The Daily Indian

Jessica Biel is set to star in new film ‘F***ing Engaged’ based on couple’s prenuptial sex pact.

The actress will also produce the movie, an original screenplay from rookie screenwriter Julia Brownell.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film tells the story of an engaged couple who make a pact to have sex every day until their wedding, reports the New York Daily News.

Biel, who recently played a stripper in ‘Powder Blue’, will also feature in ‘Nailed’ and ‘Valentine’s Day’ this February.

After victory of as many as 13 candidates in the Assembly elections, Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is in a magnanimous mood, lauding superstar Amitabh Bachchan for his gesture of offering help to a Marathi film for its Oscar bid.

The turnaround may sound “filmi” as it was the same outfit which had launched an agitation against Bachchan, targeting him for “being more loyal to Uttar Pradesh than Maharashtra.”

MNS has welcomed a recent announcement by Bachchan to support and promote Marathi movie ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ by Paresh Mokashi.

The film, about how Dadasaheb Phalke made the nations first motion picture ‘Raja Harishchandra’, has been selected as India’s entry for Oscars. “It is a good thing that Bachchan is supporting the film for Oscar awards. We welcome his move,” MNS general secretary Shirish Parkar told PTI. This is not the first time that the Big B has offered help to a Marathi movie.

Controversy begets performance! Reputation has no correlation
with success

A Sandeep

Jesus Christ! If I had made this statement in the US, I might have been flogged in public! But think about it, is there any woman in this world who doesn’t lie all the time, who doesn’t cheat people every moment, and who can ever be trusted even for a nano-second? Well, if you’ve reached this part of my editorial, you’ve fallen into the trap I laid for you like sweet unsuspecting daffy duck! The fact is, neither do I believe in my own statement above, nor do I care a hoot about the answer. But I care a billion hoots about ensuring people read my editorials. And if that factor is the critical measure of my performance, I, dear Angelina, have succeeded like nobody’s business. Controversy begets performance! Reputation has no correlation with success.

Shocked? Gulp down the air stuck in your pipe, for indisputable research from across the globe proves this a thousand times over. Check it out! The most path breaking research globally was the one by noted Professors Chung, Eneroth and Schneeweis of the reputed University of Massachusetts. In their paper titled Corporate Reputation and Investment Performance, the stalwarts prove, “There exists little relationship between high corporate reputation rankings and a firm’s equity performance. It is primarily a firm’s equity market performance…that affects published reputation ranking, and ranking has no impact on the firm’s future returns.” To that effect, even Professor Hungtao Tan of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, in 2007, thumpingly concluded in his report Corporate Reputation & Earnings Quality, “I find no evidence to support that companies with good reputation share superior earnings relative to the corresponding industry levels.”

To the utter consternation of doubting Thomases, global authorities S. Brammer (University of Bath), C. Brooks (Cass Business School) and S. Pavelin (University of Reading), in their classic international December 2005 report, Corporate Reputation and Stock Returns, electrifyingly state, “There is no such thing as bad publicity. We find that those firm’s whose [reputation] scores have fallen substantially still exhibit positive abnormal [stock] returns in both the short and long run!” Famed Doctors Rajiv Sarin and Brit Grosskopf from the Department of Economics, Texas A&M University, in their world class August 2006 thesis, Is Reputation Good or Bad? An Experiment, ruthlessly devastate past notions and establish, “Reputation is not bad, but neither is it as good as previously thought… as long run players are able to do equally well without having reputations.”

And it’s not just about controversies or reputations per se, but even about the pathetically manipulated agendas that ranking agencies globally have. In their universally published covenant (The Reputation Quotient), Dr. Charles J. Fombrun, professor of management at Stern School of Business, and Dr. Christopher B. Foss, Associate Director of the Reputation Institute, state, “Measures of reputation proliferate, encouraging chaos and confusion… Some are arbitrarily performed by private panels… Some are carried out with private information and are unverifiable.” And now, report after report [NYSE CEO Report 2008, SMU Cox CEO Sentiment Survey 2007, PwC Global CEO Survey] proves that CEOs don’t give priority anymore to reputation or to published rankings, but only to performance. Moving ahead, Authorities G. Chen and Dean Tjosvold of Tsinghua University, Beijing, in June 2006, analysed that “participation and people values, coupled with constructive controversy, provide a foundation for effective CEO leadership!”

And why not! The most successful of global CEOs — Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Steven Ballmer, Larry Ellison, Lee Scott — have been those who have been most controversial. The most successful of global companies — WalMart, Chevron, GE, BoA, Citigroup —have been the most controversial. If you thought the amazingly successful movie, Erin Brockovich, ran full house because Julia Roberts ‘controversially’ revealed more than her usual self, you perhaps forget, 30 sickening million gallons of oil spilt in Brooklyn, New York, that led to a historic never-before seen $58 billion class action suit, was targeted at a company that is now the world’s most profitable company ever, Exxon-Mobil (with 2007 sales of $373 billion and profits of $41 billion)! Quick, answer my questions. Most controversial book? You said Da Vinci Code, did you? Or The Satanic Verses? Both historic best sellers. Most controversial brand? Coke? It’s the most valued brand ever! And of course, most controversial group of people? Ah, women, obviously! Aren’t they the very best!!! And don’t we love them like crazy

(A Sandeep is Editor of Planman Media)

American scientist Raymond Kurzweil’s prophecy on man attaining immortality has intrigued common people. However, the scientist community in India downplays this chance.

TDI, on a visit to the elite Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, met Dr Sathees C. Raghavan, assistant professor of biochemistry. He feels the hullabaloo over Kurzweil’s words is really unnecessary. “Actually, Raymond Kurzweil is not an experimental biologist. He is a well-known computer scientist and he is well-versed in computer science. But his prediction on human longevity lacks scientific basis. There is no scientific corroboration for his claim. He is being fanciful here,” he says. Raghavan substantiates his point, adding, “Telomeres enzyme plays a vital role in aligning the DNA molecule during the replication process. Some experiments have been carried out on mice and other animals which have shown that over-expression of telomeres helped the animals to live a little longer. But it is nothing like attaining immortality. And these results may not hold true for humans.”

Nanda Devi, post-doctoral fellow at the same institute, raises the ethical question. “We can’t think of science in isolation of society. It is not something which is in a vacuum. As scientists, we must adhere to social and natural ethics. The term ‘immortal’ is very nice to hear. It is a pleasant utopia. And it should remain so. Theoretically, we can say immortality can be attained by altering DNA structures and chromosomes. But, when it comes to practical implementation, there are too many hurdles to solve. It is better to devote one’s energy to something more fruitful rather than immortality,” she thinks.
“I have serious doubts about achieving human immortality. Besides, we can’t put nature’s laws and rules in a shell. I have come across Kurzweil’s prediction. But the biological process can’t be explained as easily as he says. We are still trying to know what’s going on inside the cell. I don’t think Kurzweil’s prediction has any practical possibilities,” opines Dr Bibha Choudhary, stem cell biologist at IISc, Bengaluru.

Shilpa Ramani, associate scientific manager at Biocon, raises the ethical and philosophical ramifications of such a possibility. “Gaining immortality is an extremely impractical concept. More so, is it required? Everything on earth should come to an end. As far as science is concerned, I don’t think nano technology can help man attain immortality. Though we have achieved scientific advancements in many fields, we are yet to decode the mystery of our body and nature. In such a scenario, it would be naive to dream of immortality,” Shilpa feels.

Abani Kantha Naik, Phd student of biochemistry at IISc, Bengaluru, finds Kurzweil’s words ridiculous. “Our body mechanism is very unique. The process of ageing can’t stand still. Yes, there are possibilities to delay ageing. We can defer death by five to 10 years. But, gaining immortality is utterly impossible. As for Raymond Kurzweil is concerned, there is no second word about his immense talent and his contribution to the field of computer science. And I fully endorse his insights on healthy lifestyle. But, the immortality part sounds rather ridiculous,” he says.

“Scientific advances can lead to significantly extended life spans, well beyond 70-75 years. But, you can’t be immortal. The human body is not only a matter of internal and genetic activity. It draws a great deal of inputs from our food habits and environmental factors. Now, how do you modify every external factor,” asks D. V. S. K. Chakravarty, Phd student, IISc Bengaluru.

At the current stage of societal development when quality of life has assumed primacy over quantity, Kurzweil’s words have highlighted man’s age-old fascination with the concept of immortality. Science changes but science fiction does not.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who returned from abroad two days back, tested positive for swine flu today, a doctor attending on him said.

Samples of Modi were taken for test yesterday after he showed symptoms of cough, cold and fever, Atul Patel, one of the four doctors in the team looking after the Chief Minister, said.

The results came this morning, the doctor said, adding Modi had insisted on the H1N1 test.
Modi, who returned from Russia on Wednesday, will be kept in isolation for seven days at his residence, where a team of doctors are attending on him.

“There is no cause for any concern regarding the health of the Chief minister and he is responding to treatment,” Modi’s doctor said.

The Chief Minister had yesterday attended office at the State Secretariat, chaired a cabinet meeting and met officers and received visitors till late in the evening.
Later, his fever increased and he decided to cancel all official programmes and take the swine flu test.

The Indian rupee strengthened by 32 paise at 46.88 a dollar in early trade today following dollar’s weakness against other Asian currencies.

Expectations of fresh capital inflows into the domestic equities, which may open sharply higher in tandem with other Asian markets also supported the Indian rupee.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit strengthened by 32 paise to 46.88 a dollar. The rupee ended 14 paise higher at 47.20/21 in yesterday’s volatile session.

Dealers said that the US currency weakening against other Asian units, expectations of a strong opening of the equity markets in line with firming trends in the Asian markets and dollar selling by exporters gave a boost to the rupee sentiment.

No new prepaid mobile connections would be issued nor would existing ones be renewed from Nov 1 in Jammu and Kashmir following reports that militant groups were getting SIM cards on fake identities, the union home ministry said Friday.

‘The ministry of home affairs has decided that no prepaid mobile connections would be issued and existing prepaid SIM cards would not be renewed in Jammu and Kashmir after Nov 1, 2009,’ an official said.

The ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action to implement the decision.

The move comes after reports that militants were getting mobile SIM cards on fake documents, setting off alarm bells in the security and intelligence establishments of the insurgency-hit state.

‘The step comes in the wake of the reports that proper verification is not being done while providing such prepaid mobile connections by the service providers and vendors. In some cases, a single person had been issued with multiple number of connections,’ the home ministry said.

‘The fake documents and identity cards are also being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of prepaid connections. This situation has given rise to serious security concerns. Hence, the decision,’ the ministry said.

Intelligence agencies have been maintaining that private service providers were ‘overlooking security parameters to push their sales’.

Police have arrested several people in many parts of the state including Doda, Kupwara and Srinagar after it was discovered that pre-paid connections were being used by militants. Cell phones, police said, were also used to trigger off blasts.

Over and above all this, China now has plans to build a dam across the Brahmaputra to divert some 200 billion cubic meters of water to feed the Yellow river on account of severe water shortage. This in itself has raised significant concerns for the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh

Arindam Chaudhuri

I’ve always been an admirer of China. I have also been an admirer of Mao Tse Tung — despite the scandalous (true or untrue) details of his private life — and believe that today’s China, good or bad, is an absolute direct result of his vision. What I have admired the most about China is the way they have been able to pull out millions of people from below poverty, in a matter of a few decades. This feat of China is unmatched in recorded history. What has made them achieve this unbelievable feat is their macroeconomic bottom-up model, wherein they focused on creating purchasing power directly within the poor. This has enabled them to become one of the formidable forces in the world today. They also know that if there is one nation which could pose challenges in the path of Chinese glory, it is India. So some time back, I came across an intriguing article, which generally got overlooked by most. It was reported by almost all mainstream newspapers that a Chinese strategist has contended that China should break India into 20-30 independent states! And this piece got featured in the new edition of the website of the China International Institute for Strategic Studies (CIISS), an influential think tank that advises Beijing on global and strategic issues. What made this article intriguing was the very fact that China, unlike India, is not a democracy where one can write anything howsoever frivolous and still get away with it. China is extremely strict about dissemination of information and when something as serious as this gets featured in a strategic think tank website, it could almost be said for sure that the statement carries an official approval.

What is more worrisome is the fact that the article also states that China should go about doing this with the help of friendly countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. And all of a sudden, this looks like a plausible option going by the kind of relations that India has with four of its immediate neighbours. Furthermore, the article ostensibly suggests that Bangladesh should woo Bengalis in India to form a separate Bengali nation independent of India, with the support of China! All this in just one article, which as I mentioned got featured some couple of months back. What is most shocking is the fact that China, in various ways, has already started taking its recourse towards disintegrating India in its own way. To begin with, it has started issuing separate visas to Indian passport holders from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, projecting that J&K as a state is separate from India. They went on to propagate the same by distributing handouts to visitors of Tibet, especially journalists who were invited by the Chinese government recently.

That’s not all. The perennial dispute with respect to Arunachal Pradesh’s ownership has pushed China to such an extent that in August this year, they stalled a loan from Asian Development Bank to India, which was to be deployed for the development of Arunachal Pradesh. What more, in this dispute, Google has been playing its own role: Google Maps in China features Arunachal Pradesh as a part of China; Google Maps for India features the state as a part of India; and shows it as a disputed territory in the rest of the world.
Over and above all this, China now has plans to build a dam across the Brahmaputra to divert some 200 billion cubic meters of water to feed the Yellow river on account of severe water shortage. This in itself has raised significant concerns for the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

All in all, China has been moving extremely strategically with a definite objective in mind. In fact, for this audacious thought and various moves of China, no one is to be blamed other than us. With national politics being highly fragmented, India seems to be becoming increasingly vulnerable, at least politically. National politics is so disoriented that it caters not just to regional needs but has also further moved down to cater to caste and class based agendas. Myopic viewpoints and self-centered objectives have created such a disillusion that no one seems to have any vision for the nation. No doubt, the Chinese are extremely astute to realize this and are dreaming of capitalizing on the same.

As it is, while Shivraj Patil was sleeping and changing his dresses, the Maoist Naxalite forces in India spread their wings in a manner that Chidambaram is finding almost impossible to handle despite his apparent strong words. Nothing perhaps is of a bigger concern for India’s internal security than the Naxalites who are creating havoc in the areas they rule, not only by the night but increasingly by the day now. And now, the proposed governmental plan of spending Rs. 7,200 crores over the next three years on the poor people of the Naxalite infested region is utterly laughable and shameful. In the first place, Rs. 2,400 crores spent per year means approximately Rs. 1,200 per year, per family, which is as good as nothing. Add to it the fact that 95% of this money will be eaten away by government officials and the realization hits hard that India is doing nothing to tackle this huge problem which the Chinese would love to capitalize upon – and are indeed already capitalizing upon – given the first opportunity, to make their dream come true.

Dividing India into 30 different states is indeed a laughable idea. However, if India doesn’t act fast to tackle its internal threats like Naxalism, things might look drastically different in the near future. India needs to immediately increase its budget for removing poverty amongst the Naxalite infested areas by about 25 times as a first step towards thwarting these dangerous dreams of the Chinese. Simultaneously, it needs to take China absolutely head on in terms of various other Chinese talks, threats and desires. Only that will help India consolidate its position of an equal partner in this region that will dominate world politics in times to come.

(Arindam Chaudhuri is Editor-in-Chief of Planman Media)

The audacious attack on the well-protected General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi in broad daylight on October 10 was symbolic in the sense that it sent a clear message that terrorists can strike anywhere in Pakistan with impunity. But it also prompted the Pakistan army to initiate the long-awaited operation against well-entrenched al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in South Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan.

Backed by jet fighters, as many as 28,000 Pakistani troops made a three-pronged attack on the stronghold of slain Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Baitullah Mahsud in South Waziristan on October 17 and reportedly killed 78 militants within three days. The army claims to have captured important strategic heights in the mountains. But the Taliban, who claim not to have lost a single fighter, say they have killed more Pakistani soldiers than the nine reported by the army. Verification is not possible because neither foreign nor local media have been allowed to enter the war zone so far.

Strangely enough, the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) forces vacated more than half a dozen key security check posts on the Afghan side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border just ahead of the Pakistan army’s operation code named Rahe Nijat against the militants, reported The News, Pakistan’s national English daily.

The move has led to speculation that it will facilitate Afghan Taliban in crossing over to Pakistan, strengthening the local Taliban and al-Qaeda. The army has set up five bases in the region near the Afghan border to try to seal off the Taliban’s main stronghold.
While on one hand, the US leadership is all praise for the operation launched by the Pakistan army; it is trying its best to save the skin of Nato forces even at the cost of creating trouble for Pakistan.

It also implies that since the US has provided more than $5.6 billion in military assistance to Pakistan since 9/11, it perceives that essentially it’s Pakistan that has to bear the brunt of “war on terror” in this part of the world.

“The success of Waziristan operation directly depends on the nature of security arrangements in Afghanistan. If the reports about removal of Nato forces from Afghan borders are true, the entire Waziristan operation will be affected and it will put a very big question mark against American interests towards its professed campaign against terrorism in the region,” Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed, chairman, Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi, told TSI.

But Tauseef Ahmed Khan, professor of Mass Communications at the Federal Urdu University of Karachi and a leading political analyst, argued that the report regarding removal of Nato check posts from Pakistan-Afghanistan border might be planted by the establishment.

“The way hawks such as former ISI chief Gen. (retired) Hameed Gul are talking of removal of Nato check posts from Pakistan-Afghanistan borders points out that there is something fishy,” he said.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on October 19 made it clear to Commander, US Central Command, Gen.David Petraeus that as Pakistan was engaged in South Waziristan, infiltration from Afghanistan into Pakistan should be checked by the US and Nato forces.

The Pak PM said his country was fighting on two fronts – Malakand and now in South Waziristan. “While it has won in Malakand, Pakistan is poised to strike a decisive blow to terrorists in South Waziristan. But it has to do more for the socio-economic development in the affected areas to address the root causes of terrorism and economic deprivation of the people,” he has been reported to have told the US general, who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today described his match-winning 124 as a “special century batting at number five” after his side crushed Australia by 99 runs in the second one-dayer to level the seven-match series 1-1 here. A debate has been raging in the Indian cricket fraternity whether Dhoni should promote himself up instead of batting at middle order but the captain was happy with his century today.

“It was a special century batting at number five. When you bat down the order you don’t get much chance to score big.

If you play some big shots you can be out at 50 or 60 odd runs,” Dhoni said after the match.

Asked whether today’s century was the best out of the five tons in his 147 matches, Dhoni said, “It was a tough choice.