Vijay suggests cuts in Kuruvi

In his upcoming action-thriller Kuruvi, actor Vijay seems to have suggested a few significant changes after viewing the rushes that were shot earlier. Now the scenes that were shot to please his hardcore fans with some larger than life heroism will either go under the scissors or suffer a package alteration, based on his advice.
Vijay

It seems Vijay is a tad apprehensive about too much of blind masala machismo not working out among the movie going public these days. He in fact is reported to have suggested to director, Dharani to project subtle affable heroism, which was the forte of their last outing – Gilli.

Kuruvi has already generated enough hype, as it is the debut production venture of Udhayanidhi, grandson of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. With music scored by Dharani’s lucky mascot - Vidyasagar, Trisha plays Vijay’s ladylove. The movie also has Suman, Vivek, Manivannan, and Malavika playing significant roles. Kuruvi is expected to hit the screens for the Tamil New Year – 2008.

Clinton, Obama already eyeing March 4 Democratic rivals launch ads for primaries in Texas and Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is counting on the almost-Super Tuesday primaries March 4 for another comeback, as she and rival Sen. Barack Obama both begin ads in Texas and Ohio, the day's biggest prizes.

Barring an upset win for Clinton in the next five Democratic contests, she could well have suffered 10 straight defeats by the time Democrats begin voting March 4 in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont — the biggest single day left on the Democratic nominating calendar.

The New York senator bounced back earlier in New Hampshire after Obama defeated her in Iowa. Now she says "I am very confident" of doing much better when 370 delegates are allocated March 4.

Australia says sorry

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has delivered a historic apology to the country's Aboriginal community.

Harvard Faculty Adopts Open-Access Requirement

Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences adopted a policy this evening that requires faculty members to allow the university to make their scholarly articles available free online.

Peter Suber, an open-access activist with Public Knowledge, a nonprofit group in Washington, said on his blog that the new policy makes Harvard the first university in the United States to mandate open access to its faculty members’ research publications.

Stuart M. Shieber, a professor of computer science at Harvard who proposed the new policy, said after the vote in a news release that the decision “should be a very powerful message to the academic community that we want and should have more control over how our work is used and disseminated.”

The new policy will allow faculty members to request a waiver, but otherwise they must provide an electronic form of each article to the provost’s office, which will place it in an online repository.

The policy will allow Harvard authors to publish in any journal that permits posting online after publication. According to Mr. Suber, about two-thirds of pay-access journals allow such posting in online repositories. —Lila Guterman

Tamil Actress Trisha Exclusive Photo Gallery From Kuruvi Spot

Tamil Actress Trisha Exclusive Photo Gallery From Kuruvi Spots
Trisha and Ilayathalapathy Vijay has given good combination on screen. Most of the Vijay fans feels that Trisha and Vijay are the most successful pair on screen.

Kuruvi is the 4th film of Trisha with Vijay after her successful combination in films Gilli, Thiruppachi and Aadhi. Kuruvi amidst great expectations.

“It is great to hear that I’m the most successful onscreen pair to an actor like Vijay. Vijay and I have a beautiful chemistry on screen. He is very close friend of mine and very comfortable to me on sets. He is very sweet person and very easy when moves around co stars. ” says cute Trisha.

Naturally, the chemistry is working, and making history, too.

March 22 looks to be a big day in Taiwan. That’s the day the island’s two major political parties, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Kuomintang (KMT), face off in presidential elections. But the vote getting most of the international attention, particularly from across the Taiwan Strait in Beijing, are two referendum questions proposing Taiwan apply for UN membership (BBC). The two questions reflect the each party’s particular vision of Taiwan’s future. The referendum designed by the DPP, which favors independence for Taiwan, asks whether the government should seek to join the United Nations in the name of Taiwan. The KMT, which wants closer ties with China, will ask whether the island should seek to return to the United Nations with a pragmatic and flexible approach using Republic of China, its official name, Taiwan, or any other suitable designation.

These nuances apparently are lost on Beijing, which claimed the Chinese seat at the United Nations in 1971. China’s government has publicly warned Taiwan (Reuters) it may pay a heavy cost for its UN vote. Russia, Australia and United States have also condemned the idea, which the United States calls provocative (WashPost).

This latest round of heightened tensions across the strait has once again raised fears of armed hostilities between China and Taiwan, with all the geopolitical repercussions that would have for the United States and its allies in the Pacific Rim. Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte, in an interview with CFR.org, says the United States is concerned about the “military buildup on the PRC’s side of the strait.” According to some estimates, Beijing has roughly one thousand missiles aimed at Taiwan and continues to add to that number each month. Kenneth Allen of the CNA corporation, a U.S.-based research organization focusing on defense issues, says that for China, Taiwan, and the United States, “trying to decipher the difference between deterrent and aggressive actions is a major issue for regional stability.” China reiterated its concern (China Daily) over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, which it fears is emboldening independence forces there.

The United States has consistently stated that its policy toward Taiwan is guided by the Three Communiqués and by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. But John J. Tkacik, Jr., a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, writes that U.S. policy toward Taiwan’s status has been “dogmatically agnostic” and Washington has “not formally recognized Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and [has] not made any determination as to Taiwan's political status.” There is also “strategic ambiguity” in what the United States will actually do if a war breaks out in the strait, writes Alan D. Romberg, director of the East Asia Program at the Henry L. Stimson Center. “Taiwan should not assume that if it provokes war, the United States will necessarily get into it; the PRC should not assume that if it attacks Taiwan, the United States will stay out of it,” says Romberg.

The recent victory of the KMT party over the pro-independence DPP in Taiwan’s January legislative elections has led many experts to believe that relations between China and Taiwan may ease. As this Backgrounder explains, this has been a fragile relationship, and a constant source of tension for Washington. KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou has proclaimed a “three no’s” policy—no unification, no independence, and no use of force—in outlining his planned approach to cross-strait relations. An op-ed in the Korea Times argues that Ma's construct appears to be aimed at “reassuring three main audiences: the people of Taiwan, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the United States and international community in general.” Negroponte told CFR.org that the United States is urging China that it “shouldn’t try to deprive Taiwan of all of its political space.”

Resolving African Conflicts

Since its disputed election in December, Kenya has descended—with frightening speed—into angry mayhem. Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga are upset because they believe the election was stolen; ethnic groups are fighting one another over perceived economic injustices; some armed groups are little more than criminal gangs. As the population grows more polarized, efforts to resolve the political crisis look increasingly inadequate. Kenya’s impasse highlights the difficulty of conflict resolution on a continent that lacks regional leaders but whose complex crises tend to thwart international resolution efforts. The United States has increased pressure on Nairobi (NYT) to compromise, and while Kenya is not on the five-country itinerary of President Bush’s upcoming Africa visit, it’s sure to be on the agenda.

Kenya is just one of several continental calamities. On February 2, rebels attacked N’Djamena and attempted to overthrow Chad’s president. Across the border, the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region that has displaced millions and left hundreds of thousand dead continues. In the same neighborhood are the conflict in Somalia, considered a failed state, and the border standoff between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which threatens to escalate into war.

African states that were once seen as continental leaders, such as Nigeria and South Africa, are preoccupied with domestic issues. “South Africa and Nigeria need time for internal reflection because previous presidents were very ambitious internationally,” says Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at Chatham House, a British think tank. This leaves a leadership void on the continent, according to some experts, and bodes poorly for long-term security. Mid-sized states such as Ghana and Tanzania show promise, but due to their limited financial resources, it is unlikely they will wield significant influence beyond their subregions.

The African Union suffers from the same lack of strong leadership. While the mantra “African solutions for African problems” has become popular since the establishment of the African Union in 2002, in reality the young organization is ill-equipped to cope with continental crises. Experts say the body, which aims to protect the security of the continent, is already overstretched by peacekeeping in Somalia and Darfur. It has difficulty getting members to pay their dues.

The United Nations devotes significant resources to addressing conflicts in Africa. So far this year, nine of the UN Security Council’s sixteen meetings have been on African countries. The body’s calendar for February (PDF) is dominated by the continent—from Sudan to Somalia to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Kenya and Chad, international efforts have produced scant results. Attempts by a group of mediators led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to eke out a power-sharing agreement between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Odinga have made little progress. “The international bodies and countries that might have been expected to squeeze Mr. Kibaki into seeing sense have been incoherent,” writes the Economist. After rebels invaded Chad’s capital, the UN Security Council condemned the attack but did not offer concrete assistance.

The United Nations has provided critical peacekeeping forces in countries such as Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, but such forces are only a piece of the conflict-resolution puzzle. And in the case of Darfur, where the UN Security Council has authorized a 26,000-strong joint UN/AU peacekeeping force, the Sudanese government has obstructed the force on so many fronts that the head of UN peacekeeping says it will take the rest of 2008 for deployment. A planned European Union peacekeeping contingent for Eastern Chad likely precipitated the rebel attack in Chad, says Africa expert Alex de Waal in a CFR.org Podcast. Journalist Simon Roughneen agrees. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” he writes in a commentary for the Online Africa Policy Forum.

Ganguly out of ODI's ,Recommended by Dhoni.?

While dropping of Ganguly is not at all a good decision especially for the triangular series against Australia, i do
not think that the decision is not only based on the recommendation of Dhoni as selectors have final say inn aof players.

Sourav Ganguly’s exclusion: A wrong decision by selectors!

ON JANUARY 20, the national selectors had dropped these senior players from the 16 member squad for the one twenty20 match against Australia on February 1, and the tri series featuring Australia and Sri Lanka, beginning from February 3. VVS Laxman, who made valuable contributions in the ongoing test series against Australia, has also been left out from ODI team.

Uttar Pradesh pacer, Praveen Kumar and left hand batsman Suresh Raina found the place in final 16 due to their superb performance in Ranji Trophy. Ishant Sharma, who had dismissed Australian captain Ricky Ponting in both the innings of the Perth test, has also been included in the ODI team. The 16 member team includes, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, S Sreesanth, R P Singh, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar and Dinesh Karthik. Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary have been included as standby players, who may join the team in case of any injury to players.

The BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) decision has surprised everyone and resulted in massive protests in Ganguly’s hometown Kolkata. As the news of Ganguly was made public, his fans took to the streets of Kolkata. In Kolkata, Ganguly’s fans burnt effigies of the BCCI president Sharad Pawar. Ganguly’s fans also raised slogans against Pawar and demanded Ganguly’s inclusion with posters asking to ‘Bring dada back’. On Ganguly’s exclusion issue the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) said “grave injustice” had been done and said that it would lodge a protest against the BCCI. Talking to media, CAB joint secretary said, “What has been done is totally wrong, grave injustice is being done to him.” He also said, “It seems Dhoni did not want him in the side. Dhoni is more comfortable with juniors so he is in favour of axing seniors. But we will not sit idle. We will lodge a strong protest.”

While talking about the exclusion of Ganguly and Dravid, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said, “The emphasis was on fielding abilities and they wanted a young fielding side for the series. That’s why you see a lot of youngsters in the side. The three selectors here had a teleconference with two of their colleagues (Ranjib Biswal and Venkatapathy Raju) and MS Dhoni, who are in Australia, after which the team was selected.”

However, about Ganguly’s possibilities of getting back into the ODI team, BCCI secretary Shah had said, “He is a great player and can come back.”

Ganguly, also known as the ‘Prince of Kolkata’, is a very tough man, as he has already proved in past by making a sensational come back. Surely he will come back into the national side very soon. But, putting much faith on the youngsters at the cost of aggressive and experienced player like Ganguly, seems like an injustice.

If the selectors can include Virender Sehwag in the team, then Ganguly too deserves his place in the team. Most importantly, Australia and Sri Lanka are tough ODI sides and the team needs experienced players like Sourav Ganguly. Now that the team’s responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of youngsters, we should hope for the best. For the selectors we can only hope that they think twice before axing in-form batsman like Ganguly from the team.

According to the BCCI, the decision has been taken by keeping in mind the future prospects of the game. If we consider the statement of BCCI, then it seems that these senior players have been dropped from the side due to below par performances. We do agree that Rahul Dravid had a poor performance in ODI series against Pakistan and Australia, but Ganguly did fairly well with the bat as well as with the ball. So, dropping Ganguly is an injustice done by the BCCI.

During the Pakistan series, after striking double century in Bangalore, Sourav Ganguly do mentioned that he had suffered step-attitude of national selectors in past and got a bad treatment from them. This time too, the selector’s decision had surely disappointed Sourav Ganguly and his fans, and it may affect his game in the future.