Shots Fired in \'Gangnam Style\' Dance Contest in Bangkok

September 21, 2012, 11:25 pm

By PATRICK MCGEEHAN

Pop music stars have long posed as gangsters. Now gang members are emulating the music video phenomenon “Gangnam Style.”

In central Bangkok early Friday morning, members of rival teenage gangs fired off at least 50 bullets after a dance showdown boiled over, according to The Bangkok Post. During a night of drinking and partying, members of two gangs confronted each other with moves that mimicked those of PSY, a Korean performer whose song “Gangnam Style” has become a worldwide sensation on YouTube, the police and witnesses told the newspaper.

As our colleague Su Hyun Lee reported this week, the craze has even penetrated the bubble over North Korea, where apparatchiks used it to poke fu n at a South Korean presidential candidate.

An investigator told The Post that a quarrel broke out as the competition grew more intense. One of the groups left the nightclub and returned with weapons.

The gunfire appeared to have been more posturing; the police said that several cars were hit but no people were injured.

“Gangnam Style” refers to the customs of a fashionable district of Seoul.

Suspected Hostage Taker Updates Facebook As Event Unfolds

September 21, 2012, 12:42 pm

By CHRISTINE HAUSER

A man suspected of holding at least one hostage in a Pittsburgh office tower has been apparently updating his Facebook account as the drama unfolds.

The man, identified by the police as Klein Michael Thaxton, 22, went into the office tower at the Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh just after 8 a.m. There, at CW Breitsman Associates, a company that administers pension plans on the 16th floor of the high-rise, he took at least one person hostage. The police said that they had sent teams to the location to try to negotiate with him.

Nate Harper, Pittsburgh's police chief, said that Mr. Thaxton might be armed with a gun and a bomb. “No one has been hurt at this time,” he said. “There were no shots fired.”

A profile page in Mr. Thaxaton's name on Facebook shows a self-made photograph of a man's muscular torso, super-imposed on a backdrop of images of the faces of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Israel's prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu flanking that of President Barack Obama.

At around 9 a.m., one status update read: “welln pops youll never have to woryy about me again you'll nevr need to by me anything no need to ever waste ur hard earned money on me. i'll live n jail you dnt want me around anymore thats kool bye…i love u assata sis

Another said: “i cant take it no more im done bro.”

Chief Harper said Mr. Thaxton had walked into the office and “started asking questions about an individual.” He added that it was not clear who the individual was or what the person's relationship was with the suspect.

Some readers of the Facebook page, which had about 566 friends, posted ba ck, some of them mocking, while a few were trying to help.

“there's always a storm before a blessing baby its never as bad as it seems if u didn't have a purpose n life then u wouldn't b here your mom loves u and I'm sure it'll kill her to lose her baby.”

Speaking to reporters, the police chief said: “We're willing to talk as long as it will take to resolve this in a safe and orderly fashion.”

Prime Minister Singh Defends Reforms

September 21, 2012, 12:24 pm

By SRUTHI GOTTIPATI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has long been criticized for being media shy and for not engaging with the public, defended his economic policy changes in a rare nationally televised address Friday night, explaining the need for the reform measures, including foreign investment in the retail sector, and urged citizens to support them.

“No government likes to impose burdens on the common man,” said Mr. Singh. “At the same time, it is the responsibility of the government to defend the national interest and protect the long term future of our people. This means that we must ensure that the economy grows rapidly, and that this generates enough productive jobs for the youth of our country.  Ra pid growth is also necessary to raise the revenues we need to finance our programs in education, health care, housing and rural employment.”

Since the government announced the new economic measures last week, Mr. Singh's Indian National Congress party has been scrambling for political support after a key ally threatened to leave the Congress-led coalition over the new policies. On Friday, the All India Trinamool Congress made good on its threat, with its ministers tendering their resignations.

In the past, Mr. Singh's feeble attempts at economic reforms were met with roaring resistance from political parties, prompting the Congress party to suspend its decisions.  Mr. Singh's speech on Friday signaled a strengthening in his party's resolve.

“I promise you that I will do everything necessary to put our country back on the path of high and inclusive growth,” Mr. Singh said.

Among the changes announced last week were a n increase in diesel fuel prices and a reduction in the number of subsidized cooking-gas cylinders a household can own, as the government sought to rein in the ballooning burden of fuel subsidies.

“Money does not grow on trees,” Mr. Singh said, arguing that these measures were necessary because of the rising deficit. “If unchecked, this would lead to a further steep rise in prices and a loss of confidence in our economy.  The prices of essential commodities would rise faster.  Both domestic as well as foreign investors would be reluctant to invest in our economy. Interest rates would rise.  Our companies would not be able to borrow abroad.  Unemployment would increase.”

The government also decided to allow foreign big-box stores like Walmart and Carrefour to open retail chains in India. This was met by protests from small traders, who said it would affect their livelihoods and undercut corner stores, which make up a major portion of India's retail eco nomy.

Mr. Singh said such criticism was baseless. “In a growing economy, there is enough space for big and small to grow,” said Mr. Singh. He said that foreign investment in organized retail would benefit farmers, reduce the waste of produce through better storage, offer better prices to consumers and create millions of “good-quality” new jobs.

Mr. Singh emphasized that to move more people out of poverty, the country needs more growth.

“At times, we need to say no to the easy option and say yes to the more difficult one. This happens to be one such occasion. The time has come for hard decisions,” he said.

Image of the Day: September 21

September 21, 2012, 11:36 am

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Telecom Services Blocked to Curb Protests in Kashmir

September 21, 2012, 9:01 am

By PAMPOSH RAINA and BETWA SHARMA

The state government of Jammu and Kashmir ordered telecom companies to block access to YouTube and Facebook in the Kashmir Valley, effective midnight Thursday, to curb potential protests over an amateur video that has angered Muslims.

State officials said they had not shut down all Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, contrary to news reports in India. “We have not limited Internet access in the state,” said B.R Sharma, the principal secretary in the state's department of Home Affairs.

“We have asked Internet service providers to ensure that there is no uploading or downloading of the blasphemous video,” Mr. Sharma, referring to the anti-Islam film “Innoc ence of Muslims,” which was produced in the United States. The video has led to fierce protests on the streets of Kashmir since last week, as well as in many other Muslim countries.

Internet access and cellphone service were blocked in Kashmir on Friday afternoon, resuming at 5 p.m.

Local residents were not able to access YouTube at all; however, access to Facebook was not uniformly blocked across the valley. Twitter was accessible until midmorning.

The Internet service provider Airtel sent out a text message to its users in Kashmir that read: “Mobile Internet access is not available on your Airtel mobile today in compliance with an advisory from the Jammu and Kashmir Police.” The services will be resumed on Saturday, the message said.

Mr. Sharma said that there is a provision under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1855 that can be invoked if any content threatens peace and public safety, allowing the Jammu and Kashmir go vernment to issue the order dated Sept. 20, which said:

(i)All licensed Telecom Service Providers/Internet Service Providers shall make arrangements to ensure that their subscribers/customers/clients in the state of Jammu and Kashmir should not be able to download or upload the contents with regard to film/message/comments/excerpts/ of the blasphemous video titled “Innocence of Muslims” or by any other name. If necessary due to technical reasons, the Fully Qualified Domain Names shall be blocked viz www.youtube.com, www.facebook.com etc.

(ii) They shall also ensure that the BULK mails that are being generated from their subscribers/clients do not contain this file/versions of this file and the content and in case of suspicion/detection, the same shall be blocked and filtered.

“It is not a blanket ban,” said Manoj Pandit, a spokesman from the Jammu and Kashmir Police department. “The state government had asked the central g overnment to block certain URLs on YouTube” that had allowed the dissemination of the anti-Islam video that was “causing a great deal of distress among Muslims in the valley,” Mr. Pandit said.

Rafique Jaan, 25, a student of Kashmir University said the government acted too late. “Lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of people have downloaded it on their mobile phones. The government is just trying to restrict people from communicating with each other,” he said.

Mr. Jaan, who was angry about the video , added: “What was the government doing for the last one week?”

The situation remained tense in the valley, as the extremist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had called for a protest after Friday prayers in the valley.

The state police officials said that security has been beefed up in areas more susceptible to violence, which include five areas in parts of old city: Nowhatta, Rainawari, Maharaj Gunj, Khanyar and Kral Khud.

“We have to consider the situation taking into account that there are still heavy protests in Pakistan,” Mr. Pandit said.

A 19-year-old resident of Maharaj Gunj, who spoke to India Ink on the condition of anonymity because he didn't want trouble with the police.

The state police denied that there was a curfew. Mr. Pandit said the police had imposed restrictions on any kind of “mass gathering,” but he told India Ink on Friday morning that “no one has any jurisdiction to close down a mosque.”

However, by early afternoon, heavy security on the roads leading to the main Jamia Majsid mosque kept people from attending Friday prayers, which usually draw a congregation of about 10,000. In smaller mosques, prayers were allowed to take place.

While schools remained closed, market places were shut and main roads deserted, youngsters were seen hanging around in the alleys of the old town by afternoon, waiting for the restrictions to be eased.

In downtown Srinagar, pol ice lobbed tear gas Friday afternoon to disperse a congregation of about 500 women led by the all-women activist group Dukhtaranâ€"e â€"Millat. The group was holding a peaceful protest when the police came and detained its leader, Asiya Andrabi, said Asiya Firdaus, one of the participants. “It was very brutal, as the police could see that we were carrying children,” Ms. Firdaus said.

In the national capital, the American embassy put out an advisory on its Web site Friday, saying that embassies and consulates across India would close early, anticipating protests. The message asked all U.S. citizens to exercise caution while traveling and urged them to monitor the local media for security updates. Students at the American Embassy School were let out several hours early.

Betwa Sharma contributed reporting from Srinagar.

Indian Farmer Group Says Foreign Retailers \"Not a Big Blessing\"

September 21, 2012, 7:37 am

By VIKAS BAJAJ

On Friday, a day after it formally allowed foreign retailers into the country, the Indian government took out full-page ads in many newspapers proclaiming that the move would result in “better prices to farmers,” or in other words higher farm incomes.

That has long been the biggest selling point of allowing Walmart, Tesco and other foreign supermarkets into India. A farmer in Punjab, Avtar Singh Sidhu, told me as much when I visited Jalandhar last year to get the reactions of farmers, traders and consumers to the government's previous, failed effort to open up the retailing sector.

Earlier this week I spoke to another farmer, Ajay Vir Jakhar, who has become a pr ominent voice for reform in India's agricultural policies. He offered a more qualified endorsement of foreign supermarkets, saying they would help farmers but they wouldn't be the kind of game changer that the government was making them out to be.

Mr. Jakhar, who grows a citrus fruit known as kinnow in Punjab near the border with Pakistan, is the chairman of the Bharat Krishak Samaj, or the Indian Farm Society, that claims to represent 100,000 farmers. An articulate spokesman for his cause, Mr. Jakhar, who returned to his family farm a few years ago after dabbling in real estate and other businesses, has been cultivating a high profile as an advocate for Indian agriculture, lobbying policy makers like the commerce minister, Anand Sharma, and appearing frequently in the Indian media.

While he welcomes the government's plans on foreign retailers, Mr. Jakhar said the policy change will only result in a small benefit to most farmers. In most Indian states Walmart and other stores will be required to buy produce through a monopolistic distribution system that compensates farmers poorly for their produce while benefiting a vast array of middlemen.

“It's a blessing but it's not a big blessing,” he said. “As an organization we have been saying these large corporations have to purchase directly from us. If they go through the middlemen, it won't make a difference.”

The crux of the problem lies in the agricultural marketing laws of most Indian states that forbid retailers from buying directly from farmers without going through designated wholesale markets or paying a tax to those markets, according to Mr. Jakhar and other agricultural experts I have spoken to in the past. While the national government has been asking states to amend those laws to allow for direct purchase of produce from farms, most have not done so because the traders who control the wholesale markets have significant political clout â€" they are also a b ig constituency of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which opposes allowing foreign retailers into India.

Mr. Jakhar argues that the national government could have mandated that retailers who put up stores of a certain size be required to buy as much as three-quarters of their fruits and vegetables directly from farmers. That would have earned the government significant support from farmers, though presumably it would have also antagonized wholesale traders.

“The government is too focused on trying to make traders understand that there is nothing to fear,” Mr. Jakhar said. “That effort should have been put into making farmers understand that this is good for them.”

Mr. Jakhar further argued that his association was not out to decimate wholesale traders. Walmart and other retailers are unlikely to directly purchase all, or even most, of the produce grown by India's many farmers. That means many farmers will continue to depend on traders, who oft en give loans and other support to growers with whom they have longstanding relationships.

“As farmers we don't want traders to finish off,” he said. “We don't want middlemen to finish off. After all we want people to sell our goods to. We just want more competition for our produce.”

He argued that India is too large and diverse a country that one new policy can change the terms of trade between two large communities likes farmers and traders overnight. India is a country of many, many small farms â€" average landholdings are less than two acres â€" and many, many small stores. And neither are likely to disappear if Walmart starts opening stores here, he went on.

“This problem of many small farmers and many small retailers will not go away,” Mr. Jakhar said. “We are too diverse a country for something to happen so fast.”

The Bose in the Boson

September 19, 2012, 4:15 am

By HARTOSH SINGH BAL

DELHI - Calcutta - or “Kolkata,” as we are now told to spell it - is the most self-consciously intellectual and parochial of Indian cities. Given that Indians in general live with a belief, often unsupported by empirical evidence, in their intellectual superiority, the subject of Bengali geniuses can be especially touchy.

On July 4, CERN, the European council for nuclear research, announced the possible discovery of the Higgs boson based on observations at the Large Hadron Collider. The next day, Milan K. Sanyal, the director of the prestigious Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics in Calcutta, told reporters he would write to CERN to say that the “boson” in “Higgs boson” should also carry a capital letter. The demand, made with a straight face, was based on the fact that the term honors the work of the Calcutta-based, Indian Bengali physicist Satyendra Nath Bose.

There are only two types of elementary particles: bosons and fermions (whose name also is not capped despite being named after the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi). The principal difference between them is that fermions of the same energy cannot exist in the same quantum state, whereas bosons can. This property of bosons explains lasers and superfluidity, a state of matter that behaves like a fluid with no internal resistance. Particles such as quarks, electrons and neutrinos are fermions; the boson category includes photons and gluons, as well as the W, the Z and the Higgs particles.

Bose's work described the properties defining the entire class of bosons, but Higgs and other physicists had predicted the existence of a particular kind of boson to explain the presence of mass in elementary particles. The CERN discovery, in other words, is more about the work of physicists like Higgs than Bose. And given the lack of standards for naming elementary particles, these could well have been named without invoking Bose at all.

Yet there's been no shortage of news articles and opinion pieces in Indian papers complaining about the injustice done to Bose.

The Britain-based Indian Bengali writer Amit Chaudhuri argued in The Guardian in July that it would be easier for most people to understand the significance of the Higgs boson's discovery if it were located “in personalities as well as cultural and national traditions.” This might sound like an innocuous observation about what it takes to popularize complicated science, but it isn't - not if you consider how in the same op-ed Chaudhari bemoans that Indian scientists never get their fair share. “Western science is pristine,” he claims, “and bears no mark of what's outside itself.”

The Indian government even issued a release stating, “For India God Particle is as much Boson as Higgs.”

Speaking at a conference in Calcutta earlier this month, Rolf-Dieter Heuer, the director-general of CERN, handled these sensitivities deftly. “I was asked yesterday why the boson was not capped. In Bose's own city today, we have capped the Boson. I, in fact, always cap the Boson. But today, we changed all our CERN slides to cap Bosons.” Circumstances had left him with little choice but to pander, with as much grace as possible, to the insecurities of his hosts.

Paradoxically, Bose himself seemed “least concerned about rankings and prizes,” according to the political scientist Ashis Nandy, who interviewed the scientist before his death in 1974. Calling India, and “all post-colonial societies,” “touchy,” Nandy advised, “The sooner we get out of that, the better.”

Chaudhuri and those who feel pricked by Western slights should pay heed. Calcutta, and India in general, could do with more good science, less cultural breast-beating and the occasional ability to laugh at oneself.

Hartosh Singh Bal is political editor of Open Magazine and co-author of “A Certain Ambiguity.''