Posts Tagged ‘controversy’
How Ted Cruz became just another one of Washington Cartel
For those who have followed US Primaries, one name that would remember apart from Donald Trump would be Ted Cruz. He was a highly un-liked figure among the Elite Political circle and he called them ‘The Washington Cartel’. He was all hopeful to win the nomination with this anti-establishment pitch against Jeb Bush. That until Donald Trump happened and his dream was shattered.
Then there were personal clashes. Pro-Cruz Super PAC released a stormy pic of Trump’s wife with a snide caption. Trump responded by retweeting a bad tweet about Cruz’s wife. Cruz never apologized and neither did Trump. During the last leg of desperation, there were further vitriolic attacks. Trump called into question Cruz’s father to which Cruz responded by calling Trump a sniveling coward.
All said and done, Trump was nominated by voters with huge number of votes. Maybe he is good, maybe he is bad, but he did get the votes. And in democracy, it is the will of the people that matters. Pro-establishment contenders, who felt that their paradise was broken, broke the pledge and didn’t support Trump. And it was expected of Corrupt Washington Cartel, in Cruz’s own terms. But when Cruz attended the GOP convention, it was expected of him to honor his pledge and support Trump. But he never did. What he called from convention floor was for ‘vote of conscience’.
We all know what he meant. He gave his supporters a call to vote for Hillary. Not that most of Republicans will do that. By definition, their conscience is against Hillary Clinton. So that’s what they will do. But what Cruz did was he became one with Washington cartel that he said he so despised. He came out as a whiny loser and opportunistic person.
Even his staunch supporters and delegates opposed and whoo’ed him. Reason he gave later to his supporters was, “Pledge” was not a blanket approval to support someone who disrespected my wife and father. Well your supporting super PAC did the same to Trump’s wife. You spread rumors about Carson. The list can go on and on. It was the election time and it should have been left at that. People decided and anyone who calls himself, not a part of ‘Washington Cartel’ should have knows better than to insult the will of people.
There is one more reason that Cruz lost respect and support by his cute act. Everyone knows these politicians for what they really are in their personal life; the skeletons and the affairs. For Cruz to feign this holier than thou attitude now, makes people just shake their heads in disbelief. It’s what the Washington Cartel does. It’s what a Bush or a Romney or a Clinton would do. By his one single act, he destroyed all what he stood for. He became just anther one of Washington Cartel.
Sahitya Akademi: Political slavery of the worst kind
An interesting drama has been unfolding at Sahitya Akademi, a Govt. organization founded in 1954. More than dozen writers have returned Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the intolerance engulfing the society. Most of these writers accuse the central Govt. of vitiating the atmosphere and fanning communal fires.
From the media reports I gather Kalburgi and Dadri cited as two primary reasons for this sudden move by the awardees. I find it amusing and sad at the same time to see a literary organization going political. But then when was it otherwise?
It’s their right to protest and no one can argue with that. But what I argue with is the hypocrisy.
Not much people would have heard the name of this organization. It’s due to the fact that it has done nothing worthwhile all these years. Their awards always have been under the scanner to be politically backed. Current episode seals that argument.
No one returned awards when there were allegations of corruption and wrongdoings against Akademi. No one returned awards after Sikh riots, Muzaffarpur riots. No one returned the awards when India witnessed most shameful corruption all around. No, they were fine with that. I am not here defending the current Govt. Maybe they are vitiating the atmosphere for all we know.
But to cite this as a reason for such cheap stunts, sounds fishy. My take is most of the awardees have been political. Akademi was criticized by none other than Khushwant Singh for awarding below-par and sub-standard writers. So for people who got awards due to their political alignment to previous Govt’s, it’s time to return the favors. Their action does nothing but malign the current Govt and in my opinion it is politically motivated.
It’s high time these people are not given any audience. If we look back last 60 years, India has achieved nothing much in literary space anyways. All thanks to such people who rose up the ranks and got awarded owing to their political alignments.
What we need is a new breed of writers who can take India to literary heights which we lost out on all these years.
PK, Aamir and Controversy
I saw PK movie starring Aamir Khan and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, before any controversy erupted. It was quite clear from the trailers that movie was a satire on religious customs. I went to see the movie with an open mind.
Movie wise its a nice simple story without much drama or twists. A simple tale told with simplicity. Aamir’s acting was superb as always. I liked the message of the movie. About superstitions and wrong numbers and how easy it is to fool people in the name of religion.
But I will be frank here, I found few bits distasteful like the one in the climax involving a guy posed as Shiva, and the one where Tapasvi says that a person from particular religion do blasts…why should Tapasvi answer?
Then the controversy erupted. Hindu religious leaders objected, understandably so, as majorly they were the ones targetted. Then the political free for all.
My take is such movies tend to vitiate atmosphere in a multi religious society like ours. It would have been. difficult to target all religions equally in the movie and this is what caused issues. Right wing and appeasement politicians both made things worse.
My take is though in principle such movies should be celebrated but given the realities, they better not be made.
I find makers of the movie equally at fault as the religious traders. Both made money off religion. Some by celebrating it, others by denigrating it. Movie was made to make crores of rupees and this fact should not be forgetted. I would have liked if makers gave away the profits for social causes. Since their motive was to make money off public, they were always susceptible to attack and can’t take Holier than thou route.
Everyone alike. After all its money honey!
Vrindavan Widows: The Helpless Old Ladies
My hometown, Agra is next to Vrindavan. A drive to the temple and back used to be our once in month getaway, growing up. The place is divine in the true sense. You will have to visit once to get the feel of it
Recently the female MP, who is an actor by profession, made a comment on the widows that stay in the city. They were called unwelcome beggars among other things.
I am not really sure since when these ladies started coming here. But it has been quite some time. “Going by your deeds, I don’t expect you will take care of me. If your father goes before me, I will got to Vrindavan and live there”, mothers chastise their sons in this side of the world, albeit in jest.
I won’t take a theoretical approach here. I will admit, as per my first hand knowledge, what the MP said is true to some extent. They do beg for money and a lot of people who visit the city are more than willing to help the old ladies in whites. But this is where the truth of her statement ends.
I agree that most of the ladies come from across the country. But they come here when they have nowhere else to go. When the husband dies, the house and the money is gobbled up by the relatives in remote villages even today and these ladies are left with nothing.
Just because there exists a place called Vrindavan, a large number of them are alive. Or else they would have been dead by now. It needs to be celebrated and not looked down upon. Virndavan has become synonymous with LIFE for such ladies across the country.
The MP was recently mocked for not spending time in her constituency where ideally she should permanently stay. Given this background, such a statement reeks of desperation to rake up some local emotions and make her presence count.
Being a lady herself, she should have used this as a divine opportunity to serve and take care of vulnerable and helpless ladies. Small scale industries can be set up here, utilizing this ready made labor. This would not only give them a dignified life, but also take care of the issues that the MP has mentioned.
But Alas! That would require her devoting time and energy here. It’s more convenient to visit for a day; make some disparaging remark; go back to Mumbai and sleep in peace.
What Times are Now?
An unfortunate controversy erupted when a leading English Newsgroup published a not so subtle article about a leading actress. Without getting into the details of the write up, silence of the associated news channel amuses me. On all other issues, this TV channel is always here and Now.
Had it been a politician who would have made some unsavory speech; had it been a police head who would have issued a demeaning guideline; had it been some actor who would have made some politically incorrect observation, the channel would have raised hue and cry on primetime and rightly so. The primetime which it boasts have garnered highest TRP’s in the last 5 years.
But today all silence. It’s not an isolated incident. If you go to their website, you would see more of such obnoxious articles. Skimpy clad images of female models collated from across the globe. Explicit stuff posted at the very top, just to grab eyeballs.
Some of the headings with equally raunchy pics one finds there are, “Babes flaunt assets online”, “Bollywood babes unbuttoned”, “Hotties’ peek-a-boo moments”, “Celebs caught pantyless” and “Celebs’ oops moment!” I feel ashamed even typing them, but not the newsgroup which can do anything for money.
What I am afraid is that such acts leave the fourth pillar vulnerable to attack. In their lust for readership to plunder advertising revenue, they are ready to sell the very essence of news. I agree that these pics are collated from public domain but why plaster them on the news website?
I urge Press Council of India to take suo moto cognizance and issue appropriate guidelines. Now is the Time to put an end.
My God, Your God
It was waiting to snap any moment. Whether a prominent Fakir is God or not, has been debated for some time. However the level of discourse seems to have come down of late. With self-proclaimed representatives on either sides uttering choicest of expletives on prime-time, it has become an embarrassment for the followers.
My parents are practicing Hindus and heed to every temple under the sun. They also go to Baba’s shrine to pay respects. I am agnostic to idol worship and have never given too much thought into.
More than faith, the issue seems to be the struggle for power. With the rise of the followers of Baba, a new religious authority has come up with equally fat belly and equally fat purse. So who takes the cake?
Whether Baba can be considered a Hindu God and can be placed in Hindu temples is the contention here. The body that guides the temples says NO with the other side lobbying for it. There are allegations of power play, money changing hands and what not.
As if it was not bad enough that successive generations have become disillusioned with idol worships, these fights have made it worse.
Pro-Baba lobby says, “Our sentiments are hurt; when you say remove him from temples”. The other side says, “Our sentiments are hurt; when you force his idol in our temples”.
I say, my brain hurts. Help me God!
Dhoni Under ICC Scanner
Dhoni seems to be in the middle of yet another controversy. After the “Glove Web” fiasco and “Two and a half (2.5) Jam” hiccup, Dhoni has irated ICC once again. According to our sources, Dhoni is under investigation from ICC for the potential theft of cricketing material.
An ICC internal memo, a copy of which is present with us states, “Mr. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain Indian cricket team is hereby charged under Section 25.2 for stealing stumps from the field. Stumps are ICC property; hence he is in breach of ICC code of conduct.”
Sources inside ICC has told us, “Dhoni targets the middle stump which has camera and microphone attached to it. This has resulted in huge losses to our broadcasters”.
It might be recalled, Dhoni was censured by ICC for causing loss of cricket balls by hitting huge sixes out of the ground. Dhoni has curbed his aggression since, to stay away from any controversy.
ICC says Dhoni is not only involved in this gross theft but also encourages the same by his team mates. It’s has become a bloody team game.
Insiders have told us, “One who steals stumps in a match is guaranteed in playing XI, in the next.”
“Why else do you think Munaf and Yuvraj are still in the team?”
“Why else do you think Bhajji is so close to Dhoni?”
Theft of every stump is celebrated heavily. “Let’s concentrate one stump at a time. Records will be made themselves. Soon we will have 1000 stumps in our armory”, Dhoni is supposed to have boasted once.
Dhoni was enraged. “It’s not just me; every cricketer keeps stumps as a memento”. “If you win today, you lay claim to the stumps. This is my mantra to motivate the team. Media and ICC can say anything; I have support of my team.
Opposition players are aware of this. In fact some very much appreciate him. “The knack that Dhoni has for grabbing stumps is uncanny. No surprise that he is a wicketkeeper”.
BCCI has been enraged with these reports. In their press brief they contested, “Our crickets are extremely rich owing to IPL. Why would they steal if they can afford to bribe grounds men. ICC should stop being pain in the back.”
Post the media reports that it was Steve Bucknor who first reported Indian team for stealing, proof of Bucknor himself being involved with the racket has emerged. “He was unhappy with the profit sharing and hence he bitched about Indian players”, said a report.
Legendary Indian opener, Sunil Gavaskar has come out strongly in support of Indian players. He presented his own dossier on international cricketers who have been involved in such thefts from a long time. “Why is ICC silent on these people? Just because Dhoni is an Asian, it does not give ICC the right to level such serious charges”.
It seems highly unlikely that ICC will act against Indian captain and annoy the cash cow BCCI. ICC has infact designed theft proof stumps (pic below). Given its dual purpose, ICC has also tied up with clean-the-nation program run by Sharad Pawar.
Akshay, Aamir, Awards: A Dilemma
Last night a breaking news simultaneously bombarded across all the News Channels. “Akshay refused to accept the Star Screen award for the best actor in popular category”. It was said that he was miffed at it not being given to Aamir. Here’s the catch. Aamir don’t attend such award ceremonies as a policy. Would announcing Aamir the winner take the sheen away from the ceremony, given his absence? To some extend, yes. Now what can Star Screen do? I recollect similar dilemma during the time of Gadar and Lagaan. Their resounding success was of so sheer velocity that no award ceremony dare give it to some other movie or some other star. Since Sunny and Aamir both boycott these populist awards, what happened? The award functions looked pale and just a formality. This brings us to the current discussion, Was Star Screen right in not giving award to the deserving, Aamir? Well, answer might not be as simple.
One solution might be to stop nominating them. Make it a policy statement. In the past a lot many award functions have done so, including Oscars. This might in turn end up lending them, a much needed credibility.
So why haven’t they done it already? Most of the award functions are organized by private media houses who need the stars for promotional purposes. Consider a scenario, “Aamir Khan not been considered for Star Screen awards”. Given the size of egos in Bollywood, Aamir (or his well wishers), might take it as an insult. This would open the floodgates, open war b/w camps (already there are no less). No media house wants to end up at the point of no return. So they try and maintain cordial relations. Not attending the award lends the star, a high moral ground. Not being openly considered might be taken as an outright insult. The truth today is that stars such as Aamir are more powerful than any particular media house. Hence they are nominated year after year, should they ever change their mind.
India Australia Series: Is the hype real?
Of Late, India-Australia Cricket has become a huge affair. No stone remains unturned towards a memorable and saleable experience. Same goes for the current Test series. While Players are busy churning out high quality of cricket, Media is busy churning out equally sensational stuff. Let me put down a few from both print and visual media.
Why did Ganguly announce sudden retirement?
The Holy Grail! The news channel famous for its sting ops claimed to have laid its hands on the “real” truth. Whole affair was portrayed as some Watergate scandal waiting to be unearthed. The news went, “Ganguly ki beizzati ki thi tyaari. Dada ko nahin chahiye thi yeh beizzati. Dada ne kiya kinare hone ka faisla”. According to the channel, Kumble had plans to leave out Ganguly from the first test match squad. He wanted to avenge the insult that Ganguly laid on him by not playing him during the 2003 World Cup despite his constant pleads. According to the “well placed” sources it would not be possible for Kumble to keep Ganguly out now.
Kumble and the 2 CD’s
The same channel claimed that Kumble-the captain have played 2 VCD’s to the team. First one contained clippings from the farcical Sydney test, Australia claiming dropped catches and the Monkeygate scandal. The second one relived Kolkata 2001. It got players pumped up. CD may or may not have pumped up the players but this news would for sure have left viewers boiling and hungry for revenge against the Australians.
Oz media slam Ganguly for delaying tactics in ‘farcical draw’
This was a heading from the PTI. I searched online for related articles by the Australian media. I checked Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and others but couldn’t find any such report. What I found was a single article titled “Farcical draw like kissing mother-in-law” by some Andrew McKinlay. PTI claimed as if the entire Oz media was after Ganguly.
Recently, according to a report BCCI advised a sports channel not to advertise this as revenge and hatred filled series. Whatever be the case, sometimes such reporting do help in keeping up the popularity of the sport. I for one enjoyed run-in’s between Zaheer and Haddin, Shane Watson’s antics and Brett Lee’s glare a lot among other things. In fact I might not have enjoyed the match so much but for the media backed controversies.
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