Daniel Craig Plays ‘Fart Gags’ on his co-stars

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November 10, 2015

Rather than being a model of sophistication, the 47-year-old has revealed he plays “fart gags” on his co-stars.

The actor admitted he turned prankster on the set of Spectre in order to boost morale and couldn’t resist playing some particularly whiffy jokes on Christoph Waltz, Naomie Harris and Léa Seydoux.

He admitted at AOL Build: “You do whatever you can.

“The fact of it is, we do very long days – I’m not complaining – we do very long days, and if you’ve been on a movie set, it’s kind of intense and often very boring, so you just have a laugh.”

Daniel – who is married to Rachel Weisz – regards his co-stars as being “like family” because they have to spend so much time together, however, he added: “You love them and you hate them.”

Avoid noise pollution this Deepavali

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Afternoon Voice

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November 10, 2015

Deepavali or the Festival of lights is an important and popular festival celebrated throughout the country. It falls on the last day of the dark half of Kartika (October-November). Deepavali is associated with several legends. One myth says that on this auspicious day Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, roams about and visits the house of people. It also commemorates the triumph of the good over the evil (or triumph of God Rama over Ravana and Rama’s return to Ayodhya.) It is also on this day that Krishna killed the demon Nakasura.

A few days before the festival, the houses are whitewashed and completely cleaned. The courtyards, the gates and the place of worship are decorated with bandnavars, flowers, intricate colours paperwork and at night every nook and corner of the house etc. is illuminated with earthen lamps, candles and fireworks are displayed. People get up early in the morning in the south and have bath and move about freely in an atmosphere of gaiety, mirth, rejoicing and festivity. Lots of sweets are prepared and exchanged. At night Lakshmi along with Ganesh is worshipped, old accounts are closed and new accounts are opened with fresh account books.

Deepavali also marks the advent of new season and the sowing of new crops. Thus, this great festival of lights symbolises man’s urge to move towards light of truth from darkness of ignorance and unhappiness. It is wise to play safe during Diwali to avoid major fire accidents. The pollution in the air is harmful to lungs and people have to wear mask or stay indoors during the peak time when crackers are busted.

Noise pollution is a nuisance. There is no doubt about it. Noise pollution is causing innumerable problems during this Diwali Festival season. Despite clear cut instruction to reduce noise levels, some citizens overdo things and create hindrance to patients, children and seniors in the society. This Deepavali festival saw the noise levels reaching a new high and the people in the Metro will have to bear the noise level reaching a new high with bursting of loud fire crackers.

A person exposed to such noise for a long time may grow deaf. Those who live in cities are affected by several ailments that include vegetative vascular dystonia, heart failure, dyspepsia and headaches. It is better to cover the face while driving a vehicle through a highway. Noise pollution or unwanted poisonous smoke is yet another form of environmental disturbance. It is dangerous for human lives. It affects the brain and prolonged exposure to noise may cause blood vessels to contract, sometimes resulting in hypertension. Thus it can be said that pollution of any kind causes serious damage to man, animals, birds, aquatic life, crops and vegetation. High noise level is simply a nuisance. To add salt to the wound, the thick smog and the poisonous smoke make things more uncomfortable. It is time to celebrate more eco-friendly Deepavali in future and people should follow this in true spirits.

I wish all readers a Happy Deepavali.

C.K. Subramaniam

Vastu Tips for Prosperous Diwali

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Afternoon Voice

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November 10, 2015

Directions play an important role in attracting money and growth in your life. According to Directions of Alchemy in Vastu Shastra, doing the right activity in the right direction is the key to attract money. The word Lakshmi is used as a synonym for money only.

Deepavali Pujan is the ritualistic way to show reverence to the goddess of money, Lakshmi. Practically, to be able to receive the blessings of goddess Lakshmi you must ensure that your space, your home, office or work place, is ready for that. You can easily do that with the 4-Step Vastu application method that is a distilled essence of over 12,000 successful Vastu case studies. It highlights the influence of Entrance, Rooms, Colours and Interior objects in your home. Documented research in Vastu Shastra shows that each of these has a profound effect on your ability to attract money. On the occasion of Deepavali, colours, lights and interior decoration assume all the more importance.

Whether it is in Rangoli made on your doorstep, or on the walls, curtains, furniture, or even in the lampshades, colours have significant effects on your mind and life. So, while redoing the interiors this Deepavali, you must ensure that all the colours are well placed in accordance to elements of 16 Vastu Zones. For example, North is the zone of water element; so, you can take blue, green, brown, chocolate and allied shades here to attract more money.

Deepavali is the festival of lights and just like colours, lights also affect our subconscious mind. By lighting appropriate light in the right zone you can get desired results. Many people used lights on the advice of MahaVastu Experts and got amazing results. For example, if you feel your hard work is going unrecognised and unnoticed, people are not appreciating your brands, you need to light a red bulb in the south zone of your home. When lit in South-East, it will help you realise your blocked payments.

Deepavali is the right time to have a look on interior colours, lights and objects to ensure they are as per the Vastu guidelines. Even if they are not, MahaVastu has easy to apply scientific Vastu remedies and solutions like application of colours, lights, metals and paintings with which any Vastu defect can be removed without doing structural changes.

MahaVastu Deepavali 2015 recommends some tested powerful MahaVastu Remedies to attract Lakshmi in your home, office and factories.

Shift God figures and photographs from South-South-West, Vastu zone of expenditure and wastage, to North-East, Vastu zone of clarity of mind. It will help you attract you more money and increase your possessions.
Keep a Money plant in Blue bottle in North, Vastu zone of money and opportunities. This will help you attract success and new growth opportunities in Career.
Clean North-North-East Vastu zone of shades of red, orange or pink. Also, remove cleaning aids from there. Take care lest a Dustbin should be lying there. This remedy will help you attract better health.
To attract more love and better understanding in your family relationships, remove shades of red, orange and pink from South-West, Vastu zone of relationships. Keep your Family Photograph in golden frame there. The photograph must relate with happier times showing all members in happy state of mind.
Hang a Village scene on Black frame in West, Vastu zone of Gains and Profits. This powerful MahaVastu Remedy will attract fortunes, prosperity and more gains in your life.

So, this Deepavali follow MahaVastu Directions and attract more Money and Growth in your life!

Prasad Kulkarni

(The writer is a well-known MahaVastu Expert of Mumbai and is also the CEO of MahaVastu Mumbai and comes from the family of spiritual healers.)

Beware! Your personal data on display

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Afternoon Voice

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November 9, 2015

The officials must take steps to maintain confidentiality of applicants’ data says citizens.

We had received complaints from citizens that their personal information like name, address and telephone number has been displayed at the notice board of the sub-registrar office. If such important details are revealed then online business centres and tele-marketers might procure sensitive information and misuse for their own benefit. Already it has been observed that tele-marketers obtain personal details of customers through the mobile operators and start calling customers for selling credit cards, loan, insurance policies and other financial products.

“Since my personal information is being displayed on the notice board, I am worried that it might be misused. The officials must take steps to maintain confidentiality of applicant’s data” said an applicant on the condition of anonymity.

Now applicants can register their leave license agreement online as they don’t have to stand in queue. The e-registration facility is made available through the statewide network of citizen service centres (CSCs). They can pay Rs 700. Leave license agreement can be registered for a period of five years. Stamp duty is 0.25 % of the total rent amount. Registration fee is Rs 1000. UID is necessary for e-registration. Authorised service providers are appointed for e-registration of Leave and Licence. Fee fixed for e-registration by ASP is Rs 700 only. Home visit will be charged Rs 300 extra.

“Even though the state government has started the online registration of property and leave license agreement but applicant’s information must not be compromised” said another applicant.

Leave and licence agreements in cities like Mumbai, which have prohibitively high real estate prices, account for around 35% of volumes in terms of documents registered, but the share of revenue collected is less considering the low stamp duty value compared to sale and purchase deeds. Apart from reducing foot falls and queues at registration offices, the initiative will ensure transparency, faster work and reduce human interference.

The CSCs are a term used to describe the around 6,000 functional Maha e-Seva centres, 350 Setu centres in district collector and tehsil offices and about 25,000 Sangram centres in gram panchayat offices.
These customer service centres will assist citizens to register their property online. They also are equipped with web cameras and biometric devices (thumbprint scanners) which are needed for the online registration.

The online module allows people to automatically calculate their stamp duty and registration charges, prepare, modify and view the draft agreement before it is executed and submitted for registration. The stamp duty and registration fee should be paid online through Government Receipt Accounting System (GRAS). The department will then register the document and send it back to the parties electronically.

Why BJP lost Bihar polls – Post Mortem?

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Vaidehi Taman

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November 9, 2015

The Bihar results should not be taken lightly. Secularism must stay and mutual respect should prevail. Money and muscle will not stand anymore! There is every sign that Kalam’s dream will come true by 2020? Overzealous BJP bites the dust. A hammer hit to both Amit Shah and NaMo. Was it ever expected? Does it reflect on the working of Central Govt.? Will these results; now at least will seal the loudmouths in BJP? Should Shatrughan Sinha have been brought in? On the eve of counting day, Lalu said they would bag 150 seats. The result exceeded beyond their expectations. Shiv Sena refers Nitish Kumar as ‘Mahanayak’. Breaking year’s long alliance with BJP because of Modi becoming a face was a daring and well thought step. Had he been with BJP he would have either become a mute spectator of its stubbornness on Hindutva and intolerance or had to leave the party, both adding to his insult. Here in the results there is a life lesson that do not handshake in any circumstance for your own benefits else your values and morals will be at stake. In the long run, it’s the right path that’ll fructify any a compromise with your ideals will leave you embarrassed. It’s high time for Modi to wake up. Moreover, Sena should also realize the strength of uniqueness. Uddhav is humble like a seasoned politician like Nitish Kumar and Raj Thackeray is good orator like Lalu Prasad, if both the brothers unite then Maharashtra politics will have new equations. BJP can be taught a lesson.

Voters are increasingly showing a tendency to differentiate between different kinds of elections. They have started electing their representatives as per the horses-for-courses principle. This was clearly evident during the Delhi assembly elections. While the BJP won all seven seats during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it got an unexpected and unprecedented drubbing in the 2015 assembly polls and was able to win only three out of seventy seats. A general refrain among Delhi voters was that they preferred Narendra Modi as the PM but Arvind Kejriwal as the CM. Taking a cue from the Delhi elections, Nitish Kumar’s communications team under Prashant Kishore, who had advised PM Modi during the Lok Sabha polls but had joined hands with the Bihar CM for the assembly elections, was able to exploit this PM-CM dichotomy and brilliantly pegged it as a “Bihari vs Bahari” fight. Not surprisingly, Bihar showed greater preference for a Bihari.

Disgruntled BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha responsible for the Bihar poll debacle should be taken to task and responsibility fixed for the loss on him. Perhaps, the most decisive factor for the Grand Alliance was Nitish Kumar’s popularity among Bihar voters. Nitish Kumar emerged as the most popular chief ministerial candidate in almost all the surveys. The anti-incumbency factor has rarely ever been enough to win an election and voters have started rewarding a performing CM at a pan-India level. When Narendra Modi was Gujarat CM, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was Madhya Pradesh CM, Raman Singh was Chhattisgarh CM and Navin Patnaik was Odisha CM, all of them won their state elections on their individual popularity, even though their parties had mixed results in the Lok Sabha polls. By winning Bihar for the third time, Nitish has proved that a popular and performing CM can win state elections and buck the national trend.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment on the need to have a rethink of caste-based reservation came at the most inopportune moment for the BJP. Bihar has always been the validating state for the saying “Indians don’t cast their vote but vote their caste”. Bhagwat’s remark on reservations was like a “free hit” for the Grand Alliance, with RJD chief Lalu Prasad calling it a forward vs backward contest. Though, the BJP repeatedly assured the people of Bihar that it would name an OBC as their CM after the elections, the damage had already been done.

Modi is surrounded by ‘yes men’. No one can dare to tell him that after becoming PM of India, he does not have to impress Indian by seeking attention of world business and political leaders. They were already impressed by his success in Gujarat and gave him big responsibility of running the country. For India’s common man, running water in taps is more important than non-stop ‘Wi-Fi’. Addressing issues of women safety, protecting children from child labour and women from uncontrolled harassment, finding solution of protecting our soldiers on border as every other day two or three soldiers are being martyred are serious issues rather than being digital India. Statements by BJP’s MPs which distorted communal harmony between the citizens and Modi’s silence on them give the impression that their statements are centre sponsored. Secured borders and administration without corruption were expected from Modi.

It is going to be an uphill task for BJP and the PM to explain the humiliated defeat in Bihar polls. They should introspect themselves from scratch and analyze the reasons for their defeat in spite of blaming others and insulting voters. While PM Modi’s world tour giving him strong hands, I think sand erosion are taking place under his feet. The PM should set his priorities right whether he wants to improve the country or build foreign relationship. Whether he wants to meet Obama or meet the Aam aadmi of this country. Is rewriting history a priority? Can we ever write off the contributions of Nehru to independent India? Digital revolution was started by Sam Pitroda under Rajiv Gandhi. Let us not get into the Ostrich syndrome and learn to be more tolerant. There is definitely disconnection between what he preaches and practices. We have heard his speeches twice from the Red Fort but how many of his commitments have really seen action? Has any of his commitment reached to their logical conclusion?

Rajan’s cases transferred to CBI on police advice: Fadnavis

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Afternoon Voice

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November 9, 2015

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the decision to hand over all the cases against underworld don Chhota Rajan to CBI was taken on the advice of Mumbai police, and dismissed suggestion that it was because of his allegation about a nexus between some police officers and rival gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

“Before we announced the decision, I had called a meeting of senior police officials including Mumbai police commissioner Javed Ahmed. All of them were of the opinion that the cases should be transferred to CBI,” said Fadnavis.

The state government earlier made a surprise announcement to hand over cases against Rajan on the eve of his deportation on November 6. The 55-year-old gangster, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, was arrested in Bali, Indonesia.

Asked whether the decision was prompted by Rajan’s allegation that some officials of Mumbai police were on the payroll of Dawood Ibrahim, Fadnavis said, “We don’t give importance to what a gangster says. There is no connection between our decision and his statement. If we were to catch Dawood, he would say the same thing about Rajan and Mumbai police.”

The question of police officials being upset with the move didn’t arise because the decision was taken at a joint meeting of government and police officials, said Fadnavis, who himself handles the Home portfolio.

Police would assist the CBI in getting information from Rajan on the cases registered in Mumbai, he said.

“He was brought back based on a dossier that Maharashtra government had submitted to the central authorities. We had two options … To bring him to Mumbai and the CBI assists us in the investigation, or keep him in Delhi and police assist the CBI. We chose latter option because we thought CBI has expertise in handling such cases,” the Chief Minister said.

There was no plan to bring Rajan to Mumbai anytime soon, he said, adding that as per the Centre’s advice, the government had nevertheless made necessary arrangements to lodge Rajan if he was brought.

Shiv Sena was looking for opportunity to attack BJP: NCP

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Afternoon Voice

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November 9, 2015

Adding more salt to the wounds of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after its drubbing in Bihar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday alleged that the Shiv Sena was looking for an opportunity to take a jibe at its alliance partner.

“It seems that the Shiv Sena was looking for an opportunity. The moment the results came, they started giving statements. The results in Bihar have put the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Prime Minister in dock and it is clear that they will be attacked for it. People will criticise them as they had made this election a prestige issue,” NCP leader Tariq Anwar said.

The Shiv Sena had said the BJP-led NDA’s defeat reflected directly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Prime Minister Modi should accept his defeat as a party’s loss always reflects on its leader. However, on behalf of the Shiv Sena, I congratulate Nitish and hope the Bihar results will bring a new turn for the nation,” said Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.

The BJP was counting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s growing popularity to counter the grand alliance led by Nitish Kumar in Bihar.

The people of the state, however, yet again reposed their faith in Nitish giving the grand alliance a landslide win in the polls.

The BJP, which had contested on 160 seats, managed to win just 58. The BJP’s alliance partners Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) performed extremely poor in the battle.

The grand alliance bagged 178 seats, while the BJP-led NDA won 58 seats.

CBI likely to file chargesheet by November end against Indrani Mukerjea and two others

By

Afternoon Voice

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November 9, 2015

The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, is likely to file chargesheet against Indrani Mukerjea and two other accused by end of November.

“As per the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), we have to file the chargesheet in the case within 90 days of the arrest of the accused, otherwise the accused are eligible for a default bail,” said a CBI official.

Apart from 43-year-old Indrani,the accused include her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her former driver Shyamvar Rai.

Indrani and Rai were arrested on August 25 and Khanna the next day. The chargesheet will be filed in a court of metropolitan magistrate in South Mumbai.

“We have prepared a watertight case and the chargesheet will include the statements of witnesses, statements of certain witnesses recorded before the magistrate (which they cannot retract), call data records, DNA samples, besides other documents,” the agency official said.

The case is being investigated by the Special Crime Branch of the CBI.

A local court had on November 7 extended the judicial custody of the trio till November 20 and also allowed the agency to interrogate the accused in jail till November 17.

Indrani, along with Khanna and Rai, has been accused of murdering Sheena (24), her daughter from previous relationship, and disposing of her body at a Raigad forest in April 2012, about 84 kms from Mumbai.

According to police, Sheena was allegedly strangled in a car, then her body was burnt before being dumped in the forest in neighbouring Raigad district.

The Maharashtra government had transferred the case to CBI in September, saying it as an attempt to clear all doubts over the probe and the officers involved as the then Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria had personally led the probe.

During their investigation, police suspected that Indrani had been upset with Sheena’s relationship with Rahul, son of her husband and former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, who was also quizzed.

Indrani, lodged in Byculla jail for women, was recently hospitalised after her platelet count dipped drastically, giving speculation that she was suffering from dengue. However, doctors at JJ hospital later made it clear that she had not contracted dengue.

Earlier, on October 2, she was rushed to J J Hospital from the prison in an unconscious state, fuelling speculation that she had overdosed on anti-depressant drugs. But, the probe by Inspector General (prisons) ruled out the possibility of drug overdose, poisoning or suicide bid.

On October 6, Indrani was discharged and sent back to jail.

CM orders multi-action plan for development

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Afternoon Voice

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November 9, 2015

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed state chief secretary to chalk out a workable plan for the total integrated development of tribal children, taking into account their health, educational and nutritional needs.

Fadnavis gave the directions after a meeting with a delegation from the tribal region of Palghar district over the issue of large number of malnourished children.

The delegation, led by NGO Shramjivi Sanghatana’s chief Vivek Pandit, submitted a memorandum to the CM listing the various issues faced by the tribal children, following the closure of the Village Child Development Centre (VCDC) by the Central government.

The Chief Minister, after hearing the view points of the delegation, directed the chief secretary to prepare a comprehensive and workable action plan to resolve the issue.

As an immediate measure, he directed that a programme on the lines of VCDC be started in the state out of funds available from the tribal development department.

Notably, hundreds of tribals had on Saturday gheraoed state Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Sawra at his residence to protest alleged apathy of the government towards malnutrition among children in the district.

According to an official statement, the number of malnourished children, falling under SAM (severe acute malnutrition) and MAM (moderate acute malnutrition), in Palghar district is over 5,500.

Maharashtra finance department opposes pension for new government employees

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Afternoon Voice

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November 9, 2015

To overcome a massive debt burden that the state faces, the Maharashtra finance department, in its projection of pensions to be accorded over the next 15 years, has recommended that no fresh institutions or cadres be covered under the pension scheme.

As per a white paper report by the finance department, the proposal for a reform in the pension scheme at the state level has been pending since 1995.
The last time the proposal was put before the state Cabinet was October 17, 1995, but it did not receive the go- ahead.

The report states that as on February 18, 2015, there are 6,83,812 pensioners who have received pension from the state government through the Regular Pension Scheme or Defined Benefit Pension (DBP) Scheme.

The pensioners include state government employees, other state pensioners, railway employees, All India Service, teachers of Old Education Board (prior to 1962), central government and military and family pensioners.

“The total annual burden on the state exchequer on this account is Rs 8,871 crore. Assuming there will be slight increase in number of pensioners based on the dates of retirement of employees who are now serving and would retire in the next 15 years, the financial burden on the state will be Rs 3.33 lakh crore,” the report states.

It further states that if there is a decrease in the number of pensioners by 2.2 per cent due to deaths, burden over the state exchequer would amount to Rs 2,20,913 crore.
Principal Secretary of the Finance department (Reforms), Bijay Kumar said, “Employees of aided institutions and Zilla Parishad school teaching and non-teaching staff too have been allowed pension from the Regular Pension Scheme. That has further increased financial burden on the state exchequer.”

“However, we have adopted National New Pension Scheme or Defined Contribution Pension (DCP) Scheme from November 1, 2005, and have joined the National Pension Scheme from August 27, 2014.
In the DCP scheme, the state government deducts a certain amount from the employee’s salary and contributes an equal amount from its own coffers.

“We deposit the amount collected through the new pension scheme in the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which can invest 15 per cent in equity,” Kumar said.
He further said that this investment helps the government receive additional money from the equity market and thereby reduces the burden on the state exchequer.

In its report, the finance department also recommended that pension should not be extended to newly-recruited employees or cadres and called for the appointment of actuarial firms to estimate the actual annual pensionary burden and set up a special fund on a permanent basis to meet future liabilities.