave as soon as LDU's Copa Libertadores run is over. The turmoil has hardly helped the Ecuadorians' preparations for the return leg in Porto Alegre, but hopes are high their returning internationals will all be available for the crunch encounter. "It's not the easiest of situations and we're all concerned about it, but we'll be backing Oblitas out on the pitch," commented the side's Peruvian midfielder Roberto Palacios. Changes up front for Velez SarsfieldAfter compiling the best record in the group phase, the Argentines will have to make do without two of their biggest attacking threats as they prepare to entertain Chivas in next Thursday's return fixture. Leonardo Gracian, the side's playmaker and dead-ball specialist has joined Mexico's Monterrey, while goalscorer Rolando Zarate has been released and is looking for new employers. Coach Miguel Angel Russo decided to retain Lucas Castroman, however, and will pair him up front with Rolando's younger brother Mauro Zarate in a bid to break the 0-0 deadlock from the first leg. Chivas welcome back internationalsIn contrast to the goings-on at Velez, Chivas will be able to call on their main men for a tricky second leg in wintry Buenos Aires, with all but one of their internationals having returned from Germany 2006 duty. The exception is Carlos Salcido, who has been snapped up by Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven. Coach Jose Manuel de la Torre is weighing up three options to replace him: Jonny Magallon, Jose Antonio Patlan and Antonio Olvera, a recent signing from Santos. Brasileiro Following Brazil's failed defence of their FIFA World Cup™ crown and the inevitable post-mortem, focus within the country this week returned to its domestic championship, the Brasileiro The competition resumed after six weeks of inactivity, with Cruzeiro leading Internacional, Sao Paulo, Fluminense and Santos at the summit of the 20-team division. The pacesetters picked up from where they had left off with a 2-0 win over the reigning champions, extending their unbeaten run to ten matches with victory against a Corinthians side who have now gone five games without a goal and continue to languish in the relegation zone. Cruzeiro's form, however, continues to suggest that they are well equipped to stage a repeat of their 2003 Brasileiro triumph, and the Raposa's success owes much to coach Paulo Cesar Gusmao. His tactical nous and willingness to hand youngsters important roles has paid dividends this season, and the 44-year-old's reputation has skyrocketed accordingly, even to the extent that his name has been linked to the national team post. Gusmao has turned Cruzeiro into an efficient unit, built around an impressive spine made up of goalkeeper Fabio, stopper Edu Dracena, midfield dynamo Wanger and forward Gil. They are joint-top scorers in the tournament, and no-one has conceded fewer. Internacional and Sao Paulo continued in hot pursuit of Cruzeiro by overcoming Ponte Preta and Gremio respectively. Ricardo Oliveira was the hero for the Tricolor Paulista, scoring twice as Sao Paulo came from behind to defeat Gremio 2-1. Fluminense, meanwhile, maintained their challenge with a slender victory against Juventude. The visiting side twice had their noses in front, but a quick-fire double from Fluminense swung the pendulum in their favour, and saw them claim a 3-2 win.

Read between my lipssss

2006-06-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

By Arun Ram

I find cigarettes weird creatures. Drunken stupour I am not in, when I
say this. If a peg of rum can slap its aficionado, I would, by now,
have got slapped nine times—without ice.

So, cigarettes as weird creatures, ahem!

Let me ask you this one thing: are you a smoker?

Not that I ask questions to get answers. I just ask.

I ask. I think. I think you think. I smoke.

When I open a pack of Wills, ten people stare at me (I buy a
ten-a-pack pack). Have you – by now, the non-smoker must have stubbed
himself/ herself off this wonderful flame – looked at the filter tip
before you jabbed it between your lips? I did.

White, as science tries to say, is light. So is our filter tip –
before tar makes the soothing penetration from Drag One (DO). In the
whiteness of that white, I see faces—pleading, pagan and purgatorial.
The filter tip of my Wills tells me the feeling deep down – to the
bottom of the packet, where the valiant end of the cigarette
contemplates the inevitability of the instant inflammation. The tip,
dear DOer, has a wonderful life—it starts with the moment you light up
and ends with, well, just that. If the tip could speak in its enviable
hybernation, we will have another topic to discuss here.

Time to get personal. With the cigarette, that is. I see cigarettes –
however tightly they are packed – shuffling themselves as soon as I
open the pack. Are they panicking (who will go up in flames first)?
Conspiring (You get him/ her first)? Copulating (We can't do it here,
let our spirits do it in the areole of his left lung)? I usually let
them choose between themselves. I, you know, love martyrs—preferably
alive. So here pops the guy (I have not found a gal there, yet) with
the guts. Up!

Then, the white speaks— almost like how the light spoke to the
prophets. I realise the face of the cigarette is the filter. (If you
smoke a cigarette without a filter and see a face on the lateral side
of the cylindrical wonder, we will talk in private). One guy has
really got a face: with a few flakes from the adjacent one, forming
what we humans take for eyes, nose and, yes, a pair of smoking lips.

It was a challenge, dear smoker, I could not refuse to accept. And, as
I lit up, I could not take my eyes of the rest. One tried to form a
union of nine (he included, as the secretary general of the
till-matchsticks-do-us-part). Another was a revisionist, preaching the
efficacy of nicotine patches.

In every pack of ten (they are conspicuously missing in the twenties
pack) there is a revisionist. I listen to him. I want to quit. I will.
But, only when I find a lady in the pack. After all, behind every
ex-smoker, there is a butt.

Post Script: MS Word tells me I have written 505 words. There is this
temptation to make it 555 to pay glowing tributes to that cigarette
brand. As I type out this PS, I salute Oscar Wilde; not only for
having said he could resist everything but temptation, but also to
have proclaimed that his next cigarette would be his last.

Hand of God

2006-06-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Argentine captain described the goal afterwards to reporters as :un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios; (a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God).

WC stratagies

2006-06-09T03:46:00.000-07:00

BADEN BADEN, Germany, June 9 (Reuters) England are using a ploy in
training that would make every goalkeeper's World Cup penalty dream
come true.
Beating a top-class keeper can be hard enough but England have
given the ultimate soccer duel an extra twist by telling Paul
Robinson where they will place the spot kick.
The unlikely tactic is rooted in England's traumatic experience
at past tournaments, where shootout misses have bounced them out of
World Cups in 1990 and 1998, along with Euro 96 and Euro 2004 in
Portugal.
As he prepared for tomorrow's Group B opener against Paraguay,
Robinson told reporters: ''The lads get used to taking penalties
against you -- and you generally tend to know which way they like
going.
''So at some stages we say to them 'Tell us which way you're
going to go, we won't dive until you've kicked it'.
''It makes it harder for them to score -- they really have to
put it in the corners.''
Robinson, who saved a penalty for Tottenham Hotspur in last
season's final Premier League game at West Ham United, is fully
expecting to face penalties at the finals.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson believes that if England go far at the
World Cup, they will at some point face a shootout -- and they
clearly need to improve their spot kicks.
Frank Lampard has replaced David Beckham as penalty taker after
the captain missed against Turkey in England's final Euro 2004
qualifier, France in their opening group game in Portugal and in the
shootout against the hosts in the quarter-finals.
PRESSURE MOMENT
''You can practice penalties till the cows come home but it is
different when you are out there in front of 60,000 people and the
pressure is on,'' Beckham said at their Buhlertal training ground.
''We will carry on practising but when it comes to a shootout, it
is a different situation.
''As good as you can be at penalties, there is a chance the
keeper can read you as much as you can strike it well.
''I don't mind taking penalties and I'm always quite confident at
taking them. But Frank is the penalty-taker for Chelsea and that's
why he is taking them for England.''
Worryingly for Eriksson, Lampard had a penalty saved in last
week's 3-1 friendly win over Hungary at Old Trafford.
Worse still, striker Peter Crouch fared no better four days later
when he ballooned a late spot kick in their 6-0 rout of Jamaica.
England can, of course, live with missing them in warm-ups. It is
a world away from the sickening feeling that occurs when failure
from the spot sends a team packing at a tournament.
Recalling their exit in Portugal, Lampard told reporters in Baden
Baden: ''It was horrible to go out on penalties.
''It was horrible on the pitch at the end. It was horrible with
the families that evening and it was horrible the next day when you
packed your bags to go home.''
--------
GELSENKIRCHEN, June 9 (Reuters) Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez
had no qualms about imposing a World Cup sex ban on his players.
The only problem is that it applies to him as well.
''Oh that's good,'' said one female journalist, impressed at
his solidarity with his team.
''No. No, it is not good,'' smirked Suarez, during a news
conference. ''It is not good at all.''
Ecuador play their Group A World Cup opener against Poland today
and later face hosts Germany and Costa Rica.
REUTERS DH BST1547

CARLOS ALBERTO PERIERRA, BRAZIL

The magic rectangles system that we play only works if the team play as a unit helping each other. If Emerson and Ze Roberto are left exposed in midfield we are not going to win games. We have to play without the ball as well as with the ball."

test

2006-04-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

test post

For reference only :Europe's Terror Groups

2006-03-26T02:22:00.000-08:00

For reference only :Europe's Terror Groups
Most of Europe's old guard of underground groups has
collapsed, drifted away or been absorbed into the political
mainstream.
_ SPAIN: The Basque paramilitary group ETA _ full name
Euskadi Ta Askatasuna and meaning «Basque Homeland and
Freedom» _ was founded in 1958 with the objective of
carving out an independent Basque state from northeast
Spain and southwest France. It killed more than 800 people,
almost all in Spain, from 1968 to 2003. Its targets
included police officers, soldiers, judges, politicians and
journalists. ETA largely used the Basque region of France
as a comparatively safe haven for members and arms dumps.
In 1998 ETA called a cease fire to open negotiations with
the government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, whom it
had tried to assassinate, but ETA violence resumed after 14
months. The group this week announced a «permanent
cease fire» and appealed for talks with Aznar's successor,
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
_ NORTHERN IRELAND: The Provisional Irish Republican Army
spent 27 years trying to bomb Northern Ireland out of the
United Kingdom and into the Irish Republic, killing about
1,775 people and maiming thousands before calling a July
1997 cease fire. The group's Sinn Fein party
representatives accepted a reform minded 1998 peace accord
for the British territory, and the Provisional IRA last
year renounced violence for political purposes and
disarmed. Three much smaller anti British paramilitary
groups _ the Irish National Liberation Army, the Continuity
IRA and Real IRA _ have degenerated into gangs focused on
smuggling fuel, cigarettes and drugs. Rival outlawed
Protestant groups, the Ulster Defense Association and the
Ulster Volunteer Force, are largely observing a 1994
cease fire and similarly mired in crime.
_ FRANCE: A wide range of separatist groups on Corsica,
part of France since 1768, have mounted hundreds of bomb
attacks and occasional assassination attempts since the
mid 1970s in hopes of securing political independence. The
largest group, the National Front for the Liberation of
Corsica or NFLN, was formed by the merger of two smaller
underground groups in 1976 and has been blamed for most
violence. Since declaring a 1999 cease fire, the NFLN has
been blamed for repeated breaches.
_ GERMANY: The Red Army Faction _ originally known as the
Baader Meinhof Gang after its founders, Andreas Baader and
Ulrike Meinhof _ was launched in 1970 with vague aims of
inciting Marxist revolution in West Germany. It kidnapped
business leaders, gunned down politicians, prosecutors and
police officers, bombed corporation headquarters and U.S.
military bases, and hijacked an airliner. Baader and two
other top figures committed suicide in prison in 1977 after
the airplane hijacking failed to win their freedom. The
group killed 32 people, its last victim in April 1991. The
group formally disbanded in April 1998.
_ GREECE: A Marxist revolutionary group called November 17
_ the date of a 1973 student uprising at an Athens
university _ claimed responsibility for more than 20
killings from 1975 to 2002. Among those it assassinated
were a CIA station chief, a U.S. Navy captain, defense
attaches at the British and American embassies, and a
Turkish diplomat. It has been inactive since 2002, when
police seeking to crush terrorism threats in the build up
to the 2004 Athens Olympics arrested key leaders, found
hideouts and seized weapons dumps.
_ ITALY: The Red Brigades, founded in 1970 to inspire
Marxist revolution in Italy, began by sabotaging factory
equipment, but graduated quickly into kidnapping and
assassination, killing hundreds of government officials,
judges and lawyers, and police officers. In 1978, Red
Brigades members kidnapped and murdered former Prime
Minister Aldo Moro. The Red Brigades split into feuding
factions in 1984, and their activities petered out with key
arrests and the end of the Cold War. 261017 mar 06

fact

2006-02-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

Feb 7 (Reuters) - India, Asia''s third-largest economy, has embarked on a drive to upgrade its creaking infrastructure of ports, roads and airports as it aims at a double-digit GDP growth in the medium term. Analysts say a woeful lack of infrastructure inhibits faster movement of goods across the country, thereby increasing costs and delays. Various estimates say investment of $150 billion to $200 billion is needed over the longer-term to upgrade Indian infrastructure to levels of other Asian nations. These are a few details about various initiatives taken up by the government. ROADS -- Indian roads carry 85 percent of passenger and 75 percent of freight traffic. Highways, making up just 2 percent of the total road network, carry 40 percent of this traffic. -- Some 14,279 km (10,800 miles) of national highways are being converted to 46 lanes at an estimated cost of 650 billion rupees ($14.7 billion). These consist mainly of: * Construction of a ;Golden Quadrilateral; or roads connecting the four major metros -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Four laning of 5,000 kms, comprising 85.5 percent of the total length, has been completed. The rest is underway. * Of the total 7,300 km length of the North-South and East-West corridors, a separate project, more than 800 km has been completed and 3,691 km is being implemented. These corridors are targeted to be completed by December 2008. -- The project is being funded through a tax on diesel and petrol sales. AIRPORTS -- India has 450 airports and airstrips including those managed by the defence services and private companies. -- The state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages 125 of them. These include 11 international airports, 77 domestic airports, 9 airports for customs department and 28 civilian enclaves at defence airfields. -- Passenger traffic at these airports crossed 50 million in the year to March 2005. Traffic growth is estimated at 12 percent each year between now and 2009. -- More than 85 percent of total passenger traffic was handled by 10 airports, which generate 80 percent of AAI''s revenue. -- Delhi and Mumbai, the two major gateways, account for 49 percent of total passenger traffic and 33 percent of total revenue. -- Only 11 airports are profitable. -- The Delhi airport handled 10.4 million passengers in the year ended March 2004 and the Mumbai airport saw 13.28 million travellers. -- Passengers often face long queues, delayed flights and inadequate service standards during peak hours in most airports. -- The government estimates up to 200 billion rupees ($4.5 billion) is needed over the next five years to bring Delhi and Mumbai airports to international standards. -- Greenfield airports near Bangalore, the technology capital, and the southern city of Hyderabad are being built on a Build Own Operate and Transfer basis under the public private partnership basis. -- Indian carriers have been furiously expanding operations over the past two years, and new airlines have emerged because of booming demand for air travel. Indian companies have placed orders for new planes worth more than $10 billion. PORTS -- India''s 6,000 km natural peninsular coastline, bound by the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, is dotted with 12 major ports and 185 minor ones. The federal government manages the major ports while state governments run the minor ones. -- The major ports handle 75 percent of traffic. About 80 percent to total volume of port traffic was in the form of dry and liquid bulk. General cargo and containers made up the rest. -- Container traffic grew 15 percent a year in the five years to 200304. -- Indian ports'' capacity stood at 389.5 million tonnes at the end of 200304. Cargo handled by major ports grew 13.6 percent in April-September 2005 to hit 199.8 million tonnes. RAILWAYS -- Indian railway network, one of the largest in the world, at 63,221 km by the end of 2004. Around a third of the network is electrified. -- Revenue-earning freight traffic of the railways rose 10.1 percent to hit 313.5 million tonnes in the first half of the year to March 2006. ELECTRICITY -- India has one of lowest electricity usage levels in the world with per capita consumption as low as 606 units. -- India generated 123,667.821 megawatts of power till Dec. 31, 2005. The country''s electricity demand exceeded supply by 8 percent in non-peak hours and suffers a 10 percent shortfall during peak hours. -- Of its total 35 states and union territories, only 8 states have achieved 100 percent electric connectivity. -- Of its total 593,732 villages, 119,570 are still in darkness. -- Of its 138.27 million rural homes, only 60.18 million have a bulb to switch on. -- India has embarked upon an ambitious plan to add about 100,000 megawatts of electricity by investing 8 trillion rupees by the year 2012.

sb

2006-02-06T03:11:00.000-08:00

Steelers beat Seahawks to end 26-year Super Bowl drought by J

by Jim Slater =(PICTURE)= ATTENTION - ADDS information, quotes /// DETROIT, Michigan, Feb 5, 2006 (AFP) - Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker ran for touchdowns and Pittsburgh beat Seattle 21-10 Sunday to win Super Bowl 40, ending a 26-year title drought with the most unlikely championship march in American football history. The Steelers were the first sixth seed to reach the Super Bowl after road upsets of top American Conference seeds Indianapolis, Denver and Cincinnati, then completed an amazing playoff run by outlasting the National Conference's kings. Pittsburgh matched Dallas and San Francisco for the all-time record of five Super Bowl triumphs, giving tearful coach Bill Cowher and rusher Jerome Bettis their first National Football League titles in more than a decade of trying. Only four NFL coaches had won more games without claiming a crown than Cowher, whose 14 years with the Steelers is the longest active NFL run by a coach with the same club. "I've been waiting a long time," Cowher said. "We're taking this baby back home and putting it in the trophy room." Parker scored on a 75-yard run, the longest rushing play in Super Bowl history, and Roethlisberger dove one yard for a touchdown to give the Steeler defense all the margin it would need. Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, taking the title from New England's Tom Brady. "Big Ben" improved to 27-4 as a starter and made good on a title vow to Bettis, a 13-year veteran who ranks fifth on the all-time rushing list. The bulky rusher known as "The Bus" vowed to park himself for good after taking the title in his hometown, calling his decision "official like the referee's whistle." "There's always a time when you have to call it quits," Bettis said. "It is an ending. It has been an incredible ride. I came back to win a championship. Mission accomplished. Now I have to bid farewell. "My teammates put me on their back and they wouldn't let me down. They were tremendous." A trick-play touchdown pass involving two receivers gave Pittsburgh a 21-10 lead with 8:56 remaining, collegiate quarterback Antwaan Randle El taking a handoff and flipping a 43-yard throw to Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Hines Ward for the score. Ward finished with five catches for 123 yards. "Antwaan made a great play at the right time," he said. "It was a great pass." That proved to be the final blow. No team in Super Bowl history had rallied from more than a 10-point deficit to win, and since Cowher became coach in 1992, the Steelers had a 100-1-1 record in games they lead by at least 11 points. The Steelers won prior titles in 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 but lost their only Super Bowl in 1996 to Dallas in Cowher's only prior Super Bowl. Momentum changed twice on two record-setting plays in the third quarter, the Seahawks seizing back hope just as Pittsburgh appeared ready to take command. Parker raced 75 yards for a touchdown just 22 seconds into the second half to give the Steelers a 14-3 lead. It was the longest rushing play in Super Bowl history, a yard beyond Marcus Allen's 1984 run for the Los Angeles Raiders, and signaled the Seahawks were in trouble. Seattle's Josh Brown then missed a 50-yard field goal and the Steelers drove 53 yards to the Seahawk 7-yard line. But a Roethlisberger throw was picked off by Seattle's Kelly Herndon, who returned the ball 78 yards to the Steeler 20 - the longest interception runback in Super Bowl history, a yard better than Oakland's Willie Brown in 1977. Three plays later, the Seahawks capitalized when Matt Hasselbeck connected with an unguarded Jerramy Stevens on a 16-yard touchdown pass 8:15 into the third quarter to pull Seattle within 14-10. Stevens had sparked a war of words with Steelers linebacker Joey Porter with comments five days earlier, but got the last word in the personal feud by lifting the Seahawks within reach. Seattle coach Mike Holmgren could have become the first coach to guide two different teams to Super Bowl triumphs, having masterminded Green Bay's 1997 victory and guided the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl. Roethlisberger scored a controversial touchdown on a one-yard plunge 1:55 before half-time to give Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead at the break. "Big Ben" barely got the ball over the line before being slammed back by linebacker D.D. Lewis. Seattle protested to video review but referee Bill Leavy, the least likely official to overturn calls made on the field based on past decisions, let the touchdown stand. It was a good omen for the Steelers, since no team in 12 years had won the Super Bowl after trailing at half-time. Josh Brown kicked a 47-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give Seattle a 3-0 lead, but penalties cost the Seahawks chances for more. Darrell Jackson caught a 17-yard pass from Hasselbeck in the end zone but the play was negated when Jackson was whistled for pass interference. A holding penalty also wiped out a first down deep in Steeler territory. The Steelers were only the third team in Super Bowl history without a first-quarter first down. js06bb AFP _060332 FEB 06_

power

2006-02-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Forget about megawatts, Dabol, load-shedding, power generation, adequate rainfall in catchment areas, tripping etc. Leave the verbal jugglery to political honchos and babus who guard their volatile turfs named vote banks, where considerations other than those which makes this world a better place to live in reigns. But shall we just talk sense? Any issues?

The politics of power (a probable euphemism for electricity), which was hitherto confined to the hinterland, has gradually crawled its way to Navi Mumbai, en route to Mumbai, where the powers that be bask in the safe precincts of their haloed fiefdoms.

The other day Mumbai’s airport witnessed a power supply interruption for 10 minutes, which was characteristically dismissed as an aberration.The amount of chaos such an interruption can cause to the airport of the country’s commercial hub in a worse case scenario still remains a mystery, but uneasy questions should have emerged.

Instead, we are now dreaming about a new airport which is supposed to come up in Navi Mumbai, for which the Civil Aviation Ministry has given nod for acquisition of land of around 3,500 acres of land.

The grand development story envisioned by our political masters begins with a trans harbour link connecting Sewri and Naha, an eight-lane road, longest bridge in the country, two railway tracks, all these at the cost of a fortune estimated around Rs 6,600 crore. The deadline to complete the roadmap for the airport project is a cool four years.

Now, imagine all road blocks are cleared by a magic wand that some condescending superhuman power will wield and the airport itself will become a reality.

But how will an airport work without power? Power? Yes, the state is reeling from an cute shortage of power, with many areas parts going without power for more than 12 hours. And there is no new project which is going to generate power – the Chief minister has only put up a request with Centre to set one up again at Ratnagiri, now synonymous with a mega disappointment called Dabhol. Even if the approval is granted this month, it takes at least 5 to 7 years for a power project to be commissioned, going by conventional wisdom.

That means 2011-2013. Things doesn’t work like that fast in this country.

From poor infrastructure to lack of power, the lay man has an innate talent to get used all the miseries of this vast nation.

Forget about mega airports and dream projects, let the state planners use plain common sense to make lessen the level of discomfort by at least fixing a fixed time for power cuts. That is the biggest favour which could be done to the hapless souls in this political graveyard.

Reliance plans retail foray, refinery fundraising

2006-01-23T04:43:00.000-08:00

MUMBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - India''s Reliance Industries Ltd. unveiled on Monday an initial $750 million move into retail and plans for a subsidiary fundraising to pay for some of its $6 billion refinery expansion, which might lead to an IPO.

Reliance Industries plans to nearly double capacity at its 660,000-barrels-per-day Jamnagar refinery, making it the world''s single-largest oil refinery, and a new subsidiary will raise the money via private equity or an initial public offering of shares.

Reliance Petroleum will be implementing the refinery and polypropelene project at the special economic zone in Jamnagar at an estimated cost of $6 billion, Reliance said, offering no specific details.

Reliance Industries, an oil and petrochemicals group, has also formed a subsidiary to set up hypermarkets, supermarkets and speciality stores in select towns and cities across India.
This is a fairly positive step in a sector which needs lots of capital and Reliance will be able to pull it to the top, Nagarajan Narasimhan, head of research at CRIS INFAC, said.

A big business house like Reliance would bring value to India's growing retail sector, Narasimhan said. Given its ability to bargain and get the best price, this will be definitely a profitable business for Reliance, he added.
The company's shares fell 0.3 percent and closed at 701.45 rupees in a weak Mumbai market. Though Reliance has given few details, Narasimhan estimates the $750 million it plans to spend would fund 350 to 400 outlets. In a recent report on the sector, CRIS INFAC forecast India''s retail industry would grow 25 to 30 percent annually and triple in size to 1.09 trillion rupees by 2010, driven by its fastest-growing segments, food and grocery.

It said Indian firms were expected to invest about 31 billion rupees a year in retail. While the vast majority of Indian retailing is still done in small shacks and street bazaars, companies such as Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd, Shoppers Stop Ltd. , Trent Ltd. and the Piramal Group have led the growth of organised retail in malls and other urban outlets.

At its Jamnagar refinery in the western state of Gujarat, Reliance aims to raise crude throughput to 1.2 million barrels per day by March 2009, primarily for exports. The Indian government offers several tax breaks to industries and projects set up in its special economic zones like Jamnagar, located mostly near India''s sea ports.

RURAL PC

2006-01-10T02:40:00.000-08:00

Mumbai, Jan 10 (UNI) IT global major Intel Corporation is
working on launching an economic PC targetted at the rural
markets in India.
To be priced at just Rs 10,000, the company expects its
initiatives on this front to bear fruit later this year, Mr
Anand Chandrashekhar, Senior Vice President & General Manager
(Sales) told reporters here today.
''The rural PC is a dream close to our heart and our team
is engaged in this initiative in full earnest,'' Mr Chandrashekar
Chandrasekhar, senior vice-president and general manager of sales
said adding, ''You can expect an announcement later this year.''
Launching Intel's latest mobile technology called 'Centrino Duo,'
which will enhance the performance of the new generation of laptops,
Mr Chandrasekhar announced an investment of USD 1 billion in India
in addition to an equivalent amount already invested thus far in its
Indian operations.
Union Communications & Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi
Maran was also present on the occasion.
The 'Centrino Duo' launch signifies a first-of-its-kind
achievement for India as a state-of-the-art technology of this kind
has not only been designed but also launched in the global markets
for the first time from India.
Claimed to be the most visible product emanating from Intel
India Development Centre, manned by 3,000 engineers and
fast-emerging as one of Intel's premier design centres worldwide,
and also the 'most revolutionary' since the launch of its Pentium
Procesor in 1993, Mr Chandrashekar said the one million unit of the
new product will be sold within three weeks of its launch.
This technology will be of particular interest to the gaming and
entertainment industry which has been growing exponentially in the
last two years and is poised for an explosive growth over the next
few years.
Besides enhancing laptop performance by a whopping 70 per cent, it
also extends battery-life by up to 28 per cent or an hour more than
now available.
UNI JJ KD SKB1552

All u wanted to know about...InterneT

2006-01-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

Who controls the Internet?
The Internet is controled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based independent organisation entrusted with the task by the US government on a renewable tender. Set up in 1988, ICANN assigns domain names worldwide. But internet’s phenomenal growth and the web’s growing economic and social importance have prompted opposition to the US monopoly.

Who heads ICANN?
Paul Twomey is the President/CEO of ICANN, since March 27, 2003.

Who was in charge of the Internet till ICANN came into existence?
Until 1998, the Internet was overseen almost exclusively by one man: Jon Postel, a computer science professor at the University of Southern California. As a graduate student in the 1960s, he was among the handful of engineers who built the Internet. For the next 30 years, he managed it on behalf of the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, which funded the Internet's initial development.

Why are some countries protesting ICANN's control?
In 1998 the US government established an approach to run the internet by subcontracting it functions to a private, not-for-profit corporation with international participation. Despite its success, ICANN is under increasing pressure for reform. Governments want more influence over the internet and ICANN is seen as encroaching on their sovereignty. Many governments feel that, like the phone network, the Internet should be administered under a multilateral treaty. ICANN, in their view, is an instrument of American hegemony over cyberspace: its private-sector approach favors the United States, Washington retains oversight authority, and its Governmental Advisory Committee, composed of delegates from other nations, has no real powers.

What does the US say?
Ahead of World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the US released a statement reasserting its intention to maintain unilateral control of ICANN. It claims such control is necessary to maintain internet "stability".

What is WSIS?
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a UN-sponsored conference about information and communication. The second phase took place November 16-18, 2005 in Tunis, Tunisia. It resulted in a series of agreements including the creation of the Internet Governance Forum.

What is the agenda of WSIS?
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) aims to improve information access to all countries, provide communication technologies (ICTs) to promote development.

What is the need for WSIS?
The digital revolution has changed the way people think, behave, communicate, work and earn their livelihood. However, there is the gap between developed and other countries when it comes to technological advancements. According to the UN roughly the same number of people use the Internet in the world's eight economic giants (429 million) as in the other nations combined (444 million). The main agenda of the conference is to bridge this divide.

How was WSIS formed?
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), following a proposal by the Government of Tunisia, had resolved in a Conference at Minneapolis in 1998 to hold a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and place it on the agenda of the UN. This was endorsed by the UN General Assembly while according the lead role to ITU in cooperation with other interested organisations and partners. It further recommended that preparations for the Summit take place through an open-ended intergovernmental Preparatory Committee – or PrepCom – that would define the agenda of the summit.

Factfie; Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element

2005-12-28T05:02:00.000-08:00

The European Union launched its first Galileo navigation satellite on Wednesday, moving to challenge the United States'' Global Positioning System (GPS). The experimental satellite, called Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element, will be used to test equipment on board and the functioning of ground stations. Here are some key facts about Galileo. * The Galileo system will consist of a constellation of 30 satellites to provide precise information about the location of an individual or an object. Some of the uses of Galileo include driver assistance, help in search and rescue missions, the monitoring of crop yields and tracking livestock. * The first operational satellites are scheduled to be launched in 2006, with the system expected to become operational in 2008. * The non-EU nations which have joined the Galileo project are China, India, Israel and Ukraine. * Galileo is estimated to cost 3.6 billion euros ($4.27 billion) to develop and deploy. Some 220 million euros ($260 million) will be spent each year from 2008 to maintain the system. * The global market for satellite navigation services is estimated to be 1.8 billion users in 2010, doubling to 3.6 billion in 2020, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). * Galileo will be interoperable with GPS as well as Russia''s global satellite navigation system GLONASS. * Europe''s biggest aerospace companies are part of the Galileo consortium, including EADS, France''s Thales and Alcatel, Britain''s Inmarsat, Germany''s T-Systems, Italy''s Finmeccanica and Spain''s AENA and Hispasat. * The Galileo consortium''s headquarters will be based in Toulouse, France. Two control centres will be located in Germany and Italy, with additional facilities in Spain. Sources: Reuters, Galileo Joint Undertaking

Factfile of India's highest paid actor

2005-12-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

Name Rajnikant
Real Name Shivaji Rao Gaikwad
Date of Birth 12.12.1949
Place of Birth Bangalore
Height 5 feet 9 inches
Weight 70 kg
Name of Wife Latha Rajnikant,
principal, The Ashram
Names of Children Aishwarya & Sowandarya
Address 18, Raghava Veera Avenue,
Poes Garden, Chennai-86
Father's Name Ramoji Rao
Mother's Name Rambhai
Brothers' Name Sathya Narayana Rao, Nageshwara Rao
Guru K.Balachander
Favourite Books Books by Shri Ramana Maharishi
Favourite Drinks Juice & Curd
Favourite Food Chicken
Happiest Moments Alone
Worst Moment When he quit the job of
a bus conductor
Worst Period 1978 - 1981
Favourite Dress White kurta
Favourite Place Himalayas
Favourite Place in House Pooja room
First Film Aboorva Ragangal
Favourite Hollywood Actor Sylvester Stallone
Favourite Indian Actor Kamal Haasan
Favourite Actress Rekha
Most Valuable Memento Appreciation letter from
K.Balachander for the film
Mullum Malarum
Favourite Novels Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan &
T. Janakiraman's Amma Vanthal
Favourite Poet Kannadasan
Favourite Musician Ilaiyaraja
Favourite Songs Songs sung by Chandrababu
Favourite Film Veera Kesari (Kannada)
Favourite Politician S’pore President Lee Kuan Yew
Unforgettable Leader Mahatma Gandhi

How Agencies mourned George Best

2005-12-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

AFPNorthern Ireland bids tearful farewell to hero George Best
Belfast: Tens of thousands of mourners packed the rain-soaked streets of Belfast to say an emotional farewell to Northern Ireland's favourite son George Best on Saturday.

In what came close to a state funeral, Best's cortege drove from the family's humble home to the splendour of Stormont, the Northern Irish parliament, with the people of the province giving the soccer legend one last standing ovation as the hearse passed by.

Tears were shed along the route as fans from the working-class Protestant Cregagh estate and beyond said a final goodbye to their home-grown hero, the Belfast Boy who dazzled the world.

Flowers and football scarves were thrown onto the hearse before old teammates and his family carried the coffin into the palatial Parliament Buildings to the tune of a piper's lament as driving rain fell.

Three hundred guests squeezed into the Great Hall with the emotional service being broadcast to an expected 30,000 people allowed in the Stormont grounds.

Master of ceremonies Eamonn Holmes underlined Best's importance to Northern Ireland and the nature of the man who hit the highs of international stardom to the lows of wanton -- and equally public -- alcoholism.

Belfast-born broadcaster Holmes called Best "probably the greatest footballer who ever lived". "In Ulster folklore we have many heroes, many legends. George Best will pass into that folklore as mercurial, as magical, as someone who made his dreams, and as someone who made our dreams come true.

"George would always recognise that however much a genius he may have been, he was also flawed. Maybe that imperfection made us love him more. In a country that often cannot rise above religion or politics, George Best did more than most to bring us together as a people. To make us recognise that maybe there is more that unites us than divides us”.

"We want to show the world how delighted we are that he came from a country of just 1.5 million people and became the best footballer the world has ever seen."

Former teammates, ex-wives, dignitaries and friends filled the cream-marbled hall. Fighting back the tears, Best's son Calum, 24, read Mary Frye's poem "Do not stand at my grave and weep."

Old United colleague Denis Law brought smiles as he reminisced on his pal Bestie's character and his battle against the illness that claimed his life.
Best died aged 59 on November 25 from multiple organ failure, after suffering a series of health problems in a London hospital. The Best family earlier held a private ceremony at their home on the east Belfast estate where Best honed his skills against the terraced house walls.

The funeral cortege left shortly after 10:00 am (1000 GMT) from Cregagh, whose Loyalist paramilitary murals had been painted over and flags taken down for the occasion.

Mourners lined the length of the three-mile (five-kilometre) route to Stormont, which was selected as the site of a funeral for the first time because of the huge crowds expected.

"George was a Belfast boy," said Dawn Purvis, 39, secretary of a small Protestant political party, as she watched through the umbrellas while the cortege slowly left Cregagh.

"We all had an affinity for him. He had charisma, talent, but a great weakness too," she told AFP. "In a way, he was a tragic hero."

Considered the first "pop-star" footballer, Best brought Northern Ireland a dash of glamour and sporting wizardry as it descended towards sectarian bloodshed.

Best is considered as being among football's finest ever players. "Maradona good; Pele better; George Best" read a soaked flag at the end of Best's old street.

Best's alcoholism brought on a string of health problems which led to a liver transplant in 2002. He was back on the bottle within a year, however, despite having been told another drink could kill him.

Best made his professional debut for Manchester United in 1963, aged 17, going on to help the club become the first English side to lift the European Cup in 1968.

In the same year he was voted European Player of the Year. Dubbed "El Beatle", his playboy lifestyle involved an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and beautiful women.

He won 37 Northern Ireland caps before heavy boozing took its toll and he unexpectedly quit United for good at the early age of 28.

Best will be buried next to his mother, Ann, in the Roselawn cemetery in the Castlereagh hills overlooking east Belfast and the fields where he first shone as a footballer.

Belfast bids farewell to soccer hero George Best
Reuters
Tens of thousands turned out in Belfast on Saturday to bid farewell to George Best, Northern Ireland''s local lad turned soccer legend who died last week after losing his battle with alcoholism. Best, who was mentioned in the same breath as soccer greats Pele and Diego Maradona, died of multiple organ failure on Nov. 25 after years of heavy drinking. Shortly after 1015 GMT a black hearse carrying Best''s body began the three-mile journey from his family''s modest Belfast home to the province''s lavish parliament buildings. Thousands lining the route in pouring rain applauded the slow-moving funeral cortege, as Best''s native town gave the former Manchester United winger the type of send-off normally reserved for royalty. Some of soccer''s greatest names, including Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, were due to attend a ceremony that will be relayed to the multitudes gathered at Stormont, home to Northern Ireland''s parliament buildings. People had queued outside Stormont for hours before the ceremony was due to begin to secure their place among the 30,000 mourners allowed into the 164-acre estate that overlooks Belfast. Stormont''s entrance gates were festooned with football shirts in the green and white of the Northern Ireland national team or the red of Manchester United. ;It''s raining but we are wet with tears, George the Best,; a fan had written on one shirt. Along the road to Stormont all advertising on bus stop shelters had been replaced by images of Best or his number 7 Manchester United shirt. ;He''ll never be forgotten in Northern Ireland,; said Jean Paul, 49, a retired Scotsman. ;Over the years of the Troubles he gave a kind of joy to the community.; UNIVERSAL APPEAL The route between his family home in the narrow streets of Cregagh council estate, east of the city, and Stormont''s white-pillared grandeur symbolises Best''s own life story which took him from humble roots to global celebrity. He won the European Cup with United in 1968 and was voted European Footballer of the Year. Best combined mercurial talent with pop star looks, a combination that vaulted him to the pinnacle of celebrity in London''s Swinging Sixties. But his love of champagne and playboy lifestyle slid into alcoholism. Best was unable to shake the disease and in the end it killed him. The expected turnout and the tributes that have flooded in since the death of Best, a Protestant, show his immense popularity -- one that crossed Northern Ireland''s sectarian divide. The Best family home had been turned into a makeshift shrine. Flowers, football shirts and scarves covered every inch of the garden and footpath outside. Following the Stormont service, Best will be buried beside his mother Ann in the family plot in Roselawn cemetery. The family have asked the public and media to stay away from the cemetery.

Belfast bidding bittersweet farewell to its boozy soccer genius, George Best
Family, friends and more than 100,000 fans said a bittersweet goodbye Saturday to George Best, the mercurial Manchester United star who died
after a long battle with alcohol.
Best, 59, received a state style funeral inside Stormont Parliamentary Building, Northern Ireland's most impressive public space on a hill overlooking the city, in the biggest
display of public mourning ever experienced in this British
territory of 1.7 million.
Mourners, many too young to have seen Best in his 1960s
heyday, lined the five kilometer (three mile) route from
his family home in Protestant east Belfast. They applauded
and tossed bouquets and soccer scarves into the path of the
slow moving hearse, which bore floral wreaths reading
«Legend,» «George» and «Dad.» Police saluted the
passing casket.
Former Manchester United teammates and ex Northern Ireland
players carried the coffin up Stormont's steps for a
service televised live throughout Britain and Ireland. It
featured ballads from Northern Ireland vocalists Brian
Kennedy and Peter Corry, tearful poems from son Calum and
tributes from closest friend Bobby McAlinden and former
teammate Denis Law.
Two London doctors who battled to keep him alive after a
2002 liver transplant also spoke.
Law, who combined up front with Best and Bobby Charlton on
the Manchester United team that won the Champions Cup _ the
year Best was crowned European Footballer of the Year _
recalled how his friendship with Best blossomed once they
both reached their 30s and frequently took trips together.
Law, 65, candidly recalled Best's lovably feckless failure
to keep appointments or to show up sober.
«I can't count the number of times he let me down. He
didn't turn up, or he did turn up _ and wasn't on this
planet,» Law said from a podium overlooking the casket,
which was draped in a green Northern Ireland soccer flag.
But Law said Best's legendary charm would win him over
even at the moment of disappointment. After one night on a
trip to Portugal, Law said he found Best in the hotel bar
the next morning.
«There he was sitting in the bar, with a cheeky smile on
his face, glass in hand. Before I could say anything, he'd
said: 'Hey little man, I've just ordered you a nice pot of
tea',» Law recounted.
At the request of the Best family, 10 fans were picked at
random from the crowd outside to join approximately 300
family members, friends and dignitaries packed to capacity
in the Grand Hall of Stormont.
England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, Manchester United
boss Alex Ferguson, Northern Ireland coach Lawrie Sanchez
and Man United player Ole Gunnar Solkskjaer were among
those in attendance.
Also there were Ireland's former world featherweight
boxing champion, Barry McGuigan, and Belfast snooker ace
Alex Higgins. As were rival political leaders _ often
sitting side by side _ from the British Protestant and
Irish Catholic factions of this long divided community.
«Whatever our politics, whatever our religion, George
Best has helped us find our common humanity,» said Peter
Hain, the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland.
Hain recalled marveling at Best's seemingly effortless
grace as he tore through the defense of his team, Chelsea,
in the 1960s. «Even though I was a (Chelsea) fan, a
fanatic, you actually wanted to see him do it _ you clapped
him as he destroyed your team,» he said.
Those outside on a typically chilly and wet Belfast
winter's day followed the ceremony on three giant TV
screens. Many mourners had traveled overnight from England
and the Republic of Ireland.

Since I was a knee high little boy, I watched his life, said Stanley Neill, 45, a railway operator. Neill arrived about 9 p.m.

Nuremberg trial's opening

2005-11-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

AP's account of the Nuremberg trial's opening in 1945
Germany Judgment at Nuremberg
From an eyewitness account by Pulitzer prize winning
reporter Louis P. Lochner, who covered the Nuremberg
tribunal for The Associated Press. Lochner died in 1975 at
age 87:
Nuremberg, Nov. 20 (AP) _ They were no longer glamour boys
strutting across the European stage, these 20 Nazi leaders
who filed today into the crowded Nuremberg courtroom.
Hermann Goering, without his medals dangling on his chest
and the bejeweled marshal's wand which he flashed at
adulating crowds, didn't seem to be Goering.
Julius Streicher, no longer in a brown uniform and no
longer dealing out blows with a riding switch, did not seem
to be the real Streicher.
Joachim von Ribbentrop, unattended by the retinue of
foreign office flunkies in SS uniforms who handed him state
papers before his theatrical speeches as foreign minister,
looked again like the champagne merchant he once was _ only
now he looks too old and spent to inspire the confidence of
a prospective customer...
The enigma for me was Rudolf Hess. Is he partly demented
as claimed? Are his seeming indifference and alleged
failure to recognize old friends simulation or reality?
From the moment Hess took his seat between Goering and von
Ribbentrop until the court's formal opening, Hess seemed
utterly indifferent to what was going on about him. He
appeared to stare into vacant space. But while others
watched the presiding judge listening to opening
statements, Hitler's former deputy carefully scanned the
press section and spectators' gallery.
Later, during the reading of the indictment, at the first
mention of Hitler's name he pulled Goering by the sleeve
and told him something with a smile and an emphatic nod of
the head. This elicited no response.

A Caravanserai at Dalal Street

2005-11-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

A camel is all set to join the bulls, the bears and the mice on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday, media reports said.

The stray camel hailing from the northern Indian desert state of Rajasthan was so enamoured by the fascinating money spinning opportunities in the bourses that it shed its desert habitat of Thar, to start a journey by road to Bombay, the country’s commercial hub where India’s premier bourse, the Bombay Stock Exchange, functions.

The camel is expected to cover a distance of about 2,000 kilometres and reach the business district of Dalal Street by Monday morning, to start its stock market stint ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, established in 1875, is the oldest bourse in Asia, with a market capitalization of Rs 9.9 lakh crore . The BSE also ranks among the five biggest bourses in the world in terms of transactions.

Bombay Stock Exchange non-executive chairman Jagdish Capoor is likely to formally induct the camel to the herds of traders just before the start of trading session, provided it manages to reach Dalal Street in south Mumbai. Trading starts at 10.am

The camel reached Dahanu in Gujarat, bordering Maharashtra, by 10 pm on Sunday. Since there is no sufficient data on how much time camels take to cover a given distance, analysts failed to predict the time when the camel will be able to reach the BSE.

There are also plans to airlift the desert rose if needed. In case the camel fails to make it on time, a trader selected by the bourse will wear a camel mask to formally mark the induction ceremony and start trading on behalf of the camel. Authorities have made arrangements to serve camel milk at the pantry of the BSE on Monday, as a mark of respect to the first non-human trader in the premier bourse.

Since data is not available on the stock preferences of the camel, analysts are struggling to figure out which scrip will get a boost, courtesy the camel. Depending on the performance of the camel, more of its ilk are expected to join bourses all over the country, analysts said.

Market talk is that HDFC Bank shares (HDFC (C-B) will rise on Monday, since Capoor, who is expected to initiate the camel into trading, is the chairman of the HDFC Bank. The camel induction ceremony is expected to whip up sentiment in favour of the country’s largest private sector bank, analysts said.

The BSE Sensex ended down 112.85 points, or -1.45%, at 7685.64 on Friday.

Rahul Dravid

2005-10-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Factbox on India''s Rahul Dravid, who was named India captain for home one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa on Thursday: Born: January 11, 1973 in Indore. Right-hand bat. One-day wicketkeeper. Test debut: v England, Lord''s, June 1996. 91 matches, 7,871 runs, average 58.30, 100''s 20, 50''s 38, catches: 127. One-day debut: v Sri Lanka, Singapore, April, 1996. 265 matches, 8429 runs, average 39.20, 100''s 10, 50''s 62, catches 157, stumpings 14. Technically accomplished batsman regarded among the finest in the modern game. Initially struggled for a regular one-day spot due to his defensive batting, being nicknamed ;The Wall;, but sealed his place by agreeing to keep wicket. ---- 1999: Becomes the third Indian to score centuries in both innings of a test against New Zealand in Hamilton. Scores five test hundreds abroad before his first one at home. Scores 145 off 129 balls against Sri Lanka at the World Cup in England, where he makes 461 runs at an average of 65.85. 2000: Named as one of Wisden''s five cricketers of the year. 2001: Scores 180 while Vangipurappu Laxman makes 281 in a fifth-wicket stand of 376 as India defeat Australia in Kolkata after following on to end the tourists'' record 16-test winning streak. 2002: Becomes the fourth player after West Indian Everton Weekes, Australian Jack Fingleton and South African Alan Melville to score centuries in four consecutive test innings. 2003: Cracks 233 at Adelaide, leading India to an upset test win in Australia, becoming only the second Indian batsman, with Sunil Gavaskar, to score four test double-centuries. 2004: Captains India to victory in the first test in Pakistan in the absence of injured captain Saurav Ganguly. India go on to complete a historic maiden test series triumph across the border. 2004: Scores a career-best 270 in the deciding third test against Pakistan, overtaking Gavaskar''s record of four test double hundreds. It is the third highest score by an Indian after Virender Sehwag''s 309 and Laxman''s 281. 2004: Named ICC player of the year and test player of the year. 2005: Scores hundreds in both innings, 110 and 135, in the second test against Pakistan in Calcutta to achieve the feat for the second time. Named captain for a full series for the first time, for a one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka in July-August in the absence of Saurav Ganguly for the early games due to a four-game ban. Oct 13: Appointed captain for two one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, replacing Ganguly. (Compiled by N.Ananthanarayanan in New Delhi)

Saurav Ganguly factbox

2005-10-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

FACTBOX-Cricket-Former India captain Saurav Ganguly
NEW DELHI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Factbox on India''s Saurav Ganguly who was axed as captain on Thursday: Born: July 8, 1972 in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. Left-hand bat, occasional right arm slow-medium bowler. Test debut: v England, Lord''s, June 1996. 84 tests. 5066 runs, average 41.18. 12 hundreds. One-day debut: v West Indies, Brisbane, January 1992. 279 matches, 10,123 runs, average 40.65. 22 centuries, 60 fifties. - - - - Stylish left-hander with flowing off drives, used to be rated among leading one-day batsmen, particularly for his prolific opening partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar. Weak against sharp pace and short bowling aimed at rib cage. India''s most successful test captain with 21 victories from 49 matches. 1992 - Made India debut aged 19 in a one-day tri-series in Australia, but discarded after one game which critics and media attributed mainly to his poor attitude. 1996 - Recalled for test tour of England amid intense media scrutiny. Scored 131 on debut at Lord''s and 136 in the next test at Trent Bridge. 1999 - An average season with English county Lancashire. Dubbed ;Lord Snooty; by the British media for what they called his boorish behaviour. 2000 - Appointed India captain during a home series against South Africa after Tendulkar quit the job to focus on his batting following a 3-0 test series rout in Australia. 2000 - Linked up with New Zealander John Wright, appointed India''s first foreign coach. Credited with backing youngsters such as Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag to help them overcome hiccups early in their careers. 2001 - Leads India to a stunning 2-1 comeback home test series victory over Australia despite poor batting form. Heavily criticised for making rival captain Steve Waugh wait by repeatedly arriving late for the toss, but hailed as a hero at home. 2002 - Leads India to a 1-1 test series draw in England, the team then sharing the ICC Champions Trophy with hosts Sri Lanka. 2003 - Captained the team to the World Cup final in South Africa, India''s first since their shock 1983 victory. 2003-04 - Shook off poor form to hit a flowing 144 in the drawn first test in Brisbane, inspiring India to a creditable 1-1 test series draw in Australia. 2004-05 - Position in team under scrutiny due to poor batting and fitness. Handed two-test ban for his team''s slow over rate in a one-day defeat versus Pakistan in Calcutta, but appeals successfully. 2005 April - Banned for six one-dayers for his team''s slow over rate in two consecutive defeats in a 4-2 home series loss to Pakistan. Indian board left him out of last two games of the series and the ICC imposed punishment retroactively after an unsuccessful appeal. July - Rahul Dravid named captain for one-day series in Sri Lanka. August - The ICC arbitrator reduced ban by two games after the Indian board''s second appeal, allowing Ganguly to re-join squad after missing first two matches in Sri Lanka. Reached 10,000 one-day runs by scoring 51 on his return in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, becoming only the third player ever to achieve the feat behind Tendulkar and Pakistan''s Inzamam-ul-Haq. September - Retained captain for following Zimbabwe tour despite uncertainty due to his poor batting. Hits first test hundred for almost two years in the opening match in Bulawayo, but then reveals that coach Greg Chappell had suggested before the game that he step down for an in-form player. The issue flares up into a major row after Chappell''s leaked e-mail to the cricket board says Ganguly is no longer fit to captain the side. The row is settled by the board, but fresh uncertainty shrouds Ganguly''s position due to a tennis elbow injury. Oct. 13 - Replaced as captain by longtime deputy Rahul Dravid for two home one-day series versus Sri Lanka and South Africa. (Compiled by N.Ananthanarayanan in New Delhi)

Salaam Bapu

2005-10-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Chronicle of an alluring endgame

2005-09-27T04:59:00.000-07:00

As skeletons tumble out of the Indian cricket team’s dressing room over a tug of war between an irate captain and a no-nonsense coach, cricket lovers feel the game that commands the largest mass following in the country is gradually losing its alluring magic.

The dressing room tantrums which Ganguly unleashed on a prying media is symptomatic of the deep malaise within the contours of Indian cricket, the swollen coffers which make it a most sought after destination for administrators of the game with little knowledge of its nuances and the marauding bunch of dream sellers otherwise known as brand managers, who have robbed the players from the game.

Many feel it is ironic that Ganguly himself unleashed a phantom which could swallow him from the top echelons of the squad or even extern him from it. It isn’t. On the contrary, Ganguly’s cunning outburst smacks of rank opportunism which is only expected from vulnerable player battling a poor run of form.

No one except Ganguly and his predatory breed of supporters right from the top brass of the richest sports body in India would boast about the 100-odd runs he struggled to make against a squad who derived Test status by default – by the politics of quota and the you-scratch-my–back and-I-scratch-yours attitude which runs deep in the administrative reigns of cricket’s supreme governing body.

The Ganguly-Chappel showdown was bound to happen anytime, given the sorry state of affairs in Indian cricket. Cricketers in India are just used to get away with any humbug, their supposed celebrity status providing them the comfort zones akin to diplomatic immunity from accountability.

A double-edged game of facts and figures are twisted and turned to suit the convenience or discomfiture of celebrity cricketers and a trial by media, fans all and sundry are unleashed when ever the core philosophy or lack of it comes blatantly to the fore to haunt what is now known as Team India. Notice the striking emphasis on the Team which is put before the Nation, rather than the other way around. Therein lies the root of the problem.

Team comes before nation, whims and fancies are slotted before discipline and fitness and captain sets himself an exalted position, dictating terms to coach and skipping team meetings and rigorous camps by faking injuries. And the selection panel just vouches this nonsense with an alarming display of sycophantic tendencies that has pervaded right through the bone marrow of Indian cricket.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India definitely has the business to run cricket as a business but has no business to influence the selection procedure. The selection committee should be delinked from the BCCI and made an autonomous body and the coach should have a bigger say in team selection than the captain. This should be the first prescription to weed out unwarranted elements eating out from the payrolls of Indian cricket. Delink the panel and start the cleansing process now. And put an end to the age-old nonsense called zonal quota system -- we progress as a nation and not as zones. Otherwise, cricket as a game will suffer, its mass base will erode and todays heroes are bound to languish in the backyards of history.

Pic courtesy: The Indian Express

The importance of being Suhasini Worah

2005-06-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

Bombay, July 20, 2001 (BridgeNews)- From the badlands of Bihar to the swollen coffers of BNP Paribas, life certainly has turned a full circle for Suhasini Worah.

Last week, when the lanky lady from Dhanbad put in her papers at BrideNews and announced a billion-dollar deal with France's largest publicly traded bank -- a moment frozen in time -- it was a personal victory of sorts for the mercurial woman.

For, her critics at the Times Group had often scoffed at her chances of "wriggling out" of the ailing Bridge India Ltd. She proved them wrong.

So when Suhasini flies to London for a 6-month orientation program next month, it will be time to ponder for her former colleagues in the Timepass of India and Bridge.

Two decades back, she was thrown out of a local school at Dhandbad -- her native place famous for its wealth of coal mines and notorious for the mafia that plunder it-- for returning a blank answer sheet for the mathematics paper.

Despite being fed by the epic tale of Napolean Bonaparte's marathon effort to solve a mathematical puzzle, Suhasini decided that enough is enough.

"No more of maths please," she yelled at her parents. Little more is known about her educational background from that point of time.

But now, she is Dhanbad's most illustrious daughter.

Suhasini then surfaced in this megapolis in the early eighties.

Times sources said she had Bollywood ambitions at that point of time. They did not elaborate.

Her Times stint was also stormy.

Suhasini, known to create a ruckus at the drop of a hat, once threw a flower vase into the wilderness of the Times editorial desk in a fit of rage for apparently no reason at all, forcing the Times management to initiate a probe into the affair.

The probe panel concluded that the flower pot wasnt supposed be there at that point of time, resulting in the TOI hiring half a dozen interior designers "to set things right" for Suhasini.

At 1135 local time Friday (0605 GMT), Suhasini was seen struggling with a copy of Reiko, her arch rival in the corporate reporting team of BridgeNews, Tokyo.

French stocks recovered in afternoon trading Thursday, helped by a firm opening on Wall Street. The CAC-40 index closed up 1.29% at 4930.39 as investors reacted favorably to news that BNP Paribas has struck a billion-dollar deal with Suhasini.

Update: *After Suhasinis entry, BNP Paribas closed shop in India. Worah, Suhasini is now trying to do a BNP Paribas with a bank that claims to be at home everywhere (Not World Bank).

*Dhanbad is now in Jharkhand, after the State's formation in Nov 15, 2000. When Suhasini left Dhanbad it was in Bihar.

An ode to a failure

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U.B.Prem, BridgeNews, Tel: (9122) 284-5432

Send comments to gossip@bridge.com or premub@gmail.com

News stories on India Suhasini from all vendors

Media://NewsSearch:INDIANSUHASINIews:/String=India/go/Search

Internet links:

Suhasinis childhood:www.suh.schooldropout.com

Suhasinis tantrums http://www.suh.flowerpot.times.inquiry.com

Suhasinis favorite pastime-http://www.trecking.ruckus.com

Suhasinis Achilles heel- http://www.cooking.com

Indias coal mafia:http://www.lalooland.dhanbad.org

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Sins & Sensibilities of Govardhan

2005-06-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

Though he didnt belong to any of the below-mentioned species, Malayankulam Chakravarthy Govardhana Rangan had spent most of his time with ascetics, monks, troglodytes, bar hoppers, stock brokers, all and sundry. Except women, excluding the dance bar types. Till now.

It is not that he is a misogynist. It so happened that he ended up being what ever he didnt wish to be, except in his profession. And wherever he didnt like to be. Like Bombay.

The first time he came to what was then Bombay, he fled in a week's time. He vowed never to return to its splendid chaos. He returned to Madras with a foot in his mouth, only to be hurled back to the vortex of what had by then become Mumbai.

Only that this time, he liked it more than he hated it earlier.

He indulged in the chaotic splendour of the megapolis. He excelled in it.

So why is Govardhan being catapulted to the uneasy spotlight that has been thrust upon him now, time and again?

The answer lies in his dogged pursuit of simplicity. In dance bars. In MNCs. Even in selecting his desi frugal toothpaste. Heavens may have crumbled over dance bars, but the 42-year-old wasnt ready for any compromise. He was a rustic and liked to remain so. Forever.

In fact, when rogues of the now defunct BridgeNews mounted a no-holds-barred slanderous media blitz against him in 2000-01, the stock market bully maintained an indifferent silence. He escaped. Unscathed.

Even evidence-backed stories about his sleazy night forays failed to attract the credibility it deserved, just because the promotors of such stories happened to be shady characters. Shadier than thou!

Drenched in the hangover of overnight dance bar sessions, Govardhan would tell his peers that he has quit worldly pleasures, that he has been caught in the vortex of evil forces and that he has had enough. ++BASTAARDS, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, I QUIT, he would yell.++ Thou shall.

All said and done, this is an invite to grace the occasion of his scheduled marriage on March 25 in Kumbakonam, now synonymous with a raging inferno that swallowed more than 80 school kids in 2004. And scams of yore. And now, an erstwhile reckless wonder named Govardhan. Now, you know whats in a name.

He has, at last, quit worldly pleasures. For sure.

NB: All those who cant make out who the above mentioned anti-hero is, just think you are blessed.

Bombay
http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/

Mumbai

http://www.mumbainet.com/