thevigil.in: public scrutiny of news media » TheQuickie

Just not done Hindustan Times!

Venkat — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:54:10 +0000

In the column “Talking Heads” on sports page today, the Hindustan Times writes: WHAT MUNAF PATEL SAID: I’m concentrating on line and length, and leg-cutter…batsmen do their job, we (bowlers) do our job. WHAT MUNAF PROBABLY MEANT: Why don’t you talk to me in Hindi? We can have a longer chat”!!!!!
Cheap, cheap dig. And by the way, whoever reads the Hindustan Times for its Queen’s English?

It occurred to me this morning…

Venkat — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:35:12 +0000

Now that the dirt has hit the ceiling, it seems like there were more “mentors” than bidders for the IPL auctions. Shashi Tharoor says he was just “mentoring” the Kochi team; Praful Patel says he was just mentoring Shashi Tharoor (or helping a friend, in his words) for mentoring the Kochi franchisee! Will we ever get to know who was mentoring Praful Patel?

It occurred to me this morning…

Venkat — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:46:38 +0000

That Shashi Tharoor’s ministerial stint can be summed up in four words: Twitter. Glitter. Sputter. Quitter. — B V Rao

It occurred to me this morning…

Venkat — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:09:42 +0000

That if only that bunch of GenTwit which agrees with Shashi Tharoor is the “new India”, I’,m happy to be “ancient India”.

It occurred to me this morning…

Venkat — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:02:42 +0000

That if the Prime Minister doesn’t want to tell Advani and Parliament what secrets he is talking with the US on Pakistan because Advani did not tell Manmohan and Parliament what secrets Jaswant Singh talked with Strobe Talbott, who’s going to tell anything at all to Parliament?

Also see

And now, Barack Obama for Chemistry Nobel!

shruti — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:21:39 +0000

Gopal Kaushik, a friend, aptly reacted to Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize with an SMS: “Next year Barack Obama will get Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He’s got just great Chemistry, says Nobel Committee.” — Venkat

Mint’s 104 Diwali gift ideas

shruti — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:55:01 +0000

Mint Lounge suspended its regular dose of columnists and features today for a special, good-looking, number on Diwali gift items and ideas. But the question that begs the answer: why 104? What is the significance of that number? Possible answers:

1. They didn’t have the 105th idea.

2. Their design guys could fit only 104 items in 24 pages.

3. There are only 104 items on show this Diwali, slowdown you see.

(And I don’t have a 4th answer — venkat)

Good one, Rahul

Venkat — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:20:54 +0000

Rahul Gandhi gave the right to ask the first question to JNU students who shouted slogans at the campus last night against the Congress’ role in the 1984 Delhi riots. “Let us first give voice to the opposition,” he said (The Hindu, pg 1). Even if that was tokenism, how many politicians would risk that in India? Well done, Rahul.

Cow and Culture. Or, is it BJP’s cow-culture?

Venkat — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:06:37 +0000

The BJP is ready to fight the Haryana elections. Its manifesto is out: The party will ban western music and “indecency in the name of culture”. The next big promise: It will set up a Cow-care Commission, “Gau seva aayog” (The Hindu, pg 5). Cow and Culture. Yessir, that’s what Haryana needs the most. Go, win the elections with that.