Mahindra United to be disbanded

- Owners shift focus to the grassroot level; Coach david Booth shocked


Mumbai: Indian football was dealt a blow on Friday with the Mahindra Group announcing the disbanding of its professional football team at the end of this season.

“We have decided to get out of competitive football and get into soccer at the school level. From the end of the I-League (2009-10 season), we will not take part in any competitive soccer,” Alan Durante, Chairman of the Mahindra Football Club, said.

Ruzbeh Irani, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Strategy of Mahindra and Mahindra, said that the decision reflected the company’s shift in focus.

“It was in line with our Group’s philosophy and shift in soccer, from taking part in professional sport to developing it. We feel we can make much difference to sport in India at the school level in soccer and grassroot level in basketball instead of running a professional team,” Irani said.

It may be recalled that Mahindra had recently announced a tie-up with the National Basketball Association (NBA) of the USA to create the ‘Mahindra NBA Challenge.’.
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Masand: 'Housefull' makes you cringe

Housefull

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ritesh Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal



In the climax of director Sajid Khan's 'Housefull', a cylinder of laughing gas is accidentally released during a state function at Buckingham Palace.

Hundreds of gathered guests break into unstoppable laughter, and even the famously stiff-lipped Queen cracks a smile. Ironically, by now your own laughter has long since dried up.

'Housefull' is the kind of pedestrian comedy that makes 'Singh Is King' feel like a Woody Allen gem. It's the kind of film that will stop at nothing to get a laugh out of you. So a monkey is slapped and punched, a black baby becomes the butt of a racist joke, and the words "homo" and "gay" are used liberally as a form of insult.

The humor here is strictly low-brow and the gags mostly slapstick. It doesn't help that the director plagiarizes many of his jokes directly from popular American comedies like 'Night at the Museum' and 'Meet The Parents', and even whacks an old gag involving a vacuum cleaner gone beserk from the "Mr Bean" TV series.

The premise itself is a flimsy one centered on a perennially unlucky fellow played by Akshay Kumar, and his misadventures during his search for the perfect bride. In the tradition of similarly dimwitted comedies like "Welcome" and "Golmaal Returns", the screenplay banks on instances of mistaken identities and misunderstandings to take the narrative forward.

Ritesh Deshmukh who stars as Akshay's best friend, is passed off by his wife Lara Dutta as the family cook when her father suddenly shows up unannounced. And Deepika Padukone, who stars as Akshay's girlfriend, must present Lara Dutta as his sister, when Deepika's brother Arjun Rampal decides to pay a visit.

This merry-go-round of madness is neither imaginative nor original, and when the director can't think of any other direction to go with his scenes, he gets his characters to stand in a circle and slap each other repeatedly.

Some genuine laughs are provided by peripheral characters like Chunky Pandey who plays a half-Italian hotel owner named Aakhri Pasta, and Boman Irani who appears as Lara Dutta's farsan-baron father who makes the trip from Gujarat to London to see his estranged daughter.

Of the leads, Akshay Kumar has a few moments of convincing straight-faced humor, but he does nothing new that you haven't seen him do before. The ladies aren't expected to do much more than look comfortable in skimpy beachwear, and Ritesh Deshmukh and Arjun Rampal make for reasonably engaging background distractions.

In all fairness, some jokes do make you laugh but those are few and far between. For the most part 'Housefull' makes you cringe in embarrassment and disgust for what passes off as 'entertainment' and 'cinema' these days. Bereft of craft and style, and lacking in even simple storytelling, the film is a test of your endurance.

I'm going with one-and-a-half out of five for director Sajid Khan's 'Housefull'. If corny humor is your thing, give this film a chance. If you have even a modicum of intelligence or taste, however, stay far away from this one!

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Obama blasted, 13 nations cited on religious freedom

By Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

A bipartisan U.S. commission on religious freedom says President Obama is softening his stand on protecting the right to one's faith at a time when religious persecution is on the rise, according to an annual report to be released today.

The 11th annual report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says Obama's recent call for nations to respect "freedom of worship" rather than "religious freedom" allows regimes to claim they are not oppressing certain religions if those faiths exist in a form acceptable to the regime.

"When you start narrowing the discussion, the signal the administration is sending to the international community is that as long as they prop up a few churches or houses of worship (of minority faiths), there isn't going to be a problem," Leonard Leo, the chairman of the commission, told USA TODAY.

The report also criticizes the administration for failing to nominate an ambassador-at-large for religious freedom.

The ambassador-at-large post, which falls under the State Department, is a requirement of a 1998 law that mandated religious freedom be an aim of U.S. diplomacy.

The commission was established to monitor religious freedom and issue an annual report on U.S. efforts in that area. Commission members are appointed by Congress and the White House. It recommends which countries should be named "countries of particular concern" (or CPCs) for egregious violations and suggests penalties.

Among the 13 countries that the State Department has already named CPCs are Burma, China, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia. The label requires the administration to consider whether to levy sanctions against the nations.

The 2010 annual report notes that Obama spoke about the importance of religious freedom in speeches in Turkey and Cairo early in his term. But since then, Obama has stopped using the term, it says.

The White House disagreed. "The president has spoken clearly and unequivocally about his support for religious freedom," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Steven Groves, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, said the change in the phrase raises a question about the administration's commitment to confront regimes in the Middle East and elsewhere, especially in Iraq and Iran where minority Christian and Muslim sects have been oppressed and even attacked.

"The term religious freedom carries with it a certain understanding in the international community that is a much broader right than the freedom of worship," Groves said.

The commission report slams U.S.-supported nations, such as Iraq and Pakistan, for failing to protect members of minority faiths who have been targeted with violence or discrimination.

In April 2009 in Ankara, Obama said that "freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state."

In subsequent speeches in China and Japan, Obama appeared to dial back his vision on religious freedom, according to the report. He referred to "freedom of worship" in Japan on Nov. 14 and used the same phrase in a town hall meeting with Chinese students two days later.

Contributing: David Jackson, USA TODAY

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About Man Vs. Wild Discovery Channel

Man vs. Wild brings seasoned adventurer Bear Grylls face to face with the grueling task of navigating remote locations, sharing invaluable survival strategies along the way.

MAN VS. WILD host, author and seasoned adventurer BEAR GRYLLS began a lifetime of exploration at an early age. Bear grew up on the Isle of Wight, and as a young boy would go mountain climbing with his father.

He served three years with the Special Air Service, a special forces unit of the British army. During his service, he broke his back in three places in a parachuting accident over Southern Africa.

Despite the accident and severity of his injury, Bear went on in 1998 to become, at age 23, the youngest British climber to complete a summit and descent of Mount Everest. He wrote about his experience in the book, The Kid Who Climbed Everest.

Not content to slow down, Bear achieved another first when he and his Everest climbing group circumnavigated the United Kingdom on jet skis. He also led the first unassisted crossing of the frozen North Atlantic Ocean in an open rigid inflatable boat. His book about this adventure, Facing the Frozen Ocean, was shortlisted as the U.K.'s "Sports Book of the Year." Bear was awarded a commission in the Royal Navy in honor of leading this record-breaking expedition.

In June 2005, Bear broke a world record by hosting a dinner party at a table suspended below a hot air balloon at 24,500 feet. He rappelled from the balloon's basket to the table, where in full naval uniform he ate a three-course meal before saluting the queen and skydiving to earth. His goal was to support the work of two charities: the Prince's Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Bear hosted a 2005 television series for the U.K.'s Channel Four, called Escape to the Legion, in which he took a group of young men to the Western Sahara Desert to undergo the French Foreign Legion's infamous basic training. A second Channel Four series, titled Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, completed its U.K. run in April 2007.

On May 15, 2007, Bear set another world record when he became the first person to fly over Mount Everest by powered paraglider. Supported by the GKN Mission Everest Team, Grylls and fellow pilot Giles (Gilo) Gardozo flew specially developed paramotors. Though a fault in Gilo's machine forced him to abort only 1,000 feet below the summit, Bear continued to ascend until he reached 29,500 feet and was able to look down on Everest as he circled above some of the most famous peaks in the Himalayas. Then his own engine developed problems and he, too, had to glide back to safety — but he had achieved his goal. The mission raised $1 million for the Global Angels Foundation, a charity that supports children in Africa. Filmed by the Planet Earth team, Bear and Gilo's undertaking will be made into a two-hour documentary for Discovery Channel and Channel Four in the U.K.

Bear's most recent book, Born Survivor: Survival Techniques From the Most Dangerous Places on Earth, was released in spring 2007. It is already listed on the Sunday Times Top 10 Best-Seller List.

He has hosted the Discovery Channel's MAN VS. WILD, in which he strands himself in remote locations to demonstrate localized survival techniques, since November 2006.

Bear lives on a converted barge on the River Thames with his wife Shara and their young sons Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry.

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Why did the rattlesnake cross the road? It didn't, and that's a problem, say conservationists.

New DNA analyses of rattlesnakes in New York State finds that even minor roadways deter snakes from crossing the road to breed. Populations are becoming isolated from each other by roadways, which may threaten their future.

"We worry for the health of these populations because connectivity is so key to responding to environmental pressures and avoiding inbreeding," said Rulon Clark of San Diego State University, who led the study published in Conservation Biology. The reduced genetic diversity that results from inbreeding makes populations less resistant to diseases or other disturbances.

Groups of up to dozens of rattlesnakes hibernate together in common dens, which serve as a home base. Come spring, they leave to hunt, and males strike out for neighboring dens to mate with females before returning to their home dens for winter.

The males' visits to nearby dens provide the genetic mixing necessary to keep a population from becoming inbred.

Clark and colleagues wanted to test whether roads were affecting the males' mating journeys. They collected blood samples from timber rattlesnakes in 19 different dens in different regions of New York State, including dens separated from each other by roads and others with uninterrupted forest between them.
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http://news.discovery.com/animals/rattlesnakes-road-genetic-diversity.html

Clinton blasts Iran, Syria in appearance before Jewish group

Clinton blasts Iran, Syria in appearance before Jewish group
(CNN) -- As the United States prepares for a visit next week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned his regime in some of the Obama administration's strongest language to date in a speech Thursday night.
"Iran, with its anti-Semitic president and hostile nuclear ambitions, also continues to threaten Israel, destabilize the region, and sponsor terror," Clinton said, addressing the annual meeting of the American Jewish Committee.

"The United States is committed to pursuing [a] diplomatic path. But we will not compromise our commitment to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons."

Ahmadinejad is expected to be in New York for a United Nations conference on nuclear nonproliferation that opens Monday. The United States has said it will likely grant the Iranian leader's request for a visa.

Clinton also took on Syria on Thursday night, speaking of "grave dangers of Syria's transfer of weapons to [Hezbollah]," and warning that such a move by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would "have a profoundly destabilizing effect on the region" and would violate a UN Security Council resolution.
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[news]Lockerz Thread - Get FREE Stuff While Having

Lockerz Thread - Get FREE Stuff While Having Fun!
Hello,
Lockerz.com is one of the best sites I've visited. Why? It's because you can get free stuff within hours of registering with no effort whatsoever. It's similar to sites such as gaminglagoon and prizerebel, but this one tops them all. Currently it's invite-only, so the only way you can get in is with an invite.


How to get an invite -
Simply leave me your E-mail and I'll send an invite your way.
The Only Way To Send Invite Is Through E-mail .

This might sound too good to be true, but I assure you it's all legit. As soon as I registered I got 20 points for playing a flash game (this game is available when you first log-in, when it says "loading"). An iPod touch only costs 300 Ptz (site points) and package and handling costs 20 Ptz. You don't need to make any deposits or commitments, it's so easy to get free stuff. Another example is GTA IV on PS3... it's only 40 ptz.... it has to be seen to be believed.

First Come First Served

Please remember that the site is in beta, so you get more privileges when it goes public. The only bad thing is you can't get any prizes yet... but it's always a good idea to save up for when they launch the site.

NOTE - It might take a while to receive the invite e-mail, it took me around 2-3 hours to receive mine.... the wait is worth it though
Q: What is Lockerz?
A: Lockerz is the place to go to buy the coolest stuff at the lowest prices, watch exclusive video, discover new music, play the hottest games, hang out with your friends - and get rewarded for just about EVERYTHING you do on the site.

Our mission is to be your daily habit, not a site for your parents or grandparents looking for their long-lost friends from Kindergarten.

One other thing you'll love about Lockerz are PTZ (or "Pointz"). PTZ are Lockerz' proprietary loyalty "currency" that you earn whenever you buy, watch, play, share, invite friends, or even just show up on Lockerz. Redeem PTZ for incredible prizes, great products and dream experiences.

Lockerz is set to launch on October 15. Members who sign up now will get to explore and help shape the site before the launch. We hope you'll join us.

Q: Who is eligible?
A: This site is available to all worldwide residents.

Q: How much does it cost to sign up?
A: Nothing, this site is absolutely free.

Q: Do I have to be involved with a referral program once I signed up?
A: No, but you do get 20 invites max then you become a PTZ VIP.

Q: What is a ptz VIP?
A: As a VIP you get a free T-Shirt, double the points, and VIP shopping.

Q: How do I earn PTZ?
A: There are many ways you can earn points. You may earn points just by logging into the site daily, answer a few questions known as " Dailies ", invites, and for one time only after you sign up you will get a chance to play a PTZ catcher game and you can rack up as many points as wish within the time limit.

Q: Why are most of the prizes out of stock?
A: Keep in mind that this site officially launches on October 15, 2009 so don't hope for everything to be stocked up just yet.
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