THE DIARY OF Z

Good news: the Iranians can now surf on Facebook.

Iran restored access to Facebook Tuesday after blocking the popular website for four days.

As it’s often the case with the Iranian government, nothing is clear with this story.

The government didn’t say why it blocked access to Facebook last Saturday. It didn’t say why it decided to lift the block on Tuesday. And didn’t say if this lift is permanent or not.

Many people think the government blocked Facebook for electoral reasons. The electoral campaign is running strong right now in Iran, and the reformist opposition is massively using Facebook to reach the young Iranians (more than half the population of Iran was born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution).

In any case, this block should be seen as another sign of the control-freak regime put in place by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iranian authorities often block websites what are considered going against the Islamic Regime.

Let’s just hope this ungracious strategy ends up going against those who used it to control their citizens and restrict their liberties.

Contributed by PHILIPPE MERCURE

“Nobody has the right to tinker with anthem”. That’s what the Supreme Court of India said Monday in a sad, dangerous comment that should prompt every single artist of this country to protest vigorously. 

Let’s recall the facts. In his movie “Jana Gana Mana Rann”, director Ram Gopal Varma borrowed lines from the Indian national anthem to create a new song.

But that didn’t pass very well with the Central Film Certification Board, who blocked the release of Varma’s movie promo on May 8th.

The director appealed of the decision with the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, and finally went to the Supreme Court to ask for an immediate release of his promo.

Alas, the Supreme Court didn’t want to hear anything.

“We have read it (the script of the song). It gives a total negative sense. It appears that every line of the national anthem has been proved wrong,” said the Bench in charge of evaluating Varma’s case.

A negative sense. So what? Is every artist in this country supposed to say only positive things?

Artists should be free to create whatever they want and to tinker, twist and deform whatever they feel like, including a national anthem. This is called Freedom of Expression. And it is a vital principle.

The state should never decide what artists are allowed to think and say. Artists are there to provoke, to present things under a new perspective, to make us think differently. This is what Varma did. And every artist of the country should stand by his side to show that this kind of censorship is not welcomed anymore in India.

Contributed by PHILIPPE MERCURE

He was in his mid-forties. She was 19. And they had an affair that lasted a year and a half.

Everyone knows John F Kennedy liked women (through the media ofcourse). But we are about to learn all the details of his affair with Mimi Beardsley Alford, an ex White House intern who was only 19 when she started dating JFK.

The relationship was revealed six years ago when a JFK biography was published. But Beardsley Alford, who is now 66, is about to publish her own book, Once Upon a Secret, where she’ll give her side of the story.

Mimi Beardsley Alford was described as a ‘tall, slender beautiful college sophomore’ at the time she got to know the US president up close. She is said to have accompanied JFK on a trip to Bahamas in 1963. She was also invited at pool parties, and media reports say she was once spotted hiding on the floor of the president’s car while he was leaving the White House (probably just to pick-up something that fell down there…)

It’s always hard to judge such relationships from the outside. Adults are free to do whatever they want. But we have to remember that JFK was a man in a position of power, much older than Mimi was at the time. Did he hurt Mimi’s feelings or did they just both had a good time? Did he take advantage of her naiveness? Or is it her who took her fun teasing the president while getting the opportunity to slip into the jet-set life of the most powerful man on the planet?

As sensationalist as this book may sounds, she will finally give us answers to these questions. And will allow us to get a clear opinion about this precise affair and similar ones.

Contributed by PHILIPPE MERCURE

Between the two gorgeous babes, I prefer Kim to Giselle anyday. For one, Kim looks healthy while Giselle looks malnourished. But the reason I like Kim more is her great tips for bikini freaks… here are some of them picked from Kim’s official blog (http://www.kimkardashian.celebuzz.com).

1. Sunscreen is way more important than you think! You need it even if you aren’t going to the beach!

2. Accessories like big sunglasses, which not only shade you from the sun, but are fabulous when you have no make up on and want to hide a little bit!

3. A great pair of flip flops… my casual favorite are Havianas and for a little more dressy its Mystique sandals.

4. A beach cover up. My favorite is a sarong! It covers up the bottom half so you can walk around and not feel too naked, yet it doesn’t cover you up on top, so you still get a good tan.

Coalition politics is a different game but Congress is a master of that. Having wrestled the opposition to the ground in the historic mandate this year, I am sure they will find a middle ground with its tantrum-throwing ally, the DMK led by the super shrewd Karunanidhi.

It’s a known fact that only crorepatis can go on to win a member of parliament seat and only a cash-rich party can romp home to the seat of chief minister and prime minister. And DMK isn’t alone. But accusing them of excessive money power in Tamil Nadu which led to their victory is like declaring every other party clean and innocent.

When the reader can ask you, ‘what’s in it for me?’, why can’t your ally in the ruling combine? DMK has every right to bargain for more Cabinet berths and choicest portfolios. After all, who wants to go for non-descrept posts and portfolios?

In this entire game of coalition politics, there is one thing I don’t like and here is where i laud prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. He has said a firm NO to non-performing DMK ministers A Raja and TR Baalu. And rightly so. Agreed, all parties are corrupt, but they should also be efficient performers. There is no room for inefficiency and laxity. This message by the PM even before his party takes oath is a good sign. If the Congress sticks to its efficiency stand, the Congress could well romp home to power with a clean majority (without the help of allies) the next time around.

Jai ho!

Varun Gandhi strikes again. This time, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) boy is at war with…the journalists.

Newspaper reports say that a group of writers from Uttar Pradesh is accusing Varun Gandhi of “misbehaving” with journalists. The scribes are requesting security measures while covering his events.

Mohan Kumar, president of Pilibhit Journalists Association, says that Varun Gandhi got angry at journalists on May 19th when he was asked to comment on the disappointing performance of BJP at the last elections.

Kumar says Varun Gandhi “attacked” journalists and even broke the camera of a TV journalist.

Bad, bad, bad idea.

Brat boy Gandhi should face the music. He should acknowledge his party’s bad performance and try to find solutions to put BJP back on track.

Whatever your political ideas are, a strong opposition is always needed in a democracy. India needs BJP for the simple reason that it represents the voices of millions of Indians.

Varun Gandhi is known as an impulsive and short-tempered man. But his attitude is counterproductive for himself and for his party. Starting a war with journalists is never a good idea for a politician. They’ll always have the last word.

Instead of lighting fires all over the place, M. Gandhi should get busy building bridges with the population. And fast.

Contributed by PHILIPPE MERCURE

Have you always dreamt of having a role in a major Hollywood movie? Think it will bring you money and fame?

Think twice.

We learned this morning that Rubina Ali, the child-star of award winning movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, is now homeless after the Railway authorities razed her shanty in the Garib Nagar slum in Mumbai.

The event happened a few days after the other child-star of ‘Slumdog’, Azharuddin, lost his home in similar circumstances.

Forget the palaces and luxury residences of movie stars. These kids are now homeless, in the streets of the biggest city in India, struggling for survival.

Of course Rubina and Azharuddin are not the only kids in this situation – far from this. This was their life before ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ came about.

But there are still questions to be raised. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was the movie of the year in 2008. The production won eight Oscars and brought more than 326 $ US million dollars in revenue.

With their smiles, their acting and their spontaneity, Rubina and Azharuddin contributed to this success. It would be normal they could share some of the benefits. Otherwise the conclusion is clear: these kids have been tricked.

So to Danny Boyle, director of ‘Slumdog’, and to Warner Independent Pictures, who produced the movie: what about a little sharing with people who should be considered part of your team? You opened the eyes of the world on the slums of India; what about getting up and doing something about it now? What about helping your own staff a little?

Contributed by PHILIPPE MERCURE

World-famous athlete, actor and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (his second name is always such a pain to spell that I have to triple check) is taking a bow, ladies and gentlemen.

No, not in front of a mammoth crowd in CA, but in cyberspace.

Digg, one of the world’s best blog web aggregator of news and views, is conducting a Digg Dialogg with Arny where anyone and everyone can post questions. The idea? You don’t have to be a journalist to ask Arny. You can post your question and one of you can also choose what questions should eventually be posed to Arny. It’s a new world order!

If you want to be part of this, visit http://digg.com/dialogg/Arnold_Schwarzenegger_1?FC=UATDRB3

Here are some questions that I particularly liked… goes to show the 360 degree sensibilities of different people…

1. What is your stance on the legalization, cultivation and regulation of marijuana in the state of California?

2. You look like a Democrat, sound like a Democrat and act like a Democrat. What makes you a Republican?

3. If the Constitution were amended to allow it, would you ever consider running for President?

4. Are you a Mac or a PC?

5. Who is your daddy, and what does he do?

6. What were you thinking right here?

Not that, I excused myself from asking any. Here are my posers for Arny:

1. What should your epitaph read?

2. Who or what can wipe that smile off your face?

3. What is your Achilles heel?

4. Do you Digg? And how much have you Dugg?

There are over 1100 questions already for him. Five more days to go before D Day. Post your question TODAY!

Okay, okay. The Fake IPL Player (fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com) has revealed himself and still concealed himself.

With 43 venomous posts on the goings on in Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders team and his inside scoop on all things Indian Premier League, FIP had indeed turned many heads. This included King Khan himself who launched a fervent search for the malicious mole.

But alas.

Neither could he track him and nor could he get his team into the semis.

In the meanwhile, FIP garnered attention like no other blogger in record time, with almost 8000 avid followers to his every post.

With his latest video post where he reveals his shadow and talks about how he is the ghost in the darkness who is indeed a Fake IPL player.

From his silhouette in the video, it’s evident that he is somewhere in his 50s or even 60s who knows a lot more about cricket than the average cricketer.

Hats off to him for pulling it off so well. Not only did he write wonderfully, he made sure everyone smiled at the end of the day… even when his own KKR team was losing one game after another.

It isn’t his last word yet, as FIP intends to reveal himself in the coming days with this cryptic line: ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’.

I am waiting along with everyone else!

Do you love your wife more than Angelina Jolie? And do you find her more sexually attractive?

If you are a married man, that’s probably the kind of questions you don’t really feel like answering publicly.

But there are courageous men in this world. A.J. Jacob is one of them.

The man accepted to be placed inside a FMRI machine (a Functional magnetic resonance machine) and let scientists analyze his brain while thinking about his wife Julie. But Julie had strong competition here.  The brain of M. Jacob was also analyzed while he was instructed to think about the hot and luscious…Angelina Jolie.

The results are fascinating. And they can be read on the website of Esquire magazine (http://www.esquire.com/features/mri-of-love-0609).

First thing M. Jacob learned : he’s in love with his wife. Really. The machine showed it! A part of M. Jacob’s brain, the ventral palidum, got active when he was looking at pictures of his wife. And that’s a sign of attachment.

After being married nine years with Julie, M. Jacob didn’t show the kind of crazy love feelings that light up the ventral tegmental area in the brain of new lovers (the same areas that are excited by chocolate or cocaine). His love was somehow more…intellectual, firing activity in the cortex.

And what about sex? That’s where it gets interesting. M. Jacob is turned on by his wife – the sex parts of his brain lit up when he watched sexy pictures of her. In fact, the machine is showing that Julie is exciting M. Jacob…as much as Angelina Jolie!

“I do find my wife beautiful, commented A. J. Jacob. But hotter than Angie? Like my wife, I’m not sure how to explain it.”

Whatever the explanation is, A.J. Jacob doesn’t feel much attachment for mademoiselle Jolie.

Good news for Julie. And good news for all the people who still believe in love.
Contributed by PHILIPPE MERCURE