Australia Fucks 15,000 Indian Students to INDIA ?

Around 15,000 Indian students in Australia could be forced to return home under a revised skills list that is set to become the mandate for visas and permanent residency to that country from July 1. Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi has urged Canberra to exempt existing students from the new list.

Australia has slashed the existing Skilled Occupations List (SOL) from 400 skills to just 181 for vocational courses and jobs, which are prerequisites to acquire permanent resident status and student visas.

Ravi, who visited Australia recently and raised the issue, is confident the Australian government will not turn down his plea, though he said it hasn't committed to his request to exempt the existing students from the new skills list in order to let them finish with their courses and for permanent residency.

'I asked the Australian ministers to implement the list prospectively and not retrospectively... I have asked them to give our students two and a half years' time to find a sponsor and employment,' Ravi told IANS, after returning from a week-long trip to Australia where he met Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, Trade Minister Simon Crean and Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans.

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) Joint Secretary G. Gurucharan told IANS that 60 percent of the Indian students will not be affected by the revised list, and of the remaining, 30 percent will be given a transition period of two and a half years to either find a job or sponsor to acquire permanent resident status.

He said those in trouble are the remaining 10 percent, or around 10,000 students, who arrived in Australia on student visas with neither vocational nor language skills only intending to pick up jobs and secure permanent residency.

However, Ravi is confident that the authorities will not let down the students. He said: 'I am confident and hopeful that Australia will not disappoint our students though they have not committed to us on anything... They will look into the matter.'

Gurucharan said the ministry had reasoned with the Australian authorities that despite prior knowledge that these students lacked vocational and language skills, Australia had issued them student visas and so now they cannot be forced to leave.

'But they also had a good argument in their favour that when they gave these students visas, it was only a student visa and so under the new list they cannot be given permanent resident status. But still the minister (Ravi) spoke on their behalf to the Australian authorities and we are hopeful,' he added.

Also affected by the new SOL are at least 5,000 other students. They were hit when the Australian government ordered closure of 34 of its privately-run institutes in the last few months for failing to meet the laid down standards. Many more institutes are expected to follow suit.

The High Commission of India in Australia had early this year warned students planning higher studies in that country of the existence of several sub-standard institutions which do not meet the standards set by the Australian federal and state governments.

The state government in Victoria is currently auditing 41 privately-run educational colleges. Further, the federal government has mandated that all education providers and institutions delivering to international students need to re-register by Dec 31, 2010, so that the government can ensure they meet the mandated standards.

During his visit, Ravi also held talks with the Victoria Premier John Brumby and asked him to take initiatives to help the Indian students continue with their courses in recognised institutes without being affected by the new list and also help them find employment under the state-sponsored immigration policy.

'I tried to impress upon them that our students should not lose out on opportunities, they have spent a lot of money and energy to get there but when institutes are being shut down by the government, what will our children do? I am hoping they won't disappoint our children,' Ravi added.

100 crore Loss on Ravan and Kites why ???

The janta review of Kites and Raavan was swift and cruel. F-L-O-P. Flop. That’s real bad news for the common producer of both films – Reliance Big Pictures. Sources say the company has lost upwards of Rs 100 crore on these films. By its current scale of performance, Raavan looks to sink lower than the other mega-budget dud – Kites.

Both films had extensive pre-launch promotions. Alas – promotions ensure that a film has a good opening over the weekend. That’s it. After that, it is the content of the film itself which will make it swim or sink.  Beating poor reviews and word-of-mouth ratings, Kites managed a good opening weekend, netting in Rs 30 crore.

Raavan has collected less than Rs 20 crore at the close of its opening weekend. This week onwards, Raavan has a clear run with no competing releases. Yet, analysts predict it will sink further.  Nothing can salvage Raavan with its below average opening of 50% across the country.

Kites and Raavan were expected to follow Raajneeti’s rocking show at the box office.  Instead, the films have become Bollywood ki Aag. That’s something, even by Bollywood standards of expecting the most unexpected.

Was it the actors?  Raavan is Abhishek Bacchan’s third film with Mani Ratnam. After Yuva and Guru, expectations were sky-high from Abhishek Bachchan. (We tend to dismiss Delhi 6). What the janta saw was largely dismissed as hamming and posturing, amateurish and naive.  Questions raised on faking the much-vaunted dive didn’t help.

Hrithik was appreciated in Kites for his good looks (which the camera made love to, framing him in tight close-ups and bare torso scenes). Jai faltered, Hrithik didn’t.

Scintillating Barbara Mori looked pretty in Kites. So does Aishwarya in Raavan. Luminous, floating around in the forest, long curly drenched hairpiece and carefully crafted no make up look.  So we’ve heard of the chemistry between the stand-in Sita and the shrieking baddie. We think back to the mock fight when the same pair landed on a bed in Guru and phuuuuuus- zilch. Aishwarya, I suspect, still looks hottest with Hrithik.  Hrithik and Barbara’s crackling chemistry and smouldering looks kept Kites ticking.

Both films are richly crafted and produced – sweeping shots, stunning locales, jungles, waterfalls, but where is the story? So Kites was painful and downright silly in the second half. With Raavan and its confusing plot (Beera is Raavan, Robin Hood or Veerappan), why does Vikram wear aviator glasses in the jungle (he’s a cop, they cost a lot, no?) and run slo-mo, etc, etc. The plot rests mostly in Mani Ratnam’s head.

To sum up, here’s what I am saying other filmmakers should avoid like the plague:

• Avoid bumbling actors who ham for the camera


• If your film is titled Raavan, don’t hope that Sita will see it through


• Get a lead pair who look hot together


• Let the story out of the director’s head and out there for the audience


• Acknowledge the use of stuntmen/women


• Don’t get Ma and Pa to defend your film


• Think of a strategy to counter word-of-mouth ratings and reviews


• Don’t let others in Bollywood poke fun at your expense and ask RGV and KJo to take their tweet battles offline

Read my colleague Rummana’s review of Raavan here. ‘Abhi-Ash are insufferable’, she says. And here’s the trailer.

Now vote here and tell me what you think is the reason for Raavan’s no-show:

3 reasons why Raavan flopped:

There is NO storyAbhishek's non performanceToo vague

Huge Financial Corruption in Nityananda CASE ?? UpDated ??

The Karnataka High Court delivered its verdict on Swami Nityananda’s bail plea. The 32-year-old spiritual teacher and founder of the Dhyanapeetam, faces several criminal charges including that of rape and “unusual sex”.

12th June 2010: Swami Nityananda has got conditional bail but has been instructed not to teach or preach.

11th June 2010: Swami Nityananda gets bail on Rs 1 lakh bond. No witness against Nityananda in rape case.

30^th April 2010: When the CID was interrogating him, the swami’s shocking statement, “I’m not a man. There’s no way I could have indulged in sexual activities with women. Do a potency test on me,” gave a new twist to the  sordid saga.

21^st April 2010: Almost a month and a half after the sex scam broke out, Swami Nityananda was arrested from Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. At the time of his arrest, the Bangalore police found Rs 3 lakh and 2000 dollars with him.

2^nd March 2010: The Swami scandal surfaced in March 2010 when a local channel aired video footage of the swami in a compromising position with a Tamil actress after he had retired from his ashram to live a life of “spiritual seclusion”.

After almost 50 days in jail, the decision on his bail plea will be taken today. Amidst allegations against Nityananda and all the controversy, some loyal devotees continue to hold onto their faith.

Swami Nityananda is not the only self-professed godman to be embroiled in a controversy; several others too have been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Social media channels, specifically Twitter, was abuzz with quips about Swami Nityananda’s sex scandal. For an interesting flipside view to the Swami saga, check this link.

Stay tuned to FTP for the latest on the Swami Nityananda story and find more related stories here.

Huge Financial Corruption in Nityananda CASE ??

Can You Trust CID or INDIA Police ???

Oldest trick in the book ?? Get on, get off and 

get away with claims of faulty equipment ??

Too Smart in front of CID so making false 

comments to get rid of the case soo easily ??

wait Swami, after third degree torture from
CID/Police you won't feel MAN anymore.?
AhahaAhAhahaAhAhahaAhAhahaAhAhahaAh

Fuck the Basted Nityanada 

from INDIA ?

Huge Financial Corruption in Nityananda CASE ??

Can You Trust CID or INDIA Police ???

Huge Financial Corruption in Nityananda CASE ??

Can You Trust CID or INDIA Police ???

Huge Financial Corruption in Nityananda CASE ??

Can You Trust CID or INDIA Police ???

Huge Financial corruption in Bhopal gas Case ?

Bhopal gas tragedy: America's double standards, say some

Hours after a verdict drove home the point that justice, after 25 years, is nowhere on the horizon of a city left gasping for breath, America's reaction to the sentence in the Bhopal gas tragedy seemed tactless, even insulting. US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake said, "I don't expect this verdict to reopen any new inquiries or anything like that. On the contrary, we hope that this is going to help to bring closure, to the victims and their families."
The verdict was not unexpected. The court in Bhopal delivered the maximum sentence of two years in prison for eight Indian executives who faced charges of criminal negligence for the world's worst industrial disaster. Bail was granted immediately. 
Stung, India is now asking why a series of decisions by different governments and the Supreme Court allowed the case against Union Carbide to turn into one where the punishment is no greater than what's awarded for an ordinary road accident.
And as politicians, investigating officials and former judges once involved with the case offer differing versions of why they're not to blame, many activists are looking outwards -  to America - where the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is being dealt with so differently.  
President Barack Obama, criticised in different editorials for, initially not acting quickly or aggressively enough, spoke a different language on Monday. 
In an interview to NBC News' show "Today', Obama said he wanted to know "whose ass to kick" over the oil spill, adding that if BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward worked for him, he would have fired him by now over his response to the 50-day-old spill 
There is, to many Indians, especially those fighting for a quarter of a century for the rights of the Bhopal gas tragedy, much to envy and to counter, in the America on display for its own crisis versus Bhopal's. 
Eleven people were killed when British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in Gulf of Mexico.  Close to 8000 died on the night of Dec 2 1984 in Bhopal, and in the years since then, the number has climbed to close to 20,000. 
The oil spill has caused extensive damage to marine life, birds and the US coastline in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. In Bhopal, 26 years after the gas leak, the soil and the water are still contaminated, with dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals, and thousands still suffering the aftereffects.
British Petroleum has already paid 69 million dollars, just as first installment for the damages caused. That figure could multiply several times, with the company's liability still being decided. In contrast, Union Carbide paid just $ 470 million in compensation for the deaths it caused. That's less than $500 dollars per victim, insufficient even to cover medical treatment costs for those who survived.    
When asked about the possible extradition of Warren Anderson, the man who headed Union Carbide at the time of the Bhopal gas tragedy, America's stand was clear.  
"As a matter of policy, we never discuss extradition," said Robert Blake.
A US court rejected a formal extradition request for Anderson in 2003, allegedly on the grounds that under US laws, only someone personally culpable for a crime can be extradited. Anderson did not fit the bill.
In the case of British Petroleum, America is launching a criminal investigation that may lead to prosecution of top executives.  
Double standards, say many, who say America is avoiding its responsibilities in a case where the facts speak for themselves.