பகுத்தறிவின் பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி - 2

"ஜெயலலிதா இப்போது தாலிக்கு இலவச தங்கம் தருகிறேன் என்கிறார். தாலியின் மகத்துவம் பற்றி அவருக்கு என்ன தெரியும்? தோல்வி ஜுரத்தால் தாலிக்கு தங்கம் இலவசம் என்று பிதற்றுகிறார். தாலிக்கு மாப்பிள்ளை வீட்டார்தான் தங்கம் தருவார்கள். இதை இவர் எப்படி தர முடியும்? இந்த பண்பாடு கூட அவருக்கு தெரியாதா?"

தினகரனில் மு.க.ஸ்டாலின்.

பகுத்தறிவின் பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி

தனிப் பெரும்பான்மையுடன் தி.மு.க ஆட்சி அமைக்கும் - பிரபல ஜோதிடர்கள் கணிப்பு

தினகரனில் வந்த அரை பக்க கட்டுரை!

Audio of the Radio Show

We had a fun show today, trashing the TamilNadu elections. Thirumalai Rajan joined us in the studio and offered his comments as well.

If you missed it, here is the mp3 of the programme: Part I , II , III .

Thanks to Srikanth from Itsdiff.

Vaiko alleges that Sun TV is trying to buy Junior Vikatan

Vai.Ko is dropping the next bombshell. It looks like Sun TV is trying to buy Junior Vikatan, and probably is arm-twisting the Vikatan group.

The news is pretty short on details, and from a cursory glance, other media outlets haven't carried the news. I guess it may take a couple of days for this news to gain momentum.

The news may be true, though unlikely. This election has seen the media getting completely polarized. Groups that are scared of the growing Maaran empire (Kumudam, Dinamani, Dinamalar, Thuglak) are all anti-DMK in their coverage of the elections. Strangely, Vikatan has remained pretty much neutral, though Vikatan would have seen their sales fall due to the rise of Kungumam. I was wondering why. Now, with Vaiko alleging that Vikatan has gotten into problems with Sun TV and has been forced to toe its line, it kind of makes sense.

Vikatan has been producing serials for Sun TV. Serials like Kolangal. I guess Vikatan may have borrowed money from Sun TV or may have been in a bad situation in a contract with Sun TV. That may have resulted in Sun TV's efforts to buy out (and potentially kill off) Junior Vikatan.

The other angle in the story is that Junior Vikatan is going to report its survey results that predict a landslide win for the DMK combine, and that Vai.Ko is pre-empting it by questioning Ju.Vi's neutrality. With many surveys predicting a DMK win, it seems far-fetched that Vai.Ko would allege this. A survey at this stage is highly unlikely to have much effect on the voters.

Still, if Vai.Ko's allegation turns out to be true, and if Sun TV indeed buys out Junior Vikatan, my response will just be, "So What?". More power to Sun TV. Ju.Vi will become yet another DMK propaganda magazine that I will stop taking seriously.

That said, I can see the irony in Vikatan S.Balasubramaniam (a former president of TAMBRAS) selling his magazine to DMK. Politics does make strange bedfellows.

Election Preview Radio Show Tomorrow

Srikanth Srinivasa has been doing a weekly radio show here in the Bay Area. I occasionally guest host in that show. Tomorrow (Wednesday May 3rd), I will be the guest host for an hour. We will talk everything related to the elections. Listeners can call in and give their views as well.

When: Wed May 3rd, 7.30 am - 8.30 am PST.

Where: KZSU Stanford, 90.1 FM if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area.

You can listen to the show live on the internet at KZSU Stanford.

To call up during the programme and share your views, the number is 650-723-9010 .

For more information on the show, go to itsdiff.com.

HotMachiHot in The New Indian Express

HotMachiHot got a mention in an article in the New Indian Express (Tip: Kaps). The article was on how tech savvy the various political parties are.

Obviously due to the large number of participants and a tech-savvy moderator who runs the show, the blogs are a better alternative if one is looking at gossips, tongue in cheek comments, and opinions than the official websites. Moreover, the interactive nature of blogs, where anyone can post their take on each blog, makes it a dialogue between the different interests.

Blogs like www.hotmachihot.blogspot. com have their own ‘opinion polls’, which some of them emphasise are not scientific like the umpteen poll predictions do these days, as to who will possibly win the elections.

The site also revels in sarcastic observations on the comments made by the politicians in connection with the electoral rat race. Also finding place in the cyberspace are cartoons on the Maran brothers, DMK supremo M Karunanidhi and PMK leader S Ramdoss among others.

While we are on "sarcastic observations made by the politicians", here is a gem from VetriKondan. Read at the end of the interview: "Aatchi pOnaa andha ladyOda mudivu vEra maadhiri irukkum. ethirkatchi thalaivaraa irundhu arasiyal paNNaathu. sattasabaikkum varaathu". She won't come to the assembly if she would lose, it seems. Just like Kalaignar!